tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33598850.post3113544344171914318..comments2023-04-24T02:57:34.415-07:00Comments on A Friend in Need: Listening in TonguesHeather Madronehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14822864657970530172noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33598850.post-33116906390603164082007-06-04T05:58:00.000-07:002007-06-04T05:58:00.000-07:00Heather, I have felt for a while now that Meeting...Heather,<BR/> I have felt for a while now that Meeting for Worship should not have a scheduled end, that the clerk should close Meeting only when he or she sensed that it was truly over. I think the most common reaction to that suggestion is that it is impractical and it makes it more difficult to plan your day. To me, though, having a fixed time for ending feels like we don't have total devotion to God. We give God an hour and that's it. We ought to all be willing to jump into God's arms and stay there until we are gently set down.<BR/><BR/> As for your discernment about ending the meeting, two things I might suggest, one is that just before you close the meeting (or maybe you have to do this right after you close it), listen for the guidance of the Spirit - do you feel a sense of completeness, or a burden being lifted? Or do you feel a discomfort, like maybe it isn't/wasn't the right time to close? You have to have the faith that you will be guided in this, even if you don't feel now like you are.<BR/> Also, you might speak with other weighty Friends to see if they felt that same sense of the Meeting coming to a close. I guess in the old days you might expect an elder to come talk to you about closing before it was time, but now maybe you need to seek one out.<BR/> With love,<BR/> MarkMark Wutkahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01735952904584567390noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33598850.post-9606009317411695172007-05-31T11:13:00.000-07:002007-05-31T11:13:00.000-07:00Ah, Friends, I'm glad you think I was following Go...Ah, Friends, I'm glad you think I was following God's lead in holding Meeting. It was not clear to me at the time.<BR/><BR/>When worship affects me deeply, it can be difficult to hold both my own personal emotions and the role I am fulfilling for Meeting. This week, it felt especially difficult to listen to the corporate sense of when Meeting was over rather than my own yearning for more communion.<BR/><BR/>My husband has suggested that maybe I ought to pull out of worship a bit earlier, but that doesn't feel right. I'm going to ask other members of Worship & Ministry for any wisdom they can share on balancing their corporate role with their personal worship.Heather Madronehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14822864657970530172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33598850.post-62291705246387954672007-05-28T18:28:00.000-07:002007-05-28T18:28:00.000-07:00Hello Heather And I realized that I used spirit i...Hello Heather And I realized that I used spirit instead of tongues-remembering time I spent among Pentecostals where both terms are used to define the same experience. Patrick57Patrick Ruthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07526719850191169897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33598850.post-17350560705656808822007-05-28T18:21:00.000-07:002007-05-28T18:21:00.000-07:00Hello Heather What a wonderful term "listening...Hello Heather What a wonderful term "listening in the spirit". It aptly describes the experience of Meeting for me. I attended the same nontheist group at quarterly and was reinforced to my own mind in my position as a religious humanist. Yet I would never want to see Friends depart from their heritage in Christianity as it gives character,"grit" and the rich language that you employed so well in defining the experiental in Meeting. As for letting Meeting extend-thee was faithful. Patrick57Patrick Ruthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07526719850191169897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33598850.post-8102074307125422092007-05-28T16:57:00.000-07:002007-05-28T16:57:00.000-07:00I've greatly appreciated your recent posts, Heathe...I've greatly appreciated your recent posts, Heather. So I've listed you in a post of my own, about blogs that make me think, as <A HREF="http://thegoodraisedup.blogspot.com/2007/05/quakerpagan-tags-tgrup-as-thinking-blog.html" REL="nofollow">part of a meme</A> that is going around.<BR/><BR/>And I agree with Mark's comment that it sounds like you were faithful and that you simply closed worship in God's time rather than on clock time.<BR/><BR/>Blessings,<BR/>Liz Opp, <A HREF="http://thegoodraisedup.blogspot.com" REL="nofollow">The Good Raised Up</A>Liz Opphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09802348848085930901noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33598850.post-12859754787269867442007-05-28T10:16:00.000-07:002007-05-28T10:16:00.000-07:00I closed Meeting a little late, reluctant to emerg...<I>I closed Meeting a little late, reluctant to emerge from the communion with my dear Friends.</I><BR/><BR/>I would say that you didn't so much close it late, but that you refused to close it early. Thank you for your faithfulness.Mark Wutkahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01735952904584567390noreply@blogger.com