What is Meeting for Worship with Attention to Business?
Most Quaker faith communities hold monthly business meetings to make decisions on business and spiritual matters, including finance, operations, and worship. We use the collective discernment of participants to guide us. Business meetings are facilitated by the meeting clerk and occur on the third Sunday of the month at 12:15 PM in the worship room. There usually is no business meeting in July, August, and December.
All members are expected to participate in business meetings, and all attenders (a word we use for non-members who regularly attend meeting for worship) are encouraged to attend.
There are four distinctive attributes of Quaker business meetings. These meetings are:
- rooted in worship: A business meeting starts and ends with a brief period of silent worship. This helps us approach business decisions with a spirit of calm openness;
- led by the clerk of the Meeting who moves us through the agenda;
- characterized by a sense of spaciousness, discussion is not rushed;
committed to making decisions based on the “sense of the meeting,” waiting for a sense of unity to grow among those present about what direction to take, guided by the Spirit. Usually, this sense of the meeting is readily discerned. At other times, a decision may have to wait until another meeting. Rarely, a matter is set aside because a lack of unity. For Quakers, this is not a failure. It is listening to the Spirit
September 2024 Meeting for Business Documents
Chestnut Hill Friends Meeting Meeting for Worship with Attention to Business. Query for the Ninth Month – Equality and Justice
June 2024 Meeting for Business Documents
June 15, 2024 – No Comments
June 16, 2024 Chestnut Hill Friends Meeting Meeting for Worship with Attention to Business Query for the Sixth Month – Stewardship of Resources
May 2024 Meeting for Business Documents
May 17, 2024 – No Comments
Chestnut Hill Friends Meeting Meeting for Worship with Attention to Business May 19, 2024 Query for the Fifth Month Nurturing Our Community: Religious Education in the Home and Meeting
February 2024 Meeting for Business Documents
March 1, 2024 – No Comments
Meeting for Worship for Business February 18, 2024 at 12:15 pm Hybrid – Attend in person or join via Zoom Agenda – Documents attached below Query for the Second Month – Deepening Our Faith: Meeting for Business
