When will it be safe to resume holding Meeting-related activities in person?
The answer, according to New Garden’s COVID-19 medical advisors, is not yet. And it remains unclear when it will be safe to do so.
After signs that North Carolina’s cases of COVID-19 were leveling off, the state experienced a surge of new cases last week. Governor Cooper’s decision to proceed with Phase 3 reopening, the arrival of cooler temperatures, and the return of children to school classrooms likely will have adverse effects on containing the disease. More worrisome is one study that suggests that the virus is undergoing genetic mutation that makes it even easier to transmit from person to person.
For this reason, our COVID-19 medical advisors recommend that New Garden Friends Meeting not sponsor any in-person activities until state and local statistics indicate that the risk of viral transmission in Guilford County is significantly lower.
Until such time as we can resume more normal activities, the Meeting on Ministry & Counsel urges members and attenders to take part in virtual meetings for worship, committee meetings and Religious Education activities. Consider taking part in Friend to Friend, a program that encourages weekly conversations, by phone or other electronic means, between two households over a 4- to 5-week period. The next series will begin in mid to late October. See the October 13 newsletter for more information.
All New Gardeners must consider for themselves the risks and benefits of in-person contact with non-household members.
To assist our community in making these decisions, our COVID-19 medical advisors have put together a range of fact-based precautionary recommendations. These recommendations represent the most current scientific and medical thinking on coping with the pandemic and limiting its spread. Those recommendations are available here.
October 6, 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.
Caring Friends is looking for one or more people who would like to do some yard work for one of our members. If you are interested, please contact Jane Carter at 336-402-2127 or (janedeichler@gmail.com).
Upcoming Adult Forums / Zoom Meeting @ 9:45 a.m. – 10:45 a.m. / For more information or to receive the zoom link, please contact the Meeting Office, or Karin Heller April 11: A Conversation With Kathy Manning Rep. Manning represents North Carolina’s Sixth Congressional District, which includes all of Guilford County and part of Forsyth…
Online Training for Facilitators April 30 – May 2, 2021. Join us if you’ve already taken BOTH a Basic and Advanced Workshop and are interested in facilitating workshops for others! While we aren’t able to offer traditional weekend workshops in person, we’ve come up with a way to offer a similar experience online using Zoom.…
NC Vaccination rates continue to increase, now fully 25% of adults in NC are fully vaccinated and up to 38% are partially vaccinated. New cases of COVID and hospitalizations were slightly increased this past week in North Carolina and in the United States. This is believed to be due to more people starting to travel…
Open to all Friends: Corporation programming will begin on Sunday, April 11 at 7 p.m. ET with a panel presentation, “Quakers, AFSC, and abolition: Then and Now,” featuring historians Marcus Rediker and Katharine Grebner and contemporary Quaker abolitionists. To Register; go to: https://www.afsc.org/corpprogram The workshops, which will be offered throughout the week, are listed below:…
Scholarship applications are available and can be obtained by email from the New Garden Friends Meeting office. Completed applications must be returned by May 31.
Friends are invited to join us for Easter Egg Hunt on Easter Sunday!!! Yes! You read that correctly! This coming Sunday, April 4, 2021, New Garden Friends Meeting will have our annual Easter egg hunt in the cemetery at 1 p.m.! However, we will have to do things a little differently this year and follow…
Anti-Racist Actions You Can Take Now: Read the article (in the link below) and consider how these characteristics of white supremacy culture are implemented within your own place of work or other organizations, or even your own personal organizational behavior. Go to: https://tinyurl.com/36fdnnf9 Reprinted from the Anti-Racism Daily e-newsletter, https://www.antiracismdaily.com/ March 19, 2021.
Vaccination rates continue to increase but new cases of COVID have risen slightly this week in North Carolina and in the United States. This is believed to be due to more people starting to travel and relaxation of previous policies like mask mandates. Concern is also present about vaccine variants which may be more contagious…
This vigil to honor the homeless young man killed by police is held every Monday, 12 to 1 p.m. on Washington Street, in front of city council and police depts. We stand silently in masks, holding signs, which are there to use, if you have none of your own. Call CH Holcombe for more info.…
Vaccination rates continue to increase and new cases of COVID/hospitalization rates continue to fall this week in North Carolina. However, more persons have started to travel and state officials continue to be concerned whether this activity will result in a higher number of COVID cases thereafter as happened around the year end holidays. Continue to…
Shepherd’s Center will offer 10 classes during the Spring sessions of Adventures in Learning beginning April 1. These one hour classes will be on Zoom on your tablet, computer, or phone. The cost is $45.00 on PayPal. For complete info, go to: https://shepcenter.org/
We have opened the Quaker Relations Survey back up for our community so that we can continue to gather feedback from those who did not participate in February. Please use this link to access the survey so that we can better understand the impact our wider Quaker community has on New Garden Friends Meeting. The…
Here are the New Ideas Committee Update Reports; A committee to support the Friendship Community Partnership will be considered as a responsibility of Quaker Relations and be included in the ongoing evaluation of support for that committee. In support of animal welfare Peace and Social Concerns is planning a food collection activity when we have…
The Peace and Social Concerns Committee (PSCC) is seeking proposals for funds. Each spring and fall, New Garden provides small grants to organizations for projects that address the meeting’s priorities of peace, simplicity, integrity, community, equality, and stewardship of Earth. PSCC looks at all proposed organizations and projects for their antiracist value. If you know…
Peace & Social Concerns is leading a book study of How to Be An Anti-Racist by Ibram X. Kendi. To quote from Mr. Kendi’s website: “In his memoir, Kendi weaves together an electrifying combination of ethics, history, law, and science–including the story of his own awakening to antiracism–bringing it all together in a cogent, accessible…
Friends Committee on North Carolina Legislation recommends the following online program. For registration link contact Dot Mason at: (hmason@triad.rr.com) Program: Eco-Justice is Anti-Colonial Thursday, March 25, 12 to 1 p.m. Join NCIPL & NC Council of Churches Intern for Climate and Environmental Justice, Noely Bernier, for a discussion on the impacts of colonialism (on our…
Sunday, March 21 – “The Land of Our Fathers, Part 2 / Discussion continues on the “The 1619 Project”. The 1619 Project is an ongoing initiative from The New York Times Magazine that began in August 2019, the 400th anniversary of the beginning of American slavery. It aims to reframe the country’s history by placing…
Please join us for another Virtual Game Night, Friday, March 26 , 6 – 7:30 p.m. A link will be sent out with Religious Education Updates on Thursday, March 25. Contact Karin Heller for more information.
The Peace and Social Concerns Committee (PSCC) is seeking proposals for funds. Each spring and fall, New Garden provides small grants to organizations for projects that address the meeting’s priorities of peace, simplicity, integrity, community, equality, and stewardship of Earth. PSCC looks at all proposed organizations and projects for their antiracist value. If you know…
Upcoming Adult Forums / Zoom Meeting @ 9:45 a.m. – 10:45 a.m. / For more…
Friends are invited to join us for Easter Egg Hunt on Easter Sunday!!! Yes! You…
Sunday 11 a.m. Meeting for Worship livestream: Facebook Live: http://www.facebook.com/NewGardenFriendsMeeting Prepared messages are posted at: www.ngfm.org/media Reading:…
Sunday 11 a.m. Meeting for Worship livestream: Facebook Live: http://www.facebook.com/NewGardenFriendsMeeting Prepared messages are posted at: www.ngfm.org/media Reading:…
Sunday 11 a.m. Meeting for Worship livestream: Facebook Live: http://www.facebook.com/NewGardenFriendsMeeting Prepared messages are posted at: www.ngfm.org/media Readings:…
Peace & Social Concerns is leading a book study of How to Be An Anti-Racist…
Peace & Social Concerns is leading a book study of How to Be An Anti-Racist…
“The Land of Our Fathers, Part 2 / Discussion continues on the “The 1619 Project”.…
