![]() ![]() When prompted to speak, wait patiently to know that the leading and the time are right, but do not let a sense of your own unworthiness hold you back. Faithfulness and sincerity in speaking, even very briefly, may open the way to fuller ministry from others. ![]() Do not assume that vocal ministry is never to be your part.Remember that we all share responsibility for the meeting for worship whether our ministry is in silence or through the spoken word. Reach for the meaning deep within it, recognising that even if it is not God’s word for you, it may be so for others. Receive the vocal ministry of others in a tender and creative spirit. When you are preoccupied and distracted in meeting let wayward and disturbing thoughts give way quietly to your awareness of God’s presence among us and in the world.In worship together we can find the assurance of God’s love and the strength to go on with renewed courage. What unpalatable truths might you be evading? When you recognise your shortcomings, do not let that discourage you. Let meeting for worship nourish your whole life. Prayer, springing from a deep place in the heart, may bring healing and unity as nothing else can. Try to find a spiritual wholeness which encompasses suffering as well as thankfulness and joy. In the silence ask for and accept the prayerful support of others joined with you in worship. Come regularly to meeting for worship even when you are angry, depressed, tired or spiritually cold.Yield yourself and all your outward concerns to God’s guidance so that you may find ‘the evil weakening in you and the good raised up’. Come to meeting for worship with heart and mind prepared. In worship we enter with reverence into communion with God and respond to the promptings of the Holy Spirit.We seek a gathered stillness in our meetings for worship so that all may feel the power of God’s love drawing us together and leading us. We can worship alone, but when we join with others in expectant waiting we may discover a deeper sense of God’s presence. Worship is our response to an awareness of God.Are you open to new light, from whatever source it may come? Do you approach new ideas with discernment? ![]() There is inspiration to be found all around us, in the natural world, in the sciences and arts, in our work and friendships, in our sorrows as well as in our joys. Spiritual learning continues throughout life, and often in unexpected ways. Be aware of the spirit of God at work in the ordinary activities and experience of your daily life.Do you work gladly with other religious groups in the pursuit of common goals? While remaining faithful to Quaker insights, try to enter imaginatively into the life and witness of other communities of faith, creating together the bonds of friendship.Appreciate that doubt and questioning can also lead to spiritual growth and to a greater awareness of the Light that is in us all. As you learn from others, can you in turn give freely from what you have gained? While respecting the experiences and opinions of others, do not be afraid to say what you have found and what you value. Remember the importance of the Bible, the writings of Friends and all writings which reveal the ways of God. Take time to learn about other people’s experiences of the Light.How do you interpret your faith in the light of this heritage? How does Jesus speak to you today? Are you following Jesus’ example of love in action? Are you learning from his life the reality and cost of obedience to God? How does his relationship with God challenge and inspire you? The Religious Society of Friends is rooted in Christianity and has always found inspiration in the life and teachings of Jesus.Do you encourage in yourself and in others a habit of dependence on God’s guidance for each day? Hold yourself and others in the Light, knowing that all are cherished by God. Seek to know an inward stillness, even amid the activities of daily life. Do you try to set aside times of quiet for openness to the Holy Spirit? All of us need to find a way into silence which allows us to deepen our awareness of the divine and to find the inward source of our strength.Remember that Christianity is not a notion but a way. Treasure your experience of God, however it comes to you. Let your worship and your daily life enrich each other. Are you open to the healing power of God’s love? Cherish that of God within you, so that this love may grow in you and guide you. Bring the whole of your life under the ordering of the spirit of Christ.Trust them as the leadings of God whose Light shows us our darkness and brings us to new life. Take heed, dear Friends, to the promptings of love and truth in your hearts. ![]()
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