FALL 2006Phil Anthony
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ver the Fourth of July I spent a week at the home of friends near Wyalusing, Pa. The occasion was their annual family celebration, together with the meeting of the trustees who own the old Presbyterian manse where Margaret and Larry, Max and Rosie live.
The family trust was formed to preserve the 19th-century manse and surrounding property. At the gathering, however, it became clear that the house and grounds were the vehicle for something greater: preserving the family itself.
SEPTEMBER QUARTERLY MEETING
Greenwich Monthly Meeting
Sunday, 10 September 20062:30 pm Gather 3:00 pm Meeting for Business 5:00 pm Brown-bag dinner: desserts provided by Mickleton and Mullica Hill MMs 6:00 pm Program: Judy Scott speaks on the spiritual importance of wildlife preservation in her life 7:00 pm Candlelight worship Child care provided I was welcomed into the group of thirty-two family members and two other long-time friends as they examined, intentionally and deliberately, just what they were trying to maintain. In the trustees' official meeting, four phrases were lifted up to describe what the group treasures about the family they belong to:
- Hospitality
- Goodwill
- Sanctuary and refuge
- Mutual accountability
'm still wrestling with those four phrases. As I write this, a month later, I'm still discovering new depths and implications to them. I suspect it will be years before I'm able to say I really understand them — if in fact I ever do. It's well worth the work, I think, to examine them.
While they were developed to help the descendants of Milton Lewis Cook and Mary Delphine Thomas Cook understand their family, I'm very aware that each phrase is a religious term with a long history. They could just as easily be applied to our monthly meetings.
Do we welcome one another, as well as outsiders, with concern for the other's wellbeing? Are we free of malice, or attempts to take personal advantage, or hidden agenda? Do we work deliberately to make the meeting a home where we can find healing for our own wounds and empower others to return to the world refreshed? Are we willing for the community to hold each of us to a high standard of integrity and lovingkindness? There are worse guidelines by far for a religious society who call ourselves Friends.
he last time I visited with Woodbury's Bob and Judy Scott, Judy was caring for 25 ducklings rescued at the Woodford Cedar Run Wildlife Refuge. The number of birds who needed help had grown this year beyond Cedar Run's capacity to care for them. So Judy, who is clerk of Woodbury MM, took them into her home. When I saw them, 15 were quacking around a pen in the Scotts' solarium, while the other 10 splashed in the Scott bathtub. Since they were released, I've carefully refrained from making jokes about the empty nest syndrome…
Judy will tell us about a lifetime's devotion to wildlife preservation at Quarterly Meeting at Greenwich MM this fall. It's appropriate that she address us in such a beautiful green setting. We'll gather on Sunday, 10 September — see the sidebar for details, and join us for her presentation. The linked map will provide directions to Greenwich's Orthodox meetinghouse.
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