This weekend I did something I’ve been wanting to do for a very long time: hosted a silent Quaker Meeting for Worship in my home for my non-Quaker friends.
It was a small group of just five of us, which was the right number because I would have been nervous hosting a larger gathering. Also I have a pretty small one-bedroom apartment.
I asked everyone to share what types of meditation they had practiced and whether they had ever been to Quaker Meeting. Then I gave some guidance on how to best experience Meeting for the first time from a flyer put out by UK Friends.
We then worshipped together in silence for about 40 minutes, which felt like the right amount of time. Folks noted how powerful the experience was for them, and how different it was from their other meditation practices. There were tears and hugs.
Then we broke for bagels.
It felt so good to host a Meeting in my home! I hope to do it again soon for more folks to get to experience the profound silence.