Worship Sharing
Worship sharing is a form of worship that helps us to listen to one another in a deeply spiritual, loving, and prayerful way. It draws us into a sacred space in which we can speak openly from our hearts and our own experience. It helps us encounter one another in “that which is eternal.”
Worship sharing is very much like a silent Quaker meeting for worship except that we are asked to focus on a particular word* or query and respond from our own experience. We find we share with one another more deeply than we would in normal conversations. Our diversity invites us both to speak what we know to be true from our own lives and to learn from others.
Friends are encouraged to listen to one another in humility and understanding, trusting in the Spirit that goes beyond our human effort and comprehension.
There are simple guidelines:
*In Old Chatham Monthly Meeting’s worship sharing practice, we focus on a word that has been chosen the previous week. Depending on our experience and thoughts, the particular word may lead us on many paths around, through, and even opposite the conventional meaning of the word. There are no rules!
A list of the words that have been chosen in the past few years can be found here
We meet for worship sharing on Tuesdays at 7 p.m. at the Meetinghouse. Important: Please check the website calendar before coming to make sure the meeting is not cancelled due to weather, illness, or other reasons.
You can join worship sharing on Zoom.
Worship sharing is very much like a silent Quaker meeting for worship except that we are asked to focus on a particular word* or query and respond from our own experience. We find we share with one another more deeply than we would in normal conversations. Our diversity invites us both to speak what we know to be true from our own lives and to learn from others.
Friends are encouraged to listen to one another in humility and understanding, trusting in the Spirit that goes beyond our human effort and comprehension.
There are simple guidelines:
- We begin with stillness and silence and reach as deeply as we can into the sacred center of our lives.
- We speak from our own experience about our own experience. We concentrate on feelings and changes rather than on thoughts or theories.
- We speak out of the silence and leave a substantial period of silence for reflection between speakers to savor what has been shared.
- We listen carefully and deeply to what is spoken. We listen patiently and attentively without judgment and without the distraction of our own thoughts.
- We do not respond to what anyone else has said, either to praise or refute.
- Whether one speaks out of silence or remains in silent meditation rests with each individual. We have the option to remain silent. But if everyone has spoken, we may speak again.
- We respect the confidentiality of what is shared.
*In Old Chatham Monthly Meeting’s worship sharing practice, we focus on a word that has been chosen the previous week. Depending on our experience and thoughts, the particular word may lead us on many paths around, through, and even opposite the conventional meaning of the word. There are no rules!
A list of the words that have been chosen in the past few years can be found here
We meet for worship sharing on Tuesdays at 7 p.m. at the Meetinghouse. Important: Please check the website calendar before coming to make sure the meeting is not cancelled due to weather, illness, or other reasons.
You can join worship sharing on Zoom.