Eclipse Visitors

Arkansas is in the path of a total eclipse of the sun only about once every 90 to 100 years, so it should not have been much of a surprise to see the Meetinghouse fill up with visitors to the area on the seventh. That started the month with a welcome burst of energy.

Present for Meeting for Worship on the eighth included Friends who had driven from: Norman, Oklahoma; Decatur, Georgia; Mobile, Alabama; and our very own Hot Springs, Arkansas. During First Hour, we discussed suggestions on forming an Indigenous Land Acknowledgement statement and found unity behind researching the history of Native peoples of our area more.

During first hour on the fourteenth, with the help of Libby and Cecilia on YouTube, Kelly taught us how to sing Dona Nobis Pacem as a round, something she fondly remembers doing with Ros Abernathy, Linda Capriotti, and other Little Rock Friends in the 90s. After worship hour we celebrated the 59th wedding anniversary of John and Tina Coffin with a vegan cake made by Friend Tommy. It was also potluck Sunday. Our Baton Rouge Friends said they will be back with us in September.

Later that afternoon, Friends John and Elise participated in the Pilgrimage for Peace. We as a meeting help sponsor this annual ceremony that commemorates all the people in central Arkansas who lost their lives to violence in the preceding year.

On the third Sunday, we worshipfully took care of business, and on the fourth Sunday John shared in great depth from his experience attending Yearly Meeting (South Central Yearly Meeting). The focus of the 2024 Yearly Meeting was "Being a Quaker Today: Nurturing Our Soul, Brightening Our Light, and Acting on Our Faith." John's enthusiasm was so contagious that three Friends present felt moved to commit to attending in 2025.

Spring is fully upon us, and some attenders have taken to cycling to meeting. Around the Capitol View Stifft Station neighborhood, yards are brightened by mounds of cream and butter-colored honeysuckle, coral, pink, and red azalea bushes, and tiny bluets in the grass.