Quaker meetings have the tradition of adopting Minutes about areas of concern. These are statements of convictions that express the “sense of the meeting” on which the Meeting reached unity during a meeting for business. At times they also issue statements to the press or to run as a newspaper ad.

Below are links to some Minutes and Statements from Olympia Friends Meeting:

• Minute of Support for Lawsuit: PYM et.al. vs Department of Homeland Security (Minute approved February 9, 2025)
• Minute Endorsing AFSC’s A different future is possible: Quaker organizations share a vision for peace in Palestine and Israel (Minute approved June 9, 2024)
• Minute on Becoming an HP-free Church (Minute approved August 11, 2019)
• Minute of Inclusion – Welcoming Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming People (Minute approved May 13, 2018)
• Sanctuary (Minute approved April 10, 2018)
• Addressing Systemic Racism (Minute approved on October 9, 2016)
• Regarding Uganda’s Passage of A Law Targeting Its LGBTQ Population (Minute approved on April 13, 2014)
• Expressing Support for the pursuit of Peace and Solidarity with the American Muslim Community (Minute approved on November 11, 2012)
• On the Illegal Use of U.S. Weapons by Israel (Minute approved in August 2006)
• On Our Concern for the Christian Peacemaker Team Hostages in Iraq (Minute approved in February 2006)
• In Support of Military Personnel Seeking Clearness About War Participation (Minute approved in February 2006)
• Statement Regarding Invasion of Iraq (newspaper ad, October 2002)
• Statement Regarding the Events of September 11, 2001 (newspaper ad, October 2002)
• Opposing the Death Penalty (Minute approved in January, 1997)
• Affirming Same-Sex Marriage (Minute approved in September, 1991)

April 10, 2020

Dear F/friends,

We hope that you are in good health, good spirits and discerning a new normal for this period of Covid-19 induced change in our lives. There are many ways F/friends are reaching out to each other during the quarantine, including lots of Zooming with creative ways to worship, sing, play, connect, do business, and even dine.

We thank you for your financial contributions to the life of the Meeting. They are much-needed as we continue to pay staff, taxes, utilities, and other expenses.

Due to the quarantine and disruption to health, well-being, and finances, Olympia Friends Meeting is experiencing a decline in revenue. We have no rental income, and financial contributions from members and attenders have decreased. Our expenses for March were more than our income.

So, a gentle suggestion that if you are accustomed to paying by check and the satisfaction of putting it the giving box at Meeting, consider paying online for the time being. It’s very easy. Go to http://olympiafriends.org/, and click on “donate” in the upper right of the web page. This will take you to a page with a gold-colored “donate” button. Click that, and it will take you to a page where you put in the amount you wish to donate and click to either pay by credit/debit card or by PayPal. Alternately, you can mail a check to the Meetinghouse, 3201 Boston Harbor Road N.E., Olympia, WA 98506.

These are tough times. The physical, emotional, spiritual and financial resources are strained for many. And yet, we have each other. Thank you for all you are doing for your families, Meeting, the community, and in the world.

In the Light,
Finance Committee, Olympia Friends Meeting

Download this letter in PDF format here.

Olympia Friends Meeting made the decision – because of the risk of transmission of Coronavirus COVID-19 when meeting in person – to close the Meetinghouse to our own events and renter’s events for the foreseeable future.

So that we are able to continue having Meeting for Worship on Sundays at 10 a.m. and other meetings, we will be meeting online with Zoom, a video conferencing tool. You can see our calendar of current Meetings and events here. Zoom is successfully used by Quaker organizations to let people meet “face-to-face” to conduct committee meetings, and many Monthly Meetings are making the move to it or something similar for the same reason we are now – so that we stay connected as a community and are able to worship together.

With Zoom it is not necessary to download anything or to sign up for an account. You can connect with a computer or a cell phone, or you can call in on a land line.

Here are some directions from Zoom on how to join a meeting:
https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/201362193-Joining-a-Meeting

And here are some great directions from Chapel Hill Friends Meeting – with our thanks:
https://www.chapelhillfriends.org/zoom/browser.html

Before joining a Zoom meeting on a computer or mobile device, you can download the Zoom app from the Zoom Download Center : https://zoom.us/download. If you don’t do that, you will be prompted to download and install Zoom when you click a join link. You can at that time also cancel the download and click on “If you cannot download or run the application, join from your browser.”

To join the Meeting for Worship, we gather starting around 9:45 AM on Sunday mornings, and have a few minutes to greet each other. When it is 10:00 AM, quiet your surroundings and yourself (mute if possible unless you are led to speak during worship) and be present in the Zoom meeting as you would be entering the Meeting for Worship at the meetinghouse.

Please make sure your computer or cell phone camera is turned on because it’s really nice to see each other’s faces in this time of isolation.

Once you’ve “entered” you’ll see the faces and names of the others who are present.

Please mute yourself by clicking the button on the bottom left of the screen and then if you want to speak you can un-mute yourself there.

The Meeting for Worship will close with the moderator thanking us.

We’ll take some time for introductions (alphabetically by first name since we can’t go around in a circle) and announcements, and then have some “virtual” social time.

To join the Meeting:

Link: https://zoom.us/j/395448936
or if using the ZOOM app: Meeting ID: 395-448-936

There is a password. Ask us if you need it. (See below)

You can either choose to connect with your web browser or download the Zoom app for cell phones and computers. When you click a link to join a Zoom meeting the first time, you will be offered the opportunity to download the app. This is not necessary. You can choose to do that or to connect via a browser.

If you do not have access with a computer or cell phone, there is also an option to call in on a phone line, though without video. 
Phone: (253) 215-8782 or (301) 715-8592.
Calling in international?  Find your local number: https://zoom.us/u/aemqdrgb4W

If you are using your browser, you may need to approve Zoom to use your camera in the lower left of your screen so we can see you in video.

If you want to download the app ahead of time, do that through the app store on your cell phone or this link for your computer: https://zoom.us/client/latest/ZoomInstaller.exe

If you have a problem, slow down and try again.

Questions ahead of time? Contact our Hearthkeeper via this form or call (360) 561-7067 (calls only, no texts). Inquiries left after 9 a.m. Friday will be replied to the following Monday.

Find Other Quaker Worship and Fellowship Online

See the information and links here: https://westernfriend.org/quaker-worship-and-fellowship-online
which is created and maintained by Western Friend, the official publication of Quakers in Pacific, North Pacific, and Intermountain Yearly Meetings.

“Look upon our treasure, the furniture of our houses, and our garments, and try whether the seeds of war have nourishment in these our possessions.”  – John Woolman

As Quakers opposed to all wars and who affirm the essential equality and dignity of all people, we take a moral stand against the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories [as defined by international humanitarian law (IHL) and international human rights law https://www.btselem.org/international_law] and the companies which profit from the suffering of others there.

Hewlett Packard manufactures and supplies the biometric identification technologies that limit Palestinian movement and identifies them as targets for other forms of discrimination. Hewlett Packard is the largest IT supplier to the Israeli military and is profiting from the oppression of the Palestinian people.

We have carefully deliberated and educated ourselves on the situation in Israel and Palestine, and we are taking this public stand by signing onto the HP-Free Church pledge: https://www.fosna.org/apartheid-free-worship, agreeing that as a Meeting we will boycott all Hewlett-Packard products and refuse to invest in Hewlett-Packard as long as it continues the practice of supplying tools of oppression to the Israeli government.

We encourage all Quakers to join us in renouncing complicity in this occupation and taking a moral stand against the occupation in whatever ways they discern.

Olympia Friends Meeting folks “quaking” while marching at Capital City Pride 2019. ~ Photos thanks to Darleen Adkins.

Camp Huston, Gold Bar, Washington

January 25–27, 2019 (with optional extension to Jan. 28)

This retreat offers an opportunity to reach more profound depths in the Silence of Quaker worship.  The weekend is not a retreat inthe sense of turning away from life.  It is a temporary intentional community where we seek communion with the Holy Spirit, the world around us, and each other. With God’s help, we may be led to new priorities and insight for ourlives.  We may reach a deeper communionwith our authentic selves, our spiritual community, and with the Divine.

The weekend begins with a potluck supper Friday evening at 6:30. Visiting helps us unwind and begin to know each other.  After supper, housekeeping details arearranged, questions are discussed, and our schedule completed and explained.  We will begin Meeting for Worship and enter the living Silence that will last until the rise of Meeting on Sunday noon, no matter what the activity.

Cost should not be a barrier, but we need to average $100 per person to meet expenses.

A link to the registration form is below. Please register by 1/21/2019 – see the form for details. 
Contact Heather Saunders at hstarathome @ gmail.com (take out the spaces) or 360-252-0548 for more information.  AND, I highly recommend the extra day: it was wonderful, and the drive home was easy!

Download/read more information about the retreat in PDF format:

2019 PNQM Silent Retreat info:
http://olympiafriends.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/2019-PNQM-Silent-Retreat-info.pdf

Download the registration form in PDF format:

2019 PNQM Silent Retreat Registration Form:
http://olympiafriends.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/2019-PNQM-Silent-Retreat-Registration-Form.pdf