June 28, 2024, 10:00 Christian Meditation Center
Query:
What is the role of Quaker silence in my life, during meeting for worship and at other moments and times?
Background:
“When you come to your meetings…Do you gather together bodily only…Or, rather do you sit down in the True Silence, resting from your own Will and Workings, and waiting upon the Lord…until the Lord breathes life into you, refresheth you, and prepares you….?”
William Penn, 1678, SEYM, Faith and Practice, 2013, p. 13
“I have never lost the enjoyment of sitting in silence at the beginning of meeting, knowing that everything can happen….The Light can come from all sides. The joy of experiencing the Light in a completely different way than one has thought it would come is one of the greatest gifts that Friends’ meeting for worship has brought me.
Ursula Franklin, 1979, SEYM, Faith and Practice, 2013, p. 15
Silence…
“leaves a space for the Other to come in….”
“is not a void, it is full of expectation.”
“is the quieting of the daily mind.”
“is a tool.”
Various voices, on silence, QuakerSpeak, 2014
May 24
Query:
How does God call me to be a steward of our shared resources? How can I walk gently on the earth?