SJQ on your Winter Appeal

On SJQ Winter Appeal Letters and Holy Days of Grace

Dear Friends,

Quakers practice, nestle into contemplation, and experience grace in all seasons. Every day is a Gift that brings Favor. As winter descends and a world quiets under its embrace, we are called to reflect in gratitude and action. This season of giving offers opportunity to remember to interbe in interconnectedness with all beings. to engage in acts of splendid generosity, exchange, mutual care. Within Burlington Quarter, we are blessed with rich legacies, vibrant projects, and spaces where the spirit of Quakerism continues to inspire. Today, we invite you to join us in nurturing  the Seed of Future Quakerism. Please give your grace to community; consider any of these three vital pillars of our community for your Favor and Gift:

John Woolman Memorial – Mt. Holly

John Woolman Memorial in Mount Holly, New Jersey stands as a lighthouse of simplicity. It teaches humility and truths through the historical recreation of John Woolman’s family and community. This historic site invites visitors to connect with the legacy of John Woolman, a Quaker whose life and writings illuminated the moral imperative of justice and compassion.

Over the past year,  Memorial hosted Quaker meetings and retreats, educational tours, and endless schoolchildren and visitors on topics such as indigenous relationships, anti-slavery movements, economic justice, and care for creation. It has become a gathering space for those seeking wisdom from Woolman’s life and inspiration for modern challenges. Your support will help sustain these programs, ensure the preservation of this sacred space, and expand its reach to schools, community groups, and Friends near and far. It is a living history museum.

Burlington Quaker Meetinghouse and Conference Center

Nestled in the heart of Burlington, NJ, the Meetinghouse and Conference Center bridges our past and future. The first Quaker Yearly Meeting in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware (precursor to Philadelphia Yearly Meeting), it was built with enduring Quaker craft like our faith. This historic building serves as a dynamic venue for worship, community gatherings, or events.

This year, the Meetinghouse welcomed weddings, concerts, social justice, environmental stewardship, and Quaker spirituality. It also provided space for interfaith dialogues, fundraising concerts and youth art exhibitions. Your contributions will help maintain this cherished landmark, support its evolving role as a hub for connection and learning, and ensure its accessibility to all.

Career Opportunity Development, Inc. (CODI) – Atlantic County

CODI’s mission resonates deeply with Quaker values: fostering independence, resilience, self-sustainability, dignity, opportunity, empowerment in the meekest and most vulnerable.. Located in Atlantic County, CODI provides vital services to individuals facing barriers to employment, including those impacted by disabilities, homelessness, or systemic inequities.

Through training programs, job placements, and wraparound support, CODI transforms lives of neighbors with psychological or developmental or sociocultural injury, offering hope and practical pathways to independence. This season, your generosity can help sustain and expand these life-changing programs, allowing CODI to serve more individuals and families in need.

Seasons of Giving and Reciprocation

Winter is a time to pause and recognize the threads that bind us—to each other, to the season of our ancestors, to the living world around us. In this spirit, we extend an appeal not for financial contributions but also for SPIRIT, shared energy, attention, and care. Every season is a gift.

Your gift to organizations in your Quarter or among Soth Jersey Friends this season will:

• Preserve historical sites like the John Woolman Memorial and Burlington Meetinghouse.
• Enable spiritual and educational programs that nurture the Light in all.
• Support CODI’s mission to empower individuals and build just communities.

We encourage you to reflect on the myriad ways we give and receive in due season: a warm meal shared and fresh fruits, thoughtful letters written, moments of silence held. Love in need. As Woolman himself wrote, “Love was the first motion.” Let us move forward our love, together.

“Honoring the memory and work of 18th Century Quaker Abolitionist John Woolman 1720 – 1772”

How to Contribute

Your contribution—large or small—makes profound differences in proximate neighbors lives.

• Online: Visit [Burlington Meeting House & John Woolman Memorial as Quaker entities. Career Opportunity Development, Inc (CODI) while not Quaker led; is deeply committed to enhancing personal, social, and economic independence of individuals with disabilities and disadvantages. CODI https://burlmhcc.org/  https://woolmanmemorial.org/  to donate]
• SJQ Project received suggestions from Meetings as appeals. Make a secure donation.
• By Mail: Send your testimony of support to persons, groups and organizations..
• Volunteer: Share your time and skills to support your local programs and initiatives.

This has been a season of shorter days and longer nights. Revelation can be unexpected. But, let us remember the Light that shines in every being. By supporting amongst your Quarter or across South Jersey Friends initiatives and proximity of care, Friends, you are helping to bring rekindling infinite Light in our communities and beyond. Together, we honor our creation, learn from our past, serve its present, build futures grounded in faith, justice, and love of all creation.

Thank you for your generosity, support and steadfastness in our Quaker communities; and with South Jersey Quakers. May your winter be filled with peace, warmth, and abundant blessings.