State of the Meeting - 2007

Albuquerque Monthly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends

State of the Meeting report for 2007

Energy. In 2007, our Meeting life was active and energetic. New people contributed significant gifts including clerking committees and creating a rich newsletter. Many felt a sense of newness, or something new forming. Some felt that tensions are lowering, and the atmosphere has become more amiable. Quakerism 101 has been a stimulating introduction to many new to the Meeting. Nominating committee work was joyful and satisfying for those on that committee, and they were successful in finding leadership in almost all the areas where it was needed ... no small feat.

Worship and Children. Meetings for worship hovered between 30 and 50 attenders, while 6-12 children (ages 1-10) met downstairs. The children have built a community close to home and across the globe. They worked on service projects reflecting this: joining Peace and Social Concerns to collect towels for the Albuquerque Humane Society, as well as collecting pennies to help build schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan. We continue to build connections between our younger and older friends, as we feel that both have much to offer each other.

Peace and Social Concerns. Memorable topics and events in the area of peace and social concerns included: an in depth training series on peaceful prevention of deadly conflict, minuting our response to the situation of national migration, holding a workshop for Meeting members about immigration, donating $6,000 to organizations, initiating an interfaith sponsorship of the AFSC Eyes Wide Open exhibit, and hosting Alternatives to Violence workshops.

The Building. The building continued to demand heavy attention - in particular, that the kitchen and classrooms are not fully accessible, and that the site appears unfinished. We had purchased land with the intent to build an expanded facility years earlier, but still do not have clarity about any building project. We spent a great deal of time processing this issue. We re-started the "joyful duties" concept of dividing up small slices of the maintenance tasks among many people. Half of the debt on the new land was paid off in 2007.

Safety. The arrival of a Friend who is a sex offender to our Meeting in May, 2007 posed new challenges as we struggled with how to welcome him while assuring the safety of our children. While working through this tense conflict, at least three regular attenders chose to leave Meeting. We were led to a 4-pronged response to this situation: (1) Oversight of our actions to ensure safety; (2) Care for the ex-offender; (3) Clearness committees for other Friends dealing with individual responses; and (4) Education of the whole meeting about the related issues. A safety oversight committee was formed to oversee all safety concerns (including more general safety concerns such as the building). We are thankful for the related work done in Rochester and Cambridge meetings, and New England YM. A care committee was formed for the ex offender. The adult education committee offered an educational evening on the subject of pedophilia and other addictions. A group called Beyond Survival met to support adult survivors of sexual abuse. It has been a challenge to name the concerns, chart the process, and also to find the rightly-led balance among the safety needs of our children, the right to privacy, and worship and community.

Other noteworthy activities. The Meeting became an associate member of the NM Conference of Churches. We started a Spiritual Formation program under the care of the Yearly Meeting. Our building is also used by AFSC and frequently rented out to other groups. The Meeting acknowledges numerous contributions of individual Friends to projects of service to the outside world and notes that this service is rooted in the spirit of Quaker principles. This service takes so many forms that it is difficult to report it all.