Community
Multnomah Friends is a very active Meeting, with events throughout the week and many ways to get involved. Below are some current events and news about the life of the Meeting. We also publish a weekly bulletin highlighting upcoming programs and announcements, and a monthly newsletter with articles of interest to our community. Sign up with your email address below.
Within our community, we are guided by our testimonies, especially Simplicity, Integrity, and Equality with the goal of being a welcoming space for everyone seeking a spiritual home with us.
Events
Sunday, March 15, 12:15pm, blended
Business Meeting is held monthly on third Sundays. Allvare welcome to attend in person or on Zoom.If you need childcare in order to attend, please contactNursery Supervisor Kaeli Frank.You may also request reimbursement for in-home childcare.
Zoom link: mfmeet.ing/mfbMeeting ID: 705 774 465, Passcode: 923550Dial: +1 669 900 6833
Presented by Rex Nyquist
Sunday, March 29, Noon – 2:00pm, Meeting Room, Blended
All are welcome. Learn more about this upcoming presentation in the MMM Feb 2026 Newsletter. This presentation is a reenactment of John Woolman (1720-1772) and his Quaker contributions to the world. It is a 45 minute presentation with some discussion afterwards. Sponsored by the Adult Religious Education Committee.
Sunday, March 15, 6:00-7:00pm
You’ll learn important information about what can be done before, during, and after ICE actions to help protect the safety and defend the rights of vulnerable people. We’ll practice using key phrases, assigning roles, and build skills together. This is a practical training which will include information specific to the Lunch Program at MFM, but 95% of the information is the same wherever ICE shows up. Everyone at MFM is invited. Presented by lawyer MariRuth Petzing. Zoom only: https://tinyurl.com/4kyb4b2d Meeting ID: 868 0629 2787; Passcode: 709305.
You’ll learn important information about what can be done before, during, and after ICE actions to help protect the safety and defend the rights of vulnerable people. We’ll practice using key phrases, assigning roles, and build skills together. This is a practical training which will include information specific to the Lunch Program at MFM, but 95% of the information is the same wherever ICE shows up. Everyone at MFM is invited. Presented by lawyer MariRuth Petzing. Zoom only: https://tinyurl.com/4kyb4b2d Meeting ID: 868 0629 2787; Passcode: 709305.
Saturday, April 4, 10:00-11:30am, Meeting Room
Every first Saturday, from 10 to 11:30 at the Meetinghouse, we invite you to explore using movement as part of your spiritual practice. In Worship Sharing with Movement, we will share the experience of pausing, grounding and listening, with curiosity and care, moving as we are led. We will move in solitude, in dyads, and in community. We will open and close with movement to a song. Please feel free to join us even if this is a very new direction for you. If you have questions, you’re welcome to talk with one of us. Betsey Kenworthy, Lynn Kitajima, Ann Marie Marriott, Kepper Petzing, and Art Okada.
Every first Saturday, from 10 to 11:30 at the Meetinghouse, we invite you to explore using movement as part of your spiritual practice. In Worship Sharing with Movement, we will share the experience of pausing, grounding and listening, with curiosity and care, moving as we are led. We will move in solitude, in dyads, and in community. We will open and close with movement to a song. Please feel free to join us even if this is a very new direction for you. If you have questions, you’re welcome to talk with one of us. Betsey Kenworthy, Lynn Kitajima, Ann Marie Marriott, Kepper Petzing, and Art Okada.
Date: March 6, 2026 10:30 am 10:32 am
Thursday, March 19, 11-1pm, Room 12
Topic: “This, I believe.” Presenter: Isabella Fischer; Facilitator: Annette Carter; light refreshments available. Gather and center around friendship and answering life’s questions together. We meet on the third Thursday of each month. Sponsored by the Adult Religious Education Committee.
Friday, March 13, 5:30-8:30pm, Social Hall
Children’s Program Committee is planning our quarterly “Parents’ Night Out” (PNO) event for Friday, March 13th, from 5:30-8:30 pm in the Meetinghouse Social Hall. PNO offers an evening “off” for parents or caregivers, while providing children (ages pre-K through 5th grade) a light dinner, fun activities, games, and a kid-friendly movie. Please RSVP to Lyn Gordon by email at childrensprogram.clerk@multnomahfriends.org by Wednesday evening, 3/11, so we know how much food to prepare and which age-appropriate activities to plan.
Children’s Program Committee is planning our quarterly “Parents’ Night Out” (PNO) event for Friday, March 13th, from 5:30-8:30 pm in the Meetinghouse Social Hall. PNO offers an evening “off” for parents or caregivers, while providing children (ages pre-K through 5th grade) a light dinner, fun activities, games, and a kid-friendly movie. Please RSVP to Lyn Gordon by email at childrensprogram.clerk@multnomahfriends.org by Wednesday evening, 3/11, so we know how much food to prepare and which age-appropriate activities to plan.
News
The lawsuit filed in a federal district court in Maryland states that: “The very threat of that [immigration] enforcement deters congregants from attending services, especially members of immigrant communities.” According to the plaintiffs, attending service is a crucial aspect of the constitutional guarantee to “religious liberty.” Two articles here: https://bit.ly/40AhZ4l.
Multnomah Friends Meeting (MFM) came to unity to be an official sponsor of the Oregon for Human Rights (O4HR) coalition which seeks to have Oregon divest funds from entities that support war, genocide, or ecologic destruction. We have a subcommittee under the Peace & Justice Committee. Please let us know if you would like to join this work. We are especially interested in reaching out to other Faith Communities and would love contacts and ideas. For more info: Peace & Social Concerns Clerk – peace-socialconcerns.clerk@multnomahfriends.org.
The Peace & Justice Committee of the Meeting has found unity on its support for a bill to be introduced in the 2025 Oregon legislative session 1) directing the state Treasurer to report on the environment, social, and governance impact of investments made by the state and 2) prohibiting the Oregon Investment Council from investing in any entity found to have violated international law. A copy of the bill is linked here.
The Committee will be recommending at the January Meeting for Business that the Meeting as a whole support the bill. If you have any questions about the bill, please contact the clerks of the Peace & Justice Committee at peace-justice.clerk@multnomahfriends.org.
The Lunch Program welcomes volunteers 12:30-2:30pm Tuesdays-Saturdays: servers, dishwashers, setup, cleanup, hosts, and someone to be present in the smoking area to keep eyes on the situation. For information about volunteering, contact hearthkeeper@multnomahfriends.org. Feel free to stop by for a “look-see” during lunch hours.
Volunteer committee members are needed to serve on the following Multnomah Friends Meeting committees as soon as possible: Peace & Justice, Care & Counsel, Nominating, Nursery, and Children’s Program. If you’re interested or know someone who might be, please contact the Nominating Committee: nominating@multnomahfriends.org.
Now that winter is here, there is an even greater need for warm clothes (especially pants size 30-32), belts, bedding, unlocked used phones, and USB chargers and cords. Larger donations may be left in the basement or given to anyone involved with the lunch program.