Here is the report on MCGM’s Gather & Grow meeting at Lake Forest Friends meetinghouse, Aug. 6, 2011

Facilitated by Ken Jacobsen, Held in the Light by Katharine Jacobsen

Report prepared by Judy Erickson with help from the other members of the Ad Hoc Planning Committee (Bonni McKeown, Janet Means, Earl Smith)

Twenty-three people attended* who are or have been affiliated with the following monthly meetings:

From Illinois Yearly Meeting (ILYM): Downers Grove, Duneland, Evanston, 57th St., Lake Forest, Oak Park, Upper Fox Valley. There were no attenders from Northside, Oshkosh, Rock Valley, nor South Bend; nor any current attender from 57th Street.

From Western Yearly Meeting (WYM): Chicago Monthly Meeting, Downers Grove, 57th St. As mentioned above, there was no current attender from 57th St.

As the Presiding Clerk of ILYM (until mid-June 2011), David Finke had reviewed the State of Society reports of all MCGM Monthly Meetings, most of them not yet published. He shared his reflections about the life and condition of these meetings. (See attachment.) He informed us of the presence of a Central American Quaker evangelical group on the south side of Chicago. David also summarized the history and main roles of MCGM over the years. We are grateful for his thoughtful contributions, which helped set a context for our work.

Participants journaled individually about the first three queries, and discussed Queries 4 and 5 in small worship sharing groups. Here is a summary of thoughts that were shared, emphasizing ideas shared by several people. For more comments please see the attached notes by Ken Jacobsen and Judy Erickson.

Query 1. What are the signs of life and growth among us and in our meetings?

Children and young people lend an invigorating and hopeful presence.
New attenders lead to new ways to grow spiritually and organizationally, to expand work of committees and discussion groups, and to deepen relationships.
Building or gardening projects increase feelings of support, stewardship, and rootedness in the community.
Caring more about the burdens of Friends is a sign of spiritual growth, and also an acceptance of our limitations. We are reminded of the biblical metaphor “lilies of the field.”

Query 2. What are our greatest challenges as meetings?

The pressures of time and energy experienced by many people in today’s world can hinder commitment, both individually and within the meeting community.
We need to be mindful of the needs of our children, our aging Friends, and those with financial needs.
We struggle with how to be with God together faithfully, deeply, articulately, and openly in all our diversity.
We are sometimes challenged to balance the spiritual and the social justice aspects of our faith.
We need to better recognize and support our leaders.
We need to grow more aware of how monthly meetings are part of and can participate in wider Quaker bodies.

Query 3. What new work are we being called to? Is it a collective call?

Friends called the group to awareness of the dangerous condition (wars and environmental degradation) of our planet.
There was a call for more Quaker community building events like the Corn Roast.
There was a call to do outreach in Chicagoland, to let people know of Quakers in their midst and to welcome seekers to come and explore our faith communities.
There was a call to recognize and explore the challenges of attracting and integrating diverse newcomers into our meetings.

Query 4. Are we hearing a clear and vital need among Chicago Friends that MCGM might serve at this time? If so, what is it?

While attracting or dealing with diverse people, we need to be flexible and open to new relationships.
We perceive a need for a Friends organization that knits us together, that provides social service work with fellowship events.
We need to get our young people together more often.
We want to grow and share Quakerism in the Chicago area.
If we want to speak out as Quakers on social issues, we need some regional Quaker body to season statements developed by monthly meetings.

Query 5. If there is no clear and vital need for MCGM in its present form, is it time to lay it down?

Some Friends expressed a need for a regional organization to build multilevel Quaker relationships, address the business of both yearly meetings, and provide a forum to season social issues. They suggested we lay down MCGM to create a new Quaker organization to address these needs.
Some Friends suggested that MCGM should continue but be transformed.
Some suggested MCGM would benefit from a new name and organizational structure.
In all actions, we need to be mindful of a sense of accountability.

SUMMARY

We need to grow together spiritually. We need to build and sustain relationships across, and possibly beyond, the Quaker spectrum. Through inreach we can grow organically, from the ground up. Through outreach and interfaith work we can increase the visibility and vitality of Quakerism in the Chicago area. All these relationships can strengthen us spiritually, intellectually, socially, and in our service and witness work.

Can MCGM provide an organizational structure for doing this work, or do we need to look beyond MCGM for something different? With the guidance of the Inward Teacher, we will further explore this question at a follow-up meeting Nov. 12, 2011, at Evanston Monthly Meeting.

We are very grateful to Ken and Katharine Jacobsen for helping us discern our work, for keeping us rooted in the Spirit and for holding us in its Light. We hope they will feel led to help us again in November. Special thanks to Lake Forest Friends Meeting for their warm and generous hospitality, and to Amanda Sneed for her child care service. Many thanks to all who gave their time and insights; participants are listed here:

*Mark Berg, Helen Dickinson, Judy Erickson, David Hadley Finke, Nancy Finke, Daniel Freire, Fernando Freire, Priscila Freire, Bill Howenstine, Pam Kuhn, Jinny Laughlin, Roger Laughlin, Bonni McKeown, Janet Means, Elizabeth Mertic, Angie Reeks, Phyllis Reynolds, Laurie Rippe, Diane Saper, David Shiner, Earl Smith, Pam Timme, Pam Wolfe