In past years our report started out with the wonderful turnout at the Peace Fair. The Peace Fair, among many other events, had to be cancelled due to the pandemic.
Since March of 2020 at Southampton Monthly Meeting we have had meetings for Worship and Business on Zoom, with about 6-10 people on Sunday mornings at 10 am and 3-12 people on Tuesday evenings at 7:30 pm. Our online format at first allowed our local people to attend without risking infection, and now continues to allow our people in Iowa, Florida, Delaware, and Maryland to continue attending. We had missed the in person Meetings during the covid-19 pandemic and only at the end of July did we have the joy of eight people in the Meetinghouse for the first time in quite a while. Our Meetings for Worship have been meaningful and thoughtful. We plan to continue the hybrid style Meetings thanks to our “hotspot” and Stephen Moyer who sets up his laptop. We have allowed the current NA (Narcotics Anonymous) groups to use our Meetinghouse, using proper ventilation, mask-wearing and distancing. We moved some benches and marked 6 Ft. seating locations with tape to help with distancing.
Our Vigils for Racial Justice continue, weekly. We started them following the murder of George Floyd in June of 2020. There is still much work to be done to combat systemic racism. We regularly have 12-20 people at the corner of Street and Gravel Hill Roads from 4-5 on Sunday afternoons (although the time of day varies with the hours of daylight). We practiced mask-wearing and distancing during the pandemic before we were vaccinated. Vigils have continued throughout the heat and the cold in all weather. We cooperate with Newtown Meeting on activities for Racial Justice. John Magee has been liaison.
Along with the vigils, Hans Peters and Stephen Moyer have had meetings with two Upper Southampton Chiefs of Police, one recently retired and his successor. Although the opinions differ about the existence of racism in Southampton, we try to keep a dialogue going.
Christmas brought a new challenge as to how to celebrate with our Candle Light Christmas. We devised a zoom program, with readings and music where everyone but the speaker (or musician) was muted. For the sharing portion, we had the usual candles in sandboxes in the Meetinghouse with video. As people spoke, one of two people in the meetinghouse placed a lit candle in the sandbox. Some Friends from Newtown and Trenton Meetings joined us. Positive feedback from a Latina Friend in Trenton came regarding our inclusion of singing “Somos El Barco”. Richmond Shreve of Newtown recorded our program and combined portions with videos of the children of Newtown Meeting for a presentation of a “Quaker Christmas Celebration” shown to Pennswood Village residents.
For the first time in a number of years, Southampton meeting hosted Bucks Quarterly Meeting. Our speaker was Helen Higginbotham, Esq., community organizer and law professor, who has organized “When Black Women Gather.” She talked about “Conversation is Action – Getting to the Tough Conversations.” She received positive feedback. Several people asked to be put on her email list for events. We plan to host BQM again, (but in person!), when our turn comes around again.
Bill Dockhorn has been spending considerable time and effort organizing our records to send to Haverford for archiving. We appreciate his initiative and diligence.
In December 2020, Southampton Meeting passed a Minute addressed to the President of the United States, the Attorney General, and the Senators and Representative that represent us in Washington. The Minute spoke against the (at that time) recent resumption of federal penal executions.
In June 2021, Southampton Meeting passed a Minute addressed to the Pennsylvania state legislature, regarding Equity in Education, requesting that all funds, not just “new” funds, be equitably distributed so schools with lower tax bases could have better funding.
Last year we replaced a 90-year-old slate roof on our House on the Hill for $11,000. Thanks to two generous members who offered matching funds of $2,000 and $3,000 plus members’, attenders’, and former members’ contributions, we have been able to regain most of this amount in the past year.
On June 26, Jim and Carolyn Michener celebrated their first Wedding Anniversary with a small gathering of Friends, friends, and relatives in the Meetinghouse. They restated their vows at the beginning of the 45-minute Meeting for Worship, which included thoughtful messages from those present. Guests then signed the marriage certificate, something that had been impossible during the wedding, held, as it was, at the height of the pandemic quarantine. Afterward, we had a trash-free gathering outside – with ceramic plates, glass glasses, washable utensils, cloth napkins, and tablecloths. Food scraps were composted or enjoyed by local chickens.
Our members have been active in Quaker activities, outside of Southampton Meeting, such as EQAT actions, and various other organization demonstrations for racial justice. Bill Dockhorn serves on the budget and Nominating for Bucks Quarter. Carolyn serves on the Bucks Quarter Oversight and Outreach Committees in addition to the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting Anti-Racism Collaborative (ARC). The ARC has collected many resources, which appear on the PYM website. Stephen Moyer is taking over the position of clerk of Southampton Monthly Meeting. We plan to have some listening sessions regarding the future of the meeting and possible changes to the House on the Hill to better suit our needs. Other hopes are directed towards programs/discussions/book readings regarding actions to interrupt structural racism.
Our Meetinghouse with a hybrid meeting is open for Meeting for Worship at 10 am on Sundays. Worship on Tuesdays at 7:30 continues only via zoom. Our picture window looks out into a woods beautiful at any time of year, in the spring when the leaves are coming out, the summer, the fall as the leaves turn and in the winter as the snow falls. All are welcome. Come visit.
Peace and Love,
Carolyn Peters Michener,
Outgoing Clerk (2002-2021).
