6/17/2007
We
Friends of
Spring Meeting offer this statement on the condition of our meeting.
We are a meeting of seekers who choose to worship
and
fellowship together.
We as a meeting are stronger together than we are
individually and similarly believe that the wider Society of Friends is
as
well. To that end,
We continue to reach out to promote as well as
establish relationships
with other Friends’ meetings, both within Friends United Meeting as
well as
within Friends General Conference through Piedmont Friends Fellowship.
We continue to grow, though we do not consider
that growth
in and of itself is necessarily important. Our growth is occurring
through
inclusiveness and with individuals who choose to join us as fellow
seekers, as
Friends through convincement. It
is also occurring through God’s blessing of children.
We continue to seek the reclamation of the
historical
tradition of Friends’ worship, where our leadings are borne out of
spiritual,
expectant silence. Because we make
no distinction between laity and clergy, we employ no pastor.
We find this practice liberating and empowering.
We place our own spiritual responsibility upon
ourselves and
support one another in discharging that responsibility, believing that
the
Ministry has not been abolished, but the Laity is.
Our worship emphasizes the search for the will of God
through the Holy Spirit, without intermediary or creed.
We sense and experience that the Holy Spirit is a
continuing
revelation.
We acknowledge the burden of each and every member
as a
minister of the Gospel and the opportunities such responsibilities
offer for
spiritual growth, both individually and collectively.
We take risks and attempt to think and work
outside of
normal convention.
We continue to partner with the Quaker Leadership
Scholars
Program of Guilford College to nurture the spiritual journey of its
participants and also to learn from and grow along with them.
We welcome seekers from other faiths, including
those
outside of Christianity, into our fellowship, to learn from them and
seek
common bonds.
We gain inspiration and insight from the varied
backgrounds
and experiences of our members.
We are stronger for the experience.
We seek to follow the example of Christ through
active roles
of social action within our community.
We work to wage Peace through support of Quaker
House, The
American Friends Service Committee and others in the tradition of the
Friends’
Peace Testimony.
We have participated in the Fayetteville Peace
Rally on the
anniversary of the Iraq War. We have
voiced our concerns regarding our Government’s devaluation of human
rights in
the media as well as to our elected officials.
We have lobbied the State Legislature for a
moratorium of
the Death Penalty, striving for its ultimate abolition, with the
conviction
that it’s exercise defies the redemptive workings of the Holy Spirit.
We actively participate with the Friends Disaster
Service.
We support Quaker Lake Camp and sponsor the
children of our
meeting as well as those outside of our meeting found in need for such
an
experience.
We continue to promote and support The Sword of
Peace and
Pathway to Freedom outdoor dramas as unique ministries promoting
Peacemaking
and Social Justice.
We continue to distribute food to the area’s needy
in
partnership with the Loaves and Fishes Ministry.
Such activities have often taken us out of our
comfort zone,
but
We have done so in the belief that our spiritual
journey
should be a challenge and an adventure.
We acknowledge that our human efforts are by
nature
incomplete and imperfect, that we each have shortcomings and room for
improvement. However,
We realize that such self-awareness is what our
spiritual
journey is all about and why it is so vital for each of us to embark
upon it.
We do so with the conviction that the Kingdom of
God can be
realized here, now, in this world, if we all do our part and sincerely
discern
God’s will. This, we know by
experience.
We offer this report on the spiritual condition of
our
meeting and utilize as a healthy exercise for our own introspection and
improvement.