Comment by Howard Brod on 9th mo. 22, 2015 at 7:32am

Thanks Keith. 

I have found that expectant waiting worship helps to remind my ego that our heavenly heritage "is gifted in all things and in all moments".  For if I can glimpse it 'within' during the nothingness of silence; surely I can glimpse it in all of creation once I leave the meetinghouse - because it has witnessed to me that it 'just is'. This is what the early Friends discovered about their peculiar form of worship, and they used it regularly to transform their inner being as they witnessed to the world due to the continued inner presence of that Spirit.

Comment by Keith Saylor on 9th mo. 22, 2015 at 12:51pm

Howard. I'm trying to tread lightly here because I'm concerned I may be misunderstand. Please understand the response below is not meant to be argumentative or a denigration of your experience. I merely wish to share my experience not to suggest your experience and conscience should match that of mine.

Meetings for worship both programmed and unprogrammed have blessed me over the years and there has been moments throughout my life when I considered joining Yearly Meeting, however, I did not mostly because I knew I did not value outward Meetings and the Yearly Meeting. I've studied early Quakers (Fox and Penington mostly) most of my adult life. Recently I came upon William Rogers; he quotes many of the early founding Quakers who struggled against those other founding Quakers wishing to establish specific outward forms of worship saying basically:

"We will not be lead back into that which God has lead us out of." Meaning, many of the early founding Quakers de-valued outward buildings and processes and had no desire that they be established in outward forms. There are many who do not value the outward representations or similitudes of inwardly experienced Presence itself. In that Presence, and by the power of the Presence within me, outward Meetings and other forms are of no value. I know that "nothing of silence" even when a person is yelling at me because he or she doesn't like that a natural area is closed off to them because an endangered bird species is nesting in the area.

By the power of that inward Presence within me and actively illuminating my conscience and guiding my conscience everywhere and anywhere and in all circumstances I do not need to go to any particular place to worship. Silent worship happens right where I am. That heavenly host within me manifests in all things and nurtures and enlightens me in all circumstance. Worship is a way of being, it my Life. I have been lead out of dependence upon outward religious forms and practices and in all good conscience I am in agreement with many of the early founding Quakers who were of the same conscience. 

The message I share is tailored to those who have no wish to gather around outward structural forms etc, those who have come to know and experience Meeting whenever and wherever they may happen to be at any particular moment. There are those of us who have been lead out of a conscious anchored in and a conscience guided by outward forms ... period ... and into a conscious anchored in and a conscience guided by inward ever illuminating Light itself  without regard outward forms. Presence itself is our form and place and there is no other form or place before it.

This way of being is my joy and my hope. It is peace even in conflict. It is rest even in activity ... and on and on. 

Now, with all that said. I do cherish those moments when gathered in shared silent worship.

In essence, specific outward forms and practices are a hindrance or block overshadowing the active living of inward Presence itself ... that is, they are a hindrance to me because the Life they point to is already fulfilled and present inwardly and is foundation of my conscience. I have been lead out of religious structure and seek no other outward structure to replace it because inward Presence itself is my structure.  

Thank you for this place to "lay down my conscience."

Comment by Howard Brod on 9th mo. 22, 2015 at 2:20pm

Thanks for your words Keith.  I have no quarrel with them, and understand and appreciate them completely.  We should all be in such a place in every moment of our life.  This world would certainly be transformed.

Comment by Mike Shell on 9th mo. 23, 2015 at 9:00pm

Friends,

I'm coming late to this discussion, so forgive me for not try to address the range of concerns already expressed.

Howard wrote early in this thread,

my only concern is that our committees or group of Friends do not outrun the Spirit by assuming unity on a secular/activist action before we engage our process of (as you say) "testing each others leadings" through discernment with the whole meeting community.

I first crossed paths with Quakerism in 1970, during the Vietnam War, when I was pondering how to write my conscientious objector statement—given that the Lutheran Church did not as a matter of faith oppose all war.  In retrospect I am aware that many new people came into Quaker meetings during that era because of the peace testimony, as well as the prominent civil rights work done by American Friends Service Committee and other social action Quaker groups.

It was during the mid-1980s that I “rediscovered” Quakerism in the form of the meeting I eventually joined in Columbia, SC.  I clerked that meeting during and following the first Iraq War of 1991 (aka the Gulf War).  In the space of two years, we saw our attendance more than double with an influx of anti-war folks, many of whom became members.

Our good fortune was that Columbia Meeting was a mature meeting with a strong core of weighty Friends.  These Friends shared the Quaker faith that any leading toward collective social action has to arise from the prior spiritual centeredness of meeting for worship and of meeting for worship with a concern for business.  Columbia Meeting was therefore able to help at least some of those who came with their non-religious commitments to action to understand and to embrace this religious truth.

For many other meetings, though, this has not been the case.  People with profound commitments to action have come into the Religious Society of Friends and struggled against the seeming inertia of “doing business after the manner of Friends.”

My current meeting has been dominated since the Vietnam era with compassionate yet humanistically motivated folks who see the meeting as a social action organization. This meeting has floundered for several decades, because we cannot find our spiritual center.  Ironically, that means that we have not been able to unite in effective witness on social issues in our community.

How do Friends rediscover the intrinsic power of expectant waiting—even when their concerns are about painfully urgent social issues? 

I have not found a way to help me meeting with this.

Blessings,
Mike

Comment by Kirby Urner on 9th mo. 23, 2015 at 11:30pm

Greetings Mike --

I think it's a logical pitfall to assume the primary purpose of a Peace and Social Concerns Committee is to move the entire Meeting to take concerted action on this or that issue.  It may come up, that a business meeting is asked to consider some minute, but is only one of several functions such a committee might serve.

Think of PSCC as more like the Childrens Program, but for adults.  The Committee has a listserv and activists share threads, compare notes, meet in person, but as activists they have their own networks and projects.  it's fine if others in the Meeting choose to stay blissfully oblivious about what their Meeting activists are working on.

For example, the other evening my mom and I (she's on the Committee) went to the Unitarians place for a potluck with Iranian and Jewish communities to celebrate the Jewish New Year, celebrate the Iran Deal, and say to the world our communities welcome refugees.  Here's my blog post:

I would guess 95% of Quakers in Portland had no idea about this event.  Activists form a tiny minority usually.  We all know each other after awhile, and we come from many walks of life.

To take another real example, our David Chandler is all over Youtube as the conscientious high school math and college physics teacher who joins with a network of others calling for an updated narrative regarding 9-11-2001. 

He's on PSCC, and has presented Interest Groups at both the Monthly and Yearly level. 

Does that mean our NPYM Quaker meetings have now officially endorsed some particular view regarding the collapse of WTC 7?  No of course not.  Most Quakers don't even know what "WTC 7" means. 

That David is encouraged to present Interest Groups simply shows we have room in our Meeting's practice for activists like David to pursue their passions in a way consistent with Quaker values.  We give activists official recognition for their practice, without saying we go with or even understand their politics.  We each responsible for our own activism.

We have another woman who was falsely imprisoned for a number of years, then let go.  She wants to work on prison reform.  Does that require the whole meeting to pass minutes or engage in her cause?  Probably not.  Is she free to visit prisons and remark that she's a Quaker?  Of course.

Hosting a Peace and Social Concerns Committee is very like hosting a Bible Study Circle, which we have also do (it meets every Monday morning).  Both are regarded as integral to the life of the meeting and neither is charged rent for use of the building.

Advertising to the world that we have a Peace and Social Concerns Committee is not about anyone dominating the entire Meeting with their particular politics.  It's about institutionalizing and supporting the need and calling many Friends have to do work in the world.  More power to 'em!

Kirby

Comment by Kirby Urner on 9th mo. 23, 2015 at 11:32pm

For example, the other evening my mom and I (she's on the Committee) went to the Unitarians place for a potluck with Iranian and Jewish communities to celebrate the Jewish New Year, celebrate the Iran Deal, and say to the world our communities welcome refugees.  Here's my blog post:  

[ then I forgot the link to my Journal ], here 'tiz:

http://mybizmo.blogspot.com/2015/09/citizen-diplomacy.html

Comment by Howard Brod on 9th mo. 24, 2015 at 8:02am

Hi Kirby,

So it sounds to me that you have a PSCC that is very similar in nature to my meeting's Peace and Social Action Committee (PSAC).  These provide an outlet for support and sharing with each other varied actions for Friends at meeting to come together to pursue WITHOUT directing via email or announcements to all Friends in the meeting how they should vote or support political legislation (they don't assume that everyone in the meeting would support the same actions).  And if they as a committee (group of people) choose to take an action, they do so with humility that others may not choose for themselves to take the same actions, and this humility comes through in any informational announcements they make about their actions.  And when they think it is important for the whole meeting to speak, they honor our Quaker process by doing the hard work of gaining the 'sense of the meeting' on exactly how to proceed in the name of the meeting.  And by their behavior, 'others' who might not believe or feel similarly about particular political parties or actions, know that they are welcome to be part of your whole meeting community because it has been demonstrated to them by your PSCC that your meeting indeed believes there is 'that of God in everyone', and all Friends are therefore respected and accepted for who they are.

In summary, it sounds that your PSCC recognizes the fine line of being an interest group and being a mouthpiece for all Friends in the meeting (without first getting permission from the whole meeting community).

What an example of right order to all Friends everywhere!

Comment by Howard Brod on 9th mo. 24, 2015 at 8:07am

Hi Mike,

Your comment reminds me that many Friends on committees (or in a meeting position) regularly attend the committee meetings and do the business of the meeting - but seldom come to worship.  And this leaves me wondering how any committee/position can do the business of the meeting if they are not grounded as individuals in the spiritual life of the meeting through gathered worship.  Just 50 years ago such a scenario would have been unheard of.

Comment by Mike Shell on 9th mo. 24, 2015 at 9:45am

Good question, Howard.

My present meeting is so small that everything is "committee of the whole"...which means not much happens.

With my previous meeting, though, committees were healthy. All the members were regular worship participants. They would present reports and recommendations to meeting for business and let the whole meeting consider those proposals.

Mike

Comment by Jim Wilson on 9th mo. 24, 2015 at 9:49am

Hi Howard,

I have noticed this pattern as well, but I wasn't sure if it was widespread.  I mean the pattern of those who come to committee meetings, and Meeting for Business, but rarely attend Meeting for Worship.  For such people, it seems to me, activism is the priority.  My feeling is that they put up with Meeting for Worship but they have no calling to attend it.  Part of this is due, I think, to a lack of clarity about what it means to be a member.  And this lack of clarity is due in turn to not having the spirit at the center.  Still, I am puzzled by this.  If I were a member of a chess club and some of the members only showed up at Business Meetings and never, or rarely, actually played chess I would find that strange.  Anyway, thanks for posting your observation, it helps me to acknowledge that what I was seeing isn't just a particular Meeting's eccentricity.

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