This week in Quakerism 101 we will be talking about vocal ministry.
During silent worship, how do we know when we're feeling called?
Trusty Faith and Practice has a section on "Vocal Ministry and the Meeting for Worship." One of its entries says,
"We should try to discern and to interpret the spiritual meaning of the movements of thought and action at work in the world around us,"
-London Yearly Meeting, proceedings, 1949.
Most of us hear about the "movements of thought and action at work in the world" through news outlets - the paper, online newsfeeds, public radio, television news. In order to imbue all our activities with depth that comes from prayerfulness, we must discern the spiritual meaning of what we hear. What does that mean?
This morning I read about research that shows that the public doesn't necessarily believe that which scientific research indicates is true. I may know that scientists report that the wild bobcat is going extinct (theoretical example) but not believe it's a problem because such a belief would interfere with my plan to develop a large swath of land that is well known to be bobcat territory. We often only believe that which lies conveniently alongside our other beliefs.
This seems related to "spiritual meaning". An interpretation of worldly phenomena which takes into account only my interests and concerns is not the spiritual meaning.
The challenge is to observe phenomena with a God's eye perspective: is this "movement of thought/action" just? Does it promote peace? Does it preserve dignity? Does it privilege some people, or place humans above all other creatures on the scale of importance?
As we consume news and generally hear about movements of thought and action, think about what you consider to be the spiritual meaning of what you hear. How do you discern and then interpret it? I would love to hear your take.
During silent worship, how do we know when we're feeling called?
Trusty Faith and Practice has a section on "Vocal Ministry and the Meeting for Worship." One of its entries says,
"We should try to discern and to interpret the spiritual meaning of the movements of thought and action at work in the world around us,"
-London Yearly Meeting, proceedings, 1949.
Most of us hear about the "movements of thought and action at work in the world" through news outlets - the paper, online newsfeeds, public radio, television news. In order to imbue all our activities with depth that comes from prayerfulness, we must discern the spiritual meaning of what we hear. What does that mean?
This morning I read about research that shows that the public doesn't necessarily believe that which scientific research indicates is true. I may know that scientists report that the wild bobcat is going extinct (theoretical example) but not believe it's a problem because such a belief would interfere with my plan to develop a large swath of land that is well known to be bobcat territory. We often only believe that which lies conveniently alongside our other beliefs.
This seems related to "spiritual meaning". An interpretation of worldly phenomena which takes into account only my interests and concerns is not the spiritual meaning.
The challenge is to observe phenomena with a God's eye perspective: is this "movement of thought/action" just? Does it promote peace? Does it preserve dignity? Does it privilege some people, or place humans above all other creatures on the scale of importance?
As we consume news and generally hear about movements of thought and action, think about what you consider to be the spiritual meaning of what you hear. How do you discern and then interpret it? I would love to hear your take.
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