2022 Concord (NH) MM State of Society

As 2023 dawned, nearly three years into a global pandemic, Concord Meeting gathered to take stock of the past year, to reflect on how the spirit is moving among us and how we have responded to its calling.  In some ways it feels as though we have been in a bit of a holding pattern, doing what we do best; that is to say, nurturing the spiritual lives of members and attenders.  Many of us are quite actively living out Friends’ testimonies, faithfully responding to the promptings of the spirit, with sustenance from the Meeting.

A good number of our meetings are silent, and those in attendance speak, not infrequently, of the richness they find in the silence, yet many meetings will be graced with several offerings of vocal ministry.  Having been through what we hope is the worst of the pandemic, it is a blessing to be able to meet in person and to share in-person worship and fellowship.  It is through our direct presence that we are most able to demonstrate the care that flows so freely among us.

While we no longer take this gift of presence in one another’s lives for granted, we have grown accustomed to being back in the meetinghouse.  This year we resumed our twice monthly potluck meals and singing together as a prelude to Meeting for Worship.  These are joyful and spirited times, and we miss the presence of those who are attending meetings remotely.  An important acoustical modification was installed in the Fellowship Room that makes it a more enjoyable space in which to be able to raise voices.

Presently we have children from two families in our First Day School.  While attendance is spotty due to both the pandemic and the pressures on young families, the children enjoy coming to Meeting.  The Youth and Religious Education Committee is active and dedicated to providing a welcoming, safe, and spiritually centered program.

We continue to welcome remote participants recognizing there are unresolved feelings about the technology.  While there is overwhelming appreciation for the participation of those who are distant, ill, or unable to attend in person for many reasons, there remains some unhappiness with the status quo.  A midweek meeting without a remote option continues to be held.

This year we welcomed two individuals into membership.  Such a joy to have these people wanting to join in fully! As we know, there is a flip side to joy.  This year we mourn the loss of Thomas Hedberg who graced us with his final years.  His courage, honesty, and good humor inspired us as we sought to support him and his wife, Lynda.

Early on in the pandemic we responded creatively to our need for connection with the formation of a variety of small groups that met regularly online and in person when possible.  Groups formed around the need for simple conversation, spiritual support, study, walking, and storytelling.  Many of those groups have run their course, but a couple do continue.  We are feeling a need for deeper connection outside of Sunday mornings and are looking for new opportunities that will draw us together, especially those that help deepen our spiritual lives.  One particularly successful series this year has been the sharing of individual spiritual journeys.  Once again our annual spring party was a fun time to be together.

This has not been a year of bold new initiatives, but one of caution.  As an example, we spent several months in the fall considering the possibility of acquiring a piece of land across the road from us.  Eventually way did not open in that direction, but raising the question caused us to consider how we are using our existing property.  That question is there like a bud on an apple tree, yet to bear fruit.

Another example of caution is our continuing careful adherence to the requirements of the Meeting’s Pandemic Response Team relative to vaccination, masking, hand sanitation, and to a somewhat lesser extent, social distancing.  Chairs in the Meeting Room are spread widely apart, but conversations are often quite physically close.  Differences among us with regard to the vaccination mandate are difficult, and some feelings are quite tender on the matter.  Our desire to welcome all to be present in person conflicts with our hope to protect the more vulnerable among us.

In addition to the possible land purchase noted above, we have faced a number of challenging questions in our Meetings for Worship for the Conduct of Business.  Friends have noticed that we have more often turned to prayerful silence to hold a difficult question up to the Light.  Friends’ practice in the conduct of our business meetings is a flowing stream that runs back through time.  As frustrating as Meetings for Business can be, many find them a rich resource for spiritual growth.

Recognizing the financial hardships often experienced by those seeking asylum in the United States, the Meeting established an Asylum Seekers Fund Working Group early in 2022.  This group has raised funds and is preparing to carry that effort forward.  This year the Meeting spent a few months considering what it would mean to adopt and share a land acknowledgment, eventually adopting one with the help of the Right Relationship Working Group (“right relationship” with indigenous people).  At the request of the Meeting the Outreach Committee worked diligently over a period of months to help us consider what would be a useful “welcoming and affirming statement” to present to the public.  In the end they were released them from the task at their request.  When a task does not bear the fruit that is expected we can learn the truth in the adage that the Spirit moves in mysterious ways.

Whether it is caution, inertia, or the particular culture that has developed in our Meeting, there is no one project that we have undertaken collectively in the community as a witness to our values.  It seems as though the maintenance of our own Meeting community is a witness to one another, and it does take a great deal of collective energy.  There are many workers that make things happen, and we have deep gratitude for the shared effort.  Some find this service to be especially important to their own spiritual growth.  Challenged to be our best, we are inspired by the patterns and examples we encounter at Concord Friends Meeting.  Getting along with one another, indeed, loving each other when loving is not easy, when taking a loving path is a choice, we grow in the Light.