FALL 2006June 9, 2005
alem Quarter Worship & Ministry Committee met on June 9th, at the home of Bob and Gloria Horvay, convening in worship at 7:30 pm. Friends were present from Mickleton, Mullica Hill, Salem, and Woodbury Monthly Meetings; the Quarter Coordinator was unable to attend, due to his son's high-school graduation ceremony.
Also joining us this evening was the Meeting on Worship and Ministry of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, which is visiting with Worship & Ministry Committees of monthly and quarterly meetings throughout the PYM region.
Lois Dinshah shared portions of a newsletter describing the work of a loose affiliation of people concerned for the spiritual health of the global community, the New Group of World Servers.
Sondra Ball, speaking as clerk of Salem Quarter's Gifts Working Group, delivered a report on the group's progress. After a period of exploration about the identification and nurturance of spiritual gifts-during which the group developed a bibliography of books, songs, movies and other resources on the topic-the Gifts Group has conducted multi-session workshops for Mullica Hill and Woodbury Monthly Meetings, with another planned for Mickleton this autumn.
The group has also consulted with Friends under a concern for gift nurturance in other parts of PYM. The Gifts Group has plans for further work, and is eager to provide workshops to other monthly meetings that may desire them; however, the group also felt that it should "check in" and confirm that the Quarter wishes them to continue their work. We entered a period of worship sharing and discussion in which we heard messages about the nature of spiritual gifts and the benefits of the gifts classes experienced by Mullica Hill and Woodbury monthly meetings. Our committee decided to report to Quarterly Meeting our sense that the Gifts Working Group should be encouraged to continue its work.
We also received a message from PYM's Meeting on Worship and Ministry, calling to Friends in general and members of Worship and Ministry Committees in particular to attend and otherwise support the forthcoming Residential Yearly Meeting, July 25-30. This message has been distributed by PYM as part of the clerks' mailing.
Dana Kester-McCabe, clerk of PYM's Meeting on Worship and Ministry, then invited us to consider their visitation query: "What are the meetings doing to nurture the spiritual direction of the Religious Society of Friends at the monthly meeting level, the quarterly meeting level, and in society at large?" We had a rich discussion that touched on such matters as the gifts programs, community service projects, our care and support of members, efforts to strengthen our monthly meetings, and our connections with the wider community through Friends Village and Friends School.
Dana observed that Friends turn naturally to their monthly meeting as their home faith community, which can sometimes be frustrating to those who work for us at Yearly Meeting, particularly those who get immersed in their specific responsibilities. Dana encouraged us to nurture the labors and laborers of Yearly Meeting.
The Meeting on Worship and Ministry is eager to visit with Committees of Worship and Ministry of monthly and quarterly meetings. If you are interested in such a visit, please contact Dana or Mario Cavallini, who is a member of the group.
We concluded shortly after 9:00 pm. Salem Quarter's Worship and Ministry Committee intends to meet again at the Horvay residence on September 8, the Friday evening before Quarterly Meeting, and we welcome participation from all monthly meetings of Salem Quarter. It is likely that our attention will be directed to whatever matters may arise from Residential Yearly Meeting.
For the Committee,
Mario Cavallini, clerkRETURN TO TABLE OF CONTENTS
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Sunday, August 20, 2006 at 12:20 AM
