Spiritual State of the Meeting Report from State College Friends Meeting (April 2024)
For our yearly state of the meeting report to the Philadelphia and Baltimore yearly meetings, the State College Friends Meeting bypassed the suggested queries and instead chose queries we thought would help us understand where our meeting stands in this time and in this place. We settled on three queries:
1. What do you see as this meeting’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and challenges?
2. Who are we now and who would we like to become as a meeting?
3. What would make it feasible for you to participate in the life of the meeting by attending business meeting?
We gave Friends three opportunities to answer these questions: a called in person meeting on Sunday, April 14th; a called Zoom meeting on Tuesday, April 16th; and in writing.
What do you see as this meeting’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and challenges?
1. Strengths
In considering our strengths, Friends gravitated toward two occasionally overlapping themes: wisdom and community. Under the heading of wisdom, Friends expressed gratitude for those who have been part of the meeting for years, have accumulated storehouses of knowledge about the meeting itself and life in general, and were willing to share that wisdom with others. Friends also appreciated the Quakerism 101 and adult education classes we organized, which provided insight into the history of Quakers, globally and locally, and more provocative discussions of Quaker testimonies and commitments.
By far, though, Friends treasured the community that has arisen in our meeting. By community, we meant a number of things:
• the feeling that Friends really care about each other, as embodied in the recently established Pastoral Care committee;
• the Quaker Life Committee of our Friends School, which strengthens the Quaker commitments of the school;
• the Spiritual Friendship circles, in which Friends discuss what they believe and how they arrived at what they believe;
• the commitment to the good of the community, whether in small local ways or larger but still local efforts like the Climate Justice Working Group;
• and the diversity of viewpoints (from believers to non-theists) the meeting not just tolerates but welcomes.
Finally, we noted that after the damage COVID did to attendance, the meeting is growing again, including the (welcome) arrival of families with small children.
2. Weaknesses
Many of the weaknesses we identified overlap with Opportunities and Challenges, discussed below. Nevertheless, we say a word about them here. Some Friends do not feel like we are deepening our spiritual lives, others that we are not representing our faith to the community. Many of us would like to see more diversity in the Meeting by actively welcoming more than just white middle class members, who seem heavily overrepresented. Finally, and in a comment that will reappear under Challenges, many Friends believe that some do more than their fair share of the work needed to keep the Meeting alive.
3. Opportunities
One friend noted that our commitment to the peace testimony may have lapsed, which is unfortunate given the world of ongoing wars we live in and the history of pacifism and conscientious objection among Quakers. As mentioned under Weaknesses, many Friends believe we could do a better job representing our faith in the community and reaching out to others, including Penn State students. For that to happen, Friends may need to become less insular and more open about their beliefs. Finally, and on that score, our practices (silence) and testimonies ought to appeal to a lot of people—the latent Quakers, as we call them.
4. Challenges
Friends noted two challenges. First, we provide few opportunities to learn how others have conducted their spiritual journeys and how we might learn from what they have learned along those journeys. Second, and above all, the need to get younger people to participate in the life of the meeting, including its various committees, whether Pastoral Care, Religious Education, or Worship and Ministry.
Who are we now and who would we like to become as a meeting?
This query elicited many of the same responses the first query did. After the challenges of COVID, many Friends feel relieved that our numbers are growing again. We would like to keep growing and to see more younger and active people attending meeting. Although the Pastoral Care committee has done good work, some Friends feel like we could do still more to encourage others to ask for help when they need it. We want to be a meeting where people feel like they can trust in and count on each other.
By far, though, Friends wanted to do a better job of communicating to others who we are and what we believe. Too often, Friends have to insist on what they are not: the Quaker Oats man, the Amish, or some other spiritual tradition, like the Shakers, that passed long ago. Instead of asserting what we are not, we need to state, more clearly and more passionately, our testimonies and commitments. Some Friends found an analogy for this need in our commitment to silence. It is not the absence of sound but the listening for revelation. We suggested a number of ways to take this opportunity:
• More t-shirts that say, “This is what a Quaker looks like.”
• A podcast devoted to living the Quaker life in our embattled world.
• A “Bring a Friend to Friends Meeting Day.”
Regardless, we all felt that what Quakerism offers—our testimonies, which are in step with social justice, and our emphasis on silence in a noisy world—should appeal to others. In sum, and in the language of the New Testament, we feel like we need to stop hiding our candle under a bushel.
What would make it feasible for you to participate in the life of the meeting by attending business meeting?
For years, our meeting has struggled to persuade all but the usual suspects to attend Business Meeting. Since Business Meeting is crucial to the life of the meeting, we periodically revisit this question. As usual, we discussed different modes for Business Meeting (in-person versus hybrid versus exclusively Zoom) and different times to meet. One friend mentioned that at his previous meeting, once a month Business Meeting substituted for what would have been regular meeting for worship. Two of the more promising ideas were (1) to streamline the meetings by adopting a consent agenda, wherein more mundane parts of committee reports would be circulated in advance and discussion reserved for what requires discernment and (2) to do a better job conveying to the meeting as a whole what Business Meeting entails, that it is an important part of the life of the meeting, and that it can be a spiritual practice unto itself.
Although, as this report attests, the State College Friends Meeting has its share of weaknesses and challenges, as does any branch of organized religion at this moment, our meeting matters intensely to those who share in it and, so long as it continues to do so, we feel certain we can address those weaknesses and overcome those challenges. Indeed, that our called meetings and this report devoted so much more space—and time—to Strengths and Opportunities bodes well for our future.
Addendum I
2024 Climate Questions for Spiritual State of the Meeting reports- SCFM
1. How is spirit guiding SCFM as we experience and address climate change and issues of climate justice?
2. How do we keep this concern in our presence in the midst of our busy lives?
How has Meeting addressed the action items raised by the Playbook- particularly as to the 5 action areas around climate change?
SCFM’s Climate Justice Working Group’s (CJWG) led our meeting’s climate actions (from Fall
2019 through July 2023) were shared at PYM 2023 Annual Sessions and a poster of SCFM
Climate Actions was posted in SCFM bulletin board in Social Rm from 8.23 to present
Advocacy/Activism
● Harvested burdock root & sent to Singularity Botanicals Apr. 2023; maintain herbal medicine garden year-round for use in Chester County’s African American community
● Tabled for CJWG at Lion Bash (town and gown street fair) in Aug. 2023 – met PA House Representative Paul Takac
● Rep. Paul Takac presentation on Climate Action in PA government on 1.18.24; co-sponsored by Foxdale’s Climate Care and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion committees and State College Friends Meeting Adult Religious Education and Climate Justice Working Group committees. Presentation recording posted on CJWG webpage https://www.statecollegefriends.org/climate-justice-working-group
● Local gathering of local environmental groups potluck at the Unitarian Fellowship on
3.15.24 to present on climate actions of CJWG
● Develop and maintain native plant and pollinator gardens on the meetinghouse grounds. ● Planning a Community Climate Action Conversation at SCFM in 2024
● Planning a Meetinghouse Social Hour chat on Apr. 21 – what are people doing; their concerns; what do they want to know?
Education
● QEW workshop 1.11.23 – Living In Right Relationship With The Living World: Quaker Testimonies As A Template?
● QEW workshop 2.23.23 – Restoring Life And Hope: Renewing Biodiversity, Mind, Body, And Spirit
● QEW workshop 3.16.23 – Financial and Economic Roots of the Climate Emergency
● QEW workshop 4.16.23 – Way Forward: Care for the Earth
● Life without Plastics: 100 suggestions – info. is posted on our Social Room bulletin board starting 2.24
● Planning a CJWG booth at a town wide Earth Day Celebration April 20th 2024 from 12-4pm with information from 4 local churches’ climate actions, rock painting activity and a Climate Quiz from THIS
https://thisiswhatwedid.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/QuizPDF31August2021.pdf
Climate Footprint Reduction
● Honeycomb insulating shades installed on windows in Social Rm and Kitchen in fall 2022
● Working on a Voluntary transportation carbon onset to go into our Meetinghouse Carbon Reduction Fund
● SCFM Meetinghouse Carbon Footprint Reduction choices for discernment with
Buildings & Grounds Committee (then to be labored with SCFM membership)
1. Add insulation in 2 areas – 1) the ceilings of Mtng Rm & Social Rm; 2) under kitchen and in basement closet
2. Consider replacing the Anderson windows in the Meeting rm. or get storm windows to reduce heat loss
3. Rebuild Social Rm sliding glass door (leaks air)
4. Mow less lawn options for ¼ of our 3 acres – perhaps a ground mounted solar array with native perennial meadow below
Finances
● Finances & Climate Action information up on Social Rm bulletin board from 1.23 on & announced at rise of Meeting
○ EQAT’s Never Vanguard Campaign
○ Th!rd Act’s Campaign to defund Big Banks investing in fossil fuels
○ Bank for Good – positive values banking
○ As You Sow information site about what our investments are funding
● Using Finances for Action on Climate slideshow presentation done at Upper
Susquehanna Quarter Fall Family Gathering 9.20.23
● Climate Racism slideshow presentation done at Upper Susquehanna Quarter Fall Family Gathering 9.19.23
Mourning Loss & Finding Hope
● Mourning Loss and Finding Hope Workshop at Millville MM 11.5.23
1. Are SCFM members and attenders aware of the 5 action areas developed by the Climate Sprint, Eco-Justice Collaborative, Climate Witness Stewards and PYM in the Climate Playbook?
2. How can we raise awareness and inspire action in response to climate change and climate justice in our faith community?
3. As Quakers, are we remembering to tenderly hold the earth and all life on earth in the light?
4. Are we respectfully listening to each other, knowing that we need our whole community to discern way forward?
Has your meeting appointed a climate witness liaison? Yes, Jackie functions as SCFM liaison.
Addendum II
Religious Education
The children’s religious education program has been lively, loving and joyful. There have been 26+ children (14 families) who have participated over the course of this past year, and most of the families have participated as regularly as young families can, while some come to just special events. Our program focuses on our Quaker testimonies: Simplicity, Peace, Integrity, Community, Equality and Stewardship, while activities include games, poetry, cooking, crafts, camping, acting and community service. Our children are a respectful and caring group who are sharing their Light in very loving ways. As our program grows, our Religious Education traditions become stronger, our testimonies become more tangible, and our families are starting to integrate into other committees of Meeting, becoming vital to our future.