My continuing spiritual quest
Last week took E & I somewhere different again on our spiritual quest: our local Quaker meeting house. Now, like Emma, you might be thinking that the Quakers are like Amish but aside from an unusually high number of handknitted garments, they were just regular folk. They don't have church in a traditional sense, instead they meet for silent worship. There is sometimes talking (or "spoken ministry" which is usually a question from the Advice & Queries) at the beginning but otherwise they sit together in silence for about an hour.
It was even more challenging in that sense than the Buddhists but I practised the meditation we had learned at the Buddhist temple, along with some prayer and some reflection on the weeks question. I felt very calm and peaceful there. Very much at home. It was, of course, quiet different from my childhood experiences of church but I liked it. After the silent worship, the children came in and sang a song.
I liked the welcoming and inclusive nature of it. Quakers believe there is "that of God" in every person. They adhere to only 4 basic ideas : Peace, Equality, Simplicity and Integrity. Things I think we should all strive for regardless of religious affiliation. I like their openness to finding God in places other than church or the bible. I feel a good fit with these people and I hope to go again. I am not sure that E felt the same connection that I did but if our journeys take different paths, then we must follow those paths.
It was even more challenging in that sense than the Buddhists but I practised the meditation we had learned at the Buddhist temple, along with some prayer and some reflection on the weeks question. I felt very calm and peaceful there. Very much at home. It was, of course, quiet different from my childhood experiences of church but I liked it. After the silent worship, the children came in and sang a song.
I liked the welcoming and inclusive nature of it. Quakers believe there is "that of God" in every person. They adhere to only 4 basic ideas : Peace, Equality, Simplicity and Integrity. Things I think we should all strive for regardless of religious affiliation. I like their openness to finding God in places other than church or the bible. I feel a good fit with these people and I hope to go again. I am not sure that E felt the same connection that I did but if our journeys take different paths, then we must follow those paths.