Modern technology and our faith in the Divine have helped Concord Friends Meeting to weather the second year of the Covid-19 global pandemic. Early in the year, we worshipped only remotely by Zoom video conferencing. As vaccines became available in the spring, we joyfully opened the meetinghouse to in-person worship while taking precautions to prevent potential disease transmission. In addition, we invested in technology that enabled hybrid in-person and remote worship.
Friends in the meetinghouse can clearly see our fellow worshipers on a large-screen TV as they Zoom in. An in-house panoramic camera gives remote Friends the opportunity to see inside the worship room. Some Friends find the integration more seamless when sitting in the meeting room than remotely. For some online, hybrid worship feels more fragmented than when we were all on Zoom. Nevertheless, we are grateful for the connections we’ve retained in difficult times. Our vocal ministry is thoughtful, and post-worship check-ins bring fresh reflections and wisdom. We have joyfully brought back worship-in-song in hybrid form. Whether it is a Covid variant or a Nor’easter, we can count on being together on First Day.
Some Friends find that the technology needed to connect us interferes with deeper worship. Thus, a small group meets for worship in the meetinghouse on Thursday evenings using no technology.
Zoom continues to enable us to offer programs and hold monthly meetings for business in either hybrid or online formats depending on the level of danger posed by the Corona virus. For Friends who spend part of the year away from New Hampshire, the investment in technology has enabled continued participation. It also provides an option that eases participation for people with disabilities or other health issues.
One of the benefits of online connection has been small group meetings, in some cases just a weekly chance to touch base with an assigned group of Friends, or regular meetings to discuss a book or general topic of interest. Quaker Basics and Quakerism 201 (Testimonies) moved to online meetings, allowing people to participate more easily from home. A regular “story hour,” where members and attenders can hear life stories from one another has been a special gift. All this has allowed many of us to deepen connections to individuals in the meeting and to the meeting as a whole. During warmer weather, efforts to bring Friends together in the outdoors, with camping trips and picnic-style gatherings also helped grow and deepen our connections. These efforts have deepened our sense of faith and have shown what we can accomplish when we work together.
We feel a need to engage in outreach to families with children who have had a harder time participating in the meeting during this pandemic whether remotely or in person. We have missed the consistent presence of youthful energy and enthusiasm.
As a community, we are seeking to discern God’s will going forward. We are grateful for the Friends who worked together in faith years ago to build the beautiful space that is our meetinghouse. Are we being called to a new project? Given the beautiful parcel of land we steward, what opportunities exist for an outdoor worship space, spiritual walks or fellowship in the great outdoors?
We feel called to retain technology that makes the meeting more accessible, including the steps taken to ensure people who are hard of hearing can fully participate. We will try to keep the valuable aspects of the past two years as we move forward. We will not “go back” to what was “normal” before. God willing, we will go forward and build on what we have, recognizing we gained something from the challenges of the pandemic.
We continue to encourage our newcomers to grow in the Spirit with us. We seek to encourage the participation of families with children, and for those children to have other children to play with. We maintain a commitment to our First Day School, and to the needs of younger, working people. We are looking for ways to make it easier for young people with busy lives to participate meaningfully in the life of the meeting. In the year to come, we hope to consider events that enable diverse participation and that attract families to our midst. We all look forward to the day that potlucks can resume inside the meetinghouse!
Having met the challenges of the last two years, we look forward to the days ahead, feeling strong in our commitment to one another and to the Divine. God willing, we will be grateful for another year together.
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Canterbury, New Hampshire 03224-2043 USA