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Chris Ravndal and Sally Palmer to Retire
Pendle Hill teachers Chris Ravndal and Sally Palmer both plan to retire on September 1, 2006. Each has taught in Pendle Hill's Resident Program for more than a decade, Sally in arts and crafts and Chris in Bible and prayer. Both are well known and beloved for their care and support for students and their passion for Quaker community.

Chris and Janeal Ravndal plan to retire to Yellow Springs, Ohio, where they will join the Friends Care Community of Yellow Springs and settle into their independent living accommodations. Chris notes that the Friends Care Community was started by the Friends Meeting in Yellow Springs and "has the feel of a Friends community."

Spring term 2006 - the last term Chris will be living and teaching at Pendle Hill – his course is on the Letters of Paul. Chris says that in his recent years of teaching the Gospel of John and the Letters of Paul, "I have particularly enjoyed offering my own translations of passages covered in class. These translations have made readings in John and Paul more accessible to Pendle Hill students, many of whom were previously turned off by Christian scriptures."

Chris plans to be back at Pendle Hill January 29-February 2, 2007, to teach a short course, "Prayer: No Strings Attached." Chris tells us this is "a shortened version of my termlong course on Prayer." It has also been "fully subscribed and much appreciated for over ten years at the Friends General Conference Summer Gathering under the title, 'Approaching the Light Experientially.'" The Pendle Hill community is very pleased that Chris will return for this course.

Sally Palmer is still developing her retirement plans. Her course this spring is "Simple Gifts: Expressing and Celebrating Our Creativity." This course uses clay, paper, paints and beautiful materials from nature to create simple gifts; it has been a favorite with Pendle Hill students for years.

Meanwhile Pendle Hill is well along in search processes for new core teachers. Interim Director Ken Jacobsen and Dean Niyonu Spann expect to announce decisions soon.