MIDWEEK Jan. 11: David Coletta and Jen Newman | Exploring Hybridity (Hybrid Event)
About this MIDWEEK practice
The ability to gather in a hybrid capacity — with people attending online and at an onsite location — has been tremendously important in connecting people over the last two years. Whether for events like workshops and lectures, for memorials and weddings, for worship, and more, hybrid gatherings seem to be here to stay.
But how do we deepen our practice of gathering in hybrid ways? Just like the setting of space for an event can be a spiritual practice, so is setting up our hybrid spaces. In this MIDWEEK practice, David and Jen will help us explore how to grow our spiritual skills around hybrid gatherings.
David Coletta, as a teenager in the late 1970s, came to Quakers through the NEYM Young Friends program, and volunteered as staff for another decade. Completing a first career in technology and yearning to focus on people rather than machines, he discovered that the pandemic created the ideal conditions for him to find that work. David’s leading is to serve Quaker meetings and organizations by exploring faithful use of technology that supports worship and community.
Jennifer Newman is a Quaker, theologian, writer, activist, and currently the Program Director at Beacon Hill Friends House. She holds a Master of Theological Studies from Vanderbilt Divinity School, and is a skilled facilitator of hybrid gatherings — for BHFH, as well as for New England Yearly Meeting, the Quaker Religious Education Collaborative, and Pendle Hill.
What is MIDWEEK?
In the Quaker tradition of Midweek (Wednesday) worship, Beacon Hill Friends House brings you MIDWEEK: Experiments in Faithfulness. This is a weekly, one-hour, facilitated spiritual practice with Quaker flavor and an experimental ethos. Each week, a guest facilitator engages us in a unique spiritual practice that is meaningful to them, and that we can bring into our own lives.
MIDWEEK is always free and open to the public. If you'd like to support this program, you can make a donation here.
Event accessibility (covid policies are below): Beacon Hill Friends House is working on making our historic space accessible to everyone.
Automated Closed Captions will be available for all participants (on Zoom and in-person).
Physical space: This event will take place in our Parlor, which does not have a ground-level entrance. Our primary entrance is up a flight of stairs. If you would like to attend this event but need it to be held in a different space, please indicate so on your registration. On the basement level, we have a single-user, all-gender bathroom with wall-mounted handrails and ample space for chairs and/or aides. We are not a scent-free space but tend to be low-scent.
Attending events in-person at BHFH
All MIDWEEK practices going forward are offered on Zoom and in-person at Beacon Hill Friends House. If you choose to attend in our space, here's what you need to know:
Covid policies: All in-person attendees are required to be up-to-date on vaccination against COVID-19 and to wear a mask while inside. We ask for proof of vaccination upon entering the building. Masks will be available for those who forget them.
Getting to BHFH: Use the address "8 Chestnut St., Boston, MA, 02108" for navigation. We recommend taking public transit to get here: We are a short walk from every transit line in Boston. If you choose to drive in, paid street parking is available on Charles Street (and on Beacon Street before 6 pm). We also have parking passes available for $9 to the Boston Common Garage.
