REPORT ON SPIRITUAL STATE OF
HOWARD COUNTY FRIENDS WORSHIP GROUP
December 1997

In 1997, the Group grew in the Light. Outward signs of this growth included meeting in Mt. Hebron House, a new home; establishing First Day School sessions for very young children, pre-schoolers, and a teen; starting a library; holding two series of Seeker sessions; initiating a monthly adult education program; cultivating berries to raise funds; holding a threshing session on outward witness; doing outreach and outward witness as individuals and in small groups; and successfully ending the first year’s committee terms and appointing persons to new committees and roles. In the fall of 1997 the group experienced a deepening of its spiritual community as it searched for and found unity around its decision to apply for status as a preparative meeting.

Meetings for worship continue to attract up to 20 adults, and as many as 12 children attend First Day School. The messages in Meeting frequently touch on the joy of worship. Moving business meeting from the morning hour before meeting for worship to a less constrained evening hour allows Friends more time to hold matters in the Light. Business meetings are well attended; although, no one time seems feasible for every member of the community.

As it looks forward to becoming the Patapsco Preparative Friends Meeting, the Group faces several challenges. These include sustaining the spiritual life of the Meeting; developing and refining business processes; and developing a vision for outward witness.

Approved at Meeting for Worship with a Concern for Business, February 1, 1998