SUMMER 2010Karen Barlow
Seaville MM
photos by Suzanne Forrest
We arrive each Sunday with multitudes of options. Will we sit on the sand, a beach chair, or perhaps a blanket? Shall we form a circle, face the sea, or protect ourselves from the sunshine?
Settling in, many of us are unable to pull our eyes from the sea. At this time of day, there is a good chance of spotting a dolphin. And the waves are so beautiful. It can be a real challenge to remove your focus from the surfers. Returning to our meditations, we notice some folks with chairs walking in our general direction. It is usually easy to pick out a Quaker in a crowd. We try to make a motion to them, without being too disruptive to those already gathered.
After all, this is beach meeting. By definition, it is more casual. But there is no building, and some folks have a harder time finding us. The comings and goings at beach meeting tend to be more relaxed. Our homemade sign states that all are welcome. This can have effects varying from the curious stares of joggers passing by to strangers dropping in without any prior knowledge of the Religious Society of Friends.
Cape May’s beach meeting began in the early 1960s as an offshoot of Friends General Conference, and has been sustained by members of Seaville Meeting since that time. The Ocean City beach meeting began more recently, launched in part because of the difficulty of resortdwelling friends to travel to the mainland meetinghouse in the hightraffic summer months. It was also a chance to take advantage of the beautiful weather and spend some time outside.
Beach meeting has a tendency to draw Quakers who are on vacation in the area. We come from as close as one block away on our bicycles to distances as far as Great Britain. Most come from somewhere in between.
The beauty of beach meeting is that we are really in God’s church. We are reminded of the seasons, the tides, and our natural rhythms. Sometimes it is cool, sometimes it is hot and muggy, and sometimes it is simply perfect. In some ways it is much easier to connect with our spirit. Noticing the minute grains of sand surrounding each of us helps to gain perspective. Of course, it can also be harder to ignore the Frisbee game that just picked up a few feet away. And look, that little boy just caught his first fish! Okay, back to the prayer.
Speaking at beach meeting is different than within a typical indoor meeting. It takes a lot more to project out of doors, next to the churning of the ocean. Frequently, only your immediate neighbors will hear all of your words. But most everyone present gets the message. At times, we have had turtles walk out of the sea and directly into the center of our gathered group. I consider that a message better than most!
As the summer winds down, those of us that have attended Beach Meeting most of the summer are missing the larger community back in Seaville. While we have loved the nature and beauty of meeting outside, we are looking forward to our return to our beautiful community of Friends, especially because we know we will do it all again next year.
To find the meetings:
Ocean City Beach Meeting
59th Street Jetty (south end of the city, adjacent to Corson Inlet State Park)
9:00 am July 4–September 5, 2010
Contacts: Karen and Bill Barlow – jaabarlow at yahoo.comCape May Beach Meeting
Grant Street Beach (by the lifeguard station)
9:00 am Memorial Day–Labor Day
Contact: Liz Shay – lizabethshay at yahoo.comRETURN TO TABLE OF CONTENTS
Last modified:
Thursday, May 27, 2010 at 01:47 AM
