Barry Crossno, Pendle Hill’s Development Manager, Receives Quaker Leadership Grant
Barry Crossno was recently awarded a Quaker Leadership Grant by the Clarence & Lily Pickett Fund. The grant was in response to the nomination of his Meeting, Dallas Monthly Meeting, and his submission called The Clearlight Project which centers on Quaker outreach work.
The Clearlight Project has as its goal to make the Quaker Way more available to spiritual seekers. From Barry,
“I believe there are many ways to God and I think it is important that practitioner’s of the various faiths make their faith traditions available for people to explore. As I’ve traveled, many non-Quakers have told me that they didn’t know Quakerism was a living faith or they thought it was closed to newcomers. The Clearlight Project is my attempt to make the Quaker Way more visible and accessible. I’m very grateful to the committee members of the Pickett Fund for making this work possible.”
The Clearlight Project, with the funding provided by the Pickett grant, is working in conjunction with Pendle Hill on a Quaker Spiritual Practices workshop this August and a North American Quaker Outreach conference to be held the fall of 2011. The workshop is being co-facilitated by Marcelle Martin and Christina Repoley at Pendle Hill August 4-8th. Its purpose is to introduce newcomers to the potential richness and diversity of Quaker spiritual practice while also creating a space where long-time Quakers can come and deepen their experience and/or explore practices that may not be common at their local Meetings.
“I’ve led a number of workshops before, but this will be very special. It’s the first time I’ve co-facilitated with Christina and Marcelle. That, in and of itself, will be amazing. Beyond that, it’s one of the few times all these practices are being presented in one place as part of a single workshop. It’s the culmination of work that started over a year ago during a Meeting for Worship that Marcelle and I shared. I look forward to a great shared experience with everyone who joins the workshop and I hope the success of this workshop allows it to be replicated in other places by other people.”
Barry Crossno
The North American Quaker Outreach conference seeks to create a gathering where the call to outreach work, which is sweeping through many Quaker meetings, can be affirmed and nurtured. More information will be posted soon on a dedicated conference website. Barry is also in the process of forming a planning committee and seeks volunteers to help create a successful event.
If you have questions about the Quaker Spiritual Practices workshop, please send Barry an e-mail at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . You can also register here.
If you have questions about the North American Quaker Outreach Conference, please contact him at the above e-mail.