about our worship

what happens in Quaker worship?

• Read a description here
• Watch this video on unprogrammed (silent) Quaker worship

A Meeting for Worship in the manner of “unprogrammed” Friends is spontaneous and unplanned.  Until we have gathered and settled into the silence as a group, none of us foresees how this common experience may develop.  No one of us knows in advance what needs or creative powers may surface.  Each Meeting for Worship is a spiritual adventure. 

We invite you to worship with us in the spirit of expectant silence and through spoken ministry.  The basis of Quaker life and practice is a conviction that there is something of the spirit of God in all of us.  Meeting for Worship is one aspect of a discipline and belief which permeates all we do.  Sitting quietly in worship, we seek the immediate sense of Divine leading and firsthand knowledge of that Spirit.  Quakers believe that there is continuous revelation by God of Truth and Light.  The Meeting for Worship should revolve around the efforts of the group to uncover the Light within, to share it, and to live by it.

We call this approach to the Spirit or Inner Light “expectant waiting.”  We begin this waiting in the Meeting for Worship by stilling our bodies and directing our minds inwardly.  It is not easy to clear our minds of outside concerns.  Perhaps a phrase of poetry, a passage from the Bible, or an idea from personal reading may serve to focus attention away from crowding thoughts.  As we quiet our senses and “center down,” we reach a deeper level within ourselves and approach the spiritual center of the Meeting.  On this deeper level we may become aware of a clearer relationship to God, a fresh understanding of experience or awareness of our leadings in keeping with God’s will.

As there is no designated minister, we are all charged with the responsibility for participation.  All present are potential ministers.  Anyone present may feel moved to speak, to share an insight, to pray, to praise. Before rising to speak, one should first sense a leading of the Inner Light and then respond with a brief, simple message that is loud enough to be heard in all corners of the room.  When someone speaks, each of us should listen with an open heart.  If a particular message does not “speak to your condition” you can still seek the spirit behind the words and hold the speaker in love.  A further period of expectant waiting and contemplation is appropriate between speakers.  Sometimes, a Meeting that is completely silent also speaks well to the soul.  Whether one is moved to speak or to worship in silence, what matters is that each of us be sensitive to the inner prompting that should be our guide.

Children’s guide to worship

When you arrive, please go quietly into the Meeting room and make yourself comfortable.  What can you see?  Is this what you expected?

In about 10 to 15 minutes, you are invited to join the other children as they leave the Meeting room to go to First Day School classes where you might hear a Bible story, or learn about Quakers, or talk about things that are important to you. You are also welcome to stay here in the Meeting room with us.  Most adults will remain in the Meeting room and sit quietly for the rest of the worship time until they shake hands at the end. 

This is a time for us to think about God, to listen to God, and to feel God.  We sit quietly, sharing the silence with other people in the room.  Sometimes someone may stand to share inner thoughts or feelings, to pray, or to read something inspiring to them.

How could you spend this time of quiet? Here are some ideas you might try:

• Close your hand tightly, then open it gently, bit by bit . . . . This is like opening our hearts and minds to God within us.
• Look at each person in the room, wondering what they are like inside, what is special about each of them.
• Think about your family and friends and all the things you like about each one.  (Don’t forget to include yourself.)
• Listen very, very carefully to the silence in the room.  Then listen to the silence inside yourself.
• Think about something that worries you, to hear what God might say about it.

Zoom connections

Join with Moorestown Friends Meeting for worship online or by phone.

Click here to join Sunday mornings at 10
Worship, announcements, social time
Phone: 646 558 8656 – Meeting ID is 785 699 478#

Click here to join Wednesday evenings at 7:30
Check-ins, worship sharing
Phone: 646 558 8656 – Meeting ID is 885 631 969 #

Zoom online tool

Want to get comfortable with Zoom (online meeting tool)?
Watch this video.

For detailed instructions on connecting any device to our online gatherings, refer to the Appendices in this excellent document (Woodbrooke/UK and Britain Yearly Meeting).

Having trouble in a Zoom session?

• Close all other open applications (programs) on your computer or phone. Zoom uses a lot of memory.
• Turn off or silence other devices that are nearby – smartphones, external speakers, etc, These microphones may interfere with audio.
• Mute your microphone if you have a lot of ambient noise; it will break up others’ audio.
• During a session, click on Chat, and send a private message to the tech host with your question.
• After a session, you can contact the meeting office, and we’ll put you in touch with someone who can help.