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 ...

----

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.
----

Godspeed ... and enjoy your weekend!

Mental Chaos ...

I finished my first week of work at Pendle Hill as their IT Manager in training. What can I say ... WiFi, SysWAN, router, .iso, Clonezilla, Windows Server 2007, re-boot, drivers, network server, infrastructure, fiber optics, RJ45, Ethernet, printer installs, PC installs, troubleshooting, new software, more new software, hardware, jump drives, disk images, Kerio, email, Bonjour, Visio, ...

OK, perhaps you get the picture ... perhaps not? I was on an exponential learning curve as it peaked skyward each day, hoping to have a bit of the day's knowledge and instruction gel before the next day. It was exhausting, it was fun! I am SO excited to be in this place, this very special place called Pendle Hill.

This coming week is the 80th anniversary for this experiment in intentional spiritual community and we will have programs, speakers, worship, singing, amazing meals and over 200 guests in our community to help celebrate.

I am glad the weekend is here ... I need the mental break from the steep learning curve and near non-stop workings in my head trying to get a grasp of all-things-technological.

It was a great week ... the students, the staff, the other resident community members all make me feel very welcome ... I'll rest, relax and prepare for another fun, exciting week ahead. Did I mention that I haven't yet seen the other 50% of my job ... communications and marketing ... website management, newsletters, promotional flyers, layout and design, audio recording of guest speakers. That starts next week, as does my community chores ... daily tasks each of us do to keep the community functioning ... I have work in the dish room 2 mornings after breakfast and a lunch setup on my schedule for next week ...

I've only been to the store twice since arriving ... its weird walking through the store and not needing to buy anything ... the only food purchase so far has been brownie bites last week and this evening a bag of Oreos ... great to raid the "Katie" frig downstairs to get a cold glass of milk to go with ... Yum!

Wednesday's Silent, Simple Evening Meal

Our dinner meal on Wednesday evening is different from the others in the week.
A simple meal is prepared. Today was white beans cooked with tomatoes, whole grain rice, and steamed greens, ... bok choy I believe.

The first 20 minutes of this meal we eat in silence. The silence is broken by a designated member of our community with the ringing of a small bell and then a poem or other words to ponder.

I had a very busy and mind-expanding day of technology, so this quiet meal was welcomed and appreciated. Thanks Pendle Hill for another wonderful day!

My first walk about Philadelphia

Yesterday I had the pleasure of taking the regional train from the Wallingford station (only a short 10 minute walk from Pendle Hill) into Center City Philadelphia.


Wallingford Station

I had never been to Philadelphia, except maybe passing through on I-95 on my way elsewhere. I arrived at Suburban station near 16th Street and Archer about 10:45am and had the whole day to explore the city. I found a visitor center near LOVE park and acquired maps and directions to various sites.

I first located the Friends Center, as I have a meeting there one week from Friday for work, so I wanted to be able to get there without pause when needed.

After walking about 10 blocks I arrived in the historical district. I took the guided tour of Independence Hall ...



and stopped by the Free Quaker Meetinghouse (those Quakers that supported the Revolutionary War) and split from the Religious Society of Friends that was pacifists, ... and then stopped by and visited the Arch Street Quaker Meetinghouse,



where I explored the Windows and Mirrors, a traveling exhibit about the Afghanistan War hosted by American Friends Service Committee (AFSC).

More info at: http://afsc.org/project/windows-and-mirrors

I wandered through the Asian (Chinatown) area of downtown and stopped for a bowl of Pho at a Vietnamese restaurant and then had a Macadamia Nut-Chocolate Chip cookie from a cookie vendor at the Reading Terminal Market ... an amazing indoor farmer's market and more. A place that I definitely plan to return to on my next visit ... and with an appetite ...
http://www.readingterminalmarket.org/

I arrived back at Pendle Hill after the 30 minute return train as the sun was getting low on the horizon with time for a short rest before the dinner bell rang. I hope to continue my exploration of Philadelphia another day, as there was so much I did not have time to see.

Pumpkin carving and a Bonfire ...

Another special day at Pendle Hill ... each with its own "treats".

After dinner this evening the children and a few adults gathered in the dining area to carve pumpkins ...



Afterwards community members wandered down near the organic gardens to a fire pit where we ended the evening with a bonfire, Smores, scary stories and haunting jokes ...


I've been here now for one full week and I am feeling quite at home.
Thanks Pendle Hill community for a wonderful first week!

__________________________________

A Sarasota Friend was expecting to see my poetry in the last blog post, in addition to the John O'Donohue pieces that I shared ... so ... as requested ... here is a poem I wrote during my AEI graduate program during the third semester in the Gulf of Maine Bioregion in the fall of 1994 while on the eastern shore of Grand Manan Island, six miles out into the Altantic ocean. We spent a week hiking the eastern shoreline camping on bluffs overlooking the beaches and watching as Minke whales were sighted during their annual migrations ...

An Island

An Island, Is Land
Separate, cast loose, detached
Rocky cliffs, ever so slowly crumble to the sea.

Yet the sea helps define this place
The sea is its connection with other places
An island needs space apart,
to stretch, to breath, to grow

I feel like an island at times,
Separate, cast loose, detached.
A time to move inward,
for reflection, for silence.

The sea of creation is my connection.
The sea breeze against my face,
Fresh blueberries from a northern meadow,
Sighting hawks on their migration south,
Feeling the ache of tired muscles from a long day's hike.

I often seek this island within,
A comfort, refuge,
shelter from a storm.

My tent calls for me,
It is also an island.
Among the tarps and pines,
and other dwellings of our camp.

A distant light shines out over the sea.
Wind, like an etch-a-sketch draws dark patterns.
And as quickly erases them, moves them,
and works the surface surrounding our world.

We are an island
moving through the thick pines, across fields,
along rocky shores laden with drift wood, netting,
and the cast-off artifacts from other beaches.

Islands help me see connections,
With other island souls,
With my family far away,
With my home, my spouse, and our child to be.

I look down from this island, Grand Manan,
And my thoughts move out across the rolling sea ...

Poetry Night and Epilogue ...

This evening was the first night of a loosely organized poetry sharing. From 7:30-9:00 pm at which any of the community members could come and go, listening and/or sharing poetry. I shared the only poem I knowingly ever wrote, along with a collective poem that I had written one line of. It was a wonderful way to spend my evening, so different from a familiar routine I had of clicking on the TV and sitting mindlessly staring at the electrons beaming my way.

Engaging our hearts, our minds, and our spirits ... thinking deeply ... wondering, pondering, exploring new and old words and ideas.

We ended the evening with Epilogue lead by Friends sojourning from the Portland, OR area who will be leaving us in the morning after the rise of our morning Meeting for Worship. They sharied two piece of writing from the author John O'Donohue and his book "To Bless the Space Between Us". Below are both of the pieces they shared ... the first captured in words many of my thoughts and feelings as I travel thru this threshold into a new beginning ... its entitled,

For a New Beginning

In out-of-the-way places of the heart,
Where your thoughts never think to wander,
This beginning has been quietly forming,
Waiting until you were ready to emerge.

For a long time it has watched your desire,
Feeling the emptiness growing inside you,
Noticing how you willed yourself on,
Still unable to leave what you had outgrown.

It watched you play with the seduction of safety
And the gray promises that sameness whispered,
Heard the waves of turmoil rise and relent,
Wondered would you always live like this.

Then the delight, when your courage kindled,
And out you stepped onto new ground,
Your eyes young again with energy and dream,
A path of plenitude opening before you.

Though your destination is not yet clear
You can trust the promise of this opening;
Unfurl yourself into the grace of beginning
That is at one with your life's desire.

Awaken your spirit to adventure;
Hold nothing back, learn to find ease in risk;
Soon you will be home in a new rhythm,
For your soul senses the world that awaits you.

~ John O'Donohue ~

(To Bless the Space Between Us)

The second is entitled,

For Presence

Awaken to the mystery of being here
and enter the quiet immensity of your own presence.

Have joy and peace in the temple of your senses.

Receive encouragement when new frontiers beckon.

Respond to the call of your gift and the courage to
follow its path.

Let the flame of anger free you of all falsity.

May warmth of heart keep your presence aflame.

May anxiety never linger about you.

May your outer dignity mirror an inner dignity of
soul.

Take time to celebrate the quiet miracles that seek
no attention.

Be consoled in the secret symmetry of your soul.

May you experience each day as a sacred gift woven
around the heart of wonder.

~ John O'Donohue ~

(To Bless the Space Between Us)

Thanks to David and Kate for leading our Epilogue this evening ...

Transitions ... My first week at Pendle Hill

Family and Friends,

Many of you have ask that I update you all and share a bit about my my adventure and life in Pennsylvania. So ... here is a recounting of my first week living at Pendle Hill, a Quaker Spiritual Study, Retreat and Conference Center outside of Philadelphia.

It is a sunny, warm Thursday and with a slight wind, it is "raining" colorful yellow, red and orange leaves outside, as I sit in the living room of MainHouse writing this blog entry and looking out of the window. My first week living in community at Pendle Hill has been all I had hoped for and much, much more.

I arrived here on Friday October 23rd after checking out of my hotel outside of Harrisburg, PA and taking the "roads less traveled", wandering through the Amish countryside of Lancaster County along rural roads and through towns such as, "Bird In Hand", "Intercourse", and "Whitehorse".
I completed my 2200+ mile journey from Florida to Pennsylvania via Chicago and the corn fields of Illinois where I attended an 8-day intensive Permaculture Design Certification course with Midwest Permaculture, arriving at Pendle Hill late in the afternoon. Many of the staff that I had met during my interviews were away at meetings and conferences, so after a walk about the campus, I found and secured a key to my apartment and began the task of unloading and moving my clothes, boxes and other worldly possessions into my new apartment.

I have a rather large studio apartment on the second floor of Mainhouse. The building includes the welcome and lobby area for guests, students, and sojourners arriving at Pendle Hill, a formal living room, a separate reading room with periodicals and journals, the tray/serving line, kitchen, dish room, dining hall and private dining room all on the first floor and then two apartments on one side of the second story (where my studio is) and then a larger number of guest quarters for rent on the other side of the stairwell.

Living in community is quite a different experience from the life of most. Shared meals, working and living in the same common spaces, daily worship each morning, lots of guests, students and sojourners coming and going ...

Saturday was my day for unpacking and arranging my space. I found that my possessions are now quite minimal, having sold, gifted and pitched almost everything that wouldn't fit into or on top of my Honda Civic. Maintenance staff had provided me with a small twin bed, sofa, desk and chair, sitting chair, and a couple of bookshelves. Simple, but adequate. I stored my kayak in an area near the maintenance building on racks and placed my mountain bike on the back porch under my lanai and porch.

Routines are a part of living in community and I am adjusting nicely to these common daily rhythms ... a morning "wake-up" bell sounds at 7:00am followed my a 7:20am bell to announce that breakfast will be served in 10 minutes at 7:30am ... We then meet in The Barn for a daily 30 minute Meeting for Worship followed by community announcements. The lunch bell sounds at 12:10 prior to lunch at 12:20 and the evening bell at 5:50pm announcing the 6:00pm dinner meal. There is an evening 15 minutes Epilogue a time for silent reflection, prayer, poetry and sharing ... a beautiful way to wind down another full day of living in community.

Daily community chores are also part of everyone's routine. I have yet to be assigned a regular task, but have volunteered on Sunday morning to work in the dish room washing dishes after the breakfast meal and also another day helping with setup for our lunch meal. I also just took over a task for a family of a staff member who would be out of town for the next week. I will be breaking down and sorting/recycling boxes in the kitchen area during his absence.

I have spent my evenings catching up with email and chatting with family and friends via Skype from a WiFi access point in the Library. Both the library and the art studio are open 24/7 and available for anyone in the community.

I had ordered 20 lbs of ripe organic green olives from a farm on the West coast and they arrived over the weekend. I spent most of Sunday evening preparing the olives (cutting the skin slightly of each olive) to begin a 30-day water curing to remove the bitterness, prior to placing them into a vinegar/salt/herb brine for final curing. They should be ready to eat by Christmas time. In case you are wondering, 20 lbs of Olives just about fills a 5 gallon bucket! Also every Sunday evening there is always a special Meeting for Prayers and Healing service in The Barn.

The beginning days of this week I spent shopping for a few items for my apartment, finding a bank and setting up an account, and learning my way around the nearby towns of Media and Swarthmore. I was able to find the public safety office at Swarthmore College and get my college ID, allowing me access and free use of the gym, pool and library as well as the ability to audit college courses when it may fit my schedule and interest. I also located a small yarn shop in Swarthmore and purchased enough wool yarn to start knitting two pairs of socks.

Monday evenings the Pendle Hill choir practices and a performance is scheduled for sometime during the holiday season.

Tuesday I was able to get setup and access to my Pendle Hill email account and also setup a online training account to start learning various software programs that I will need to be familiar with.

Every Wednesday also includes a morning community work session (9:15am-noon) where everyone is encouraged to join a work group and help with a task around campus. I worked in the morning session helping to add a connector section to the perimeter trail and laying wood-chipped mulch in preparation for Pendle Hill's 80th anniversary celebration scheduled for Nov 12-14th. At 10:30am the bell is rung and everyone gathers at Mainhouse for a popcorn snack break, lemonade and fellowship. After the break I worked the remainder of the morning in the kitchen area peeling garlic and prepping turnips and radishes for upcoming meals. Wednesday afternoons there is a yoga class for anyone in the community that would like to attend.

Today at the rise of our morning Meeting for Worship, we had a "stand up" staff meeting with discussion and announcements about the week ahead. I have spent the remainder of the morning and afternoon organizing photos to include on the slideshow on this blog and in writing this post. You can view photos of Pendle Hill, my apartment, various building and the grounds and trail around campus here: http://picasaweb.google.com/ksrsrq/PendleHill02# This evening is an informal poetry session prior to Epilogue ...

Living in community is a very full and exciting way ... I hope some of you will consider taking time out of your busy lives and coming to Pendle Hill to sojourn for a weekend or longer and experience the calm, relaxing, peaceful surroundings. More information about sojourning at Pendle Hill can be found here: http://www.pendlehill.org/bandb

I will continue adding my thoughts and other ramblings from time to time as I continue my transition and learning a new way of living at Pendle Hill. I feel very blessed to be a part of this wonderful community. I'll look forward to sharing more about my adventures with you in the future.

In Peace,
Kurt