North Branch Meeting has continued to strengthen and grow in our commitment to create a welcoming, safe space for those who join us to explore their own spiritual journey in Quaker practice. In these troubled times we find comfort in meeting with others who search after truth, who join us in presenting our testimonies with love and respect towards all. Friends have a great deal to offer the world at this time in history; as they always have.
Our circle is growing. We are routinely in the double digits on First Day now which had dwindled in the last few years. Some members who had stopped attending have returned. We have welcomed one new person into membership, another has requested membership, and one member from childhood has requested to stay a member as they reached age 21. We have several new enthusiastic attenders and several more have contacted us for information on where we meet. Our continuing efforts in outreach on social media have been successful.
We meet every Sunday in person at a local school, as we have for decades, and are able to offer attendance on Zoom also. We still dream of having our own meetinghouse someday and have a savings account to help that dream come to pass. But meantime we meet weekly for worship and a robust adult discussion. And we have had the joy of welcoming children recently and are delightedly hoping for more. A few of our returning young adult members are adding new perspectives, ideas and life to our discussions and future plans.
Despite not having a meetinghouse, we continue to find ways to connect with our community. We still hold a “Meditation on the Mountain” gathering almost monthly to introduce folks to Quaker worship and an appreciation for our environment. That has been very popular. Many of us joined together to participate in the “Great American Clean Up” last Spring. We collected a remarkable amount of litter and refuse in a local state park; among the largest amounts in the state, we are told, for such a small group. The fact that we located that much of a problem in that area led the state park to initiate another more targeted official clean up there. We also had a booth at the local Juneteenth celebration to celebrate diversity and equal rights.
Our members continue to each work in their own lives in ways to support our Quaker testimonies and are generous in contributing to our budget.
Our Education Committee is planning presentations on LGBTQIA2+ issues as an update for our members and others who would like to attend. We are also planning on presenting another session of Quakerism 101.
The year of 2024 was a time of restrengthening for our group which started meeting together 67 years ago. We started to gather in 1958 and became a preparatory meeting in 1963. We enjoy meeting together and supporting one another. We are becoming more visible to the community by building outreach and hope to welcome greater diversity. We are, once again, proud to welcome our community to North Branch Monthly Meeting.
