Pipe Creek has received two requests for membership this summer, one of which was accepted and the other is currently under consideration. At the end of Eighth Month we shared in the wedding of a member under the care of our Meeting, the second in the year. These weddings are a particular source of joy to us as we have been through a long dry spell of some five decades without being asked to take such a union under the care of our Meeting.

Outreach continues to be a focus for the Meeting. In July the Outreach Committee staffed an outreach table at two local festivals. We are also deepening ties with the local Heritage Committee in Union Bridge and will host them for an open house and their board meeting in September.

We have been led to a number of external activities including our continued support of the Heifer Project with a donation of a goat and bees, the purchase of a share in a CSA with the produce of said share and our own garden’s bounty going to the local food bank.

We continue to struggle with Meeting House maintenence issues, dealing with termites, interior painting and planning to install a new floor.

We recently invited the Head of Ramallah Friends School to speak to us about her experiences at the school and living in Palestine. After two years of planning and work, we launched our web site, located at http://pipecreekfriends.org.

Pipe Creek Friends Meeting has entered a state of being by which the Light, maintained for so long by a few, having been reflected out into the community, has illuminated the way for many new seekers. That eternal Light has caused them to come closer. In coming closer, they have opened the way for the Meeting to truly live its convictions and act upon it’s testimonies in ways that benefit the wider community.

In what can only be described as an “upward spiral”, the more Light that is brought forth, the more people are drawn to it. The more people who are drawn to it, the more Light is brought forth.

Our Meeting has been blessed with many new and passionate Friends. We have been blessed with many hands to do our work and many projects to share together that have served not just to better our community but as vessels in which we can learn from each other. We have been blessed with the opportunity to share in the marriage of two of our members, the first under our care in 50 years. We have struggled with gathering darkness in our nation and the world and we have acted upon it with a call to daily prayer and great faith. We have not always agreed with each other in every matter, but we have arrived at a place where no issue is so great as to divide us because what we now share is greater than anything this world may challenge us with.

We have had glimpses of how God may have intended people to live together, work and worship, seek God’s will and nourish one another. We hope to continue to grow together, cherish each other and attain harmony.

Pipe Creek celebrated the wedding of Linda Payne and Bill Powel on 1/27/08 with the first wedding in the Meeting House in more than 50 years. We welcomed Mary McIndoe as our newest member of the Religious Society of Friends in December. New officers for 2008 include Tony Breda as clerk, Evelyn Gosnell as Recording Clerk, Anita Virkus as Recorder and Lynda Payne and Mary McIndoe as co-treasurers. Things are really getting interesting at Pipe Creek as we see many new faces, vocal ministry from new places and what can only be described as a lessening of shadows with a gathering of Light.

Pipe Creek Friends have seen a steady increase in attendance over the past year due to the activities of members and attenders moved to share their portion of The Light. Gwen Handler, a teacher at Sandy Spring Friends School was welcomed into our membership this spring and the Meeting is joyfully looking forward to the wedding of members Bill Atwater and Linda Payne, which will take place under the care of our Meeting this December. Many new faces grace our door and we are grateful in the renewal of interest in Quakerism in Carroll County.

The Meeting has been involved with many projects, including:

• The Hiefer Project - Our Meeting raised $500.00 to purchase a dairy cow for a needy family overseas and continues to raise money towards the purchase of dairy goats as a next step.
   
• Oral History Project - Attender and local film maker Jo Israelson is wrapping up a project that documents the history of the Meeting and highlights the reflections of its members and attenders. The DVD will include music performed by attenders and members and air on the local cable access channel this fall.
   
• Community Garden - In its second year, the Meeting’s community garden has raised fresh vegetables that are contributed to the local food pantry. The Meeting also bought a share of a local CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) farm which is run by two of our attenders and donated its produce to the same food pantry. The fresh seasonal vegetables and fruit from the Meeting's Granny Smith Apple trees are much appreciated at the pantry.
   
• Meeting Web Site - Various members and attenders have participated in starting a web site for the Meeting. Becky Mossburg recently completed a school project that included the design of the Meeting's new web site and we hope to have it up and running this fall.
   
• Monthly Discussion Group - based on the concept of “Friendly Eights,” the Meeting has held informal discussion groups on Wednesday evenings at members’ homes and or the Meeting House as a means of deepening our understanding of spiritual matters and also our own relationships within the Meeting. These have been well attended and folks have left well fed, body and soul.
   
• Meeting for Singing - in September, Friends will gather in the Meeting House in the hour before silent worship for singing.

This past year has been notable for interaction with churches in Carroll County, and for the growth of a sense of a sense of purpose regarding our role in the local community, We provided a well-attended open house for a tour of churches, and responded to a request by St Mary's Evangelical Lutheran Church for an informal presentation on Quaker faith and practice. We are preparing to clean up nearby Pipe Creek and to start a vegetable garden.

We have welcomed two new members, retained most of our recently acquired new attenders, and are often pleased by the presence of previously seldom-attending existing members.

In 12th month 2004 we held a "Yule get­-together" which attracted many visitors and boosted our subsequent attendance by about eight. In 2004 we gained two new members (Bill Atwater and Linda Payne), in 2005 we gained Frank Reitemeyer, and in 2006, thus far, we welcomed Tony Breda. Last year Dave Rohde's membership was transferred to Aotearoa/New Zealand, while Ben Swet's and Lynda Osborne's were transferred to Frederick Monthly Meeting. In 2005 we cleaned and repainted the meetinghouse and installed a new metal roof to replace the badly degenerated wood shingles. In twelfth month 2005 we hosted a number of visitors to local houses of worship. Bill Atwater is our clerk, Frank Reitemeyer our treasurer, and Tony Breda our recording clerk. Our recorder has not yet been named, but Vangie Baker (newsletter) and C J Swet (lord of everything else) are acting pro-tem.

We appear to be in danger of violating a possible Friends testimony on refraining from boastfulness. Our usual number of worshipers has nearly doubled recently: two new members, one prospective transfer from another meeting, and six faithful new attenders. All strive to be present also at meetings for business. However, we do not yet describe ourselves as a megameeting. This substantial gain in attendance is largely attributable to an invitational "Yule get-together" on 5th 12th month, conceived and arranged through divine leading by one of our seasoned attenders.

Some observations offered by various members and attenders are:

The Pipe Creek Meeting has always been welcoming to newcomers. Both the meeting house and those who worship in it have always made new people feel accepted. When one sits down for meeting for worship one can feel the spirit, the peace and the light flowing through the room and everyone present. It has always been that way for the seven years I have attended. However, over the past year the Spirit has moved us to be more open to new ideas and ways of doing things. This has been very exciting for our meeting. It has helped us to acquire some new attenders whose energy and enthusiasm more than make up for lack of knowledge of the Quaker Process. We are very fortunate that the Spirit moved among us and led us to seek these people out. We will have to be careful not to overwhelm them with responsibility too rapidly. This has become virtually a new meeting, divinely led.

I can say that our spiritual state is "On Fire". By that I mean there is an energy anyone should be able to perceive. In my time here I have found the people welcoming and kind and the worship invigorating and powerful, oft times in a smoldering way, but powerful none the less. Coming here each week can be compared to attending an annual retreat, which often can be both a time to escape the world and delve deep into the spirit. Worship and even meeting for business or fellowship at Pipe Creek provide me with a place to communicate deeply and reconnect with what I believe is the Spirit of God in a more personal way that would be impossible or only occasional in other communities.