Meeting for Worship

“Finally, remember that our manner of worship is ultimately a mystery under direction of the Holy Spirit. Each Meeting for Worship is a spiritual adventure, unique and unpredictable. Let us remember in humility that “the end of words is to bring us to the knowledge of things beyond what words can utter.” Isaac Penington, 1670“

“Meeting for worship is the primary setting for the fundamental experience of the Divine Presence. Early Friends took literally the recorded words of Jesus: “For where two or three are gathered in my name, there I am in the midst of them” (Matthew 18:20). They understood that the Light Within could be experienced without the help of trained clergy and liturgy by all who seek it. God spoke to them and through them in the silence. Any— and all— of them were ministers of the Word of God, spoken and unspoken. They chose a form of worship that nurtures the direct encounter with the Divine. Such worship centered in stillness has endured for over 350 years.

Each experience of worship is unique, and each worshipper approaches worship in a personal way. Friends understand that worship is continuous and each person who enters the meeting room joins in quietly, settling into the silence. In the deepening stillness, worshippers let go of thoughts and distractions, open their hearts to the Light Within and listen for what truth God might give them. Sitting together in silence has been called “expectant waiting” by Friends. Even in times of spiritual emptiness when unity and fulfillment seem distant, Friends find it necessary to be present with others in worship. Vital worship depends on a deeply felt longing for God.

Friends find that meeting for worship:

• Draws the community together out of our shared hunger to know the Christ Within and to care for one another;
• Clears a space in our lives for God to enter, speak, heal, teach and lead;
• Enfolds us in God’s infinite love and everlasting peace;
• Gives us grateful awareness of our profound connectedness to one another and the natural world;
• Opens us to repentance, forgiveness and guidance;
• Renews us and prepares us for service;
• Sends us forth with inspired vision and commitment.

As Robert Barclay observed:

And as many candles lighted, and put in one place, do greatly augment the light and make it more to shine forth; so when many are gathered into the same life, there is more to the glory of God, and his power appears, to the refreshment of each individual, for that he partakes not only of the light and life raised in himself, but in all the rest.

There is no guarantee, however, that the movement of the Spirit during worship will proceed smoothly and without difficulty. Each Friends meeting is encouraged to examine its spiritual condition periodically in order to reveal any obstructions to which the meeting is prone. (See Section VII. General Queries and Guidelines for a Spiritual Self-assessment of the Meeting.)

At the close of the meeting for worship, we shake hands in acknowledgment of our commitment to one another and to the Light Within; and we go forth with renewed trust in the power and reality of God’s grace and love and of God’s presence in the world.

Philadelphia Yearly Meeting Faith and Practice (2017 rev)