Much of the energy of many of our veteran members was tied up this past year in planning for the construction of our new meetinghouse, which we hope will be completed in 2004. The Building Committee has approved the architect's preliminary floor plan and elevations and has received preliminary approval to proceed with them from the city-planning department. A special finance committee has been set up to raise money for the meetinghouse.
The Peace and Social Concerns Committee was very active this year. Early on, it led a community effort to get the Gainesville City Commission to pass a resolution opposing the invasion of Iraq. Failing in this, it led the Gainesville peace community in placing a full-page ad in the Gainesville Sun, an ad with many signatories, opposing the war. Many committee members spent hours on street corners holding up signs of protest. The Peace and Social Concerns Committee was active in a number of other areas as well, for example, working to meet the needs of people in Nicaragua and seeing several members trained to man the GI Hotline, in order to counsel military personnel who are thinking about leaving the armed services.
The children in First Day School began a series of interviews with adults in the meeting to learn of each one's experience with Friends and his or her current belief, values, and practices. The children reported what they learned briefly after meeting for worship, and then placed a longer report in the newsletter.
Three other educational activities took place each month throughout the year: The Forum included films on the lives of George Fox and Rufus Jones. The Quaker Study Group, for one thing, studied two Michener Memorial Lectures, Ruth Hyde Paine's How Do I Know If It's a Leading and Robert Allenson's Living as Dual Citizens-the latter with the author present. The Bible Seminar spent most of its time studying Paul's Letter to the Galatians. A Meeting for Healing was held twice a month.
The meeting laid down the membership of one individual and added to our membership two others. We lost one member, Guy Omer, to death.
The quality of worship on first day, as well as during committee meetings, seems deep and filled with a calming silence. Sometimes there are no messages and other times several. Most often, the messages seem to speak to those present and help create the enriching experience of a gathered meeting.
The year ends with members and regular attendees enjoying a solid sense of fellowship-of enjoyment of one another and mutual support.
Submitted by
Don Smith
Clerk