In July 2021 PYM approved minutes of action to be taken on anti-racism and climate change. How has your meeting been called to address these issues? What other concerns and initiatives has your meeting been led to address this past year?
The Barnegat (NJ) Monthly Meeting has a small core group of active members and attenders, mostly older. The Meeting has not been taking direct action as leaders in the areas of anti racism and climate change. The Meeting provides financial support to a number of non-profits that address societal and global needs. The Meeting community participates in events related to education and awareness of racism and anti-racism, and we chose a number of books to read and discuss. The Meeting is active in the PYM Anti-Racism Collaborative. Regarding climate change, the Meeting as a group had no activities in 2021. The Meeting has a member who is very active in environmental issues, such as reducing plastic waste. Through her activities we are kept informed of local environmental news and events. In the Meeting’s outreach program we hosted Kyle Gronostajski, Executive Director of Alliance for a Living Ocean (https://www.alolbi.org/), who gave a presentation in November, 2021, entitled, “Plastic Pollution and You”. We hosted a speaker at the Burlington Quarter’s March, 2021, meeting who spoke about green burial, and we created a collection of reference materials: https://www.tinyURL.com/BarnegatGreenBurial.
We support other areas of importance in creating a better world. We increased awareness of Quakerism and Quaker values through our outreach program. We hosted speakers and performers on topics such as peace, Peace Pilgrim, Quaker activism, homeless veterans, indigenous Americans, and the interrelationship between financial growth and environmentalism. To share awareness of Quaker testimonies, at a December 2021 open house, one of our handouts was our brochure entitled “Quaker S-P-I-C-E-S, a Tasty Interpretation,” with a cinnamon-spiced oatmeal raisin cookie attached.
How has your meeting evolved as a spiritual community given the ongoing opportunities and challenges of the pandemic?
We rotated visiting among different Meetings for online worship, allowing us to get to know other, Meetings, and their worship practices. We had the opportunity to worship with a beloved former member who had moved away and with other F/friends we did not see regularly before this Zoom opportunity.
Customarily, we go out for a meal after Meeting for Worship. During the pandemic we instead had a weekly Zoom fellowship session, which allowed all of us to be face to face (in our “Hollywood Squares”) instead of spread along a table in a noisy restaurant. We had conversations involving the full group instead of multiple small ones. While it was social, not spiritual, those who participated became closer.
When we resumed meeting in person in March, 2021, we sat outdoors in a circle and brought our lunches. This environment was also conducive to full-group conversations.
What practices and strategies are employed by your meeting to help members and attenders of all ages prepare for worship – whether in meeting for worship or in meeting for business? – Faith and Practice p. 214
Since resuming in-person Meeting for Worship, we found we have tended to visit socially prior to Meeting for Worship, and we lose track of time more than we did in the past. We are exploring ways to signal it is time to settle for worship. We realized there is one obvious solution: We recently re-established the practice of sharing a reading at the start of worship. We currently do not have a clerk. At Meeting for Business in October, 2021, a brief presentation (from material in Faith and Practice) entitled, “Meeting for Business in Worship” was shared. Since then, some individuals have attended presentations on clerking. There is a rotation of the clerking responsibility for conducting business. Through these activities, all members and attenders are better informed about Quaker process, which helps us achieve unity. We recognize small changes can strengthen our spirituality. We used to start each Meeting for Business with a moment of silent reflection, then the clerk read a query and moved immediately to conducting business. We reversed the order: reading the query, then having a moment of reflection. This encourages us to share our thoughts on the query.
What is most needed to strengthen the communal witness of the meeting to the local community and beyond? – Faith and Practice p. 214
Before the Barnegat Meeting can strengthen its communal witness to the local community, two things are needed: First the Meeting needs to strengthen itself spiritually. We are each at a different point in our spiritual journey. In 2021 a member proposed the outreach program should focus in 2022 on “feeding ourselves spiritually.” We are doing that, and we have resumed reading and discussing Pendle Hill pamphlets and other literature to educate ourselves better about Quakerism.
Second, the Meeting has to engage meaningfully with the local community. We discussed having open houses or days designated to bring a friend to worship. In 2021 we had three open house events: participation in the town-wide yard sale, a “non-Halloween” open house in October, and a holiday open house in December. Local families visited and were fascinated by the meeting house, especially the children. We enjoyed explaining our Meeting and Quakerism while offering hospitality with simple beverages and snacks. We gave visitors FGC “newcomer cards” and other literature. We were disappointed that no one from town came when we participated in a Zoom presentation (Haddonfield Quarter) in October about the Underground Railroad. We keep reaching out, though.
We’ve reached out to local churches, the community garden, the historical society, local charities. We are making an effort to communicate and collaborate with local Quaker Meetings. We learned many local residents did not know the Meeting is active. Many did not realize our building is a church, a place of worship. Some thought Quakerism is not a current religion. Some thought we don’t have electricity! We are reaching out steadily. A member obtained postcards available through a PYM grant. The first mailing was sent by PYM, and the Meeting is doing a monthly mailing since then. We will continue making ourselves known and engaging with the community.
