About North Meadow Circle of Friends
North Meadow Circle of Friends is an unprogrammed meeting. This means that we have no hired minister and no set rituals or ceremonies. The worship begins as the first person sits in the meeting room and others join. People in attendance take time to settle in and begin to still the chatter. There are all different kinds of ways of "settling in" and part of the process is to find what best works for you. Through the stillness, we are all actively listening...giving ourselves time to hear that small voice within. These messages may be for ourselves or they may be meant to be shared with the meeting. Messages shared with the meeting are not responded to by others although it is not unusual if subsequent messages are continuations or built upon a previous message. Messages are followed by enough time for it to be heard and absorbed. The meeting ends in about an hour with a handshake.
At North Meadow the meeting for worship is followed by a time of sharing our week with each other. Since we normally have between 18 and 25 people, we take the time to hear from anyone who wishes to say something about their lives and/or activities. Like in everything that Quakers do, anyone has the option of leaving when they must and/or speaking or not speaking as they wish. Following this sharing we have announcements.
The members and attenders of North Meadow are involved in all sorts of social change activities. Some of us are involved in getting rid of the death penalty, working toward alternatives to our country's dependency on oil, equal rights for the GLBT community, anti-violence alternatives, advocacy for children, helping with the Peace and Justice Center and with caring for our neighborhood.
Spiritually we are an eclectic group of seekers, probably a bit more Universalist than Christocentric, even though many of our meeting would describe themselves as Christian. With that said we have members with a wide range of beliefs, backgrounds, and spiritual journeys. That is very much in keeping with the Quaker belief of continuing revelation and believing that there is that of God in everyone. (See About Quakers to understand how North Meadow fits into the wider scope of Quakers.)
For more information, click on any of the following:
The Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) was founded in England in the middle of the 1600s by George Fox. Quakers got a strong foothold in the United States when they settled in Pennsylvania as a "Holy Experiment".
North Meadow Circle of Friends was formed in the middle of
the 1970s by Ffriends brought together by a representative of AFSC. These
Friends met in a variety of places: in each other's homes, in the Sugar Grove
Meeting house and in a neighborhood youth center. One home where they met
often had a large beautiful meadow in the back, hence the meeting's name.
The meeting, wanting a presence in a marginal neighborhood, purchased the property at 1710 N. Talbott and set about renovating it.
The meeting was initially affiliated with both Ohio Valley Yearly Meeting (FGC) and Western Yearly Meeting (FUM). In 1985 the meeting passed a controversial minute (a decision) which upset Western Yearly Meeting. In the face of Western Yearly Meeting's proposal to down grade the meeting to a preparatory meeting, North Meadow severed it's association with Western Yearly Meeting.
North Meadow Circle of Friends is a member of Whitewater Quarterly Meeting and of Ohio Valley Yearly Meeting (OVYM), which consists of 19 unprogrammed ("silent") meetings in Indiana, western Ohio and Kentucky. OVYM is part of Friends General Conference, an umbrella organization for most of the unprogrammed yearly meetings in the U.S. and Canada.
Quaker business practice is one of the distinctive features of the Religious Society of Friends. Essentially nonhierarchical and cooperative, it is a Spirit lead process based on Quaker understandings of equality and continuing divine revelation. North Meadow's Meetings for Worship with a Concern for Business are held once a month on the second first Day at 8:30 AM. Most of the Meeting's decisions are made in these important sessions in which all members and attenders are encouraged to participate. A misnomer is that Quaker decisions are reached by consensus. Decisions are made when the meeting has reached unity and when the clerk can articulate the sense of the meeting.
For the first 15 minutes or so of the worship hour, children sit in meeting with the adults. At that time they go upstairs for their First Day School classes. There are three age groups: preschool through about age 8 ("weeners"); about age 9 through 12 ("tweeners"); and age 13 and older ("teeners"). Visiting children are always welcome!
The Meeting has a collection of pamphlets, books, and audio-video tapes on Quakerism and religious subjects. Many of these materials can be borrowed. We also have many popular videos. Ask about signing them out.
We do not, as many worshipping bodies do, pass an offering plate during worship. If you would like to make a contribution, place it in the box on the mantle in the living room, or give it to a trustee.
Our newsletter, the North Meadow Circular, comes out at the beginning of each month. It contains a calendar of events, birthdays, the minutes of the business meeting and articles about matters of interest. Anyone can contribute news items or articles. You will be added to the mailing list if you live in the area and put your name and address in our guest book, or place a request in the contribution box. Or sign up for the newsletter here.
EMAIL LIST
North Meadow has an email list that helps us stay in connumication with each other. Some of the postings are about events, activites, or topics of interest to the meeting. Some of the postings are political in nature and are sent by members to keep others informed. You will be added to the mailing list if you live in the area and are in some way involved with the meeting. Sign up for the email list here.
COMMITTEES
North Meadow has established a number of standing committees which report to the Monthly Meeting.
Briefly, they are:
In addition, the Meeting names representatives to Friends for Lesbian and Gay Concerns, the Indianapolis Peace Center, American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), Friends Committee on Unity with Nature (FCUN), Friends Committee for National Legislation (FCNL), Ohio Valley Yearly Meeting, and the Herron-Morton Neighborhood Association.
RESTROOM
While there is a restroom just off the Meeting room, we urge you to use the restroom that is on the second floor. Take the stairs that are down the hall from the front door; the bathroom is at the back of the building at the end of the hallway. If unoccupied, the door should be left open.
PARKING
On First Day mornings, you can park in the parking lot just south of the Meetinghouse. At other times, it's best to park on Talbott Street rather than risk a parking ticket.