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In recent years Manasquan Meeting has decreased through death and relocation, and we continue to feel these losses. However, in 2010, we have welcomed new members and attendee’s, including a faithful group of lost sheep who have reconnected with the meeting.
Renewed energy has encouraged outreach. In 2010, we were visited by Friends from Downingtown Meeting, who spoke of trials and successes with advancement. This visit helped initiate plans for a 2011 outreach project loosely resembling the Quaker-Quest model.
Our young Friends are engaged in the life of the meeting. First Day School classes continue to play a central role. In 2010, young Friends presented Gift of the Magi at the Christmas Entertainment and made greeting cards for all who attended. They also helped present dinner-and-a-movie night under the care of the Intergenerational Committee. We are grateful for the efforts of young Friends in helping to update the nursery.
We approach difficult social issues through increased awareness and understanding. Many of the intergenerational activities at our Powell House retreat in May, 2010, dealt with racism. At the retreat, we viewed an episode of the Eyes on the Prize series, the second episode made available to Manasquan Friends in the past year. Our Powell House program included activities from the Alternatives to Violence Project, which helped participants to appreciate diversity within the meeting family. Eleanor Novek’s prison witness, conducted under the care of the meeting, addresses prison needs which are largely ignored by American society. Her knowledge of AVP practices has also provided Manasquan Friends opportunities to promote interaction among all age groups.
In February, 2010, Friends invited Harriet Tubman, as portrayed by Lorraine Stone, to speak at the meetinghouse. On another evening, Peter Lang from Chatham-Summit Meeting shared his ministry. Peter explained how his work with the sight impaired and the teachings of Thomas Kelly have influenced his life. Both events were attended by members of the general public as well as by Manasquan Friends.
Our meeting struggles with our obligations regarding incapacitated Friends with mental health issues. Despite overwhelming feelings of inadequacy, we are not denying our calling. We have formed a clearness committee so that our response can be considered and consistent. Addressing such situations as a community helps ease the burden of Friends most closely involved with the disabled individuals.
Though Manasquan Meeting has become more spiritually diverse over the past decade, Friends continue to seek spiritual guidance together. We are committed to the belief that all difficulty can be overcome if we are open to truth. The teachings of Jesus help us to test discernment and to measure progress. Worship remains the foundation upon which we build our community and our outreach.
Approved by Meeting for Business, 2nd Month 20, 2011
Emily Fulton, Clerk
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For Manasquan Friends, the query concerning the advancement of truth among us speaks to the heart of our condition as a shrinking monthly meeting. We encounter truth in worship together and often feel gathered by its presence yet fail to convey the power of this experience to prospective Friends. In the past year, we have directed much energy to interaction with our surrounding community, offering opportunities for public awareness of who we are and what we believe. Yet, our membership decreases. Thus, as we pause to consider the state of Manasquan Meeting, we ask how our efforts might be more faith evident and more fruitful.
In 2009, Manasquan Friends laid a broad foundation for heightened awareness of racial issues. In August, Peace and Social Concerns showed the film “Free Indeed,” which was followed by a discussion facilitated by Lori Heninger of Shrewsbury Meeting.
When Manasquan hosted Half Yearly Meeting in September, we invited Vince Buscemi from the Yearly Meeting Task Group on Racism to speak. His talk, "Through our Testimony of Equality, NYYM is Becoming Whole,” led to a powerful discussion of Friends’ experiences and concerns regarding this issue, and we recognized that this was only the beginning of a period of discernment and opening. In 2009, Manasquan Meeting learned about the Barrington Dunbar Scholarship Fund, and made an initial donation. We have decided to explore partnering with Shrewsbury Meeting to attract new members in Asbury Park, a nearby community with a large population of people of color. Friends have chosen the topic of racism for our retreat at Powell House in May, 2010. In the months to come, race and racism will be themes of several additional events for which the initial planning began in 2009.
In 2009, Manasquan’s youth ministry focused on efforts to blend our community in terms of age. Young people were given opportunity during first day school to consider issues to be discussed in monthly meeting for business. The relatively new Intergenerational Committee comprised of young adults and adults initiated several projects designed to attract all age groups. These activities included a bike ride, cleaning the meeting, a barbeque dinner, a movie night and a dinner-and-a-movie night. The children played a bigger role in the Christmas Entertainment, buying, wrapping and distributing presents and playing parts in Charlie Brown’s Christmas. They collected donations of toiletries and personal care items to be used by the Interfaith Hospitality Network in hosting the homeless. Our young people also spearheaded improvements in the meeting nursery, discarding some old toys and creating a more welcoming appearance in general. In September, the First Day School hosted a visit from Plainfield First Day School children and parents. For our present group of youngsters, this event represented their first opportunity to interact with other Quaker children.
Our meeting is on sound footing financially, a blessing we attribute mainly to the Friendly Fair. The annual Fair raises nearly one third of the money spent each year. Months of pricing and days of baking and setting up tables precede the second Saturday in July when between fifty and sixty Friends turn out to carry priced items outside to display tables, to man tables and to help clean up. Largely because of this event, Manasquan Friends do not need to hound members for donations, and Friends with lower incomes can receive assistance to attend events like the Powell House Retreat.
In the future, we hope to compensate for Friends who have recently died or moved away. We are feeling our smallness, and our State of the Meeting discussion quickly became a brainstorming session regarding how we might grow. Should we post a question or expression of welcome on our new sign? Should we hand out fliers to new faces at films sponsored by Peace and Social Concerns or make such materials available at the Friendly Fair? The Advancement Committee intends to redouble efforts to find answers to the question that is always foremost in our minds: How should we advance our faith? Ultimately, the solution depends less on our choice of films and programs than on Fox’s commandment to let our lives speak. When we live truth, truth prospers.
Approved before monthly meeting for business 2nd Month 21, 2010. Emily Fulton, Clerk |