Taking the Gathering Home with Us
By Bob Fetter
I have attended Gathering at nearly every locale (though not every year) since our family went to that last big Cape May Conference in New Jersey in 1966. The Gathering has always been a rich experience for each member of my family every time we have attended, and I have many wonderful memories. I am always reminded at Gathering, as I am in settings with Friends from other branches (our cousins in the Quaker faith) that, as Friends, we need each other.
Here is just one example from our family's attendance at the 1975 Berea Gathering. During that joyous week, our nine year old daughter Lizzie, who was being educated in Baltimore public schools, exclaimed: "I'm the only Quaker in my school, but there are thousands of Quakers in the world!"
Of course, the Gathering is not the world, but these annual weeks together with so many Friends provide inklings and specific guidance— as we prepare to take the Gathering home with us—on how we can live more closely in tune with the Spirit the rest of the year. In some years, following a Gathering, I find myself moving across a divide into a new watershed in life, with unknown territory beckoning. Usually this arises from the richness of a workshop, from an intense conversation with a Friend, or a plenary message shared. I have never forgotten one query from a plenary message brought to us in Ithaca in 1974, and still ponder during my times of quiet. To paraphrase it: "We Mohawk people know what we have lost, as we have been drawn towards the mainstream of the white man's society. Do you Quakers know what you have lost as the same thing has happened to you?"
We were still convening in Ithaca when in 1978 I made a commitment to help with Junior Gathering for at least ten years, and I have worked mostly with the three, four, five and six year old children. I learned so much from this continuing service, from my small spiritual guides' youthful insights and sayings, and by working with Junior Gathering staff and volunteers. As an unexpected byproduct, I became acquainted with young parents, who were and are on their own paths moving toward Quaker leadership. And with the passage of decades, it is a joy to read and hear of these children—now maturing Friends—making useful contributions in their chosen fields and settings.
At the 2006 Gathering at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, I served as Junior Gathering's Friend-in-Residence. Yet again I was reminded, while watching the truly dedicated Junior Gathering staff make a safe place for our younger Friends to thrive, how close that group of repeating volunteers can come to resembling a Quaker religious order. Lessons from Junior Gathering emphasize the importance of both "The Ministry of Detail" and "The Ministry of Availability." These are important to nurture not only within ourselves, but are also applicable in many settings including our home meeting communities.
I am grateful to the FGC Staff, committees, volunteers and other Friends of all ages and stages. I'm grateful too for all those good conversations in the meal lines, browsing in the Gathering Store (which is always a treat and an inspiration, even when we buy more than we planned), Sacred Harp singers and Broadway singing, and the contra and other dances, after which I find I often have even more energy for the next day. At Gathering, there is always more to remember and recall as manifestations of worship and prayer and joy and service, which sustains us as we take the Gathering home with us, hopefully touching our meetings in useful ways in the time that follows.
Bob Fetter is a member of Roanoke Monthly Meeting in Virginia; he currently attends Gunpowder Meeting in Sparks, Maryland near the Broadmead retirement community where he moved with his wife Susie in 2007. In addition to attending FGC Gatherings, Bob has served terms as a member of FGC's Central Committee, Advancement Committee, Christian & Interfaith Relations Committee, and Nominating Committee— as well as a number of Gathering Planning Committees.
