When to Speak in Quaker Worship
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- Опубликовано: 8 май 2019
- In Quaker meeting for worship, anyone can stand and speak out of the silence. But how do you know?
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Filmed and edited by Jon Watts: jonwatts.com
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Transcript:
Paul Motz-Storey: Quakers often say that there are some times that a message is meant for you alone and some times it’s meant for the meeting as a whole. For me it’s clear, because I am an introvert. I don’t like to speak in public and I get very nervous speaking in public. So if I don’t want to do it but I feel compelled to do it, then I know I’m meant to do it.
When to Speak in Quaker Worship
Melinda Wenner Bradley: How do you know when to speak in meeting for worship? The first part of the answer is that we are all invited to both be listening inwardly and sharing outwardly.
William Wolf: A big part of my Quakerism is trying to bring God into the worship. If there is God in all of us then any of us should be able to tap into that and bring that Spirit forward to the community.
Carter Nash: If you feel that you have been given a message from the Spirit, from God, from that love that is within you, and you have tested it to make sure it is from God and not your ego, then you speak.
Expectant Waiting
Julia Carrigan: The virtue of Quaker silent unprogrammed meeting is that it is inherently unplanned. Tom Hoopes, the religion teacher at George School, likes to say, “Your only job is to show up.” I think that really strikes a chord with me, when you can come into a space and all you have to do is be there. And that’s a lot, because you have to really be there and be present if you want to get the most out of your meeting.
Kri Burkander: We’re waiting. We’re not just sitting there, there’s a thing that we’re doing. We expectantly waiting. We expect something to happen. One of the great ideas about Quakerism is that we didn’t need an intermediary between ourselves and God, that we could have a direct, personal relationship with God and that’s what worship is all about. The idea is that it is God among us speaking through whoever is gathered.
Testing a Message
Pamela Haines: So when I’m sitting in meeting, how do I know when to speak? It’s a really hard one. I notice my heartbeat, and if my heartbeat gets going and doesn’t stop, that’s one sign. I ask myself: is this just something that I’m thinking about or is this something that comes from a deeper place? I ask myself: can I not stand up?
Melinda Wenner Bradley: We often talk about asking ourselves 3 questions as a test, as a way of querying ourselves and testing whether or not to stand. The first question is, “Does this message feel like it comes from spirit?” Does it feel like it comes from within? Does it feel like it comes from here (heart) and not from here (head). The second question would be, “Is this message for me or is it for others?” Is this for me to share? The third question is, “Is it for now or is it for later?” Is it something that out of the silence of worship, that out of this space together and this communal waiting, that I might share with those gathered? Or is it for some other time, is it for later?
Feeling Compelled
Ayesha Imani: For me, it’s when I reach that point that I’m shaking. I’m feeling like this has to come out because it’s something coming through me. And that it’s not about me. The speaking is done in community, and so it’s not about me sharing my thoughts. I think Jeremiah talks about fire that showed up in his bones and he just had to say something. A good practice is to speak when you feel that you have to, not simply that you want to: that if you don’t speak, you’re not going to be at peace.
Julia Carrigan: I know for me there’s like this buzz in my stomach. You’re shaking and you’re like, “Oh, I’ve got something to say!” There’s this link for me that’s spiritual to mental, mental to physical. I feel like the spirit comes into my brain and tells me to say something, and then my brain is making me physically need to stand up.
More: fdsj.nl/speak
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The views expressed in this video are of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views of Friends Journal or its collaborators.
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I feel this could be an inspiring video, even living outside the vincinity of Quaker circles.
Valuing silence, introspection and eventually speaking out of a connecting, loving spirit
I struggle with discernment because I've heard many messages that I felt were more about the individual than something meant for the meeting inspired by the Divine. Of course, this implies that I can feel the differences about messages. One thing I have found useful is that, if I push the desire to share a message down a couples of times and the desire comes back stronger, it is something that needs to be said. If I have a sense of peace after delivery of the message, that is a good sign I did the right action.
Does it ever happen that an entire service goes by without anyone saying anything?
Frequently in smaller meetings. Sometimes in larger meetings there is too much “popcorn” ministry when people do not listen to the Spirit but want to get a point over or want to discuss a previous ministry.
of course. Those are really wonderful meetings, oddly.
Does it improve the silence?
I find the silence makes me more receptive of the message. It encourages me to reflect on its meaning more deeply, as opposed to the same message delivered in the midst of an everyday conversation. So yeah, I think it does improve the silence . . . and vice versa.
The average Quaker meeting usually has an old brigade of middleclass bullies who determine what is and what isnt acceptable. True spiritual seekers quickly move on and go elsewhere as the bullies use this so called speaking to direct their egos to covertly direct the meeting to their purpose. If you listen carefully you can hear it in thede clips, as they try to justify why their words are so important. I guess this creator God of a Universe 16 billion light years across has not yet found a way of speaking to people other than through the utterings of a few middleclass people in a Quaker meeting.