Meeting for Worship for Healing and Laughter

Workshop # 25
Richard Lee

This workshop is filled with all of the possibilities of the movement of the Spirit. We begin by looking at the healing tradition of early Friends.  Also, we will look at healing in Mennonite and Amish communities. There are plenty of opportunities for fun and laughter. Laughter is healing!

Percentage of time:
Worship/worship-sharing 20; Lecture 20; Discussion 20; Experiential 40
(PT)

Open to all

For the summer of Gathering 2008, my objective is that workshop participants experience and have enough information to conduct a Meeting for Worship for Healing in their home communities.  I also hope to root Friends in this early tradition.  I also anticipate a week full of joy and laughter as we work on the stress and strains that many Friends have as they enter the Gathering.

Increasingly it is clear from the evaluations that the laughter piece is very important.  Many Friends are at “burnout” or “near burnout.”  The laughter piece is therefore something that is vital to many Friends and an increasingly important piece of the workshop.  It is also a lot of fun!

The workshop will begin with silent worship.  The first part of the week will consist of information on the early history of healing among Friends.  There are lots of handouts, but they are for use after the Gathering.  There are no homework assignments.  If there are Friends who are knowledgeable about any of the work that we do, these folks are encouraged to share their expertise.  I am a firm believer in utilizing the various gifts that Friends possess.  In the past we have learned about Tai Chi, Qui Gong, guided meditation, energy work, color therapy, sound healing, message and a lot of other modalities.

Often we do a group outdoor exercise such as a circle dance, labyrinth walk, nature experience or some other corporate physical activity.  This is a low impact sort of event.  It is important that as the week progresses to do some kind of kinesthetic learning activity.

There is no need to do advanced reading or preparation for the workshop.  It is always nice if Friends have some knowledge of George Fox’s Journal or his Book of Miracles, but this is not something that is crucial.  We will review both documents in the workshop.

There are opportunities for small group work and story telling.  Friends are also encouraged to bring with them their own special humorous stories or jokes.  I call Friends prior to the workshop to see if there are any special needs and/or concerns.  From these conversations, I sometimes ask a Friend to bring something or to share something that would be beneficial to us in the workshop.