Are you interested in Quaker roots? There are more resources than ever available to conduct Quaker research and genealogy from the comforts of our homes, without needing to travel to various archives. This session will focus on how to search and browse the over 8 million Quaker records on Ancestry, and how to find materials at Quaker archives and request copies from them.

In the United States, we spend over $100 billion per year on policing while crucial social and human needs, including health care and housing, go unfunded. Lethally armed police respond to social and health issues such as mental illness, domestic violence, drug use, school discipline, fear of Black people, and unhoused people—and often, that response is violent. Communities of color and poor communities are policed as if under occupation, facing militarized tactics and equipment paid for by the federal government and local budgets. How can we shift this paradigm and divest from policing that harms communities while investing in health care, schools, mental health services, restorative justice, and other things that we need? How can we work toward a world where all people are safe because we have the resources we need to thrive and the tools we need to protect each other? This interactive workshop will explore how we can talk about creating safe and healthy communities without law enforcement through stories, information sharing, small group activities, and skill-building exercises.

Matthew Legge is author of the book "Are We Done Fighting? Building Understanding in a World of Hate and Division" issued by the Canadian Friends Service Committee in 2019. Using the metaphor of “Many Roots, One Tree,” this workshop will present some findings from research in the social sciences about conflicts, how people become polarized from each other, and ways to build understanding. The workshop will include interactive exercises for participants to practice communicating clearly and will provide time for group discussion about how to engage in difficult conversations.

Spiritual Companion groups are self selected groups of people, usually made up of 2-4 people. We meet regularly, (every 1-3 weeks), for enough time to give each person 20-30 minutes of time to share and receive reflection. This workshop will present suggested procedures which have helped many of us to develop deeply meaningful groups over many years. The workshop will also offer time to try out the practices, reflect on the experiences and ask questions. It is directed to anyone who would like to find out more about Spiritual Companioning, experience some practice sessions, and perhaps, if they wish at a later time, to get some support starting their own companion groups.

As a word and concept, inclusion gets “thrown” around with little to no attention to what it means. What do I mean when I say that we have an inclusive community? Do I mean that those in my community are inclusive and everyone else is not? If so, doesn't such a conclusion seem exclusive and the opposite of an inclusive community? WHAT DO YOU MEAN when you refer to inclusion? Based on a section of the plenary talk, this workshop will expound on inclusion as an integral part of understanding what it means to be part of a tree with diverse origins/foundations as its roots. Opening remarks from the workshop leader will set the stage for an interactive session for open sharing, collective questioning, and shared visioning. The workshop has one prerequisite: all participants should come welcoming, inquisitive hearts, spirits, and minds.