Opening to the Spirit
Fred Ashmore was refreshed by taking risks at Woodbrooke
I have been worshipping in our Quaker way for several decades, learning to sit with my Friends in silent expectant waiting, learning to love the discipline and the worship, sometimes transported, sometimes troubled, but usually wonderfully lifted. About a year ago I joined a group that practices untimed worship, closed not by the clock but by Meeting elders, and became aware that expanding from habitual ways of worship can be good – very good.
I was intrigued by the Woodbrooke course ‘Experimental Worship’ scheduled for late October last year. ‘Experimental Worship’ sounded somewhat risky and joining what I understood to be a first run of a course might be a profligate foolishness. I have heard it said that Quaker theology could be as flexible as you like, but you tamper with our way of worship at your peril. What might it involve? Zen? Method acting? Plain dress to recreate the atmosphere and sensations of the 1700s? Formal prayers and hymns (harmonium optional). The tutors, Mark Russ and Terry Hobday, were not known to me, though my wife had attended a weekend of music with Mark as part of ‘Equipping for Ministry’ and came back full of deep joy.
Our group formed up in an enquiring and interested atmosphere at Woodbrooke. There were seven of us plus the two tutors. It was a compact group with our ages ranging from a Young Adult Friend to a ninety-five-year-old. We got on well. Some of us were near my age, exposed to the ‘English Tradition’ of three nice hymns and a couple of prayers during morning assembly; others from deeply engaged Christianity.
The ‘real work’ day that followed the introductory evening was great, exploring various ways of enhancing worship with artwork, poetry, readings, and a good deal of Taizé singing. The Taizé pieces in particular felt really good and solid; while some of us seemed unsure with singing during Quaker worship, others evidently relished it. I felt that our tutors were making sure that none of us was pushed out of our comfort zone, but that all of us were being opened up spiritually and led gently to new ideas about what is possible in Quaker worship. Terry, of course, has helped organise programmed worship at Wem Meeting for many years, and has a great knowledge of readings and poetry in worship, which she shared generously with us. My brain was beginning to show an overload alarm, but struggled on. And Mark Russ? Mark clearly enjoys trying things out and seeing where they go. I had watched with admiration as he persuaded Yearly Meeting Gathering, a collection of dignified weighty Friends if ever there was one, to sing and mime together. This charismatic ability, focussed on us seven, took us to some different places.
We had a lot of fun exploring ideas for different ways for worship, and were encouraged to be really wacky: ‘There are no bad ideas’! Yes, Friend, of course we can talk about a theatre Meeting invoking the spirit of Benjamin Lay. Reader, you will no doubt recollect that Benjamin’s idea of programmed worship included seriously offensive and gross actions to bring home to his Friends the wrongness of slavery; but a fancy dress Meeting, dance or Five Rhythms? I recall watching a video of the worship at a Friends World Committee for Consultation plenary in Peru and the joyful dance there. I wanted to join in. How about a Bible story retold for modern circumstances?
On the last morning we tried putting all this together to programme a Meeting. I’d had some experience of programmed worship with evangelical Friends, but it had not really expanded my thinking. This was quite different, much richer and deeper and with long periods of silence; and no set time. We had Taizé song again, wandered in Woodbrooke’s gardens on a glorious autumn morning; heard readings from Quaker faith & practice and a Psalm (a long one); art response; poetry; more Taizé. It felt deeply worshipful, intense, and relaxed. I know that I want to do it again. This wasn’t done to push against boundaries but to invite us outside some of them. At the end of our worship, Mark said to us: ‘Are all hearts clear?’ It was a fitting ending to something wonderful.
