Spirit-Led Community Building Across Generations

The loneliness epidemic in the United States today is surprisingly prevalent among younger adults, in addition to the elderly. The Quaker Voluntary Service (QVS) believes that intentional community building is a possible antidote. Quakers have a long history of community building, and community care is a Quaker superpower! This lecture will highlight the frameworks that QVS has developed to teach our young adult Fellows effective methods of building and maintaining community, and how those frameworks may be of interest to F/friends of all ages.

If you would like to join us for dinner before the event,
please sign up at least 24 business hours in advance. 

This and our other First Monday Lectures are streamed live and available
as recordings on our YouTube channel, Pendle Hill USA.

Leaders

Rachael Carter (they/them) is the Philadelphia Coordinator for Quaker Voluntary Service (QVS). Rachael grew up as a Baptist in Philadelphia. They came into interfaith work in their undergrad years at Ursinus College studying Politics, Peace, and Social Justice, International Relations, and African American & Africana Studies. Since then, Rachael has researched ecotheology in the Black community, learning to understand its connections to other faith and spiritual practices. They have also spent time working in Racial Equity and systems change.

Rachael is passionate about plants and the natural world, cooking as a healing practice, and understanding community and social systems. They are interested in further exploring the intersection of religion, food, and employment. They also enjoy biking, taking care of their many plants and listening to podcasts in their time off.

Ruth Cutcher (she/her) is the Recruiting and Marketing Coordinator for QVS. She loves to work with young adults as they discern their path from college into the work of transforming the world. Ruth is excited about the impact of QVS in revitalizing Quaker meetings and giving young activists the support and training to be effective change agents. Ruth is a convinced Friend and a member of Durango Friends Meeting in Durango, CO. She holds a Master of Divinity from Earlham School of Religion. It was while she was working on her M/Div that she had the wonderful fortune to befriend several QVS alums who changed the course of her life. When she is not at work, Ruth can be found in her garden, at the local gym picking up heavy things, or cooking yummy food to share with her friends.

Thanks to the generous support of the Friends Foundation for the Aging, we’re able to make this and other free, online programs accessible to f/Friends of all ages.