Daily Extended Meeting for Worship

Workshop # 13
Jorge Arauz and Ruth Pauly

This is an opportunity to gather in worship, and entrust ourselves to the ministry of the Holy Spirit. God is here to teach, nourish and heal us. Embracing early Friends’ heritage of radical faith, we surrender into divine communion to be restored and transformed in God’s infinite love.

Percentage of time:
Worship 100
(PT)

Open to all

We meet for worship after the traditional (unprogramed) manner of Friends, with the simple purpose of waiting in the Light and opening our souls to God’s love.

Some of our hopes for our daily extended meeting for worship are:
- To offer a meeting place for Friends at the Gathering who feel led to dedicate their mornings to divine adoration, free from the time strictures that normally surround corporate worship in modern days.
- To provide Friends with a source of mutual support and encouragement, as we come together as a worshiping community, willing to “wait” and give sustained attention to God’s presence in our souls and lives.
- To provide a grounded, centering space, where any Gathering Friend may retreat for quiet and spiritual solace during morning workshop hours, as needed.
- To have an opportunity for us, today’s Friends, to savor that power of Quaker worship that is felt when time boundaries are loosened and a larger space for experiencing God’s presence is created, which early Friends knew well.
- To be a community of devotion where the larger Gathering can be held in the Light, including particularly the workshops offered at the same time as daily extended meeting for worship.

A list of the specific areas or topics that you expect to cover.

Meeting for worship takes place in an attitude of radical trust in God’s desire and power to provide us with what we need, collectively and individually, responding to our conditions and leading us into healing, growth and transformation.
Sitting in silence, waiting in the Light, in humble dependence on God’s grace, can be a test courage and faith.  We may fear getting lost, overcome by the wilderness or the stormy sea.  But, as we venture beyond the safety and assurance of our organized, planned activities, surrendering our cares and putting our entire trust in God’s direct ministrations, we encounter fullness of life, love and peace.  We are met with the tender embrace of our Mother/Father, who was always there, waiting for us, guiding our way home.

Format:

We spend all of our time together in worship, leaving some minutes at the end of each morning for introductions and for any informal personal sharing that Friends may want to offer.  

Meeting for worship continues uninterruptedly throughout the morning, without formal break time in the middle of it.  However, Friends are encouraged to quietly take care of their needs, leaving and reentering the room as appropriate.  While most of us sit on chairs or sofas, Friends are also free to lie down or otherwise change their positions, to provide for an appropriate level of comfort for their bodies.

Specific recommendations for advanced reading:

There is no required reading.  Still, Friends are encouraged to read any of the early classic Quaker writings, such as George Fox’s Journal and Epistles, and the writings of Isaac Pennington.  There is a selection of Quaker writings under the title of Quaker Spirituality, Selected Writings, edited and introduced by Douglas Steere (The Classics of Western Spirituality series).  

Other resources are:  

- Robert Barclay’s Apology, propositions 10 (on ministry) and 11 (on worship)
- William C. Braithwaite’s The Beginnings of Quakerism, particularly chapter IV (The People in White Raiment)
- Four Doors To Meeting For Worship, by William Taber, Pendle Hill Pamphlet 306
- Prophetic Ministry, by Howard Brinton, Pendle Hill Pamphlet 54
- Testament Of Devotion by Thomas Kelly
- Worship After The Manner Of Friends, by Norval E. Webb, John Woolmam Press, Inc. 1963
- On Speaking Out Of The Silence, Vocal Ministry In The Unprogrammed Meeting For Worship, by Douglas V. Steere, Pendle Hill Pamphlet 182
- Invitation To A Deeper Communion, by Marcelle Martin, Pendle Hill Pamphlet 366
- Quality And Depth Of Worship And Ministry, by The Committee On Eldership And Oversight of Britain Yearly Meeting
- Shaped By The Light, The Quaker Experience Of Worship, Community And Transformation, by Michael Wajda And Alison Levie (Most, if not all, of these materials, can be obtained through the FGC bookstore.)

There are also very helpful resources on the web, with important texts about Quaker history and Quaker worship, some out of print, such as:
    www.qhpress.org
    www.quakerinfo.com
    www.strecorsoc.org