It seems fitting that on the day scheduled to discuss our state of the meeting, there was a threat of a
snowstorm that led us to move our meeting to Zoom only. And how wonderful that we have grown in our
flexibility to compensate for all kinds of weather and conditions and were able to meet virtually for both our
discussion and for Meeting for Worship. It is that same call to being responsive and flexible that has
provided opportunities and challenges to us as our Meeting grows. Although our membership has remained
nearly constant with only a slight decrease last year, the number of attenders, some frequent, has risen to
over 40 adults and children!
Elise Boulding wrote in The Personhood of Children, “If we want to rediscover human joy and wholeness
and creativity, and to learn to care for our planetary household as one earth family, we cannot continue to
insulate adults and children from each other. Children need to be present to us, and we to them.” We have embraced these words wholeheartedly and are becoming what we have envisioned! Our Meeting, as one Friend reminisced, is “filled with chatter and chaos, joyful, hopeful, and …..wonderful.” We attribute much of this energy to a dedicated few who are working to build a robust First Day School Program and who recognize Unami as a vital source of spiritual grounding for our children. Others have followed and of course, having more children leads to more children (and parents) wanting to come.
For several years now, our Meeting has been a steady, strong meeting of mainly elders, all wondering what
the future of the Meeting would hold. The frustration of too few children who infrequently attended has
shifted to more children with regular attendance whose families are looking for less child care and more Quaker programming.
The young, enthusiastic parents are often new to Quakerism and unfamiliar and uncomfortable with
“teaching” about Quakerism. We recognize the importance of non-parent adult influence in children’s lives
as many of the elder generation’s children had experienced at Unami. We have instituted Intergenerational
Meeting for Worship on the first Sunday of each month with success and enthusiasm. We recognize how
this practice helps to bring our children into the structure of the meeting. We acknowledge the need for a
strong First Day School Program as well as programming for adults, Quakerism 101 for example. As one
Friend said, we need a “Rules of the Pool” discussion, especially for those new to Quakerism. And for all of
us including those who are having difficulty finding spiritual nourishment, suggestions have included offering
midweek Meetings for Worship, discussions on individual spiritual journeys or what we believe, nontheist
and Universalist Quakers.
Other committees continue to meet regularly and provide the meeting with nourishment and care. Care and
Membership thoughtfully considers the needs of individuals and the community. An Ad Hoc Safety
Committee has been formed to consider all issues of safety for our Meeting and tasked with developing a
safety policy that fits the size and capacity of our meeting.
Our Peace and Social Concerns Committee has continued its work on social justice and peace activities,
including a discussion on Poverty by America by Matthew Desmond. They have continued updating our
Black Owned Business Directory and designing banners and signs for the Meeting, including a land
acknowledgement.
The Meeting has a strong presence in the local community. Each year, we designate a portion of our budget
to our local social service agency, The Open Link. We are active participants in the Upper Perk Ministerium
and some of our members have helped to create a Code Blue Shelter in the Pennsburg community. We
have maintained a presence in the Friends of the Delaware Tribe of Unami who sponsored a training last
summer on “Right Relationship” presented by the Coalition to Dismantle the Doctrine of Discovery.
Our Property Committee maintains the upkeep of our building and plans for future projects. The Committee
has designed and built a new sign for our Meeting. The major projects that lie ahead of us are new flooring
in the classrooms and bathrooms, new windows in some of the rooms, and painting the Meetinghouse.
The Carbon Forest Committee has gained the support of several conservancies and land trusts, created a website, presented at FGC and continues its work trying to acquire land and funds to build a carbon forest.
Regarding Climate Witness, members have made individual commitments in their lives, but the Meeting has
not collectively. We are careful about using reusable products, we’ve changed our electric company to one
that uses renewable energy, our committees meet by Zoom, we have created and support the Carbon
Forest Committee, but there is no “outloud” focus on the subject.
The Worship and Ministry Committee oversees Intergenerational Worship, making sure that there is
someone to lead it each month and monitors Meeting for Worship each week, making sure that someone is
always available to open and close meeting in person and on Zoom. The committee also planned and
organized Seasonal Celebration and works on planning discussions throughout the year.
The Outreach committee maintains our website and oversees opportunities for “inreach” and “outreach.” We
maintain our ongoing commitment to those who need community and our support.
The Meeting has a strong presence in the wider Quaker community. Our members serve on Abington
Quarter committees as well as PYM committees. This year, we designated funds collected during our
Seasonal Celebration for Swannanoa Meeting in North Carolina whose meetinghouse was destroyed by the
recent flooding.
In our discussion on the State of the Meeting, one Friend said, “I am very pleased at how alive our Meeting
is; there are some Meetings that seem to be fading away; but that is not the case here. The message for the
state of the Meeting is WE ARE VERY MUCH ALIVE AND EXCITED ABOUT CHANGE. GOOD ON US!
Respectfully submitted,
Nancy Donnelly, clerk
