My First Quaker Meeting

I can't believe I have let this blog go for so long.  The combination of perfectionist and ADD sufferer has gotten the better of me.

I wanted to reflect on a Quaker meeting I attended a few weeks ago.  As I have said before, one of my goals for my time in seminary is to experience a real breadth of worship experiences.  At the meeting I attended there was a disruption which I will discuss at the end.  First, I want to just describe the overall meeting experience.

The meeting I experienced (they are called meetings, not service or worship) was an unprogrammed meeting.  My friend Deb and I arrived at the meeting location (the meeting was held at a school in a multi-purpose room) and entered the room in silence.  The space was set up with three rows of chairs formed in a circle similar to the picture above.  Two women were sitting together in silence with their eyes closed.  Deb and I took our seats in the middle row of chairs and sat quietly opening our hearts and minds to the presence of the spirit.  People continued to come in and the meeting ended up with about 40 or so members. 
We sat in silence for at least 20 minutes.  A woman stood up and asked for prayers for another member who was recovering from illness.  Over the course of the remaining 40 minutes I think two or three other people spoke.  The intention is that you only speak if you are moved to do so by the spirit and that what you speak are really not your words, but the words of the spirit speaking through you.  The time was peaceful, spiritual and I felt very connected to God as well as the people around me. 
At the end of the meeting, came introductions and announcements.  New people were invited to share a little about themselves and after I introduced myself many in the congregation welcomed me. 

I mentioned above that there was a disruption.  The first person to speak, before the woman with the prayer request, was a woman who seemed confused.  She started by stating her name and social security number said she was concerned about her children.  After 10 or 20 seconds of her speaking it became obvious that she was likely mentally ill or something.  It seemed that her children were not in her custody and she was concerned about their schooling and sexual harassment in schools and a few other things that have slipped my memory.  She sat down after a few minutes and then when no one said anything, as is custom in a Quaker meeting, she stood back up and said she didn't know what to do and she left. 
The woman was obviously frustrated, scared, confused and in need of some guidance.  I sat there and wondered if I should follow her and explain why no one spoke to her.  But being the guest at the meeting I was afraid to be disruptive by getting up.  After about a minute or two, a classmate of mine who is a member of the Quaker faith, left and went after her. 

This incident caused me to really reflect on the meaning of faith and the purpose of worship.  I keep encountering a common theme in my experiences and learning in seminary.  At what point to we put down the hymnals, and the scripture and do the work that God is calling us to do?  Are we too caught up in ritual to notice when one of God's children is crying out for our help?  I do believe that gathering as a community for worship is an important element in one's spiritual journey.  However, I strongly believe that it is how we live out that worship that truly defines us as spiritual beings.  As Bishop Flunder said in one of my classes, at some point "you need to close the gospel and BE the gospel."

After the woman left the meeting, and I realized my missed opportunity to at least be a nurturing presence for her, I prayed that God will continue to put these events and people in my path that I might learn to better recognize when I am being called to BE the gospel.  May we all see those opportunities to care for our sisters and brothers and not let fear or doubt get in our way of being God's nurturing hands to each other.