Red Cedar Friends Meeting

Supports and Services Available
through the Red Cedar Friends Meeting

Gentle and nurturing Quaker Meetings open us to feeling more secure, confident, and connected with each other. there may be times when we find ourselves on the receiving end of help, and there may be times when we are on the giving end.

The greatest assistance we can give is the loving acceptance of what is in the hearts of those who walk through our doors.

Meeting Sponsored Worships

• Meeting for Worship: We gather strength and clarity from sitting together in deliberate stillness. In twice weekly meetings, Red Cedar provides a place for all to worship together.
• Meeting for Healing: Once a month, concerns are brought forward and held in the Light of worship-sharing.
• Meeting for Remembrance: Every November we hold a worship-sharing meeting for those who have experienced a loss.
• On the occasion of marriages, deaths, or other personal events, members come together for special called meetings for worship.
• Newly-arrived babies and young people just graduating from high school are honored in special worships.

General Help

• Often we call on each other for day-to-day help, such as rides, childcare, or places to stay. Those with a need are encouraged to ask for help during weekly announcements, or via the email list, Facebook group or newsletter.
• Letters of Introduction and Traveling Minutes are provided for those visiting or moving to a new meeting.
• The Worship and Pastoral Care Committee can help find the proper channel for people’s needs or concerns. Call, email, or ask at meeting to find a member of that committee.
• The Directory of Traveling Friends lists Friends nationwide willing to host travelers.

Financial Help

• Red Cedar pays for meeting’s children to attend Quaker camps and gatherings such as Friends General Conference Summer Gathering or Lake Erie Yearly Meeting through our Connecting Kids to Quakers fund.
• Adults needing financial help to attend Quaker events, meetings, or classes can ask for a scholarship or for help with travel expenses.
• A limited amount of money is available for financial help. Requests for financial assistance are handled through the Worship and Pastoral Care Committee’s Sufferings Fund. Requests remain private and are balanced against available funds.

Personal Support

• Clearness Committees help those wrestling with life decisions or who wish to test their spiritual leadings. Three or four Friends will meet to listen and share. Committees can meet just once or several times.
• Support Committees help those who are dealing with personal concerns or to guide those who wish to teach, minister, or share leadings based on their Quaker faith and practice.
• Spiritual Formation Groups begin in the fall and then meet regularly to discuss readings and to share and support each other’s spiritual journeys.
• Peer mentors support each other with calls to ministry, outreach, or service.
• A variety of social activities such as potluck, Friendly Eights dinner groups, committee membership, and bi-weekly education sessions help us get acquainted and learn more about Quakers and each other.

Still Can’t Find the Assistance You Need?

Choosing to offer assistance is a personal decision that not everyone in Meeting is able to provide. Even though many of our members are in helping professions, they too come to Red Cedar to find respite from the work that may be weighing them down. It is their choice to offer their expertise.

If you expect help from one source but it is not forthcoming, it may be because others of meeting are simply not able to help. Speak with Worship and Pastoral Care about your concern.

Who Can YOU Help?

If you discern that someone is in need, look for ways you can help–including holding him or her in the light.

Talk about your own experiences, both the joys and the sorrows. Hearing how a variety of people handle problems can often open up ways forward that others wouldn’t have found on their own. And knowing that other Friends have gone through similar difficulties can make us feel less alone.