Valley Friends is moving to deepen our experience of Spirit and articulating what that means individually, and corporately as a community of Friends. This movement is unfolding gradually and continues from needs felt over the past some years. Continue reading
Valley Friends are enjoying second hours on Quakerism. This has been a good experience for both seasoned Friends and those new to meeting. We considered the topic of poverty and responses to it at our annual Frugal Meal. Proceeds will go to Right Sharing of Resources and the local food bank. The young and young at heart participated in bowling for Big Brothers and Big Sisters. This event is a highlight of our year and gives us opportunity to interact with our young people outside of Meeting. The meeting room has been freshly painted and acoustical panels are currently being installed. It is our hope this will make Meetings for Worship more meaningful for those with hearing difficulty.
The Spirit prospers among Valley Friends in ways we cannot predict and which are sometimes surprising to us. We recognize the movement of the Spirit and see the fruits emerging among us. We strive to listen for that motion, and learn to trust its leading.
We struggle sometimes with the tension between our desire for ongoing corporate witness, and our experience that it is as individuals that many of us are engaged in the social justice work in which we so deeply believe. We are seeking ways to support one another in leading lives grounded in and guided by Spirit.
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Valley Friends mourn the death of our long time member Bill Fuller in February. Bill and Joyce were active participants in Virginia Half-Year’s Meeting and Bill served the Meeting as treasurer for many years.
Second hours we continue to consider three queries posed by the Worship and Ministry Committee at the start of the year: What is my experience of Meeting for Worship? What do I wish it would be? How can I be a cocreator? The deep sharing of the first query makes us anxious to find the space to consider the next two. We work at getting to know each other more on different levels and open our doors to our wider community through our book group, breakfast group, meditation group and circle of trust.
