|
Invitation
to Worship
All
are welcome to worship in the manner of Friends (Quakers) in an
unprogrammed Meeting at Bulls Head-Oswego Meeting. Our
worship
begins in silence when the first person enters and sits quietly.
We share in a deepening silence. There may be vocal
ministry as individuals are moved to speak. We have no single
"minister," for all may minister. Everyone present shares the
responsibility for worship and can share in its blessing.
Believing
that the Divine Spirit dwells in every person, Friends hold that their
consciousness of the Spirit may be nourished by sharing in group
worship. We enter with individual thoughts and concerns but
come
with no prepared message. We gather in reverent silence, a
silence of seeking and expectancy. As each of us enters
worship
and turns toward God, we may experience spiritual renewal in ourselves
and so contribute to it in each other.
You may be uncomfortable
with distractions outside or your own roving thoughts. Notice
these things. Then seek the still center of your being.
Out
of this stillness may come a feeling, a focused awareness, a short
message to be pondered and possibly shared. Such spoken
messages
may deepen the silence and speak to our own spiritual condition. The
outward expression of the Creator - which for many of us was manifest
uniquely in Jesus - is love. It is our prayer that the
silence
and the messages will be helpful to each of us, providing strength and
direction for our daily living.
Adults and children gather
together at 10:30. Children are welcome to worship for the
whole
hour. Some children may leave after twenty minutes.
An
adult will accompany them to the other building where activities are
provided.
The Meeting for Worship continues until approximately
11:30, when a member of the Committee for Ministry and Counsel will
close it by shaking hands with someone sitting nearby. Time
is
allowed for further reflections, introductions and announcements.
Upon
rising, please feel free to ask questions of anyone about Quakerism in
general or Bulls Head-Oswego Meeting in particular. If you
wish
to contribute to the work of the Meeting, there is a box near the door.
Help yourself to pamplhlets. Please join us for
refreshments and conversation in the Gathering Room, where you will
find additional pamphlets as well as a lending library.
|