How has our meeting been changing?
The Meeting continues to grow as a faith community. Meeting for worship is well and faithfully
attended and we are nourished by the depth of the spoken ministry and the gatherer silence.
Monthly Quaker Conversations (formerly Adult Religious Education) offer the opportunity for
shared communal seeking and the opportunity to know each other better. Social gatherings after
worship, monthly potluck lunches, and the annual pancake breakfast are popular and joyful
intergenerational events. First Day School is growing by leaps and bounds and has welcomed
several families from Wilmington Friends School. The hardworking coordinator and Religious
Education Committee provide stimulating activities tailored to the wide range of ages of the
participants. Young Friends (grades 8 – 11) have been actively engaged in following their
interests in climate action, gardening, baking, crafts, and music, as well as engaging in positive
ways with younger children.
Our participation in events of Concord Quarter has increased, including families.
Our outreach to the community continues with the annual Berry Festival and preparing meals for
Emmanuel Dining Room and Family Promise. In addition, the Meeting approved a request by
STELLAR Associates to relocate its tutoring services to the meetinghouse. We heartily welcome
this non-profit group, which is dedicated to increasing children’s literacy. We are pleased that our
building is being used to good purpose.
Where is Wilmington Monthly Meeting headed in the next few years?
The past year has been characterized by a sense of possibility, energy, and spiritual seeking,
New attenders, both individuals and young families, have found fulfillment in meeting for
worship and have participated enthusiastically in social activities and in the work of the meeting.
Our meeting is evolving, and we are grateful for the opportunity to get to know one another,
deepen our faith, and live into our testimonies.
Last spring we began a process to discern the nature of our meeting community, what we must
do to sustain it, and how we can ensure that it moves forward into the future. Two worship
sharing sessions were held in which participants reflected on and responded to several queries.
The open, spirit-led sharing was meaningful. At the end of the second session, it was decided to
have a third once a sprint group had gathered information about what we already do and how the
work of the meeting gets done. The sprint group asked committees to fill out a survey and will
report results once all surveys are received.
Triumphs or troubles we have had regarding our concern for Climate Witness:
Our active Peace and Social Justice group is working to increase awareness on climate issues not
only as regards the stewardship of the meeting but also in our personal lives and communities.
We have had a wonderful year of progress in many small ways. We have eliminated the use of
paper and plastic products during social time and potlucks, switching to cloth napkins and
training many (including young friends) to use the commercial, efficient dishwasher. Young
friends built and monitor our in ground vermicompost (worms) bin to which Friends in the
meeting bring their food scraps weekly. They are also responsible for a vegetable garden, which
they plan, plant, harvest and share with the meeting. They journal the growth, success and
challenges weekly.
The Property Committee has worked over the past 15 years to increase the energy efficiency of
the meeting house, although it will always be a challenge in a 200+ year old building, which has
a historic building designation. A high efficiency gas heater cut the energy bill in half and the
instillation of water efficient appliances has significantly reduced our water consumption.
Delaware Interfaith Power and Light also conducted an energy audit. Although we learned solar
panels may be feasible, it should be done when the roof is replaced (which is not in our
immediate plans). We are exploring other options for moving away from fossil fuels to
renewable energy.
Toward that end, we also have members who have moved to electric vehicles, and we continue to
hold most committee meetings either by video conference or before or after worship, being
mindful that multiple independent trips by car contributes to harmful emissions.
Property and REC have also been engaged in a years long effort to replace plants around the
meeting with native plants, including those that attract pollinators, butterflies and moths. The
meeting grounds encompass a full city block and provide a beautiful green space in the middle of
Wilmington. We tend carefully to our trees to preserve the canopy, which provides much needed
shade and breeze to help alleviate the heat generated by the city’s sidewalks, buildings and roads.
We provided sponsorship for the Delaware Youth Environmental Summit in February. YES! is a
statewide summit for all Delaware high school students with an interest in protecting our Earth.
The Summit is free for Delaware high school student teams and their advisors. A young friend
attended as a member of the Wilmington Friends School Team and a Friend from the meeting
also attended.
Peace and Social Justice hosted a vegetarian potluck in February which was very well received.
A Friend created a wonderful pamphlet on the impact of our food choices on the plant (copies are
available!) and recipes are being collected. Peace and Social Justice also hosted a presentation
by Eco Plastic Products of Delaware whose mission is “to reinvent how the world views plastic
waste – transforming what’s discarded into purposeful products while fostering education,
inspiring community action, and providing opportunities for people of all abilities.” Our young
friends have adopted plastics recycling as another project and a recycling container for #2, #4,
and #5 plastics is now in the meeting house.
