The gathered meeting

Davison describes what a gathered meeting is and lays out concrete things we can do to foster this experience of communion in our meetings more often. While it is impossible to fully convey spiritual experience in words, his descriptions may help us to avoid barriers and open to the way toward this quintessential Quaker experience of a shared sense of presence, knowledge of the Truth, unity, joy, and love. Some of his suggestions for worshippers and meetings may be familiar: come prepared, on time, seasoned by regular devotional practice, deepen the vocal ministry, hold the meeting and each other in the Light; but new and old, they are powerful seen together.
He declares that meetings need to take responsibility for preparing worshippers, with a robust religious education program about Quaker faith and practice, and a meaningful approach to spiritual formation. Rising to this challenge, both as individuals and meetings, can lead us to the distinctive form of spiritual experience that Friends can offer of the gathering presence of the Holy Spirit. And he points out that it is in this encounter that Quakerism remains a living evolving religion.… (more)