Queries for Weekly Worship Sharing Group

RantWoman has again agreed to wade into the world of leading a worship group at NPYM Annual Session, the 2020 Virtual Edition. The planners asked whether Friends are interested in weekly worship groups leading up to the usual calendar meeting dates in July. Reports at a call to learn about Zoom are that about 55 people are interested including worship group leaders and people who have agreed to be Zoom hosts. The group RantWoman will lead begins today.

As readers familiar with RantWoman's spiritual compost heap might guess, RantWoman has many thoughts on her mind. Some that seem important to share as RantWoman prepares:

--THANK YOU to everyone working on this year's experiment. RantWoman thinks lockdowns due to a global pandemic are one hell of a way to respond to her concerns from last year as far as travelling hundreds of miles to pray about climate change, but RantWoman is really looking forward to seeing people for whom travel is not practical.

--God is versatile. RantWoman and the worship groups she has been in have used all kinds of queries and had all kinds of opinions about the queries offered in different years. RantWoman's sense is that God shows up and working with the shared queries is part of making space for God to show up.

--RantWoman urges readers to hold in the Light efforts both to create a worshipful space in the brave new electronic medium and to use the tools of the software well without iimpeding the flow of Friends time together.

--At in-person gatherings, RantWoman usually signs up for Walking Worship sharing. For RantWoman one of the beauties and hazards of video conferencing is that RantWoman can be moving around freely while others sit or move as led. But in RantWoman's experience, it still matters to have a general environment that does not include distractions, especially noisy ones.

--RantWoman has become clear over time (insert ellipsis for unspecified gripes about help or lack thereof...) to ask what she needs of the group as far as Doing Things Differently because of vision issues.

RantWoman is posting the Queries as received by this year's planners partly as artifacts. RantWoman plans to post each week's queries in the Zoom chat but is discerning about some other points about Zoom usage.

Queries for Mid-May to Late June: to reflect upon our Spiritual life during this time.

The purpose of these six weekly groups are to extend community, share joys and concerns, and explore the vastness of Spiritual life during this quarantined time. The weekly queries are to be helpful; however, each
worship group may decide to use other formats to explore the living life of our individual Spiritual paths.

Week 1:

Welcome and introductions. Typically queries are buttressed with quotes from others, to help guide us in searching for our own truths. However, since we are in a virtual structure, we have decided to focus on our faces*, rather than on a frames with lengthy wording.

Queries:

   Do I seek to grow in my inner Spiritual Life at this time?

   Have I been able to use my Spiritual beliefs to overcome fear and panic?


Week 2:

Welcome and check-in’s.

Queries:

   What Spiritual routines have I changed or kept the same?

   Have I been able to offer or accept Spiritual gifts to or from others?


Week 3:

Welcome and check-ins.

Queries:

   In this isolation, what have I learned about my Spiritual practice?

   Do I find ways in which to contribute to my neighbors and community?


Week 4:

Welcome and check-ins

Queries:

   Do I seek to use the strength and truth of my Spiritual life to reach
   out to others that I have found to be challenging?
 
   Have I found a renewal or refreshing of Spirit during this time?


Week 5:

Welcome and check-ins

Queries:

   Do I take this time to study and explore that which I have put off?

   What personal Spiritual gifts am I sharing with others?


Week 6:

Welcome and check-ins

   How am I guided by Spirit in re-joining the physical presence of others?

   Do I seek to be right with my actions?