Freda's Story

Freda Returns Home

2010-04-26T08:02:00.000-07:00

Freda has returned to Port Townsend for a homecoming. It warms my heart to see her again. Clint and Caroline were wonderful to escort her safely home from Quarterly Meeting. This photo shows Caroline (on the right) and me (Phoebe) carrying Freda up onto my porch. Freda is looking great for all the traveling she has been doing. I will clean her up a bit, fix up her carrying straps, and listen to her stories. I truly hope to hear more about the places she has been and events she has attended. It is good to have her back home, and see what she will be up to next.

My time in Sandpoint, Idaho

2008-04-24T13:35:00.000-07:00

April 23, 2008 Freda's Blog

Here I am in Sandpoint, Idaho, just a few days before I will be heading back to Spring Quarterly this weekend. I have had a rather restful time here. I have not been outside since last October, when I made an appearance at the final Farmers Market, "Harvest-Fest''. The children loved me there.

But I am getting ahead of myself; let me tell you about my experiences over the last 6 months!

Coming to Sandpoint last Fall after Quarterly was very pleasant. Our drive East was on a lovely day, and we stopped a number of times to rest and view the scenery. I saw a lot of people stop and look at me as I sat in the back seat. When we arrived at the Sandpoint Friends Meeting House, I was carried inside and set on a low table covered with a lovely fabric, just inside the door so I could greet people as they came in.

A few days later, my hosts held a '' Welcome, Freda!" reception for me, so I got to meet some folks here. That Sunday, I was placed in the middle of the circle so I could be a part of Worship. Early in October, I was taken to the Farmer's Market that I mentioned before.

It has been fun to see the different groups that have come into the Meeting House for gatherings. So many people have come up to me to '' pet'' my feathers, to read my ''Peace'' messages, and to look through my notebook. Some of the children drew pictures for me, after they talked about me in First Day School. One member, who is totally blind, created a ''new feather'' for me in Braille that of course, said ''Peace''. Braille is a ''language'' you know.

On Christmas Eve, again I was placed in the middle of the circle for our Candlelight Worship Service. The pretty silver and gold garlands around my neck sparkled as they reflected the light of all the candles around me. Once again, the message of PEACE ON EARTH was spoken in Silence and in Words, and then they sang.

Then, the snow started! It snowed, and snowed, and snowed all winter. There was so much snow everywhere. I heard my hosts talking about record amounts of snow this year! I am so glad I didn't have to go out in the cold. Carrying me would also have been difficult, so it was decided to keep me safe inside. A few weeks ago, there was another fun event here in the Meeting House when folk-singer Tom Rawson came to visit us for a benefit concert. He was surprised to see me there and said ''Hi!" to me as he petted my feathers!

So now, I am getting ready to head back to Quarterly for my next visit to another Meeting. Where will I go next?

Photos of me at Eastside Friends Meeting

2007-11-12T17:39:00.000-08:00

I had a grand time at Eastside Friends Meeting in Bellevue, Washington.
I am very appreciative of the kind care they gave me. I am so full in my heart to know I was able to help them in their efforts spreading the message of peace.

This is me at the
Eastside Friends
Meeting House.

I attend the
International
Day of Peace
Vigil at
Bellevue
Community
College
on Sept. 21.

The Meeting co-sponsors this event with the Student Programs
office of Bellevue Community College.

Another photo
of me at this
wonderful event,
by the table for
the World Peace
Prayer Ceremony

World Peace
Prayer
Ceremony
at the
International
Day of Peace
Vigil

I was also honored to visit the PreK class at the Phinney Neighborhood Center in Seattle. Now I am at Sandpoint Friends Meeting in northern Idaho. I hope to update you soon of my activities there.

Peace to you all,
love, Freda

Freda at Eastside Friends Meeting

2007-07-14T12:02:00.000-07:00

Blog
Freda, the Peace Dove, came to Eastside Friends Meeting in June. Freda sits by the window where she can watch the birds and butterflies flitting through the forest with one eye and the people gathered for worship with the other. It is a treasure to see the look of delighted surprise on the childrens faces as they enter the Meetingroom and see Freda for the first time. On June 22 and 23, she was a quiet and peaceful presence at a two day Compassionate Listening Workshop lead by founder, Leah Green. During the third week of July she will travel to Reed College in Portland to attend the Annual Session of North Pacific Yearly Meeting. Freda is looking forward to reconnecting with old Friends and meeting some new Friends at NPYM. Between Yearly Meeting and September 21, Freda is available to visit other Friends Meetings in the greater Seattle area. She hopes she will receive some invitations! On September 21, Freda will be the centerpiece at our Fifth Annual International Day of Peace Vigil held at Bellevue Community College. She will be surrounded by flags from every country as we pray for peace in each nation. Then she will return to Pacific Northwest Quarterly Meeting near Ellensburg ready for her next adventure.

Friend Freda Flies the Coop!

2007-05-20T09:55:00.000-07:00

May 10, 2007
(from our May, 07 PTFM Newsletter)

Port Townsend Friends who attended our Pacific Northwest Quarterly Meeting last month were delighted with the warm reception Freda, our Peace Dove, received. As in past gatherings, she sat just outside the dinning hall greeting all who came to meals or Meetings for Worship.

But Saturday afternoon’s Meeting for Business, where we offered her to visit other Meetings in the Quarter, was the highlight for all of us. Friend Clint read her lighthearted letter of introduction from our clerk, Hazel Johnson, to some sixty gathered Friends…to the sounds of chuckles and outright laughter throughout. (Reprinted in May's newsletter.)

Immediately, Nora Percival, PNQM Children’s Program Coordinator (and Seattle Friend) volunteered to transport her back to Puget Sound, assuring us she had plenty of room to “take Freda under my wing” since all of the kiddy snacks she’d hauled out to Quarterly would be long gone. Then, there was Judith Clark, of Sandpoint Friends Mtg., who quickly put in a bid for her…saying that they’d love to have her in Idaho after the Fall Quarterly.

Ultimately, though, it was Don Goldstein who took her home to his place in the Methow Valley. Don is an isolated Friend who will be participating in the five-mile “Mother’s Day Walk for Peace” from Oroville, WA to the Canadian border. There, Freda will be among such noted peace activists as Cindy Sheehan, mother of a son lost in the Iraq war, and the Olympia, WA parents of Rachel Cory, the young peace activist killed by military bulldozers in the Palestinian territories.

From this peace march, Freda travels back to the coast with Don to Seattle area and Eastside Friends Meeting. Their clerk, Elaine Webster, tells us that her Meeting is full of ideas of how to include her in their many community activities…including a late June Compassionate Listing Project for Peacemakers and an Autumnal Equinox festival they host yearly.

All in all, it was a grand send off for Freda’s new adventures. In the words of Don Goldstein, “Freda has laid a egg!” Well…maybe a golden egg?

Here's looking forward to future postings about our Friend Freda's adventures!
--Beth Cahape, PT Friends Mtg. Newsletter Ed.

I head out to Quarterly Meeting

2007-04-24T13:26:00.000-07:00

So far I have had a grand time in Port Townsend since 2005 when I was born. I have been to the library, Friends Meeting, Unitarian Fellowship, Earth Day Festival 3 times, Sequim Friends Meeting, Mary Welch's garden, Quarterly Meeting, Yearly Meeting, and have spent a lovely time on Phoebe's porch greeting folks passing by. Many people have pet my feathers and read my words of peace. As you can see from the photo children love to climb on me.
I agree with the Meeting that I am ready to fly on to visit other meetings to bring my message of multi-lingual peace.
This week-end I will travel to Pacific Northwest Quarterly Meeting and on to another meeting that would like me to visit. I am quite excited. I wonder with whom I will go home! What venues will they take me to? Yes, yes, most exciting! I will keep you posted here of my travels and experiences!