Teaching, Learning, Connecting
Peace issues brought Rachel Bedard to Quakerism, and spiritual nourishment keeps her active in Lancaster Friends Meeting today, after 25 years of attending.
Rachel grew up in a small town in northeastern Vermont on a ¼ acre lot that backed up to hundreds of0 acres of woods. Being the fourth of six children meant that she always had someone to learn from and someone to teach—and her interest in teaching is reflected in her involvement in First Day School.
Raised Catholic, and having attended Catholic school through 8th grade, Rachel had an interest in peace issues that brought her to her first Quaker meeting. The peace church focus was immediately appealing to her, and continues to this day at LMM, but there are other dimensions of our meeting that also make LMM a rewarding experience for her.
Spiritual nourishment is one of the most important. For Rachel, our meeting has become a centering point for her week. At meeting, she practices letting go of all of her random urgencies, anxieties, and plans for the future, allowing Rachel to recognize the Spirit and the spiritual values that underly her life. Sitting in the LMM community is a nourishing experience for her, especially because “I never know what will come forward – from others or from that still, small voice inside me. I especially appreciate messages that I know come from growth inside a person.” For Rachel, meeting is an opportunity to transform, step by step.
For Rachel, perhaps the most impressive aspect of LMM has been the generosity of members (and attenders) who bring their clear thinking to the community. For example, she says, some members plan events to share more about what Quakerism is, while others encourage the community to form monthly circles for support, social change, fun, or education on a particular topic. “Throughout my 25 years of attending this meeting, there have always been people reaching out and providing ways of learning and connecting. This intentional caring has been critical to our stability and growth as a meeting.”
First-Day School has benefited from Rachel’s involvement over the years. She loves and appreciates LMM youth and our young families who attend, which is why Rachel participated for many years on the FDS committee and continues to help out.
In recent years Rachel has been a member of Care and Council. She says, “I am best one-on-one, so my involvement with Care and Counsel fulfills me and has been my major work in the past decade.”
Rachel looks forward to more work with Care and Counsel and continued involvement with teaching and learning, concerning young and old alike, on future Sundays at LMM. What else does she think the future holds? “Joy, growth, pain, loss, devotion, friendship, love.”