{"id":3164,"date":"2026-06-02T01:03:59","date_gmt":"2026-06-02T01:03:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pym.org\/state-of-the-meeting\/?p=3164"},"modified":"2026-06-16T04:45:38","modified_gmt":"2026-06-16T04:45:38","slug":"third-haven-meeting-of-friends-2025-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pym.org\/state-of-the-meeting\/third-haven-meeting-of-friends-2025-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Third Haven Meeting of Friends 2025-2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

Prologue<\/strong>
\nThis spiritual state of the meeting report was (a) prepared by the Worship and Ministry
\nCommittee of the Third Haven Meeting of Friends, (b) presented for a first and second
\nreading at meetings for worship with attention to business, and (c) approved for
\nsubmission to the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting by the Meeting after worshipful
\ndiscernment. The purpose of this report is to respond to the question \u201cHow does spirit
\nmove among us?\u201d Using this query, we have engaged in a spirit-led assessment of our
\nworship, community care, spiritual growth, outreach, and challenges.<\/p>\n

Worship Life<\/strong>
\nOur meeting maintains stable attendance, with about 40 attending in person on First
\nDays and several attending online. We also offer a mid-week hybrid option to support
\nmembers on their spiritual journeys. Having an online choice has sometimes been
\nchallenging; however, we have tried to make technology as unobtrusive as possible.
\nQueries in the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting (PYM) Faith and Practice (Revised 2017 and
\nPrinted 2018) are read aloud several times a month at meetings for worship. Vocal
\nministry is often based on the queries read, but it varies, as some queries tend to
\nstimulate vocal ministry more often than others. A challenge for our Meeting is ensuring
\nthat all Friends understand when a thought rises to the level of being vocal ministry.
\nAmong the other challenges are getting Friends and attenders to (a) stand quietly at the
\nentrance to the Meeting when someone is engaged in vocal ministry, (b) avoid reading
\nand representing favorite poetry or prose as vocal ministry, and (c) enter the meeting in
\nsilence regardless of how much time there is before the appointed start time for worship.<\/p>\n

Community and Care<\/strong>
\nOur Meeting has sponsored many activities designed to support one another spiritually,
\nemotionally, and practically. Examples of this include worship-sharing sessions held to
\ngive Friends opportunities to share what they were experiencing in the current
\nsociopolitical environment and how the Meeting might support their spiritual well-being
\nduring such times. Similarly, we provided an opportunity for spiritual renewal through art
\nand music to foster a sense of community and spiritual growth through shared creative
\nexpression. All of these activities were well attended and greatly appreciated.
\nSpace for our First Day School was recently renovated, with attendance before and after
\nthe renovation being stable. Through the efforts of dedicated Friends involved in First
\nDay School, intergenerational activities, such as potluck meals have been held several
\ntimes a year. As young Friends move from one educational level to another (such as
\nfrom middle to high school or high school to college), they are recognized in various
\nways for their achievements.<\/p>\n

Over the past year, we have been delighted to see some Friends who had been away for
\na while return and have welcomed several newcomers. We have lost some Friends
\nthrough moves to be near relatives and friends. Others have left without openly sharing<\/p>\n

their reasons. We recognize that we cannot meet everyone\u2019s wants and needs.
\nNevertheless, we believe that it is our responsibility to keep trying in large and small
\nways. For example, opportunities to share the joys and concerns are available before the
\nclose of worship and in the bi-weekly printed announcements of the Meeting. Similarly,
\ncleanup days occur periodically and involve both outdoor and indoor activities. These
\nactivities are intergenerational and not only help maintain a positive physical
\nenvironment for worship but also enhance the spiritual community, as nothing brings
\nFriends together more than a tangible task done well. Similarly, activities such as
\ncontributing to a weekly food basket, striving to overcome technology problems, holding
\na carriage shed sale, and singing together at the close of worship have helped enhance
\nour sense of community and of caring.<\/p>\n

Witness and Outreach<\/strong>
\nIn addition to providing care to our worship community, we have worked to deepen our
\nknowledge and understanding of broader community issues, such as immigration, food
\ninsecurity, and relating across perceived differences. We have shared announcements
\nsuch as \u201cConversations on Race,” honoring the legacy and heritage of indigenous
\npeoples, and opportunities to read to kindergarten children sponsored by community
\norganizations. We have sponsored speakers with expertise and experience in areas of
\nconcern and invited residents of the broader community to attend; encouraged all to
\ncommunicate their concerns and joys to local, state, and national officials; donated
\nmoney and food to reputable organizations; and gotten involved in several organizations
\nand efforts to be examples of loving and caring for others.
\nSpiritual Growth<\/p>\n

In addition to individual presentations about \u201cSpiritual Journeys\u201d sessions on \u201cReading
\nthe Gospels\u201d have been available. One of our efforts in spiritual growth has been a
\nseries titled \u201cFaith and Practice at Third Haven Friends Meeting.\u201d Sessions in the series
\nhave included: (a) \u201cThat of God,\u201d (b) \u201cSilent Worship,\u201d (c) \u201cTestimonies and Witness,\u201d
\nand (d) \u201cCommunity.\u201d In these activities, Friends have been open about things that are
\nclose to their hearts, which increases the feeling of community as we grow spiritually.<\/p>\n

Challenges<\/strong>
\nConfusion sometimes arises over whether involvement in external organizations and
\nactivities is based on a personal leading, an ad hoc group work, or an official Meeting
\nrole. Thus, the challenge is to define ways to ensure there is no uncertainty about
\nwhether the activities of members are performed as Meeting representatives or as
\nindividuals. Another challenge has been to help Friends to focus more upon Quaker
\ntestimonies or values and less upon personalities.<\/p>\n

Epilogue<\/strong>
\nWe conclude with a commitment to ourselves and others to continue our shared journey
\nin faith, community, and service. We celebrate our accomplishments, acknowledge our
\nshortcomings, and remain committed to doing a little better and being a little better
\nalong the way. Guided by spirit and unity, we look to tomorrow with faith, hope, and love.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Prologue This spiritual state of the meeting report was (a) prepared by the Worship and Ministry Committee of the Third Haven Meeting of Friends, (b) presented for a first and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":437,"featured_media":3180,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_price":"","_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_tribe_ticket_capacity":"","_ticket_start_date":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":false,"_tribe_ticket_use_global_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_global_stock_level":"","_global_stock_mode":"","_global_stock_cap":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_going_count":"","_tribe_ticket_not_going_count":"","_tribe_tickets_list":"[]","_tribe_ticket_has_attendee_info_fields":false,"iawp_total_views":2,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"quarterly_meeting":[52],"year_of_repprt":[76],"class_list":["post-3164","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-reports","quarterly_meeting-southern-quarter","year_of_repprt-2025-2026","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pym.org\/state-of-the-meeting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3164","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pym.org\/state-of-the-meeting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pym.org\/state-of-the-meeting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pym.org\/state-of-the-meeting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/437"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pym.org\/state-of-the-meeting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3164"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.pym.org\/state-of-the-meeting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3164\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3165,"href":"https:\/\/www.pym.org\/state-of-the-meeting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3164\/revisions\/3165"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pym.org\/state-of-the-meeting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3180"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pym.org\/state-of-the-meeting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3164"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pym.org\/state-of-the-meeting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3164"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pym.org\/state-of-the-meeting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3164"},{"taxonomy":"quarterly_meeting","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pym.org\/state-of-the-meeting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/quarterly_meeting?post=3164"},{"taxonomy":"year_of_repprt","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pym.org\/state-of-the-meeting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/year_of_repprt?post=3164"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}