In our meetings for worship we seek through the stillness to know God’s will for ourselves and for the gathered group. Our meetings for church affairs, in which we conduct our business, are also meetings for worship based on silence, and they carry the same expectation that God’s guidance can be discerned if we are truly listening together and to each other, and are not blinkered by preconceived opinions. It is this belief that God’s will can be recognised through the discipline of silent waiting which distinguishes our decision-making process from the secular idea of consensus. We have a common purpose in seeking God’s will through waiting and listening, believing that every activity of life should be subject to divine guidance.
Quaker faith and practice 3.02
Quakers’ experience internationally is that worshipping together online can be deep and spirit-filled, with ministry springing from a gathered stillness.
However, Zoom Meetings for Worship for Business take longer than when we meet in person. Experience over the last three years suggests that a virtual Meeting for Worship for Business will take longer than one held face-to-face. There may not be time at YM23 to address all Friends’ concerns.
If you plan to attend and participate in YM23 Business sessions, please come prepared. Please access information on the YM23 website and read the relevant reports.
Preparatory work for the Meeting for Worship for Business includes both information gathering (which includes Documents in Advance 2023, reports from Preparatory Sessions, Regional Meeting responses and reports or recommendations from committees and other meetings) and preparing the mind and heart.
As part of your preparation, Friends are asked to reflect upon matters to come before the meeting, so that all relevant insights, leadings, information and other considerations can be weighed in the meeting’s discernment process.
Spiritual preparation and support for the clerking team helps to ensure that the meeting is conducted in a worshipful manner. Elders and Pastoral Care play an important part before, during and after each session.
It is important that each participant begins the meeting with the expectation that it will be a spiritual experience.
In the Formal Session, if you wish to speak:
Friends wishing to participate will need to have a computer, laptop, tablet or smartphone with a Zoom connection, a camera/webcam, a microphone setting and enough bandwidth to allow them to be heard distinctly without the signal breaking up.
Friends using a phone line or experiencing unreliable Internet should consider simply listening to a Business session or joining another Friend with a better connection. If either situation applies to you, please consider talking with your Regional Meeting Clerk about how you can best participate in Yearly Meeting. If you know someone in this position, consider reaching out to them and inviting them to join you for Business meetings, or offer to help them get set up on Zoom.
Bruce Henry, Presiding Clerk