Brothering the Souls of Others
This Month’s Theme: Community
In gathered worship, Friends achieve a greater depth of communion with Spirit than is possible alone. Being in community leads to spiritual growth, even when that growth is a product of discomfort.
This month you are invited to reflect on your own experiences in community and the ways you can contribute to creating a loving community, spiritual or otherwise.
Your Daily Quaker Message
“Quakers enter the service of silent waiting not alone or in a series of separate reveries but in a company of worshipers; they know something of the needs of their fellow worshipers; they know something of the sufferings and needs of the world. Often they are conscious of a whole redemptive company of faithful departed ones who are engaged in this all-embracing struggle as well. This realization and these needs are gently brought into the worship in the form of intercession, of brothering the souls of others. […] Often Friends have been able to cross the threshold into true worship in bringing into the Listener’s presence the needs of others rather than their own.”
— Douglas V. Steere, 1986
Gleanings: A Random Harvest
Today’s Invitation
Choose a loved one, alive or departed, and pray for them.
Query of the Week
How have your relationships with other people shaped your spirituality?
How does it feel to worship alone? As part of a community?
