Meeting on the Grounds

My first attempt at holding a meeting for worship on the grounds of the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival was a success. The criteria were

1. I got to worship
   
2. I didn't miss Hazel Dickens again.

One other Friend joined me. It was a beautiful, sunny morning to worship in a meadow. I spent much of the time holding the other people all around us in prayer.

Two additional benefits of going so early:

1. We had great seats for the rest of the day - up on the little hill, with good sightlines and great acoustics.
2. Emmylou Harris did an extended soundcheck at 9:30, playing four or five whole songs. What a beautiful voice.

A side note is that when I explained to the man setting up his blanket next to mine that we were about to hold a Quaker meeting for worship right there, he looked up and said, "Quaker? My mother was a Quaker." A little later, he explained that she was an Iowa farmgirl and she was raised Quaker, although he wasn't. The Quaker connections are everywhere, all around us and we don't even know it.

I will do this again next year if at all possible. Mark your calendars now! There's no official word yet but I expect the festival will be October 3-5, 2008.

Here is the text of the little half page handout I prepared just in case anyone wondered what was going on. (No one did.) What do you think? What would you put on a handout about public worship?

Welcome!

You’re welcome to join this informal meeting for worship in the manner of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers). It is being held here in order to allow Friends to worship together and not miss any of the wonderful music here today. We expect to end around 11:00 am.

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Regular meetings for worship are held Sundays at 11:00 am and Tuesdays at 6:00 pm. For those new to Friends or unprogrammed worship, we offer an orientation to meeting for worship at 10:40 am every Sunday. All are welcome.

San Francisco Friends Meeting (Quakers)
65 Ninth Street, between Market and Mission, near Civic Center
www.sfquakers.org
www.quakerfinder.org

[other side]
Our meeting for worship, which is at the core of Quaker practice, is focused on the response of the human spirit to the call of the Divine. Worship begins when the first worshippers settle into the silence. This meeting for worship will end when the host of the meeting shakes the hand of another person seated nearby. At that signal, everyone may shake hands and greet each other.

You may find it helpful to close your eyes for most or all of the worship hour to reduce distractions and increase your focus on the presence of God among us. During worship people may meditate, pray silently, inwardly offer praise or thanksgiving or confession to the Spirit, or reflect on a passage from the Bible or other spiritual reading. In our corporate worship, we seek communion with God. We wait and listen together, seeking divine guidance or inspiration from a source known among us by many names: Wisdom, the Light, the Inward Christ, the Seed, the Word, Jesus, the Lord.

All present share in this process. At times an individual may be moved to speak, to offer a prayer or a message that has come out of the silence. All are welcome to do this. Listen to the ministry of others with an open spirit. If it is not God's word for you, it may be for others. After a message has been given, allow time to ponder its meaning and to let the Meeting return to silent worship.

The responsibility for the spiritual depth of the meeting rests with each attender. Those who keep silent as well as those who give a vocal message do their part when they yield their minds and hearts to the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Friends hope that in the meeting for worship a consciousness of the Divine Presence will be felt by every attender, and will be a source of direction, strength and comfort after leaving the meeting.