 May/Summer 2000 (XXXVIII 3) |
ome to the 12th Gathering for Worship, Ministry and Eldering, Saturday, May 13, from 9:30 AM to 4:00 PM at Exeter Meeting in Douglasville, Pennsylvania.
You can't be a Quaker by yourself. We gather in worship, wait in silence together, listen for the word of the Spirit in the words of our friends. Individual experience merges into the corporate; in gathered worship we become something new. At the annual sessions of Yearly Meeting this year we experienced a gathering in the Spirit such as many members had not experienced in Yearly Meeting before. Our longing and reaching, offering and opening ourselves to God makes such gathering possible. Our supporting and nurturing each other takes us farther along.
The Gatherings for Worship, Ministry and Eldering are intended to foster this longing and opening to the Spirit, to support us in our calls to ministry of prayer, spiritual nurture and eldering, vocal ministry, service or radical witness in the world. The last several gatherings have begun with an extended period of worship. Most of us, unaccustomed to sitting for three hours in silent expectation, have been amazed at its depth. Following worship, we share lunch. We always have a plan for the afternoon, but are open to leadings arising from our morning worship. At the last gathering, at Woodbury Meeting (NJ), we spent the afternoon in worship sharing around the meaning for us of the revelation received by George Fox that Christ has come to teach his people himself.
Everyone is welcome at these gatherings, which happen about three times a year at varying locations all around the Yearly Meeting. Please bring a bag lunch. Childcare is available if you call at least one week in advance. For more information, contact Marcelle Martin and Jorge Aráuz at cityquake@aol.com. For directions to Exeter Meeting (located between Pottstown and Reading) call Ted Stokes.
Wendy Wells
Germantown Meeting (PA)
Last modified: Wednesday, February 18, 2004 at 08:19 AM