Spiritual State of the Meeting
March 2019
Let us please, Patuxent Friends, continue to take steps to speak Truth in our world, to sharein discussions on issues, be active, become part of civil discourse, while holding all People in the Light. Please Reach out to each other in our Friends group, to give and gather strength in our own personal endeavors.
Thy path is thy own, but we may walk together, side by side, in Life and in the Light. Gather
strength from each other, while giving back into our circle. May the circle gather itself into a
stronger Light. May the strength of the circle and Light give each of us help on our own life’s path.
—Kim Keck, Ministry and Council Report, June 2018
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** With fierce winds of political discord and violent expressions of hate swirling in the world
around us, what does your community do to strengthen our attention to the Spirit in Meeting
for Worship?
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We bring events in our lives—our whole selves—to meeting for worship. Spoken messages
during meeting inspire us. The silence of meeting is a relief from bickering in the world, and is
helpful in re-centering on positive thoughts. At rise of meeting, we sometimes share
perspectives about how difficult it is to avoid being carried away in the negativity around us—
how may we find a way to see that of God in everyone?
Our attention to the spirit is strengthened by active involvement and contribution to the
wider community. We find it is easier to go out and “do peace” as Quakers connected to our
meeting community. We are involved with the Community Mediation Centers, Sustainable
Calvert network, Project Echo homeless shelter, Big Conversation on Racism, Food Pantry,
Daughters of Abraham, Interfaith Council, Patuxent Voices, Open International School.
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** What do you do to strengthen the Quaker “roots” of your community?
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We view Quakerspeak videos and thoughtfully consider the BYM monthly queries at each
Meeting for Worship with a Concern for Business. This is helpful, but perhaps could use some
reinforcement. We provide a representative to Chesapeake Quarterly Meeting.
Meeting can be solitary; we value discussions such as Friendly Eights, although we don’t
have them frequently. Years ago, we met routinely on first Friday evenings in individual homes,
to share our spiritual journeys. Friends would like to try that again. Other options might be
Quaker education topics or activities such as knitting or art that keep our hands busy while
sharing our thoughts. Two friends have offered to facilitate a book study in the coming months
on “My Grandmother’s Hands.”
Some friends feel that we have not experienced a “gathered meeting” for some time. What
helps us prepare for meeting, and focus on centering? We remember one friend’s practice of
sharing Bible quotes. Might we read the monthly queries as we begin the quiet of meeting—or
share a poem, a bit of music or some other artistic preparation?
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** There seem to be dueling forces among Friends. We recognize we can be a shining light
and healing presence in troubled times, while on the other hand, we value our individual
Meeting Community so much we can be unwelcoming to change or discordant voices. What
is your Meeting’s experience of this? Do you sense a tendency to avoid tension by not
discussing differing points of view?
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We don’t avoid tension within the meeting, just to keep the peace; we thresh out hard
issues in an attempt to reach unity. In business meeting the clerk may take a moment of
silence, which can transform anger into observation. When meeting wrestles with difficult
issues, we are generally good at focusing on the issues, not upon individual personalities. We
try to focus on strengthening the spirit, rather than the discord.
It came out during our discussion that Friends still regret a difficult interaction with an
attender a couple of years ago, even though attempts were made to work with him. In the end,
he chose to leave the Meeting, although he may feel he was pushed away. It seems important
for us to have a follow-up discussion on that issue.
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** Is your Meeting a diverse community: racially, philosophically/politically, theologically? How
is that expressed? In what ways?
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Our meeting is diverse in terms of gender, sexual orientation and religious background, but
not in terms of age and race. We’re not sure about political views—most appear to be liberal
but there may be others who simply do not share their opinions. They might say more if we
made it clear that we welcomed diversity of opinion.
We have theological and spiritual diversity. Some of us have “dual citizenship”—
membership in more than one religious group. We are a Quaker Universalist Meeting, and
seem to get along well with each other. We don’t take responsibility for others’ spiritual
journeys, and value the opportunity to share viewpoints—as one friend put it, “coming to
terms, and within sight of, someone else’s inner light.”
We are a small meeting, which limits the opportunity for diversity. Our numbers are
decreasing, and we have not been successful in attracting new members. Friends wonder if
our silent worship does not seem “spiritual enough” to visitors. Should we be more proactive
in providing information and guidance abut Friends’ history and practice, spiritual guidance
and/or insight?
We do support diversity initiatives in our community in a number of ways. These include
sponsorship of local Community Mediation Centers which provide conflict resolution services;
participation in the Big Conversation Partnership to facilitate discussions on dismantling racism
and privilege in Southern Maryland; and participation in the Daughters of Abraham and
Interfaith Council.
This artwork, created by a young friend 8 years of age, spoke to us during this time of introspection.
Members of Patuxent Friends, with support of the Meeting, founded the Community Mediation Centers (CMCs) of Calvert and St. Mary’s Counties over a decade ago. Many of our members serve as mediators. Members also facilitate conversations in the community about difficult topics such as race. In mediation or in these community events, the goals are the same – to share perspective based upon personal life experience and discern areas of common understanding, as well as to understand why we might disagree.
We are reminded weekly to donate to a local food pantry. The spiritual messages provide food for thought as well as a loving reminder to think beyond our family’s needs.
2012 Spiritual State of the Meeting Report
March 2013
How does the Spirit prosper among us? How does our Meeting ensure that ministry is nurtured, and that members and attenders feel valued and cared for?
It has been our custom for many years to stand in a circle at rise of Meeting for Worship, holding hands at first. The clerk asks for “afterthoughts.” We use this period to share vocal ministry that may not have been fully formed during meeting. Subsequently, Members and attenders express personal concerns, such as holding loved ones in the light or asking for spiritual support, while others respond with listening and kindness. We are comfortable with this practice, and it helps us feel included as members of a caring community. We make a general effort to stay in touch with each other’s issues and struggles, and while we don’t always succeed in knowing just what each person needs, we all benefit from the feeling of support this generates. We strive to nurture each other without being overbearing, and we struggle about how to be aware and give care where it’s needed without being too nosy.
What supports the life of the Spirit in our Meeting community? What challenges and troubles are we facing? In what ways is the Meeting less than we would wish it to be?
We are a very social meeting and greatly enjoy our potlucks, work days, and special events. We have had some “meetings for skiing,” where some of our community go to Canaan Valley in West Virginia during the winter for skiing (cross-country and downhill), snow play, or simply enjoyment of nature and each other’s presence. One friend commented that we seem to like each other in addition to sharing spiritual directions.
We also note that there is too much noise and bustle in our daily lives, and we value very much the quiet space that the meeting for worship and other Quaker activities provide.
As a very small meeting, we have had the usual troubles with first-day school. Sometimes first-day school will have just two or three attenders but might still span an age range from toddler through teenager. Other times it is difficult to find two friends to be in charge on a given first day.
How is the presence of Spirit manifested in our lives individually and as a Meeting community?
One friend wrote that the presence of the spirit is “manifested in a flower growing through the snow.” Our Meeting has always given high priority to social action directed toward our local community, and many members and attenders are active in this way individually, in addition to acting through the meeting. Homelessness has recently become a focus of concern, as we learn how many more homeless people there are than can be supported by local agencies, such as Project ECHO, which we have supported enthusiastically.
How can we bring that of God or peace into political or other difficult conversations?
“Take a chill pill and turn off the cameras,” remarked one friend! The media seem to thrive on the “show” of political debate—the anger and frenzy—rather than the substance of the issues, and we find that this attitude often spills over into personal conversations. Political conversations often become so charged and fast that we often find that simply walking away from them is the best policy. Several people cited a recent article in Friends Journal about the gun issue as an example of a quiet, understanding political discussion.
How can we learn to accept seekers in our Meeting with different concepts of God and find ways to help them on their spiritual journey?
We listen to other’s views and try to accept them without judging. We realize that everyone has a different concept of God and religion. We feel that our meeting does this fairly well, and indeed our members and attenders follow a wide variety of spiritual paths.
Should we make the community more aware of our spiritual concerns and how they drive our social actions, and if so, how should we do this?
We added this query during discussion of our Spiritual State of the Meeting Report, because as a very small meeting we sometimes wonder if the community is aware of us at all. However, as we discussed the matter we decided that the community—particularly those parts of the community involved in caring for others—is quite aware of our activities and our motivations. Occasionally someone involved in one of the projects we support will come to meeting and remark with great surprise on our small size; we seem to have an outsized influence, which gives us joy. As a meeting we have written letters to the editor of our local papers in spiritual support of marriage equality and repeal of the death penalty, and this too helps make the community more aware of us.
2011 Spiritual State of the Meeting Report
How have we recognized and addressed (or failed to address) issues that have caused difficulties among us?
We have found ourselves this past year transforming conflicts in our meeting over some issues. We have done this by caring more for and about each other, than about the difficult issues that have arisen. Have concerns been voiced and not heard? Have concerns been heard, but forgotten or not acted upon? We wait and let the way open as the Spirit so moves us or our committees to make things happen. We found that with patience, speaking plainly, persistence and holding the matter or person in the Light, the way would (eventually) open and resolve itself. We are learning the importance of identifying issues and referring them to the appropriate committees to be worked upon and brought back to the meeting for business. We now have a new bathroom in our meetinghouse, after five years of being a 'concern'. We have found 'profound listening' in meeting for worship while allowing the silence to manifest knowing.
How do we as a meeting appear to ourselves and others and how do we wish to be?
A board member of Project Echo (the homeless shelter in Calvert Co.) commented on the seemingly high quantity of Quaker members in our community, and was surprised to learn we have less than 25 members. Our robust activity in the community suggested a larger presence. We are action-oriented. We show a willingness to listen. To ourselves we appear as a small, caring community. A circle of trust exists, despite the eclectic gathering of spirit.
How is the presence of the Spirit manifested in our lives individually and as a Meeting community?
Spirit manifests itself on the individual, corporate and universal levels.
The realization of spirit is different for each person and has been defined as:
Belief, Light, Service to Others, Loving, Prism of many paths, God (code word)
Spirit supersedes anthropomorphism
Spirit created the universe; exists outside the Universe; contains it
Spirit is beyond individual experience and definitions
Spirit is Quiet, not dogmatic (breathing room)
One cannot know spirit in itself, for it is an abstraction; one can only perceive manifestations of the spirit, such as love, gratitude, respect, tolerance...
Spirit as Truth (each of us carries a small piece of the truth)
Spirit is joy for each other (as can be experienced with children)
Spirit is Movement, Drive
In the healing tradition of the 12 Steps:'...Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God, as we name that ...'
How does the Spirit prosper among us?
The spirit prospers via our social actions in the community. In the messages shared in our meetings and our coming together as a community and fellowship. It also manifests through silence and inspiration.
What supports the growth of the Spirit?
A collected gathering.
Energy, Life Force, Community action.
Spirit as the 'Good' in a Platonic sense.
How is the presence of spirit manifest in our lives?
In the level of sharing under the surface known in silence and inspiration
A collective gathering with intentions and with joy.
Meeting for Worship is a source of spiritual nourishment.
Silence and messages are equally important.
Through social action-oriented activities in the larger communit
2010 Spiritual State of the Meeting Report Patuxent Friends Meeting, Lusby, Md.
How does meeting ensure that ministry is nurtured, and that members and attenders feel valued and cared for?
We find joy in coming together as a Meeting; to worship, to work, to play, to share in the communion of a potluck meal, to support those in need, to consider what it means for us to be a Friend.
At the rise of meeting each week we take time to share and listen to “after thoughts”; messages that weren’t ripe enough for sharing out of the silence and/or heartfelt responses to messages spoken during meeting. We ask for and listen to the children’s report of their First Day School activity, and often query them further. We share the joys, sorrows, and challenges in our lives and ask that others hold us in the light. We introduce ourselves and welcome any guests that are present.
We find joy in caring for one another, checking in with one another, especially those we have not seen for awhile or those who are going through a tough time.
Many of us feel that Meeting supports our inner lives so that we can let our light shine forth in the world. Meeting for Worship has been likened to an oasis, refreshing our spirits from the week we just had and nurturing our spirits for the week ahead, so that our lives can speak as Quakers.
What supports the life of the Spirit in our meeting community?
Our love for one another, imperfect as it can be at times, and how our lives speak to one another.
Many of us have come to Quakerism as adults, seeking, and finding, support for our spiritual journey in a religion and a manner of worship that allows us to have a sense of our own spirit while becoming part of the spirit of the Meeting community. We value the support from the seasoned Friends among us, as they guide us in the Quaker forms and protocols.
The life of the spirit is especially enriched when we come together as a meeting to give loving service to one another, to our meeting house property, and to those in our community.
An openness to the Spirit as it manifests in each of our own lives, and as it manifests in those in Meeting.
There is a willingness to look at our own selves and sit with our own “stuff” (both as individuals and as a Meeting); to labor with issues or concerns that inevitably arise from being human and endeavoring to live as a community.
What challenges and troubles are we facing?
For some of us, there is a fear or reticence to share messages out of the silence of meeting.
We are laboring to become clear on how to support Friends who do good works, but do not participate in the life of Meeting.
In what ways is Meeting less than we wish it would be?
We wish to see and have more exposure to the larger Quaker community. We feel that our spirits would benefit, as individuals and as a meeting community, to meet and hear about the experiences of other Quakers.
Our meeting is small, and we long to see more new faces and have more diversity among our members and attenders. We have a wonderful diversity of religious experience and backgrounds, but not much socio-economic and racial diversity.
One of our members envisions having a school.
Our First Day School is a continual struggle for us in that there is less participation from the adults in Meeting then we wish for.
How is the presence of Spirit manifest in our lives as individuals?
In many ways. When we really see people and are present with them;being friendly to those we see in the course of our day; making eye contact, smiling, and acknowledging them.
When we practice “seeing that of God” in every being that we meet.
Through our daily lives and interactions with all those beings with whom we share this bittersweet existence, looking to find/being open to seeing “that of God”.
When we slow down and allow time to be present with ourselves and others.
In a tremendous ministry of action to the community.