Worship and Beliefs
QUAKER WORSHIP
Come in and sit where you like. No matter what is pressing on your mind, bring it into our Meeting for Worship. You may find it easy to relax in the silence. Or you may be disturbed by the strangeness of the silence, by distractions outside, or by your own roving thoughts. Do not worry about this, but return again and again to the still small center of your being, where you can know the presence of the Inner Light.
During our silent worship, at intervals, individuals may be moved to share their spiritual insights aloud. This kind of vocal ministry is welcome from anyone present. Brief message can carry deep meaning, reaching many others. After someone has spoken, we allow sufficient time in silence for the Meeting to understand the meaning and spirit behind the words.
Worship lasts about an hour and is closed by a designated person when they turn to their neighbor and join hands. It is customary for all of us to do this, too. After Meeting for Worship, we share insights that didn't rise to the level of worship. Then we gather for friendly socializing so that members, attenders and visitors can become better acquainted with one another.
"And so I find it well to come/For deeper rest to this still small room,/For here the habit of the soul/Feels less the outer world's control:/The strength of mutual pupose pleads/More earnestly our common needs:/And from these still forms on either side,/The world that time and sense have known/Falls off and leaves us God alone".
John Greenleaf Whittier
QUAKER BELIEFS
Quakers recognize "that of God in everyone" or the "Inner Light". We feel that open, unplanned worship, at its best, can foster that relationship with God. We find that this individual experience of worship is deepened when it is shared with others.
Moral truth, and the power to act on that truth, arise from the Inner Light, which itself comes from God. It is a source of grace and illumination, leading our many diversities toward harmony, not only within the worshipping community, but in our relations with everyone around us.
Quaker testimonies on peace, community, simplicity, integrity and equality express this fundamental belief in the power and authority of the Inner Light in human affairs.
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