We Belong to Each Other
by Kathy Czekaj
Manasquan Meeting
"As God's messenger I give each of you God's warning: Be honest in your estimate of yourselves, measuring your value by how much faith God has given you. Just as there are many parts to our bodies, so it is with Christ's body. We are all parts of it, and it takes every one of us to make it complete, for we have different work to do. So, we belong to each other, and each needs all the others."
— Romans 12:3-5 (TLB)
When I read this passage, it brought to mind the fact that our Quaker meetings for worship, for business, and committee meetings in Manasquan, New Jersey, have been taking place in person and on Zoom during the pandemic. At first, meetings for worship were separate —with some of us meeting via Zoom and others meeting outdoors at the meetinghouse in a circle of worship on folding chairs in the burial grounds, weather permitting. Now, thanks to the technological expertise of some in our number, we are in a “hybrid” mode, with some of us in the meetinghouse, fully masked, and others still joining in via Zoom with a microphone and a large screen TV within the meeting house. All of us, whether in person or online, are necessary to make a "whole" meeting of our spirits and our minds gathering together in worship. It brings into focus an image of the whole being more than the sum of its parts and the Light shining ever more brightly as we combine our lumens of the Christ within into a "high beam" for each other and for our world.
The "different work” we have to do has been greatly enhanced by the technological expertise of some among us and the generous sharing of these gifts with our entire membership. Educational sessions held to increase our knowledge and awareness of racial disparities and inequality within our society have been of immense value. The "nuts and bolts" of the upkeep and improvement of our facilities have been able to continue under less than optimum conditions with the attention and devotion of so many of our members and attendees. The outreach we have been unable to accomplish during this time of social isolation is being well prepared for when circumstances permit. There are so many wonderful gifts being unwrapped and shared within and without these walls.
As we are reminded, "O, the book, it will perish, and the steeple will fall, but the Light will be shining at the end of it all. Walk in the Light, wherever you may be!" It doesn't really matter if we are in a physical building or not, the Light is "wherever you may be!"
Respectfully submitted by Kathy Czekaj, a longtime attender at Manasquan Religious Society of Friends, my friends, the Quakers.