When: December 8th
Where: Detroit Friends Meeting
Why: I'm pretty fuzzy on religion as a whole. I attended the bulk of my church days in a Presbyterian congregation, yet those days combine to a grand total of less than a hundred, and most of those are because I sang in the church choir and attended for those performances and special events. Asked what makes this particular branch of Protestant faith different from others, you'd be met by my blank stare. I know snippets of various beliefs by learning from friends, from my friend who is a Presbyterian pastor to my friend who was raised in the LDS faith, and from my friends who are Catholic and Jewish, from my friends who are Jehovah's Witnesses and those who practice Islam, as well as my own foray into Buddhist practice. Each has its own set of rites and rituals, of process and procedure during a typical service, and this first time of attending a Quaker meeting is not something I was prepared to experience. I should have read up on it, even briefly, to realize that my hour of time would be spent as an hour of silence. I realized it was an atypical service in comparison to traditional church services, yet I did not fully grasp the difference. And to sit in silence for an hour is not something that is easy for me. I have too many thoughts, my mind is so busy, and I couldn't empty my mind to focus on higher thoughts. I was all over the place, thinking about a cacophony of topics. I finally found a small rock in the carpet and tried to focus on that, and it helped settle my mind to focus my thoughts. The minutes passed by, and at the end, it was a sudden rising of individuals extending their hands for a friendly welcome and eager to get to know us. The information I have since learned about the Quakers has helped me to appreciate their particular way of celebrating their faith in this manner. 
3 comments:
This sounds like a class I took. Ha. But seriously. There are workshops all over the country that work on leadership development through large groups that usually start in silence until someone is "moved to speak." I adore this practice. I may try a Quaker meeting.
Should have prepped you for the sudden fall of silence! Thank you for adding and checking this one to the list with me. I've been meaning to go again for many years! It also keeps in the lead. Stef is close and Justin is quickly gaining ground. ;)
Very cool! I fell behind on your blog for some reason and it's been fun to catch up on it! This one sounds very interesting and cool!
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