Dear Friends,
In this week of Thanksgiving, I have been thinking about all of the things I am thankful for at New Garden Friends Meeting. Here are just a few of the things I am thankful for:
• The Care Fair. Thank you to everyone who planned, volunteered, and signed up at the Care Fair! It was wonderful to see you all caring for each other.
• A cleaner meetinghouse. Have you noticed how nice the carpets look? That we no longer have dust in the corners? Thank you to everyone who helped to coordinate the deep cleaning and carpet cleaning! It makes the meetinghouse so much nicer as a place to work and worship.
• The tech team. Thank you to everyone who keeps all the tech going for worship, education, and memorials. It is a huge job, and you make it possible for us to connect across distances and to care for grieving families.
• All of you. Thank you to everyone who has welcomed me, shared your stories, and dreamed about ways that we can grow together as a meeting. You are the heart of New Garden Friends Meeting, and I am grateful for all of you.
Advent and Christmas are right around the corner, but I am grateful for this moment to pause, breathe, and give thanks.
Blessings, Ashley
[email protected] ngfm.org, 336-338-1986
Office Hours: 2-4pm on Mondays and by appointment
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.
Weekly newsletter deadline is noon on Monday. Please email all articles and ATTACH original high res .jpeg or .pdf images to [email protected] Please include start date/end date, start time/end time and location of the event. Questions? Call the Meeting Office.
New Gardeners enjoyed fellowship at the Care Fair at the rise of meeting. Tables were staffed by volunteers explaining opportunities to care for each other organized through Caring Friends. Cookie give aways, fiddle music and a chance to enjoy each other’s company added to the fun! Thank you to all the volunteers who made the fair possible and to all the New Gardeners who signed up to become a Caring Friend. If you were unable to attend,…
Do you want to have an indoor tree this year? We need volunteers! We are looking for people to help bring up the ornaments and creches up from downstairs after meeting on Sunday. If you can stay after meeting to help, please tell Karin Heller ([email protected]).
Honor cards are a different way for you to give a present to your friends, neighbors or loved ones. Instead of a physical object, you give a card that reflects a gift to a nonprofit of your choice. The gift to the non-profit is in the name of your friend or loved one, so they know that a local organization has been supported in their honor. At New Garden Friends Meeting, we have selected multiple…
The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together by Heather McGhee, mentioned in this space earlier, is a big book, which I am still reading, in advance of placing it in our Little Free Anti-racist Library. I am led to share this quotation from page 205 in the chapter entitled The Same Sky today: Perhaps it makes sense, if you’ve spent a lifetime seeing yourself as the winner of…
Friends are reminded that all Religious Education updates and information will now be included in the newsletter. Karin will not send out an additional email later in the week. Zoom links for hybrid programming will be included in the same email as the Zoom link for Meeting for worship. Simple Christmas / Mark your calendars! Simple Christmas will take place on Saturday, December 10, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. There will be model trains, stories, crafts, music,…
Our next “Parents Night Out” is Friday, December 9, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.. Parents, please register with an email to [email protected] by noon on Thursday. Include your name and cell phone number, another emergency contact, your child’s name and age and any information you want to add about the child. Caregivers will be Marcy Maury and Susan Dorn. Contact Susan with questions at [email protected] or 336-312-2225.
These FCNL Legislative Priorities for the 2023-24 Congress were approved by the General Committee of FCNL on November 19, 2020. They provide the framework for FCNL advocacy in 2023 and 2024. The order in which they are presented here does not represent a priority order. Each priority provides a framework for lobbying as way opens. ● Promote peace building and confront the paradigm of global militarism at home and abroad. ● Work towards nuclear disarmament…
Dear Friends, Did you get a chance to see the Faith and Play story that Karin Heller shared in worship? If not, I recommend watching it online! It was lovely to see an example of the story telling that we will have in Intergenerational First Day School. Thank you to everyone who has signed up for the training this weekend! Lately, I have been thinking about how we care for each other at New Garden…
Squirrels have a nasty habit of building nests in solar panels because they’re warm and provide shelter. The problem is that they can chew on wires causing damage to the system and creating a fire hazard because of exposed wires. Marie Brown, (House Co-Clerk) first spotted an outage last week. Two pesky squirrel nests had shut down 1/3 of our solar power generation. Damage was repaired and power restored by 8MSolar on November 14th under…
Every year, on the Thursday before Thanksgiving, the Greensboro community comes together to fight hunger by participating in the Feast of Caring. During the holiday season, many face hunger and cannot sit down to a holiday feast. They will be alone, hungry, and in crisis. At the Fest of Caring, guests can make a donation and enjoy a simple meal of soup and bread. All donations will support Greensboro Urban Ministry programs that fight hunger,…
Honor cards are a different way for you to give a present to your friends, neighbors or loved ones. Instead of a physical object, you give a card that reflects a gift to a nonprofit of your choice. The gift to the non-profit is in the name of your friend or loved one, so they know that a local organization has been supported in their honor. At New Garden Friends Meeting, we have selected multiple…
Would you like to find a way to deepen your connection to the New Garden Friends Meeting community? Would you like to be part of a group that grows community through showing care to one another? Becoming a Caring Friend might be for you! Find out more at the Care Fair. When: November 20th, 12:00 at the rise of meeting Where: outside the meeting room or on the front porch, weather permitting. Opportunities to learn…
I am so glad to join in collaborating with your Interim Pastor, Ashley Wilcox, to assist with pastoral care and visits. Ashley and I worked together for a summer several years ago at First Friends Meeting – so it’s a joy to share again in ministry. I also look forward to reconnecting with many of you. For those of you who live at Friends Homes Guilford, please know that I may do “drop in” visits.…
Friends are welcome to stop by the New Garden Library and check out new books that will further our efforts to become an anti-racist faith community. Thanks to the Library Committee for all they are doing to spruce up and make more relevant and diverse our book collection at the meeting house! ––Kate Hood Seel
Friends are reminded that all Religious Education updates and information will now be included in the newsletter. Karin will not send out an additional email later in the week. Zoom links for hybrid programming will be included in the same email as the Zoom link for Meeting for worship. Simple Christmas Mark your calendars! Simple Christmas will take place on Saturday, December 10th, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. There will be model trains, stories, crafts, music, fellowship,…
Our next “Parents Night Out” is Friday, November 18 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.. Parents, please register with an email to [email protected] by noon on Thursday. Include your name and cell phone number, another emergency contact, your child’s name and age and any information you want to add about the child. Caregivers will be Marcy Maury and Susan Dorn. Contact Susan with questions at [email protected] or 336-312-2225.
Would you like to join a team that makes a big difference in the lives of others and strengthens your relationships with other Friends? If so, please join the NGFM Meals on Wheels Team. This is a project initiated by the Peace and Social Concerns Committee. Other faith communities in Greensboro have teams, and this is a great time for New Garden Friends Meeting to get on board! If you would like to volunteer, all…
At the November gathering, Monthly Meeting reviewed the recommendations of the Art Curation and Anti-racism Committees and made the following recommendations: I. A Guiding Committee should be formed with representatives from the Art Curation and Anti-racism Committees that would include an interior design expert from Guilford College or UNC-G, to help plan and to guide the work of the following Committees: II. The Art Curation and History Committee will continue to identify the provenance of…
Peace and Social Concern Committee is seeking proposals for small grants to support programs or projects that reflect our Quaker Values. Usually, grants are awarded in the $250 – $500 range. You may apply on behalf of an organization or project by submitting a one-page description of the work being done, specifically what the grant would be used for, contact information including name, address and how a check should be written, should the proposal be…
• From Slave Ship to Freedom Road by Julius Lester • A House in the Albemarle: English Settlers, Quakers, and the 1730 Newbold-White House, edited by Philip S. McMullan, Jr. and JH. John Ernst, III • Historic Architecture of Perquimans County, North Carolina by Dru Haley and Raymond H. Winslow, Jr. • Ram Dass: Still Here: Embracing Aging, Changing, and Dying by Ram Dass • Waking Up White and Finding Myself in the Story of…
Dear Friends, It may feel a little early, but we are already planning for Christmas at New Garden Friends Meeting! I am looking forward to our outdoor Christmas Eve service, and having unprogrammed worship on Christmas morning feels like a time to get away from all the bustle and listen deeply together. We are also looking for volunteers to help with all of the Christmas plans! We need people to help with setting out the…
Monthly Meeting approved the following slate of friends to serve on the Transition Team: • Kevin Lawe • Heather Adams • Laura Hans • Tom Baker • John Kepchar • Marcy Reid-Smith • Janet Inmon • Jim Lancaster • Bill Eagles • Bill McNeil • Tim Lindeman • Cathy Hamilton • Ashley Wilcox will consult with the Committee The Transition Team is a group of trusted individuals the meeting chose that is spiritually grounded and…
We have been invited to join a forum with George Lakey. Many of us are inspired by his activism and witness. Piedmont Friends is inquiring into the possibility of George coming to our area next year and in that process we were invited to join by Zoom an event in Baltimore featuring George entitled, “Lessons for Today from a Lifetime of Nonviolent Activism” on November 20th at 3:15 p.m. Please register here. George Lakey is…
NCFF Fall Meeting for Worship and Business To prepare for hosting the North Carolina Fellowship of Friends, a small committee has been working. They will provide coffee, tea & hot chocolate prior to the meeting (9:30am) and lunch following (noon). Any Friends who have agreed to bring baked goods, just leave them in the kitchen sometime on Friday, Nov. 11 between 9:00am and 5:00pm or the next morning. Thanks! ––Kate Seel
November 2022 Native American Heritage Month 08 Election Day 11 Veterans Day 16 International Day for Tolerance 20 World Children’s Day 24 Native American Heritage Day 29 International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People – from the NG Antiracism Working Group
Here is a book I am recommending: The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together by Heather McGhee. (Hint – Soon it will be found in our Little Free Anti-racist Library.) There is a great summary from the book jacket. “The Sum of Us is a brilliant analysis of how we arrived here: divided and self-destructing, materially rich but spiritually starved and vastly unequal. McGhee marshals economic and sociological…
In Person attendance at Meeting is increasing, and our on-line participation continues to be strong. Additionally, not represented on the chart above, our programmed message can be viewed on our NGFM Facebook page throughout the week.
Our own Calliope George was recently featured on QuakerSpeak sharing her experiences as a young adult Quaker. https://quakerspeak.com/video/YAF/ Calliope currently resides in NYC at the William Penn house where she is pursuing acting roles and working in television production.
9:00 a.m. Unprogrammed Meeting 9:45 – 10:45 a.m. Adult Forum (Zoom) 9:45 – 10:45 a.m.…
9:45 a.m. Unprogrammed Meeting for Worship 9:45 – 10:45 a.m. Adult Forum (Zoom) 9:45 –…
9:45 a.m. Unprogrammed Meeting for Worship 9:45 – 10:45 a.m. Adult Forum (Zoom) 9:45 –…
9:45 a.m. Unprogrammed Meeting for Worship 9:45 – 10:45 a.m. Adult Forum (Zoom) 9:45 –…
Note; November 6th marks the start of Daylight Savings Time. Friends are reminded to bring…
9:45 a.m. Unprogrammed Meeting for Worship 9:45 – 10:45 a.m. Adult Forum (Zoom) 9:45 –…
11:00 a.m. • Worshipful Music: Michael Greene • Welcome: Ashley Wilcox • Announcements • Reading…
11:00 a.m. • Worshipful Music: Michael Greene • Welcome: Kevin Lawe • Announcements: Karen Garraputa…
