The skies were grey and threatening as I arrived at the Quaker Meeting house for the second in the series of introductory evenings.
Once again there were about two dozen people in attendance, though about half of them were regular faces at the Sunday morning meeting. The topic today was about Quakers and their relationship with God, Christianity and other religions. Once again, the format had three Quakers each give two short talk of about seven minutes. The panel reflected the diversity within liberal Quakers. There was a lady raised within a Plymouth Brethren home, who had lived as a clergyman’s wife before they separated and divorced, and who now practised psychotherapy; a writer and former communist party member who spoke of encounters with angels; and a former Roman Catholic priest. All described having gone through some form of “breakdown” prior to joining the Quakers (though emphasised that this wasn’t an prerequisite for joining!)- all spoke with sincerity from the heart.
I was particularly moved by the words of the former priest who had left the church after falling in love. He spoke powerfully about his experience of faith, and his move away from dogma and doctines. It reminded me of a line of Buddhist liturgy that is familiar to me – “Faith and practice cannot be differentiated”. It also echoed the words of Marcus Borg who I had been most fortunate to see give three lectures the previous weekend.
There was some time for small group discussions and we were given the topic of talking about times we may have experienced the Presence of God within our lives, (though I would use the terms Other Power, or grace). The evening closed with a half hour meeting for Worship.
I have the Quaker Quest booklets, “Twelve Quakers on God…Evil…Worship…Pacifism,etc.” I really find them fascinating. Quaker Quest workshops are starting up over here too. There’s a meeting near where I work that started a series. I’m bit too caught up in anti-torture work to participate, but maybe another time.
Gee, never thought of Quakerism as refuge for those who had had breakdowns …come to think of it, had one myself a few years before becoming an attender :-))
Today I’ve been invited to participate in a workshop on networking, down at Philadelphia Yearly Meeting. I’m actually looking forward to learning more from others than they’ll learn from me, actually. (So I’ll miss the Saturday morning peace vigil yet again.)
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Thanks Liberata!
That sounds like a very interesting group of people to be gathered in one place.
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Hello Anne, thanks for dropping by. Yes, the Quaker Quest evenings have attracted a diverse and interesting bunch of people. I am impressed by how each speaker has spoken from the heart and related the theme to their own experiences and lives.
~ray