QuakerInfo.com Forum

[AnnaBelle]

Hello! I am AnnaBelle, and I'm hoping to learn about Quakerism from those who are living it. I have been reading quite a lot about it for some time now, and would love to attend my local meeting. I have sent an email requesting a call back, as well as trying to join the Yahoo group for my local meeting, but have not received any answers. It seems that though I am seeking Quakerism, it is playing hard to get at the moment. I am curious about how the meeting in my area works...I know it is "unprogrammed", though I guess I'm wanting to ask more questions.

Anyway, I am hoping to be able to ask some questions, and engage in more detailed discussion...I have read all the superficial stuff out there, and am looking for more direction and to seek it more intensely.

Thanks for approving my membership.

Be well.

[Kiahanie]

Hiya, Annabelle. Welcome to this forum.

They may not be playing hard to get. Some Meetings (including mine) only check voice mail periodically, and email maybe not quite that much. My suggestion is you just show up at Meeting.
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"There is a field out beyond right and wrong. I'll meet you there." --Jellaludin Rumi

[AnnaBelle]

Yeah, attending a meeting is definitely the next step. I was hoping to do it this week, but it won't be possible.

Should I assume that the meeting is Liberal? I'm in Canada, and to my knowledge, there are not a lot of "Conservative" meetings, I don't think, if any at all. Would that be the most likely scenario?

Thanks for the welcome!

Be well,

AnnaBelle

[Kiahanie]

[wsamuel]

Annabelle,

Most meetings in Canada are affiliated with Canadian YM. Those meetings do vary in character, but on the whole they could be considered liberal meetings. Halcyonia Meeting in Saskatchewan is an independent Conservative meeting, and there are some Evangelical Friends churches in Ontario. The latter would be readily identifiable since they would have Church in their name rather than Meeting.

If you go to http://fwccamericas.org/meetingsearch.aspx and search, it provides information about each Friends group, including their affiliation and style of worship.
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Bill Samuel, Webservant, QuakerInfo.com

[Hope]

Hi Annabelle
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Light & Love
Hope
xx

[AnnaBelle]

Thanks for the welcomes and the info, all! @wsamuel: That link was wonderful, thank you so much!

[jesse]

Hi AnnaBelle! Welcome!

You may have already found listings for Canadian Quaker meetings, but in case this is helpful, here's a link to a complete listing of CYM meetings:
http://www.quaker.ca/ContactInfo/Directory/directory.html

(CYM = Canadian Yearly Meeting, which is essentially the umbrella body that almost all Canadian Meetings are part of, with the exception of the few wsamuel referenced).

In my experience of Canadian Quakerism (having grown up as a Quaker here, and spent a lot of time at CYM gatherings), CYM meetings are all in the liberal unprogrammed tradition. Individual Friends vary in their beliefs, and different meetings take on different flavours, both in terms of how Christian-rooted they are, and in terms of other less easily described qualities such as the extent to which the silence is broken by ministry, or the tone of the ministry itself, or even in terms of the age make-up of the meeting (though most meetings tend to run toward grey-hair!). If you have the good fortune of living near more than one meeting, it might be interesting to try more than one out. Unfortunately, in Canada, we're so small, that's rather unlikely in most parts of the country.

Regardless, I would encourage you to try multiple weeks at your local meeting because the feel of a meeting-for-worship varies from week to week, especially because it is a dynamic experience that is shaped by those attending and their experience of god. That can manifest in very different ways from week to week, so trying out a Quaker meeting is best done by experiencing it repeatedly to get a better global sense of how it feels.

[AnnaBelle]

Wow, Jesse, I really appreciate that! Thanks so much!

I'm trying to get up the courage to attend this coming Sunday. I tend to be a wee bit shy in small groups, and I have it on good authority that this group (Edmonton) is quite small. I know it sounds silly, but it usually takes me a fair bit of self-talk to go into new situations like this. And, I'm pretty sure there is only one meeting in my area.

Thanks again!

[jesse]

No problem! Yes - there are only the two meetings in Alberta (Edmonton and Calgary). I don't think I know anyone in that meeting off hand... I know the west Canadian Friends less well, because I rarely travel that direction... but I'm sure you will be welcome, once you find the courage to go. I understand being shy, and how that can be especially true amongst small groups.

A word of warning: we Quakers tend to be kind of shy ourselves, and because we try so hard not to proselytize, sometimes we fall to the other extreme, and remain a bit mysterious, not remembering how new all this might feel, and that some discussion and explanation about worship might be helpful. If people aren't forthcoming about offering you newcomer information, please feel welcome to ask people questions afterward (if you're not too shy to do so). Many meetings will have tea or something immediately after worship, which is a good time for casual conversation and meeting folk.

My email should be visible in my profile. Feel free to drop me a line if you have any specific questions (or reactions to your visit), and want to talk them out one-on-one.

[AnnaBelle]

All very good to know, thanks again! I will definitely be visiting this site after the meeting (assuming I make it there this week) to relate my experience and maybe get feedback if there is anything I'm confused/curious about.

Nice to have a fellow Canadian aboard! Now I have to put on my big girl pants and get my butt to that meeting!

[jesse]

Just checking in... did you ever make it to a meeting? Hope you're doing well either way!!

[AnnaBelle]

Hi, Jesse! Thanks so much for checking in! You are so kind!

Actually, I did attend a meeting, and I liked it, very much. I'm finding it difficult to get there at the moment...Distance, medical issues and 2 wee kids...But I'm hoping to continue. While there, I had an overwhelming feeling that I was absolutely in the right place. I'm so very glad that I pushed through my cowardice and went anyway. Thanks so much for the cheerleading! I needed it!

[jesse]

I'm absolutely delighted to hear that! That feeling of coming home is like nothing else... I'm so excited for you!