Quaker Town Crier – November 13, 2025
In this issue: Minute from November 9 Meeting for Discernment; Communications Update; November 16 Circle of Friends Reading and Meeting for Worship; Food Drive; Leaf Blow-a-Thon
Dear Member of the Midlothian Friends Community,
Please read on to learn about the decisions made during Meeting for Discernment last Sunday and also to learn what’s happening at Midlothian Friends Meeting this week and in the near future.
Minute from November 9, 2025 Meeting for Discernment
19 Friends were present at the Meeting House, including 2 presenters from Wild Roots, 3 children, and 2 RE teachers. Three Friends were present on Zoom.
Meeting for Discernment considered a request by Wild Roots Homeschool Group to use our buildings and grounds. Wild Roots is a volunteer-run, nonprofit, homeschool cooperative offering creative interdisciplinary learning for children and teens. The values embraced by Wild Roots align deeply with the Quaker values of simplicity, reflection, stewardship, and respect for people and land.
Meeting agreed to convene an ad hoc committee to review the request by Wild Roots. The Committee will consider insurance contracts, parental waivers, fees, MFM’s agreement to allow outside groups to use the Meeting house, and other matters that may arise.
Members of the group include Ann Duncan, Alex Stewart, Peter Farago, and Glenn Elvington. They will present their thoughts and findings at December’s Meeting for Discernment.
Communications Update from MFM’s Records and Technology Committee
We are sending MFM Weekly Updates and other announcements from clerk@midlothianfriends.org. Please add this address to your email contact list or safe-sender list to ensure proper delivery. Look for updates on Thursdays and Fridays.
All emails from clerk@midlothianfriends.org are personalized with your name. Copies of the updates and announcements will soon be available on the website. Each email has an automated unsubscribe link at the bottom of the message.
Soon visitors to the Meeting House will be able to register to receive the Quaker Town Crier and other news from Midlothian Friends using an online form easily accessible with a link or a QR code.
In early December you will receive an email invitation to elect or decline inclusion in the Midlothian Friends Directory.
Circle of Friends Sunday, November 16, 2025
10:00 – 10:45 at the Meeting House and on Zoom
Selected reading:
It is only with the heart that one can see rightly;
What is essential is invisible to the eye.
– Antoine de Saint-Exupery
When I was about six years old I received an essential teaching from an old woman sitting in the sun. I was walking by her house one day feeling lonely, unloved, and mad, kicking anything I could find. Laughing, she said to me, “Little girl, don’t you go letting life harden your heart.”
Right there, I received this pith instruction: we can let the circumstances of our lives harden us so that we become increasingly resentful and afraid, or we can let them soften us and make us kinder and more open to what scares us. We always have this choice.
How do we cultivate bravery and kindness? Practice nurturing the capacity to rejoice, to let go, to love, to shed a tear. Stay open to uncertainty. Stay present at the times we habitually shut down.
What will happen to us today is completely unknown, as unknown as what will happen at death. Whatever happens, our commitment is to use it to awaken our heart.
Pema Chodron, from The Places that Scare You: A Guide to Fearlessness in Difficult Times
Meeting for Worship Sunday, November 16, 2025
11:00 – 12:00 at the Meeting House and on Zoom
All are welcome
Our worship is based on faith that human beings can commune directly with God. In expectant silence each strives to center inwardly; and collectively, each aided by the seeking and centering of others, the worship becomes a corporate experience. 2013 Resource for Faith and Practice, Baltimore Yearly Meeting
MFM’s Food Drive – please donate items from the list below!
MFM is collecting food during the months of November, December and January for donation to either Feed More or the Chesterfield Food Bank Outreach Center. If you can, bring something from the list below and drop it off in the collection box in the Meetinghouse kitchen. Brian McCutcheon and Lucretia Farago will make sure it reaches the donation center. Anything you give is very much appreciated.
Most Needed Items:
- Nut butters
- Canned proteins
- Canned soup and vegetables
- Canned fruits
- Tomato products
- Beans and lentils (cans or bags)
- Cereal (hot or cold)
- Pasta, rice, and whole grains
- Healthy snacks, dried fruits, and nuts
- Condiments
- Oils
- Spices
Low-salt, low-sugar items are especially needed. But please no glass containers (they break easily). Thanks!
CHRISTMAS Leaf Blow-a-Thon!!
Sunday, December 7, 2025 12:15 – 2:00pm
Midlothian Friends Meeting invites you to our Annual Leaf Blow-A-Thon, which will take place on Sunday December 7, right after meeting for worship ends around noon. We'll gather in the spirit of the Christmas season with our leaf blowers and rakes to clear the leaves from our grounds, and have on hand some extra rakes and tarps to use. However, do bring your own rakes and leaf blowers too if you can. And if a lot of Friends join us, we may be done in an hour or so!
You are welcome to bring any refreshments for yourself or to share with all present, if you want. And of course, any amount of time you are able to share with us during this event – whether removing leaves or simply sharing the great outdoors together – will be appreciated and enjoyed.
Peace and Light,
Claudia Farr
Clerk of Meeting
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