State of the Meeting Report - 2005

Also building-related, we were astonished when the house next to our meeting-house suddenly came up for auction. Of course, there was the possibility of our bidding on it. And, of course, Quakerism is not well suited to quick action. However, we refused to be rushed, and when the time came to consider this decision, we were gratified to find that a thoughtful process yielded a thoughtful result. We decided to let the purchase possibility go, but we also decided to embark on a visioning process, letting considerations of space be the focus but not a limitation. This process is continuing, generating quiet but tangible excitement.

The year has been full of events and milestones. At the end of last year’s report we were anticipating the marriage of Donnie Morehouse and Kevin Chafin. It took place in July in a festive and joyous ceremony, with the house packed with just the right number of friends/Friends.

We have celebrated the return from Wales of Joel Hembree, a member who was extremely ill and, while he is not yet able to attend meeting due to immunity issues, we enjoy frequent telephone conversations with him. Now we have a new joy in the birth of Joseph Gary Pearson on May 27, 2005. Joe’s birth brings to seven the number of children active in our meeting.

At a time when we are still tender from Reva Griffith’s death, we were saddened again by the passing of Vera Elleson, once clerk of Penn Valley Meeting and a woman who has blessed the world by her presence in many ways.

It has become clear to many of us that gathering together in different times, places and configurations strengthens our sense of community. We have maintained such regular programs as a monthly Quaker Education program for adults, Bible study and Spiritual Formation. Last September a Meeting for Picnic with Attention to Frolic was popular enough to have called for a repeat, coming up in June.

In January we celebrated a fresh snowfall with a weekend retreat led by Deborah Fisch. 25 adults and six children participated, and this too contributed to the ongoing sense of purpose that had just been renewed by the falling tree.

Our joy in the meeting’s children led us to include them in the beginning of appropriate programs. One First Day, for example, before Rachel MacNair shared her new book for children, Winning With Non-Violent Action, with the adults, she started by telling some of the stories to the children. They were typically squirmy until she started showing the pictures, at which point she had a rapt audience indeed. We will also use this time to let them share their reports, i.e. the creations that came out of their time upstairs.

The meeting made it possible for Karin McAdams to attend Arthur Larrabee’s clerking workshop at Pendle Hill this spring, bringing the number of Larrabee graduates in our meeting to three. We hope to conduct our own clerking workshop this summer.

Working on issues and ideas together is always challenging, because we know we are not always of one mind. But there seems to be high interest in trusting the process to bring us to the unexpected resolutions that can come of opening ourselves to Spirit, and we have great hope for the coming year.

-Karin McAdams, Clerk