Experiment in Expanding Quaker Worship

On April 21-22, 2018, Middlebury, VT, Friends Meeting hosted a wonderful workshop on Experiments in Expanding Quaker Worship: Forms with Life, created and led by Jonathan Vogel-Borne (Cambridge, MA, Friends Meeting) and Kristina Keefe-Perry (Fresh Pond, MA, Friends Meeting).

Together we explored what we mean by “worship” and reviewed a history of Quaker worship. In small groups we shared some of our experiences of attending to the Divine and centering in meeting. Then we created a worshipful “dinner church” under Kristina’s guidance. Together we made soup and fruit salad, set the tables, and prepared some songs and readings. Then we gathered with candlelight, sang, listened to the readings, waited in expectant silence, closed with a song, and sat down in small groups to eat and converse, prompted with some queries. We closed with a benediction. We included the children in many parts of this.

On Sunday after Meeting for Worship, we took the time to reflect with Jonathan and Kristina on Saturday’s experience, and share some thoughts and ideas their workshop had inspired.

This article first appeared in the New England Yearly Meeting newsletter.