I've noticed many churches have a
problem with silence. A pastor will say they'll take a minute for silent prayer,
and then the silence won't last the full sixty seconds. One time in a church,
the preacher went to the pulpit and said nothing for two minutes. (Okay, it was
me.) I watched people look at their
watches, shift in their seats, and look at one another puzzled. I listened to
people cough and whisper to one another.
Psalm 46:10 says, "Be still and
know that I am God." I worry
sometimes that if we can't manage being still, how well are we going to manage
at deity recognition?
Quakers know how to be quiet for
more than two minutes.
We went with a friend to a Friends
Church. My wife, Mindy, has known Brad since she was 11 years old, both
attending Southport Presbyterian Church. I met Brad when we were both attending
Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. Brad recently moved to Southern California
to teach at Fullerton State, and we asked if we could join him for worship at
the Orange County Friends Meeting.
We got off to a late start -- the
service started at 10:30, and we arrived 10:40, but I thought we were okay. The
meeting takes place in an office complex. We went in the front door, into a
little room where eight people waited to join the others in silent worship. We
introduced ourselves and talked a bit about the church. Their group had been meeting
in Orange County for fifty years. Previously, they've met at a nursery school,
a convalescent home, and a law school. For the last seven years they've rented
this office space and were relieved not to have to haul chairs every Sunday.
Soon a door opened, everyone stood
up, and we started down a hallway. I learned later that the meeting had already
begun, but we were waiting for the break when the children exited and went to
religious education. We entered the meeting, already in progress. Chairs were
arranged in a semi-circle and we found our place. We had been warned that the
air-conditioning was down but a couple of fans were blowing and I thought it
was certainly comfortable enough. People were casually dressed, several in
shorts and t-shirts, which is pretty typical for Southern Cal churches. I saw a
keyboard in the corner of the room that certainly wasn't used that morning.
It was about quarter to eleven and
everyone was quiet, saying nothing, as they remained for the next forty minutes
or so. The sign on the wall asked people to turn off cell phones for quiet
worship. I didn't hear a phone or even see one (quite unusual in American
society).
During the time I noticed some people
with eyes open and some with eyes closed. (I admit to being a bit terrified
that if I close my eyes, I'd fall asleep.) One woman was knitting, which Brad
noted afterward was a fairly common thing, since Quaker tradition allows that
handwork is acceptable as long as the mind is focused on worship. A couple of
people had water bottles. I could hear the gulps when they were used. I noticed
a man tapping his right foot for the first half of the service and his left
foot in the second half of the service. I noticed a man cleaning his ear with
the tip of his eyeglasses.
I didn't notice anyone else reading,
but I opened my Bible and read some Psalms. Brad said there has been a bit of
controversy in Quaker circles about whether it was okay to look at electronic
devices during Meetings. He had thought about looking up something to share on
his phone that morning but decided against it. Mindy heard somebody's alarm
beep quietly at 11:00.
Shortly before 11:30, Brad stood to
share a word. He talked about how he'd been challenged by something he'd read
recently from a writings of British Quakers to order one's life under Christ
and to be open to God's healing. After the service Brad asked us whether we
thought what he said was appropriate. We truthfully assured him that we'd found
his words encouraging. He told us that a Quaker is always told to consider and
reconsider before sharing to avoid the promotion of ego. (As we were leaving, a
"weighty" or wise older woman also expressed her appreciation for
what Brad shared.)
I noticed that after Brad talked,
some people took the opportunity softly cough the coughs they'd been holding
back.
A woman stood. She said that in the
religious education class prior to the Meeting, they'd been discussing Quaker
history in Southern California. In the past Quakers in the area reached out to
Japanese interns during World War II and were a witness for pacifism during the
Vietnam War. She wondered what issues they would deal with in the future.
As the quiet time of worship ended,
people shook hands with those around them, mostly remaining in their seats or
standing in their places. It was then time for announcements. A woman stood and
pointed out the air-conditioning was working again. ("You may have noticed
the man yelling outside during Meeting. The AC guy may not be our style of
person but he got the job done.") She noted the next weekend was Labor Day
and asked if they perhaps could get together for a barbeque or pool party.
Announcements were made for a
speaker from the Citizen's Climate Lobby and the Orange County Crop Hunger
Walk. There were announcements for an upcoming summit on prisons and issues of
peace and social concern.
James stood up. He was an older
gentleman who looked rather like the old timer who runs the country store in an
old TV western. He said he had a story that might be of interest, and he would share
it with anyone that wanted to stay after the meeting. A woman stood and said
she also had something to share, if people would care to join her outside after
the meeting.
Though Brad had attended this meeting before, it had been a while, and he was asked to introduce himself. We
introduced ourselves. At the close of the meeting everyone was invited to snack
time. People were quite friendly during the social time, because, of course,
"friends" are what they're called -- though we did notice a chart on
the wall that showed the schisms in the Quaker movement through the years and
there had been quite a few.
But on this morning we appreciated
the fellowship. And we appreciated the quiet. And we appreciated knowing that
God is God.
-- Dean
Statistics:
Service Length: 1 hour 10
minutes (probably)
Sermon Length: no sermon.
Quiet time after we sat down was about 45 minutes, and there had been about 15
minutes of quiet before we came in.
Visitor Treatment: While we were waiting to enter the meeting, we got name tags and introduced ourselves to the others waiting. We were
asked to introduce ourselves during the announcement time. In the entrance
room, we signed the guest book, and during the fellowship time after worship, a
woman from the Meeting introduced herself to Mindy and made sure we had the
information about Quakers and the Orange County Friends Meeting that we needed.
Followup by Tuesday Morning: none
(but we didn't sign up for the newsletter, which is more of a very active email
chain. Brad says he frequently gets updates from the Meeting)
Our Rough Count: 24
Probable Ushers' Count: 30
Snacks: coffee, hot water,
water bottles, sparkling cider, star cookies, watermelon chunks, various
crackers, veggie tray, plums and other fruit, bread, coffee cake
Musicians: none
Songs: none
Miles to place: 501
Total California Miles: 12,070
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