It's Where Friends Meet Friends and the Spirit Walks Among Us

This year marks the three hundred and thirty-third anniversary of a gathering of Friends on the banks of the West River, near present day Galesville, Maryland. They came together “to see how Truth prospered among them.” They converged on the gathering from all parts of the colony and beyond, having had “great travail by land and sea, rivers, bays and creeks.” George Fox, having recently come from Barbados, sailed up the Chesapeake to attend this first session of what would eventually become known as Baltimore Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends. So impressed was Fox with the manner in which Maryland Friends met, that he held up that first meeting as a pattern, an example to Friends elsewhere, of how they should gather, yearly, in love and “Gospel fellowship.”

Since that first session held at West River, the verge of our Yearly Meeting has expanded to include parts of Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania and the District of Columbia This year finds Annual Session again centrally located on the campus of James Madison University, at Harrisonburg, Virginia. The modes and means of transportation have changed much since 1671; most of us will arrive (in good time) via the interstate highways that now link our widespread communities.

Like Friends of old, our purpose for coming together is the same, to find how Truth prospers among us. To assist this process, the Program Committee and staff of the Yearly Meeting have developed a week-long schedule of worship, business, fun activities, workshops and speakers that will enlighten, encourage and entertain Friends of all ages. Annual Session of Yearly Meeting also affords us great opportunities to get to know Friends and Meetings from near and far. It’s a time of renewing and making new friendships. It’s a time to learn what is dear to each other and how much alike we truly are. Besides all the “Friendly” stuff, the accommodations on campus are quite comfortable and judging from past experience, the food will be tasty (we’re working on the ice cream).

I hope that all Friends, young and older, new and seasoned, will make Annual Session a priority on their summer schedule. It’s where Friends meet Friends and the Spirit walks among us. It will be good to see thee at Harrisonburg. Until then, travel in the Light and surround yourself, and others, with peace, love and joy.

Lamar Matthew, presiding clerk.

From the Clerk

CHOICE SEATING

Travelling about the Yearly Meeting I have had the opportunity to sit in Worship on a wide variety of seating. I have found myself in planetarium seats tilted back to look at artificial heavens, on overstuffed sofas, puffy and low to the floor, on logs and lawn chairs under canopies of leaves, and on backless benches, hand fashioned by our immigrant Quakers ancestors. But the standard in most Meeting Houses is the ancient wooden bench with its slat back, polished to a warm patina by generations of Friends settling in to listen for that still small voice. No matter what the seating may be, Friends usually have a strongly held preference for where they like to sit in Meeting for Worship. Hearing, sight and mobility concerns guide some Friends to certain seating. But there are many other reasons for why we invariably head for the same seats every First Day. Some explanations that I have heard are; “For generations my family has sat in this exact spot. The view from this vantage point is inspiring. There is a cosmic energy right here. I’ve been sitting in this same place since the first time I came to Quaker Meeting.” It seems that there are as many reasons for choosing a particular place to sit, as there are Friends.

I recall coming into one Meeting and sitting down only to be told that there probably would not be enough room for me on the bench when all of the family arrives, “We always sit here, you know.” Realizing they were “sat” in their ways, I moved. During Worship I asked myself, “How does my comfort affect the comfort of others? Am I open to being uncomfortable?” The questions that day went beyond the notion of physical comfort to the old Quaker admonition of “Woe unto those who are comfortable in Zion.” When I am comfortable, am I seeking more Light, more Truth?

Back in Worship, it is comforting to be able to look around a Meeting Room and know that certain Friends will be at certain places. It gives us a sense of security and continuity that some things stay the same. In our growing Meetings, new faces fill in around the familiar ones and we continually reset our image of the Meeting Room landscape. I can’t help but wonder if something as simple as changing where we sit in Meeting might not give us fresh perspectives on our Meetings, our concerns and others. At the least, there is proof that changing benches will increase your circle of Friends. Try it.

Peace and Love, Lamar Matthew, clerk