Silent Waiting - The Religious Society Of Friends

We need to find God, and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature - trees, flowers, grass - grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence... We need silence to be able to touch souls.  
                                                                                                                 Mother Teresa
                                                                                                                   

The sign read Please enter in silence. I knew this would be the expectation before I stepped through the door of The Religious Society of Friends building. I was greeted with a warm welcome and looks of surprise. A kind woman named Margaret asked if I understood about Quakers. Had I read anything? Did I know what to expect? I smiled sweetly and humbly stated I'd done some research and was prepared for the experience. Humility and a sweet smile will take you far in life. She explained that I could sit where I pleased and directed me through the door to the silent meeting space. Behind the door was a large open room with beige walls and long windows that provided a perfect view of several bare trees swaying gently in the cold winter wind. Two rows of pews were organized in a circle along with mismatched floral couches and wooden chairs. Colorful afghans rested over some of the seating. The whole place smelled like my Great Grandmother's house. I immediately felt at home.



 

About 25 people slowly trickled in, quietly removed their coats, settled into silence and waited. What my generation refers to as "Cosby sweaters" was the predominate fashion of the attendees who were mostly seniors age 70 and over. Dressed in a fuchsia floral crochet baby doll dress, Peter Pan collar, black cardigan, black tights and black patent leather buckle shoes I was hard to miss.

Waiting. Waiting. Waiting. After the service several people were eager to meet me. One women explained how Quakers handle business meetings. "We wait" she said. "Someone presents an issue, like fixing the air conditioner, and then we wait." Quakers, at least this group of Quakers, sit in silent expectant waiting of divine leadership. That's how they worship. That's how they make business decisions. No sermon. No hymnal. No arguing over the finances. They just wait.

I didn't have to wait long. Within 5 minutes of silent waiting I was blessed with a fast moving stream of thoughts. Oh so many thoughts. Did I leave the oven on? I'm thirsty. This is nice. Ooo...trees. Why do they have a piano? I should close my eyes. I wonder what all these people are thinking about. What should I be thinking about? Probably not this. What the hell am I going to write about sitting in silence? I should stop thinking about the blog and just focus on the experience. Quiet your mind Sarah. Come on. It's like yoga. Breathe. In with the good out with the bad.

Breathing really helped. Thanks yoga! My mind went quiet. My body was calm. I thought perhaps I should pray, but I'm not actually a big pray-er. To me, prayer has always felt like the grown up version of a letter to Santa. So, instead of praying I decided to focus on gratitude... How cool is it that there are places like this to go? FOR FREE. A quiet warm space where all are welcome, it's fantastic. I'm grateful for freedom of religion. Not everyone has this. Not everyone has most of what I have. Why am I so blessed? I have nice clothes. I've traveled the world. I can go to the grocery store and buy anything I want to anytime I want to. My family loves me even though I'm kind of weird. My friends love me too. I've even been in love with a person who loved me back! I'm really glad I was born with curly hair...

Suddenly a woman stood up and spoke briefly about how she felt we should honor Martin Luther King, Jr. Day - with service. She was experiencing brief divine leadership to speak. Then she sat back down and I closed my eyes and returned to gratitude.

...Nature. Hmm...I'm so grateful for all the beautiful trees, the sun, the stars, and the privilege of a life that affords me plenty of moments to stop and just appreciate all the beauty around me...

Another interruption. Service was ending. It's been an hour? Friends were invited to share "joys or concerns" so we could "lift them up in the light." I like that saying and I understood it without really knowing what it means. Joys and concerns were shared and then a handshake was given that started more handshaking and we were done. Well, almost. Since I was clearly a newcomer I was asked to say my name and a little bit about myself. "Hi, I'm Sarah and this is my first visit" is all that came out of my mouth. Luckily they accepted this answer.

Content. I felt so content in that space with those Friends. Not joyous. Not happy. Not sad. Not bored. Content. It felt good. It felt peaceful. I wouldn't mind returning to The Religious Society of Friends meeting again. I enjoyed this version of church where I wasn't expected to repeat words I didn't believe or songs I didn't quite understand. Nothing was required of me but silence. I waited in silence and found gratitude and peace. Not too shabby.

Then I went home and made chicken.