William Penn, 1699
Shared silence is at the heart of the Quaker meeting for worship. We meet together, without a leader or preacher, and welcome the silence which gradually turns into stillness. As this happens, the participants may find themselves rising above the confusions and perplexities of their lives into a clearer and calmer spiritual state.
Some people find it possible, as they sit in a Quaker meeting, to reach a mental tranquillity that is beyond thought. This phenomenon is unlikely to happen every time, but it is by no means rare and it can lead the person to feel they are undergoing a kind of spiritual transformation.
The first Quakers nearly four hundred years ago believed that they were able to have a direct relationship with God through silence. There are many today who share that view, and approach their worship as Christians seeking to find God in the stillness.
Equally, a large number of Quakers today don’t share the religious impulse at the heart of that response. For these Quakers, their time in the stillness of Quaker meetings offers perspective, guidance and a way forward, but without the mystical element.
Between these two broad points of view there are as many nuances and variations of perception and belief as there are Quakers. No one will question your experience and no one will tell you how to interpret it, because this is a faith grounded in personal experience.
For details of what to expect when you attend a Quaker meeting for worship, read more here.