We welcome you to our meeting for worship.
We hope that you will find in it, as we do, Divine guidance, encouragement, the friendship of people who learn to seek God's will, and a deeper awareness of what Friends of three centuries have called, the Inner Light, "That of God in Everyone". Worship is a special time away from our worldly concerns in which we seek together, often in silence, for the strength to meet our problems and responsibilities.
The Meeting asks that you listen attentively, both to the remarkable harrnony of the silent waiting and to the ministry of the spoken word which may arise from the silence. We ask you to wait with patience and openess for an understanding of the Friends Meeting.
In the expectant stillness, there may come to one or another or us a message that he or she feels impelled to share faithfully with all.
It may be spoken out of the meditation in Meeting, an insight, a concern previously pondered, an upwelling of the Spirit, or a soul's cry for understanding. This is a result of most earnest seeking and is never casual or argumentative.
Courtesy, Quaker custom, and respect for others suggests that there be a period of silence following each speaker so that the message that has come through his ministry may be incorporated and appreciated by each of us present. It is not expected that you agree with or grasp everything which is said. Remember that even broken and imperfect words may spring from a deep place in the heart.
Quaker silence is not an emptiness crying out to be filled, but a disciplined and contemplative openess to the Spirit of God. "Be still and know that I am God."
Westport Friends, Meeting
Westport, MA
Query:
2. Meeting for Worship
Are meetings for worship held in expectant waiting for divine guidance? Are you faithful and punctual in attendance? Do you come in a spirit of openness with heart and mind prepared for communion with God? Do both silent and vocal ministry arise in response to the leading of the Holy Spirit? Do all other activities of your meeting find their inspiration in worship, and do they, in turn, help to uphold the worshipping group?
Faith and Practice, p. 211