Plumstead Friends Host “Old School” Bucks Quarterly Meeting
The weather could not have been more perfect. Sunny, not too warm, not too humid, and not a cloud in the sky. This was ideal weather for Bucks Quarter Friends to gather at the historic Plumstead Meetinghouse on August 20th for our third Quarterly Meeting of 2023.
Deciding to have an in-person only Quarterly Meeting was not an easy decision. Our last two Quarterly Meetings had been held as hybrid meetings, but they were not without their technical challenges. And as Plumstead Meeting has no electricity (and no indoor plumbing), the technical challenges of holding a hybrid Quarterly Meeting seemed too daunting.
Plumstead Meeting clerk, Dafydd Jones, was able to run an extra-long extension cord from a cottage on the property into the meetinghouse to accommodate the slide show that accompanied our morning program entitled “A Quaker Response to Indigenous Issues.” Presented by Arla Patch and Lois Kutner the program was recorded and is available on YouTube; click here to download the accompanying handouts.
People were encouraged to bring a brown bag lunch, which was supplemented by beverages and homemade desserts provided by Plumstead Friends. It was wonderful to break bread once again with Friends.
All too soon it was time to clean up and move to the reason we had gathered: Meeting for Worship with Attention to Business. There was a full agenda (the advance documents may be accessed here), but our clerk, Bill Daly, handled the business efficiently and effectively. As is often the case, some Friends kept their hands busy while attending to business.
Our next Quarterly Meeting is scheduled for November 19th under the care of Quakertown (NJ) Friends. They too lack the equipment for a hybrid meeting, although luckily, they do have electricity and indoor bathrooms. Our Ad Hoc Technology Group is working to assemble a “hybrid meeting in a box” that the Quarter can loan to meetings who do not have the equipment in house. Stay tuned for details about that!