She’s not that far ‘up the road’ in a new home in Wilmington and we will still see her at Yearly Meeting, but that did not make the transfer of her membership any easier. In a word that has become common use over the past two years with COVID-19, Mary Ellen Krisher and her beloved Fred were, in every sense of the word, ‘essential’ to both the physical and spiritual foundation of Cincinnati Friends. It is with deep gratitude that we support her membership transfer to her ‘home’ Meeting, Springfield Friends.
Mary Ellen and Fred raised their daughters at CFM. Through the years they were part of so many changes, so many of them with Mary Ellen as our Clerk and Fred on our Board of Trustees. There was not an inch of ground outside our Meetinghouse or a light switch or facing bench or window sill that Fred did not know. His presence is still around us every time we look out a window, every time it rains and there is no water dripping from the ceiling, every time we sit in our sacred circle for worship and put our feet on the floor.
Jim Newby shares the sense of all at CFM with these words about Mary Ellen. “Although the phrase is not used very often these days, Mary Ellen epitomizes the words ‘Weighty Friend.’ Quakers believe that all persons are equal, but in terms of an understanding of Quaker worship and Quaker process, some are more equal than others. Mary Ellen is more equal than others!”
“Reared in a Quaker family near Wilmington, Ohio, she learned the ways of Quakerism in each phase of her growing years, and she has carried this faith with her throughout her life. She brought this wealth of experience with her when she became a member of Cincinnati Friends Meeting, where she served in numerous capacities. Our CFM Operations Manual is largely Mary Ellen’s project. Her service as Clerk of the Meeting is remembered as some of the best leadership that our Meeting has experienced.”
“Mary Ellen was on my Search Committee when I returned to CFM in 2016, as well as being on Ministry and Counsel. I am forever grateful for her wise counsel and her creative ideas for our Meeting. I know that she is a product of Springfield Friends Meeting, and I support her decision to have her membership transferred there. She is, however, greatly missed at CFM. I hope that via Zoom and on special occasions, she will come back and be with us. Until then, Mary Ellen, CFM holds you in God’s Light, and wishes you well in your return to your childhood home at Springfield Friends Meeting.”
