The very core of our spiritual life together was sharply questioned as we re-examined why we came together to worship and the place of vocal ministry in our lives. Merely reaffirming established Quaker beliefs, practices and writings was not sufficient...we needed to share our concerns, fears and hopes. There was much growth as we did so.

On a broader front, the spiritual growth of the Meeting was fostered especially through its active First Day school program that reached more than twenty-five young people (whose ages ranged from the newborn to the high school students) and many adults who taught, cared, listened, answered awkward questions, watched a Christmas program, listened to a poem in sharings after Meeting for Worship and...and so much more! We made paper cranes when Jan Greene, New York Yearly Meeting Field Secretary, visited and sent them to Russia via Purchase Quarter. There was some outreach, some exploration of Religion for a Small Planet, some exploration of our Biblical heritage and a strong commitment to the power of love.

Two of our four new members in 1984 came from the high school section of the First Day School -- one in particular being moved to write his formal letter of application after hearing Yoon-gu Lee (of Scarsdale Meeting) speak after Meeting for Worship on "Two Koreas."

NYYM Secretary Joe Vlaskamp was another visitor. He not only saw the muddy, pot-holed parking lot (and was glad he came on a good day), but also participated in a discussion on ministry and worship sharing. Visitors in many different ways enhanced our meeting.

A clear sense of commitment to the Meeting was evidenced in the adoption of an increased operating budget of over $18,000, together with a capital budget of over $10,000, to be funded from contributions over a two year period. That we would borrow in confidence to fund a long overdue capital program dramatizes the "solid feeling" referred to earlier without detracting from the challenge that the program represents. At year end the budget had essentially been met and we expected to be staying on the set course in 1985.

Our outreach expanded in 1984. In addition to clothes, some fifty cartons of books were sent to the Black Bayou School in Mississippi. Two of our members were deeply affected by their visit to the school. The sewing group sent a remarkable number of baby clothes to the American Friends Service Committee, which forwarded them to Mozambique. We lent support to the Norwalk Shelter for the Homeless. Our direct personal and financial support for Margaret Mudanyi, the Kenyan Friend studying in this country, continued. As a result of direct letters from the Friends World Committee for Consultation and Hartford Monthly Meeting, we were made aware of the needs of two black South African men then living in Bridgeport having just come to this country. The response of the Meeting was comprehensive. The Meeting also responded at Christmas to two Bridgeport families and a Norwalk family. None of this was "committee" work. In every instance the efforts of the Meeting were aroused and channeled through a (different) key person usually with several key supporters.

Our outreach has also been musical, a direct result of three fund-raising programs that also served to bring us closer together. Music plays an important part in the lives of many of our members. Its connection with our worship was emphasized as the following thoughts were spoken about in Meeting for Worship and later, at the request of several, transcribed in full in the newsletter:

Before one is resurrected, one must die, and before one says something, one should perhaps say nothing...Silence is not merely given to us, we are nourished by it and this nourishment is no less important to us than air. We speak of living on air and love. I would modify this and say if we approach silence with love, music may arise." (Arvo Part)

Despite this outreach, we are not well recognized by the wider community for the "stands that individuals and the Meeting (have) taken on Friends' principles." Individuals participated in their local peace activities and in the Alternatives to Violence Program prison work. Nevertheless as a Meeting we were not recognized as a "peace center" -- a central resource for the advancement of peace and social justice. In part, this may be linked to our lack of connectedness with the "activities of Friends beyond the local Meeting." Our members did not participate in Friends' gatherings under the care of Friends General Conference or NYYM...nor even in general, in those under the care of Meetings in the Quarter. The inspiration derived from a wider association with active, committed Friends strengthens our worship and our lives...and keeps us from parochialism. Its absence hurts the quality of Meeting on a deep level. We are grateful that we could renew our spirit at conferences at Powell House and at the Meeting Retreat there.

As noted last year, we are a scattered Meeting -- it takes much personal effort to keep our lights uncovered! In part, our commitment to our families and to our places of work leaves us with too little discretionary time -- even for Meeting for Worship with a Concern for Business. We rejoice, however, in our gathered presence on First Day as between twenty-five and fifty-five greet each other with affection, worship and share animatedly afterwards. We are grateful to have over eighty "contributing units" (families or individuals). We enter 1985 with the expectation of continued growth.