By Shari Castle PhD Quaker House Steering Committee Member
An old folk song says that the “world is always turning toward the morning.” As I sit here in wintery Chautauqua, I think about how the world is always turning toward the summer season.
Here on the Chautauqua grounds, I’m in my cozy winterized condo having just checked on our family summer cottage. Its porch is covered with its winter tent. The Quaker House has its winter tent on as well. Both are locked up tight, electricity is off, and pipes are drained.
This is the Chautauqua of snow, Christmas lights, a boat-dock free lake shore, covered organ pipes in the Amp, and year-round residents walking around in scarves and boots. The bookstore, library, post office, and cafe are open, but on winter hours. Quiet and serene compared to the hustle and bustle of the summer.
Chautauqua is about renewal. Renewal in all seasons. In the summer, we experience renewal through learning, growing, connecting, and activity. In the winter, Chautauqua is about rest, quiet preparation, and anticipation. Restful renewal that prepares us for the active renewal of the summer season.
Quaker House too is at rest. We rest, plan, anticipate. We look forward to new and returning faces, new themes and programs, new conversations and connections, new opportunities for spiritual, intellectual, and social renewal at the intersection of the Quaker House and Chautauqua Institution.
It’s never too early to start planning for the next Chautauqua season. Themes have been announced, programs are being prepared, and Quaker House registration for guest rooms is OPEN. We are beginning to plan, and we hope you are, too.
For now, we are happy to rest. At the same time, we are happy that the world is always turning toward the Chautauqua summer season.
