"I am the way, the truth, and the life"

Thomas

scith

unto him, Lord, we

lcnow

not

whither thou

goest;

and how can we

lcnow

the way? Jesus

saith

unto him,

I

am the way,

the truth, and the life; no

rnan cameth unto

the Father but by me.

If

ye

had

lcnown me,

ye

should have

lonwn my Father also; andfrom

henceforth

ye

know him, and hwe

seen him." Jolln

14:5-7

"Thomas saith unto Him, Lord, we know not wither thou goest; and how can we know the way? Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father but by me. If ye had known me , ye should have known my Father also; and henceforth ye know him, and have seen Him." John 14: 5-7

Monthly Meeting was held at Middleton on 3/12.  This month we will be discussing the 7th Query. A "query" is  read, pondered, and answered once in the year in each Monthly and Quarterly Meeting, in a deliberate and unhurried manner. 

7th Query: Do we observe simplicity in our manner of living, sincerity in speech, and modesty in apparel? Do we guard against involving ourselves in temporal affairs to the hindrance of spiritual growth? Are we just in our dealings and careful to fulfill our promises? Do we seek to make our Christian faith part of our daily work?

Clerk Mary Alice Pino has emailed the minutes to members. We hope those who were not able to attend will offer insight into this query so we may discuss it at next Monthly Meeting in 4th month.

Let Silence Fall Like Rain

 Third Month is upon us.....and we look forward to spring weather!  This poem by Wilmer Swope was discovered by a Middleton Meeting member in her Quaker reading books. We appreciate her sharing it with us for the blog and hope it brings thee a sense of peace

Here are the verses* that W. Swope lists at the bottom of his short meter double poem:

Psalm 46: 10: "Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among all the nations, I will be exalted in the earth."

Galatians  5:22 (and 23): "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law."

Peter 3:4: "Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight."

I Corinthians  14:40:  "But everything should be done in a fit and orderly way."

Revelation 8:1: "When he opened with the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour."

Philippians 4:7: "And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in  Christ Jesus."

James 3:18:  "Peacemakers, who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness."      

*verses are from the New International Version Bible

Love One Another

On this day many may be reminded of the verse "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another" (John 13:34 NIV).

                                                💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕

Monthly Meeting was held at Middleton on 2/12. The agenda included discussing the 6th Query. A "query" is  read, pondered, and answered once in the year in each Monthly and Quarterly Meeting, in a deliberate and unhurried manner. 

6th Query: Do we live in the life and power which takes away the occasion of all wars? Do we, on Christian principles, refuse to participate in or to cooperate with the military effort? Do we work actively for peace and the removal of the causes of war? Do we endeavor to cultivate good will, mutual understanding, and equal opportunities for all people? 

Clerk Mary Alice Pino has emailed the minutes to members. We hope  those who were not able to attend will offer insight into several questions in the email that will be discussed/considered next month.

For those who wish to know more about the faith of Conservative Quakers please visit:

https://www.conservativefriend.org/whatdowebelieve.htm and https://ohioyearlymeeting.org/

Or, even better, worship with us on First (Sunday) or Fifth (Thursday)!

The Narrow Path

Here is a selected reading  that should help guide thee 

this second month of 2023.

 

"The True Christian's Faith and Experience" via Zoom

“For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body; so also is Christ. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. For the body is not one member, but many.” I Cor. 12:12-14  (Selected from 1/8/23 Monthly Minutes)

Online Sessions/Calendar

As Conservative Quakers, we know the importance of being together even though many of us are in various locations. Ohio Yearly Meeting (OYM) hosts many online opportunities. Henry Jason, a member of Middleton Meeting, hosts "The True Christian's Faith and Experience" by William Shewan every Fifth day (Thursday) via zoom. This is a study of the truth that distinguished Conservative/Wilburite Friends from other denominations. For more information and links to the online zoom sessions and calendar of events, please visit  https://ohioyearlymeeting.org/calendar/. 

Resources Galore! 

Additionally, OYM has podcasts of previous online events via https://www.buzzsprout.com/1335421. Still have questions about Conservative Quakers and our beliefs? The Stillwater Meeting has a nice summary at https://www.conservativefriend.org/whatdowebelieve.htm

Middleton Meeting Update

Monthly Meeting was held on 1/8/23. Clerk Mary Alice Pino has emailed the minutes to members. 

As always, we worship in person on Fifth Day at Middleton Meeting or another chosen location. We always meet in person on First Day at Middleton Meeting. If thee has questions please contact us by leaving a comment below. We look forward to seeing thee online or in person.

Celebrating a New Year and a special birthday

On 1/1 we celebrated the new year  by being together in worship. We had 2 visitors, Dave and Melody Goff,  from New Castle, PA. Dave will be giving a series of talks about Quaker History and will be available on "FaceTime Live" through this website: https://www.facebook.com/GraceNewCastle. We also celebrated Verna's 101st birthday on 12/14/22. 

As we start this new year, we hope the following will resonate with thee.

The Narrow Path: 

Oh, that men would come to that true teaching of the heavenly anointing within them, which would abide in them and teach them all things, and which Truth itself is no lie. Then would they be sensible that they needed no man to teach them, for the teachings of man would be to them as that water, of which "whomever drinks, shall thirst again," but when they have tasted of the water given them by the Prince of life Himself, which should be in them "a well of water springing up unto everlasting life, whosoever drinks of this, shall never thirst".  --Daniel Wheeler

Love Not The World

Following worship last First Day we took a timed photo of those who attended. I pray that we will all consider seriously the Scripture below. We are each given one life span to live out our salvation. 

1 John 2:15-18

"Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever. Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time."