Like many newcomers, Jessica Moore of Silver Spring, MD, felt a bit out of place when she attended her first meeting of The Wednesday Morning Group (WMG) four years ago. “It’s just that feeling everyone gets in a new situation where everyone seems to know everyone else,” she remembers. “Fortunately, the awkwardness didn’t last long. Everyone made me feel welcome, and I always enjoyed the speakers - whatever the topic.”

But Moore wanted a way to get to know more of the group. When the treasurer position opened, she volunteered. Moore became chair this past year and started a mentoring program where one longtime member is partnered with a new person to take under his or her wing, making introductions and acclimating the person to the group. “Our members come from D.C., Maryland and Virginia. We have a male member, and several retired women have joined,” says Moore.

As WMG kicks off a new year of lectures on travel, health and fitness, current events, politics and more, the organization is accepting new members. Guests are always welcome.

"You get out of the group what you put into it,” Moore says. “We ask that participants bring snacks at least twice a session and attend at least nine meetings a session. Parents who are part of the baby-sitting co-op volunteer regularly. My oldest daughter always looked forward to what she called ‘snack time.’” Moore has two daughters—Emma, eight, and Kate, four. She’s expecting her third child in October and has returned to work part-time. “Women are given so many choices today in combining work and family,” she says. “That’s fantastic! When your fi rst child is born, you don’t realize at first how hard it’s going to be to do both. There’s always a deep love for your children, and it especially pulls at you when you are away from them.”

Everyone involved with The Wednesday Morning Group finds much value in it. But members are divided on whether a similar group could exist outside Bethesda. A regular meeting place is crucial, then a time commitment and having access to speakers. “All it takes is a few people to get the ball rolling,” says Bonnie Beavers, a lawyer and executive director of the National Association of Free Clinics. When she was involved with The Wednesday Morning Group, she served as newsletter editor.

Peg Peterson of Kensington, MD, was a former chair of The Wednesday Morning Group since its formal organization in the fall of 1963. A lot has changed. “At that time, the church had no nursery school for children under three, so we all took turns helping with child care and meeting responsibilities. Together, we all found speakers.” One gardening expert told his wife about the group, and so WMG gained another member.

Today, a WMG speaker attracts an audience of 70 to 80 people. When Peterson was active in it, the audience was 35 people, and they had a speaker one week and then a discussion, which brought everyone closer. She remembers that stay-at-home moms often felt even more isolated though they were very busy.

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