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).

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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."

A Christian Call

                   
The above photo was taken a year ago during the FCNL annual meeting in Washington DC. OYM sent an elder, an overseer and a minister from our Yearly Meeting as prayer warriors during that session. This year we refined a letter to be published publicly out of a concern brought to our Yearly Meeting for Christians to live in the love of God.

A Christian Call from Ohio Yearly Meeting of Friends (Conservative)

We are Christian Friends (Quakers) from various walks of life, political persuasions, ages, and backgrounds. We share both a desire to obey the Lord and a growing concern that our nation bring itself to the path of righteousness and mercy that Jesus taught.
Again and again, Christ calls us to love. We are to love the Lord our God with all our heart and with all our soul and with all our strength and with all our mind, and to love our neighbor as ourselves (Deuteronomy 6:5, Luke 10:27, Matthew 22:37, Mark 12:30-31). When we are Christians, this is not optional. If our hearts are full of love, there is no room for fear, because “perfect love casts out fear.” (I John 4:18) Being blessed with God’s abundant love, we should be keeping families together, be welcoming to the strangers, and show compassion to those in need. We should see the best in each other regardless of political affiliation.
We know that “the whole law is fulfilled in one word: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” (Galatians 5:14) And who is our neighbor? Jesus’ answer is the parable of the good Samaritan. Only the Samaritan shows mercy to the beaten man. Only the Samaritan is a true neighbor in the eyes of the Lord (Luke 10:35-37). Today, are we acting the part of the priest and the Levite, or of the Samaritan? Is each of us willing to be a good Samaritan only to those who are like us, or who like us, or whom we like?
We are to follow Him who is the Truth (John 14:6). In an era of confusion between falsehood and truth, we risk leaving Christ's side when we listen to only what pleases us. (2 Timothy 4:3-4) For the sake of Christ, it is worth investigating the truth, wherever it may lead. In the words of Isaac Penington (a 17th century Friend). “truth will not lose ground by being tried.”
The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). Is that what we are showing the world? As Christians, we are called to live exemplary lives that glorify God (I Peter 2:13) Standing on the True Foundation, the Rock of Christ, let us return to His path, stand in the Light of Christ Jesus that reveals all things, and bears witness to our Lord above all – above party, above friends, above media, and above ourselves.

In Christ,
Philip W. Helms, Clerk Ohio Yearly Meeting (Conservative)

 Home address: 2485 Bogie Lake Road, White Lake MI 48386 
(248) 933-8997 philipwhelms@yahoo.com