Meetings

About Quaker Meetings

All give their life for Love's sake, whether aware of this fact or not. The purpose of contemplation and meeting for worship is to realize this in our own lives, and so free ourselves from the illusion of separation from the Light of the Spirit. A Quaker Meeting for Worship is a communal visit to the Inner Temple of the Heart, where the Light of Love shines clear and eternal, revealing this inward truth to us.

Quaker Meeting for Silent Worship is informally preceded by a short period of greetings, where attendees may share news and talk together before the meeting truly begins. Once officially begun, the Meeting is held in an egalitarian manner, with all attendees sitting together in a circle or square, each facing the center of the congregation. Arranged in this manner, those in attendance sit in the stillness of Silent Waiting, a form of group meditation, opening themselves to the potential promptings of the Spirit, which, upon coming to them in the form of a still, small voice from within, may or may not move them to speak before the other members of the meeting. If one is moved by the Spirit to share the message that they have received, then the attendee will speak their piece, and then rejoin the silence once more. Such a period of silence and possibly vocal ministries lasts for approximately one hour, upon the end of which the Silent part of the Meeting concludes, and handshakes are given to nearby attendees. After this, any necessary announcements are made among the congregation, and the Meeting for Worship is adjourned.

After a brief period of time wherein attendees may refresh themselves and converse, a second gathering, this one a Meeting for Business, may be held. During this meeting a topic of interest regarding the members of the Meeting may be discussed among attendees, possibly including theological/philosophical issues, political issues, social issues, funding, projects, or other subjects. After approximately an hour of such discussion, the Meeting for Business concludes.

Quakers may have unique personal religious or spiritual practices in which they engage, as led by the Holy Spirit of the Inward Teacher, such as rites, rituals, sacraments, prayers, blessings or other forms of communion or devotion, but these are generally not a part of communal meetings and are instead of a private nature.

“And when assembled, the great work of one and all ought to be to wait upon God, and returning out of their own thoughts and imaginations, to feel the Lord’s presence ... As there can be nothing more opposite to the natural will and wisdom of man than this silent waiting upon God, so neither can it be obtained nor rightly comprehended by man but as he layeth down his own wisdom and will so as to be content to be thoroughly subject to God … And so from this principle of man’s being silent and not acting in the things of God of himself until thus acted by God’s Light and Grace in the heart, did naturally spring that manner of sitting silent together and waiting together upon the Lord. For many thus principled … each made it their work to retire inwardly to the measure of Grace in themselves, not only being silent as to words but even abstaining from all their own thoughts, imaginations and desires… “For when I came into the silent assemblies of God’s people, I felt a secret power among them, which touched my heart. And as I gave way to it, I found the evil in me weakening, and the good lifted up. Thus it was that I was knit into them and united with them. And I hungered more and more for the increase of this power and life until I could feel myself perfectly redeemed.”“When assembled, it should be the common task of one and all to wait upon God. It should be a time for turning away from one’s own thoughts and for suspending the imagination in order to feel the Presence of the Lord in the midst and to know a true gathering in his name according to his promise. Then, when everyone is thus gathered, and all meet together inwardly in their spirits, as well as outwardly in their persons, the secret power and the virtue of life are known to refresh the soul. It is there that the pure motions and breathings of God’s Spirit are felt to arise.” -Robert Barclay, Quaker
"The first that enters into the place of your meeting … turn in thy mind to the light, and wait upon God singly, as if none were present but the Lord; and here thou art strong. Then the next that comes in, let them in simplicity of heart sit down and turn in to the same light, and wait in the spirit; and so all the rest coming in, in the fear of the Lord, sit down in pure stillness and silence of all flesh, and wait in the light. Those who are brought to a pure still waiting upon God in the Spirit are come nearer to the Lord than words are; for God is spirit and in the spirit he is worshiped."-Alexander Parker, Quaker
“The meeting for worship begins when two or three are gathered together with hearts and minds prepared. The silence becomes a living silence when the worshippers are aware of a Presence in their midst.” -Howard Brinton, Quaker

"As a meeting 'gathers', as each individual 'centres down', there gradually develops a feeling of belonging to a group who are together seeking a sense of the Presence. The 'I' in us begins to feel like 'we'. At some point - it may be early in the meeting or it may be later, or it may never occur at all - we suddenly feel a sense of unity, a sense of togetherness with one another and with that something outside ourselves that we call God." -Thomas Bodine, Quaker
"I have never lost the enjoyment of sitting in silence at the beginning of meeting, knowing that everything can happen, knowing the joy of utmost surprise; feeling that nothing is pre-ordained, nothing is set, all is open. The light can come from all sides. The joy of experiencing the Light in a completely different way than one has thought it would come is one of the greatest gifts that Friends’ meeting for worship has brought me. I believe that meeting for worship has brought the same awareness to all who have seen and understood the message that everyone is equal in the sight of God, that everybody has the capacity to be the vessel of God’s word. There is nothing that age, experience and status can do to prejudge where and how the Light will appear. This awareness – the religious equality of each and every one – is central to Friends. Early Friends understood this and at the same time they fully accepted the inseparable unity of life, and spoke against the setting apart of the secular and the sacred. It was thus inevitable that religious equality would be translated into the equality of everyday social behaviour. ” –Ursula Franklin, Quaker

LFM's meeting room.

Meeting Day, Time and Location

Luray Friends Meeting for Worship is held on Tuesday evenings from 6:30pm until 7:30pm at St. George's Episcopal Church at 3392 Pine Grove Rd. Stanley, VA 22851.

St. George's Episcopal Church - Luray Friends Meeting takes place in the hall on the right.

The fellowship hall interior and room where Luray Friends Meeting is held.

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