{"product_id":"2940157846671","title":"Communion for a Quaker","description":"\"The absence from Friends' worship of the outward observance of the Lord's Supper and of baptism is due to emphasis on the reality of inward experience. . . . In meeting for worship at its best, they know direct communion with God and fellowship with one another.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eI read through that paragraph in Faith and Practice again, wondering why I felt a little wistful. Isn't that something I liked about being Quaker? No sacramental ceremonies, no solemn rites loaded with symbolism, no words repeated by rote? None of that; just God, me, and the gathered silence of my community in meeting for worship. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSitting in the familiar, white-walled room where old wooden benches faced inward from all four sides and where large many-paned windows looked out into old maple trees, I had often been held with others in the deep silence of a meeting for worship. There I had known experiences of God's presence. I had felt the Spirit sweep across our group as a Friend would rise to speak out of the silence and I had known the inward movement of the words burrowing deep within me. Together we had experienced the mystery of a Spirit which could overflow into speech for the gathering or guide one silently to a communion of love and compassion, a Eucharist of joy and gratitude.","brand":"Pendle Hill Publications","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47071346262256,"sku":"2940157846671","price":7.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/2940157846671_p0.jpg?v=1764109762","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940157846671","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}