Clerk Fall-Fellowship

Call to SCQM Fall Fellowship –  Resistance, Restoration, and Renewal

November 6-8, 2026
at Temescal Canyon Park & on Zoom

We invite you to join us for our 48th Fall Fellowship gathering of Southern California Quarterly Meeting at Temescal Gateway Park in Pacific Palisades Friday November 6th through Sunday November 8th. 

Temescal Gateway Park is a beautiful place in the midst of Pacific Palisades with a long history of peoples who gathered together in community and worship, from the Indigenous Tongva in centuries past, through the Chautauqua movement, and, for over 50 years, a place where Southern California Quakers have come together each Fall. The park was largely spared from the devastation of the January 2025 fire, and we are joyously looking forward to gathering with you there.

We will begin Friday afternoon with check-in at 3:30 and conclude after lunch on Sunday. Our attendance fees are lower this year and are on a pay-as-led basis to ensure that everyone can join us, regardless of financial constraints. Additionally, SCQM continues to sponsor all attenders 18 years of age or younger and only requires a small registration fee for children.

Plenaries, interest groups, and worship-sharing will be held in hybrid mode for those joining us online. 

We are preparing for a weekend of spiritual deepening, renewal, and fellowship, with a focus on healing resistance and restoration. Our keynote speaker is Tom Hoopes, whose son, Jacob, is currently serving a nearly 2 ½ year sentence in a federal penitentiary for throwing a rock that struck an ICE officer during a protest in Portland earlier this year that turned violent. Tom will share his story of relinquishing his distinguished career as a Quaker educator and leader and moving to Portland so that he and his wife could better support Jacob during his incarceration.

For our Interest Group on Saturday, we are pleased to welcome Sophie Wood Brinker and Greg Stefanski from Quaker Voluntary Service. Greg is the Executive Director for QVS, and Sophie is the Development and Outreach Manager. You can learn all about this awesome organization here: About Us | Quaker Voluntary Service. 

I have the pleasure of having worked directly with several outstanding QVS fellows and program graduates through my participation in the Quaker Coalition Uprooting Racism (see QCUR – Quaker Coalition for Uprooting Racism – Friend’s Council On Education for more). 

Quaker Voluntary Service (from their mission statement): “enables lives of prophetic service” and “support(s) and empower(s) young adults to explore their spirituality and vocation while living in intentional Quaker community.” They “increase the capacity of social change organizations” and “partner with Quaker meetings and churches, building new leadership for the Religious Society of Friends and the world beyond.” 

If you have not yet registered, please do so here before registration closes on Friday, October 30th. Here is a link to the registration from: SCQM-FF-2026-Registration 

Please share this invitation with your meetings and worship groups.

In peace,

Lawrence Alderson, Interim Clerk, Southern California Quarterly Meeting

Clerk Announcement, Fall-Fellowship

Register Here for Fall Fellowship

Dear Friends,

You are invited to join us for our 48th Fall Fellowship gathering of Southern California Quarterly Meeting at Temescal Gateway Park in Pacific Palisades Friday November 6th through Sunday November 8th. Our theme is “Resistance, Restoration and Renewal”, and we are preparing for a weekend of spiritual deepening and renewal, fellowship, and a focus on healing resistance and restoration.

Temescal Gateway Park is a beautiful oasis in the midst of Pacific Palisades, largely spared from the devastation of the January 2025 fire. We will begin Friday afternoon with check-in at 3:30 and conclude after lunch on Sunday. Our attendance fees are lower this year and are on a pay-as-led basis to ensure that everyone can join us, regardless of financial constraints. Additionally, SCQM continues to sponsor all attenders 18 years of age or younger and only requires a small registration fee for children.

The gathering will include worship sharing, a meeting for healing, interest groups, programs for children and teens and other activities. Please look for program details by mid-October.

Here is the registration form:

Register Here

Please share this invitation with your meetings and worship groups.

In peace,

Lawrence Alderson, Interim Clerk, Southern California Quarterly Meeting

Clerk Announcement, Fall-Fellowship

Save the Date: Fall Fellowship 2026

Dear Beloved Community, 

You are invited to join Southern California Quakers for our 48th annual Fall Fellowship gathering at Temescal Gateway Park in Pacific Palisades (see temescal-gateway-park ) this November, starting Friday afternoon the 6th though Sunday afternoon the 8th. Please look for details about the gathering and the opening of registration within the next two weeks. We are looking forward to gathering with you and enjoying a weekend of fellowship, fun, spiritual deepening and worship.

Let us gather with the joyous anticipation of returning to Temescal, saved from destruction by the park staff while much of the surrounding area of Pacific Palisades and Malibu was devastated in the fire early last year. A full weekend is planned, beginning Friday afternoon through Sunday after lunch. Financial support for the registration fees will be made available, and minors are only asked to contribute $25 toward the cost of their participation.

Please spread the word among Friends, save the date, and keep an eye out for registration opening soon and reach out to us via scqmsignup@gmail.com for any questions or concerns.

Your SCQM Fall Fellowship 2026 Coordinating Committee, including:

Lawrence Alderson, Registrar; Gary Wolff, Treasurer; Louise Sherikar, Finance Committee convener; Stephen Pope, Clerk of Ministry & Counsel, Stephen Pope; Kindred Gottlieb, Teen Program Clerk; Clerk of Arrangements, Judi Oehmen; and Sarah Rose House-Lightner, Recording Clerk’s circle. 

Clerk Announcement, Spring-Gathering

SCQM Clerk’s Call, Spring 2026

SCQM Spring Gathering, Clerk’s Call

Southern California Quarterly Meeting will gather at Santa Monica Friends Meeting on Saturday, April 25th (and via Zoom (from 9 AM until about 3:30 PM)).

You are also invited to a dialogue with members of our Peace & Social Concerns on Friday, April 24th at 6:30 PM. We will share about recent and planned peace and justice actions from our SoCal Quaker community and our work to protect and support members of our communities, especially those impacted by our government’s aggressive and violent immigration enforcement actions, and advocate for peace and humanitarian aid to those devastated by the war in Gaza.

You may register here:

REGISTER

A detailed schedule and other information will be provided to everyone who signed up.

A simple lunch and refreshments will be provided on Saturday for onsite attenders. We are planning to provide childcare as needed for friends attending with children.

If your monthly meeting has not yet considered the queries for the state of the meeting reports, here those very queries are:

  • How do we appreciate and include those who have joined our Meetings in the last few years? How can we honor and encourage their commitment to the community without presenting a burden of rules and expectations?
  • How do we accommodate the views of those seeing a need for change, having a new idea, and those who value tradition and wish to season any changes.
  • How do the structures and practices of our Quaker meetings appeal to the spiritual journey of the meeting?
  • How can our Meeting find joy in service, in the ministry of small things?

Please send your State of the Meeting reports to me post-haste (or thereabouts) at danstrickland2001@yahoo.com .

In my past calls to gatherings, I’ve mulled over the losses we’ve all had to bear in the last year or so, and how to move past that. I’m seeing people in my neighborhood community still spending energy placing blame for the firestorms, and while I understand the impulse, it’s wearying. I was thinking of talking about how one can move past loss and focus on rebuilding, letting go of the blame. This, however, feels clichéd, lacking in empathy. I feel strongly that progress, change, recovery happens when we focus on repairs and rebuilding and letting blame fade, but the more I think about it, the more that feels like a position of privilege. This is what is working for me, but as in all, it’s not what works for many.

There are changes in our Meetings, more than usual. The Society of Friends, as in the Viet Nam War era, is being seen as a place of refuge for frightened, vulnerable people to gather and find support. This is what stimulated my thinking when forming the Queries to aid Monthly Meetings with state of the meeting reports. Entering into this is the Pacific Yearly Meeting theme of “Experiment”. You’re all familiar with the old description of the Society of Friends as an experiential or experimental religion. PacYM Ministry feels it’s time for us to try doing things differently, see what works, what doesn’t, and what of our current practice is no longer useful. This will likely be divisive.

There’s an old definition of conservative and liberal that I like: liberals exist to test new ideas, advocate for change to existing structure, while conservatives test the need for that change against the value of institutional practice. So a query could be framed along the lines of how do we accommodate the views of those seeing a need for change, having a new idea, and those who value tradition. Think of the yin/yang symbol, where both are included in one circle, with a part of each in the other.

Another need I see is to appreciate and include those who have joined our Meetings in the last few years. How can we honor and encourage their commitment to the community without presenting a burden of rules and expectations. Can we help our Meetings to willingness to experiment? I see the value of our not-quite-Quarterly gatherings in this: we can hear how other Meetings are doing, what changes are happening across the Quarter, and talk with old and new friends about how best to find love and unity among us.

Dan Strickland, Clerk of SCQM

Clerk Spring-Gathering

SCQM Spring Gathering 2026: Save the Date!

Southern California Quarterly Meeting
Religious Society of Friends

SPRING GATHERING

WHEN: Friday evening, April 24th (Zoom only) & 9AM to 3PM, Saturday April 25th (Zoom and onsite)

WHERE: Santa Monica Friends Meetinghouse, 1440 Harvard St, Santa Monica, CA 90404

WHERE: Santa Monica Friends Meetinghouse, 1440 Harvard St, Santa Monica, CA 90404

Please join Friends from throughout SCQM, in person and via zoom, to hear about the Spiritual State of the Monthly Meetings and Worship Groups in our Quarter.

Snacks, coffee/tea, and lunch will be provided for a donation, and there will be activities for children.

We will provide a zoom link for all sessions.

Please register at the link below by Midnight, Tuesday April 22, 2026.

Register Here

Dan Strickland, clerk, SCQM

Clerk Childrens' Program, Fall-Fellowship

Attention Parents of SCQM Children and Teens

Dear SCQM Parents;

 Please join us October 31-November 2nd for Fall Fellowship in the beautiful San Bernadino Mountains!

Because Fall Fellowship happens to coincide with Halloween this year, we got to  thinking about spiders and all manner of creepy, crawly things. This led to some deeper thoughts on how our Quaker Faith enables us to see beauty in every living thing, even those creatures that may disgust or frighten others. The children’s program will be exploring these thoughts further  through a mixture of discussions, songs, stories, games, and Halloween-themed art projects. We hope that your children or teens can participate!

 We know that some of you may be hesitant about coming on Friday Night since your family may be looking forward to a night of Trick-or-Treating in the neighborhood. If this is the case, you are welcome to come on Saturday morning instead. Kindred Gottlieb-Gutierrez is trying to organize Saturday morning transportation from Union Station or a similar centralized location. If you’re interested in that option, please contact Kindred (kindredg@gmail.com).

 If you’re on the fence about coming to Fall Fellowship, perhaps this Q&A will help you decide.

If you’re not on the fence, you can register right here, right now!

Also, if you’ve already registered, but didn’t include a payment with your registration, you can pay here.

Clerk Fall-Fellowship

Fall Fellowship 2025: Q & A

Q: What are the dates of Fall Fellowship?
A: Fall Fellowship will run from late in the day or early in the evening on Friday, October 31
until early afternoon on Sunday, November 2 .

Q: Where is Fall Fellowship being held?
A: Because our usual location, Temescal Canyon, hasn’t yet reopened after the PalisadesFire, we will be meeting this year at the Pali Retreat Center in the San Bernadino Mountains.
The address is 30778 Highway 18, Running Springs CA.

Q: What is the cost?
A: There will be no charges for children or teens, other than a $25 registration fee.
For adults who are willing to stay in a room in a group cabin, the recommended contribution
will be $375 (plus a $25 registration fee) per person. Each group cabin accommodates up to
12 people, however, we plan to assign no more than 4-6 per cabin.
For adults who prefer a private room, the recommended contribution will be $500 (plus a
$25 registration fee) per person. Most private rooms have 3 or 4 beds, so they are suitable
for a small family.
For adult commuters, there will be a charge of $120 per person per day, plus a $25
registration fee.

Q: Is there financial help available?
A: Yes. If your family needs financial assistance to attend, you can request a subsidy from
your Meeting, the Quarter, or both. Please let us know.

Q: Will transportation be provided?
A: We hope to arrange car pools or buses to help people get to Pali on both Friday and
Saturday. Please call Kindred Gottlieb-Guttierez at (213) 220-6113 for more information.

Q: What kind of activities will be available for adults?
A: Our program has not been finalized yet, but we plan to present mini-workshops with
exercises selected to concentrate on community-building, conflict resolution and
forgiveness. It will be a great opportunity to reunite with Friends across the Quarter, make
new friends, and enjoy the beauty of our surroundings.

Q: How do I register?
A: Please register here.

Q: If I’ve already registered, but didn’t include a payment, how can I pay?
A: You can pay online here.





Clerk Announcement, Fall-Fellowship

Save the Date: Fall Fellowship 2025

October 31, November 1 & 2, Friday evening through Sunday morning

View the autosave

At Pali Retreat Center, 30778 Highway 18 Running Springs CA 92382

Our theme for the weekend will be “Healing our Community and Using our Community for Personal Healing.” We will present mini-workshops with exercises selected to concentrate on community-building, conflict resolution and forgiveness. As always, our underlying theme is enjoying each other’s fellowship and meeting friends from across the Quarter while resting in a natural setting.

You’ll notice we are not gathering at Temescal Canyon. They’re still recovering from the firestorm, and expect to be available next year. Meantime, Pali Retreat, while a longer commute for most of us, offers accommodations that meet our needs. We hope to see a full gathering of Friends for this weekend.

The weekend includes both Hallowe’en and Día de Muertos. If you would like to help with plans for that, please contact Kindred Gottlieb (kindredg@gmail.com) and/or Louse Sherikar (louise.sherikar@gmail.com).

If you would like to host an interest session or an affinity group, please let me, Dan Strickland (danstrickland2001@yahoo.com), know so we can include you in our schedule planning.

Meals will be provided as part of our contract with Pali Retreat, with all options available.

Please register at this link (https://scqm-ff-2025.paperform.co)*, and do it soon!

We will provide a zoom link for all sessions.

Dan Strickland, clerk, SCQM

*If you didn’t include a payment for Fall Registration form, you may pay here with PayPal.