State of the Meeting Reports

Middletown Friends Meeting at Langhorne
Annual Report to Bucks Quarterly Meeting
Hosted by Plumstead Meeting at United Friends School
August 20, 2017

Dear Friends,
Here is an overview of what has been happening at Middletown in the last year.

Our Ministry & Nurture Committee has visited our shut-ins and those who are ill or in the hospital, provided clearness committees for membership, sent cards and flowers on joyous and sad occasions, and attempted to be aware of other joys, concerns, and needs of our members and attenders. The Committee coordinated volunteers to provide worship services at Chandler Hall in October and June; members and attenders who participate find this to be a rich and rewarding experience. The committee also arranged for two of our young people to provide child care during meeting for worship in the summer months when First Day School is not in session. The committee also produced an updated meeting directory for 2017. We no longer need to ask for volunteers to sit on the facing bench because our benches have been rearranged in a U shape so everyone is on a facing bench! In December, we addressed Christmas cards to all our members and attenders and delivered poinsettias to our shut-ins. Finally, at the request of our treasurer, we followed up with seven inactive members who had not contributed financially or participated in the meeting community for several years and Friends approved removing these people from our membership rolls. We plan to follow up with other inactive members this year to see if they wish to maintain an affiliation with the meeting.

Our biggest activity, and one of the social highlights of the year, is our auction and potluck supper held every fall. The proceeds of the auction go to fund requests that come in during the year that are not covered by our General Fund. Some of the many requests we were able to fund this year included donations to the Bucks County Interfaith Coalition for Refugee Resettlement support a Syrian refugee family that arrived here in November 2016, the Camp Onas camper scholarship fund, the Friends Village Elevator project, and Doctors without Borders.

Our First Day School is attended fairly regularly by 4 families, for a total of 9 children. We have two other children who come occasionally. We opened the year on September 18th with a multi-age event. Using clues, the children and adults looked in the Bible to find the ingredients to bake a cake. Our focus for the fall was famous men and women in the Bible, and how God worked through them. The intention was to show that women, as well as men, had an important relationship with God. Some of the challenges faced by these women are still challenges today. We also wanted to show the children how the Bible stories had inspired art, music and even colloquial expressions that are still in use today. As usual, we had our traditional celebrations: a collection for UNICEF, Stone Soup to celebrate Thanksgiving and our Christmas play, held December 11. The play was entitled Why the Chimes Rang by Raymond Macdonald Alden. Nancy Pickering had performed the play as a child and adjusted it to work with our group. The message was that God is more impressed with gifts that are given with love, no matter how small, rather than large gifts to show off wealth or power. When we returned in the New Year, we started reading about the Prophets and their role in the society of the time. Again, we supplemented our collection of Bibles with maps, information about the country, and the politics during the time when these men lived. We used the stories to show the children how Prophets foretold the coming of Jesus and the books of the New Testament. We ended with the story of Palm Sunday and Easter. On Good Friday, the children decorated cookies for the marchers in the Cross Walk that always begins at Middletown. They also dyed eggs, using natural dyes, for the hunt on Easter Sunday. Following Easter, we spent several weeks talking about the care of our environment. We talked about water and solar energy. Thanks to David DiMicco, Alan Farneth and Lance Mervine the fence around the children’s vegetable garden was replaced. We planted vegetables in mid-May that were shared with the meeting and a local food pantry. Robin Hipple, again, helped the children plant the butterfly garden next to the Waln Building. Alan Farneth built a solar oven to cook marshmallows for S’mores.

The Pickerings faithfully take food and other donations from Middletown to the Penndel Food Pantry. In addition to food (for humans and pets), we have contributed to the “summer fund” drive with toys but especially appreciated children’s books, and veggies from the kid’s garden. We also collected for the back- to-school event, as well as Thanksgiving/Christmas and other special collections.

As stewards of our property, two large trees were taken down, and several meeting members were able to take the wood for their stoves and craft projects. We spent a significant amount of money on the schoolhouse so that it now serves as a school. We are also repairing/relaying the sidewalk from the meeting driveway to the end of our property line in front of the school. We are in the process of cataloguing our book collection, and hope that Swarthmore will want some of our oldest books.

Our Speakers Series concluded last fall with a talk on Green Burials by Gene Sonn and on the PYM Spiritual Formation program by Dale Myrtetus. We did a field trip to Grounds for Sculpture in the spring to marvel at the art and be seen outside the meetinghouse. Monthly movie nights continue to be a source of amusement for members and the community. In particular, our October showing of the first Harry Potter movie drew a large crowd of wizards and witches, along with the usual muggles. We have found that chatting in the social room while the movie is on is a great way to get to know each other better. Our September 16th movie will be one of the movies shown at theme weekends this summer at Camp Onas and campers will talk about why they love Camp so much (please join us and share stories of your time at Camp Onas!).

The Quaker Women’s Social Hour continues to provide a monthly informal gathering at a restaurant or home for a chance to enjoy the fellowship of women. Friends from all meetings are welcome.

Since last year’s report, 1 of our members died, and we released 7 inactive members. We gained 4 new members (1 by transfer and 3 by application), for a total net loss of 4 members. Our current membership stands at 94 (6 of these are under 21).

Respectfully Submitted,
Jess Walcott, Clerk

WRIGHTSTOWN FRIENDS MEETING
2017 ANNUAL REPORT TO BUCKS QUARTERLY MEETING
AUGUST 20, 2017

Membership: Our Meeting joyfully welcomed four new families this year – the Brangans, the Brights, the Kilfeathers and Eric Widenmeyer. Kate Biggs, a young person who joined the Meeting when her parents joined turned 21 this year and became an adult Member. Several individuals and families have also begun to attend regularly. We have 190 adult Members, 2 Members under the age of 21 and 20 Associate Members for a total of 212.
Nurturing our Spirit: The quality of worship continues to be strong, both in our silence and our vocal ministry. The Spiritual Exploration Group (SEG) meets the third Sunday of each month. Members of the group rotate responsibility for selecting discussion topics and facilitating group interaction. Bill Sharp led a Bible study session on the ambiguous and complex character of King David, ancestor of Jesus. In addition, a Parents Learning Circle (PLC) was initiated to discuss spiritual parenting. This group meets on the fourth Sunday of the month.
Strengthening our Community: Our members and attenders gather at the rise of Meeting the first Sunday of every month for “Meet and Eat” a pot luck lunch and a program. Topics may be internally generated, i.e. “My personal path to Quakerism” or presented by external speakers. Our Progressive Dinner attracted a great crowd to watch Linda Kenyon’s portrayal of Eleanor Roosevelt. We celebrated Christmas with our 75th Annual Community Christmas Carol Sing.
Building our Future: Our Religious Education Committee completed a very successful First Day School program which focused our children on their identity as Quakers in the larger world. The attendance was strong with an average of 13 children per Sunday. Three new families with their seven children joined us. The service project for this year involved collecting books in English for Rwanda’s Peace Libraries. Our students collected 276 children’s books, thoughtfully selected to be relevant for Rwandan life. Several students also collected soccer equipment through BFS’s Outreach Committee.
Next year the service project will support Rolling Harvest Food Rescue. The program “rescues” unused produced from local farms and farmers’ markets and distributes the produce to food banks. The program is an excellent complement to our work with the Wrightstown Food Cupboard.
Our Nursery School enjoyed excellent enrollment this year and is almost FULLY ENROLLED for next year! The Just the Two of Us Program has brought many two year olds to the school and serves as a feeder for the full time sessions. We look forward to good enrollment for the next several years rightstownas multiple siblings go through the program. Because the majority of our Nursery School students and parents have little or no knowledge of Quakerism, the program serves as an important gateway to the Quaker community.
Deepening our Understanding of our History: One of our members, Sam Nicholson, served the National Forest Service during WWII as a Conscientious Objector. He and his father, a Quaker missionary who had served in Japan prior to WWII, also provided supplies and support to the Japanese internment camp at Manzanar. After the war, Sam and his father participated in relief work in Japan. Sam has written journals describing his experiences which will be made available to our wider Quaker community.
Our Meeting was also visited by the BBC this April to film a portion of a documentary on Charles Thompson, an Irish immigrant who supported the Lenni Lenape after the “Walking Purchase.” Charles Thompson was known to the native people as “One who spoke the truth.” The documentary will air in England this fall. Hopefully, we will receive a CD and can show the film to our community on our newly installed AV equipment which was provided through an Outreach grant from PYM.
Improving Our Campus: Our House and Grounds Committee initiated a project to make our second floor more accessible. A two-tiered, sturdy handrail was installed on the left side of the 18th Century “fan” stairway. Both adults and children now have support climbing on both sides of the stairs.
The Meeting also received an anonymous gift to replace the carpeting in the Social Hall and the flooring in the Nursery School and Social Hall kitchen. The new carpeting and a fresh coat of paint has given our social space a whole new look. We also are working to add a few new parking spaces and improve drainage and lighting in our main parking area
Community Outreach: The Meeting is expanding its efforts to contribute to and make itself more present in the community. We continue to participate actively in the Wrightstown Food Cupboard which serves over 130 families in the Council Rock School District. The Meeting hosted a star gazing party on September 24th. Our own Linc Merwin treated the participants to a tour of the fall sky. Students and parents from our Meeting and Nursery School attended as well as students from BFS and a few adults from other Meetings.
Other highlights included a technology night where First Day School students and their friends shared their computer and technology driven projects, David Bucura’s presentation on peacemaking and healing in Rwanda, Kassem Lucas’s presentation on the life of Dr. Martin Luther King. and a visit that the FDS families made to interact with the residents at Chandler Hall.
Our Peace and Concerns Committee as well as many individual members contributed to worthy causes which involved our members and local organizations including the Center for Returning Citizens, Wine into Water, the Interfaith Coalition for Refugee Resettlement, and The Golden Rule.
The Meeting will continue to make the campus available for community discussion regarding environmental concerns.
Looking Forward: We approach next year with a sense of purpose and resolve that as a Meeting and as individuals, we will make the world a better place.

Respectfully submitted,
Betsy Bayardi, Clerk

Solebury Friends Meeting Annual Report
To Bucks Quarterly Meeting
August 20, 2017
Held at United Friends School
Hosted by Plumstead Monthly Meeting

Solebury Friends Meeting’s membership declined by three members this past year. We have 106 adult members and 42 minor members for a total membership of 148 at the end of 2016. Changes are happening in 2017 that may help our census some. A new family joined this year bringing 2 children to the First Day School and as a result of a marriage under the care of the Meeting one of our children members became an adult member.
Our House and Grounds committee produced a 5-year capital expenses report so that we can properly budget the updating of our property. A sobering amount of money. Although we do not have renewable energy sources on the property we are purchasing our power from renewable sources and have super insulated our education building.
In September 2016 a group of our Young Friends traveled to Washington as part of FCNL’s day of lobbying on Sentencing Reform. They met with Senators Menendez and Booker and Congressman Leonard Lance. One of the Young Friends, Quinn Reinert, reported back to Meeting that those they met with were impressed with our Young Friends knowledge of the need for sentencing reform and seemed supportive. The fall First Day School classes were devoted to exposing our teenagers to sentencing, the need for its reform and how we should treat one another.
On Family Day in June, we celebrated the conclusion of another successful year of the First Day Program for our Young Friends. We are grateful to our paid coordinator, Betsy Cotton, for the vital role that she plays by developing the curriculum for the year and preparing weekly lesson plans for our teachers. We have three classes for preschool, elementary and middle/high school students. We average 7 to 12 children each First Day. We decided to purchase and install the FCNL banner “Love thy neighbor, no exceptions”
In December, the children in our First Day School again made Christmas cards that were sent to members who live some distance away or are unable to attend Meeting for Worship regularly. The cards were signed by members of Meeting. This outreach elicited a few thank-yous from the recipients.
Our Annual Pancake Breakfast was successful again this year. Once again, Mercer Street Friends was the recipient of donations made at the breakfast. With the proceeds from the breakfast we were able to make a $2,685 contribution to Mercer Street Friends preschool summer program. We are most appreciative to Steve and Becky Kunkel who continue to tap our maple trees and boil the sap to produce our wonderful Solebury maple syrup.
We held a special celebration of our long-time nonagenarian members, Malcolm Crooks, Irene Fisher and Sue Tinsman where we reflected on their importance to our Meeting. They were all present to hear and feel our worship.
Our Mary Blackmar Educational Fund was established in the 1960s to provide financial assistance to members’ children attending Friends schools. Last year we provided assistance to four students and this coming year we anticipate assisting three. A majority of the funds come from the investment income of the Fund, with the balance from our annual operating budget.
Solebury continues to support the Peace Fair. We were responsible for Food Service Last year.

David Smith, Clerk

Yardley Friends Meeting Annual Report to Bucks Quarterly Meeting
August 20, 2017
Held at United Friends School

In a year of unrest and fearful, uneasy feelings Yardley Friends Meeting has worked on making our Meeting a place of compassion. We continue to work on our own feelings and hear the feelings of others. We explore our thoughts while working on listening compassionately to those we may not agree with. Our circle is growing.
A lot started with a talk by Dan Gottlieb. In March we filled the meetinghouse for his talk on Cultivating Compassion in a World that Seems Inhumane. We followed up the next week with pot luck to extend our talk. The pot lucks have turned out to be a monthly event. This is bringing more people from our Meeting and also the surrounding community.
Philadelphia Yearly Meeting Membership Development Fund provided a grant which paid for Dan Gottlieb’s fee. Having grants available for the purpose of trying to increase awareness and membership is a big help. We recommend to any Meeting with ideas to increase their membership to contact Membership Development about a grant. Yardley Friends Meeting thanks Philadelphia Yearly Meeting and the Membership Development committee!
At least four new very regular attenders and a few others have become very active. Others who have attended for quite a while have become members. New members are two adults and five children, including one infant. This month we will celebrate our new members with a pool party for the whole Meeting.
Dan Gottlieb talk and the pot lucks are only a couple of exciting things we did this year. A few other events were:

• Simple Gifts (an uplifting workshop and concert by two women playing international folk music with instruments from around the world. We were joined by many from the surrounding community)
• Game night for young friends.
• Autumn market
• Milk weed planting (intergenerational)
• Spring Fling (book sale, car wash, milk weed give away, ice cream)
• We continue our tradition of 11s (snacks) and have a discussion after Meeting for Worship

We hired two teachers for middle school and younger friends. This enabled us to focus on each age group and bring more interest to children of all ages.
Jenna Schwoyer , who has been teaching middle school took a leave to have a baby boy. With the help of Jeff Bishop the children made a wooden toy chest for the baby and had a luncheon to give Jenna the gift and meet the baby Oliver. The children miss Jenna and hopefully she will work with the high school friends in the future.
One member, Linda Sepe, who moved to Maryland a few years ago officially transferred to Sandy Spring Monthly Meeting.
We had a holiday party in December at Pennswood Village, where many of us got to share a beautiful evening with Carol Cadwalader. She passed soon after at 102. Carol brought so much love, caring and wisdom to the Meeting for many years. With the passing of Carol, only a couple of that generation is among us. Many things they’ve said and done throughout the years live on. We trust their example helps us in life and in our work at Yardley Friends Meeting.

Respectfully submitted,

Linda Jacobs, Clerk

Mickleton Monthly Meeting
Of the Religious Society of Friends

2017 Annual Report

Mickleton Meeting is a warm, welcoming spiritual home. Friends gather on First Day with an average attendance in the low to mid-twenties. Active committees include Peace & Social Concerns, Property, Pastoral Care, Worship & Ministry, Nominating, Finance, and Communications and Outreach.
In 2017 membership remained stable at 51 adults and 9 children. In addition, we have about an half dozen active attenders.
It has brought us joy to have had an active First Day School. A Religious Education Sub-Committee of Worship & Ministry met to plan themes and teachers for the year. In the spring we had two classes, one for school-aged children, and one for preschoolers, with teachers committing to one week per month. The children learned about Quaker Testimonies. In the fall it was decided to have all children in one class, with the older children assisting with the younger children. The theme of World Religions was selected. We continue to be fortunate to have David Testa to help with child care. This year Julia Carrigan has come forward as a substitute when David is out of town.
The Peace and Social Concerns Committee met monthly. The John and Helen Glass Peace Essay Contest was one project sponsored by the committee. The eighth graders at Friends School Mullica Hill wrote essays on the quote by Mahatma Gandhi, “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” Aine Halligan was chosen to receive a $500 scholarship for tuition. Mullica Hill Meeting contributed half of the award. Alice Glass’s family contributed an extra $100 which was divided between two honorable mention students, Nick Cipollone and Grace Hamburg. Aine read her winning essay to the Meeting. All three essays were published in Salem Quarter News.
The fifth annual Community Awareness Fair and Fall Yard Sale was held in October. Service organizations were given free spaces at the fair. The Little Red Schoolhouse (LRSH) Committee provided the food at the yard sale again. Peggy Ward organized a Basket Auction in May. Proceeds from the yard sale and basket auction were given to charities. The women’s AA group, Simple Sobriety, continued to meet weekly in the annex, paying an affordable rent. The committee continues to collect food for the Blessing Store at the Evangelical United Methodist Church, clothing for the homeless, books for prisoners, and stamps for Quaker Missions West.
Tuition assistance of $600 was given to each of six children who attended Quaker schools.
Property Committee oversaw the needs of the building and grounds. A work day was held in the spring to remove leaves and clean up the grounds for the annual egg hunt, organized by the LRSH committee. Atlantic City Electric (ACE) installed new taller poles and power lines along Harmony and Democrat Roads, including in the park owned by the meeting. This upgrade required ACE to remove several trees from our property. In exchange two willow oak trees and some bushes were planted.
The LRSH Committee remodeled the kitchen and restroom, including new plumbing, sinks, flooring, countertops and painting. The restroom meets codes for handicap accessibility, and the kitchen meets county health codes. Rent was $400 per day, which was the major source of income for maintenance of the building. Rentals were brisk, bringing in around $32,000. An egg hunt and tennis lessons were held for the community. The spring yard sale was the major fund-raiser. We continue to be thankful for the involvement of community members on this committee.
The Communications and Outreach Committee designed a postcard that was sent to people who have recently moved into the community. Friends School Mullica Hill (FSMH) was also mentioned on the postcard. A grant from Philadelphia Yearly Meeting (PYM) and a contribution from FSMH helped pay for the printing and postage.
Covenant was set at $900, with goals of repaying the Fiduciary loan for the schoolhouse roof and building a fund for two major projects: replacement of the oil heating system and providing ADA accessibility. Income from covenant was about $23,000, and Fiduciary income was about $15,000. The meeting paid a covenant of $5,000 to PYM, and $2,120 to Salem Quarterly Meeting.
It has been my pleasure to serve the Meeting as clerk in this, the second year of my second term.

Gloria Horvay