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SUMMER
2000 
Gloria Horvay
Clerk, Salem Quarterly MeetingDear Friends,
If you have never experienced the Alloway Creek Meetinghouse, I urge you to attend Quarterly Meeting June 11. Those of you who have worshipped there likely need no further encouragement because of the unique spiritual experience you had there. This property has been under the care of Salem Quarter since 1951, five years before its 200th anniversary. It remains much the same as it was in the mid-eighteenth century.
Apart from stepping back in time to experience worship in an early Quaker meetinghouse, there is another reason to attend this Quarterly Meeting. Questions are being raised about what the Quarter should do with this property. Many suggestions have surfaced, the extremes being to sell it or to convert it into a day conference center. There are those who feel it should stay exactly as it is and those who would like modest improvements.
Your experience and informed opinion is needed. Mark June 11 on your calendar. While you are in Lower Alloways Creek Township, you can check out the family of bald eagles at Stow Creek that our Governor, Christie Whitman, personally visited in April. The state Department of Environmental Protection built an observation platform, which provides a safe area for viewing.
Outreach has been a topic dear to my heart since we have been at Mickleton Meeting. At first I was caught up in the charm of Quaker history, partly because of the First Day School curriculum, which used the Rachel and Obadiah books. I even put together an outfit that resembles historic Quaker dress, and enjoyed wearing it for outreach occasions. Then I came to realize that new attenders are living in the present and need to know what Quakerism is today.
Recently we were in Atlanta and worshipped at the Friends Meeting there. It was necessary for us to stop twice to ask directions to the meeting house, and I was amazed that both people we asked knew of the Quakers and their location. I found this quite impressive, especially when I considered that many people in Mickleton think our meetinghouse is just some historic building. When I commented to Atlanta Friends that both people we asked for directions knew of them, they attributed it to their new building. Nine years ago they built a modern building on a major street in a predominant suburb near public transportation. Since then, their attendance has doubled. Many of the new people live within walking distance.
I love our old meetinghouses in the northeast, but worship is just as powerful in modern buildings. We have to get past the image of all Quakers being dead.
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Last modified:
Wednesday, February 18, 2004 at 08:19 AM
