Adapted with permission from the Sharing Our Journeys resource developed by Friends in Britain Yearly Meeting.

This activity can serve to help integrate newcomers into Quaker practice, build relationships between newcomers and Friends in the meeting, and deepen the experience of worship for all present.

Plan for this discussion to take 45-60 minutes.  This discussion can also be a powerful way to explore the experience of meeting for worship with young people.

Divide into small groups of 4-5, making sure that each group has some newcomers and some folks from the meeting.  Give each group a sheet of paper with a list of the following questions and instructions:

• What do you come for, when you come to meeting for worship?
• What do you do in meeting for worship?
• Do you sit and think?
• Do you meditate?
• Do you pray?
• Do you sleep?
• Do you listen?
• Do you watch what other people are doing? o Do you enjoy meeting for worship?
• How do you use the silence? o What helps you to use the silence?  What gets in the way?
• How do you prepare for meeting for worship throughout the week?
• What questions do you have for others in this group about meeting for worship?

Instructions: One person in each group reads the list of questions and invites the group to settle into silence.  Participants may speak out of the silence to share their experience of worship.  It may be helpful for groups to pass a “talking stick” to ensure that only one person speaks at a time.  Make sure each person has a chance to speak.   After a time of sharing, the person with the questions can review the list and see if there are any questions that have not yet been fully explored and ask the group to focus specifically on that final question.