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Permalink Reply by Martin Kelley on 2nd mo. 15, 2011 at 9:12pm

Good sources! I Googled DuBois and found <a href="http://www.ihrc.umn.edu/research/vitrage/all/do/GENdubois.htm">this awesome biography</a> at the library holding her papers and this slimmer <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/1993/04/01/obituaries/rachel-d-dubois-101-educator-who-promoted-value-of-diversity.html">NYTimes obit</a>. Her "group conversations" do sound like close precursors to worship sharing. What's different is that they purposefully sought out diverse audiences for cross-cultural dialog and understanding.

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Permalink Reply by William F Rushby on 2nd mo. 16, 2011 at 11:27am

My guess is that this practice has its origins in the work of Rachel Dubois.  See http://www.fgcquaker.org/connect/fall03/

Rachel Davis DuBois of New York Yearly Meeting traveling in the field for FGC, 1960. In the 1950s and 60s,FGC’s services to meetings included sponsoring Rachel Davis DuBois’“Quaker Dialogues,” to help meetings develop deeper sharing among members. From 1958–1964, Rachel Davis DuBois led dialogues in over 300 meetings.After that time, the Religious Life Committee, which was established in 1963 to support the spiritual life of meetings, inherited the program.

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Permalink Reply by William F Rushby on 2nd mo. 16, 2011 at 11:41am

I participated in a "worship sharing" experience led by Rachel Dubois in the early 1960s at New York Yearly Meeting.  I was a college student back then, and my family lived about 30 miles from Silver Bay. (That's how I could afford to attend!)  As I recall, we were asked to reply to a question, one by one, framed by silence and with no replies by other participants allowed.  I think our question was "what was your first religious experience or memory?"  It was a very good session; I still remember it 50 years later!

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Permalink Reply by Martin Kelley on 2nd mo. 16, 2011 at 12:12pm

Thanks for finding this Bill! And now I know why the Dubois' name was familiar to me--I posted that article and picture to the FGC site back in 2003!  Of course it would have to be Deborah Haines who would write an article to keep DuBois' legacy alive. She's a real gem and did some great work around the history of FGC for its centennial. I've updated my post on Dubois and worship sharing so hopefully future people curious might find that and this conversation. Thanks again.

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Permalink Reply by Paul A. Smith on 2nd mo. 16, 2011 at 3:00pm

I wonder if those of us who attend the meetings of the Christian Friends Conference in Northern California have been doing a variant of this.  During our first hour of 'waiting worship' the silence is broken only by readings from the Bible -- no commentary.  After a break for lunch, we gather for another hour during which the silence is (usually) broken only by responses to the readings from the morning sessions.  I almost always leave these meetings refreshed and invigorated.  I particularly enjoy those meetings that can be described as 'covered.'

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Permalink Reply by Helen Gibbs on 2nd mo. 16, 2011 at 3:33pm

LOL I am showing my Eurocentric traits!

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Permalink Reply by William F Rushby on 2nd mo. 16, 2011 at 8:39pm

Actually, the process was not exactly as I described it in my last post.  We answered more than one question, perhaps to "warm us up."  The one about earliest memories was probably the final one.

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Permalink Reply by Lisa Hubbell on 2nd mo. 16, 2011 at 11:40pm

I notice that many Friends here seem to be referring to worship-sharing as a path to, or an alternate form of, sharing spoken ministry. My experience with Pacific YM is that it's more an opportunity to get to know each other, which sometimes can be deeply moving or tender. Powerful moments in worship-sharing have stuck with me for years, and have opened richer friendships with people of other ages than I might otherwise have had.

Usually there is an expectation that everyone will speak unless they choose to pass, and while there is silence before and between what people share, it rarely has the quality of meeting for worship. It's more like a conversation that invites trust, because we know that people will not directly respond to what we share. Some of the guidelines I've heard for worship-sharing in recent years sound a bit like those for 12-step meetings. I can see how the term "worship-sharing" would cause confusion for people new to Quakerism.

The queries may have an explicit spiritual focus, but can also be more psychological. Queries are often chosen beforehand by a committee, to tie in with the theme of the gathering. I've rarely heard those from the Advices and Queries in our Faith and Practice used in worship-sharing. Strawberry Creek Meeting reads the A&Q at the beginning of meeting on the first Sunday of the month, prefaced by a statement that says they are "not to suggest a theme for spoken ministry."

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Permalink Reply by Lisa Hubbell on 2nd mo. 16, 2011 at 11:55pm

I have a strong reservation about the practice of "afterthoughts". I find that the messages that come to me but don't "rise to the level of ministry" are sometimes ones I need to carry with me keep seasoning or living into after I leave meeting for worship. Sometimes they resurface as spoken ministry weeks later. To put these seedlings into words prematurely, just because they appeared during the preceding hour of worship, might not allow them to grow in me over time.

It does help to have spiritual friendships within the monthly meeting or beyond, Friends I can speak with about how God is working on me. Which of our forms of fellowship support listening to each other beyond words?

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Permalink Reply by Martha Lee Turner on 2nd mo. 23, 2011 at 9:50am

I experienced worship sharing introduced (or possibly re-introduced?) in the meeting in Austin, Texas, in the early or middle 1970s.  I had the impression at that time that worship sharing had no long history among Friends.

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