Annual Sessions has begun. Friends are joining from home. Yesterday was the first day. Everything took place online. Today will carry on the same. Some will come to Cheyney University tomorrow. Others will stay connected online or in other ways.
Friends joined together Wednesday afternoon for Enabling the Presence of Spirit at Meetings for Business. The session was planned by the Spiritual Formation Collaborative. They read from William Taber’s Four Doors to Meeting for Worship. They met in small groups and spoke about what helps them center and how they prepare to listen in worship for business.
That evening, Dr. Ayesha Imani gave the keynote. She read from Psalms 137 and Esther 4. She asked: how do we sing God’s song in this land and in this time? She said the song is not spoken. It is lived. She spoke about what prepares us to act and what helps us stay present when we do not agree. She asked: Who is calling you, and what are they asking you to do?
One of the earlier activities this morning was a Bible study at 10:00. Salvador Orellana guided a Lectio Divina reading of Romans 12. The passage connects with this year’s theme: Members One of Another.
In the afternoon, Friends with Disabilities will gather. Meeting for Worship for Business will follow. Friends will discern the proposed Guidance on Advocacy and Lobbying, along with other updates. In the evening, Friends of African Descent will meet for fellowship.
After that, Friends will meet for a Communities of Practice event. Each group will center on a different part of meeting life: worship, justice, learning, care, and communication.
