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Share & Tell Sessions

Share & Tell Sessions

Share & Tells are 45-90 minute sessions on a wide range of topics. During Yearly Meeting there are 6 places in the timetable with Share & Tells. Each timeslot has 3-6 concurrent sessions. For details of the venue and for Zoom links, please go to the Quakers Australia YM24 timetable

For a list of what's on each day, keep reading. For a description of each Share & Tell session, scroll down further. 

(1)  Tuesday 9 July, 12 pm (AEST), 11:30 am (Adelaide), 9 am (WA)

  • Streamlining Quaker Communications, with Holly Dhynes, QA Communications and Publicity Manager. In the Barcoo Room and on Zoom.
  • Hope Wellbeing Hub project, with Jill & David Parris, at the venue and on Zoom.
  • Wellspring Community - Iona Listening Pilgrimage, with Lisa Wriley, at the venue and on Zoom.
  • A Meeting of Equals: The Queer Quaker Experience, with Liz Shield, at the venue only.
  • The importance of the Plant World for every person, with Wendy Hartley, at the venue only. 

 

(*)  Tuesday 9 July, 1 pm (Adelaide)

  • Rainbow Friends and Allies, social lunch, at the venue only.
     

(2)  Tuesday 9 July, 2:30 pm (AEST), 2 pm (Adelaide), 12 pm (WA)

  • Jan de Voogd Peace Fund, with Therese Douglas and Wies Schuiringa, and guest speakers, in the Barcoo Room and on Zoom.
  • Annual Elections, with David Tehr, at the venue only - Shack 14
  • Finding Spirit in the Soil, with Emily Chapman-Searle, Yarrow Goodley and Mardi Naulty, venue only.
  • Gembrook Retreat, with Jane Hope, at the venue only.
  • Volunteerism: an attitude of Quaker life, with Wendy Hartley, at the venue only. 
  • Resolving conflict, with David Purnell, at the venue only.
     

(3)  Wednesday 10 July, 12 pm (AEST), 11:30 am (Adelaide), 9 am (WA)

  • Children and young people in Power of Goodness events, Friends Peace Teams, with Valerie Joy, Anne Herbert, Kins and Selly, in the Barcoo Room and on Zoom.
  • Exploring Co-Clerking Practices, with Sheila Keane, at the venue and on Zoom.
  • Raising Peace Network, with Wies Schuiringer, at the venue and on Zoom.
  • From the river to the sea: exploration of Quaker perspectives on peace with justice in the Holy Land, with Aletia Dundas, at the venue only.
  • Friends in Stitches, with Sally O'Wheel and Tessa Spratt, at the venue only.
     

(*)  Wednesday 10 July, 2:30 pm (AEST), 2 pm (Adelaide), 12 pm (WA)

  • Film "Mammung", with Helen Gould
     

(4)  Thursday 11 July, 12 pm (AEST), 11:30 am (Adelaide), 9 am (WA)

  • Ecumenical & Multifaith Session, with Wies Schuiringer, in the Barcoo Room and on Zoom.
  • Quakers and Refugees: past, present and future, with Alan Clayton and Dorothy Scott, at the venue and on Zoom.
  • Exchanges of the heart: the challenges of living and working in Cambodia 1986 to 2022, with Margaret Bywater, at the venue and on Zoom.
     

(5)  Thursday 11 July, 2:30 pm (AEST), 2 pm (Adelaide), 12 pm (WA)

  • Meet the new QPLC Peace worker Jessica Morrison, in the Barcoo Room and on Zoom.
  • Positive Peace - Asia Pacific Peace Research Assoc (APPRA), with David Evans, at the venue and on Zoom.
  • The Breath of Love, with MichaEL Piovesan, at the venue only.
  • Quakers we have known and loved, with Liz Field, at the venue only. 
     

(6)  Thursday 11 July, 4:30 pm (AEST), 4 pm (Adelaide), 2:30 pm (WA)

  • What does the concept of Human Security have to offer Quakers in Australia?  with Dale Hess and Harold Wilkinson, in the Barcoo Room and on Zoom.
  • Penn Friends, with Jo Jordan and Topsy Evans, at the venue only.
  • New QA Membership Directory (QADO), with Michael Searle and Daniel Buckmaster, at the venue and on Zoom.
  • The Quaker United Nations Office (QUNO), with Ronis Chapman & Aletia Dundas, at the venue and on Zoom.
  • Love and kindness on my cancer journey, Tessa Bremner, at the venue only. 

 

Share & Tell descriptions

Annual Elections, with David Tehr
Since 1986 David Tehr has been strongly convinced that annual elections for all elected legislatures would foster better accountability, transparency, stability, legitimacy and long-term planning. (In Australia that would be the three tiers of Local, State & Federal government.) And yet, he continues to find himself swimming against the tide. Since 1986 State governments have gone from 3- to 4-year terms, and the only public discussions about Federal terms have been to lengthen them also to 4-year terms. David asks "What am I not seeing?" He asks Friends to join him and tell him why they think annual elections would not (could not?) work. David enters this 90 minute space with the knowledge that he "may be mistaken" https://qfp.quaker.org.uk/passage/13-10/ .... he simply asks Friends to enter this space likewise. We pray for an interesting and enlightening exploration of this concept of annual elections, and what may be the "best practices" for modern representative democracies.

The Breath of Love, with MichaEL Piovesan
Everybody breathes but not everybody breathes consciously. To consciously breathe means to knowingly open ourselves to receive The Divine Breath and allow ourselves to Be Breathed by Love. We merge with The One through The Breath and e-merge as Love. Let this be done to you.

Children and young people in Power of Goodness events, Friends Peace Teams, with Valerie Joy, Anne Herbert, Kins and Selly
Find out how the Power of Goodness events are bringing children and young people away from childhood traumas and towards peace and leadership. Over 6,500 children in Asia have participated in these programs, enabled by funding from the Jan de Voogd bequest. We use stories of conflict, which are then resolved through the power of goodness inherent in children and adults. Participants at Yearly Meeting can engage with a Power of Goodness event both in person and online. Discussions will involve how more stories can be created by Australian Friends. We are seeking children and young people to illustrate these stories. How can Meetings and individuals support our Power of Goodness facilitators in West Papua, the Philippines and Indonesia?

Ecumenical & Multifaith Session, with Wies Schuiringa
.

Exchanges of the heart: the challenges of living and working in Cambodia 1986 to 2022, with Margaret Bywater
My first visit to Cambodia (then known as Kampuchea) in July 1986 was for Quaker Service Australia (QSA). The country was slowly emerging the years of Genocide. Between 1986 and 1990, I returned regularly each year to negotiate with local staff and government officials, and to monitor the progress of QSA programs. From early 1991, Cambodia became my home, working as a librarian, training, advising staff and students at the Royal University of Phnom Penh, and later with The Parliamentary Centre of Asia until retiring at the end of 2022. During many years living in Cambodia, my work enabled me to travel throughout the country, observing many changes. Along the way there were challenges. I made many friends, and shared experiences with people from many different backgrounds and faiths. Cambodia and her people will always be close to my heart. I look forward to sharing my experiences and insights with Friends.

Exploring Co-Clerking Practices, with Sheila Keane
This session will be an opportunity to hear about current practices of Friends on Clerking Teams or in Co-Clerking arrangements, and to explore what works and what is challenging. Discussion will be informal, hopefully concluding with some suggestions on how the clerking function in a variety of settings can be carried out creatively in ways that are both effective and sustainable.

Hope Wellbeing Hub project, with Jill & David Parris
This project was supported by the Jan De Voogd Peace Fund. The Hope Co-Operative received funds to work intensively with 10+ families with asylum seeker backgrounds for fifteen months to find pathways towards settlement. The Wellbeing Hub’s work was different from other organisations because we worked intensively with whole families on as many issues as possible, from help with education, visas, health and integration as well as building community across cultures. Our structure is an asylum seeker run co-operative, which means that we all work from the principle of equality and joint responsibility. The community itself has planned and worked together to the point where integration into Australia has been achieved for the majority of our members. We will report back on the evaluation of this project and answer questions relating to our process and findings.

Film "Mammung", with Helen Gould
This 40 minute documentary is about indigenous WA Noongar learning and stories about the rise of the sea levels 10,000 years ago and current climate change issues. It was made by our Friend Lillian Robb and Maevia Griffiths working with Dr Uncle Noel Nannup in 2023.  Lillian is an international Environmental and Human Rights lawyer and is rersearching environmental law looking at the issue of climate refugees. The film is in the NAIDOC line up and is a nominee for the Toronto International Women's Film Festival. Mammung is the Noongar name for the whale: a creature that carries songs and stories through the world's oceans, transmitting them from the Perth Canyon to all the continents of the globe. In this film, Mammung tells the story of a period of climatic change that rivals the one we are seeing today. 10,000 years ago, Western Australia experienced rapid sea-level rise. The film explores Noongar memory of this event, following Dr Noel Nannup in recalling the significance of places that are now below the sea and the dramatic process of change that indigenous people endured. It challenges us to ask: Can we learn to understand and value this rich body of knowledge as we too adapt to a changing climate? And what awaits us if we don't?

Finding Spirit in the Soil, with Emily Chapman-Searle, Yarrow Goodley and Mardi Naulty
Spirituality and gardening...for some of us these things go hand in hand. As a time to slow down, listen, be active, be present, observe, notice our leadings and inner nudges, while taking action for climate resilience, personal wellbeing, soil health and gorgeous plants. Come and share stories of active spirituality and how gardening is part of your spiritual practice. Bring a tangible reminder of your garden or gardening. Be mindful of South Australia’s biohazard laws, please! A photo is fine.

Friends in Stitches, with Sally O'Wheel and Tessa Spratt
Friends in Stitches is the Australian Quaker Narrative Embroidery Project. At this session, we will catch up on progress and issues which we need to address to maintain our work and grow. The participation of historians, artists, would-be-stitchers and promoters of the project are needed and warmly welcomed.

From the river to the sea: exploration of Quaker perspectives on peace with justice in the Holy Land, with Aletia Dundas
Since I wrote my open letter to the Australian Friend about principled impartiality in relation to Palestine and Israel, the conversation has continued. It's been hard for me to hear people focus primarily on Jewish friends’ worries and yet I believe for us to reach unity there has to be space for discomfort, and listening to perspectives that seem at odds with our own. I invite Friends to join a safe space for exploring questions of impartiality, peace with justice, and what it means to nonviolently resist structural violence. We will draw on the words of others including Palestinian Quaker Jean Zaru, and use some guiding queries, to explore these ideas and questions together.

Gembrook Retreat, with Jane Hope
For over 20 years Gembrook Retreat has been creating a space for connection to Country, Spirit and Soul. The land was gifted by Quaker Elder Maggie Dunkle in 2001 and we have created a contemplative community who live a rhythm of work and prayer. We have retreat spaces for those who are looking for rest, time out, or spiritual growth. Retreatants are welcome to do their own self-run retreats or book into Spiritual Direction or Retreat Guided sessions to deepen their experience. Most recently we have built a Quaker Meeting House for groups to use for their own day retreats. We use the Meeting House for our own Quaker Meeting and workshops based on Joanna Macy's work: The Work that Reconnects.

The importance of the Plant World for every person, with Wendy Hartley
What is sentience and why is it important? What is plant-animal symbiosis, and how does it work? Why is listening to nature important? How can I further green my world view? What does stewardship mean to me? Discussion and comments can be interwoven during our time together.

Jan de Voogd Peace Fund, with Therese Douglas and Wies Schuiringa
Jan de Voogd died in January 2021 leaving the bulk of his estate to NSW Regional Meeting to provide financial grants to further Peace and Justice. The Regional Meeting appointed a committee to carry out Jan’s wishes. This Share and Tell will inform Friends of how this committee evolved and has worked thus far. Some grant recipients will talk about their projects.

Love and kindness on my cancer journey, Tessa Bremner
Breast cancer is something no one imagines will happen to them. Fear leaps up before the treatment even begins, becoming a constant companion. I had always exercised, meditated, eaten fresh food. Why me? “Cancer doesn’t discern,” the surgeon told me. I was encouraged to stay positive. “You’re fit”, I was told, “you have a good attitude and you have a good support person. That should help you through.” Living on Kangaroo Island, our lives became one of travel day after day. The sea was a balm, as was the kindness and love I received from everyone I encountered. I met angels, with no wings. I was one of the lucky ones. I had a supporting husband, nurses and doctors who were gentle and an oncologist who encouraged me to write my story.

Meet the new QPLC Peace worker Jessica Morrison
The Quaker Peace and Legislation Committee (QPLC) has recently employed Jessica Morrison as peaceworker, two days a week. The role aims to augment existing Quaker work on peace and human rights towards government policy change in line with Quaker testimonies. QPLC and Jessica are keen to share with Friends some of the emerging ideas about the work, and seek feedback.

A Meeting of Equals: The Queer Quaker Experience, with Liz Shield
Many faith traditions teach that being lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer [LGBTIQ+) is incompatible with God's will and the church. Why are Quakers different? This will be a conversational session with some historical Quaker faith and practice sharing around inclusion and equality for same sex attracted, non-binary, queer and trans people, as well as examining the current context from a personal perspective.

New QA Membership Directory (QADO), with Michael Searle and Daniel Buckmaster
Quakers Australia (QA) is replacing its aged and ineffective SalesForce Membership Directory. An all-new system, the Quakers Australia Directory Online (QADO) will replace it. Everyone can have access to their own information, as well as Find A Friend, etc. Being in the directory will help your Clerk and others in administering your Meeting. Very likely you are already in the new directory, but there is more you can do. This session will familiarise us with using QADO. Bring you own computer, or phone, or not. It will be fun, as well as useful.

Penn Friends, with Jo Jordan and Topsy Evans
Every Yearly Meeting, we bring together younger and older Friends who would like a Pen Pal. This can be the beginning of life long friendships. 

Positive Peace - Asia Pacific Peace Research Assoc (APPRA), with David Evans
The Asia Pacific Peace Research Association Conference 2024 was held at the University of Vavuniya in Sri Lanka 7-10 March last. It was temporally appropriate to honour the work of Johan Vincent Galtung principal founder of the discipline of peace and conflict studies who died on 17 February 2024. APPRA is our regional section of the International Peace Research Association (IPRA). Starting in 1980, APPRA hybrid conferences are now held bi-annually. They are an ideal forum to present your current involvement with peace work and to meet international peace workers. My own paper was entitled "Social Emergence -- Local to Global -- Lessons in Peacemaking". Reference will also be made to friendly societies in our region including Cisarua Learning in Indonesia and the Quaker Girls School in Sohagpur, India.

Quakers and Refugees: past, present and future, with Alan Clayton and Dorothy Scott
There is a long history of Friends acting on their Concerns in relation to refugees. What can we learn from reflecting on what has been done in the past, and how do we respond to present challenges? We will draw on past examples and two current initiatives in which Australian Friends are involved. The current examples involve asylum seekers subject to Australia’s offshore detention policies, and former Afghan Peace Volunteers being resettled in Europe. We will examine the potential of a new model of refugee resettlement in areas of reduced population in Western nations.

The Quaker United Nations Office (QUNO), with Ronis Chapman & Aletia Dundas
Find out about the work of the Quaker United Nations Office. 

Quakers we have known and loved, with Liz Field
We have a Memorial Meeting where we particularly remember those Friends who have died since our last Yearly Meeting, but I would like to offer an opportunity for each of us present to share, perhaps in worship-sharing format, a brief account about a Friend who has died some time ago, and whom we hold dear for what we learned from them and/or loved about them. New Friends would also be very welcome to come as they might enjoy hearing about these Friends.

Rainbow Friends and Allies, social lunch
Meet other LGBTIQA+ Friends and Allies at a relaxed social lunch. BYO your  lunch. Weather permitting, meet near the Poolside Room. 

Raising Peace Network, with Wies Schuiringa
At this session, Friends will be listening to a 40 minutes podcast "Talking about Raising Peace", followed by Worship Sharing. In this podcast, 13 people speak about their involvement with and motivation to remain committed to working with the Raising Peace Network. This is a relaxing session during which you will be re-energised to work for peace in whatever way you choose. Friends can listen to the podcast at home and join by Zoom for the Worship Sharing afterwards. The podcast is at https://www.raisingpeace.org.au/resources/ podcast number 6. 
The Zoom link is: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/8492488083?omn=81295094151
The session is hosted by Wies Schuiringa who has been actively involved with the Raising Peace Network for four years.

Resolving conflict, with David Purnell
This session is an opportunity to learn more about different approaches to conflict, such as mediation, restorative practice and fact-finding. Participants are encouraged to bring examples of their own experience in dealing with conflict.

Streamlining Quaker Communications, with Holly Dhynes, our QA Communications and Publicity Manager
Join us as we explore ways to improve communication between Regional Meetings and the AYM/Quakers Australia national office. We'll dive into practical strategies for sharing information more effectively and discuss tools and resources that can help us stay connected. This is a great opportunity for editors of Regional Meeting newsletters and eNotices to collaborate and share insights on how we can enhance our communication network.

Volunteerism: an attitude of Quaker life, with Wendy Hartley
The concept and practical meaning of volunteerism.How does this concept apply to the Quaker testimony of Service? How is Maslow’s pyramid relevant? Developing the abilities of awareness, discrimination, subtlety and effective communication. Enhancing a situation. The importance of giving without thought of the result. Discussion and comments can be interwoven during our time together.

Wellspring Community - Iona Listening Pilgrimage, with Lisa Wriley
The Wellspring Community Listening Pilgrimage 2023 across these lands now called Australia was a 5 week adventure by a group of pilgrims substantially funded by three Quaker funds. The pilgrimage included 27 events, and learning from more than 30 First Nations leaders through their stories and insights on caring for Country and/or creation.

What does the concept of Human Security have to offer Quakers in Australia?  with Dale Hess and Harold Wilkinson
In this session we will consider the Pax Christi/Jo Camilleri paper "Military Security or Human Security?"  We will discuss the range of issues outlined in the paper and to explore the connections between these issues for Australia and the implications for Friends.