We meet for silence-based worship each First Day from 9 to 10 AM and from 11 to 12 AM at 630 Canyon Rd.  First-Day School meets at 11 AM. Childcare is available for the 11 AM meeting. No parking is provided, but parking is always available on Camino Escondido nearby (see map).

The South Santa Fe Quaker Worship Group meets at 10:30 AM every First Day (Sunday) at 4884 La Junta del Alamo.  Vegas Verdes crosses Cerrillos Road between Avenida de las Americas and Zafarano Drive.  (Contact Alison Martinez at 438-0729 or  alison1@cybermesa.com for directions.)

The Los Alamos Worship Group meets at 11 AM on the second and fourth Sunday of the month.  Contact Marie Andrew (662-7530) or Martha Davis (662-7287) for the location.

How we worship:

We follow the "unprogrammed" style of worship. That means that we do not employ a pastor to lead our services. Attenders should expect to enter quietly and take any seat. The Meetingroom is entered through the kitchen door which faces the garden, and on in to the Meetingroom, through the library. Seats face the center. Some Friends may arrive early to sit in silence and quiet their thoughts (centering down) before the start of Meeting for Worship.
In our worship we try to keep an expectant attitude, waiting for the "still small voice" of God. 

Occasionally someone in Meeting will feel the prompting of the Holy Spirit to give a vocal message. Friends are urged to wait until they are sure that the prompting is genuine and then speak loudly enough that all can hear. Since we believe that "that of God" is within every person, we listen carefully to each message, seeking together for the truth. Sometimes the reason for a message may be unclear, even to the speaker, but we often find out later that it "speaks to the condition" of another listener. It is our custom that speakers be brief (not continuing beyond what they feel they are required by Spirit to say), and that ordinarily they speak no more than once, not dialoguing with each other. Also it is our custom that a respectful period of silence follow each message. 

Occasionally an entire Meeting for Worship is spent in silence. The silence is spent in prayer or meditation. Friends often report that they have been enriched by meeting in the silence, or alternatively that a spoken message had a meaning for them. We have no single style of meditation, except that we expect it to be a group experience. Many of us find that worship is most rich if we sit quietly with feet on the floor, hands folded, and head bowed in expectant silence. Friends are urged to come to meeting without prepared materials, without a plan to speak, but also with an expectation that it may turn out that they are prompted to speak.

Children

At this time, our children participate in First-Day school activities for the first 45 minutes of the hour, then join Meeting for Worship for its last 10 minutes. Visiting children are more than welcome to join in our First-Day school activities, though children occasionally choose to remain with their parents for the whole hour.

Following Meeting for Worship, at approximately 12:00 noon, the Clerk or another appointed member gives a signal of closure (rise of Meeting) by shaking the hand of a person sitting near them. All are invited to shake hands and share greetings. Newcomers will be invited to introduce themselves, and often everyone in the room introduces themselves as well. Announcements usually take about 5-10 minutes.

Refreshments

Then, at about 12:15, everyone is invited to have hot drinks and whatever snacks have been set out. This is also a social time when you can meet your fellow worshipers.

You are invited to sign our guestbook in the library, and to sign out books. You may take various pamphlets from the rack in the library. In addition, there are usually old issues of Friends Journal and other Friends publications that you can borrow or take.

Meeting for Business

Second hour of the third First-Day of each month is always reserved for "Meeting for Worship with a Concern for Business" (or just "Meeting for Business" for short). This is the time when Friends meet to discern a "sense of the Meeting." 

In other words, we gather in worship to find what it is that God calls us to decide and do. We make decisions in worship, waiting for consensus to develop. We wait until the consensus has a feeling of rightness to all members present. It is the role of our Clerk to recognize and restate our consensus in words, seeking always to make sure that each member has had a chance to be heard and that none feel a prompting to oppose the decision. The Clerk asks for reports from the Treasurer and from the convenors of various committees and from the Clerk of Ministry and Oversight (a committee comprised of Meeting members who are appointed for that task). Meeting for Business is a serious, but fascinating process. It can take a lot of time, though we are usually done in about 90 minutes.

For More Information

Those who want to learn more about The Religious Society of Friends are invited to borrow books from our library at the Meeting House. In particular, you might want to read a copy of "Faith and Practice." Though Friends try to avoid requiring a certain set of doctrinal beliefs (allowing the Spirit Within to speak freshly to us from the silence), some of us also listen closely the teachings of the Bible (especially the gospel of John and the book of James). 

Our "Faith and Practice" book, developed by a committee of a regional Friends organization, contains historical information, quotes from well-known members of the Religious Society of Friends, and items we call "advices" and "queries." The queries play an important role for us, especially when we choose to focus on one of them for Meeting. The queries from "Faith and Practice" are questions that challenge us to look at our lives and practices in a fresh light, trying to follow the leadings of Christ as they apply to us today.

Our Facilities

Our Meeting House is located on Canyon Road, with mostly art galleries and restaurants, not far from the Plaza. We meet for worship in a room that can easily seat about 55, with a maximum of about 70. Many people have commented that our L-shaped worship room provides a nice atmosphere for worship, dance, or meditation. We have a kitchen, an adjoining room for young children and First-Day school for "middle" and "older" children. The definitions and compositions of the groups are modified, as needed, as our children grow.

We are happy to rent our Meeting House to other organizations that have purposes that do not conflict with Friends values. Our rental fees are based on a sharing of the costs of maintenance and heating. Please ask our resident Friend (505-983-7241) about times available that might work out for your organization.  

December 31, 2007

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