Western Gathering:
FGConnections Fall 2006

Expanding Circles

By Aimee Buchholz

Aimee Buchholz

I sat cross-legged on the floor and took a deep breath. There were dozens of Adult Young Friends streaming into the large room and our circle kept expanding. I quickly scanned around the room. At least a 130 people! It was exciting to be around so many peers, but I was also a little apprehensive. I had never been to an FGC Gathering before and I didn’t know what to expect. How would people react to me? Would they be a bit suspicious? Would I be welcome?

Clear across the other side of the room the introductions began: state your name, monthly meeting, yearly meeting, and who you would be and why if you could be any person past or present, real or imagined. I listened intently as the introductions went around. The list of names people would rather be ranged from serious to mundane to completely off-the-wall. I was excited to recognize several faces from the World Gathering of Young Friends last summer. I would be connecting with them again at our interest group on Monday.

It was finally my turn. I took another deep breath and stood up. “Hi, my name is Aimee Buchholz and I’m from North Seattle Friends…..Church.” Pause. “Northwest Yearly Meeting.” Pause. “Evangelical Friends International…” Silence. And then the most amazing thing happened: the whole room burst into cheers and clapping and shouts of welcome! I was overwhelmed. My fears had been silly – of course I was welcome. I felt emboldened by the crowd and continued with my introduction: “If I could be anyone, I would be Amelia Earhart because then I would know where I was!” I was definitely part of this crazy group.

I found myself part of another circle on Monday morning, a much smaller circle. I and another friend from Northwest Yearly Meeting joined the chant workshop. Singing is not something I excel at. In fact, I don’t usually sing unless I know I’ll be drowned out by others. However, I knew this would be an easy workshop to slip into on the days I was able to and I had heard they were singing Taizé songs, which I absolutely adore. But again, I wasn’t sure what to expect. What songs would they sing other than Taizé? Would all the attendees of this workshop be professional singers? “Chant” sometimes has weird connotations for me. What was I getting myself into?

I settled in my chair in the circle, took a deep breath, and relaxed. Our leader started out by saying the words of a song once through and then singing the song once through. As people were able they joined in. (It takes a strong leader to lead a group with no written words and no music!) The songs were simple and we picked them up quickly. Each song started out simply, just the basic tune, then slowly different singers would add in melodies and harmonies and all the fancy stuff that makes a song sound really, really good.

We seemed to be a pretty diverse group: men, women, older, younger, different singing abilities, and of course different faith experiences. The songs themselves were also diverse, referring to Jesus, Christ, God, Goddess, Ahura Mazda, Allah, Yaweh, Great Spirit. I wasn’t sure I was comfortable with some of the songs but I realized they were truth for others in the circle. I knew there were songs that were truth for me that were awkward for others. I sang the awkward songs anyway out of respect for others in the group, and I think others did the same. It was an experience of being excited about my truth as it was shared and willing to listen and participate as someone else’s truth was shared.

During one song a woman lay down in the middle of the circle and wept and wept. It was heartbreaking to hear. As I sang on I prayed for her and whatever she was going through. Later she told us that she had felt compelled to go to the center of the circle and receive the song. This was profound to me. I don’t often think about receiving the words of a song. As a programmed Friend I get to sing songs all the time. I confess that sometimes I focus more on the fun tune or how good we sound together than the actual words I’m saying. I was challenged to pay more attention to the words and to open myself to receiving them. I was reminded of a song we sang when I was in college:

I’m coming back to the heart of worship
And it’s all about you
All about you Jesus
I’m sorry Lord for the thing I’ve made it
When it’s all about you
All about you Jesus

I found myself in other circles throughout the days I was at Gathering. I sat in a circle of Friends reminiscing about the World Gathering of Young Friends and wondering what is next for Adult Young Friends. I joined a circle of Friends one night and learned about the movement of ‘convergent Friends,’ Quaker bloggers, and the state of Adult Young Friend involvement in meetings. I even joined the Contra dancing one night – and everyone was dancing circles around me!

These circles where we came together felt open, inviting, inclusive, and always ready to expand for one more. I certainly felt accepted into the circle and part of the group during my time at FGC Gathering. I am looking forward to the next diverse Quaker gathering and the circles I may find myself in then.

Aimee Buchholz attends North Seattle Friends Church, Northwest Yearly Meeting. She is currently studying to get her Masters degree in Library and Information Science at the University of Washington.

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