In 2024, there was a renewed sense of spiritual connectedness and community at Makefield Meeting. We currently have 18 adult members and two active adult attenders.
The core of our meeting is our strong spiritual base. That base is nurtured by our deep, silent worship and our weekly, varied spiritual enrichment program. Topics we covered in 2024 ranged from New Testament study (Sermon on the Mount); an excerpt of Barclay’s apology; articles from Friends Journal on forgiveness, holding each other in the Light, and Inward Power; poems by Robert Frost to listening to a podcast from Ohio Yearly Meeting. We also had a Friend educate us on Meeting for Worship for Healing. Music sharing on 5th Sunday of the month allows further connection through contributions from everyone; nature-based themes are often chosen. Further spiritual nourishment is provided by an informal, bi-monthly spiritual sharing group where women share their spiritual states and pursuits.
Both worship and the spiritual enrichment program as well as the spiritual sharing group give us a sense of renewal and stability. They also provide us with the inner nourishment to continue to live what we see to be the core strengths of Makefield Meeting: seeing that of God in everybody, be a listening and welcoming community, give anyone who enters through our doors a sense of belonging, and contribute to peace in a time when the emotional environment seems conflicted and divided.
As long as we are financially solvent, we trust that Makefield Meeting will continue to be a viable community because of its strong spiritual base.
Our contribution to climate witness currently consists of supporting an external group (Girl Scout troop) in exploring and learning about stewardship of the Earth by the use of our meetinghouse and grounds including the graveyard. In addition, we make efforts as individuals to be good stewards of the Earth, e.g. by the use of renewable energy; as a meeting, we have taken small steps in support of the climate witness: we created a no-mow area in our graveyard and converted flower beds to native plant gardens. In addition, we are planning to make climate witness a topic in our spiritual enrichment program.
