Signs of Spring ...

I returned from a week of skiing in the Shennandoah mountains of Virginia just before Valentine's day and saw something new on campus.

Buckets were hanging from several of the larger trees on campus. These majestic Maple trees were being tapped for their sap ... eventually to be boiled down to make the topping for our regular Saturday breakfast here at Pendle Hill ... pancakes!

I am excited to know that the winter months, although enjoyable, are waning and that soon the season of life, renewal and growth will begin.

Meanwhile, we wait ... four inches of fresh snow fell overnight, so it may yet be a while until Spring takes hold ... Last Friday's 60 degree weather was a sign that perhaps we have moved just a bit closer to a season of gardening, flowers blooming and sweet smells filling the air. I'll happily trade in my winter boots for a pair of shorts and my sunglasses.

The Candy Bowl as Ministry & Outreach

This past week we had a special "called" staff meeting that was an hour of worship sharing focused on the query, “What do we think a healthy Quaker organization should look like?”

The hour was filled with heartfelt spoken thoughts and ideas about this query, each staff member able to speak out of the silence from their unique perspective.

One member shared something quite unexpected ... the idea of The Candy Bowl as Ministry and Outreach. This bowl of treats sitting on the desk of a staff member down the hall was much more complex in meaning than I had imagined. The person spoke about how this candy bowl was ministry to the community. It was an enticement, a lure, a magnet ... to draw us in to their office. To give others the opportunity to rest, take a break, vent frustrations, enjoy candy, and otherwise make a connection between two community members that may not have happened without the candy bowl. I must admit, it is a powerful lure mid-day when you just need a break from the tasks at hand and want to get out of your chair, out of your office, and to walk a bit, to stretch, and to visit with another. I partake of the Ministry of The Candy Bowl with an increased frequency as of late. Chocolate has always been a favorite for me ... and the conversations around The Candy Bowl is therapeutic, and does help me in my efforts to live comfortably in this Quaker community.

I am grateful for this outreach ... and for the spoken words in our Worship Sharing that brought the idea of the Candy Bowl as Ministry into the light for me.

I think it is time again for a piece of chocolate ...

A Winter Wonderland ...

This past Thursday evening we starting receiving a 2nd accumulation of the white stuff and it has continued overnight again into this snowy Saturday. We probably have about 4-6 inches and it is indeed a winter wonderland. I am enjoying the season, as it has been many years since I've lived through a winter season.

Here is a photo of Mainhouse (my home) taken this morning ...

Whilst walking back to Mainhouse after a walk about campus taking photos, I saw Jonathan walking up the road ... His warm greeting and love for life were evident in his expressions and on his face ...
As the midday approaches, the snow has tapered off and is lightly falling ... Beautiful !!

Festival Week starts tomorrow ...

Here at Pendle Hill we have a tradition the last week of each term called Festival Week. It is a time for resident student, staff and community members to share what they have accomplished in the preceding 9 weeks. Throughout the week, student will share their presentations. Wednesday morning instead of work morning, we will enjoy a bacon breakfast (a rarity here) The week will end with "Log Night", a Friday evening of fun, music, skits and insights gained while a member of this community this term.

Tomorrow afternoon festivities begin with the Art Show ... a reception with hor d'ovueres and a chance for the artists to share and describe their works to the community, sojourners and the public. Most of this will focus around the pieces made in Carol's pottery / clay class, although others will share photography, painting and woodworking. A resident youth built a sleigh which will be on display. Others created ceramic mosaics and sculpture.


I am contributing several pieces of knitting that I have just completed. The socks are not a pair, and the other sock from each style has yet to be knit. The hat was "just for fun" and a chance to use up some hand spun wool and leftover lavender mohair/wool blend.

I also have 2 pieces of pottery: a jar and a candle holder, that didn't make it to the kiln in time for firing, so they will not be part of this show.

I am excited to see all of the wonderful talent and creations tomorrow. Stay tuned ... I will post a few more photos of some of my favorites soon.

Turkey and Ping-Pong ...

Thanksgiving was a very busy day !!

... an announcement at the rise of Meeting for Worship, reminded community members that the 17th annual doubles ping-pong tournament would commence at 10am and continue until the evening with the championship match after supper. Teams gathered in the the Barn and reviewed rules and had their first glimpse of the tournament brackets and whom they would be matched against. Two tables were setup for this double elimination tournament. Matches consisted of the best-of-3 games. Teams with a single loss were moved to the "Less Fortunate Bracket" (read losers) to continue play. A second loss there and a team was eliminated from the tournament. Twenty teams competed in this year's competition.


Earlier in the week I had the pleasure to practice with one of our Korean Friends in Residence student, Jiseok, and he and I quickly decided that we would make a good team for the tournament. We ended up with a bye for the first round, and were able to win our first two matches.


I left the Barn about 12:30 to get pictures of the setup in the dining room and be available at 1pm for my daily job ...

... which today was dinner setup: to fill water pitchers, light candles, and dish out the mountains of food into bowls and onto platters for our sit-down dinner for about 100.
It was quite an amazing sight to experience such an organized community effort and then to enjoy a wonderful meal with the Pendle Hill family and Friends.


After dinner tournament play continued. Competition was quite fierce and winning became more difficult with each subsequent match. Jiseok and I were sent to the "Less Fortunate Bracket" after the loss of our third match. Play continued and matches were played as teams appeared in the Barn. Everyone had different jobs during the day, so sometimes we had to wait a bit for a match or allow matches with players who were available to proceed. By 6:30pm we were down to the last two matches. Folks were getting hungary again (??) and/or the kitchen was close to shutting down for the day, so we'all decided to break for a lite supper and then finish the tournament afterwards. Jiseok and I had made it to the semi-finals by winning all of our matches up to that point in the loser's bracket ... We played hard and were victorious in the loser's bracket and then went on to play in the championship match against the undefeated team in the winner's bracket. We had played them earlier in the day when we lost in that bracket.

During the 17 years of ping-pong here at Pendle Hill, one family, the Guindons have dominated the tournament. All members of the family are quite accomplished players and as paired teams it was no wonder why they had been at the top for so many years. I believe it had been at least 5 years since a team in their family had not held the title.

Jiseok and I had another outcome for the evening ... after a well played best-of-3 match, we defeated the team that had bested us earlier in the day, and came out on top in two games and were declared the Champions for the tournament.

This was the first time in all these years that a trophy was awarded to the winners. It was in celebration of Pendle Hill's 80th anniversary that Jiseok and I were awarded the first Ping-Pong Tournament trophy ... a piece of cord-wood with details etched and burned into the face, with a wish-bone and ball on top.

Preparing for the Feast

I can't believe my last post was over 2 weeks ago ... time sure does pass quickly here at Pendle Hill ... busy with learning my new job, lots of events and activities to attend and now we begin this week to prepare for a Thanksgiving Feast.

I answered the call for a "Service Opportunity" this evening after a wonderful meal of pasta, maranara and clam sauces, sauteed mushrooms, and Ceasear salad. An opening in the evening daily jobs required an extra hand in the kitchen doing "Post-Pots", cleaning the large trays, pots, colanders, spatulas, wooden cutting blocks, and other kitchen equipment used to prepare the meal. I rose to the occasion and joined Hanna at the large triple sink. This was my first time on Post-Pots as I have usually been assigned a daily job after breakfast of loading or unloading the dish washing machine with cups, plates, flatware, etc. It was a nice change and I had the opportunity to interact with the cooks as they began preparations for our Thanksgiving Feast on Thursday.

I don't know the count for the number of people attending our celebrated meal of gratitude, but the count must be a large one, as I watched the kitchen staff dress and stuff 210 lbs of free-range organic turkey ... 7 - 30 lb. birds to be exact. Here are a few photos ...







I'm not sure when or for how long the turkeys will need to roast, but I do know we are going to need a mountain of mashed potatoes and a boat load of gravy to go with. Of course, a vegan/vegetarian option is always available with every meal.

My evening followed with attending a lecture by one of our visiting British Friend in Residence and her talk on Nurturing the Spirituality in Children, based on her work and writings in England.

Another quite full day here at Pendle Hill.

In need of your own time away for quiet reflection and respite ?? Consider joining us for one of three New Year's retreat workshops ... http://pendlehill.org/workshops/themes/newyear ... I would welcome familiar faces anytime.

I hope everyone has a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving!

Its the weekend !!

It was quite nice to relax and enjoy a crisp, sunny fall day without thinking technology ...
In the afternoon, I got on my bicycle and rode into Media, PA ... the closest town about 2 miles from our community. What I wasn't used to were the hills ... ugh! ... although the ride into town was overall uphill, so the ride home was rather fun ... many roads have no bike lanes which I am not used to, so I have to be extra cautious and on the lookout for potential problems. It took me about 15 minute returning and a bit longer to get to my destination.

With several groups meeting here this weekend, lunch was quite full ... we ate in shifts or waves and the scratch-made pizzas were amazing ... dinner was a bit lighter in numbers, but equally delicious ... herbed cous-cous, Spanikopita, and roasted carrots and cauliflower ...

Pendle Hill does not normally do desserts, but on the occasion of a birthday, they bake something special ... last night the celebrated person had requested and we all enjoyed brownies with a raspberry whipped cream ...

Later in the evening we had a party in the Barn ... a Pinata, snacks, games, music and a fun time.



This morning after a wonderful start of polenta, frittata and tomatilla salsa, I volunteered to fill a spot in the dish room on clean-up. I plan to attend Meeting for Worship at Providence Friends Meeting, one of the oldest Quaker Meetings in the area ... they celebrated their 325th anniversary last October ... its located in Media ... so here's a photo and historical note from their website ...

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Considered the oldest faith community in Media, Providence Meeting was noted in historical records in 1684. Quakers first met in the homes of settlers. The first meetinghouse, a log cabin, was built in the year 1700. The current structure was completed in 1815. First known as “Thomas Minshall’s Meeting,” the name was changed to Providence Meeting in 1700.

Today, Providence Meeting is a vital, growing faith community of over 200 people. Worshippers meet weekly on Sunday mornings in the unprogrammed Quaker tradition.
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Godspeed ... and enjoy your weekend!