Quaker waiting worship and clearness committees

Domain XIII · Contemplative & religious disciplines

What it is

Unprogrammed Quaker worship ("waiting worship" or "meeting for worship") is a gathering with no prearranged service or appointed minister, in which people wait together in silence, expecting, in Friends' own terms, to experience God's presence; anyone present may speak briefly if moved to do so.…

Format

• Format: a group, usually seated in a circle or square, typically for about an hour (the leaflet notes that settling "may take most of the hour"; no fixed length is prescribed).
• Focus person prepares a short statement of the problem, background factors and hunches about what lies ahead, and presents it orally in 10 to 15 minutes at most.

Questions to explore with your client

• What drew you to it, and what are you hoping it will change?
• Does it involve any substance, plant preparation, remedy or supplement? Has your doctor or prescriber been told, especially about any medication you take?
• Does it involve intense or unusual breathing? Have you been told about the medical conditions for which that is not advised?
• Is it a group, retreat or community? How do they respond if someone wants to leave or raises a concern?
• How do you and the practitioner understand what is happening, in spiritual or cultural terms? Is that a source of comfort, worry, or both?
• Who runs it, and what training or registration do they hold?
• What actually happens in a session or meeting, and how often?
• What does it cost, and is there pressure to commit to more?
• How do you feel afterwards, in the hours and days that follow?
• Does it fit with, or clash with, the work we do here?

What practitioners of it watch for

• pull to give spiritual direction.
• use as avoidance of necessary action.
• cultural appropriation concerns raised by the client.
• the therapist being recruited as a reassurance source.
• freezing, numbing, losing time; shame at leaving early.

When to involve someone else

• New or worsening physical symptoms, or advice to stop or change prescribed medication: involve the client's doctor or prescriber.
• Signs of coercion, isolation from family and friends, escalating costs or secrecy: discuss openly and consider safeguarding.
• A crisis or thoughts of suicide: follow your crisis protocol. In the US, call or text 988; in the UK and Ireland, Samaritans on 116 123.

Drawn automatically from the guide's own sections. Stay curious: neither endorse nor dismiss what the client values, and check anything that matters against the full guide and its sources. Not medical advice.