Spiritual State of the Meeting report for Carlisle Monthly Meeting for 2014
On March 1, 2015, at rise of Meeting for Worship, eight participants of Carlisle Monthly Meeting convened, despite a winter storm advisory, to discuss the Spiritual State of the Meeting report. A draft of this report was read at our next business meeting on March 8, 2015 and a few additions and changes were then suggested.
The first area considered was what supports the Spirit in our meeting. Many feel Carlisle Friends is a particularly loving, supportive group, where we share insights, bewilderment, and laughter. Our weekly bulletin, which seems to be unusual among Friends, is an opportunity for putting forth concepts for introspection and searching and growth. Our bulletin usually includes a quote on the front, a list of meeting and community events and activities in the middle, and on the back a description of meeting for worship for newcomers, and a list of meeting officers and contacts. Responsibility for producing the bulletin is shared among members and attenders. Though producing the bulletin can be challenging, it is an honor to be asked to contribute in that manner. Being asked to close meeting for worship also strengthens attachment to the Meeting
Perhaps it may be a good idea to reinstate a regular newsletter. Our website has been migrated to the Quaker Cloud, making it easier to maintain.
Though we are blessed to have a family with a young child and another on the way, we feel strongly the lack of age diversity in Meeting, especially in the matter of children and young Friends, as the average age of members is increasing. We spent a good deal of time considering how to attract and maintain younger people in Meeting. Participation in the Todd Nursing Home program seems to bring out creativity and compassion. Once a month, on First Day, a few adults lead worship and singing with youth assisting at a nearby nursing home. This past Christmas season, the young people gathered on six different occasions to make dodecahedron Christmas ornaments out of old Christmas cards for the nursing home residents.
We are also anxious to share the Quaker meeting and message with the larger community. We have a small cadre of faithful and active people but we need to encourage more. A Friend feels that Quakers have three main foci to share: the benefit of spending time in silence; profession of a spiritual/ethical process; and faith that translates into action. Other churches also emphasize the latter two qualities, so perhaps our distinctive appeal is the time spent in silence and quiet contemplation. Our meetings for worship provide a respite from the hectic pace of daily life.
The meeting has initiated talks with nearby Dickinson College about holding meeting for worship on their campus. If invited to do so, rather than ask students to come to meeting, we can take meeting to the students.
Our focusing program could benefit a larger population. Focusing is a practice developed by the American philosopher Eugene Gendlin. It is about owning our real feelings about a situation. When we can do that, we find that our feelings and the situation changes in a way that feels graced. The process is greatly aided by a friendly presence. Carlisle has an ongoing focusing group that meets twice a month.
We open our meetinghouse to West Side Neighbors on a regular basis. West Side Neighbors is a grassroots community advocacy group whose motto is, "You don't have to move to live in a better neighborhood." We have also hosted mothers and children for Carlisle Cares. Carlisle Cares is a community response to the homeless that uses local churches as backup emergency shelters for the homeless. Many in the Meeting participate in other charities, concerns, and activities, thereby spreading a Quakerly presence to the larger community. Perhaps we could participate in the local newspaper's "Faith in Focus" column to let more people know that we exist.
The meeting hosted an evening with Charles Eisenstein this past fall. Charles is a local activist/author with an international following. He is also a former attender at State College meeting. His most recent book, The More Beautiful World Our Hearts Know is Possible, is in many ways a secular translation of Quaker ideas and ideals. His talk attracted more than forty people to the meetinghouse, most of them first-time attenders.
As a meeting we have limited contact with wider Friends' organizations, though a limited group attends Quarterly Meetings, and a few participate in Baltimore Yearly Meeting functions and retreats. In the past we have used Baltimore Yearly Meeting talents and expertise for guidance, advice, and leadership, such as moderating threshing sessions
As we travel our individual spiritual journeys, we feel blessed by time spent among Carlisle Friends.