When Quakers say that their worship service is “programmed” or “unprogrammed”, what do they mean? Celebrate World Quaker Day! http://www.worldquakerday.org Quaker Speak is a weekly video series. Subscribe: http://QuakerSpeak.com/subscribe ___ Go Deeper with Friends Journal: http://FriendsJournal.org Lobby with Quakers on Capitol Hill: http://www.fcnl.org Work for peace with justice with AFSC: http://www.afsc.org/friends Learn about the rich diversity of Quakers worldwide: http://www.fwccamericas.org/ Directed by Jon Watts http://www.JonWatts.com ___ Transcript: Nancy Wallace I’ve worshiped with conservative Friends. I’ve worshipped in Central America. I’ve gone to Pastoral Meetings in the United States. I’ve gone to an Evangelical Meeting in the United States. They’re all different. What I would say is that the Meetings go from – you can find a Meeting that’s non-programmed, non-pastoral to a Meeting that’s totally programmed, totally pastoral, and you have every possible permutation in the middle. What’s the Difference Between “Programmed” and “Unprogrammed” Quaker Worship? Gloria Thompson A Programmed Meeting means that we have a pastor, and we believe in reading the Bible, singing hymns – we have a piano that someone plays. And we have vocal ministry, really. Programmed means also we do enjoy the silence, there’s a period of silent meditation there, and we read from the scriptures. Jim Anderson There are about 20 of us that gather for an hour in a period of waiting worship, and I think I would describe that as a group of people with different understandings of what they’re doing. Different understandings of Quakerism. Some newcomers, some who have been there for decades. And they’re all in their own way settling into a period of quiet waiting in communion and connection with one another. Karen Gregario de Calderon Es un programa que construye mi vida espiritual. Amo la parte de cantar porque alabo al Señor y agradezco. Amo la parte de escuchar la persona quien me va a ensenar porque Dios tiene algo preparado para mí. Amo la parte de leer la Biblia porque también Dios me habla allí. Amo la parte de orar porque recibo bendición y escucho la voz de Dios. Todo el conjunto me beneficia espiritualmente. Amo el conjunto de cosas que hacemos en, en nuestra forma de adorar. Eduardo Diaz For some people the silence is uncomfortable. I know for me, initially it was, with my first unprogrammed Meeting, but then I learned to love it. Because I was given the opportunity to go deep inside, and to listen to that internal antennae that I could turn on and hear God’s voice, and search for guidance. Nancy Wallace The goal is not silence. The goal is creating the space in our very loud world so that we can hear God’s voice. Kelly Kellum In my experience, the core of even pastoral Friends worship is that centering, open worship time which we call the silent, unprogrammed time of our worship, in which we truly do seek to heed the presence of Christ that is in our midst. Kristin Olson-Kennedy I don’t have to believe a certain thing. I don’t have to profess a certain creed. I get to sit there and listen and be and experience and go through all of those things that are necessary for me to be closer to God, and I find that to be invaluable. I find that to be the only way I know how to become that person that God has created me to be. Ministry in the Different Traditions Kristin Olson-Kennedy We don’t have any paid staff for our Meeting, we don’t have a paid pastor or any other support staff. We gather together in silence, so we have nothing programmed in our Meeting. So we come in and we sit down, we sit in expectant waiting. Read More: http://quakerspeak.com/difference-between-programmed-unprogrammed-quaker-worship/ ___ The views expressed in this video are of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views of Friends Journal or its collaborators.
