As I’ve been wrapping Christmas presents and sending cards this year, I am reminded that the images of Santas, the Holy Family and other people are primarily white. Occasionally there is a dark-skinned Wise Man or child playing in snow. . . (I have been glad to see some emojis in e-communication that have different skin colors, though.) One year a long time ago I bought some wrapping paper with Black Santas. No one objected,…
A friend of mine (and an even longer term friend of Judy Haughee-Bartlett) is going to be performing a holiday piano concert soon. He is Jim Morgan, a Presbyterian minister in Laurinburg. The concert is to be Monday, December 19th, 7:00 p.m. at River Landing at Sandy Ridge, 1575 John Knox Drive, in Colfax. The concert is open to the public without charge. I hope to attend as I am a big fan of his…
Children are Welcome at Meeting for Worship & Meeting for Wiggles is BACK! All children are invited and encouraged to join us during Meeting for Worship. There is a blanket in the back corner of the meeting room for children to sit on for Meeting for Wiggles. They are welcome to bring small, quiet toys to play with. Crayons and activity packets are available in the foyer outside the Worship room. Childcare is available beginning at…
Over the past several months, your concern and participation in strengthening our democracy has been vital. Through your individual or Quaker Meeting endorsement of the Urgent Call and through your involvement as a poll worker, poll chaplain, election official, volunteer for candidates, and through prayer—you have helped protect our democracy and counter authoritarianism. Thank you! We are encouraged that democracy prevailed in the recent midterm elections, that election violence has not occurred, and with few…
9:45 a.m. Unprogrammed Meeting for Worship 9:45 – 10:45 a.m. Adult Forum (Zoom) 9:45 – 10:45 a.m. Spiritual Disciplines (Zoom) 11 a.m. Semi-Programmed Meeting for Worship* • Worshipful Music: • Announcements: Karen Garraputa • Lighting the Advent Candle (Peace) • Congregational Hymn: • Reading: Luke 1:46-56 • Special Music: • Message: My Spirit Rejoices, Ashley Wilcox • Silent Worship • Holding in the Light *Meeting for Worship livestream: Facebook Live: http://www.facebook.com/NewGardenFriendsMeeting
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…
Dear Friends, All of a sudden, it feels like Christmas is upon us! This Advent, I am reading a free devotional called The Season of Waiting by Kate Bowler. She is a writer I always enjoy, and I highly recommend her book Everything Happens for a Reason (and Other Lies I’ve Loved). For this week in her devotional, Kate Bowler wrote, “The fragility of the people we love makes Christmas layered with a lot of…
I sing in a barbershop chorus, the Greensboro Tarheel Chorus, which is a local chapter of the international Barbershop Harmony Society. We are having a holiday sing-in, open to the public, at New Garden Friends Meeting on Thursday, December 8, at 7:00 PM. We are renting the Meeting Room as an outside group, but all members of the NGFM community (and the greater Greensboro community) are invited to join us. Part of the hour-long program…
The Carolina Peacemaker, Greensboro’s African American newspaper, recommended the book DO the WORK! An Antiracist Activity Book (2022) By W. Kamau Bell (African American man) and Kate Schatz (European American woman). It’s a good one! From the Cover: “For all the people overwhelmed by racial injustice and white supremacy in America, who’ve taken some action and know they can do more, but don’t always know what to do or how to do it, or are…
“New Garden’s Little Free Antiracist Library has been a great success and is getting a lot of traffic! Thanks to all of you who have contributed to the wonderful collection of books, promoting antiracist themes! We need to replace books that have been taken, so please check your bookshelves at home for titles by black authors, books that teach about racism, biographies of people in under-represented populations, etc. The books may be placed in the…