Media Friends Meeting continues to cherish our meeting for worship and the ability to sink into silence that nourishes and restores our spirits. We close worshipwith prayers of joys and concerns and afterthoughts, this extends the worship to include those who are in need of support and reflections and insights that do not rise to the level of inspired ministry during worship. We have remained a hybrid meeting. This allows access for some who would not be able to make it in person.We have increased our opportunities to gather in person as well with a variety of activities. We are also active in creating a collaborative and sustainable relationship with our partner school community.
Our Worship & Ministry Committee continues to provide monthly worship sharing sessions on relevant topics of spiritual development. This sharing has drawn us closer and has been well attended by our small meeting. Quaker Religious Education has offered occasional Faith and Play presentations that we enjoy. We have also hosted our regular seasonal activities including, Christmas Crafts, Christmas Eve services, and Easter crafts, along with activities that connect us to our Media Providence Friends School (MPFS) community who utilizes our property.
We continue to be a Quaker grow site and work in collaboration with MPFS middle schoolers to grow and harvest medicinal plants for Singularity Botanicals. These plants are used to service vulnerable communities facing health risks caused by environmental toxins. We also provide meals for the Life Center every other first weekend of the month, with the help of the school community members.
One challenge is our aging and shrinking active meeting population. We have a few meeting attenders that have been a welcome addition to our community and we are hopeful that they will consider joining the meeting. We have invited our school community to our events and worship but have not had any sustained interest.
We have recently considered the need for our Outreach Committee to be reactivated to help draw folks to our community and to address increased social justice concerns. One focus is our Prayer Blanket Ministry that has been a gift of healing and care for 20 years. Inviting more meeting members and the community at large in this activity, along with a regular potluck, is a first step in re energizing our outreach efforts. We have hosted activities in our meeting house in hopes of becoming more visible to our community, these include weekly yoga classes and healing music performances.
We believe our Quaker meeting has much to offer in our community especially during this challenging time in our nation. We are seeking ways to reach those that would find a spiritual home in our midst. We would welcome help from the Yearly Meeting Ministry and Care Committee to enrich our outreach efforts.
Given where you are headed, might Ministry and Care help you find resources? (check all that apply)
- Climate change
- Other
