Meet the Author: Jan 14th/4pm at The Claremont Forum

January 9, 2023 By Judith Favor

CLAREMONT FORUM BOOKSHOP | PRISON LIBRARY PROJECT

MEET THE AUTHOR

Judith Wright Favor portrait photo
Who are the people in prison or on death row? Those of us who are “free” don’t often think of those who are incarcerated but friendship and communication have the power to heal and enrich lives on both sides of the prison bars.
Friending Rosie by Judith Favor (book mockup cover image) This special event sheds insight on those who are incarcerated and on death row – exploring themes of friendship, compassion, and understanding the realities of a life behind bars. Proceeds from book sales and donations will support the Prison Library Project.

January 14 at 4pm
586 W. 1st St., Claremont
Claremont Packing House

C L A R E M O N T F O R U M . O R G

The Spirituality of Waiting
— An Advent Retreat led by Stillpoint

November 15, 2022 By Judith Favor

December 3, 2022

9:30am – 2:30pm PT

This retreat will be held online.
All sessions will be recorded
for later viewing.

When the external light lessens, creation takes its deep breath and enters a season of waiting. In her darkest hours creation waits, restoring herself and preparing for a new season of life and growth. But we are not good at waiting, we prefer to keep getting things done. The good news of Advent is that – like creation, we do not wait alone. We wait in community with others.

You are invited to an on-line guided contemplative retreat to pause and wait in the company of others to give attention to what needs restoring and what is waiting in you. Noticing how you are waiting for God, and how God is waiting for you.

RETREAT SCHEDULE

9:00am – 12:00pm PT
Morning Session

Lunch/Screen Break: 12:00pm – 1:00pm PT
Centering Prayer: 12:00pm – 12:20pm

1:00pm – 2:30pm PT
Afternoon Session

COST

$70 registration

Stillpoint desires to keep our retreat registration cost low in order to be accessible to everyone. There are a limited number of “no cost” options available.

REGISTER NOW

Book Review: “Living Fellowship Needs Fresh Forms”
by Daphne Clement

October 12, 2022 By Judith Favor

During the pandemic, Daphne Clement, retired hospice chaplain and coordinator of spiritual care, began each day in worship on Zoom. For 19 months, waiting worship transformed COVID-19 lockdown into a life-sustaining spiritual retreat for Friends who gathered in collective connectedness.

“We are witness to the formation of an amazing technological society that has risen to meet the need for communion among Friends during the past year and a half of the pandemic,” Clement writes. “And we morning worshipers are so grateful for the innovation.”

She wonders about the future, inviting Friends to reflect on their own circumstances: “So, will our everyday Zoom worship endure?” Clement asks. “Is digital worship the new way of life?”

Living Fellowship Needs Fresh Forms

“I’m Gonna Be a Part of It, New York, New York!”

October 11, 2022 By Judith Favor

Judith and Daughter Penelope in New York
on the local news at a Foodie Exhibit.

Walk With Me — Book Review

August 3, 2022 By Judith Favor

Composite Image of Friends Journal August 22 Cover and Page 35 "Walk With Me Book Review" by Judith Favor
Reviewer Judith Wright Favor is an elder member of Claremont Monthly, Southern California Quarterly, and Pacific Yearly Meetings. Her latest publication is the Pendle Hill pamphlet: Friending Rosie on Death Row.

You can read this Book Review online by following this link:

Walk with Me: A Biography of Fannie Lou Hamer

Review of Friending Rosie Pamphlet in Friends Journal

August 3, 2022 By Judith Favor

Friending Rosie on Death Row

FULL TEXT:

The Pendle Hill pamphlet Friending Rosie on Death Row documents a 20-year friendship between a non-incarcerated Quaker and a formerly Catholic woman who was condemned to die for murder. (There is also a longer book with a similar name, Friending Rosie: Respect on Death Row, available from Page Publishing. It includes more of Rosie’s first-person views and is targeted to a general audience.) Author Judith Favor draws on her own memories as well as letters Maria del Rosio Alfaro (Rosie) wrote to her from death row in Central California Women’s Facility. Alfaro permitted Favor to publish certain pieces of correspondence while requesting others be kept private.

Favor explains that she and Alfaro want to encourage others to commit to friendships that transcend barriers of privilege, race, class, and criminal justice system involvement.

Stories like ours help us answer some of life’s big hows and whys: What makes people commit impulsive acts of violence? How can one awful choice disrupt so many lives? How can we mend past mistakes? Where is love in all this?

Favor recounts a conversation in which Alfaro, convicted of fatally stabbing nine-year-old Autumn Wallace while drug impaired and sentenced to die in a gas chamber, weeps as she recalls the day of the crime. Favor explains that discussing the details of the murder is not the purpose of her writing. Rather she intends to demonstrate how loving connections can transcend any issues resulting from a dark past.

Reading about Elizabeth Fry, a Quaker prisoner advocate in nineteenth-century Britain, inspired Favor to correspond with an incarcerated woman. Raised Protestant, Favor discovered Quaker advices and queries while unemployed and avoiding homelessness by staying with a Friend who worshiped at Palo Alto Meeting in California. Quaker testimonies inspired her to affirm the spiritual worth of every person by befriending someone behind bars. Favor re-envisioned the prophet Micah’s age-old question “What does the Lord require of you?” to read “What does Love require of you?” The answer given in the book of Micah is “to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God” (6:8 NASB). Cultivating a friendship with Alfaro enabled Favor to practice justice, kindness, and humility.

The women confide in each other in letters and during visits. Alfaro tells Favor about a fight she engaged in as well as the prevalence of drug abuse in the prison. She describes her daily activities and remarks on the ceaseless, deafening noise. Favor tells Alfaro about her divorce, and Alfaro responds with compassion:

I’m very sorry to hear about your divorce. I don’t even know what to say, my heart goes out to you and him. Tell me, friend, how are you handling this? I don’t know what made you both do what you’re doing, but all I can say is that I’m here for you. I know that at times it feels good to talk to someone about our problems, and vent to let it out. So if ever you feel that, please know I’m here for you.

The pamphlet challenges readers to ask what we can do to step outside of comfortable social circles and engage with incarcerated people who we might not initially think of as potential friends. It invites us to explore how we can acknowledge that of God in everyone.

RESTING IN LOVE —
The Healing Balm of Silence: (in-person) Silent Retreat

July 8, 2022 By Judith Favor

September 30 – October 2, 2022

Experience a weekend of quiet in the beauty of the Redwoods. Silence can soothe our bodies and minds in order to better attend to the longings of our souls. To nurture the silence, optional activities will be offered including meditative writing, soul collage, walking meditation in nature, and healing meditation. There will also be opening and closing worship sharing and Meetings for Worship. This retreat is for first timers as well as those who have participated in many silent retreats.

A woman sits quietly in meditation at the Quaker Center

“Sacred places have constancy in them…because we, who worship in them, imbue them with our lives, our hopes, and our concerns. ..Many of us have favorite places where we sit, where friendship with God and each other is brought to mind and heart….where our souls are remembered into presence and service.”
(4–5) Gunilla Norris, Cultivating Sanctuary, PHP 466

About our PROGRAM LEADERS:

Judith Wright Favor is a member of Claremont Friends Meeting who also serves Southern California Quarterly and Pacific Yearly Meeting. She taught at Claremont School of Theology and facilitated AVP workshops in California prisons. Judith’s ministry includes writing for publication, soul companionship and retreat leadership.

Judy Leshefka is a member of La Jolla Friends Meeting. She helped start the Annual Friends’ Silent Retreat which has been offered in Southern California every Labor Day weekend for the last 25 years. Silence has been her primary spiritual practice since her teenage years.

for REGISTRATION INFORMATION
watch this space and/ or our website: www.QuakerCenter.org

Map Pinned Location of the Quaker Center near Santa Cruz

Location of the Quaker Center near Santa Cruz, CA

Rosie Review by Judy Lumb in What Canst Thou Say?

July 1, 2022 By Judith Favor

Friending Rosie on Death Row by Judith Favor (Pendle Hill Pamphlet 470) front cover image

Friending Rosie by Judith Favor (book mockup cover image)

Friending Rosie: A Review
by Judy Lumb

(Set to be published in the upcoming August 2022 issue.)

Judith Favor is an author and frequent contributor to What Canst Thou Say? You may have seen recent practical books on Sabbath Economics, or her novel, The Beacons of Larkin Street. Friending Rosie is about finding truth on death row. It first appeared as a book, alternating writings by Friend Judith and the inmate with whom she began corresponding in 2000. It also includes some of Rosie’s art.

Friend Judith begins by commenting that modern social media have turned “friend” into a verb, which she did way back in the 1960s and now reclaims in the title. With encouragement from members of Quakers United in Publishing (QUIP), Judith later condensed her Quaker testimony into a Pendle Hill Pamphlet.

“Rosie’s words and mine have come together in these pages to make a larger story. The practice of rereading brought out themes, like becoming better women. When we keep moving through the written word, hearing and seeing it again, we are likely to notice things we didn’t see or hear the first time.”

Rosie writes, “Here’s my Serenity Prayer: God grant me the forgiveness for committing murder … The strength to one day forgive myself before I go insane or die … And the wisdom, no matter what, to realize and accept that I am and can be a better woman. Help me. Amen.”

As with her other books, I found Friending Rosie a compelling read. The personalities of both authors come shining through. Here is truth in a poignant form: “Whenever we speak truth, or write truth, or hear truth, a kind of internal yes occurs. The chest may expand. The face may light up. Tears may well up in our eyes. We may tip our head back for a moment and press our eyes shut. Perhaps we place a hand on our chest or form our fingers into a steeple and press them to our lips. Our shoulders may lift and straighten. If someone is near, we may move closer to them, reach out for a hug or lay a hand on their back or shoulder. The Truth receiver in us senses the presence of the platinum thread and wants to savor the moment.

“The breath gathers in each new truth and lets it out. Ah Yes. This is true. There is a feeling of rightness. Some mysterious bodily sense lets us know when the right words do come, words we can trust.” – Judith Favor, Friending Rosie.

Appendices provide useful information on Restoration and ways to support women prisoners.

Judy Lumb is a member of the What Canst Thou Say? editorial team.
She is a member of both Atlanta Friends Meeting and the Belize Friends Church.
She splits her time between Barranco, Belize, and Atlanta Georgia.

Writing Your Ethical Will

June 29, 2022 By Judith Favor

Thursday, August 04
– Friday, August 26

Link to Spirituality & Practice page

What do you want your legacy to be?
What are the foundations of your life choices?
What do you need to produce an effective set of documents?

This new program, designed by Judith Favor, a Discovery Writing guide for more than 50 years — will consist of Zoom meetings bookending every emailed session, before and after. You will discover how to pass your values, principles, practices, and stories on to your loved ones and future generations. Thus far, Judith has led three other writing programs for Spirituality & Practice: “As It Is: Spiritual Journaling”; “Contemplative Writing and Listening”; and “Composing Your Spiritual Memoir.”

“I love to help people find and express their true voice through contemplative writing. I love guiding people ‘in and down’ to uncover fresh new truths and form surprising new connections. I offer inventive exercises and prompts to bring out surprises percolating beneath the surface. Skilled writers and shy writers are equally welcome because I emphasize process more than product.”

The Discovery Writing approach is well suited to writing an ethical will. Usually written in a letter form, an ethical will consists of:

meaningful personal & family stories
qualities & attributes you try to exhibit
lessons you have learned over the years
beliefs & spiritual practices
expressions of love & gratitude
apologies & amends
hopes & dreams for current & future generations
questions & guidance for others to consider
blessings for present & future loved ones
and anything else you would like to share

In this one-month program under Judith’s guidance, you will learn basic tools for Writing Your Ethical Will (also known as a “Legacy Letter to Loved Ones”).

Your writing will be sparked by prompts and poems, carefully curated quotations and questions, and examples from ethical wills and legacy letters penned by ordinary people throughout the ages. You’ll be encouraged to write messy rough drafts on themes from past memories, present practices, and future hopes and blessings. Weekly writing will help you will find your voice. You’ll be encouraged to express what you cherish in everyday words, not fancy language or legalese.

You will also have access to an online Practice Circle. This for posting excerpts from your writing, which Judith and other participants can read and offer supportive comments.

During Zoom meetings, at the beginning and end of the month, you will have more opportunities to share your legacy writing and be inspired by the writing of others.

Schedule:

August 4, 2022: introductory email
August 5, from 12 – 3 pm PDT, we will meet on Zoom for talks about key themes, do some short writing, and meet in triads to hear emerging thoughts from each other. Zoom gatherings will be recorded, so if you have to miss any or some, you can catch up later.
On Thursdays, August 11, 18, and 25, you will receive emails with a range of examples of ethical wills and legacy letters penned by ordinary people throughout the ages. Past, present, and future themes will be highlighted in these excerpts to help you articulate what matters most to you, what loved ones mean to you, and how you want to be remembered.
On Friday, August 26, we will meet again on Zoom and you will practice how to organize what you’ve composed over the month, and break again into triads. You will learn how to review and renew your ethical will in years to come. This Zoom gathering will also be recorded.

A Personal Word from Judith Favor:

I am an octogenarian who has been guiding contemplative writing classes and retreats since the 1970s. Dr. Ira Progoff, Intensive Journal founder, was my first — and most influential — spiritual guide and mentor in this work. During the 1980s, Gerald May and Tilden Edwards accompanied me in learning the art of spiritual guidance. I spent hundreds of hours with these great teachers, infusing my bones with the practices and principles of contemplative listening and writing.

I was ordained in the United Church of Christ and pastored churches in San Francisco during the Nineties. For the next decade, I taught at Claremont School of Theology, and led spiritual formation programs with Stillpoint at Ghost Ranch.

After becoming a convinced Friend in 1998, I took up the ministry of writing for publication. Six of my books are out in the world, and more are in the works. All this while teaching Discovery Writing consistently brings me great joy. I love serving as mentor and midwife, bringing forth living words from writers of all ages, states and conditions.

In this course, I offer a trusting (occasionally intimate) atmosphere in which writers can feel safe and supported. I also set high standards for undivided attention, courtesy, respect and kindness.

I have found that feeling pressured often reduces honesty in writing — and honesty is essential in composing an ethical will, so I never want writers to feel stressed. Verbal sharing will be encouraged, but not expected. You may always pass if you’d rather keep something to yourself. Baring your soul does come with the territory, however. It happens naturally. I will bare my soul along the way and encourage you to risk the same when you feel ready and willing. Writing Your Ethical Will is, after all, based upon diving deep and authentically expressing your truest, most cherished values, principles, practices, and stories.

To join me and other open-hearted souls in August,
click on the Subscribe button below.

Thursday, August 4 – Friday, August 26

$80.00

SUBSCRIBE — GIVE AS GIFT

Interfaithfully Speaking: Connecting Interfaithfully with People in Prison (Claremont Courier Article)

March 6, 2022 By admin

March 3rd, 2022

by Judith Favor, member of Claremont Friends Meeting (Quakers)

I’ll tell you four stories about Claremont people who connect interfaithfully with people in prison. But first, a note about the word religion. It originally meant “that which binds together,” but religious words can also be used to tear people apart. In Claremont, we commune freely in interfaith gatherings. We move safely between churches, mosques, meeting houses, meditation halls, sanghas and chapels, but in many places religious beliefs divide people. Religious disputes are common at the Central California Women’s Facility, where inmates from different traditions carve out little pieces of truth and hold on for dear life. What eases the pressure and brings peace? Open-hearted listening.

Rick Moore’s story comes first because he was my first mentor in the art of listening. He founded the Prison Library Project in Claremont to hear the voices of those behind bars. I met Rick in 1998, and was touched by his care for incarcerated persons. I became the second PLP volunteer, reading letters, hearing yearnings, and doing my best to meet requests for books. Many want dictionaries. Responding to handwritten letters from inmates is a low-risk form of listening. Several Pilgrim Place residents read and reply to hundreds of letters each month. The Prison Library Project needs more volunteers. Your caring attention can make a big difference.

The second story is about Claremont women. Twenty-plus years ago, I was a newly-minted Quaker, led by the Spirit to befriend a woman sentenced to die for her crime. Rosie requested pen-friends for others on death row, and Pilgrims took up the call. Gail Duggan recruited Presbyterian women to befriend women at CCWF. Carolyn Francis inspired Claremont United Methodist Church women to form a group called JUDI—“Just Do It”—to offer care, prayer and listening ears to incarcerated women. When Rev. Rosemary Davis rented a van, a bunch of us traveled to Chowchilla to visit inmates with whom we’d been corresponding. Before long, Catholic nuns started “Get On The Bus,” and Claremonters of many faiths gave up Mother’s Day weekend to accompany kids eager to share hugs, stories and games with their moms behind bars.

The third story is mine. Early in our relationship, Rosie requested Pepsi each time I visited. I chose grapefruit juice. After a decade or so, she switched from caffeinated soda to apple juice, but the rest of the routine remains the same. Female officers strip-search Rosie, then escort her to the visitor center in handcuffs and ankle chains. I wait in attorney room A or B. Once we are locked in together, she has privacy to speak her truth without being overheard. I’m a Quaker and Rosie was raised Catholic. I’m a pretty good listener, genuinely curious about what matters most to her. I don’t interrupt, don’t change the subject, and do ask open, genuine questions. Our conversations can be painful, confessional, semi-serious, silly or completely hilarious.

When we get hungry, she signals the guard to let me out. While I wait in line at the vending machines to purchase our pre-packaged lunches, Rosie sculpts brown paper napkins into the shape of roses. She sets the table with plastic forks and packets of Tabasco sauce. An armed guard lets me in, locks the door and returns to his station. I place food on the table and sit across from my friend. We bless the drinks, the burritos and the salads, then we share stories. Rosie does most of the talking. Locked up together at CCWF in Chowchilla, two women of different generations and religions celebrate prison communion with food, drink, and vulnerable conversation.

The fourth story is ours. She and I co-wrote “Friending Rosie: Respect on Death Row.” The idea came in 2019 while I was a patient at the Pilgrim Place Health Services Center. Weak from multiple fractures, struggling with rehab, I was awakened in the night and heard “Write a book with Rosie.” First I protested, then accepted the sacred call. Rosie objected to my initial proposal and refused, so I rewrote it. An “anchor committee” of Quakers helped me season it. Once Rosie and I reached common ground on the shape of the book, it took a long time to interweave her letters, my memories and the perspectives of her mother and sister.

“Friending Rosie” is a “porous” book, meant to be opened at any page by readers seeking insight or information. Our friendship story is structured around themes of faith and practice that reflect our purposes here on earth. Rosie wants to speak the truth, seek forgiveness and become a better person. My purpose is to honestly convey the little miracles that can happen spiritually when one friend is locked up and one is free. Seeing things differently, and tentatively expressing our inner truths brings both participants into sacred presence where healing and transformation take place. Prepare to be surprised—mutual gifts await!

Interfaithfully Speaking: Connecting interfaithfully with people in prison

Meet the Author: Jan 14th/4pm at The Claremont Forum

CLAREMONT FORUM BOOKSHOP | PRISON LIBRARY PROJECT

MEET THE AUTHOR

January 14 at 4pm
586 W. 1st St., Claremont
Claremont Packing House

C L A R E M O N T F O R U M . O R G