Friends Journal does Virtual Meetings

https://www.friendsjournal.org/podcast/episode-5-virtual-communities/?fbclid=IwAR33b8XfEcdwhkyE84ME8JYFbNxnifL-4n-EOwaNyEylZgzBIjjDWEsBBFg

Quinn forwarded this link to me; I haven't had time to digest it thorughly. Apparently it starts with a podcast on this page. My hearing is not that great, so I'm not in the habit of getting information from podcasts. It's interesting, though, and it addresses an issue close to our hearts: how can we make our virtual meetings better?

I must say, we've been working on it. We have a lot to say about it. We've been trying for years now; we've been here since before the pandemic. We should be able to speak to the issue.

I'm not sure how well the comments function on this blog, but I encourage you to give it a try. Better yet, come visit our meeting and give us a piece of your mind.

You can find the details on Facebook if not on this very blog.

All profits go to Cloud Quakers and/or QVS

I've been saying this a lot on Quaker websites where I advertise my new book (below post), Ten Quaker Closet Plays. I thought I'd explain what this really means.

The zoom fee for Cloud Quakers is ~$16/mo. I could do our zoom on my daughter's university account or some such runaround, but I chose to have my own account so I could make it available to any Quaker for any Quaker event, as well as my family if they should so need it, which they haven't so far. In any case this book and the other book (Quaker Plays for First Days), which is sold under the same stipulation, doesn't really come close to covering this zoom fee. I will be lucky to get that much this month and this will probably be the biggest month.

There is always, however, the possibility that some large Quaker gathering will choose to buy about ten of them at one time, or, everyone will get online and download ten or even twenty of them. Right now you get about 1/3 of a penny for every page read, which means that if 20 people downloaded and read the book I'd get about $8, but if 12 people bought the book I'd get another $8. Either way I'd be lucky to ever get to $16 in a month.

What you are seeing is that we are not talking about a huge economy here. How many Quakers are there? How many of them just buy a book of plays when it comes out? So far, just me and maybe a friend or two. Some people know the first book, which was explicitly aimed at First-Day, and some of the plays in it were pretty good. That book is getting a makeover. If there is only one Quaker playwright in any given generation, that one has to be as good as possible. And that's what I intend. It's not a bad book.

By the way, if more than forty buy it, then Quaker Volunteer Service comes into the picture.

Ten Quaker Closet Plays

 

For reflection and discernment
and for adult education and quarantine zooms...
read about Fox, Nayler, Rufus Jones, Hoover, Nixon, and even Smedley Butler (Nixon and Butler grew up Quaker, but weren't Quakers as adults).

On Amazon
Paperback $5.40 + shipping
Kindle $1.99, or free on Kindle Unlimited
Hardcover $12.80 + shipping

Profits go to Cloud Quakers or Quaker Voluntary Service

Pamphlets are back

---

That's right - it's a pamphlet, the size of a quarter sheet of paper - 20 pages, all personally printed, folded, trimmed and stapled. I have kept the price (below) down in Quaker fashion without making any deals for amount or other things. You simply pay the costs of putting it together and getting it out there.

It's kind of a labor of love to crank these out and send them out, but that's for another post. Here I'll say that the cover was intended to be black and white, but still has several versions, similar to this, and is now being printed in color. Color used add significant cost to the operation, but it no longer does. Here are the prices.

send orders to Tom Leverett, 919 No. Broad St., Galesburg, IL 61401, or use Paypal (tlevsp@gmail.com).

They are $.80 each + postage. Even if you get 100, they are $.80 each, but postage will change. Postage is
$.63 for 1-2 (first class)
$3.49 3-10 (media mail)
$4.29 11-30 (media mail)
These prices are subject to change as I find out more; all prices are for Domestic.
Use paypal or send check to given address.
tlevspress.blogspot.com

Updated info on Quaker press page: http://tlevspressquaker.blogspot.com"

marketing ideas

If there's one thing I'd use a business meeting for, it would be to open up the floor to marketing ideas. I have been somewhat lax and in-my-own-path with marketing, believing that the world is like me, focused on facebook as the center of the universe. It's not, and just because I'm on there, doesn't mean many people are seeing us.

I have CQ on there every week (look for new pop art tonight), and I occasionally put it on Twitter with a #quaker hashtag. That's clearly not enough. So here are some ideas.

instagram - this is where the young people are. I have two of my own accounts, one for me as an author, but I very rarely use either one. It wouldn't hurt to use one of them at least once and put a #quaker hashtag on it. Do I know how? I'll have to remind myself.

Using the brochure (pamphlet) to attract traffic. It's well known that the pamphlet is not as slick and professional as I want it to be, and is not even itself being advertised properly. This has been on my to-do list for a while and I have no one to blame but myself for not getting it going. Things have been busy here!

TikTok - no. Facebook Quaker sites - why not? Illinois Yearly Meeting? Might as well get started somewhere. In fact I may even attend IYM this year and if that doesn't stir up some curiosity, well, what I'm saying is, just hoping we could get some long-time Quakers to visit us every once in a while. I know a bunch of people at IYM. I could start with them.

I have a book of plays on the burner too. If I could finish that, I'd be in business...

The Power of Modern Spirituality

Steven recommended this book at meeting and I thought I'd take the liberty of putting it on here.

In fact, he highly recommended it, so take that as you will.

As an author, I'm interested in book marketing - through blogs, through blurbs, pictures, covers, that kind of thing, so I'm interested in this one just because it has a good presentation. I'm not sure if I'll get to it soon as I have a huge pile on my desk of things to do.

But I'll tell you this, in a world where people are leaving the churches by the droves (and at the same time, not saying that they have renounced God, or don't believe), there is no question that we need something to hold onto. It's not that I'm pushing Quakerism above all others, though for sure, this is a Quaker blog. It's more that the world is changing quickly beneath our feet and we need whatever we can get to help us understand it.

Give it a try and tell me what you think.

Exploring Our Truth and Integrity

 1 hr 30 min

Start: 17:00 on 21 March 2023

Finish: 18:30 on 21 March 2023

(careful, it's UK time)

11 people responded

Event by Quakers in Britain

Public  · Anyone on or off Facebook

This workshop introduces what truth and integrity mean in the context of our Quaker testimonies and exploring how we can use truth and integrity in our witness and worship. 

How do we demonstrate truth and integrity in our lives? How do we root our political action in truth and integrity?

This webinar is organised by Yearly Meeting Agenda Committee. It forms part of the theme preparation for Yearly Meeting 2023. You can attend this session without having booked to attend Yearly Meeting 2023.

Register for this event: https://www.quaker.org.uk/.../exploring-our-truth-and...

Register for Yearly Meeting: www.quaker.org.uk/ym 

See less