Being a Friend in Residence at Pendle Hill
Report on being a Friend in Residence at Pendle Hill, PA, Fall Term, 2024
In 2024 I was appointed by Britain Yearly Meeting to spend the Fall Term at Pendle Hill, PA, as a Friend in Residence. As an associate tutor of its “sister" centre, Woodbooke in the UK, I had known about it for many years, and had long wanted to go to this centre with its Benedictine values of worship, learning and labour. I was not disappointed. Although there were practical problems at the beginning – hot water, showers, laundry etc – and in finding out how things worked, it was a hugely enriching experience.
The campus and community
I have never lived in community, and was a bit concerned that I would find it difficult. But I need not have worried. I had plenty of private time and space – in my own spacious room, in the lovely library, and sitting in the sun outside. From the moment I arrived, the sense of community was palpable, and included me. As people walk across the 24-acre campus at different times of day, they wave at each other, exchange greetings.
The place is beautiful, and the Fall colours were a daily joy. Birds, squirrels everywhere, deer too. The hundreds, maybe thousands, of trees are truly loved, beings that surround the humans. Two ancient trees had to come down while I was there – one was dead, the other diseased. As a group of staff and I sat outside eating our lunch, we watched the awesome skill of the tree surgeons, as they brought one down, and grieved.
A difficult time
I was told that I had arrived at Pendle Hill at one of the most difficult times in recent history. Not only was it extremely busy – in September and October large groups arriving on a daily basis, with staff having to manage quick turnovers, food cooked for about 80 people at a time – but it was at the time of the build up to, and then the experience of, the Presidential election. And neighbouring states were battered by hurricanes.
And then there was an upset in the community itself. For reasons of confidentiality, I did not know about it for a couple of weeks, but then learned that there had been a personal sadness that had led to two senior members of staff quitting with no notice, leaving others upset and with a challenging workload. I thought it was always that busy, but it did all calm down after the first month or two.
Serving on my second central committee
Report on being a Friend in Residence at Pendle Hill, PA, Fall Term, 2024
In 2024 I was appointed by Britain Yearly Meeting to spend the Fall Term at Pendle Hill, PA, as a Friend in Residence. As an associate tutor of its “sister" centre, Woodbooke in the UK, I had known about it for many years, and had long wanted to go to this centre with its Benedictine values of worship, learning and labour. I was not disappointed. Although there were practical problems at the beginning – hot water, showers, laundry etc – and in finding out how things worked, it was a hugely enriching experience.
The campus and community
I have never lived in community, and was a bit concerned that I would find it difficult. But I need not have worried. I had plenty of private time and space – in my own spacious room, in the lovely library, and sitting in the sun outside. From the moment I arrived, the sense of community was palpable, and included me. As people walk across the 24-acre campus at different times of day, they wave at each other, exchange greetings.
The place is beautiful, and the Fall colours were a daily joy. Birds, squirrels everywhere, deer too. The hundreds, maybe thousands, of trees are truly loved, beings that surround the humans. Two ancient trees had to come down while I was there – one was dead, the other diseased. As a group of staff and I sat outside eating our lunch, we watched the awesome skill of the tree surgeons, as they brought one down, and grieved.
A difficult time
I was told that I had arrived at Pendle Hill at one of the most difficult times in recent history. Not only was it extremely busy – in September and October large groups arriving on a daily basis, with staff having to manage quick turnovers, food cooked for about 80 people at a time – but it was at the time of the build up to, and then the experience of, the Presidential election. And neighbouring states were battered by hurricanes.
And then there was an upset in the community itself. For reasons of confidentiality, I did not know about it for a couple of weeks, but then learned that there had been a personal sadness that had led to two senior members of staff quitting with no notice, leaving others upset and with a challenging workload. I thought it was always that busy, but it did all calm down after the first month or two.
Dots and commas at Yearly Meeting
Report on being a Friend in Residence at Pendle Hill, PA, Fall Term, 2024
In 2024 I was appointed by Britain Yearly Meeting to spend the Fall Term at Pendle Hill, PA, as a Friend in Residence. As an associate tutor of its “sister" centre, Woodbooke in the UK, I had known about it for many years, and had long wanted to go to this centre with its Benedictine values of worship, learning and labour. I was not disappointed. Although there were practical problems at the beginning – hot water, showers, laundry etc – and in finding out how things worked, it was a hugely enriching experience.
The campus and community
I have never lived in community, and was a bit concerned that I would find it difficult. But I need not have worried. I had plenty of private time and space – in my own spacious room, in the lovely library, and sitting in the sun outside. From the moment I arrived, the sense of community was palpable, and included me. As people walk across the 24-acre campus at different times of day, they wave at each other, exchange greetings.
The place is beautiful, and the Fall colours were a daily joy. Birds, squirrels everywhere, deer too. The hundreds, maybe thousands, of trees are truly loved, beings that surround the humans. Two ancient trees had to come down while I was there – one was dead, the other diseased. As a group of staff and I sat outside eating our lunch, we watched the awesome skill of the tree surgeons, as they brought one down, and grieved.
A difficult time
I was told that I had arrived at Pendle Hill at one of the most difficult times in recent history. Not only was it extremely busy – in September and October large groups arriving on a daily basis, with staff having to manage quick turnovers, food cooked for about 80 people at a time – but it was at the time of the build up to, and then the experience of, the Presidential election. And neighbouring states were battered by hurricanes.
And then there was an upset in the community itself. For reasons of confidentiality, I did not know about it for a couple of weeks, but then learned that there had been a personal sadness that had led to two senior members of staff quitting with no notice, leaving others upset and with a challenging workload. I thought it was always that busy, but it did all calm down after the first month or two.