WINTER 2005Phil Anthony
(856) 769-0066 (voice)
(856) 769-1416 (fax)
salemqtr@verizon.net
o the glory of Almighty God and in thankful remembrance of their work and witness, this plaque commemorates 300 years of Quaker influence in the greater Woodbury area. Some three centuries of worship in our midst helped form this community and the County of Gloucester, where good people dwell together in brotherhood and peace. This plaque records for generations still to come, the proud history of the Quakers and their relationship to the founding fathers and mothers of the city of Woodbury, New Jersey."
DECEMBER QUARTERLY MEETING
Salem Monthly Meeting
Sunday, 11 December 20058:30 am Gather 9:00 am Program: The Steering Committee – Who, What, When, Where, and Why? 10:00 am Friends School Fine & Performing Arts Program 11:00 am Worship 11:30 am Lunch: bread, soup, beverage, dessert provided by Salem MM 12:30 pm Meeting for Business Child care provided The plaque on which these words appear is attached to the Woodbury meetinghouse. The brass caught my eye as I visited the meetinghouse one Tuesday morning in late September; the words caught my heart. They had been placed there by the city of Woodbury during its tricentennial year, with a dedication ceremony on Sunday, 17 October 1982.
It struck me that the words spoke to what Friends are most noted for among non-Quakers: brotherhood and peace. This has been our historic witness for almost 375 years, 325 of them in South Jersey.
History is only that if it doesn't inform our lives today. I had a sense of the sweep of history when I read that plaque, and copied down its message in a notebook I always carry. What thee and I, Friend, represent to the world is what our forebears in faith have represented over those centuries.
Meditating on the plaque, it occurred to me to wonder: Am I true to the message that earlier generations took from the Quakers among them? Three hundred years from now – when my name is long forgotten – will the citizens of Woodbury, or Salem, or Seaville, or Greenwich remember that we too stood for brotherhood and peace among them?
Our Quaker predecessors have left us not only a heritage to be proud of, but also a responsibility to live as faithful stewards of what they preserved to hand down to us.
One step in this direction, I hope, will come out of the workshops being offered by the Gifts Working Group of Salem Quarter. Two of our meetings, Mullica Hill MM and Woodbury MM, are hosting workshops on gifts this fall. Woodbury's, in fact, will culminate in its annual retreat early next year. Mickleton MM expects to have a similar workshop, tailored to its needs, in the spring.
Seaville MM dedicated its peace center this fall, with PYM's Joan Broadfield speaking from her long experience of peace work. There were 48 guests at Greenwich MM's annual lasagna dinner, a benefit for St. Theresa's hospice and shelter in Bridgeton. At Woodstown MM, the peace vigils – every third Friday at the corner of East and Main Streets – have continued our Quaker witness.
And Salem MM offers its hospitality and brotherhood to all of Salem Quarter at our quarterly meeting on Sunday, 11 December. This time our program will focus on our internal governance – the role the Steering Committee plays in keeping this a vibrant, energetic quarter.
The conversation begins with the article by our clerk, Sondra Ball, that appears on page 6 of this issue of Salem Quarter News. The full schedule, as usual, will be found on the back cover. Once again, Bob Horvay of Mickleton MM will be bringing materials from QuakerBooks of Friends General Conference for sale at quarterly meeting (see pages 2 and 9).
Please join us for a day of worship and consideration of our condition as 21st century Friends.
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