Go humans go (Part 2)

When we got to the meeting we were a bit late. As we walked in Nathan signaled to us to be quiet. I'm sure that people noticed us shuffling in and taking our seats, but no one seemed upset, offended, or even the slightest bit curious about who were and why we were there. The room was large - high ceilings, graduated pews that all faced inwards, a balcony with more pews. We sat a little bit away from the people who were already there so I didn't get a good chance to check out what everyone was wearing while we were coming in. What WAS noticeable was that everyone was sitting peacefully with their eyes either downcast or closed. At first I felt a little uncomfortable and anxious because I wanted to see what was going on around me before I closed my eyes or looked down, but it's better that I was able to plunge right into the experience. Yes, I was there for an observation, but I didn't feel that that meant I couldn't try out a custom while I was there.

I really enjoyed listening to what people had to say. When the first person stood up and spoke about the Nobel and how she thought Obama might have won for what he believed (rather than what he'd done) and how what we believe might be more important than we think I felt like I was connected to the service. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but it was strange to know what she was saying and be able to meditate on her words with all of the people around me even though I don't identify as a Quaker. I found that to be true with all of the people who spoke. I appreciated the pause between people standing up and talking because it allowed me time to consider what had been said and think about the religious implications of that particular statement before another person stood up to say what she wanted to.

Although I couldn't quite figure out why, I thought it was very important that the children were brought into the meeting when they were and that few (if any) parents made an effort to shush them. I also thought it was cool that people continued to stand up and speak once the children were in the meeting and even though it was a little noisier. I've always been of the belief that children are meant to be heard and I thought it was nice that they were accepted into the community and that no one really felt a need to take them out.

It seemed like most of the older people at the meeting were regulars and that the younger people were mostly there for the first time (I think they all had children in the preschool). I also didn't see any teenagers or college age students (beyond us). It looked like most of the people were white although there was a little diversity. When asked about interfaith projects our representative person said that the community could stand to do more of them...I think it's interesting that they don't have many right now since, according to the website, the major belief in Quakerism is to "love thy neighbor..." I'm not saying they don't love their neighbors because they don't have interfaith activities and events, it had just been something I'd expected them to be more involved in.

One more note: It looked like the pumpkin carving event had a larger turn out than the actual meeting.