Augusta

Augusta Friends Worship group, located in the Central Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, continues to provide a spiritual home to 19 attenders. Our worship is centered in the Friends' practice of silent expectant waiting. Verbal ministry continues to be rare, but there are often deep-felt silences. For some, this lack of deep sharing does not provide the nourishing experience that they need or want. We are aware that we bring different streams of faith with us as we sit together and try to be open to whatever messages may find words.

We continue to explore what is required of us in this faith tradition. This can occur as we use our time after Meeting to share on a range of topics as way opens. We try to encourage sharing of what has happened in the silence as well as sharing joys and concerns as a way of keeping the tone of worship flowing. At times we are better at this than others but whatever sharing takes place is reflective of where we are as individuals on any given First Day.

Our challenge this year has been the addition of children to our group for the first time. We are joyful with the parents of our two youngest additions and feel the responsibility of integrating their needs with the group needs. At present, we have a spontaneous child care arrangement as some Friends go out with the children but know that we have spiritual needs to meet for both the children and parents and will be seeking ways to meet those as a group.

As we meet together monthly for potluck and discussion, we continue to discover the different paths that our spiritual journeys have taken us and continue to take us. We have explored diversity of thought and belief as the basis for most of what we have discussed this year. This diversity can provide times of isolation for those who feel that their viewpoints meet with polite acceptance rather than with a spirit of acknowledging a different way.

Our holiday worship sharing took the form of adding flowers and greenery to a central bowl of water. The stems as our individual selves coming together in the common spirit as symbolized by the water provided much for Friends to contemplate. Friends expressed unity with this new tradition.

We feel that we have a sense of connectedness to one another evidenced by our circular handshake at the rise of Meeting. Perhaps, the energy passed from one to the other will help to balance the spiritual energy that we feel corporately - those who have more to give share with those who are feeling "dry". We trust that these shared feelings are expressed in our daily lives with the rest of the world

Augusta Friends Worship group, located in the Central Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, continues to provide a spiritual home to 2l attenders. Our worship is centered in the Friends' practice of silent expectant waiting. Concern exists that we are not open to verbal ministry despite assurances that all respond to the gathered Spirit and appreciate this sharing when it occurs.

We continue to explore what is required of us in this faith tradition. This can occur as we use our time after Meeting to share on a range of topics as way opens. Some have observed that we are not always using this time to share what we are experiencing in worship or spiritually. We are trying to be aware of this and allow more time for it to happen at the rise of meeting. We strive to go deeper in these areas of belief. We are challenged by the illness, loneliness and loss experienced by a number of our attenders and need to be more forthright in our ministry in this uea. We have especially felt the lossof Louise Ulrich who helped sustain the group in its early years through her centered presence and vocal ministry. We know that community sustains and supports us in times of joyful transition as well - new homes, new business ventures and newf amily.

As we meet together monthly for potluck and discussion, we are discovering that we have a diversity of spiritual ideas and experiences. We find these times challenging and beneficial to the sharing that can occur during worship. We encourage an atmosphere of acceptance so that all can feel comfortable in expressing themselves although that perception has not been felt by all. Our topics this year have come from a number of Friends Journal articles exploring worship, consensus, membership and tenderness toward others. We also had a sharing on holiday traditions. All of these times give us focus on how we can be Friends in this world. We also enjoy the company of one another in a social setting and the connections that can occur when we share about our lives.

We feel that we have a sense of connectedness to one another symbolized by our circular handshake at the rise of meeting. We feel cared for as individuals and derive support from that. We know that we fall short in our corporate witness to thecommunity but strive to have a "friendly" presence in our individual lives. We continue to remain open to ways that we can share this connectedness around us more with the community formally.

Augusta Friends Worship group, located in the Central Shenandoah Valley of Virginia continues to provide a spiritual home to 15 attenders. Our worship is centered in the Friends practice of silent expectant waiting. There are not many messages, but a sense of gatheredness is present on most First Days as we communicate with God. We are still meeting in homes and find this an enriching experience as we move from setting to setting. We understand that this can provide a stumbling block for new persons who may be interested in attending, but we feel it continues to be right for us at this time in the life of our group. We have numerous inquiries about worship and have had several new attenders despite the lack of a central location.

We continue to explore what is required of us in this faith tradition as we use our time after Meeting to share on a range of topics as way opens. Some have observed that we are less likely to share what we are experiencing in worship or spiritually so that we are trying to be aware of this. We are trying to spend more time together at the rise of meeting before partaking of snacks and "kitchen conversations" We found that we were having a disconnect too early for all things to be shared. We are also challenged by the illness, injury and loss experienced by a number of our attenders. We have especially felt the loss of Bob Heinmiller to cancer this year but have also been given a special gift of his spiritual journey and thoughtful insights that continue to inspire us. We try to be open to ways to stand with those who are having difficulties.

We meet together monthly for potluck. Our discussions this year have centered on reflections of John Punshon's book Encounter with Silence, our worship experience and information on the Meeting Community from the October, 2005 Friends Journal.

We also discussed queries reflecting on our ten years together. We have gained insight into how we see ourselves and have made some changes. We try to be more aware of staying on topic so that we can explore issues more fully. We find these times challenging and beneficial to the sharing that can occur during worship. We also enjoy the company of one another in a social setting and the connections that can occur when we share about our lives from meeting time to meeting time.

We feel that we have a sense of connectedness to one another symbolized by our circular handshake at the rise of meeting. We feel cared for as individuals and derive support from that. Above all, we are kind to one another. We hope that this allows us to be caring individuals as we go about our daily routines. We had some sharing on how we serve the community individually and found that we do. We also feel that being truly present with others daily serves also even though it may not show up in a definitive way. We continue to look for ways that we can share this connectedness with the community around us in more formal ways and remain open to the possibilities for this as a group.

Augusta Friends Worship group located in the Central Shenandoah Valley of Virginia continues to provide a spiritual home to 15 attenders. Our worship is centered in the Friends practice of silent expectant waiting. There are not many messages, but a sense of gatheredness is present on most First Days as we communicate with God. We are still meeting in homes and find this an enriching experience as we move from setting to setting. We understand that this can provide a stumbling block for new persons who may be interested in attending but feel it continues to be right for us at this time in the life of our group.

We continue to explore what is required of us in this faith tradition as we use our time after Meeting to share on a range of topics as way opens. Some have observed that we are less likely to share what we are experiencing in worship or spiritually so that we are trying to be aware of this. We are also challenged by the illness, injury and loss experienced by a number of our attenders. We have especially felt the loss of Ernie Brown to cancer this year but have also been lifted by the journey during his final months. We continue to seek ways to hold everyone in the Light as they face life's uncertainties.

We meet together monthly for potluck. Our discussions this year have centered on the curriculum concerning Friends views and those of the fundamentalist communities. We have gained insight into how we see ourselves. We find these times challenging and beneficial to the sharing that can occur during worship. We also enjoy the company of one another in a social setting and the connections that can occur when we share about our lives from meeting time to meeting time.

We feel that we have a sense of connectedness to one another symbolized by our circular handshake at the rise of meeting. We feel cared for as individuals and derive support from that. Above all, we are kind to one another. We hope that this allows us to be caring individuals as we go about our daily routines. We continue to look for ways that we can share this connectedness with the community around us in more formal ways and remain open to the possibilities for this as a group.

SPIRITUAL STATE OF THE MEETING REPORT - 2003

Augusta Friends Worship group located in the Central Shenandoah Valley of Virginia continues to provide a spiritual home to 15 attenders. Our worship is centered in the Friends practice of silent expectant waiting. There are not many messages, but a sense of gatheredness is present on most First Days as we communicate with God. We are still meeting in homes and find this an enriching experience as we move from setting to setting. We understand that this can provide a stumbling block for new persons who may be interested in attending but feel it is right for us at this time in the life of our group.

We continue to explore what is required of us in this faith tradition as we use our time after Meeting to share on a range of topics as way opens. We are also challenged by the illness, injury and loss experienced by a number of our attenders. How do we understand loss and minister to those who have experienced it?

We meet together monthly for potluck. Our discussions have centered on the book Plain Living by Catherine Whitmire. It helps shed light on how each of us approaches the issues of life - where we differ and where we find commonality. We find these times challenging and beneficial to the sharing that can occur during worship. We also enjoy the company of one another in a social setting and the connections that can occur when we share about our lives from meeting time to meeting time.

We feel that we have a sense of connectedness to one another symbolized by our circular handshake at the rise of meeting. We feel cared for as individuals and derive support from that. Above all, we are kind to one another. We hope that this allows us to be caring individuals as we go about our daily routines. We continue to look for ways that we can share this connectedness with the community around us in more formal ways and remain open to the possibilities for this as a group.