Introduction:
For this year's State of Society Report the meetings and worship groups of New York Yearly Meeting were asked to consider their joys and concerns. We're glad to report that Friends exercised their creativity in response to the spirit (and letter) of our question. One meeting replied, "Even the concerns have become a cause for joy as they have sorted themselves out during this year"; another that "Our concern is that our joys are vulnerable, and that we need strength and vision to keep them vital and growing"; another that "we have decided to face our concerns, and make them a center of spiritual inquiry." Many Friends shared a deep concern for "the prospect of war" that has inspired many meetings to participate in peace vigils, peace work and political action. This concern has also inspired deep worship and prayer, bringing meeting communities closer together even as our action has made Friends more visible in the neighborhoods wherein they meet.

The following report, as prayerfully considered by the Yearly Meeting Ministry and Counsel Coordinating Committee, is an attempt to capture the spirit of the monthly meeting reports and the state of our religious Society in 2002.

As in the past, quotations are included without attribution to specific monthly meetings.

The State of the Society, 2002

That world beyond our door is deeply troubled with war and sufferings. Most meetings expressed this concern and told of prayers and work for peace in the world and in local communities. We hear of interfaith gatherings, community service, weekly and monthly vigils for peace--all arising out of our faith, which ever guides us in the labor. "Meeting, which for months was agitated by 9/11 and its aftermath, is settling into a worship that is heightened by new awareness, as it has deepened and gathered around our testimonies." One meeting wonders whether they should begin to engage in peace action "as the Meeting and not just as individuals being encouraged by the Meeting. Although we know that the peace testimony and those actions that follow logically from it should be our primary concern, we are frequently overwhelmed by the enormity of the challenge." "How can we support each other in the ever-present conflict between maintaining inner peace and offering service to a troubled world? How can we simplify our lives to make more room for service?" "2002 began with feelings of depression and discouragement and ended with a hopeful sense that individually and collectively through our actions Friends can and do offer something to our community and to the world." Another meeting found within themselves "a strengthening concern that we be a visible presence in the world. How do we help others, who may share our convictions, to find us?" "We hope to deepen the conviction of Friends and seekers to cultivate an alternative way of living, practicing listening and speaking with nonviolence and cherishing cooperation and community."

From one of our prison meetings we hear: "In a world where the norm seems to be to condemn, push away, be cruel toward others and fight wars, we find peace and understanding within our group…. We are people of all races, colors and creeds. In our time of silence, the energy helps us to feel as one." Another says, "Our small, but mighty, group meets Saturday afternoon. We look forward to the meeting all week long…keeping the Light burning brightly for the struggle of truth."

Many meetings express concern for their lack of growth and small size, sometimes wondering if they can survive as meetings. One such meeting recently acquired a piano, and hopes "someday soon to have a piano player among our regular attenders." Others have begun bold experiments of revitalization such as a monthly hour after meeting that allows Friends to respond to a "deeply considered prepared message" from one of their number in worship sharing. One meeting completed a directory, "in which contributors were invited to share their spiritual journeys as well as list personal facts about themselves." Another small meeting, its members spread across a large area, is "exploring ways that technology such as e-mail discussion or message boards might help us maintain contact."

The concerns expressed by our meetings are many and real. We hear of difficult finances, a sense of separateness from yearly meeting, a lack of local outreach, differences, conflicts, "and a lack of established practices to settle personal differences" within the meeting family, the need for more "outside" Friends to join with prison meetings, a lack of racial and ethnic diversity, insufficient leadership, and infrequent vocal ministry. There was an expressed yearning for ministry that is one with the silence. "We have struggled with understanding how to know when speaking is appropriate, how to recognize that 'still, small voice' that brings the gift of the Spirit." "There are so many things we need to do, but we are unsure that our resources will cover them." One meeting finds itself "reluctant to confront issues which might spark open conflict, having previously been burdened with years of conflict. Is conflict between members of the Meeting in opposition to our peace testimony? Do we need to agree with each other to be united?" Another meeting relies on Quaker process to foster trust: "Asking uncomfortable questions is part of the process. In changing perceptions it is important to challenge assumptions." Many are concerned at the number of committee meetings they are asked to attend: "These are often scheduled before and after Meeting for Worship, times when other kinds of fellowship used to take place." Another meeting "fears the erosion of faithfulness to our testimony of simplicity in the face of our mounting busyness and over-scheduling."

This has been a year of tremendous challenge for many of us and our families—serious illness, death, financial difficulties, deeply personal struggles, and yet, one meeting notes, "we came to know each other in deeper, more honest ways." One meeting acknowledged, "A treasured smile is missing, and yet the Spirit is moving!" And despite our concerns there is a sense of partnership with the Divine Spirit, and faith that way will open for the future of our religious society. "We look around and see people we love worshipping in silence with us. That gives us hope for 2003." Another meeting faces "the coming year with anticipatory joy knowing that it will bring opportunity to share the Quaker Peace Testimony, work hard in strengthening our little community, and share with others the quiet but powerful values of the Society of Friends."

Our yearly meeting family is truly blessed and expresses the joys of its children and first day schools. One meeting thought "that having a place to feel comfortable when you feel different has been particularly helpful to young people…. Often the positive influence on young people of growing up in Meeting surfaces years later, when they're grown."

In terms of growth, advancement and long-term prospects for the future there is fragility in the Society of Friends in New York Yearly Meeting. Our population is aging; many meetings have expressed their concern over the loss of seasoned members. One meeting "acknowledges the challenge of passing along Quaker practice with fewer active seasoned Friends." " We worry about the future - the coming generation of elders is overextended." While some meetings have strong youth programs, most do not. Some meetings feel isolated or estranged from the wider body of Yearly Meeting Friends, and some reports seem to be a cry for help or guidance. "We recognize a need to explore ways of encouraging newcomers to enter more fully into the body and life of the meeting." Other meetings, although small, are more hopeful: "We are learning to accept help as well as provide help where and when it is needed." "We have been following the Light, deepening our ability to listen to each other and the Spirit, and growing and deepening our faith." We "see ourselves leading quiet lives, not of desperation, but with calm confidence that ideals are real and have a force that has, and will, survive past this age of corruption, selfishness, injustice and hate."

New York Yearly Meeting personnel and committee members have also experienced the deep searching and concerns engendered by war and imminent war, and their frequent communications have kept us conscious of our wider community and our shared witness, traditions, and testimonies. They also grapple with the task of self-evaluation and restructuring. One meeting reports: "We struggle to find our voices heard and our needs as a Meeting met by the organization of New York Yearly Meeting." Other meetings share this concern, and we hold our Yearly Meeting leadership in the light as they face this challenge. We offer as encouragement to us all this quotation from Robert Barclay's Universal Love (1676) that ended one meeting's report: