Excerpt from a message given at Durham Friends Meeting, November 17, 2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019ve been thinking that Meeting for worship is a little like\nbuilding a fire. It takes at least a few\nof us gathered together in worship. One\nperson alone can hardly do it. Even two\nor three doesn\u2019t feel like quite enough, though I suppose it can be. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
When I\u2019m here at Meeting and watching people come into the\nMeeting room, it fills me with gladness to see us gather. Oh there\u2019s that person and that person; I was\nhoping they\u2019d be here. There\u2019s\nso-and-so: I wish we saw her more often. \nAh, and some folks I haven\u2019t seen before, that\u2019s terrific. It takes all kinds to build a good fire, one\nthat will catch and burn for a while. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
As we gather and seat ourselves, I can see us building a\nfire together. We have to leave room for God, or the Spirit. Perhaps that\u2019s why we ask that there be\nsilence between spoken messages. That\nsilence is like the oxygen the fire needs. \nTogether we invite the presence of God. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There\u2019s magic in the fire, but we make the preparations that\ninvite the magic. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Britain Yearly Meeting\u2019s Faith and Practice has this Advice:\n\u201cWe can worship alone, but when we join with others in expectant waiting we may\ndiscover a deeper sense of God\u2019s presence. We seek a gathered stillness in our\nmeetings for worship so that all may feel the power of God\u2019s love drawing us\ntogether and leading us.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cA gathered stillness:\u201d that\u2019s what we need. A gathering in stillness. If you want to put a fire out, you pull it apart; you scatter it. Scattering chases away the magic. Once a fire dies down, it takes effort and time to make it blaze again. For us, scattering is latecomers, the opening and closing of the doors, bustling about, people entering and leaving after we\u2019ve gathered. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
We want to welcome and encourage\neveryone to come, but we want everyone to remember we are building a fire\ntogether. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
A Southeastern Yearly Meeting\nAdvice says \u201cBe prompt and diligent in attendance at meetings.\u201d That discipline\nis what it takes for us to build a fire together: to be prompt in gathering and\nthen to join together in stillness.\u201d That means: Come on time to meeting. Once in the room, settle yourself for the\nhour or so. Stay settled; Together, in\nstillness, we invite the presence of the Divine. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
An old hymn <\/a>says, <\/p>\n\n\n\n Lord, I have\nshut the door, Speak now the word Which in the din and throng Could not be\nheard;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Hushed now my\ninner heart, Whisper Thy will, While I have come apart, While all is still.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Without that stillness, we may not find our way to God. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In the stillness, the fire can ignite.\u00a0 God is invited to come near.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n [A copy of the full message can be found on River View Friend<\/a>.]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Excerpt from a message given at Durham Friends Meeting, November 17, 2019 I\u2019ve been thinking that Meeting for worship is a little like building a fire. It takes at least a few of us gathered together in worship. One person … Continue reading