Today I did something for the first time. I went to a Quaker meeting [The Society of Friends].
I had walked past the Quaker meeting house earlier in the week and - as I knew I did not have a musical engagement this Sunday - I decided to give it a try. When I got home on Thursday I set about researching the Quakers online and found out what takes place at a meeting. I also looked into what they believe: it is quite embracing.
For me, some churches have become too noisy, too informal and totally lacking in reverence. What I like about the Quakers (so far) can be listed:
- No Creed
- No ritual
- Meetings last exactly an hour
- No sermon!
- No priests - nobody is in charge (= everyone is equally in charge)
- No chit-chat
- No passing the peace
- No distractions
- Sustained focus on one thing
- Peace (in the service)
There were only 5 of us present although there were chairs for 8. They have about 20 members. Like many churches they were hit by the pandemic and I think older people have never really got back into the habit of going out.
I can next go again in a fortnight. Let's see how it goes.
PS I just found this
