The year 2022 for our Meeting was a year of developing and becoming comfortable with new ways of interacting with each other post-covid. In 2020 and 2021 most of our worship and gathering was via Zoom. In 2022 we began to gather together in person again but we also had learned to appreciate the gift of using zoom for some members who were still uneasy about such gatherings as well as members who simply could not travel to our Meeting. We had discovered that we could include speakers for our Adult Quaker Education who lived at a distance but could interact with our community via zoom and have used that ability several times during the year. It has helped us both in worship (as in the Yearly Meeting All Together worship) and to help deepen our understanding of social issues through speakers who participated during zoom.
Worshipers stressed the need for blending our Meeting so we can see all who are worshipping together. That need resulted in our purchase of a screen/camera so that both those attending in person and on zoom can be recognized. At the moment we are only using this setup for Adult Quaker Education. We may eventually have the screen available for use in our Worship, but are not yet seeing the way to include that in our worship. We still have some members who would prefer separate worship in the Meetinghouse and on zoom, but for the most part we are gathering together well as one Meting for Worship.
Currently attendance at our Meetings for Worship average about 60 people, about 10 more than pre-covid, pre-Zoom worship.We have some people who attend via zoom from quite a distance, from New England to the Pacific West.
Our Adult Quaker Education has held many sessions regarding deepening worship. We included worship sharing about the quality of our worship as well as sessions about how to deepen worship. Membership attendance at these sessions shows it to be something that is appreciated. Feedback from membership shows that our members and attenders take seriously our search for deepening worship. We have enjoyed some deep worship both in our First Day worship and in our Wednesday night zoom only worship and worship sharing.
Our Meeting is alive with worship in action. The Youth Quaker Education has many activities for approximately 20 children. They also have a monthly Meeting for Worship on their own. Our Sustainability committee is developing a landscape plan that includes native plants to replace grass lawn, better stormwater management, and planning to install solar power for the Meeting. We have created a Community Garden whose food is donated to a local food cupboard. Our fiscal management is sure to not invest in fossil fuels.
Our faith leads us to action. Our Care and Counsel committee actively attends to the needs of our members and attenders. Along with our Fellowship and Outreach committee we have initiated a plan for all of us to greet people new to our Meeting and attend to them during their visits. Our communications committee works on all sorts of communication within the Meeting plus developing a webpage that can meet the needs of our members as well as people who may want to know both what activiites happen at our Meeting and to encourage them to visit with us. The Peace and Social Action committee keeps us up to date about issues and actions that need attention. We have a small but devoted group that on Saturday afternoons regularly stands on the corner of route 202 and Sumneytown Pike to support peace and social justice. Our Refugee committee continues to find ways to support refugees throughout the world. Members continue to create a yearly summer Peace Camp, Our Property Committee continues to handle all sorts of issues that come up with an old Meetinghouse as we keep up with regulations that are needed for the building as well as our Pre-School. We hol a quarterly flea market sale. Money from that sale goes directly to AFSC. There are book reading groups, worship sharing groups. Other groups may form as our members are lead.
We are currently working on being more involved within Abington Quarterly Meeting. A few members have been lead to attend various other Meetings in our Quarter, both to add support to them and to learn more about possibilities for our Meeting.
In general, were you to visit our Meeting you would find, not perfection, but a group of people devoted to our worship and practice in living our faith.
Barbara Seidel
Clerk, Worship and Ministry
Gwynedd Monthly Meeting
