Spiritual State of the Meeting Report
Queries from Philadelphia Yearly Meeting: Over the past year (April 2023 to April 2024), within your meeting community:
How is Spirit moving in your worship, and how have you nurtured deep, Spirit-led vocal ministry?
Providence Meeting offers weekly Sunday worship in a hybrid format, with worshipers in the meeting house joined by others online via Zoom. Between September and May, an average of 30 to 45 people worship together on any given Sunday, with at least two-thirds worshiping in person and often more. We have resumed post-worship snacks, and the fellowship is increasing in-person attendance, as is the resumption of first-day school for children once a month.
Providence Meeting’s vocal ministry is a product of individual spiritual journeys and reflects our collective efforts. Our longstanding tradition of a member faithfully reading one query from Faith and Practice during worship each month frequently sparks diverse and thought-provoking ministry. Additionally, the meeting’s activities addressing the pressing issues of the climate crisis and systemic racism often inspire vocal ministry on these topics. We do not currently offer adult religious education but rather defer our time to committees addressing climate, race, and reparations issues. We will revisit this question in the coming year. The return of at least two families with young children and the presence of teens who offer child care has also warmed the energy of meeting for worship in the last six months. The vitality of a sleeping or nursing infant and the coming and going of young children has been a blessing rather than a distraction. This and other moments of renewal of our community have positively influenced the movement of Spirit in our worship. This has also led to the resumption of first-day school for children once a month, which is certainly a day their parents are present.
How have you fostered an environment in which members and attenders of all ages and abilities know they are loved, cared for, trusted, and respected?
Providence continues to schedule informal opportunities to encourage participation from all who wish. “Puttering Days” are scheduled periodically which feature several hours of fellowship as small projects are completed that need doing, both in the Meeting House and on the grounds. This popular event connects people ‘outside the committee structure’ to work together on something that interests them. All supplies are provided. At our most recent event this spring, the age range was 2yr (assisting with work in the childcare room) to 80yr+ (working on landscape needs).
How have you sought to be neighbors and in relationship with other communities, and how have you been changed by these connections?
Members and attenders of Providence Friends Meeting continue to actively participate in organizations in the wider community, county and region including The Delaware County Office of Sustainability, the Environmental Advisory Council of Media Borough, Transition Town Media, Chester Residents Concerned for Quality Living (CRCQL- pronounced“circle”), the Interfaith Council of Southern Delaware County, and the Nether Providence Municipality Police Accountability Group. Providence also serves as a CSA (community supported agriculture) pick-up site for about 50 households who participate in a Lancaster-based farm cooperative program.
A very visible expression of our connection with our neighbors were the programs held at the Minshall House, across the street from the Meeting. In partnership with Media Borough, Program & Outreach took the lead on offering two interpretive programs at Minshall House, featuring members of our Meeting telling the story of Providence Village and its connection to PMM. These programs, held in August and December, were very successful, drawing visitors from the local community, many of whom had never visited Minshall House before. We can document at least one visitor to Providence Meeting First Day worship as a result of this effort. Program & Outreach also takes responsibility for changing the curbside Quaker testimony signs each month, which are visible to folks traveling along Providence Rd.We anticipate even more events in 2024- 2025, including our 340th anniversary celebration in October, but that will be included in next year’s report!
How have you been called to address issues of social justice, inclusivity, and difference, both within your meeting and in the wider world?
Providence Friends Meeting has had an active Racial Justice Committee since 2015. Prior to that time, the meeting’s history includes several times of serving to support those who were escaping oppression or were in need. On May 21, 2023, Providence Friends met in a Called Meeting for Business on the subject of reparations. The Meeting held four sessions, for information and discussion, over the course of several months, led by members of the Racial Justice Committee. At the Called Meeting, Friends shared responses, both written and spoken, to the queries we have used to guide us.
What are Friends’ learnings from the information presented in this series? What does this mean for our meeting? What are our next steps?
Then we considered these queries for our meeting and came to unity on the following:
Are Friends in unity to be a meeting that supports an ongoing culture of repair and healing? Approved.
Are Friends in unity to make reparations? Approved.
Following these approvals, some members offered to help write an Acknowledgement and Apology statement that would be brought to the meeting for approval. A sprint was formed for this work. The first reading of Providence Meeting’s Statement of Acknowledgement and Apology was at the October 1st, 2023 Meeting for Business. Friends offered adjustments and suggestions to the sprint. The sprint returned with the adjusted document at the November 5th, 2023 meeting for business. Friends approved the statement. On February 4th, 2024, the meeting for business approved the formation of a Reparations Committee as recommended by the Racial Justice Committee and the Nominating Committee. On June 2nd, 2024, the meeting for business approved a budget line in the new fiscal year for the newly formed Reparations Committee.
The Ministry & Care Committee of Quaker Life Council (PYM) would also like to facilitate sharing resources and best practices across the yearly meeting. To this end, consider the list below of topic areas that arose in last year s Spiritual State of the Meeting Reports. In which areas does the meeting have a success story or advice to share with other meetings? In which areas does the meeting have particular concerns or need for support from the yearly meeting?
Care of Worship (e.g., How can we get more/fewer people to offer vocal ministry?)
Currently at Providence, the Care & Counsel Committee reaches out to those persons whose vocal ministry has revealed underlying personal challenges. Long standing members of the meeting informally guide individuals in strengthening their understanding of vocal ministry.
Outreach and Inclusion (e.g., How do we welcome newcomers warmly without overwhelming them?)
Program & Outreach fosters an environment where members of the PMM community have opportunities for fellowship. We do this through weekly social hours after the rise of worship, monthly potluck meals (breakfasts or lunches), and organized events, such as picnics and outings. The social hours, potluck meals, and picnics are intended to provide members of our community opportunities to get to know and cherish each other in a relaxed setting, fostering fellowship and care for each other. Organized events, such as group outings, also provide times for us to be with each other outside the meetinghouse and build fellowship. The most recent example was a walk along the Springfield Trail in Smedley Park on April 27 to celebrate National Trails Day. We also support programs at PMM organized by others, such as the annual Christmas Eve worship. (In 2023, the annual joint breakfast with Media Meeting was held at Media; P&O will take the lead on organizing the 2024 breakfast at Providence.) Other activities included a sendoff party for Sarah Willie-LeBreton, our annual end-of-summer picnic, sending birthday cards to members of our community, participation in the Great Media Garage Sale, and personal emails to visitors welcoming them to PMM.
Adult Education Resources (e.g., How can we learn and share about our faith outside of worship?)
Currently, Providence does not offer Adult Religious Education classes. However, adults have been gaining knowledge from sessions offered by the Racial Justice Committee and the Climate Crisis Committee in the areas of the PYM yearly wide witness to address climate change and racism. For each area, the challenges in the wider world have provided the opportunities for Friends to respond in the manner of Friends as we ‘let our lives speak’. Additionally, many Providence Friends participate in sessions offered by Pendle Hill, PYM, AFSC, FCNL, FGC, etc.
Families and Children (e.g., What religious education resources are available to use?)
Providence is blessed to have long standing members who have been active in writing religious education curricula for PYM. They, in collaboration with new parents and younger Friends, have developed a variety of lessons and learning experiences for children. The meeting has a large collection of children’s books easily accessible on open shelves. The Religious Education Committee plans to focus on offering inter-generational hands-on experiential events in the upcoming autumn.
Youth and Young Adults (e.g., How can we create a welcome space for youth and young adults in the meeting?)
The youth and young adults at Providence have received support throughout the year in small groups or one-on-one. For example, when a young adult was organizing a fashion show as part of an initiative to raise Autism Awareness, several meeting members provided monetary support and/or attended the fashion show. Meeting members seek to learn the names of youth/young adults and engage in supportive conversation with them. Youth and young adult interests and news are often featured in the meeting’s newsletter. Several youth serve in offering child care for the younger children.
Witness (e.g., How do we walk our talk as Friends?) Friends in Providence Friends Meeting continue to be active participants in programs and groups calling for and creating positive change both locally and nationally, i.e., FCNL, Friends Eco Collaborative, Chester Residents Concerned for Quality Living (CRCQL), Rise Up For Reparations Cohort, Interfaith Council of Southern Delaware County, Urban Roots (Farm CSA), just to name a few.
Committees (e.g., How might a different committee structure be helpful to our meeting in conducting our business?)
The Nominating Committee held a thread gathering session with members and attenders of the meeting to explore the current committee structures and needs of the meeting. The information and responses they gathered will inform their work of supporting clerks of committees and strengthening leadership of the meeting in the coming year.
Quarters (e.g., How can being part of an active Quarter have an impact on meetings and individuals?)
Meetings and individuals benefit from being part of an active Quarter. Resources and information can be shared to address common challenges. Friendships can be developed that help individuals feel supported during lean times.
General Questions or Needs (e.g., Could someone visit my meeting?)
Providence welcomes anyone from PYM/Quarterly/Monthly meetings to come and visit anytime, either for worship or other events. Of special note is the date of Saturday, October 26th, 2024 when Providence will be hosting its 340th Anniversary. Providence hopes that many Friends from far and wide will be able to attend this special event!
Finally, the Climate Change Sprint group would like to hear from you about your meetings work on climate change. How has the Spirit guided your work on climate change?
When Quakers use the phrase, “the way opens”, it can feel like a passive phrase; you stand in the Light and the way is clear. However, when the Spirit is active the experience is more like a “push”…you find you must move forward in a new way. After completing the initial set up of the solar array and shifting the maintenance to other committees, the next step became clear. We ran a workshop, “ Envisioning a Better Climate Future: Sustainability Starts With You and Me.” for PMM members/attenders, inviting Swarthmore Meeting and representatives from some local organizations. The workshop was designed to help all of us find new ways to move forward to address climate concerns. Out of this work our next steps as a committee have emerged. We see that we are deep in a continual process of the way opening followed by a new path opening when that task is done. This steady focus on listening to the Spirit not only imbues our work but helps each of us master our ever-present sense of grief in the face of the climate crisis in order to continue forward.
How has your meeting addressed the action areas identified in the Climate Change Sprint?
Activism: We are planning an event to help PMM write better letters to their governmental representatives and how to learn how to lobby effectively.
Education: We have spent time in the last year educating the community about household solar arrays and about the danger of plastics, especially single use plastic. We ran a “plastic free July” campaign in conjunction with local faith groups. Much of our work at PMM around this issue involved both education about the dangers of extensive plastic use along with where to find alternatives. In addition we have created a document,“ Climate Issues and Climate Resiliency Resource Library” to provide information related to the climate crisis that is on our website. We plan to regularly review the document and to keep adding resources as we discover them and vet them and remove obsolete resource links.
Reducing Carbon Footprint: See the article below on our funding campaign and installation of the new solar array at PMM. The CCC has an ongoing battery collection program begun 2 years ago, a used Christmas bulb collection and recently ran a short event in support of electronics recycling. In the 2 years since we began these collections we have collected 569 pounds of batteries and 315 pounds of used Christmas bulbs. About 3 years ago the CCC garnered the support of PMM for a composting bucket. A PMM member continues to collect and manage that process.
Finances: We have worked with the PMM treasurer to support the solar array.
Mourning loss and instilling hope: We have found that hope springs from action and have done our best to support PMM members and attenders in identifying useful actions they might take and through planning activities that support action as well as managing the resources on the web site (see education) and by sharing information on community actions through the PMM newsletter and announcements.. The Plastic Free July event and the “Envisioning a Better Climate Future: Sustainability Starts With You and Me.” Workshop built a sense of community around climate issues that provided a sense of support for members and attenders…we are not alone in our efforts.
Has your meeting appointed a Climate Witness liaison? If not, why not? A member of the Climate Crisis Committee, Ed Dreby, is acting as our Climate Witness liaison.
PROVIDENCE FRIENDS MEETING
CLIMATE CRISIS COMMITTEE’S
SOLAR ARRAY JOURNEY
The Climate Crisis Committee (CCC) was formed at Providence Monthly Meeting in early 2021 to help fulfill PMM’s and PYM’s commitment to address climate change, to promote increased awareness in our Meeting about climate issues, to educate our Meeting on how, locally, we can reduce our carbon footprints, and to help identify opportunities for witnessing to our faith in creating a more sustainable society. Our work is grounded in a deep spiritual belief that “The world is God’s creation. How we treat the earth and all its creatures is basic to our relationship with God, and of fundamental religious concern to the Society of Friends” – Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, 1998.
Over the last three years, the CCC created a survey that prioritized the Meeting’s climate related issues, held Zoom meetings with the Meeting defining and demonstrating carbon footprint calculators, hosted (and created a slideshow) of an in-person demonstration of 5 different houses of PMM members or attenders that either used solar arrays or passive means to reduce their carbon footprints, ran an in-house hands-on demonstration of building a solar oven, evaluated the feasibility and learned the pitfalls of switching to a “clean energy” company, started (and continue) to collect and recycle single use batteries and holiday light strings from the local community, started an in-house composting collection, participated in a multi-denomination “Plastics Free July” program, shifted the Meeting’s perspective on sustainability (moving from individual stress to community
strength), received Meeting approval to install a solar array, organized the fundraising needed to cover the array costs, and oversaw the array installation!
And we haven’t stopped there. The path to obtaining the solar array was a community learning experience even though a few PMM members and attenders did have solar panels installed when the PMM solar journey began.
We understood that the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) was going to provide a 30% federal energy rebate on renewable energy systems for non-profits and this helped to galvanize the Meeting in going forward. We knew that our array would need to be ground mounted and would be installed on property that PMM purchased 15 years or so before and was being used primarily as an occasional overflow parking area.
In February 2022, the CCC presented our suggestion that PMM find a way to install a solar array. We recognized that this was as much a spiritual act of faith to stand in the Light and ground ourselves in hope as it was practical. PMM quickly came to unity on both moving forward on the project and to review funding possibilities (see below). We reached out to an installer known to members of the Climate Crisis Committee, who visited PMM that same February.
A proposal was received from the vendor in March 2022. Since we are a PECO commercial customer, it was pointed out that our “payback” time would be greater than if we were considered a residential service – payback time was included in all the quotes we received from the vendors.
In May 2022, we hosted a meeting of the Meeting at the first proposed site to discuss the the aspects of a solar array and a potential array location. This meeting provided feedback as to the pros and cons of this location as well as potential roadblocks at other Meeting property locations. In addition, this meeting also provided an opportunity to explain to the group more details about solar, the approximate size of a panel, the approximate size of the array to meet the expected annual electrical consumption by the Meeting, the trenching needed (and its probable location) to get the electricity to the utility meter and other aspects. Black walnut trees
and shading were issues among others. Concerns about the height of the array started to arise.
In June 2022, the Meeting gave the CCC approval to solicit array quotes from three vendors. (During our solar journey, the price of solar arrays was going up as COVID-19 had been wreaking havoc on supply chains.)
We began to interact with neighbors, one of whom was opposed to the array in principle as well as how it would impact the immediate environment that they lived in. We also had to work with two municipalities – the actual array was going to be located on the part of the Meeting’s property that was in Nether Providence; the array was going to be hooked into the utility’s meter that was located in Media on the meetinghouse wall.
Quotes from the three installers were received in August/September and all three were very close in terms of fiscal costs. All proposals were of the same type and location, maximizing production with regard to the trees surrounding the proposed location. All three designs were the standard rack, ground mounted type, reaching a height of 7 1/2 to 8 feet tall. Unfortunately, their proposed locations impinged on a gentlemen’s agreement that PMM had with a neighbor allowing for tree service trucks to access his property when needed. Some members, as well as a neighbor, who we continued to communicate with, started to push back on the array rack height.
Raising money – the CCC worked with the PMM Finance Committee in determining how to raise the funds needed and the impact this would have on the Meeting’s finances, understanding that all of the money was needed upfront to cover the cost of the project – the 30% energy rebate that the government was promising would not be seen until after the installation was completed, if at all! In September 2022, a Sprint was formed, pledge letters written and mailed, and pledges and contributions began rolling in. By December, it was clear that we would have enough money raised with the understanding that the members only needed to raise 70% and that the project could go forward. The remaining 30% of the project costs were to be fronted by the Meeting as a short term loan until the federal rebate arrived.
Working with the Meeting in October, the CCC went back out to the vendors asking for the array to be located toward the southern edge of the property, allowing for tree service access for our neighbor in addition to asking for a lower profile design; only one of the three vendors provided
a quote; in that quote were three proposals, one of which was a low profile
arrangement. All three proposals allowed for the tree service to access the neighbor’s property. The low profile design tempered the concerns of those who were against the higher profile design. We met with the Parking Committee to go over the latest array location and its impact on future parking – they were onboard.
Back to the Meeting we went, and approval was granted to go ahead with the low profile, 32 panel, 14.4 Kw design in December 2022. The contract signing was completed in January 2023. We had the money, we had a contract, now we needed to get on the schedule. But before that happened, we needed to get approval from the municipalities and PECO. Nether Providence first indicated that their approval was not needed since the hookup was going to take place in Media. Media Borough reached out to them suggesting otherwise. In the end, in February 2023, both the township and the borough granted permission to proceed.
Next was PECO. Before the array installation could begin, we needed their approval. PECO performed a Technical Review to determine if work was needed to be done locally on their utility lines to accommodate the additional power from our array. The results of the review indicated that something needed to be done which led to their Engineering Study; this lasted 4 months and took us into July, which is when we received their permission to continue with our installation.
The installer then put us on their schedule for August. But before they could install the array, we needed to prepare the ground for the array. The installer came out to the meetinghouse and located the perimeter of the array. From there, PMM members donated their time and money to determine what was the best course of action to prepare the ground as well as procuring and installing the material required – 12 tons of modified crushed stone to be raked out across the array area as well as drainage and filtration fabric to be stapled to the ground under the stone. Installation began on August 29 and was completed September 5. Now we had to wait for PECO’s Permission To Operate as well as getting a new net meter installed before the array could become active. These two events happened rather quickly – the switch energizing our array was actuated October 9 @12:35 PM by the Clerks of the CCC and the Property Committee – we were now reducing our carbon footprint big time!
Pursuit of the 30% federal energy rebate – We received information from a vendor regarding the 30% federal rebate process early in 2022. We understood that the rebate was going to apply to systems that were installed in 2023 or later. As 2023 was beginning, we began looking more earnestly into the rebate process. We asked local and federal government officials, solar organizations, and the IRS (which is the government agency for establishing and administering the process) – what is the process? In August 2023, a CCC member attended a solar-oriented webinar about the IRA with IRS personnel on the panel. One of the IRS personnel on the webinar, when asked about the status of the rebate process, responded that the process was a long way from being completed – check back later in the year, which we did but to no avail. It wasn’t until January 1, 2024 that the government website we were following about the process had finally finalized the process to the tune of 79 pages. From there, our Treasurer was able to find his way through the “paperwork” maze to complete the application and get the PMM array registered with the IRS to file the claim. Now we need to wait again and who knows for how long.
Fencing – Because the array was located in our overflow parking area and because of the gentlemen’s agreement with our neighbor in allowing tree service trucks to access their property through PMM’s property, fencing was installed around the perimeter of the array. The design of the fencing was developed as an Eagle Scout project. The October 2023 installation was coordinated and performed by a scout troop. The fencing installation included 4 large bollards that protect the array from vehicles damaging the array. The bollards will have native perennials planted in them by our Landscape Committee.
SRECs – Solar Renewable Energy Credits. We, as a committee, wanted to retire the SRECs and not receive any financial gain from them. We had to explain what SRECs were and what they stood for to the Meeting members, and why the CCC wanted to retire them over the course of two different meetings. Finally, the Meeting agreed in December to retire our SRECs and not get compensated for them.
GATS – Next was applying to GATS, Generation Attribute Tracking System, the system that keeps track of solar generated electricity. We didn’t need to apply to GATS in order not to receive compensation but it was important to us as we wanted the Meeting’s solar generated electricity to be counted among all of the other producers in the state. The GATS application was approved in early February.
So here we are, more than two years after we started down the road to greatly reducing the Meeting’s carbon footprint by obtaining a solar array that should generate enough electricity to cover our electrical requirements (we’ll know sometime later this year if that goal was accomplished). Yes, we are still tied to the grid and receive electricity from PECO when the sun is not shining or when the Meeting is using more electricity than what we are generating, but the feeling that we have, knowing that we are using some of our own electricity as it is being generated, as well as supplying electricity to the grid, is truly spiritually up-lifting.
It’s been a community effort – the solar array was agreed to by the Meeting, procurement of the array coordinated through the Climate Crisis Committee, funding financed by the Finance Committee through pledges and donations and the federal rebate as well as completing the application and getting registered with the IRS for the IRA, installed (along with the fencing) with oversight from the Property Committee, the location okayed by the Parking Committee, and maintenance of the bollard plantings to be taken care of by the Landscape Committee.
The CCC has helped bring the PMM community closer together in its three years of existence pursuing its mission to address climate change, to promote increased awareness in the Meeting about climate issues, to educate the Meeting on how, locally, we can reduce our carbon footprints, and to help identify opportunities for witnessing to our faith in creating a more sustainable society.
