Our Bellingham Friends electronic newsletter (e-News) is published each Wednesday with information about our upcoming Sunday worship, announcements, news, and occasional poetry, opinions, images, and other content of interest to local Friends and our wider Bellingham/Whatcom/Skagit community.
To sign-up to receive the e-News, send your name, email address and phone number to:You will receive the e-News starting the following Wednesday.
A brief history of our e-News is at the end of this page. Much news and information about our Meeting, our wider community and Quakers in general may be found in recent and past editions. Links to previous years of e-News can be found here: 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015.
Here are links to this year’s editions of the e-News:
June 19, 2024 (Juneteenth)
Metamorphosis (a little history of our minutes)
In 1995, Bellingham Worship Group, under the care of University Friends Meeting, decided to become a preparatory Meeting. A newsletter was started and appropriately named “Metamorphosis”. When we became a Monthly Meeting in 1997, we tried to find another name, but “Metamorphosis” stayed the favorite. Betty McMahon was the editor for many years, expanding interest and readership.
Until mid-2011, the draft minutes to the Monthly Meeting were included as part of Metamorphosis, and because the minutes often included information considered more private (names with home addresses, phone numbers and personal details), the newsletter was available only to those who registered with this site. As of Sunday, April 11, 2011 the Meeting decided to separate the newsletter from the Meeting minutes and to make the newsletter available publicly. This went into effect starting in October 2011 and the minutes stopped being posted to the website. On June 14, 2015, the Meeting approved posting the minutes to the restricted side of the site. Click here to read recent minutes. (You will need access to view minutes and other restricted information. See above for information on logging in.)
Starting in 2015, Judy Hopkinson began to publish our e-Newsletter using an online mail program. While initially just a place for brief announcements, it grew in content and readership. Metamorphosis was sent by email and posted to our website, but with readership seeming to decline, it became a bimonthly publication in May of 2016, and Betty published the last issue in July of 2016. In September, Betty stepped down as editor, and in November of 2016, the Meeting laid down Metamorphosis. All available versions will remain on the website (see below).
2016
2015
2014
2013
2012
2011 (October – December)
Note: To see newsletters before October 2011, having an account and logging in is required.
2011 (January – September)
2010
2009
Meeting Minutes and Reports: We would love to have recent and past minutes to our Monthly Meeting easily available to Friends and visitors, but we have been challenged to keep the information up to date. If anyone has the time and inclination, please see the website manager at the email or phone number below. (You must be logged in to view as the minutes sometimes have contained personal information not intended for public viewing. If you are not yet registered, or for problems logging in, please send an email to registration@bellinghamfriends.org, or call John Hatten at 360-671-7012.) Earlier attempts to post minutes can be found here.