Your Coordinator One Year Later....
It’s been a full year since I began serving you as Coordinator and it has been a joy to be in this role of support and helping hands for the work of the Quarter and the individual meetings. I thank you all for your support and encouragement.
For me the biggest event this year was the Aging Concerns Facilitator training that was held in mid-April. It was a busy month since I managed the logistics for it including making hotel reservations, arranging with The Hickman for meals, shopping for supplies, arranging home hospitality, getting packets printed, and communication to make sure all participants, hosts, trainers, and space providers were all on the same page. The Working Group on Aging Concerns did the overall planning and supported the weekend as well. We truly appreciated the generosity of West Chester Meeting and The Hickman for providing space for us to meet. It was very satisfying to see it all come together after a year of planning.
The Working Group on Aging Concerns continues to meet monthly to expand on this work. I have set up a list-serve for all participants to communicate what we are doing and to ask questions and share resources. A follow up 1⁄2 day session in November is in the works for Callie Janoff from NYYM to return, as is a workshop in October.
The next Quarter event is Tubing on the Brandywine on June 24. It was my first event as your Coordinator last year. It is a lot of fun whether or not you get wet! This event is sponsored jointly with Western Quarter, and it has been wonderful to work with their Coordinator, Sarah Kastriner, on several events.
Planning for the next Quarterly Meeting on July 22 at Concord Meeting is underway. Concord Quarter Planning Committee meets about a week or 2 after each Quarterly Meeting session to plan for events and the next Quarterly Meeting. Membership includes all 8 meetings in the Quarter, officers and myself, but is open to anyone who would like to join us. The next meeting is August 4.
Part of my job as your Coordinator is to stay up to date about Yearly Meeting happenings. Next up is Annual Sessions July 25-29. I am registered and hope that many of you will come too! It’s a time to connect with others across PYM and to be part of the decision making. There are also workshops and interest groups, exhibits and more. There will be programming for all ages. Don’t stay away for lack of funds – there is financial aid. I’ll report my impressions after I attend.
Lastly, I continue to send out your monthly Announcements about happenings in the Quarter, post events on our website calendar, and on the PYM website when appropriate. The Quarter has applied for a small grant from PYM’s Membership Development Support Fund to get us up to speed on the use of social media through the Digital Outreach Project of Friends General Conference. Look for a Facebook page in the fall....
As always, let me know if you have any questions, concerns or ideas! Lynne Piersol