Newark (DE) Friends Meeting
State of the Meeting Report 2023/2024
Newark Friends met on 18th day of February 2024, to discuss the state of the meeting. The following queries provided by Philadelphia Yearly Meeting were discussed.
1. How is Spirit moving our worship, and how have we nurtured deep, Spirit-led vocal ministry?
It was generally agreed that the quality of worship has never been an issue for us. The Meeting is often settled and rich. Within the last year we began the practice of ending worship with time for the group to hold individuals in the Light as suggested by those in attendance. Friends agreed that this practice was welcome and appreciated.
Vocal ministry is limited and feels appropriate. One Friend commented that we have not had a need for a “Quaker Exorcism” or other means of eldering the serially overly loquacious. We tend to be more reticent, resisting the urge to speak unless strongly moved to do so. As one Friend stated, “If something has been on my heart, I try to release it. If it won’t leave me alone, I’ll share it.”
There was discussion around the advice to not come to Meeting with preconceived notions. Friends agreed that it’s one thing to come to worship with something on your heart and a different thing, and more discouraged, to use worship as an opportunity to vent.
2. How has our meeting fostered an environment in which members and attenders of all ages and abilities know they are loved, cared for, trusted, and respected?
Our meeting is blessed to welcome members and attenders with a variety of needs, beliefs, and gifts. Several examples were shared, where people feel loved and supported whether facing physical challenges, the need to be outside the circle and moving, (or outside the circle and standing). This past year we have had a visiting Friend from Kenya join us while she is here studying. We’ve enjoyed getting to know her and are happy for one more year with her.
We also have a variety of beliefs, and all are welcome. One Friend commented that she enjoys the freedom to speak of God without being shut down. Within our meeting we have Friends who identify as Jewish, traditional Christian, humanist / free-thinker, and atheist. In the past year we’ve had the occasional visit from a Muslim. All these perspectives make us richer.
We talked about how our meeting feels like family. We look out for each other within the context of meeting, (e.g. we hold in person meetings during the day as some members are having more difficulty driving at night); and outside of meeting, (e.g. meals, care packages at exam time for our college student, and other gifts of time and effort). A few years ago, when there was concern about potential violence around election time, our meeting developed a plan to check on each other and how to get support.
3. How has our meeting sought to be neighbors and in relationship with other communities, and how have we been changed by these connections?
There are many examples of how we have connected with others over the years. We participate in the interfaith community of Newark that includes synagogues, a mosque, orthodox churches and others. We support the hungry within our community through service and financial support to Hope Dining Room. Our Meeting has more recently formed an alliance with a local group providing direct support to refugees and we look forward to the development of this relationship. Newark Friends acknowledge our connection with Newark Center for Creative Learning where we meet during the winter. It was decided during this discussion that we will reach out to the school to deepen this relationship. Friends connected with a wider community of Quakers by participating in the anniversary of the first Quaker meeting in Delaware in New Castle last year, and by hosting Quarterly Meeting in October.
Individually, Friends benefit from connections to the broader community and to the enrichment our Quaker faith has bestowed upon us. One Friend talked about how her service to Hope Dining Room has led to friendships with and real affection for people living with disabilities, drug addiction, and other challenges she has been spared. Another Friend spoke of a long running conflict with a difficult neighbor, and how she came to understand that the source of the most recent conflict was not as important as her neighbor’s status as a human being.
The analogy of a hand was suggested. Individuals act as fingers, touching, connecting with the world. What we touch, we bring back to the hand, our community of Friends. In this manner, we touch more people while growing individually and collectively.
4. Do we have any success stories we would like to share with PYM among any of the following topics (or others)?
a. Outreach and Inclusion – Newark Friends is blessed by the presence of varying beliefs as mentioned above. We appreciate the rich conversations which ensue from different perspectives. We recognize that the US is still largely segregated and that most churches are homogenous. We strive to break this mold. We believe that when people find us, they will feel welcome. Unfortunately, we do not have many visitors.
b. Witness – Friends shared examples of witness in the broader world. A Friend talked about reaching out to her US senator and representative, one who is fully supporting Israel in recent assault on Palestine, the other who is bravely advocating for protecting the people of Palestine. Another example is the upcoming support to an Afghani family we are waiting to arrive. Other members attend NAACP meetings. Friends advocate for a broader discussion on national border issues and acknowledge this is a difficult, complicated topic. We are grateful for the work of FCNL on behalf of our broader Quaker community. Finally, we witness to the broader world and in our community by passing the hat for urgent needs as they arise.
c. Committees – Newark Friends continue to work on committee structure to simplify, while still addressing our Meeting’s needs. We have unified our committees in order to cover the needs with so few members.
5. General Questions or Needs – Newark Friends wishes that PYM would address and prioritize some questions not addressed in this outline, such as:
a. Aging of membership
b. Lack of youth – how do we “youthify” our meeting?
c. How can PYM support messaging to the larger community on Quakerism?
d. How do we build critical mass? You need young families in order to attract young families?
e. We acknowledge that culturally, younger families are facing many competing interests, i.e. children’s sports, etc.
6. Question from Climate Change Sprint Group: How has the Spirit guided your work on climate change?
• Newark Friends consider climate change to be the single most critical issue facing current and future generations. We struggle with how to make a difference. We are a small meeting with limited resources. We see that the launching of rockets into space, the airlines, our dependence on fossil fuels and the cultural focus on growth, progress and capitalism create overwhelming challenges to our very existence. We feel somewhat powerless to have any real impact on these large issues.
• Has your meeting appointed a Climate Witness liaison? – We have not. One Friend said she would be willing to serve in such a capacity but feels limited in her ability to contribute as she is unable to drive and has limited time available.
7. Newark Friends wish to add the following observations on the State of our Meeting.
• We recognize that we hold each other up and consider ourselves Family. If there is only one thing that an outsider needs to know about our meeting, that is it.
• In the past few years, we lost the last of our founding families. We remain strong.
• Appreciation was expressed for our former Clerk, who brought us through Covid with grace and wisdom. Our former Clerk expressed his appreciation and joy at seeing the vitality of the Meeting.
• Some Friends shared their experience visiting other meetings that felt angry, and wondered if there are bottled up frustrations that are hurting the RSOF.
• Meanwhile, we acknowledged that we have opportunities to do better reaching in and reaching out.
We have members who are experiencing difficulty in hearing. How might we improve technology to support these Friends? Could voice to text technology assist? What other opportunities do we have to support these members?
o We have not done as much with adult education as we might.
o We are planning to have an art show this summer to reach out to the broader community. Might we include a children’s art show to bring in more families? We have a very talented young artist in our first day school program already.
o We also wondered if we can do a better job reaching out to invite people to join our Easter celebration.
Respectfully submitted on behalf of Newark Friends Meeting,
Annemarie Carr Ariana Langford
Recording Clerk
