Monthly Worship Queries

Queries for Deepening Our Faith

  • Are our meetings for worship held in stilled, expectant waiting upon God?
  • As we worship in the living silence, are we drawn together by the power of God in our midst? Do we experience a deep reverence for the integrity of creation?
  • How does our worship nurture all worshipers, creating a deeper sense of community?
  • How does our meeting encourage vocal ministry that spiritually nurtures the worshiping community?
  • Do I faithfully attend meeting with heart and mind prepared for worship, clear of any predetermination to speak or not to speak, expecting that worship will be a source of strength and guidance?
  • Does worship deepen my relationship with God, increase my faithfulness and refresh and renew my daily life, both inwardly and in my relationships with other persons and with all of creation?
  • Does worship enhance my capacity for attentive, non-judgmental listening to others?
  • How does participation in meeting for worship contribute to my life-long spiritual journey? 

  • Is our meeting for business held in worship in which we seek divine guidance?
  • How do we sustain prayerful consideration of all aspects of an issue and address difficult problems with a search for truth that is unhurried by the pressures of time?
  • Do we recognize that we speak through our inaction as well as our action?
  • Do I regularly attend meeting for business? If unable to attend, how do I fulfill the responsibility to understand and embrace the decisions made?
  • How do I affirm and support God’s presence in the process of discernment and reaching a decision?
  • Do I remain open to personal transformation as the community arrives at the sense of the meeting?

  • How does the meeting encourage the use of spiritual practices that deepen our faith, enhance the excitement of shared religious discovery and increase the possibility of spiritual transformation?
  • What is the nature of our shared experience of the Divine and how do we nurture our collective spiritual growth and transformation?
  • In what ways do we support each other in our spiritual journeys, in our search for God’s will and in our efforts to increase understanding of humanity’s relationship to life on earth?
  • How do we recognize, develop and nurture the spiritual gifts of all in our meeting?
  • How do I incorporate into my personal and family life those daily practices that focus on continued spiritual growth, including worship, reflection and engagement with writings that nurture the soul?
  • How does my spiritual life integrate an understanding of a well-ordered relationship with the earth and deepen my reverence for the interconnectedness of all life?

Queries for Nurturing Our Community

  • Do we help each other to live with integrity and contribute that integrity to the life of our meeting?
  • How does our meeting learn of members’ needs and offer its assistance?
  • How does our meeting nurture members in all stages of life?
  • How does our meeting welcome those new to Friends and integrate them into our community?
  • When a member’s conduct or manner of living gives cause for concern, how does the meeting respond?
  • Am I ready both to offer and to accept meeting assistance when needed?
  • Do I treat adults and children alike with respect and without condescension?
  • What opportunities have I taken to know, work and worship with Friends in the larger spiritual communities we share?

  • How does our meeting prepare its members, attenders and children for worship, for the conduct of its business and for a way of life consistent with the principles of the Religious Society of Friends?
  • What opportunities do we provide for all in the meeting to learn about Friends’ history, practices and testimonies, the Judeo-Christian tradition, the life and teachings of Jesus, and other religious traditions?
  • How does our meeting’s religious education program provide experiential learning that enhances the sense of belonging to our worshipping community?
  • How do I help create a home where all members of the family receive affection and understanding and where visitors are welcome?
  • How does my manner of living enrich body, mind and spirit; enable all to learn what it means to live a life of Spirit-led commitment; and demonstrate a high regard for family, community and the integrity of creation?
  • How do I engage with my family and others who are dear to me regarding such sensitive topics as death, faith, money, sex and drugs?

  • How does our meeting accommodate ecological, economic and social justice in its uses of property and money?
  • Does our meeting engage its members in supporting the meeting’s work, its ministry and the upkeep of its property?
  • Does our meeting encourage its members to support with their time, energy and finances the quarterly and yearly meetings and other Quaker organizations?
  • To what extent does our meeting rely on current members and attenders for financial support and to what extent on other sources?
  • How do I demonstrate in my own decision making a concern for ecological, economic and social justice?
  • How do I simplify my needs, making choices that balance self-sufficiency and fair sharing of resources?
  • Do I balance my work-life and other activities with the time and energy needed for my spiritual growth and service?
  • Do I contribute to the work of Friends in my meeting, in the quarterly and yearly meetings and in the wider world of Friends?

Queries on Grounding For Transformation

  • How do we help each other face conflicts with patience, forbearance and openness to healing?
  • To what extent does our meeting ignore differences in order to avoid possible conflicts?
  • What are we doing as a Friends meeting within our communities:
  • 1) To recognize and correct the causes of violence?
  • 2) To understand the impact of the global military-industrial complex on all aspects of life?
  • 3) To increase the understanding and use of alternatives to violence?
  • 4) To work toward overcoming separations and restoring wholeness?
  • 5) To support the constructive use of authority?
  • 6) To promote the sustainability of the earth?
  • Do I “live in the virtue [power] of that Life and Spirit that took [takes] away the occasion of all wars”?
  • How do I maintain Friends’ testimony that participation in war and its preparation is inconsistent with the teaching of Jesus?
  • Do I treat personal conflict as an opportunity for growth?
  • How do I face my differences with others and reaffirm in action and attitude my love for those with whom I am in conflict?

  • What is the interplay between simplicity and integrity in the life of our meeting?
  • How does our meeting embody simplicity and integrity in its structures and practices?
  • How has our meeting considered humanity’s impact on the earth’s ecological integrity and the ways in which violence and injustice exacerbate this impact?
  • How do I strive to achieve harmony between my inner and outer commitments in my spiritual journey, my work, my family and my other responsibilities?
  • Am I temperate in all things?
  • Am I open to counsel regarding addictive behavior?
  • Am I involved only with those organizations and activities whose purposes and methods complement my integrity?
  • Am I careful to speak truth as I know it and am I open to truth spoken to me?
  • Am I mindful that judicial oaths imply a double standard of truth?

  • How does our meeting benefit from established patterns of prejudice, exploitation and economic convenience? What are we doing to change this?
  • How and how often does our meeting engage in a self-examination of its attitudes and actions regarding race, ability, gender, sexual orientation or class?
  • What steps are we taking as a meeting to inform ourselves about social injustice and ecological violence embedded in our political and economic systems?
  • What steps are we taking as a meeting to assure that our meeting and the committees and institutions under our care are respectful of the earth and its people?
  • Do I regularly examine myself for attitudes and behavior that indicate any hidden prejudice regarding race, gender, sexual orientation, disability or class?
  • How do my lifestyle choices affect—positively or negatively—the causes of justice and peace in our nation, the community of nations and the whole of creation?
  • How do I demonstrate in my way of living, and in what I teach my children, that love of God entails acknowledging “that of God in every person”?

Queries for Witnessing in the World

  • How does our meeting communicate Friends’ presence and principles to the wider community?
  • How does our meeting join with other faith communities in worship, in spiritual dialogue and in social action?
  • What are we doing to invite persons to attend our meetings for worship, to welcome them when they come, to listen sensitively to their needs and hesitations and to encourage their continued attendance?
  • How do I share my spiritual life and experience with others?
  • Does my life as a Friend attract others to our religious society?
  • What opportunities have I taken to worship with people from other religious and cultural backgrounds and work with them on common concerns?

  • What does our meeting do to support and improve public education?
  • What help do we provide for the children and adults in our meeting to pursue their educational goals?
  • What is our meeting’s role in support for Friends’ education? If our meeting is connected to a Friends school or schools, does this relationship nurture spiritual life and the manifestation of Friends principles?
  • Do we enable children in our meeting to attend a Friends school? Does our meeting work with the family to consider all available means of support?
  •  How do I show my concern for the improvement of public education in my community?
  • Do I demonstrate my encouragement and support for Friends education through awareness and service?

What is our meeting doing:

  • To become aware of systemic legal, economic and political injustices in our local community?
  • To build relationships with other faith communities around common concerns?
  • To reduce polarization within the larger community?
  • To work together with others to address injustice?
  • How does our meeting assist in restoring public recognition that government fulfills legitimate functions?
  • Am I mindful of how my lifestyle, work-life and investments affect others?
  • Am I open to seeking clearness on matters of conscience? Am I open to assisting others in doing so?
  • Do I fulfill my civic responsibilities when they do not conflict with divine leading?

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