December 5, 2008

Dear Friends,
This is the time of year when we pause to reflect on our spiritual health—where we are as a meeting, our vision of where we’d like to be, and stating our intentions for growth in being faithful to the Divine.  After reflection, each meeting submits a State of the Meeting Report which is then read.  We look at unifying threads and concerns or joys unique to each meeting.  From that the New York Yearly Meeting State of the Society Report is written, presented at Summer Sessions and posted on www.nyym.org.

This is a crucial process not only for our growth as individual meetings but for realizing “what is” as a yearly meeting, recognizing our strengths and concerns, and asking for Divine assistance in effectively ministering to each other and the world.

In facilitating this process, NYYM Ministry Coordinating Committee with the help of the State of the Society Committee formulates queries for each meeting to prayerfully consider.  Some meetings gather to worship share on these queries.  Others entrust this examination to the committee charged with care of the meeting’s spiritual health.  Whatever your process, we encourage you to bring the state of your meeting into the Light in your individual and corporate worship, come to unity on your report, and send it in by March 1.

We present the following queries for your prayerful consideration, asking you to focus only on those that speak to you as you discern your meeting’s condition:

1. How does love manifest itself in your meeting, in your communities and in the world?
2. Does the spirit of worship extend into our committee work and into meeting for worship with a concern for business?
3. What efforts are you making to reach out to people in your community and grow your meeting?  Is advancement a priority?
4. Especially in this time of economic uncertainty, are you taking stock of the meeting’s financial health and planning for ways to help those in need?

May your meeting be blessed by the Spirit as you engage in this self-examination.  We look forward to hearing “what thou canst say.”

Please forward your report to walter@nyym.org. NYYM staff will forward it to the State of Society Committee members. You may also mail it to NYYM, 15 Rutherford Place, New York, NY 10003.

In Friendship,

Julia Giordano
Clerk, Ministry Coordinating Committee