We celebrated Irene Fisher’s 100th birthday this spring by sending birthday cards and calls, and Friends Village helped us celebrate with a few people in person, and a great zoom connection so more of us could join in. We are grateful for her continued involvement with her son Phillip. They both attended Meeting for worship in person once in July, along with Irene’s daughter Karen.
We are concerned about our lack of connection during the pandemic and are trying to come up with ways to connect meaningfully with Friends when worship is not available. We resumed worshiping in person at the Meetinghouse this spring, and those who feel safe to attend find it a great joy to be back together. Zoom meeting for worship is still available, but it isn’t being used much, and we grieve over the loss of connection it was providing for and with far-flung Friends. In person attendance is very light, but that is usually true during the summer months. We hope it will be safe enough for more members to worship in the fall. We have been discussing hybrid worship, but have not reached clearness and will continue to work with each other to discern how to include the most people.
Solebury has active members on many Boards of Directors:
George School (2), Buckingham Friends School (4), Camp Onas (1), Chandler Hall (1), Friends Home and Village (1), and Mercer Street Friends (1).
We have an education grant fund named in honor of a past member Mary Blackmar, to give some financial support to Friends attending Friends Schools. While I don’t have the details in time for this report, we continue this work. Our connections to Buckingham Friends School, George School, and others are strengthened by our young Friends attendance, and we are grateful for the longstanding ties they help create.
Our House and Grounds, and Graveyard committees have continued to keep our Meeting in good repair, in spite of the challenges of the pandemic, fallen trees, stone wall repair, and historic building maintenance.
Respectfully Submitted,
Marian Hepburn, Clerk
Solebury Friends Meeting
