Details
“God alone is able to strengthen us to dig deep, to remove all which lies between us and the safe foundation…
John Woolman
In earlier times Friends would often worship for hours fully expectant and deeply patient for the Living Presence to do its work in the gathered body of Friends. These gathered experiences were core to Quaker convincement, personal transformation, and prophetic challenges to the cultural behaviors in the places where Quakers lived.
Modeled on a 25-year practice in Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, we have begun these opportunities for NEYM Friends to experience a full day of Quaker worship. In April we will be holding our ninth such meeting, this time at Westerly Meeting.
We will gather in the Westerly Meetinghouse at 9:30 a.m. for three hours or so of expectant waiting worship. Three hours may sound like a long time, but Friends who have been practicing this kind of extended worship have often been surprised how quickly it seems to go by. Friends are free to get up and move around, to lie down on the benches, to use the bathroom, even to take a walk outside and rejoin the worship as led. Following the worship, we each eat our own brown bag lunch (beverages provided). After lunch, we will return to the meeting room for some worship-sharing about our experiences of the morning. We will close by 2:30 p.m. Friends are welcome to come for the morning only, to stay for lunch, or to stay for the whole day.
Optional Friday Schedule:
5:00–7:00 p.m. Light supper at the meeting house
7:30–9:00 p.m. Program on Exploring the Gifts of Eldership
Saturday
9:00 Tea, coffee, and light snacks will be available with an opportunity for quiet conversation outside of the meeting room.
9:30 Meeting for Worship
12:30 Brown bag lunch and time for a walk, relaxation, conversation, etc. Beverages will be provided.
1:15–2:30 Reflections on the morning experience of extended worship; closing
Jean Rosenberg, Middlebury Meeting, and Michael Wajda, Bennington Meeting, started these full-day extended meetings in May 2022 and are committed to moving them around the yearly meeting every 2 to 4 months, as possible. Michael and Jean are carrying this ministry under the care of an Anchor Committee from Bennington and Middlebury Meetings.
Logistics
- Please remember to bring your own lunch if you plan to stay beyond the morning worship.
- Overnight Accommodations and Friday Evening Program: There will be a variety of accommodations available for Friends coming from a distance. We will provide a simple supper and breakfast. We also are offering a Friday evening program focused on “Exploring the Gifts of Eldership.”
- If you would like Friday night hospitality, it is necessary to contact Ann Watkins at (860) 460-4928 or Michael Wajda at (484) 639-3356 by April 23. Knowing your estimated arrival time and whether you wish to participate in the Friday evening program will help us with our planning.
- If you could offer carpooling, please let us know.
- Parking: If the meeting parking lot is full, there is parking ½ block away on Crescent Street.
- Announcements: In order to allow us to hold the deep experiences of the longer worship, and the reflective time in the afternoon, we ask Friends not to plan to make announcements of other Quaker events at the end of either session of the extended meetings. The only announcements that we will make will concern the extended meetings themselves. If you want to share information about another upcoming Quaker event, we ask that you bring the information in printed form, which can be put on a table at the venue where we meet.
- Regarding Covid: Masks will be optional, and we will spread out in the meeting room. If on that weekend you have any symptoms of COVID, flu, or a cold, please do not attend.
Our vision is to strengthen Friends corporate yielding to the Living Presence in all our meetings for worship and business so that the Inward Teacher can fully do its work of abundant guidance and love. To register and for questions, please contact Michael Wajda ([email protected]) (484-639-3356) or Ann Watkins ([email protected]) (860 460-4928). We look forward to being with you in That Which Is Eternal.