It’s easy to drive right by our Quaker meetinghouse without noticing it’s there. It doesn’t have the steeple, ornamentation, or stained-glass windows that people usually associate with a house of worship. It’s a one-story gray building that could easily be mistaken for another single family dwelling among others in the neighborhood. There is a sign in front, but the lettering is somewhat small.
The inside of the meetinghouse is also plain and simple and, like the outside, does not conform to what many people may think of as a place for worship. Inside, the rectangular shaped meeting room has four sets of four benches, all facing inward toward the center. On the side of the room opposite the door are two rows of elevated benches. These were formerly used by what were once referred to as “weighty friends”, those whose voices, by virtue of their influence in the meeting, carried more “weight” than others. The expression “weighty friends” is sometimes still used today, but Friends no longer take a seat on the elevated benches to set themselves apart, as this is seen to conflict with the testimony of equality. The space in between the elevated benches is just wide enough for a small table and sometimes people bring in a flower arrangement and place it on the table, but the table is just as often left empty. There are no Bibles to be found on any of the benches and although there is a set of hymnals in the foyer, they are rarely used. Since there is no distinction between laity and clergy, there is no one person who is designated as the minister and therefore there is no pulpit. In Quaker practice, we are all responsible for ministering to each other.
Worship is a time of gathering in silent waiting, with an expectation of hearing the “still, small voice of God”. It is possible for the entire hour to pass in deeply spiritual silent worship, or it may happen that a Friend will feel called to share a message arising out of the prompting of the Spirit. After discerning if the message is a genuine ministry, he or she will stand, speak plainly and briefly, and then sit down to return, with the rest of the meeting, to silence. After enough time has passed for reflection, another message may be inspired by the previous words or a different message entirely may follow. It’s also possible the deep spiritual silence may continue unbroken until the hour closes when the person appointed to have care for the meeting shakes the hand of a person close by and says, “Good morning.” In all this, an unprogrammed Quaker meeting takes to heart the Psalmist’s words: “Be still, and know that I am God"
David James Madden