All posts by Ken Stockbridge

Check out our new brochure!

PFM_Linda_Brochure_OutsidePatapsco’s Advancement and Outreach Committee has completed the design of a new brochure and had them printed.  Copies are available at the Meeting; click here for an electronic version.

The brochure is designed primarily as an invitation to worship with us.  Friends are encouraged to take copies wherever they go and share them with prospective visitors.  We will also have them available at any public events we sponsor.

In addition, the brochure will be shared with newcomers as they arrive at Meeting.  We will also continue to have the newcomer packet available, though the committee will be considering revisions to it.  We encourage your input on what newcomers find helpful.

The brochure features photographs taken by Nony Dutton, which capture the warmth and welcome of our community and highlight our lovely worship space at Hebron House.  Meagan Healy did the graphic design.

Other Meetings are welcome to borrow from our text, just as our text borrows from others, such as the newcomer cards developed by Friends General Conference.

11/24/2013 at Noon: Discussion on Gratitude

If the only prayer you say in your whole life is “thank you,”  that would suffice.
Meister Eckhart

Just in time for the holiday season, why not give yourself a gift!

Join us for a session on Gratitude in the dining room. We’ll focus on creating a  simple “Gratitude Practice” that is sustaining and nurturing. When you are feeling grateful you have a sweeter relationship to the universe.  You become more mindful and the world becomes a friendlier place to live in!

Every moment offers an opportunity for thanks. We’ll delve into the latest research of Dr. Robert Emmons, research psychologist at U.C.Davis and other writers. So, join us and embark on a little practice that  can make all the difference.

“Each day offer a silent prayer acknowledging yourself as a vehicle of Light, giving thanks for all that has come today”- Dhyani Ywahoo

10/27/2013 at Noon: Discussion on Waging Peace – Pendle Hill Pamphlet

On 10/27, the Peace and Social Concerns Committee will offer a discussion on Pendle Hill Pamphlet #420, “Waging Peace: Discipline and Practice.”

We will meet at 12:00pm around the dining room table. No need to have read the pamphlet ahead of time. We will provide an overview and queries.

In this pamphlet Pamela Haines “offers readers a window into how to become nonviolent warriors through practices that show us how to hope, grieve, listen, welcome conflict, mend, speak truth and cultivate courage.  Engaging stories bring these practices to life and show  that by working together we can transform ourselves, our community, and our world.  Questions for Reflection and Discussion are included.”

Spiritual Formation at Patapsco

This year, Patapsco will be having a spiritual formation program to invite us, individually and together, into a deeper experience of God’s presence through devotional readings, spiritual community and individual spiritual practices.  “Spiritual formation” can be understood as forming ourselves more fully into the persons, and the Meeting, God created us to be.

In spiritual formation programs, participants typically attend two meetings per month:

  1. a “large group” meeting of all participants in the Meeting to share reflections on a spiritual reading that all have chosen; and
  2. a “small group” spiritual friendship group—usually three to five people—who meet to share spiritual journeys and to support one another in spiritual practices, while others meet their friends at http://chatempanada.com/chat-de-terrachat-sala-de-chat-gratis-de-terrachat/.

In addition, each participant is expected to devote at least 15 minutes per day to a spiritual practice. Those who make this commitment are rewarded with a closer relationship with God and an opportunity to form deep spiritual friendships.  More information on spiritual formation programs, including suggestions for readings and daily spiritual disciplines, can be found in the Baltimore Yearly Meeting pamphlet, or at http://quakerspiritualformation.org/. Continue reading Spiritual Formation at Patapsco