On Sunday of Spring 2022 Continuing Sessions weekend, local meetings were encouraged to “create your own” intergenerational gathering of Friends. Shared here are stories from meetings who created time for togetherness. Other meetings are planning future programs, and we would love to keep hearing and sharing those stories!
Wilmington Meeting shares…
After being disconnected for so long, we created an exercise that used questions designed to allow Friends to see each other and hear our commonalities and our differences. Friends moved around the room to different spots where they met in a small group to share responses to a query; one meeting spot was a laptop with friends on Zoom. The hybrid worked really well, with a few friends on Zoom and a rotating group of participants in the meetinghouse, reading the prompt and then discussing. It was about as seamless as it could be. We read the Together book to the youngest Friends, who were very happy to be together as well!
One young Friend answered the question, “What is your Quaker Super-power?” with the response, “sitting still in meeting for worship.” This sharing brought a smile to everyone in the group. Another response from another younger Friend was “being myself even when it’s scary.” The adult responses were equally revealing, as we saw ourselves as individuals with a variety of perspectives.
Some of the questions used:
- What song makes you sing along whenever you hear it?
- What really makes you laugh?
- Share an activity that feels like “play” to you – when you lose track of time, let go of the outcome, but you’re present in the moment.
- Would you rather have 20 hobbies or a single passion?
- What do you value most in a friend?
Fallsington Meeting shares…
We had a sweet time exploring the book. Thanks to PYM for the inspiration!
We acted out each set of pages in Together. One person was the lone subject and then we all became the galaxy, we each had a flower for the garden, we all chanted no justice no peace, we were all up reaching to become the canopy, we all joined in for Amazing Grace etc. We started the program with the Hokey Pokey and ended with this “Little Light of Mine.” After we made our drawings and shared we sang “We’re All a Family Under One Sky.”
Old Haverford Meeting shares…
West Chester Meeting shares…
After worship, we gathered in our social room for fellowship and to celebrate being a community together. We sat in a circle and an adult and youth took turns reading the book Together. Afterward, everyone was invited to add to a mural with their signature or a picture and we enjoyed a pizza lunch together!
Millville Meeting shares…
Interested in hosting your own “Together” time? More ideas for gathering on the PYM website.
