Queries and Advices - 1st through 3rd Month (Jan through Mar)
​What is the state our meetings for worship and business?

First Month: Meeting for Worship
QUERIES

• Are our meetings for worship held in expectant waiting for divine guidance, with a living silence in which we feel drawn together in the Light by the presence of God?
• Do we respond to the Spirit’s prompting to minister, whether in silence, through the spoken word, or through action after the meeting for worship?
• Are we sensitive to one another’s needs in meeting for worship?
• Are the spiritual gifts within the meeting fostered and encouraged?
• Are our meetings accessible and welcoming to everyone?
• Are our meetings a source of strength and guidance for daily living?
• Is the vocal ministry in our meetings exercised under the leading of the Spirit?

ADVICES

• Be prompt and diligent in attendance at meetings.
• Come to meeting with expectant hearts and minds prepared for communion with God.
• Be faithful, be patient, and persevere in our service as messengers of truth.
• To everyone is given a share of the responsibility for the meeting for worship, whether through silence or through the spoken word.
• Quiet our hearts and minds for worship prior to entering the meeting room, so the whole group can be knit together in spiritual fellowship.
• Do not assume that vocal ministry is never to be our part.
• Be ready to speak under the leading of the Light. Learn to recognize when a message felt within is from God and if it is a message intended for the group to hear.
• Pray that our ministry may arise from deep experience of the Divine.
• Let our spoken ministry be audible and free from unnecessary words.
• Avoid speaking in a manner that brings a sense of discussion or debate.
• Allow for a period of silence after a message has been spoken, so the group can reflect on what has been said and continue to be grounded in silent worship. Overly long or too-frequent messages can hinder the worship of others present.
• Receive the ministry of others in a tender spirit.
• Treat every newcomer as one sent by God.

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Second Month: Meeting for Worship with a Concern for Business
QUERIES

• Are meetings for business held in the spirit of meetings for worship?
• In decision-making, do we promote a spirit of love, understanding, and patience as we seek unity on an appropriate course of action?
• Do we keep our remarks simple and speak only as the Spirit leads?
• Are we able to unite in good grace with the sense of the meeting when our personal desires tend in another direction?
• Do we maintain respect for others, however strongly our opinions may differ?
• Are meetings for business seen as positive opportunities for testing and practicing our spiritual life?

ADVICES

• As members, attend the business meetings and extend our support to the meeting’s affairs so that the burden will not rest upon a few.
• In meetings for business and in all duties connected with them, seek the leadings of the Light.
• Avoid undue persistence. As we release our attachment to our ideas, the Light may reveal solutions none of us has considered.
• Be willing to admit the possibility of being in error.
• Remember that the foundation of a lasting decision lies in the search for unity–that is, a corporate seeking of the Light in an atmosphere of love, trust, and mutual forbearance.
• Attenders are warmly invited to attend and participate in meeting for worship with a concern for business.
• Have a sense of when to continue to labor on or to lay aside an issue.

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Third Month: Harmony Within the Meeting Community
QUERIES

• Are love and unity maintained among us?
• When differences arise, do we settle them in a spirit of love and humility?
• Are we careful not to hold an idea too firmly, knowing that another may bring us closer to the truth?
• Are we patient and considerate towards those we find difficult to understand or like?
• Do we demonstrate a forgiving spirit?
• Do we have concern and respect for the reputation of others?
• When people are hurt, do we take care to hold them up with a tender heart?
• Do we respect that of God in each person, though it may be expressed in unfamiliar ways or may be difficult for us to discern?

ADVICES

• Maintain love and unity by avoiding talebearing and detraction.
• Settle differences promptly, in a manner free from resentment.
• When we have a difference with another person, speak to them in private “in the love and wisdom that is gentle and pure.”
• Be aware that verbal violence can be as destructive as physical violence.
• Be careful that our language does not incorporate violence, consciously or unconsciously.
• Listen patiently, and seek the truth another person’s expressions may contain for us.
• Be willing to seek and willing to receive counsel and help from one another.
• In our daily lives, seek to know one another in the things that are eternal and to enter with ready empathy and sensitive discretion into the joys, sorrows, and needs of each other.
• Be mindful that everyone is included in the life and activities of the meeting.