An Introduction to Quaker Worship

Now I'm retired and for various reasons that I will not bore you with, I've found myself going over material that I produced in the past.

I came across this piece that I wrote back in 1998, which as far as I can recall was written to introduce Quaker Worship to people who had no prior experience of worship.

One of the aims of the New Foundation is to understand and explain the distinctiveness of our understanding of who Christ is and how he teaches man and women. For this, we have often been accused of 'sectarianism'. Sectarianism is a desire to separate people, whereas we desire to bring together under Christ.

This is particularly true of how we understand worship, and what it means to know Christ in our midst.

But anyway, here goes:

An Introduction to Quaker Worship

Allistair Lomax; 25^th of 4^th Month, 1998

Often people coming to Quaker worship for the first time often mistake it for a form of individual prayer or a type of group meditation technique. It is neither of these, but it is a corporate act of worship in its own right, which has its roots in a distinct understanding of the Christian Faith. It has remained virtually unaltered since the mid-17^th Century when the Society of Friends (Quakers) was formed.

Friends worship is entirely unprogrammed, with the Meeting sitting in silence, until someone, anyone who is present feels moved by the Holy Spirit to minister. This can take the form of preaching, praying, singing, or any other form of exhortation or admonishment that the minister feels led to do. When the person has finished, the Meeting remains silent until the next person is moved to minister. This will go on until the end of the Meeting, which is signified by the two Elders in the Meeting who shake hands.

This way of worship is rooted in Friends understanding of who Christ is, and how he saves people. Scripture identifies Christ as Lord and Saviour, and also as God’s Spokesperson, the Prophet who speaks from Heaven who is appointed to teach us God’s Will. At the Transfiguration (Matthew. 17:5) God spells this out clearly, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, listen to him”. Christ saves us, not only by offering forgiveness of our sins, but also by teaching us to live in accordance with the Will of the Father.

This is very closely tied in with Jesus’ Promise to be present with those who gather in his Name, as Matthew 18:20, “For where two or three are gathered together in my Name, there am I in the midst of them”. At the heart of Quaker worship is an expectant waiting where we trust that Christ Jesus will fulfil this promise. We meet for worship to learn and be transformed by the Power and work of Christ, within us and among us. Because it is unprogrammed, it does not follow that our worship is leaderless. There has to be leadership in worship, but that leadership must come from God and Christ, themselves. Our worship is, in the true sense of the word, a liturgy.

In the silence, we wait to feel Christ’s Power within us and among us, as we turn to Christ’s Light and Power within us, we find ourselves transformed as we, with Christ’s help, try to obey his Voice. This experience involves an inward change and a transformation in us. The silence enables people to quieten all the human thoughts, activities, teachers, and all the man-made barriers of culture, class, and place. That involves the death of that in ourselves that keeps us apart from God, our human selfishness. Our Old Self must know the Cross and die, so that we can be resurrected by the working Power of Christ into Eternal Life. Our worship is an essential part of Christ’s redemptive work for us, and part of our understanding of the Cross, that which crucifies us to the world.

Our Communion takes place when the Lord is present to share with us, his heavenly food. “Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come into him and eat with him, and he with me.” Rev. 3:20. When we gather for worship and experience the truth of this, we give thanks, and this is our ‘Eucharist’.

“For there, in the silence, is the Flock lying down at noon-day, feeding of the Bread of Life, drinking at the Springs of Life, when they do not speak words. For words declared, are to bring people to it, and confessing God’s goodness and love, as they are moved by the eternal God and His Spirit…in which is the fellowship attained to…in the Power of God which is the Gospel.”

George Fox 1657