Religious Society of Friends (Quakers)

Peterborough Allowed Meeting
Peterborough, Ontario   CANADA
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 		 Worship Service in Memory of John Hillman
2 - 4 pm   Sunday  Sept 19, 2010
Great Hall, Champlain College, Trent University  Details

Sunday Meeting 11 am - 12 pm
Sadleir House    751 George St 
Peterborough, Ontario (map link)

Bus: Route 1 George St N  (schedule)
Parking: at Sadleir House, on George St (one-way going south),  or end of Churchill Drive

Shared Meal (potluck) every 1st Sunday of the month after Meeting.
Meeting for Discussion every 1st Sunday after potluck.

All are welcome.

Last updated:  January 2008   

More Information: 
(705) 740-1015 (Press "3" to leave message.)

info@peterborough.quaker.ca

Worship Service in memory of John Hillman

A memorial service after the manner of Friends (Quakers) will be held on September 19, 2010, at 2pm in the Great Hall at Champlain College, Trent University. Friends, colleagues and former students are all welcome.

A Meeting for Worship to remember the Spirit in the life of a Friend is held in the traditional manner of a Friends Meeting for Worship.

We will gather in silence, our thoughts with our departed Friend and the spirit of his life, with hearts open.  When anyone present feels moved to speak, that person rises and offers their contribution, whether a personal reminiscence, a message to the family, a quotation or poem, or other insight or message.  Because the meeting is celebrating a life lived, this is an occasion of joy, mixed of course with the inevitable sadness at the loss of a loved one.  There is almost always laughter in a Memorial Meeting, as good times and the gifts of the one who has died are recalled. If you are among those who feel led to share, please speak briefly, from the heart, and if possible loudly, as we will not use microphones. It is our custom to leave a space of silence between contributions so that we may all absorb the words that have been spoken.

Our gathering to remember John Hillman is expected to last about an hour. We will end with a period of silence followed by the shaking of hands.

Friends, colleagues, and former students are invited to the Hillman residence afterwards for further sharing of stories and memories of John, and for light refreshments.

Ample parking is available at Trent www.trentu.ca
 


Accessibility: There are two ramps giving accessibility to the Great Hall. The easier is the entrance through the bookstore.
Questions can be directed to John's daughter Megan: mhillman@yorku.ca
  
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About Our Meeting

We are an allowed meeting under the care of Wooler Monthly Meeting. This means that we do have a clerk and recording clerk, do conduct Meetings for Worship for Business (sporadically rather than monthly), but do not have charitable status, cannot take marriages under our care, and cannot formally accept memberships. These latter functions we do under the care of Wooler Monthly Meeting.

We do not have a Meeting House. This is not unusual for smaller meetings or worship groups. We are of sufficient numbers, however, that meeting in someone's home is not always practical (though we tend to have our potlucks at homes). We therefore rent space weekly on Sunday. Sadleir House is recent for us (we formerly met at the Traill College Lecture Hall), but the former library space there has a warm, welcoming feel to it. We are able to store our sign, information kit, and tea kit at the facility.

We have a library of Quaker-related books under the care of John and Ruth Hillman.

Those who attend come from as far away as Lindsay and Hastings. Some of us are close enough to bicycle or bus (there is a stop at the first corner south of Sadleir House). We are all mindful of the environmental impact of the automobile in these times ( we have an ecostudy group ) so carpooling or multi-purpose trips are common.
We have an active outreach/program committee who plans our discussion topics and other activities. Times and places for these are listed in our calendar.

More about our history and relationship to Wooler.
 
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Quaker Meeting For Worship

Welcome!

We meet in a great task when we meet in worship, no less than to realize the Divine Presence and to create an atmosphere in which that Presence and Power can touch us into fuller life.  Once we remember this, we cannot but approach the occasion with reverent humility and the desire that nothing on our part may hinder or disturb. It is something holy and wonderful we are trying to build up together – the consciousness of the Presence with us here and the reality of communion with God.

Quaker worship is based on the silence of waiting in expectancy. In the still spirit of the Meeting we reach down beyond our deepest selves to the very ground of our being, to come nearer to each other and to God. We do not worship in isolation but try to hold an awareness of all those gathered with us, uniting in a common purpose. That common purpose is not expressed through the recitation of a creed, the singing of hymns, the repetition of set prayers, under the leadership of a minister, but rather through waiting and listening which becomes an act of sharing in which we are all ministers.

Waiting and listening may lead someone to offer a spoken contribution which will deepen and enrich the worship. Anyone is free to speak, pray or read an appropriate passage aloud provided it is done in response to a prompting of the Spirit which comes in the course of the Meeting. Listen to what is said in an open-minded, charitable spirit. If something is said that does not speak to your condition or need, try to reach the spirit behind the words. The speaker wants to help the Meeting; take care not to reject the offering by negative criticism.

Do not be discouraged by any failure in concentration. See the reassurance offered by St. Francis de Sales: “When your heart is wandering and distracted, bring it back quickly to its point, restore it tenderly to its Master’s side, and if you did but nothing else the whole of your hour but bring your heart back patiently and put it near our Lord again, and every time you put it back it turned away again, your hour would be well-employed.”

In the centre of the circle there is a Bible together with anthologies of Quaker writings about our experiences with God, each other, and the wider society. These may be used as a focus for spoken ministry or for spiritual reflection. There is also a collection of Advices and Queries which serve to remind us of the fundamental issues we are invited to consider on our spiritual journeys. There may be a reading of some of these, once the Meeting has begun to settle down. In the quietness of a Quaker Meeting those present can become aware of a deep and powerful spirit of love and truth that transcends their ordinary experience.

The Meeting will end after one hour with a handshake. In Peterborough, it is our custom to hold hands for a brief moment in a circle as a symbol of our unity. We then take a few minutes to share various thoughts. Some of them will have arisen during the course of the Meeting but did not lead to vocal ministry. This is also an opportunity to share concerns, both personal and social, and those moments of joy we have experienced. These contributions are received in a worshipful manner, often with a few moments of silence in order to fully appreciate them.

The presence of newcomers and visitors is greeted with a round of introductions, followed by announcements. Every one is then invited to stay for a cup of tea, review the literature on the table and socialize.

While Quakers are committed to an encounter with the Divine Presence in both the Meeting for Worship and in their daily lives, they express this in different ways. Each of us brings our own life’s experiences to meeting. Some will have a profound sense of awe and wonder because they know God is present. Others will be far less certain. They may only be ready to hold an awareness that their experiences in life point beyond themselves to a great whole. Some will thankfully accept God’s inexhaustible love shown in Jesus Christ, the promise of forgiveness and the setting aside of past failure. Others will know that to seek to be open to people in a spirit of love and trust is the direction in which they want to move. Despite the different ways in which we may account for this life-expanding experience, we seek to become united in love and strengthened by truth so that we enter a new level of living.

Thank you for coming. Your interest and presence will have contributed to our sense of unity and truth, and we hope you may wish to learn more about the many ways in which Quakers have experienced and responded to the Divine Presence. Please feel free to share your own experiences, concerns, and queries. Pamphlets are available on the table; there are also list of books and videos which can be borrowed or purchased.

If child care responsibilities make it difficult for you to continue to worship with us, please let us know and we can set up a programme for the children.

 
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PAM Ecostudy Group

In 2007 we decided to form an ecostudy group. It meets (usually) on the second Wednesday of every month at a group member's home in Peterborough. Interest in this topic is so strong in our area that we have participants from other faith groups. To further the sharing of information amongst ourselves we set up a wiki.  It features a calendar as well as links and reports (sometimes with photos) of our activities.

 
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Further Quaker Links

Information about the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers)

Facts about Friends 
Introductory pamphlet on Quakers by Ted Hoare of Australia Yearly Meeting 
Meeting the Spirit 
An Introduction to Quaker Beliefs and Practices 
www.quaker.org 
A collection of writings about Friends and links to other sites 
QUEST: Quaker Ecumenical Seminars in Theology 
A Journal and Forum for Discussion and Study
The Online Meeting for Worship
An Internet site in the style of a Quaker meeting 

Canadian Quakers

www.quaker.ca 
Canadian Yearly Meeting is the corporate body of Friends in Canada. It meets annually to discuss national issues and make decisions. 
Canadian Friends Service Committee 
Canadian Friends Service Committee acts on the peace and social justice concerns of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in Canada.
To donate directly to the Canadian Friends Service Committee securely on the web, go to this page at www.CanadaHelps.org.  Many other charities are also registered there and you immediately get an electronic receipt you can use for your income tax return for the amount you donate. There is a 3% transaction fee deducted from the money (which covers credit card transaction fees, bank charges, etc.) before it goes to the charity, so you may want to consider that in the amount you donate.


Other Quaker Organizations

Unprogrammed meetings meet in silence.  Programmed meetings will accompany a period of silence with other activities such as singing and sermons.

QuakerFinder 
A list of unprogrammed Friends Meetings in North America 
Friends General Conference 
A North American organization of unprogrammed meetings, providing resources and education. Canadian Yearly Meeting is affiliated with FGC. 
Friends United Meeting 
A North American organization of programmed Quaker churches. Canadian Yearly Meeting is affiliated with FUM.   
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Our History And Relationship to Wooler MM

Wooler Meeting House Peterborough Allowed Meeting started as a worship group under the care of Wooler Monthly Meeting meeting twice a month in attender's homes. (All members in the Peterborough Allowed Meeting hold their membership in the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) with Wooler Monthly Meeting.  Those who attend Peterborough Allowed Meeting are always welcome to attend Wooler meetings (held on the 2nd and 4th Sundays of each month)).

The group grew until it became impractical to always meet in homes. One of our members was connected with Trent University and was able to inquire about and finalize arrangements to rent the Traill College Lecture Hall every Sunday during the school months. We have continued to meet at attenders' homes during the summer months, where we could often meet outside.

At roughly the same time, our attendance numbers have approached and even surpassed those for Wooler Monthly Meeting. Although it has been suggested that we become a Monthly Meeting of our own, many of us remain reluctant to plunge right away into regular monthly meetings for worship for business, especially since it has seemed that we did not have much business anyway. The alternative has been to test the waters of more formal structure by becoming an Allowed Meeting under the care of Wooler Monthly Meeting. Over the past few years the presence of  serious inquirers who wanted to learn more about Quakerism led us to schedule regular discussion groups.The influence of these same serious inquirers led us to also engage in more community-building activities within the group as well as some outreach activities. 
 
Every other year Wooler MM has a candle-light carol sing in the meeting house the Saturday evening before Christmas and a number of us like to carpool to attend that.