Port Townsend Friends Meeting

“drawn together in the same spirit”

The Meeting is growing and developing in mutual support, faith and practice. We are ban older community, small but vigorous, and maturing in life with one another. In this first full year in the Meetinghouse, worship has deepened, with several members holding our gathering in conscious care each First Day. A monthly reading of advices and after-meeting worship sharing has enriched us with diverse experiences and perspectives. A five-week worship sharing on a Pendle Hill pamphlet authored by a Meeting member, provided opportunity for profound discussion on end of life. A vocal holding of others in the light at the end of worship has increased and concentrated our capacity for spiritual growth and support, as have care and clearness committees, mid- week worship, spiritual nurture groups and the formation of several anchor committees. One member completed the Way of the Spirit program and two additional members began this two year intensive exploration of Quaker root and branch, adding to the Meeting’s individual and collective understanding of our life together as Friends.

Monthly pot lucks connect us in mutual affection, and serve as a time to become better acquainted with visitors. Three new members joined the Meeting this year and were warmly received. Hospitality is at the heart of outreach and we delight in welcoming new friends and neighbors. A new kitchen designed for ease of serving and as an informal gathering place after worship has been a wonderful addition. New signs have made the Meetinghouse more visible. A series of Meetinghouse concerts raised funds for kitchen construction and opened doors both to talented performers and audiences who enjoyed music and conversation. The Meetinghouse is well used by the Buddhist sangha and community groups, and for meetings and educational series such as the month-long “Conversation on Race.”

We have developed a relationship with our next door neighbor, Jumping Mouse, a therapeutic center for children and families. The meeting volunteered again with the winter shelter, providing meals and night monitors. A peace and social concerns working group started this year bringing together individuals working with regional and national Friends groups such as AFSC, FCNL, FLGBTCQ, QEW and FCWP, and on local issues. Port Townsend Friends were in the state capitol for Quaker lobby day, and were at the core of local events commemorating Hiroshima. Two from the Meeting were arrested in witness for peace at Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor.

Port Townsend Friends are active in Quarterly Meeting and with the North Pacific Yearly Meeting, expressing gratitude for the many threads and energies which weave our shared and unfolding journey.

It is with great joy and a deep sense of renewal that Port Townsend Friends Meeting shares this 2014 State of Society report. In August the Meeting purchased a small church at 1841Sheridan, a prominent corner in Port Townsend, and began creating a Quaker Meetinghouse. The decision to purchase was made swiftly in less than six weeks as pledges and a loan came forth to add to the Meetinghouse fund, which had been gradually building for ten years. The dedication meeting for worship was on August 17. The Meetinghouse energized the Meeting, which held work parties in September, October, and November to do necessary renovations, to install new windows and lighting, and to maintain the landscape. Plans are now underway to add a kitchen. Working together on each Meetinghouse project has deepened personal relationships and strengthened our commitment to our Meeting community.

On November 16, the Meeting held a successful open house, welcoming not only local Port Townsend residents but also Friends from the surrounding Monthly Meetings. In April, the Outreach Committee organized a greater Quaker potluck and party to reach out to those in Port Townsend who had had any connection in their lives with Quakers. It was attended by almost fifty people. Outreach momentum gathered from the visibility and use of the Meetinghouse: a folk concert, regular rentals, a poetry afternoon, and a collection point for the annual WAVE food drive. New attenders were drawn into meeting for worship.

The Meeting supported a member in her sojourn at Pendle Hill for the spring term where she wrote a Pendle Hill Pamphlet to be published March 2015. The Meeting also supported three members who participated in the Friends for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Concerns Midwinter Gathering in Oregon. Several members embarked on the discipline of The Way of the Spirit. Three spiritual nurture groups met regularly throughout the year. A small mid-week meeting for worship met in a local nursing home because residents there cannot easily leave. These experiences enriched the life of the Meeting.

In January, as in past years, the Meeting shared responsibility for providing meals and night monitors for the Winter Homeless Shelter. Meeting members were active with Friends Committee on Washington Public Policy and attended the annual lobbying day in Olympia. A Meeting member contributed to the design and maintenance of the FCWPP web site. Over the year the Meeting broadened its own electronic communications.

2014 was a year of experiment and discovery for Port Townsend Friends. New ways to organize the life of the Meeting in a new Meetinghouse were tested and new strengths were discovered. We matured and grew together.