Patuxent Friends Meeting Interchange Reports

The text of Patuxent Friends Meeting reports in the Interchange are below, with the most recently received at the top and older reports below. To jump to a particular report, simply click the year listed below.

Spring 2020 Interchange Report

We at Patuxent Monthly Meeting, as everyone, are affected in many ways by the COVID-19 pandemic. We feel the need to meet together to offer prayers and support, but have, as many groups, been joining for Meeting through technology instead of in person.

We are now beginning our Meetings for Worship with a Concern for Business by watching one of the Quakerspeak videos. Friends are finding them to be quite informative, interesting, and entertaining.

We are continuing to support Project Echo, a group that provides emergency shelter and supportive housing with bedrooms and family suites for those in need. It also assists with clothing, referrals for employment, and educational programs. We presented 45 Echo clients with a dinner, as we do regularly, in rotation with other community groups.

We are sending $2,000 to support four students and two teachers at an Open International school in Africa.

Our representative to Community Ministries of Calvert County suggested that we make a significant financial donation to them, which we did. The Ministries assists with rents and utilities to keep families in their homes.
We are continuing to aid one of our members as she continues to expand her training and now practice, for providing end of life comfort at Hospice and Hospitals.

We are very appreciative of a member’s gift of an antique wall clock originally from Lafayette College.

As retirement and family obligations are diminishing our numbers, we are working hard to try to grow our Meeting. Signs have been made to be placed throughout the community, advertising our presence. We are also displaying “Quakers Here” bumper stickers with our website address. One Friend designed tri-fold brochures for distribution with general information about Quakers and specific information about our Meeting.

We look forward to the end of COVID-19 and a reconnecting with Friends as we host Quarterly Meeting, June 14th.

Spring 2018 Interchange Report

Annual Session 2017 All-Age Celebration
photobooth provided by Jennifer Domenick

Patuxent Meeting Friends continue to find additional ways to explore and expand upon its concern for the environment and for those in our community who are uncertain about their next meal.

Friends were enthusiastic in their responses to a recent proposal to purchase a share from the Community Supported Agricultures (CSA’s) in our county. We already support a local food pantry; the produce we receive from the CSA would be contributed to this local food pantry.

One Friend has begun attending meetings of the Sustainable Calvert Network to represent our meeting. The Network is a coalition of county organizations that seeks to fully integrate farming fishing, natural and cultural resources along with economic and societal needs. It currently is holding forums to inform residents, especially candidates for elected office of the importance of rural land. It supports measures to increase the amount of preserved land, to support the “eat local” movement and to increase the opportunities for eco-travel as well as passive recreation. Eco-travel or active recreation in nature as well as passive recreation (just being in nature) are keys to better community health. These are just a few of the elements that the Network supports to improve the environment of the area.

We are fortunate to have a Friend attending on our behalf.

Spring 2017 Interchange Report

Patuxent Meeting is looking forward to a visit in the near future from one of our favorite teachers, Khady Lusby. She opened the Early Education Center at Adja Penda Ba in Nioro du Rio, Sengal where she grew up. The Early Education Center at Adja Penda Ba opened for the 2012-13 school year. The program has 70 children in four separate classes ranging from ages 2 – 11. Each class is taught by exceptional local women and boasts a strong early educational learning curriculum including foreign language instruction in French and English. The literacy rate in Senegal is 49.7. However, one of Khady’s students (a 5 year old girl) dreams of teaching all kids how to read and write. Patuxent Meeting has a tradition of choosing to offer support through the connections of individual members and attenders discover. Sometimes it is a local need or project but it can also be in far off Africa. It makes for a cozy world. Patuxent is a small Meeting with a lot of good will energy. Currently the members and attenders support a teacher and 4 students at Adja Penda Ba.

Winter 2017 Interchange

Patuxent is fortunate to have a variety of interfaith activities and organizations enriching our southern Maryland communities. Recently, on a bright and blustery day, a standing-room-only interfaith Thanksgiving Service was held at the Southern Maryland Islamic Center in Prince Frederick. Sponsored by the Calvert Interfaith Council, Southern Maryland Islamic Center, and the Daughters of Abraham, many faith traditions were represented and participated in the service. A bountiful table of food was provided by the hosting members of the Islamic Center. Many families with children attended as if to say this is the kind of community we want for our children as they grow up.

The program included poetry, music, responsive reading, scriptures, singing and prayers representing the many faith traditions present. In addition to the sponsors’ traditions, we heard B’hai, Jewish, Episcopal, Latter-day Saints, Methodist, Baptist elements plus excerpts of Taoist, Islamic and Confucian prayers. We also heard an original poem from Chaplain Alice Thompson, Calvert Memorial Hospital. Altogether, a very rich offering! Everyone was invited to visit the sanctuary if they wished.

Winter 2013 Interchange

During our 12th month Meeting for Business, Friends shared reflections about the Safe Nights program, which shelters homeless men, women, and children during the coldest months of the year. The program is going through a transition in leadership and is in need of continued support. One of our members has come forward to serve as the Meeting’s representative in continuing this service. The discussion caused members present to ask hard questions about homelessness in our community. There is passion present to discuss this issue and to identify how we as a Meeting are called to engage. While we do not act as a host for Safe Nights (our facility is too limited), for a number of years we have assisted Middleham Episcopal Church by providing and coordinating meals. We also support the local homeless shelter, Project Echo, with meals and regular monetary contributions. A member serves on their Board of Directors, and others lead conflict resolution workshops for the residents of Echo House and inmates at the county detention center. Contributions from Patuxent Friends, combined with others in the community, recently helped a single mother stay in her home and keep her family together. And yet, there is always more to do. We spent the second half hour of worship on 16 Twelfth Month in worshipful sharing around the topic of homelessness. We have more to say and do regarding our community’s responses to it (Meeting, county, neighborhood, commissioners, etc.). Friends are committed to doing what we can and perhaps a bit more.

Winter 2012 Interchange

Several of us recently had the privilege of participating on clearness committees for new members. Gathering for an hour or two of Spirit-filled sharing reminds us of the richness of life in our Meeting community. We listen profoundly to the attender as he shares his spiritual journey and how, at this point, she feels called to commit more fully to the life of our meeting. It is touching to hear of her challenges and her passions. We are humbled to learn the aspects of our community that draw others to join in our corporate spiritual life. Joining with a prospective member in this way is a sacred duty. It is the opportunity to support him or her as he tests his leadings. It may be the first time he has thoughtfully articulated his faith and his inspiration to others. This makes for rich and personal conversation, and we respect the exchange with the confidentiality that it deserves. Our reports back to Meeting for Worship with a Concern for Business are a high-level summary of our conversation that candidates have indicated they are comfortable in sharing with the broader Meeting community.

Patuxent Friends are fortunate to enjoy the presence of several of our founding members. Some are birthright Friends that bring a depth of Spirit that anchors us when we are tempted to pursue a tangential course. The majority of us are convinced Friends. While we don’t enjoy the same level of Quaker history, we bring diversity of experience and perspective that surely enriches our Meeting. Whatever our background as committee members, we approach these interactions as a gift. As the candidate shares her journey and articulates her measure of the Light, each of us has the opportunity to look upon our own path and check our direction. We are reminded of the important things that led us to this community and encourage us to stay active and engaged. Just as for the new member, we are supported with the opportunity to test our own leadings and check for clarity.

Fall 2011 Interchange

Patuxent Friends were happy to welcome visitors who made the drive to Southern Maryland to join us for Chesapeake Quarterly Meeting on Sixth month 12. Billed as Worship, Fellowship and Fun, the event was enjoyed by all. The beautiful day made a perfect setting as our clerk set up a tight rope and huge water slide outside for children of all ages! All-in-all, it was a perfect summer day to enjoy community.
Friends remain active in support of Project Echo, the homeless shelter in Prince Frederick. Our Meeting Clerk, Tim Keck, who serves on the Board of Directors for Project Echo, has taken the lead in a new event called Camp Out for Calvert. Participants, who raised sponsorship funds in support of the homeless shelter, experienced what it’s like to be homeless by bringing their own tent or cardboard box, spending the night outdoors, and eating their own camp fire prepared meals. The experience included individuals, entire families, and youth groups. Other activities included group discussions to educate the youth on various avenues that lead to homelessness and musical entertainment around a camp fire. Several Friends participated in the event.
Friends recently completed a renovation of our Meeting House to make it more accessible. The central hallway was widened and the bathroom was remodeled to meet current code. Lack of fully accessible facilities has been a concern for years, and Friends are grateful to have found the energy and resources to accomplish this task.