The Importance of Vocal Ministry: Outreach
September 20, 2018 § 4 Comments
When newcomers come to our meetings for worship, two things help them decide whether to come back. The first is the quality of their welcome, the openness of our fellowship. If the community feels warm and welcoming, if people come up to you and talk to you and show a real interest in you, it feels good. You are encouraged to come back.
The other is the quality of the worship, and that mostly means, the quality of the vocal ministry. But because newcomers don’t really know what to expect, don’t necessarily have a benchmark for what constitutes “good” vocal ministry, they are likely to find a pretty wide range of experience at least somewhat appealing. Only really disturbing or obviously inappropriate ministry is likely to turn them away, though they may still find that our form of worship doesn’t meet their religious needs.
The openness and naivety of the newcomer means that much of the ministry I have been complaining about in this series and in other posts will seem okay to most newcomers. Announcements won’t seem out of place. Worship sharing-style messages might be especially appealing, because these seekers may already have some similar experience in other groups, among their friends, and so on. Messages that begin with, “This week, I’ve been reading…” or “The latest mass shooting has me thinking . . .” might feel topical, relevant, and probably uplifting. Popcorn messages might feel exciting, messages given in the first ten or fifteen minutes probably won’t feel jarring to one’s centering.
But if this is all they get, they won’t get what Quakerism is all about—real, direct communion with God, however you want to express the Mystery that we sometimes experience in the gathered meeting. Presumably, that is what a religious seeker is really looking for, something that transcends the usual and expected experience of social interaction, something more or different than they can get elsewhere.
Worship is how we give shape to that which is of ultimate worth. We Quakers give it that shape primarily through our vocal ministry. Do we offer newcomers ultimate worth in a shape that carries spirit and truth? Does our ministry open pathways to the Well in our midst, to the Light within them, to holy communion with the Transcendence they seek?
Through the Flaming Sword 
[…] The Importance of Vocal Ministry: Outreach […]
I agree. Thank you for the reminder of what is most important.
Verbal worship is not the reason why I joined the Religious Society of Friends. To describe what cannot be described is a distraction. Silent worship can speak volumes for those who are ready to listen.
I don’t recall after more than 47 years if there was ANY vocal ministry at the first experimental Quaker Meeting I attended. I DO remember the sense of Spiritual homecoming.