At this writing it has been nearly two months since Friends gathered for Meeting for Worship at New Garden Friends Meeting. Precautionary measures to limit the spread of coronavirus also closed our meetinghouse to its other regular functions, including meetings of committees, civic and support groups, and other social and recreational groups.
These actions were determined by the Meeting’s Covid-19 Prevention Group, an ad hoc committee including the meeting’s clerk, the clerk of the Meeting on Ministry and Counsel, physicians, the pastoral minister, and other New Gardeners. The foremost concern is to protect the health of the congregation, the staff, and the many members of the public who frequent the meetinghouse.
(Note: Updated details on the meeting’s closure policy are here.)
New Gardeners, like so many other Americans, have adapted to protect ourselves, our loved ones, and our community. These changes have been hard on everyone.
Many of us gather online as Pastoral Minister Margaret Webb offers a prepared message via Facebook Live at 11 a.m. each First Day. She also delivers a midweek message on Facebook at 1 p.m. each Wednesday, also on the New Garden Facebook page. The pastoral care work of the Meeting continues in every way except in-person visits. Caring Friends, Religious Education, and other Meeting functions continue.
Gov. Cooper on May 8 announced the easing of some restrictions on public gatherings as the state’s coronavirus infection rate begins to plateau and decline. New rules allow faith communities to gather outdoors for worship, if socially distanced.
We realize that New Gardeners are anxious to return to Meeting for Worship, to sit with one another, and be in community as is our tradition dating back to 1754.
The Prevention Group discussed this option via a Zoom meeting. It was determined that it is not practical or prudent for New Garden Friends to alter its position at this time.
Many in our congregation are at heightened risk of infection because of age or other health issues. Attempting worship while separating children and young families from older persons seems contrary to the spirit of New Garden. Providing access to restrooms for outdoor worshipers raises additional issues of maintaining social distancing, traffic control, and sanitizing all surfaces between uses.
The Prevention Group believes the risks remain too great. The consensus it that New Garden should continue its conservative precautionary measures. The meetinghouse will remain closed for worship and other gatherings for a while longer.
The Covid-19 Prevention Group will regularly revisit these issues going forward. Everyone yearns to gather again, to see Friends and worship in community. And we will, when we are more certain that we can do so without undue risk.
Jane Foy
Clerk, Meeting on Ministry and Counsel
Tim Lindeman
Clerk, New Garden Friends Meeting
May 11, 2020
New Garden Friends Meeting is an inclusive, welcoming faith community in the tradition of the Religious Society of Friends. Our members and attenders represent a wide range of religious backgrounds and traditions. Grounded in more than 250 years of Quaker heritage, New Garden remains a vital Meeting for those who seek that of God in every person.
PROPOSAL: Install solar energy for New Garden Friends Meeting and provide energy relief for local low-income homeowners. STEWARDSHIP: Solar power generation to reduce fossil fuel use and energy costs. COMMUNITY: A donation to Community Housing Solutions for energy conservation projects for local low-income homeowners. Please join Meeting for Business on 6/7/20 @ 1pm to discuss…
Interfaith Power & Light is excited to kick off our summer film series with a return of a free online screening of The Human Element, followed by a webinar with renowned filmmaker James Balog. Over 7,000 people viewed The Human Element during Faith Climate Action Week earlier this year, and to meet the continued requests…
Go the their website: upperroom.org to view and take advantage of their numerous offerings and additional resources (free of charge) for journeying through the pandemic and the “social distancing” reality before us.
Wednesday – Saturday, June 17-20 / Virtual Gathering (via ZOOM) Our program will be shaped by God’s leading as the week unfolds. Each day will include: Bible Study, Worship, Small Groups, Evening Explorations and Fellowship. “The intent of all speaking [in meeting for worship] is to bring into the Life, and to walk in, and to…
North Carolina Fellowship of Friends is forwarding information to Meetings on the 2020 Mediation Skills Training Institute programming, offered via the Lombard Mennonite Peace Center. The Lombard Mennonite Peace Center has trained thousands of church leaders in conflict resolution skills. They can also train groups in their own locations. Conflict is an inevitable part of…
Every Wednesday at 1 p.m. Pastor Margaret is doing a live video on the New Garden Friends Meeting Facebook page. Each week will include readings and queries to help center your week. You can join live at 1 p.m. or watch the video any time after.
June 1, 2020 Dear Friends, NGFM’s COVID-19 Prevention Group has advised that we continue to keep the meetinghouse closed until further notice. NC’s Phase 2, which the Governor is calling “Safer-at-Home,” allows more businesses to reopen and permits outdoor gatherings of up to 25 people (with social distancing); however, the risk of coronavirus transmission remains…
The NC Board of Elections is expecting way more requests this year because of the uncertainty of the virus situation. Guilford County is expecting an increase of about 733% over normal requests for absentee ballots. People involved in elections are suggesting that you send your absentee ballot request in now to avoid the crunch. When…
You are invited to check out the North Carolina Fellowship of Friends website to get news and updates on happenings within NCFF. To see the latest newsletter, go to: https://tinyurl.com/yc2fkz2r.
Join us for a virtual educational session about planned giving on Thursday, June 4, 2020 at 10:30 am. This virtual ZOOM meeting will feature Mimi Blackwell, Planned Giving Program Manager for Friends Fiduciary Corporation. Planned Giving is an effective and meaningful way to leave your legacy for causes you are passionate about. Some planned giving…
Thank you, New Gardeners, for generously supporting our virtual food drive that was in place of the usual Spring Food Drive for Greensboro Urban Ministries. Filling pantry shelves at GUM is increasingly urgent now as the number of families needing assistance has grown due to loss of jobs and more meals are being eaten at…
The (GAL) Guardian ad Litem Mission: Be A Voice For the Children in Our Community • GAL Volunteers are trained as child advocates for abused and neglected children. • Child advocates and attorneys work together to champion children’s needs in court. • Child advocates promote a safe and permanent home for children. During these challenging…
Greensboro AmeriCorps Positions Available for September 2020 – August 2021. The AmeriCorps Partnership to End Homelessness, located in Greensboro, is recruiting 4 full-time and 24 part-time AmeriCorps members to serve at agencies in the community who serve individuals currently experiencing homelessness or who are at-risk for becoming homeless. Our sites include The Servant Center, YWCA,…
For many years, it has been a custom at New Garden to have an “alternative” Memorial Day graveyard tour to highlight the many different ways Quakers have served and sacrificed in the cause of peace and justice. This year, owing to the coronavirus restrictions, there won’t be a group tour, but from 10:00 to 11:00…
We continue to meet all the Meeting’s obligations including payroll, utilities, building care and our outreach to help other organizations and people in need. I was gratified to see the response to the request for support of the Urban Ministry Food Bank. We doubled our goal. However, contributions to the general budget are down this…
10:30 a.m. / Virtual Meeting June 4, 2020 / Planned giving is an effective and meaningful way to leave your legacy for causes you are passionate about. Some planed giving vehicles provide options for life-long income or ways to support your loved ones. Mimi Blackwell, J.D. is a veteran planned giving professional with Friends Fiduciary…
8:00 p.m. – 9:30 p.m. / Online / Are You Interested in Exploring Anti-racism and Confronting Racist Systems? American Friends Service Committee is offering a five-session monthly online course, “Changing Systems, Changing Ourselves” starting January 28 and ending March 24, with interactive sessions running from 8:00 to 9:30 p.m. each night. January 28, Intro session…
1 – 2 p.m. Eastern / Wednesday, May 20, 2020 / You are invited to join a series of virtual events featuring diverse stories of faith and freedom in action, with relevance to today’s pandemic, conducted by The Religious Freedom Center. The free webinar will be hosted on the Zoom platform. Zoom is easy to use…
This week we present the final committee for consideration, our Nominating Committee with a re-cap of the complete committee list. Nominating Committee is who we are and what we do is recommend Meeting officers, representatives and committee members to Monthly Meeting for consideration at the June Monthly Meeting. The committee is composed of nine members…
The film, “We Began to Sing,” premiered on Sunday, May 3. It features the work of Pete Seeger and that of Annie Patterson and Peter Blood, who published the books, “Rise Up Singing” and “Rise Again.” If anyone would like to see this fine presentation, go to: https://tinyurl.com/yde26ekr.
11 a.m. / Virtual Meeting on Facebook. Reading: Jeremiah 20:7-13 Title: God’s Call
Quaker pastor and author Philip Gulley will lead New Garden’s digital Meeting for Worship at…
Online Worship at 11 a.m. Facebook Reading: Acts 2:1-21 Title: The Spirit Within Us All
1:00 p.m. / Join Zoom Meeting here. Password: 655517 / Meeting ID: 863 1403 2742…
11:00 a.m. / Sunday, May 17 is Recognition Sunday. Karin Heller will pre-record the programmed…
May 17, 2020 / 09:45 a.m. / Join Zoom Meeting here. Kelly Morales with American…
10 a.m. / Join Zoom Meeting. Meeting ID: 173 194 875 Password: 561064 If Friends have…
