You are most welcome to come and worship with us in the Friends Meetings of Burlington Quarter.
What can you expect as a first time visitor:to a Quaker Meeting?
We gather at the appointed time, and you are welcome to sit almost anywhere in the meetinghouse. The raised benches, called "Facing Benches", acros the front of many Meetinghouses, are usually used by the member of the Meeting who is responsible for opening and closing the Meeting for Worship. Our Meetings for Worship are held in silence, as is the tradition in our type of worship, called "unprogrammed". Out of the silence, some may be divenly inspired to rise and speak. Worship also talks place in the silence, as individuals use the time to pray, reflect, or for other purposes, as each feels is appropriate.
After a period of time, usually about an hour, a designated member of the Meeting will turn and shake hands with the person next, and everyone in the room also shakes hards with those around them, and Meeting for Worship is over. It is a simple and uncomplicated process to describe, but if it is the right form of worship for an individual's life, it can be profound and moving.
