State of Society, 2017 for Concord (NH) Monthly Meeting of Friends, 3B

Third Draft B

“Finding a spiritual home without a set of rules ... - I never felt so at home in a spiritual setting.”

From some perspectives, Concord Friends Meeting continues to be a healthy happy functioning Meeting.  From another perspective, the health of our Meeting is a fragile miracle that depends on the unique and seemingly indispensable contributions of so many vital individuals.  We can look around the room and be grateful for the gifts that each Friend brings to our circle.  We know that ultimately our strength comes from the Holy Spirit that guides us forward, but how grateful we can be for each soul whose path has led them to be part of this Meeting where we find our spiritual community.

Some metrics of the functioning of our Meeting

• We have been blessed with four new members and with several other new attenders who bring new vitality to our community.
• Our First Day School program [1] thrives and now has children who attend week after week.
• Regular classes during the week:  Quakerism 101 and 201 [2], and the 2017 Bible Half Hours [3] have inspired us and welcomed newcomers.
• Friendly 8s, Spring and New Year’s parties at the Meeting House, the canoe trip, monthly Song Circle build community [4].
• We managed a week-long vigil at the capitol witnessing against starting a war with Korea, and we are grateful for the faithful commitment individuals have made to the Immigration Solidarity Network [5] and to witnessing with New Hampshire Voices of Faith [6] at the legislature.
• We hosted the Quaker-led Climate Pilgrimage [7] with worship and hospitality.
• The Property Committee organized us to build a new garden shed together, and organized our bi-monthly after-meeting deep-cleaning sessions that keep our space restful and inviting.
• We conscientiously reached out to the community with activities like the monthly Song Circle, a booth at the Canterbury Fair [8], and by hosting a Compassionate Listening Project [9] evening.
• Last spring we felt divided by disagreements over a Black Lives Matter sign [10], and then found a happy resolution that involved highway signs that increase our visibility. [11]
• Our faithfully maintained website, ConcordFriendsMeeting.org [12], serves both as a welcome to new seekers and as a place where our community can find vital documents like the minutes of past decisions [13].
• Our finances [14] remain solid and are more predictable than earlier years thanks to many households using automatic payments.
• We received a gift from another non-profit of a beautiful four-acre wood-lot [15] behind the Meeting House.  We look forward to maintaining and using this lovely land.

The heart of the Meeting remains our worship time together on Sunday mornings.  The many other activities nourish our worship and our worship nourishes our other activities.

As we move forward into 2018, some goals we set for ourselves are:

• Attracting more members and attenders to join us in our worship and other activities.  Finding more children for our First Day School community.
• Revitalizing our Peace, Social, and Earthcare Concerns Committee (PSECC).  That revitalization may include sharing our Quaker perspective in letters to the newspaper and on Facebook [16], along with more collective actions to make our Quaker values heard.
• Organizing Family Fun nights and other gatherings to strengthen our community.
• And most importantly, continuing to support and nourish the work we are already doing.

A tiny seed grows in the earth.  Like our Meeting, it may seem weak and vulnerable.  Yet the spark of life pushes toward the light and down bringing health to the soil where it grows.  It is fragile, but like our Meeting, it has the potential to push past the obstructions it encounters.  When we act in harmony with the Spirit, we have the strength to share our Quaker values in these challenging times.

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