Supporting and Nurturing the Life of the Meeting: Rediscovering Eldering

Our fall schedule has begun and with it, we can offer epistles, queries and advices or other Quaker musings that come out of the weekend. This past weekend we were blessed to have Elaine Emily facilitate a workshop, “Supporting and Nurturing the Life of the Meeting: Rediscovering Eldering.”

We spent time in 2’s, 4’s and as the group as a whole, experiencing various facets of being an elder. Here are the queries we came up with on Sunday morning – each group presenting to the rest of us. May they provide food for thought:

1st Group

1. How does our meeting call us to higher standards?
2. Who voices the hard truths in this Meeting?
3. Are hard truths voiced with love and compassion?
4. How are the gifts among us named and lifted up?
5. What opportunities do we provide for training and support?
6. Do we pay appropriate attention to history and good order?
7. Do we seek out the spiritually mature Friends among us?
8. Does our meeting nurture us to deepen our spiritual maturity?
9. Is there integrity and accountability in our agreements, activities and relationships? How do we assure that?

2nd Group

1. What do we do to nurture and support gifts and leadings of members and attenders?
2. What are ways we elder our elders?
3. Do we acknowledge the elders among us and the work they do?
4. Is God present in the Meeting, is it Spirit filled; are there tears? Joys? Quakes?
5. Are we holding each other accountable to each other, to God, to the Spirit?

3rd Group

1. Are we attentive to the health and dynamics of our Meeting and members individually?
2. How do we support our meeting’s connection to Spirit?
3. Do we hold our Meeting spiritually and financially accountable?
4. What is our spiritual practice to maintain our spiritual center?

4th Group

1. How do we perceive our elders today?
2. How has the role of Quaker elders evolved (over time, change)?
3. How do we support those that can no longer sit or stay silent?
4. How do we hold sacred all of our Quaker worship (including business and committees)?
5. Are there holes in the fabric of your Meeting that “elders” could fill?
6. What would these “elders” look like (action, role)?
7. How do we name and draw out the spiritual gifts of others?
8. How do we, as elders, support our history, tell our stories and draw out the stories of others?

5th Group
(to be sung to the tune of “Inch by Inch”)

Heart by heart
Soul by soul
Gonna help those gifts to grow
Gonna feed them love and care
And honor the Spirit they share.

First we name them
Then we claim
Playing in the Spirit’s game
In eldering there is no shame
Joy and laughter
And some rain.

Toolbox for Sustainability: An Introduction to Permaculture

Toolbox for Sustainability: An Introduction to Permaculture – that’s what brought about 30 people, including teenagers, families with children, and grandparents, to Powell House from August 1st to 3rd. The conference was led by Ethan Roland, a graduate of the PoHo youth program, a permaculture designer (http://www.appleseedpermaculture.com/), and a wonderful teacher. What an inspiring weekend!

We talked about the fundamental ethics of permaculture: care for the land, care for people, and sharing of resources, and were introduced to some of the underlying design principles of this elegant, subtle, and sophisticated approach to doing more with less. The weekend was packed full of valuable and interesting information, chances for group discussion, and finally an application of what we learned as we planted a permaculture garden on the edge of the field behind the ACC on Sunday morning.

We very soon discovered that in one weekend it would be impossible to explore every aspect of permaculture or all the places where these principles could be applied in the garden and beyond, so we focused on Ethan’s particular specialty: edible forest gardens. We learned that this low-maintenance type of garden is not only healing to the land, but also provides abundant and varied foods and other valuable materials for the gardener, and is beautiful, lush, diverse and adaptable. The way that these gardens operate in a simple, self-evident, and yet complex way to provide so much was incredibly inspiring.

Throughout the weekend we discussed many different theoretical tools and ideas, and on Sunday morning we got our hands dirty! Along the stream bank of the Bacon Brook that runs between Pitt Hall and the back field, the whole conference came together to plant two edible forest garden beds that will soon provide food for Powell House. In a bed of sheet mulch we planted pawpaws, a relative of tropical fruit trees that is hardy in our area and produces an abundance of large, soft fruit. To support these trees, protect the soil, and provide berries, we planted several varieties of currants and gooseberries. Finally, as all purpose helpful plants for both the garden and the gardener, we planted water celery and both dwarf and regular comfrey. From a weedy patch, in two hours we transformed the stream bank into a useful and beautiful edible forest garden that will need hardly any maintenance.

If we weren’t convinced of the ease and practicality of planting our own permaculture gardens by Saturday evening, by the end of Sunday, we were all enthusiastically planning our own backyard gardens over lunch and on the way home. Hopefully there will be more to come, with additional permaculture workshops or even a full permaculture design certification course at Powell House next summer!

-- Elizabeth Hanka and Santha Cooke (weekend participants and newly-fledged permaculturists)

Intro to Permaculture

Last weekend, we had a great multigenerational group for our Permaculture weekend. It was a combination of hands on and theory. Here's the group.



We were ably led by Ethan Roland, a PoHo youth graduate. Ethan is explaining what each plant offers to the plot, from ground cover and bushes to trees.




What the 2 patches looked like before we started our permaculture plots.




Hard at work clearing for the planting.



As you can see, we divided our tasks up, with some people soaking the cardboard that was going to be put down after the compost.

Compost is under the cardboard layer which will keep the weeds out. You can see the planting going on.

The cardboard was then covered with wood bark. Doesn't it look great?

The Saga of the Chest Freezzer

Grain Cage built by Mark Holstein.

Two days ago staff looked in the chest freezer and discovered that it wasn't cold and hadn't been for awhile. Buffy and Liseli then salvaged as much meat as possible. We lost 1/2 the freezer full of food. What we could salvage, we cooked.



Some of the bounty



Last night, Liseli and Buffy made a trip to purchase a nw freezer and this morning, we had willing and able volunteers remove grains and flours from the grain cage.




Then Liseli and Todd had to take out the table that had been so well built by Mark Holstein several years ago.



The old freezer on its way to glory.



voluntteers carrying new freezer to grain cage.



New frrezer in place and it works!

Jacki Gray and Chris Koster are here today cutting up cooked meat and freezing for upcoming groups as well as getting the grain cage back into order.

Welcome to musings from Powell House

This blog will keep you up to date on the happenings and musings at Powell House. Perhaps they'll include an epistle from the youth conference, queries from an adult conference, lots of photos (my passion), and other goings on here.

Gatherings earlier this summer included Healing the Earth, Healing Ourselves with Tom Sotiridy. One person commented, "It reinforced my understanding of the awesomeness of God and how God has provided everything we need to heal ourselves and heal the earth. We “just” need to rediscover it / listen within and to creation"

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The group is practicing finding water underground. Tom is on the right.

In mid-July, Chris DeRoller and Christopher Sammond facilitated a multi-generational weekend, Exercising Spirit. The joy-filled energy and the deep connections made carried us well into the summer sessions of New York Yearly Meeting at Silver Bay. As you can see from the photo above, we also exercised our creativity with ice cream sundaes.

It was great being together.