June 2016 Abington Monthly Meeting Page1
JuneMeeting Activities
Wednesday 1st
7:00 p.m.Mid-Week Meeting for Worship,Short Stable—All welcome!
Sunday 5th
9:00 a.m.Music Committee Meeting, Short Stable
11:15 a.m.Baccalaureate Meeting for Worship with Abington Friends School
Wednesday 8th
7:00 p.m.Mid-Week Meeting for Worship,Short Stable—All welcome!
Sunday 12th
9:00 a.m.Monthly Meeting for Worship to Attend to Business—Reports: Adult Class, Religious Education, Audit, Youth
11:15 a.m.Meeting for Worship
12:15 p.m.Coffee Hour, hosted by Worship & Ministry send-off, John Barnes Room
Wednesday 15th
7:00 p.m.Mid-Week Meeting for Worship,Short Stable—All welcome!
Sunday 19th Happy Fathers’ Day!
8:30 a.m.Inreach/Outreach Committee Meeting, Short Stable
9:00 a.m.Nominating Committee Meeting, Library
9:30 a.m. Meeting for Worship – Outdoor, behind Meeting House
11:15 a.m.Meeting for Worship – Indoor, in Meeting House
Wednesday 22nd
7:00 p.m.Mid-Week Meeting for Worship,Short Stable—All welcome!
Sunday 26th
9:30 a.m. Meeting for Worship – Outdoor, behind Meeting House
10:30 a.m.Sandwich Making for the Needy, Short Stable (see page 4)
10:30 a.m.Peace & Social Concerns Committee Meeting, Classroom 1
10:30 a.m.Attenders Committee Meeting, Library
11:15 a.m.Meeting for Worship – Indoor, in Meeting House
Wednesday 29th
7:00 p.m.Mid-Week Meeting for Worship,Short Stable—All welcome!
Summer Meetings for Worship
9:30 a.m. Outdoor Meeting and 11:15 a.m. Indoor Meeting
We ask that you not bring dogs to outdoor Meeting for Worship. Service dogs are always welcome.
Regardless of weather, both Meetings are held every Sunday.
If it rains, the outdoor announcer may choose to begin the "outdoor" Meeting in the John Barnes Room.
We thank these Friends for serving as Convener of Worship:
June 5th Baccalaureate with Abington Friends School
June 12th Mat Clark
June 19th Bob Sloan
June 26th John Brady
We thank these Friends for providing flowers for our Worship:
Entire month of June!Kay Fitzgerald
The Worship & Ministry Committee invites Homebound Friendsto let us know if you wish to have a small group of Friends come to your home for a Meeting for Worship. You may contact John Brady for more information or to arrange a meeting.
Abington Friends Pool Club
The pool opens on June 25th
Membership Forms & Rules/Regulations will be available on the table in the foyer of the Meeting House in June. These forms are available for Meeting members and active attenders. Forms should be returned to the AFS Camp Office, NOT to the Meeting House office.
See you at the pool!
Poolside Picnics for Members and Attenders!
Picnics by the poolside are encouragedeverySundayduring the summer between5 p.m. and 7 p.m. This is an effort of our Inreach/Outreach Committee, but individuals and families can host the picnics. On summer Sundays, during Announcements following Meeting for Worship, Friends might state that they are going to host, and encourage others to join them. Everyone is invited to bring their own supper and beverage. There are tables near the pool. The pool closes at7 p.m., so come earlier if you want to swim. All you need to do is show up with your own food. Please be sure to fill out a Pool Membership Form before attending, and note that there is a fee for guests who are not Meeting members, if they wish to use the pool. Contact Carl Hemenway to volunteer to be there to welcome other Friends! It is a great way to meet others at Meeting.
Save the Date!
Abington Monthly Meeting's Worship & Ministry Committeeis hosting a
PYM Extended Worship onSeptember 10th, 2016
More info will be available as it approaches.
Looking for an activity that the whole family can do together this summer?
Prepare a Casserole for Face to Face!
Casseroles may be prepared at home and placed in the Meeting’s freezer. Your casserole will be delivered to Face to Face to be served to our sisters and brothers in need. Pans with instructions and recipes are available in the Meeting House kitchen and vestibule, or see Kenan Sayers. Thank you so much to all the cooks who have already made casseroles, and please continue to make more!
Sandwich Making for the Needy
Sandwich Making for the Needy will take place on June 26th and July 31st in the Short Stable at the Rise of outdoor Meeting. During the summer months, we do not receive the monthly donation of sandwich-making supplies, and so we rely more heavily on donations from our Meeting community. Helping hands are also needed, but we especially request donations of bread, luncheon meats and cheese. Supplies may be dropped off in the Short Stable on the Sunday mornings of Sandwich Making, before or after outdoor Meeting. (Our Mission Day trips to Face to Face will resume in the fall.)
As Friends may have noticed, the benches in the rear of our Meeting House, which are on the raised platforms, have been cordoned off as a temporary measure for reasons of safety. This temporary measure was taken by three groups working jointly - our Property Committee, our Worship & Ministry Committee and our newly formed Accessibility Committee. These committees are trying to address the concerns that have been arising in recent months, after several incidents, including one very serious injury. We have also received several phone callsin recent months from Friends and newcomers who would like to attend our Meetings for Worship, butonly if the way is accessible, because they usewheelchairs. These committees have a great deal to consider, and as always our Quaker tradition includes continuing revelation, even regarding our Meeting House itself. Pleasehold these committeesin the Light as theycontinue to look at ways to make our Meeting House safer. We ask that you bear with us through this ongoing process, and we ask your patience as these committees discern theway forward.
Library Corner
Have you taken out any Pendle Hill Pamphlets recently? Because they are short and well written, they offer superb spiritual reading. Some recent suggestions: Paul Lacey's Nourishing the Spirit, Pat Loring's Spiritual Discernment, Rex Ambler's The Light Within. These, with many others,are all on the rack downstairs. Upstairs, of course, are so many others written over a number of years by outstanding Quakers.
You might be interested in Warren's Journey Through Skepticism.
Also, answering your request, there are some videos that have been donated to us available on the downstairs shelves.
Giant Gift Cards
Our Financial Stewardship Working Group is selling gift cards for Giant food markets. The cards are sold at face value, in various amounts. Members who buy their groceries at Giant are encouraged to buy Giant cards at AMM. You then use the gift card (just as you would use cash) when you shop at Giant. Giant will contribute 5% of what you spend on groceries to the Meeting. See Sarah Lippincott to purchase Giant cards.
A special message from Penny Colgan-Davis,
Philadelphia Yearly Meeting:
I invite you to join many, many other Friends from four states and 105 monthly meetings at PYM Annual Sessions this summer, July 27thto the 31st, at Muhlenberg College. Annual Sessions also always holds great promise for me. It’s when I see old Friends, some dating back to my days growing up in Wilmington Meeting (DE), as well as a time for making new friends. It also affords me, and hopefully you, an opportunity to worship surrounded by others who share the same deep commitment to peace, equality, justice and love of the earth. The power of sitting in that large room with so many Friends never ceases to amaze me!
The Interim Sessions Development Committee has been hard at work, creating a schedule that includes not only worship and fellowship, but plenty of time for fun, learning about what’s happening across our yearly meeting and beyond, all kinds of recreation and, of course, relaxation. We will meet as a body for business; our corporate witness in addressing racism will continue;the children and young people will have their own age-specific space and program and we'll all have multigenerational opportunities; and then there will be Work and Witness Programs in the afternoon for all of us to pursue our interests and leadings. Saturday evening we will have a keynote presentation by tonya thames taylor. In other words, there will be something for everyone, and I hope you will come!
I hope you enjoy your days weeding, hiking, relaxing in the gentle sun, whatever calls you in Spring. If you have questions or want more details there is information at PYM.org. Please contact Tricia Coscia, the Sessions Coordinator at or 215-241-7238. Ilook forward to being with you in July.
The costs of Sessions are covered by the yearly meeting. Sessions attenders only need to pay for meals and housing(and housing is subsidized for children!)
Financial assistance is available– we want people to come, so we make assistance available and we expect Friends to use it as needed.
Friends of every age can come– there are programs for children, middle schoolers and high schoolers. Young Adult Friends (YAFS)can opt in to rooming in the YAF neighborhood. Golf carts and speech-to-text transcription help make it accessible.
Donations Gratefully Accepted
This is a friendly reminder that although we do not pass a collection plate, we rely on your financial support as well as your love and hard work.If you feel moved to make a donation, you can leave it in the wooden donation box on the wall in the foyer, or in the box on the rear windowsill of the Meeting House. Checks can be made out to Abington Monthly Meeting. No amount is too small. Additional ways to donate can be found on our website,
Committee List
An updated list of our Abington Meeting committees, including all the current committee members and their current terms, was distributed in May. Committees are strongly encouraged to review the list carefully and notify the Nominating Committee if you have changes to your committee. Please keep in mind that each committee has the responsibility of appointing its own clerk yearly, so committee discussions are vital to discern whether or not your current will continue to serve in that role or if another committee member is led to serve as clerk. The committee list will be updated and distributed periodically. If you require a printed copy of the committee list, please contact Loretta Fox in the office at or 215-884-2865.
Abington Monthly Meeting Handbook
Our newly updated Handbook was distributed in April via email. The entire Handbook is also available on our website at This revised Handbook contains committee descriptions, and it also includes updated information on the workings of our Meeting in general. It is a wonderful resource, and everyone in our Meeting community should read it thoroughly. If you require a printed copy, please contact Loretta Fox in the office at or 215-884-2865. Please note that this Handbook is a “living document” which means that it will continually be updated through our Meetings for Business. Please continue to attend our Monthly Meetings for Business so that you will have a voice in our Quaker process.
June 2016 Abington Monthly Meeting Page1
Upcoming at
Abington Friends School
June 5 – Baccalaureate Meeting for Worship, 11:15 a.m. at the Abington Meeting House
June 10 – Commencement, 5 p.m.
For more information on AFSevents, go to the AFS website at
Philadelphia Yearly Meeting
Philadelphia Yearly Meeting (PYM) is a Quaker faith community, an association of over 100 Quaker meetings and thousands of Friends in a four-state region, and an organization - all working together to nurture Quaker faith and practice in today’s world. Members come together in annual or special sessions for assessment of the life of the Society, the conduct of business, spiritual refreshment and commitment, and the renewal of the bonds of friendship. Abington Monthly Meeting is part of PYM.
PYM Annual Sessions 2016
July 27- 31, 2016, Muhlenberg College, Allentown, PA
"Do not be conformed to this world, butBe Transformed so that you may discern what is the will of God - what is good and acceptable
and perfect."
Registration is now open:
Friends of all ages will gather from throughout our yearly meeting for worship, Spirit-led discernment and sharing of our work and witness, fellowship, creativity, and community. Join us for the whole event, or just a day or two. Friends pay only for the cost of food and dorm housing, and financial aid is available so that anyone can attend.
Children, Middle Schoolers and Young Friends (high school age) will actively participate in worship and business with their peers while also having time to share these experiences with the whole community. There are fun plans in the works for age-specific and multigenerational activities. Young Adult Friends (YAF - age 18-35-ish) are immersed an all aspects of Annual Sessions - from business sessions, to leading youth programs to facilitating worship sharing groups.
Information:
Tricia Coscia,,215 241-7238.
Extended Meeting for Worship, June 4, 9:15 am - 3:15pm, Medford Friends Meeting
Would you like to deepen your experience of Worship? Have you wished that Worship didn't end when the clock struck the hour? The Worship and Care Standing Committee and the Meeting on Worship and Ministry invite you to experience Extended Worship. Attend just a portion of the day or the full day. And remember to bring your lunch. If you will need childcare, email by Monday, May 23.
Information: Lola Georg,
Quakerism in a Nutshell
This workshop is for Friends, attenders and seekers to explore the life of Quakerism and being Quaker today.
The workshop will be led by Melanie Douty Snipes. Join us on Saturday April 30th, from 10 am to 2pm at the Makefield Meetinghouse, 877 Dolington Road, Newtown, PA 18940. Lunch is provided.To register and for more information, contact Holly Olson,r215-453-7358.
The workshop is free though donations will be greatly appreciated.
Registration is necessary for planning lunch.
Resource for PYM First Day School Teachers
A personal, easily accessible resource is now available for First Day School teachers who need ideas for lessons, curricula to use, tips for teaching diverse ages, and how to keep students' attention. Marty Smith, former Director of Religious Education for PYM, retired teacher, is eager to answer questions and give guidance to teachers of Religious Education.
Contact:
Marty Smith, Volunteer FDS Consultant,.
T. Wistar Brown Teachers' Fund
The Fund provides financial grants supporting members of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting who are over the age of 21 and who request assistance for professional development in preparing themselves to teach at the primary or secondary school level. Deadlines are: March10 for summer. June10 for fall/winter. November1 for spring. Visit: information.
Grants Application Deadlines
Philadelphia Yearly Meeting makes over 500 grants every year to individuals, Meetings, and non-profit organizations. Grants are made from income from restricted bequests and Trusts given to our Yearly Meeting by generous donors since 1795. All granting deadlines are listed by month at
Information: Carol Walz,,215-241-7201
Employment Opportunity
Interim Children's Religious Life Coordinator(Part-Time - 21 Hours/Week)
The Interim Children's Religious Life Coordinator is responsible for creating space for experiencing the movement of Spirit within and among the community of k-5th graders. The Interim Coordinator stewards the sense of community and meaningful relationships among Quaker children and their integration into the life of the wider Yearly Meeting.
Position Descripton:
For more information about our Yearly Meeting, please check the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting website:
Abington Monthly Meeting
of the Religious Society of Friends
520 Meetinghouse Road
Jenkintown, PA 19046-2934
The FirstQueryon Meeting for Worshipwill be read and considered at Monthly Meeting for Business onJune 12th, 9:00 a.m.
Are our meetings for worship held in stilled, expectant waiting upon God?As we worship is there a living silence in which we are drawn together by the power of God in our midst?
Is the spirit of our worship together one that nurtures all worshipers?
How does our Meeting respond when the vocal ministry seems inappropriate, or when the meeting for worship is consistently not gathered?
Do I faithfully attend meeting with heart and mind prepared for worship, clear of any predetermination to speak or not to speak, and expecting that worship will be a source of strength and guidance?
Does worship deepen my relationship with God, increase my faithfulness, and refresh and renew my daily life, both inwardly and in my relationship with others?
Have I experienced in worship that direct leading to listen or to speak, and have I been faithful to my own experience?