Chester River Friends continue to meet in the Board Room of the Chestertown Presbyterian Church since the sale of our Meeting House several years ago. Happily, we welcome several regular,
attenders and occasionally, Members of other Friends Meetings, who somehow happen to find us, while visiting in and around Chestertown.
We continue to be a rather a quiet, yet gathered group of Friends, during Meeting for Worship and we continue our tradition of “continuing/afterthoughts,” along with introductions, at the rise of Meeting.
Worship Sharing:
Several of us gather monthly for Worship Sharing after Meeting. We have looked closely at Third Haven Friends Meeting’s, Quakerism 101: That of God and So On. We have read and discussed Richard Rohr’s book, just this. And we are currently working on Donald Spotto’s book, In Silence, Why We Pray. This effort, on all of our parts, seems beneficial individually and for our collective experience.
Meeting’s Business/Organizational Structure:
We continue to operate, with a Clerk, Assistant Clerk and Treasurer. Meetings for Worship with Attention to Business are scheduled on an as needed basis. Financial Reports from our Treasurer are often our only order of business except for times when we consider our annual contributions to community and Quaker organizations.
This past year the Trustees, comprised of our long-standing Clerk, Assistant Clerk, Treasurer and a Meeting Member, met to take up the concern of our organizational structure. Several queries surfaced during these meetings. Might Chester River Friends Meeting be better suited to be the Chester River Worship Group? And if so, which Meeting in the Southern Quarter might be able to take us “Under Their Care”?
The Trustees agreed to approach Third Haven, with the query about whether we might be able to be “Under Their Care,” if our Meeting discerned that this was our way forward. Third Haven Co-Clerks were interested and excited about this development and agreed to hold our discernment process in The Light. The queries and the research of the Trustees were presented at a Meeting for Business and it was quite certain that this whole idea needed much more seasoning and consideration.
Our Dilemma:
Lacking a structure/organizational framework and with no apparent leadership development process, to relieve our long- standing leadership team, consistency in follow through, especially when challenging issues and/or queries arise, is easily sidelined and forgotten. There also seems to be active criticism rather than constructive consideration of the Trustees hard work in the ongoing consideration of the life and state of the Meeting.
The Cecil Burial Ground:
Please see the attached Annual Report with some suggestions for the ongoing stewardship and maintenance of our historic property.
Respectfully Submitted in Faithfulness,
Bob Denison
Assistant Clerk
