Carlisle

• Spiritual State of Our Meeting - 2006
• Spiritual State of Our Meeting - 2005
• Interchange, Spring 2006
• Interchange, Fall 2005
• Spiritual State of Our Meeting - 2004
• Interchange, Summer 2005
   
• FUM Policy Concern
• Interchange, September 2004
• Interchange, May 2004
• Spiritual State of Our Meeting - 2003

How this report was prepared

The clerk of Ministry and Counsel asked a number of other people in the meeting to write about particular aspects of the meeting’s life. Friends present at our regular Third Month meeting for business reviewed the resulting draft, made editorial suggestions, and approved the resulting report for forwarding to Quarterly and Yearly meetings.

Meeting for Worship

Enough people find value in our Sunday worship that from one dozen to three dozen attend. Most are members; some are occasional or regular attenders; and one or so, a visitor. The practice of silence in the service seems not only well respected but, by and large, appreciated. The silence has several values for us: it bolsters our group cohesiveness. It aids our oft-times too-weak efforts to talk with or to hear God. And it enhances our comprehension of those messages that are offered by the other communicants. On the occasion of a totally silent Meeting for Worship, most are blessed to have felt a sensation of uplift and shared seeking.

Carlisle Friends have been blessed by a variety of messages during Meeting for Worship. Many have participated in delivering ministry, including some who rarely speak or have never before spoken. Sometimes the message arises from Bible study that has immediately preceded Meeting for Worship. One Friend has spoken several times about the advisability of coming to Meeting with a properly prepared state of mind. Many messages arise from Friends’ daily experiences or observations. A few messages have asked for the Meeting’s prayers, advice, or support. Occasionally the initial message has given rise to ensuing messages on linked thoughts. Unfortunately, a few of the messages are spoken too softly for some of us to grasp what is being said.

After the meeting is time for socializing and announcements. Except for brief interludes following sad news and requests for intercessory prayer, there is a profusion of warm cordiality lasting up to a half-hour. This attests to the value each of us gains from our Meeting for Worship.

Meeting for business

Meetings for business are conducted in a spirit of mutual respect and desire to reach good decisions. We tend to reach unity fairly easily on most questions. We are helped in this by relying on committees to sift through issues before a decision is made and by giving committees some discretion in deciding exactly how to carry out the sense of the meeting. For weighty decisions we sometimes schedule second-hour planning sessions, which can focus on a single issue and tend to be better attended than business meetings. We are also aware, however, of a temptation to reach unity merely by failing to push ourselves beyond our usual comfort level on difficult issues.

Peace and Social Concerns

During 2006 the Meeting approved a minute in support of the Carlisle Clean Air Board, a local interfaith organization that is working to address the serious issue of air quality in the Cumberland Valley. The meeting has minuted its opposition to the death penalty in the past and members continue to be active in the movement to abolish the death penalty in the state of Pennsylvania, particularly through the Legislative Initiative to Abolish the Death Penalty (LIADP). A couple of members and others associated with the Meeting continue to provide tutoring at a nearby boy’s detention center.

For the second year, we participated in a program to provide overnight shelter for homeless people. The program, known as Carlisle Cares, now involves nine local churches, each of whom offers floor space in its building. Guests and overnight volunteers (from our own and other local churches) sleep on mats or cots. (For program details see our website.) Churches located nearest to Carlisle’s downtown area provide shelter during the winter months; in both 2005 and 2005 we opened our doors during December. Members of our meeting went beyond the minimum guidelines of the program by providing Sunday breakfasts for our guests. Our building remained open all day on Christmas. (Cold-weather holidays can pose special difficulties for street people because both public and commercial buildings are closed.) Meeting members also laundered towels for guests took advantage of our downstairs shower – about 70-80 towels during the month. A number of guests attended our potlucks and Christmas party during December, and a few continue to join us in meetings for worship. Several of our members came to know individual guests fairly well. The whole experience has been a good one for us, and we expect to continue to participate in this program indefinitely.

Membership Changes

We’ve had a number of painful issues to deal with. Two beloved members – Ralph Slotten and Rob Rathfon - died this year. Ralph was a founding member of the meeting. We’ve had one new member, Amy Hurley, join our meeting this past year.

Ministry and Counsel

Ministry and Counsel has not been very active this past year. As noted, the meeting has experienced the deaths of two members. Other families continue to deal with life-threatening illness or injury. In addition, the meeting struggles to find the right response to situations in which individual members’ personal decisions could impair our sense of community. We are grateful for mutual trust, and we hope for the grace to deal with sensitive problems both candidly and lovingly.

Adult Religious Education

Adult Religious Education has sponsored one Saturday workshop and one Sunday 2nd hour this year. Marcelle Martin from Pendle Hill led the Saturday workshop on prayer. She led us through a number of prayer exercises followed by opportunities for Friends to share how it went. We were joined in the workshop by Friends from neighboring meetings. The workshop seemed to invigorate the meeting for a time. The Sunday 2nd hour was a worship sharing on knowing when to speak in meeting for worship. It seemed to be a live topic for most people and the meeting’s sense of community benefited from the sharing. In addition to the above, the committee has gotten a request for some kind of Quakerism 101 and has wrestled with how to bring that to the meeting, which is still unresolved.

Seven members of our meeting participate in a biweekly Spiritual formation program that provides an opportunity for sharing and getting to know one another better. We have also begun a weekly Bible study before Meeting for Worship based on materials from a group called Bible Workbench.

First Day School

We have 2 first day classes for the children that meet during meeting for worship. The older class is for kids between the ages of 11 and 15. The other class is comprised of kids between the ages of 5 and 10. Each third Sunday both groups visit a local nursing home during meeting for worship. We typically hold 2 First-day classes per month for the older children. During the first half of 2006 we completed a series of lessons on “world religions.” Most of these classes were led by members of our meeting, but some featured guests from other religious faiths. In September we began a series of Bible lessons, beginning with introductions to some of the pivotal events of the Old Testament. We expect this series to continue for at least another full year. Although attendance at these First-Day classes is spotty, making it difficult to maintain a sense of continuity from lesson to lesson, our young people seem to enjoy the sessions when they do attend. The classes include role-playing and impromptu theater, so our young people are learning presentation skills as well as Bible content. The younger children meet more often and have been blessed by the participation of some new adults this past year.

Hospitality

A few years ago the meeting requested more frequent hospitality gatherings. Since then, the Hospitality Committee has provided ways for many Friends to share in responsibility for this. At least once a month at the rise of meeting, volunteers provide a small snack and beverage. Full-lunch potlucks have been times of personal sharing and mutual encouragement. As noted elsewhere, a number of the guests of the Carlisle Cares program have joined us for worship, potlucks or both. We’ve been blessed by their contributions, and our spirits were especially touched with one guest’s playing classical piano music (e.g., Chopin and Mozart).

Finance

The finance committee anticipates that the meetinghouse mortgage will be paid off late in 2007. The Meeting then will be considering items that can benefit from more of our attention, including building maintenance/upkeep, ministries and outreach. It has given us the opportunity to reflect on where our priorities lie.

“It is more blesséd to give than to receive,” and sometimes it’s hard to tell the difference. As we consider the spiritual state of our Meeting, it seems that a number of our ministries reverberate with blessings given and received.

This is our second year of participation with Carlisle Cares, a program of the local church community offering overnight shelter for homeless people in our area. This year six area churches provided space in their sanctuaries for one month each, and this was our second year of participation. This ministry has grown this year with more Friends involved in more ways than last year. We expanded our hospitality to our guests to include the use of our shower, invitations to our Christmas celebration and potlucks, and the presence of some guests at meetings for worship. We have eased into friendships with these brothers and sisters, and we have become more involved with the wider faith community in Carlisle, where we have become known for extending ourselves to our guests in new ways. One evening one of the guests told a Friend, “I’ve been offering praise for those of you who came tonight.” We initially joined this ministry last year with some trepidation, invoking the usual excuses of liability and insurance concerns. It has proven to be an enriching experience for us, and we hope we can build on this ministry as way opens.

Last summer our new Clerk led a brainstorming session to generate new ideas in areas from the most practical and mundane building improvements to larger issues, especially our growth as a Meeting. To this end we have considered at some length how to be more welcoming to visitors and new attenders. We look forward to finding new ways to let people know that we’re here and what we have to offer. We added two new members in 2005, and just as important, there seems to be more involvement and energy from existing Friends. Our worship has been good, and there is a feeling of openness and depth to the messages. Other adjectives offered to describe our worship were “flowing, giving, and warm.” Our Meeting is enriched by a wide range of theological perspectives and blessedly free of contention or discomfort with each other’s spiritual vocabulary. A Spiritual Formation Group with 6 or 7 faithful members continues to meet every couple weeks, and has quietly contributed to the depth of our spiritual community.

Adult Religious Education has been less active lately, but our Meeting sent two Friends for weekends at Pendle Hill, and we recently had a stimulating presentation on Islam by a scholar of Islamic Studies, who does research on Middle East security issues at the War College. (Dr. Sherifa D Zuhur. “A Hundred Osamas: Islamic Threats and the Future of Counter-insurgency” is available at www.strategicstudiesinstitute.army.mil/pdffiles/PUB636.pdf) Although the Iraq War is rarely spoken of in our meetings for worship, it weighs heavily on our hearts, and we were deeply affected by the kidnapping and subsequent murder of Tom Fox, who died for his faith.

We continue to have an innovative First Day School program for our children. In addition to studying world religions, they have contributed to the Meeting by photographing and interviewing adult Friends and each other to create an interesting display in our dining room. This contribution has helped them feel a valued part of the Meeting, and their self-confidence is evident. Young Friends also participate in a monthly Sunday morning program at a nearby nursing home, and sharing across the generational divide has been a good learning experience for us all. Recently one of the elderly residents gave a very eloquent and moving expression of gratitude for this ministry, and again we felt the blessings reverberating. A number of the Meeting’s adults take part in a weekly tutoring program for adjudicated youth nearby, and here too, the distinction between giving and receiving is lost.

There is a deep sense of mutual support among us, which seems pretty extraordinary. Our small size may have something to do with it, but we feel there is more at work here than sociability and good manners. Many Friends have shared in providing loving care for an elderly couple with health problems. Even a hostile neighbor, who once barged into an evening program and called us “f-ing hypocrites” has grown friendly and has offered us a parking space in his backyard. It seems that everyone contributes to the life of the Meeting.

There is a sense of optimism in our Meeting. Faith, hope and love are all evident among us. We look forward to sharing the Light with others.

Friends in Carlisle participated in Carlisle Cares for a second year. Carlisle Friends opened their meetinghouse during the month of December to provide overnight shelter for the homeless. Friends also extended an invitation to their guests to join them at their annual Christmas program and potluck, and to their January potluck.

The children of the Meeting presented a Christmas program at the Todd Home, a retirement/personal care facility in Carlisle that the Meeting has adopted. We have been presenting programs to Todd Home on a monthly basis for approximately 15 years. The many talents of the children and adult Friends were very much appreciated

Friends hosted a Second Hour in January featuring Sandy Grotberg (Chambersburg Meeting) speaking about her work in the Alternatives to Violence Project/African Great Lakes Initiative.

In concert with Friends everywhere, Carlisle Friends held a Meeting for Worship with a concern for Tom Fox and the Christian Peacemakers held in Iraq, as well as a candlelight vigil on the square in Carlisle.

We are blessed with many talented Friends in Meeting who willingly share their talents. The following poem by Friend Cox seems apropos:

Blessing on Friends
We have no hidden and secret ends,
For we are not merchants, but only good friends,
Each a sovereign lady or lord
With hand in glove, far from spear and from sword.
Me do not meet in debt or greed
We are bound by love and not by need.
Each is a sister; each is a brother;
Each is friend; each is free from the other.
Freedom is the basis of Friendship's Nation;
We give ourselves freely without obligation.

From Spells For Personal Power
© by Jeremiah Cox of Carlisle Meeting

Carlisle Monthly Meeting welcomes Fred Baldwin as our new Clerk of the Meeting and wishes to express its thanks to Andy Hoover, outgoing Clerk, for his years of service. Continuing to serve as Treasurer will be Joan Anderson. Recording Clerks are John Brubaker, Don Kovacs, and Ed Sonnenberg.

Under the care of Martha Slotten, the Meetinghouse was blessed this summer with beautiful seat cushions for the benches of the Meetinghouse. Jeremiah Cox of Carlisle Meeting was moved to pen the following poem in honor of the occasion:

The Little Quaker Miracle of Carlisle
I’m early for the meeting (not quite ten)
But soon the time arrives, and in they file
To fan the inner fire of God again,
The unpretentious Quakers of Carlisle.
But no-one blinks; no single Friend affords
A miser’s oath to comment on the sight:
Yes, cushions on the unforgiving boards
Of benches that were naked just last night!
Though worldly, I believe that I can reach
The Throne to doff my hat with many bows;
For nowadays, it’s truth makes plain our speech,
Not little sprinkled thees or precious thous.
A sweeter destiny now shapes our “ends:”
Thank God from the Society of Friends.

Peace, Ed Sonnenberg

Steve Davidson, a long-time member of our meeting until his death in 2003, used to say that intervisitation among Friends was essential for the well-being of our kind of Friends. In looking back on the past year, the "life" of our meeting has been quickened by contact with others from outside the monthly meeting.

In February of this year, a colonel from the nearby Army War College addressed the Quarterly meeting held at Carlisle and spoke on "The Role of the Military in Peacemaking". He told us that, at best, the military can enforce a brief hiatus in hostility, that lasting peace depends upon groups like Friends working with the combatants. This same colonel came to the Peace College which meets monthly at the meetinghouse, and asked us, meaning peace groups, to pressure the government to cease the abuse of prisoners and respect human rights. He told us that people in the military were concerned that they were being asked to do things that violated their conscience. As a result of his visit, the meeting united on a letter to the editor criticizing the treatment of prisoners by our government. Still, perhaps more important than any concrete actions we have taken, the "life" of our monthly meeting and our Quarterly meeting were quickened by this speaker.

In March of this past year the meeting allowed the meetinghouse to be used as an emergency shelter for the homeless. As part of the arrangement, someone from the meeting needed to open and close the meetinghouse every night. For those who participated, it was certainly an education into the needs of the homeless. But perhaps more important for us was the personal connection we felt with our guests.

We sent one of our members to Pendle Hill this past year. He came back to us glowing, wanting to recreate the experience he had at Pendle Hill in the monthly meeting. But, perhaps more significant than any content he got at Pendle Hill, was the fact that he was touched, both literally and figuratively.

We have also been blessed this past year by the participation of newer members and attenders. One has distinguished himself by his attention to detail in carrying out the work of the meeting; another by his gift of ministry in meeting for worship; another by the enthusiasm he brings to the tutoring that several members of our meeting do on a weekly basis at a nearby boys detention facility. But again, perhaps more importantly, we have been blessed by their faces.

As one speaks about the new and exciting, one realizes that it unfolds against a backdrop of faithfulness. Several households have, for years, kept the meeting by their faithful attendance in meetings for worship and business. They provide the fertile soil for these new seeds to flourish.

There have been a lot of other things going on in our meeting also. Perhaps of most interest to other Friends is a concern that a member, Fred Baldwin, is carrying about School Choice. Fred has written a short essay on the subject entitled "The Shame of Quakers - Neglecting School Choice". While Friends in Carlisle have not united on a minute on this issue, Fred has enlivened the meeting by the depth of his concern.

Other Friends might also find interesting our monthly program at a nearby nursing home. Once a month, children from the meeting and a few adults provide music and snacks for the residents. This has been an ongoing meeting program, started by the late Betty Dietzel several years ago.

Other sub-communities continue to exist in the meeting. A spiritual formation group continues to meet semi-monthly. The group has been meeting continuously for about eight years, although none of the original participants are still involved. It has been described as "an opportunity for Friends to confess their humanity and to discern where the Spirit is moving in their lives." They are currently using Daphne Clement's Pendle Hill pamphlet, Group Spiritual Nurture, to structure their gatherings. We also have the aforementioned tutoring program at a nearby detention center for boys, in which about a half dozen members and attenders are involved. And several of the women in the meeting have been getting together for lunch on a monthly basis.

Except for Ministry and Counsel, which has met bi-monthly, committees have met on an ad hoc basis. We have the following committees: Property, Finance, Adult Religious Education, Children's Religious Education, Peace and Social Concerns, Library and Hospitality. The past year has seen an increase in the number of potlucks and light refreshments that have occurred after meeting for worship.

In business meetings we have discontinued consideration of the queries. This has shortened the length of our business meetings. (It should be noted though that it has been our intent to read the queries at the start of meeting for worship on the First-days that we have business meeting.) In business meeting we have talked about sexual orientation discrimination connected to FUM employment practices and the proposed minute from Yearly Meeting on the Federal Marriage Amendment. The meeting forwarded a minute to Yearly Meeting on FUM employment practices and minuted its support of the proposed Yearly Meeting minute on the Federal Marriage Amendment. We have also talked about getting cushions for our benches. This originated after some of our members visited our sister meeting in Carlisle, England and noted how comfortable their benches were because of the cushions.

The aforementioned Peace College continues to meet monthly at the meetinghouse, although only one member of our meeting occasionally participates.

While we appreciate the activities of individual Friends - Joan Anderson helps lead the anti-death penalty crusade in our state; Fred Baldwin chairs the local school board; Nate Jefferson continues to build his environmentally progressive model house - some Friends long for a deeper sense of unity as a group, while unsure what form that might take. Some members would like to see more second hours. Others are reluctant to add more program without a clear leading. A Quakerism 101 class was suggested as we have several new families in the meeting and a session led by Gene Hillman in the past was a significant event in the life of our meeting. Some wonder if we need all of the committees we have and if there is a better way for a meeting our size to carry out the committee functions. We worry about outreach as we are in a low-visibility location. We have a prototype for a website, although it has not yet become an important part of the meeting. Perhaps our best effort at outreach occurred when we hosted the emergency homeless shelter as many of the volunteers from other churches got their first acquaintance with Friends.

Finally, we are affected by the absence of many Friends, some through death, others through illness or changes in life circumstances. Those whose recent deaths have affected us include Steve Davidson, Ed Siegel, Myrtis McMillen, and Edith Brown. And we have missed the regular attendance at worship of other Friends -Ralph Slotten, Wilma Hansen, and Kim Eckman --who for reasons of health or distance have not attended as frequently as in the past.

This report was written by the clerk after the State of the Meeting was considered by Ministry and Counsel and by our March business meeting. It was approved at our April business meeting.

Andy Hoover
Clerk, Carlisle Monthly Meeting

The Monthly Meeting participated in Carlisle Cares this past winter.  Carlisle Cares is a local effort sponsored by local Carlisle faith communities which provide shelter for the homeless during the winter months.  Carlisle Friends offered their meetinghouse during the month of March as an overnight overflow shelter.  Homeless were offered a warm place to sleep overnight in the meetinghouse along with snacks and a listening presence.

During the past year, Carlisle Friends has also been involved in establishing a sister meeting relationship with Carlisle Meeting in Carlisle, England.  It is hoped that this relationship will prove to be fruitful to both meetings and help to strengthen the bonds of mutual friendship and exchange of ideas between our two meetings.  We have been blessed with many exchanges of communication and prayers for one another.

Friends in Carlisle continue to provide tutors to the Loysville Youth Development Center, a local juvenile detention center.  Eight F(f)riends participate in the weekly tutoring, primarily providing assistance to take the GED.

We considered a minute from Stony Run Meeting on the relationship of Baltimore Yearly Meeting and Friends United Meeting. We minuted the following in response to that minute:

1. Carlisle Friends Meeting does not support refusing a position of leadership or service to anyone solely on the basis of sexual relationship outside of traditional marriage.
2. We oppose FUM's policy of refusing employment to anyone who is involved in a sexual relationship outside of traditional, heterosexual marriage or to anyone who does not subscribe to that policy.
3. We enjoin our BYM representatives to FUM to labor with FUM on these issues.
4. We are not clear yet about the issue of recommending that BYM withhold financial support from FUM.

Friends are rejoicing in the new membership of two Friends: Kenyon McCoy and Ralph Slotten

We are sorrowful about the death of four members in the past year: Stephen Davidson on November 15, 2003; Edith Brown on February 17, 2004; Ed Siegel on February 20, 2004; Myrtis McMillen on June 29, 2004

Carlisle reports these deaths:  Stephen Davidson, on 15th of Eleventh Month, 2003.  [A Memorial Meeting was held at Dickinson College 10th of First month, 2004.] Edith Brown on 17th of Second Month, 2004, [A Memorial Meeting held at the Thornwald Home, on 6th of Third month.] Edwin Siegel on the 20th of Second Month, 2004  [Memorial Meeting at Carlisle Meeting on the third of Fourth Month].

SPIRITUAL STATE OF THE MEETING REPORT - 2003

Carlisle Friends continue to have regular First Day Meeting for Worship, First Day School and Monthly Meeting for Business. Wednesday Noon Worship was laid down for the present. Monthly First Wednesday Worship following prayer and fasting continues. A Spiritual Formation group meets biweekly on Sunday evenings, exploring God's movements in our lives.

Second hours included a presentation by Chuck Fager on the Peace Testimony and a consideration of school vouchers led by Fred Baldwin. Several women from the Meeting were refreshed by attending the Baltimore Yearly Meeting Women's Retreat. And, Friends viewed Krzysztof Kieslowski's movie series "The Decalogue" on a few winter Saturday evenings, and found the fellowship and discussions enriching.

Friend Joan Anderson is very active in anti-death penalty issues and her group meets in our building also as well as a Peace College group. Young Friends minister to two local nursing homes in music and fellowship. They presented two music recitals at one of the homes. Tutoring is provided by dedicated Friends at Loysville Youth Development Center for adjudicated youth. This year's program has been revitalized by an increase in the number of tutors.

The Ministry and Council Committee initiated the idea of a monthly suggested reading to nourish and enrich ministry. Ralph Slotten gifted the entire meeting with a copy of his Quaker poems, Children of the Light, and this was one of the suggested readings. Ralph and the two other "Mermaid poets" gave a poetry reading at the meetinghouse that was enjoyed by Friends and the wider community. Also, the "Seeds of Silence" newsletter was published and distributed by Christine and Nathan Jefferson to the gratitude of Friends.

The younger children's First Day program has considered parables and famous Quakers. Older children have studied Old Testament patriarchs and memorized some Old Testament Bible verses.

The number of hospitalities and potlucks has increased in this past year and the presence of new attenders is very welcome.

Sadly, we have experienced the passing of three members in the past year: Stephen Davidson, Edith Brown and Edwin Siegel for whom memorial services were held. We also supported Friend Joan Anderson with a memorial service for her mother-in-law which was held at the meetinghouse. It seems that our memorial services have brought us closer as we reflect on these precious lives and the meaning of life for us all.

We are a small meeting and need to nurture our closeness and support one another along the journey. We do have a web site, www.quakers-carlisle.org, and we are continuing to consider how to attract persons of all ages to our meeting. One suggestion is to have speakers describe their Quaker experiences as young adults working in troubled areas and to include our 12 & up young friends in the discussion. We will also have a special celebration of children and of a new member and associate member.