Caln QM - Paul Brown Letter

This is a fascinating letter written by the Ministers and Elders of the Caln Quarter to the children of the Caln Quarter. It was most likely written in the 1920's, when there were only two monthly meetings: Downingtown and Coatesville. This was made available by the late Paul Brown, from Downingtown monthly meeting.

To the Children of Caln Quarterly Meeting

Dear children;

We want to tell you something of our interest in and love for you. It is always a very real help and pleasure to us when you can come to our meetings and worship with us. Your young and happy faces do us good.

You have all learned before this that it is not really a necessity In order that we may have what we term “a good meeting” to have some one or more to speak to us. Each of our Monthly Meetings, the one at Downingtown and the one at Coatesville are often silent meetings. It is good to have messages given in our meetings but it is equally good and beautiful when we can sit down in perfect quiet for an hour or less, and each one commune for herself or himself with our Heavenly Father in our own hearts. The whole meeting can feel this communion and we can say to ourselves and to one another when the meeting is over, “It is good to have been here". We want you to feel that you are a very important part of our meetings. You must remember that some day you will be taking our places in our business meetings as well as in the meetings for worship.

We are very happy in the thought that you seem to love to come to the Bible School and we are even more gratified when we see you coming into the meeting as your Bible Classes are closed for the day. Come whenever you can and help us to have good comfortable meetings. We can all ask our Heavenly Father to be with us and so to guide us that we may truly be His children. If we live very close to Him all the time He will teach us how to live each day so that others will see by our faces, that we are living in His care. Then we shall be able to help others to be happy and useful in this busy world of ours, not only on the First Day of each Week, but every day.

It is our life that counts. Not just one day each week but every day we want to know that we are His Children.

We are your loving and interested friends,

Ministers and Elders of Caln Quarterly Meeting

Rebecca F. Evans Anne Zook

Gulielma Smith Laura T. Edge

Susan S. F. Goodwin Howard Y. Pennell

Frank H. Goodwin Ellis Y. Brown*

*The Elder identified below as Ellis Y. Brown may be Paul Brown, Ellis Brown, and Francis Brown’s grandfather.