- Getting to Know our New Presiding Clerk, Marcia Nelson
- Reflections on the Women and Gender Minority Retreat as a First Time Attendee
- Quake That Rocked the Midwest
- Blue River Quarterly Meeting Celebrates 200 Years
- Queries on Clearness and Support Committees
Pam Kuhn, Among Friends co-editor and member of Lake Forest Friends Meeting
The Continuing Committee approved Marcia Nelson as Presiding Clerk of Illinois Yearly Meeting beginning at the rise of Annual Sessions, 2019. Marcia is a member of Downers Grove Monthly Meeting.
Marcia started coming to Annual Sessions in the early 1990s when her children were little. She remembers the sandbox worship group. The children played in the sand, while the parents (in this case, mothers) sat in a surrounding circle and answered queries or discussed their Quaker spirituality. At the heart of this group was spiritual formation and the building of deep spiritual friendships. These parents supported each other during Annual Sessions and Marcia remembers that one day when her child was having a bad day, another mother took him under her wing, giving Marcia some much needed quiet time.
Marcia was the representative for Fox Valley Meeting in those days and she occasionally spent Annual Sessions teaching the children. She attended and was spiritually nourished by Annual Sessions for about 15 years. After that, job conflicts started to get in the way and she was unable to attend. However, a few years ago, she had a leading to become a chaplain. In exploring that career, she started going to Earlham School of Religion and she reconnected with the Illinois Yearly Meeting as part of her spiritual base. This time, she attended the business sessions as well as the other activities.
Being a part of Illinois Yearly Meeting over the years has helped Marcia to meet Quakers outside of her own monthly meeting. When she moved and she realized that it would be much easier to get to Downers Grove Meeting instead of Fox Valley. Already knowing some Friends at Downers Grove facilitated the move, not only because she knew their names, but because she had a broader understanding of Quakerism that extended beyond the way Fox Valley did things. She also found that being a newcomer in two meetings has given her insight to what other newcomers may be experiencing.
Marcia’s impression of Illinois Yearly Meeting today is that it is a healthy meeting. The committees are functioning well and she is looking forward to hearing more about that work including the successes and the challenges. She welcomes copies of committee minutes. She remembers serving on committees in the past and how it was a place to sink her roots. At the same time, she recognizes that the reports are pieces of the picture of the yearly meeting. Annual Sessions is the time when we put together an overview of where are we now.
She is looking forward to getting to know everyone at Annual Sessions. She recognizes that people come for different reasons. However, whether it is for meeting together in worship or business as a larger group or fellowship for children as well as adults, she hopes that everyone will find the spiritual nurture that she as experienced at sessions.
