When I first began this Meetinghouse Project, about a year ago, I had no idea what kind of journey I would be taking.  What a journey I have had!  I have seen some amazing meetinghouses and Quaker places of interest in Massachusetts.  I have learned a lot about Quakerism, about taking and editing photographs, and about editing a collection of photographs.  I have been to 25 meetinghouses, some empty, and most still in use.  I have taken over 7,000 pictures.  I have written 18 blogs, and still have six yet to publish.  I have found that I am not in love with writing and blogging, but that the feedback may make it worthwhile anyway.  I have learned to rely on a core group for editing my writing, and another group for editing my photographs, and yet another group for keeping me rooted in Quaker experience.  I feel pride that I can say that I am a Quaker.

I do not know who is reading my blog, but I do know that about 170-415 people at least touch each page.  That amazes me.  I know many Quakers read it.  I know people who do not know much about Quakerism also read it.  I know some people just want to look at the pictures and not read the blog.  Beyond that, I have no idea who my audience is.  So…. who are you?  Please let me know via comments on Facebook, contact on this blog page, or by personal email.

One of the things that bothers me about some of the blog postings is this:  for some meetinghouses, the blog photo matched my story, but did not really represent the Meetinghouse itself.  For example, I did not post a single photo of the Beacon Hill Meetingroom.  And Beacon Hill’s Meetingroom is very special and worth seeing.  And East Sandwich, which is such a beautiful Meetinghouse, had a blog and a picture that was more about my process than about the Meetinghouse.  So I will be rectifying this situation.

Currently, I am in the process of editing my collection of photographs from many to a few of the best of the best.  In a continuing process, I have gone from about 7,000 photos to about 150 photos, to about 70 photos, to a final 20-30 photos.   Will I have a collection of fine art photographs that will say something about Quakerism?  Will I have a set of documentary photographs that will tell a story?  Or will I have a combination of these two? I do not know.  Stay tuned!!  Many people have asked me about whether the photos will be in a book...that is possible, maybe, if I have the time, the energy, and the money to make a book.  To help in making that decision, I will need to have more information about my core audience, and how many of you there are.  That is where you come in.  Who are you? Should I go for it?  Would you buy a book? 

I am launching a Framing the Light: Quaker Meetinghouses Facebook page where I will post a set of photos periodically.  I will be showing more photos of each Meetinghouse, and I also will show some topics in more depth.  For example, the winching systems found in many meetinghouses are really interesting.  It would be fun to explore that photographically.  And I can now do that.

 I am asking that you go to the Facebook page, “like” it, and also sign up to follow the page.   I hope you will share it with others if you like it.  I am hopeful that comments and numbers of viewers will be helpful in deciding whether I should move forward on a book… You can find my page on Facebook by searching for “Framing the Light”.  If you are not a Facebook user, you can see the photos by clicking on "Meetinghouse" in the menu at the top of this page.  I hope you will find the Facebook page if you are able.  

 I am humbled by the feedback given thus far by comments on this blog page and also in person and by email.  Thank you.  Please keep the comments coming.  

Even though this is not a blog posting about a particular meetinghouse, I am still posting a photograph.  I picked this photo because it has become the header for my new Facebook page.  I used this photo on Facebook for a very technical reason: it is one of the few I had that fit into a horizontal rectangular space.  I had to mangle the photo a little bit to make it fit on Facebook, so I am posting the full photo here.  You can also see the editing changes that have taken place over the past year in this photo.  The original one is posted in Yarmouth's blog in April, 2014.   At most meetings I visited, kids' artwork adorns the walls.  This photo, taken in Yarmouth Meeting's Community Room,  is representative of a lot of the kids' work that I saw.  Much of it is peace related.  Peace is, of course, one of our Testimonies and is one of the bedrock core values that we hold.   

Yarmouth Preparative Meetinghouse