SPRING 200912 Twelfth-month 2008
Salem Quarter Worship & Ministry Committee met on 12 December 2008, at Mickleton Monthly Meeting, convening in worship at about 7:30 pm. Individuals were present from Mickleton and Mullica Hill Monthly Meetings, as well as the quarter coordinator.
Competing events drew away several of our usual attenders, but we were graced with a new participant who helped round out our perspective as we took stock of how this committee and its clerk have fared over the past six years.
The committee has long been a relatively small and quiet function of the quarter, providing more of a seasoning and eldering function than generating activities. And yet, activity is also part of ministry. In previous years, Worship & Ministry was responsible for an annual weekend retreat at Burlington Meetinghouse; more recently, we’ve focused on occasional called events such as workshops and gatherings for extended worship.
In our regular quarterly sessions, Worship & Ministry has moved from a pattern of checking in on recent developments in monthly meetings and then holding open worship, to worship sharing on a topic. Sometimes we delve into an issue facing the quarter (or one of our monthly meetings, or Philadelphia Yearly Meeting); sometimes, discernment in the moment takes us in an unanticipated direction. Either way, we do often find a good balance between the wisdom of our members and obedience to the promptings of the Spirit.
However, we are concerned that only a few of our Monthly Meetings are represented with regularity, and that wider participation by more Salem Quarter Friends would greatly benefit them and us. So we are bringing to the quarter an assurance, a question, an invitation, and a commitment:
- The assurance: Our new attender at this session admitted being hesitant to participate because of feeling “green” to these matters. Please, Friends, do not let inexperience or other selfperceived limitations be a barrier. Certainly there are opportunities for learning and fresh perspectives, but more to the point, God speaks through gathered community, and the focus of that voice is not always with the grayhairs. Every meeting can recount examples of fresh insight or deep grounding coming from new voices.
- The question: Our usual practice is to meet not at a meetinghouse but at a private home. We have long enjoyed the hospitality of Gloria & Bob Horvay, and before that, Peggy & Jack Warner. However, we suspect that this choice may make attendance difficult for Friends more distant from Mullica Hill or uncertain of finding a private address. So, we ask the quarter and monthly meetings for their advice on a question we plan to consider in our March meeting: Should we hold our Friday evening meetings at the meetinghouse (or a local host home) where quarterly meeting will be held?
- The invitation: We had originally intended this evening to consider three queries for worship sharing that were very fruitful at the most recent Meeting on Worship and Ministry of PYM. However, we realized that the queries could serve us and our monthly and quarterly meetings better as the foundation for an afternoon retreat. And it just happens that January has a fifth Saturday, which stands a chance of not being heavily committed with other events. So we invite any and all to an afternoon retreat, 1:00-4:00 pm on Saturday, 31 January 2009, at Mullica Hill Meetinghouse, to see what these questions may open for us and our meetings:
- What are some of the joys and challenges in my Meeting and/ or Worship & Ministry Committee at this time?
- Where is the “green” or the vitality in my meeting right now?
- What gifts and new ideas might my meeting and Worship & Ministry Committee have to offer other monthly meetings and the wider body of Friends?
- The commitment: A barrier that often inhibits Friends with children is concern about childcare. Let that not be a concern. We will take steps to proactively arrange for childcare; no need for advance notice.
We concluded in worship at about 10:30. Worship and Ministry intends to meet again on 7 March 2009, 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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