Media Friends Meeting celebrates the power of our worship time. The silent worship and occasional vocal ministry are deeply led by Spirit. Rather than feeling compelled to speak, our shared silence is healing, meaningful, and truly special. Our Quaker Religious Education and Worship & Ministry Committees hold monthly well-attended worship sharings on topics that strengthen our bond and provide deeper knowledge of one another’s spirits and lives.
In the past, and pre-COVID, we had more opportunities for fellowship. The process of discerning the spiritual state of the meeting has uncovered a longing for more such opportunities going forward. One challenge of our meeting is the lack of involvement of children, youth, and young adults. Our annual Christmas Crafts and Easter Crafts addressed this need by changing its schedule to one that brought extended family members, including grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. We seek to find additional ways to draw in people of all ages.
Looking back we are proud of the speed with which we pivoted to having hybrid meetings for worship at the onset of the COVID lockdown; most members are very grateful we have chosen to continue hybrid worship as this makes our meeting more accessible and better attended. A surprising benefit of the hybrid meeting is that over time it has allowed a greater focus on our spirit-led concerns.
We have continued to build a collaborative relationship with Media Providence Friends School, which we house on our property. In addition to supporting the maintenance of the buildings, we have a focused commitment to reducing the carbon footprint of the property. We are planning a third expansion of our solar array and we have supported projects by the school to become more energy efficient. In addition, we are a Quaker Grow site for Singularity Botanicals. With the help of the middle school science classes, we created three medicinal garden beds. The plants we harvest are used to support the health of at-risk communities.
We are a small meeting but we are seeking ways to expand our numbers and our connection to the community. We have hosted events that resonate with our Quaker practices and beliefs, including a music concert, yoga classes, providing meals to the Life Center, Prayer Shawl Ministry outreach to many in emotional and physical need, and social action for a more just and peaceful world.
We continue to be renewed in the depth of our shared worship.
