SPRING 201011 Twelfth Month 2009
Salem Quarter Worship & Ministry Committee met on 11 December 2009, at the home of Becky and Michael Shapiro of Salem Monthly Meeting, convening in worship at about 7:30 pm. Individuals were present from Mickleton, Mullica Hill, Salem, and Woodbury Monthly Meetings, as well as the quarter coordinator.
Reviewing the Faith & Play/Trunkaween Workshop. We received a report from Marsha Gaspar of Woodbury Meeting about the 31 October workshop, which combined an introduction to Faith & Play (a format for Quaker religious education, adapted from Godly Play®) and a Halloween- themed program of crafts and treats for children. Marsha and Joe Tingle of Woodbury Meeting organized and promoted the workshop and conducted the children’s program, while Michael Gibson of Mullica Hill Meeting, an experienced Faith & Play trainer, working with Sandra Boone of Mickleton Meeting and Melinda Wenner Bradley of West Chester Monthly Meeting, presented the Faith & Play program.
Twenty adults and four children participated from throughout Salem Quarter, a turnout that might not be impressive in these days of megachurches, but is quite sizable in Salem Quarter experience. More to the point, the participants enjoyed and learned, and at least one Friend from Salem Monthly Meeting intends to pursue Faith & Play for her meeting, having contacted Michael for further training.
In discussion of the report, we identified several factors that may have contributed to the success of the program, including:
- Careful and thorough planning
- Energetic publicity
- A specific, interesting focus
- Programming for children as well as adults
- Presentation by well-regarded Friends known throughout Salem Quarter
We also noted that only a few people registered in advance. This created some anxiety for the organizers, but at least they were able to proceed with $150 from Salem Quarter for supplies that turned out to be quite sufficient for group that turned out.
However, for future events, given the likelihood that the quarter will be less able to underwrite supplies and we’ll need to ask a nominal registration fee, we will need to ask Friends to be more forthcoming about advance registration.
Planning a meditation retreat. We do have another program in the works: Salem Quarter Steering Committee has referred to Worship & Ministry the idea of holding a one-day Meditation Retreat. While we have in the past held both guided and unguided sessions for exploring various aspects of worship, we have not done so recently.
Nora Iwanaga of Woodbury Meeting and Michael Gibson of Mullica Hill Meeting have conducted such sessions and would be glad to do so for the quarter, likely combining various forms of structured mediation, involving walking and artistic expression, as well as more sedentary disciplines.
In our committee meeting, we discussed how the retreat may be developed, particularly how we might apply some of the lessons learned from the Faith & Play workshop. Pending confirmation from Mullica Hill Meeting, we would like to once again use their facilities, intending to hold the retreat on Saturday, 17 April. Nora and Michael will develop plans for the event, which we hope to present in more detail in the March issue of Salem Quarter News.
Gifts Working Group report. Sondra Ball of Mickleton Meeting reported on recent developments in the Gifts Working Group. While still active, the group’s membership has dwindled over time, so it will be seeking new members and essentially rebooting itself. It met the initial intent of offering and conducting basic gifts training for meetings in the quarter and elsewhere; however, there is more to the recognition and stewardship of gifts to explore. For instance, in discussion of the report, we realized that attention to our children’s gifts is fertile ground for development.
We had planned also to discuss intervisitation among our monthly meetings; however, discussion of the two events took up our allotted time, so we deferred intervisitation to our next gathering and concluded in worship at about 9:15. Worship & Ministry intends to meet again on 12 March 2010, 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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