Friends gathered in March to reflect upon the Spiritual State of the Meeting Queries that were provided by Philadelphia Yearly Meeting: how our Meeting has been changing, where are we headed, and to share any triumphs or troubles with regards to our climate witness. Harrisburg Friends Meeting has been enjoying growth in attendance recently. The current cultural and political state of the country have brought more visitors who are familiar with Quakers’ historic involvement in peace and social justice movements, and who desire a quiet refuge of Spiritual Seekers. Below are some of the highlights and challenges of this past year.
Despite growing attendance, our Meeting lacks the presence of many younger friends (those under the age of 50). One member brought forth a challenge this year of how to attract the 4 missing generations: Millenials, Gen Z, Gen Alpha, and Gen Beta. The proposal focused on our Meeting embracing and addressing the ways that the younger generations communicate and where they get their information using social media. We have hosted a series of dinner and fellowship evenings mostly geared to Millennials and Gen Z. This is an ongoing issue we are grappling with and have not yet found our footing mainly due to lack of knowledge in newest social media, but also simple lack of people currently able to put in the time and effort to spearhead such an effort. We have formed an adhoc committee to address this and are charging each standing committee to provide a representative and to consider the query of how to attract the 4 missing generations in all aspects of our committees’ work.
Meanwhile, our core group of members and attenders is aging. But this has provided us the opportunity to actively demonstrate our deep caring for one another through regular visits, check-ins, written cards, chauffeuring, and concentrated prayers for healing by our Circle of 8 group. We are blessed with new and long-term attenders who are becoming actively engaged in committee work, some for the first time.
Our Meeting has embraced its hospitality hour and has increased participation in monthly potlucks. These times of unstructured gathering over good food have enabled us to get to know each other and have fostered an environment of welcoming and friendliness that new and longtime attenders have greatly enjoyed. Friends felt this was a considerable strength of this community that we should promote.
We have organized a series of pizza and movie nights which have been well attended, educational, interesting and community-building. We showed ‘Citizen George’ and ‘Where the Olive Trees Weep.”
Our adhoc Outreach Committee has completed a significant project to update signage inside and outside the Meetinghouse. These signs help newcomers find their way, and also include a large banner that is now displayed prominently on the side of our building welcoming all to worship with Quakers. We received clearance from the city to install a new large sign at the edge of our property.
We have also improved our website by updating our donations page, special events page, and providing a Google calendar with our regular schedule and live Zoom links.
Our Meeting members and attenders are individually very active in environmental, peace, and social justice activities, including involvement with Quaker Peace Building Perspectives (QPBP) organization, Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL), Friends General Conference (FGC), American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), and PYM. This has included support of Alternatives to Violence Project (AVP) work in the Peruvian Amazon. Some of our notable corporate activities have included participation in the Harrisburg area inter religious forum of Greater Harrisburg, Heeding God’s Call, Payment In Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) fund, and our Community Service Fund that provides direct support to Harrisburg residents facing immediate needs for housing and utilities.
Harrisburg Friends Meeting offers a variety of informative adult forums at least once a month. Offerings have included programs on Human Trafficking, being an ally to the LGBTQ+ Community, Bible exploration, Quakers and anti-slavery efforts in central PA, Harrisburg’s Old 8th Ward, Carol Singing, Quakers and Christmas, and many more.
We continue to provide Meeting for Worship both in-person and hybrid via Zoom. We also host a worship and check-in every evening, and this informal but regular offering has become a valuable grounding activity of worship and community building.
Our Women’s Group continues to meet once a month and has provided a place of deep sharing on our perceptions and emotions surrounding the current political climate. The group has also presented a diversity of programs including Spiritual Longing, a Trip to Japan, End of Life issues, Master Gardening, and many more.
Members and attenders are drawn towards our worship which offers a quiet space for inward reflection, mysticism, and a chance to be open to the grace and love of the Spirit. Some long for even more emphasis on silence and meditation.
Our climate witness is woven throughout our decisions on how we heat and cool our building, our pollinator garden, and our herb garden that supplies medicinal roots to a company that donates remedies to distressed, underserved communities.
We have begun a discernment process on how we as a group should address the current state of our country and the near daily onslaught of hate and erosion of our democracy. We are beginning to investigate how to provide refuge and support to local immigrants should they request it in light of our declared support for PYM’s lawsuit against Homeland Security.
The times provide many challenges but have also brought us closer together and more attenders in our doors. Now more than ever we must seek the wisdom of the Inward Teacher in order to outwardly live our faith in addressing this cultural point of tumultuous upheaval.
Respectfully submitted, Harrisburg Friends Meeting.
