BINGTON ONTHLY MEETING of the Religious …Click Here to see the committee brochure created by...
8
ABINGTON MONTHLY MEETING of the Religious Society of Friends N N E E W W S S L L E E T T T T E E R R JUNE 2020 SIXTH MONTH 520 Meetinghouse Road • Jenkintown • Pennsylvania • 19046 Continued on page 2 Abington Monthly Meeting www.abingtonmeeting.org Abington Quarterly Meeting www.abingtonquarter.org Philadelphia Yearly Meeting www.pym.org Office: 215-884-2865 Clerk of Meeting : Wanda Wyffels, [email protected] Meeting Administrator: Loretta Fox, [email protected] Meeting Secretary: Cathy Callan, [email protected] (Office Hours: Mon-Wed 10-2, Th 10-1) Meeting Caretaker: Dave Wermeling 215-534-7011 Deadline for July NEWSLETTER is June 15 th . Please give information to Loretta Fox. Contributions may be sent to: Abington Monthly Meeting, c/o Assistant Treasurer Amelia Diamond, 520 Meetinghouse Road, Jenkintown, PA 19046 Abington Friends Meeting Buildings & Property Temporarily Closed In light of the COVID-19 outbreak, we are abiding by the regulations that the state of Pennsylvania and Montgomery County have put into place by CLOSING our Meeting buildings and property until further notice. In order to keep our Meeting community safe, we will have no activities or events on the Meeting property, and this includes Meeting for Worship. Please check our Weekly Announcements, which are sent by email, for updates. To be added to our email list, contact Loretta Fox at [email protected]. We continue to use the Zoom online platform to have weekly meeting for worship, and we will also use it for our June 14 th meeting for worship to attend to business. Instructions will be emailed to our Meeting community in our Weekly Announcements email. See page 2 for more information. When we feel it is safe to reopen our buildings, an announcement will be made. Please continue to hold all who are affected by this illness in the Light. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ JUNE MEETING ACTIVITIES SUNDAY 7 TH 9:25 a.m. HYMN SINGING, via Zoom 10:00 a.m. MEETING FOR WORSHIP, via Zoom 11:00 a.m. CLOSING PROGRAM FOR FIRST DAY SCHOOL (CHILDREN & ADULTS), via Zoom, see page 3 SUNDAY 14 TH 9:25 a.m. HYMN SINGING, via Zoom 10:00 a.m. MEETING FOR WORSHIP, via Zoom 11:30 a.m. MONTHLY MEETING FOR WORSHIP TO ATTEND TO BUSINESS, via Zoom —Reports: Adult Education, Children’s Religious Education, Audit
Transcript of BINGTON ONTHLY MEETING of the Religious …Click Here to see the committee brochure created by...
ABINGTON MONTHLY MEETING of the Religious Society of Friends
NNEEWWSSLLEETTTTEERR
JUNE 2020 SIXTH MONTH
520 Meetinghouse Road • Jenkintown • Pennsylvania • 19046
Continued on page 2
Abington Monthly Meeting
www.abingtonmeeting.org Abington Quarterly Meeting
www.abingtonquarter.org Philadelphia Yearly Meeting
www.pym.org Office: 215-884-2865
Clerk of Meeting : Wanda Wyffels, [email protected]
Meeting Administrator: Loretta Fox, [email protected]
Meeting Secretary: Cathy Callan, [email protected] (Office Hours: Mon-Wed 10-2, Th 10-1)
Meeting Caretaker: Dave Wermeling 215-534-7011
Deadline for July NEWSLETTER is June 15th
. Please give information to Loretta Fox.
Contributions may be sent to: Abington Monthly Meeting, c/o Assistant Treasurer Amelia Diamond, 520 Meetinghouse
Road, Jenkintown, PA 19046
Abington Friends Meeting Buildings & Property Temporarily Closed
In light of the COVID-19 outbreak, we are abiding by the regulations that the state of Pennsylvania and Montgomery County have put into place by CLOSING our Meeting buildings and property until further notice. In order to keep our Meeting community safe, we will have no activities or events on the Meeting property, and this includes Meeting for Worship. Please check our Weekly Announcements, which are sent by email, for updates. To be added to our email list, contact Loretta Fox at [email protected].
We continue to use the Zoom online platform to have weekly meeting for worship, and we will also use it for our June 14th meeting for worship to attend to business. Instructions will be emailed to our Meeting community in our Weekly Announcements email. See page 2 for more information. When we feel it is safe to reopen our buildings, an announcement will be made. Please continue to hold all who are affected by this illness in the Light.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
JUNE MEETING ACTIVITIES
SUNDAY 7TH
9:25 a.m. HYMN SINGING, via Zoom 10:00 a.m. MEETING FOR WORSHIP, via Zoom
11:00 a.m. CLOSING PROGRAM FOR FIRST DAY SCHOOL (CHILDREN & ADULTS), via Zoom, see page 3 SUNDAY 14
TH
9:25 a.m. HYMN SINGING, via Zoom 10:00 a.m. MEETING FOR WORSHIP, via Zoom
11:30 a.m. MONTHLY MEETING FOR WORSHIP TO ATTEND TO BUSINESS, via Zoom —Reports: Adult Education, Children’s Religious Education, Audit
JUNE 2020 ABINGTON MONTHLY MEETING PAGE 2
SUNDAY 21ST
9:25 a.m. HYMN SINGING, via Zoom 10:00 a.m. MEETING FOR WORSHIP, via Zoom SUNDAY 28
TH
9:25 a.m. HYMN SINGING, via Zoom 10:00 a.m. MEETING FOR WORSHIP, via Zoom
Meeting for Worship via Zoom
On Sundays (First Days, Abington Meeting will be hosting online Meetings for Worship at the regular Sunday time of 10 a.m. until 11 a.m. This means that Friends can join together online, by video or audio. We plan to offer this every Sunday until further notice. We also plan to use Zoom for our June 14th meeting for worship to attend to business. If you need assistance using Zoom, please contact Cathy Callan at [email protected].
Details are sent in our emailed Weekly Announcements. To be added to the weekly email list, contact Loretta Fox at [email protected]. (We also have an email list for the monthly Newsletter and other meeting business.)
If Friends do not wish to participate in Meeting using Zoom, we encourage Friends to worship at their homes at 10 a.m. on First Days (Sundays) with the knowledge that other Friends are joined together in Spirit.
Virtual Outdoor Meetings for Worship
Looking ahead, it seems unlikely that we will be able to meet in the same way for our Outdoor Meetings in the summer of 2020. We anticipate that restrictions on the number of people allowed to gather may continue, and our property currently remains closed. Our Worship & Ministry Committee recommends that anyone who would like to do so should consider bringing your laptop, tablet or phone outdoors as you participate in our Zoom Meetings for Worship. The good news is that you can do this at any time you wish, so there's no need to wait until June to be outdoors!
PLEASE HOLD IN THE LIGHT
All who are suffering losses or working to protect our communities during this health crisis
Others in our Meeting community whose struggles may not be known to us
For Committee Clerks
If you would like to use our Zoom account to host an online committee meeting, please contact Cathy Callan at [email protected]. It is important that ALL uses of Zoom be scheduled in advance through Cathy, because we can only host one Zoom meeting at a time.
JUNE 2020 ABINGTON MONTHLY MEETING PAGE 3
Welcome to our New Clerk!
Wanda Wyffels begins her first term as our clerk of Meeting on June 1, 2020, and you may reach Wanda, as needed, by using this email address: [email protected]
Closing Program June 7
We have rescheduled our First Day School Closing Program for children and adults to June 7, immediately following meeting for worship on Zoom. Friends, especially children, are encouraged to bring a piece of self-created artwork that represents gratitude.
Your Donations to Abington Meeting
This is a friendly reminder from your Finance Committee that, especially during this difficult time, donations of any amount are needed to continue the work of our beloved Abington Meeting. Please visit https://www.abingtonmeeting.org/how-to-donate/ for ways to donate. Checks should be payable to Abington Monthly Meeting. Thank you for your generosity!
Please Keep Us Informed…
If you have a concern about one of our members or attenders, please let anyone on the Care of Members Committee know, or contact Deborra Sines Pancoe, clerk, at [email protected]
Care of Members Committee Brochure
Click Here to see the committee brochure created by Michele Clausz featuring a beautiful photo of the joined hands of two Friends from Abington Meeting, a true symbol of friendship and Friend-ship!
Clerk’s Corner June 2020
As I was preparing myself for serving our community as clerk, I spent quite some time thinking on each of you. You are dear to me and I hold you in my heart always. From the Zulu, “Ubuntu” - I am because you are.
Worship & Ministry and Care of Members committees had a workshop in May, and I’d like to share one snippet of something that I gleaned from it (more will be shared in the future by me and others I’m sure). I ask you to read this 6-page essay by Tom Gates and answer the queries for yourself in the last paragraph. Click Here to read the essay. Do you, like me, long for all of us to see our Meeting as a Covenant Community?
I also ask that as often as you think of me, hold me in the Light for wisdom.
Wanda Wyffels Clerk, Abington Friends Meeting [email protected]
JUNE 2020 ABINGTON MONTHLY MEETING PAGE 4
Spiritual Formation at Abington Meeting
Are you longing for deeper connection with Spirit and with others in our community? Would you like to find yourself more at peace and grounded within your faith and practice a year from today? Are you willing to make a solid commitment to yourself for 8 months in order to obtain this? Consider joining the Spiritual Formation Group starting this fall at Abington Monthly Meeting! Click Here to see the pamphlet for more information on what is involved. The retreats referenced in this pamphlet will take place either on our Meeting property or online depending on the social conditions at the time. Dates are scheduled as follows: Opening retreat: September 25-27, 2020 One day retreat: January 23, 2021 (January 30th ‘snow’ date) Closing retreat: May 14-16, 2021 If you feel called to participate, please do NOT let any financial issues prevent you from joining as the Care of Members Committee is covering the purchase of the pamphlets & books and scholarship funds for the $50 registration fee have been set aside for all in need.
If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact Wanda Wyffels. If you are ready to sign up, click HERE to fill out the registration form.
Special Donations to the Bothwell Reparations Fund or to our Assistance Fund
If Friends would like to donate to the Bothwell Reparations Fund or to our Assistance Fund, checks should be made payable to Trustees of Abington Monthly Meeting and sent to the Meeting office. Please be sure to state clearly in writing which fund your donation is intended for, and also indicate if your donation is intended to be used as soon as possible or added to the principal of the fund.
Sustainability Survey
A survey was recently distributed by email, and an online version will be distributed shortly. Please look over the survey and consider each question as it applies to Abington Meeting and also to your personal life. The Peace and Social Justice committee will collect survey responses and compile them in a report to be read at our September Meeting for Worship to Attend to Business. We will use the report to move our Meeting to create more sustainable practices on the property, including our buildings and graveyard. If you have any questions or concerns about the questions in the survey, please contact Rochelle Tormollen or Cathy Callan.
Financial Assistance Available
Especially in this trying time, our Care of Members Committee reminds Meeting members that financial assistance is available through our Assistance Fund for members who need help with things such as mortgage or rent payments, medical expenses, groceries, etc. Funds are also available through Philadelphia Yearly Meeting. If you are in need of assistance, or if you know of a Meeting member who needs assistance, please contact Deborra Sines Pancoe, clerk, at [email protected]. All requests to the Care of Members Committee will be confidential.
JUNE 2020 ABINGTON MONTHLY MEETING PAGE 5
Some Resources for Those in Need of Food
Free Food Distribution for Students & Families: coronavirus-covid-19/sites-city-residents-children-philadelphia-free-food-meals-https://www.phillyvoice.com/
Information, assistance and food bank for those who apply: https://unitedfamilynetwork.com/splash
Interfaith Food Bank, Roslyn https://www.i-fha.org/what-we-do/food-cupboard/
Equal Exchange Coffee, Tea & Chocolate
The Peace & Social Justice committee is now offering the sale of Equal Exchange items. Contact Andrew Antrim. Andrew prefers that you text him, but of course, calls are also welcome. Andrew will arrange delivery & payment on an individual basis.
Some of the most popular items follow, but if you don’t see what you want, just ask Andrew: Coffees: Breakfast Blend or French Roast, Ground or Whole Bean Decaf - Full City Roast Bulk Pack (2 lb) - Whole Bean (only) French Roast or Breakfast Blend Chocolate Bars: Milk, Panama Extra Dark, Dark Caramel Crunch, Lemon Pepper Ginger, Total Eclipse Tea: English or Irish Breakfast, Earl Grey, Darjeeling, Green with Ginger (caffeine free) Chamomile or Rooibos
Please note that because we are adhering to Covid-19 lockdown requirements, the Meeting property remains closed and cannot be used as the place to meet. P&SJ committee stresses the need to wear masks and follow social distancing guidelines.
Hymnal for our Weekly Hymn Singing
If you would like to use an online hymnal for our weekly Hymn Singing, you may use this link: https://hymnary.org/hymnal/WinS1996 If you prefer to buy a copy from FGC QuakerBooks, books can be purchased at https://quakerbooks.org/collections/all-products/products/worship-in-song-2675 (spiral-bound) or https://quakerbooks.org/products/worship-in-song-hard-cover (hard cover)
Women’s Meeting for Worship
All who identify as female are invited to join in our next Women’s Meeting for Worship on Wednesday, July 1st. It is likely that Women’s Worship will be held on Zoom. A link will be sent in our Weekly Announcements email.
JUNE 2020 ABINGTON MONTHLY MEETING PAGE 6
Saving our Oaks: the Effort to Ensure One of Our Most Precious Assets
Your Property Committee is focused on saving our trees, many of which are more than two centuries old. For many of us, the trees are like familiar friends waiting to greet us on the Meeting property. We know our trees are an irreplaceable asset, and we know that for a fraction of the cost of removing a tree we can actually save it. Many of our beloved Oaks suffer from Bacterial Leaf Scorch, a serious, often fatal disease that infects many trees, and it is most prevalent in Oaks. This infection is spread from tree to tree by leafhoppers, a tiny leaf eating insect. Once infected, the vessels of the tree become clogged with a bacterium that spreads throughout the tree. There is no doubt that, if left untreated, a tree infected with Bacterial Leaf Scorch will eventually die. However, treatment can dramatically improve a tree’s chances of survival. Oaks that have been treated usually display full crowns of lush green leaves. Treatment of our infected trees has already begun, and we hope to enjoy our beautiful trees on the Meeting property for many more years.
Find us on Facebook!
Find us by searching Abington Friends Meeting on Facebook. Friends are welcome to post photos or messages.
Some Ideas for Your Time at Home...
As we navigate this unusual time, several Friends have suggested ideas for passing time while remaining at home:
Pendle Hill is doing Zoom meetings for worship every day from 8:30am to 9:05 or 9:10am. From https://pendlehill.org/ there is a link to join the Zoom meeting.
Pendle Hill is offering courses online: Click Here for details
Check out the Pendle Hill Bookstore’s offerings: https://pendlehill.org/product-category/view-all/
Our Quaker guidebook Faith & Practice is essential reading for Friends. The latest edition has many relevant and interesting updates. Click Here to Read Faith & Practice Online
Read our Abington Friends Meeting Handbook and refresh yourself on our beloved community and its work. Click Here to Read the Handbook on our Website
JUNE 2020 ABINGTON MONTHLY MEETING PAGE 7
Benjamin Lay Segment on Movers and Makers
On June 11th at 7:30 PM on WHYY-TV, Movers and Makers will include a segment on Abington Friends Meeting's connection to Benjamin Lay. Movers and Makers is WHYY's art and innovation documentary series showcasing the visionaries whose creative work is inspiring, nourishing, and entertaining the Philadelphia region. You can stream the show online after each broadcast using this link: https://video.whyy.org/video/movers-makers-returns-all-new-episodes-xx34vj/
Abington Friends School
AFS is currently using an online format AFS Everywhere during the current crisis
For information on AFS events, please go to the AFS
website: www.abingtonfriends.net
For information on ways to donate to AFS: http://www.abingtonfriends.net/support/
PHILADELPHIA YEARLY MEETING
Philadelphia Yearly Meeting (PYM) is a
Quaker faith community, an association of
100+ Quaker meetings and thousands of
Friends in a four-state region, and an
organization - all working together to
nurture Quaker faith and practice in today’s
world. Members come together in annual or
special sessions for assessment of the life of
the Society, the conduct of business, spiritual
refreshment and commitment, and the
renewal of the bonds of friendship. Abington
Monthly Meeting is part of PYM.
PYM Annual Sessions
The 340th annual sessions of Philadelphia
Yearly Meeting will take place July 29 through
August 2 in a virtual online format. The theme
will be Letting Ourselves Be Known, and details
can be found if you visit www.pym.org/annual-
sessions. All events are Virtual. Featured
presenters are:
Marcelle Martin, who will open the Spiritual
Formation Retreat on Tuesday Evening, July 28
and join us at Opening Worship on Wednesday,
July 29 at 7pm. Zenaida Peterson, who is our
artist-in-residence and is a Boston-based Spoken
Word Poet, Thursday, July 30, 7 pm. City Love,
music makers for the “world we need” Saturday,
August 1, 7 pm
Workshops, Youth programs, Meeting for
Business, & more!
Registration opens in early June.
Young Friends Friday Check-ins June 26 (Fellowship, games, community
connection) Hosted by Staff
June 12: Making postcards to send to Young
Friends! We’ll mail you materials and we can
work on making cards together over Zoom. If
you’re interested, send your mailing address
to: [email protected] or register for
Friday Check-ins by May 29.
Register here: www.pym.org/young-
friends/events for login and phone-in details.
For more information about
our Yearly Meeting, please check the
Philadelphia Yearly Meeting website:
www.pym.org
ABINGTON MONTHLY MEETING
of the Religious Society of Friends
520 Meetinghouse Road
Jenkintown, PA 19046-2934
The SIXTH QUERY on NURTURING OUR COMMUNITY: STEWARDSHIP OF RESOURCES will be read and
considered at Monthly Meeting for Business on JUNE 14TH
, 11:30 A.M. VIA ZOOM
6. Nurturing Our Community: Stewardship of Resources
a. How does our meeting accommodate ecological, economic and social justice in its uses of property
and money? b. Does our meeting engage its members in supporting the meeting’s work, its ministry
and the upkeep of its property? c. Does our meeting encourage its members to support with their
time, energy and finances the quarterly and yearly meetings and other Quaker organizations? d. To
what extent does our meeting rely on current members and attenders for financial support and to
what extent on other sources?
e. How do I demonstrate in my own decision making a concern for ecological, economic and social
justice? f. How do I simplify my needs, making choices that balance self-sufficiency and fair sharing
of resources? g. Do I balance my work-life and other activities with the time and energy needed for
my spiritual growth and service? h. Do I contribute to the work of Friends in my meeting, in the
quarterly and yearly meetings and in the wider world of Friends?
