WINTER 2003September 13, 2003
alem Quarter Worship & Ministry Committee met on September 13, 2003, at the home of Gloria and Bob Horvay, convening in worship at 7:30 pm. Individuals were present from Mickleton, Mullica Hill, Salem, Woodbury and Woodstown Monthly Meetings, as well as the Quarter Coordinator and a Friend from Abington Monthly Meeting who is attending Mickleton.
Actions arising from the Salem Quarter Retreat: We had planned to further develop the queries on simplicity that had been drafted during this summer’s Quarterly Retreat; however, the clerk has misplaced the draft queries. He hopes to retrieve them for use in our December meeting. At that time, we will also evaluate the retreat and consider next year.
Extended meeting for worship: The Coordinator laid before us an idea that came out of discussion with a member of Mullica Hill Meeting, that we create an opportunity for Friends to come together for open-ended worship of considerable length. This was inspired in part by the Meetings for Ministry, Worship & Eldering, conducted by Marcelle Martin and others. Marcelle has recently published a Pendle Hill pamphlet on this experience (Invitation to a Deep Communion, pamphlet #366).
The session would start with doughnuts and coffee at 9:00 am. At midday, we would break for brown-bag lunch, and then resume worship into the afternoon. This would be corporate worship, not a collective silent individual retreat; however, Friends would be at liberty to take breaks and seek solitude as they need it.
After consideration, we resolved to recommend to Quarterly Meeting that an extended meeting for worship be scheduled for a Saturday next spring. We understand that the clerk of Seaville Meeting is willing to ask whether her meeting would host it; if so, we recommend scheduling a date at their convenience. Registration would not be required; however, it would be helpful to let the Coordinator know if you plan to attend, to help us in arranging carpools and buying sufficient doughnuts.
Spiritual gifts program: Friends may recall that Salem Quarter had the benefit several years ago of a multi-session workshop on spiritual gifts, led by Thomas Swain. There is interest in reviving this exploration of the individual and corporate appreciation and stewardship of gifts. Phil Anthony has been in discussion with Tom, and also with Margery Mears Larrabee and Moon Beiferman-Haines. This is as yet young in development; we encouraged Phil and Moon to continue, offering support when they are ready for it.
Request for a clearness committee: A small group that includes a Salem Quarter Friend has come under the weight of a concern that they wish to present to PYM Standing Committee for Worship and Care. Right order and the procedures of the Standing Committee both call for a clearness committee. After consideration, we resolved to ask Quarterly Meeting to authorize Worship & Ministry to assemble and conduct this clearness committee on behalf of the Quarter. As appropriate, we would report results back to the Quarter and the Steering Committee. The clerk of Worship & Ministry would take responsibility for assembling and convening the committee, in consultation with the Quarter clerk, Nominating Committee and Steering Committee as needed.
Spiritual Formation session starting soon: Spiritual Formation is an organized sequence of group/individual study and exploration, originally organized in PYM by Wade Wright and now under the stewardship of Gene Hillman. The 2003-2004 season is about to begin, with a registration deadline of September 15th (some flexibility is hoped for). Moon has already enrolled and encourages other Salem Quarter Friends to enroll. This is valuable because the program involves biweekly small group discussions; not only would it be convenient to have a local discussion group, but also the fruits of those discussions could take root simultaneously in our monthly meetings. For more information, talk to Moon or the coordinator, or visit the Spiritual Formation section of the PYM web site (http://www.pym.org/worship-and-care/s-f-program.htm).
We concluded in worship at about 10:15. Worship and Ministry intends to meet again on December 12, 2003, the Friday evening before Quarterly Meeting, and we welcome participation from all monthly meetings of Salem Quarter.
For the Committee,
Mario Cavallini, ClerkRETURN TO TABLE OF CONTENTS
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Thursday, March 11, 2004 at 09:44 PM
