November Query

Breathe through the heats of our desire
Thy coolness and thy balm;
Let sense be dumb, let flesh retire;
Speak through the earthquake, wind, and fire,
O still, small voice of calm!
(J.G. Whittier, “Brewing of Soma”)

• Meeting for worship is the heart of the Religious Society of Friends. Worship is our response to the awareness of God's presence. Go regularly to meeting for worship, including those times when you feel tired, angry, or spiritually low. Bring your joys, hurts, hopes and fears, and your awareness of the needs of other people. Are you unduly troubled by distractions? Can you let them drop away so you might sink into the holy stillness in unity with your fellow worshippers?
• Come to meeting with heart and mind prepared. How do you prepare? Are our meetings for worship held in expectant waiting for Divine guidance? Is there a living silence in which we feel drawn together by the power of God in our midst? What has helped you to find the quiet center and to hear the promptings of the Spirit?
• Do you attend worship clear of any predetermination to speak or not to speak, and expecting that worship will be a source of strength and guidance? Do not allow a sense of unworthiness or fear of not finding the right words turn you from a true leading to speak. Are you apt to speak too often, too predictably, or too soon after someone else has spoken? Do you receive the spoken ministry of others in a tender and understanding spirit, recognizing that what may not be helpful to one listener may speak to the condition of another? Do you take the time to reach for the deep meaning in the spoken ministry of others?
• Do you respond to the children's special needs during meeting for worship? When they are involved in separate activities, do you uphold them and those who are with them?
• Prayer springs from a deep place in the heart. Vocal prayer, though it may be expressed in imperfect words, can draw those present into communion with God and with one another. What helps you find that inner place of prayer?