Ministry and Council Welcomes Newcomers on Zoom / Starting May 14, 2023

Meeting for Ministry and Counsel is working to extend welcome and support to our Zoom participants, as we do for worshipers in the Meetinghouse. At the rise of our hybrid, semi-programmed Meeting for Worship, Friends and visitors are welcome to stay online and visit with a member of Ministry and Counsel. It’s a chance for our Meeting to welcome and answer the questions of newcomers and people who have questions about the Meeting or Quakers…

A Message from the Meeting on Ministry & Counsel / November 30, 2022

It seems like these days, life is extraordinarily full of inconveniences and frustrations–aspects of daily life that culminate and can leave us all feeling worn. Holding this aggravation inside, we might then pass it on to others. Friends are asked to recognize that these unkind words and brusque attitudes are increasingly noticed and felt within our Meeting, especially when they are directed to our NGFM staff. Conveying a spirit of impatience, such attitudes run counter…

Topic of August 21, 2022 Called Meeting; Covid Queries and New Garden Friends Meeting

Friends are called to a meeting August 21 at 1:00 pm for the the discussion of New Garden’s COVID queries and policies. In advance of the meeting, please provide any comments and suggestions you might have to Kevin Lawe, Clerk of Ministry and Counsel. Kevin will categorize and consolidate these suggestions to facilitate our discernment on the 21st. How is Spirit calling each person to ministry to take on the work of the life of…

Calling All Friends with Sewing, Knitting, or Crocheting Skills / July 2022

Caring Friends is seeking volunteers to make blankets or quilts for both newborns and adults. These blankets are delivered to members of our community who are experiencing the joy of a new addition to the family, or grieving the loss of a family member. If you would like to know more about this ministry of care, please contact Charlotte Whitcomb at [email protected]. Completed blankets can be delivered or mailed to the meeting house office.

Update from the Meeting on Ministry & Counsel / July 6, 2022

Volunteer Needed to Lead Worship July 17th. The Meeting on Ministry and Counsel is working with members of our community to support the needs of the meeting.  We have speakers lined up for July with the exception of July 17th.  We are working to fill this date.  Please feel free to contact me directly if you have suggestions on speakers.  I can be reached at [email protected] Deborah Suess continues to offer pastoral care, along with members…

News from Meeting on Ministry and Counsel / June 28, 2022

Hello Friends — New Garden is in an unusual, but not unfamiliar time of functioning as an un-pastored meeting; we have been in a similar place many years ago, when David Bills, our long-time pastoral minister, took a sabbatical. That means that we have work to do to care for one another. The Meeting on Ministry and Counsel continues to organize speakers for Semi-programmed Meeting for Worship. If you think that you have a message…

News from Meeting on Ministry & Counsel / June 15, 2022

Friends, Our regularly scheduled message for Summer Program this Sunday, June 19, brought by Karin Heller, has been derailed by pandemic problems. Instead of Karin bringing a prepared message this Sunday, we will have lightly programmed Meeting for Worship. Friends may bring short readings or poems to share before we settle into open waiting worship — unless someone contacts me about bringing a prepared message that they have developed, and then we’ll have an opportunity…

Meeting on Ministry & Council News / June 6, 2022

This Sunday, June 12, Alan Spiewak will bring a prepared message for semi-programmed Meeting for Worship. Alan is a member of the Meeting on Ministry and Counsel, and a pillar of our Tech Crew. Deborah Suess is continuing to provide pastoral care through June, and all pastoral care needs will be managed during this time of transition. Members of MMC continue to carry the pastor’s work phone. If you know of a pastoral care need,…

Pastor Margaret Webb Resigns / June 2022

We have days of change and challenge ahead of us, and we get to not like it. We get to not like letting go of Margaret as our pastor. We get to not like doing things for ourselves that she did for us. There will be lots of chances to live into our faith and practice of Community, and we will find the dedication, compassion and hope for one another and with each another, to…