Gifts to the Recovery Fund Now Doubled!

Progress on Campus

5/2/25

We wanted to provide you with another update on Pendle Hill’s recovery following the significant storm on April 4th. Your continued concern and support mean the world to us as we navigate the ongoing process of healing and repair. 

Now that we have completed the damage assessment, we are continuing negotiations with our insurance company, which has allowed us to line up several contractors to address roof repairs, electrical work on damaged power lines, as well as repairs to HVAC and fire systems in buildings like Harding House and Waysmeet. 

Thanks to the most recent round of work from our tree company, the trails are now 90% open with one detour around Wakefield and one near the maintenance building. Please continue to be mindful of signs and caution tape as you enjoy the trails. Now that major downed trees have been cleared, we’re finding that much damage remains in the still-standing evergreen trees planted by Wilf Howarth and the community in the late 60’s as a sound barrier during the construction of Interstate 476. We’re doing our best to prune and preserve what we can from this generation of planting. 

Further tree work is scheduled in the coming months to remove broken trunks, hanging branches in the overstory, and to grind selected stumps. Our grounds team has been digging impaled branches out of the earth and filling divots on lawns, and we look forward to receiving much-needed volunteer support at our Storm Recovery Volunteering event this Saturday.  

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Recovery Fund of $100,000 Needed

4/25/25

After weeks of assessing damages, talking with contractors and insurance agents, and balancing what we can accomplish with our own staff, we see that Pendle Hill is facing recovery costs of over $100,000. This is entirely unplanned and outside our capacity.  

However, this challenge is not bigger than we are. In fact, thanks to the extraordinary support of our community in the first three weeks, we’ve already raised over half of the needed funds! With the support of over 300 donors so far, including 8 Monthly Meetings and 4 conference groups, the Recovery Fund needs $41,000 to make this work a reality. 

The funds raised will pay our direct costs of recovering Pendle Hill’s unique environment of peace, tranquility, and simplicity. These costs include: the emergency tree crews on the day of the storm; removal and pruning for the 60 impacted trees; the insurance deductible and all uninsured repairs to buildings and equipment; arborists to assess trees that are still standing to determine if they will survive; replanting with 20 young trees and likely 40-60 additional saplings and native shrubs; and ongoing care and irrigation until the new plantings are established. Funding available after meeting these needs will be used to prepare campus for future storms by installing power generators, replacing outdated electrical wiring, and maintaining the health of the largest trees still in the arboretum. 

In the weeks ahead, we will keep you updated on what is happening on the grounds, as well as our progress towards the $100,000 goal.  

We can’t understate our gratitude for your support to cover these unplanned expenses. Every gift helps! 

For assistance talking with your Meeting about an organizational gift, please reach out to our development team (Jeff, Sara, or Cindy) at development@pendlehill.org. 

Plenty of work continues on campus. Check back next week for updates and pictures to stay in the loop.

Lend a Hand at Our Storm Recovery Volunteering Event

4/25/25

We invite you to join us for a Storm Recovery Volunteering afternoon on Saturday, May 3rd, from 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM right here on campus. This is a wonderful opportunity to connect with the community and directly contribute to the healing of Pendle Hill. Come ready to work alongside friends and neighbors as we continue to care for this special place.  

Registration is free and required. 

We continue to be moved by the outpouring of support and care from our extended Pendle Hill family. Together, we will not only recover but emerge stronger and more deeply connected to this land and to one another. 

Recovery Updates

4/18/2025

While we are still immersed in the early steps of recovery, we continue to learn the depths of what we’ve lost, and what it will take to bring Pendle Hill back fully from this disaster. But, the profound strength of our community’s spirit continues to reveal itself in new ways every day. Before we share progress updates, we want to express our deepest gratitude. 

Thank you for holding Pendle Hill in your prayers. Your cards, calls, emails and gifts are a lifeline. It cannot be understated how grateful we are to the over 315 people who have made gifts to the Recovery Fund, raising over $46,000, which is an amazing start to covering these unplanned costs. Your loving words about the trees, about grieving together, and your encouragement to rebuild and restore are sustaining us! Please, keep them coming! 

We are also deeply moved by the Friends Meetings who have offered special one-time gifts in the year ahead – a powerful reminder of the enduring support that has sustained Pendle Hill for 95 years. 

We extend our sincere thanks to Top Notch Tree Experts for their considerate scheduling of noisy work and their generous contribution towards the significant costs of the ongoing cleanup. And to Friends Fiduciary for their upcoming work retreat on Monday to assist with the restoration.  

As we navigate the way forward: 

• We await insights from our insurance company regarding building repairs.  

• We’ve consulted with roofing and arborist contractors for expert assessments, including the safest and most cost-effective steps for campus restoration, and for their ongoing evaluation of potentially unsalvageable trees. 

• We are still working to determine recovery’s full costs, which will become clearer as insurance claim information becomes available. We know restoring the arboretum to its full state will be outside of insurance coverage.  

The Pendle Hill board and staff are working tirelessly not only to address the immediate aftermath of the April 4th storm, but also to enhance our campus’s long-term resilience and safety. 

If you’d like to join us in our recovery efforts, please mark your calendars for a volunteer work afternoon on Saturday, May 3rd, from 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM for a tangible way to contribute to our healing. Registration is free but required. 

The journey to full recovery will require patience and collective effort, but we remain profoundly grateful for the dedication and interconnectedness of the Pendle Hill community. We will continue to keep you updated as restoration efforts continue.  

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Recovery Updates

4/8/2025

Friends, 

The weight of the past week has been heavy on all of us who love Pendle Hill. But the outpouring of love is sustaining us, and I am comforted knowing so many people across generations and geography are holding hands together in support of Pendle Hill. I want to share important updates about our first steps in what will be a long recovery process. 

Over the weekend, our Grounds Crew and volunteers had the chance to take a detailed account of the devastation on campus and are continuing cleanup activities from Friday. To date, we have discovered that a total of 52 trees have either fallen or sustained damage to the point that removal is required. We’ve also identified that Upmeads, Waysmeet, Harding House, Chace, Firbank, and the Maintenance Shop are suffering from broken windows, torn siding, crushed gutters, and/or critically damaged roofs. Thankfully, and miraculously, none of our historic buildings sustained irreparable structural damage. 

Now that access roads have been cleared and dangerous trees have been removed, we are focusing this week on working with contractors and our insurance agents to assess the damage to our buildings. It will be several weeks before we know the full costs of these repairs. As we continue to learn more through this process, we will share updates here as news develops. For now, we’d like to note that: 

• Campus is open. 

• Walking trails remain closed until further notice due to safety concerns. 

• Morning Worship Service is available daily again both online and in person.  

• We are not organizing volunteer teams yet, but we will have opportunities available in the future. 

The incredible support from this community has been essential to getting us through the last week. In the first four days since the storm, the Recovery Fund raised over $35,000, which covered the costs to the contractors and emergency crews on Friday’s initial cleanup as we rushed to restore access and make campus safe for guests again. At this moment, the full costs to plant new trees, remove the rest of the damaged trees, and begin uninsured repairs are not yet known. Donations to the Recovery Fund are our lifeline for these unplanned expenses, especially for the work needed throughout the arboretum to restore peace and tranquility to campus.  

Thank you for continuing to hold us in the Light, and please consider contributing to the Recovery Fund as you’re able. Though we discover new distressing details each day, I feel deeply grateful that Pendle Hill is being held by such a loving community. 

With gratitude, 

Francisco 

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“This is the most damage I’ve seen in my 41 years at Pendle Hill” said Lloyd Guindon, director of facilities and grounds, this morning in the aftermath of a devastating storm.  

Recovery Begins After Severe Storm

4/4/2025

Dear Friends, 

I write to share some distressing news with you about Pendle Hill’s campus. At approximately 4:00 this morning, a severe thunderstorm with hail and winds over 50 miles per hour struck Pendle Hill at full force. Over 25 trees have fallen, blocking roads and trails across the property, and causing significant damage to 6 of our historic buildings. Miraculously, each of the over 30 staff, resident students, and guests on campus were safe and uninjured. A crew of staff and volunteers immediately began clearing access roads while others activated the portable generator in Main House so people could gather and comfort each other, even as power remained out across the area. We are still assessing the damage, and there is an incredible amount of work ahead of us. 

For now, we want everyone to know these announcements:

• Campus is open with limited access only for residents, essential staff, and registered guests. The walking trails are closed until further notice. Power remains unavailable in many buildings, including the Barn and Firbank.

• Morning Worship Service will be open in person only until power is fully restored. We are sorry that online worship will be on pause until Monday when we can restore access.

• Guests and groups scheduled to arrive today and over this weekend are still welcome and have been contacted with updated arrival information.

I also want you to know that the community spirit of hospitality is still shining brightly at Pendle Hill. By noon, the kitchen team had found a way to make a lunch of rice and beans for everyone on campus. Candles were helping light the way in the dish room. Guest services coordinated adjustments for all the guests arriving later today to still have rooms and working spaces ready. Even as work continued into the afternoon, birds were singing to each other and to us as they perched in the branches of Mama Beech, who stood resolute throughout the storm. 

The grounds of Pendle Hill – recently certified as a level II arboretum – support, feed, and shelter so many living beings. We are as motivated as ever to restore this place in the most loving and sustainable way that we can, knowing that there may be areas across campus that remain closed for some time. The reality is that it will take significant work and financial support to make the grounds safe and welcoming again.  

Please consider making a gift to our recovery fund now to help.

The wind and the hail may have devastated the grounds, but no storm can darken the Pendle Hill spirit. Please continue to hold Pendle Hill and all the living creatures here in the Light. 

In Friendship, 

Francisco 

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