Why I Cried the First Time I Went to Quaker Meeting

A.J. found Quakers as a young adult. He describes the powerful mystical experience that had him crying in the Meetinghouse, and kept him coming back.

Jon Watts

Jon Watts launched and directed the QuakerSpeak project for its first 6 seasons. Keep up to date with Jon’s work at his website.

6 thoughts on “Why I Cried the First Time I Went to Quaker Meeting

  1. Great video. I love this series. I have a small concern that the comment about voting could be misleading. In group decision making Quakers use a process of coming to agreement rather than decision by majority vote, which is what AJ was referring to. But if you’re talking about voting in political elections Quakers certainly participate.

  2. We, Quakers don’t make decisions by “coming to an agreement”. We wait upon the one vote that is from the Devine Light. Often our guidance is not given in the first Meeting for Worship with Attention to Buisness. We will act on the decision when we, as a unit, are certain that the Holy Spirit has given it to us.

  3. Thank you, Jon Watts , for forwarding Friend Mendoza’s story. It touched a still raw nerve. I first heard about Friends during ‘the’ war ( I am from 1924) and vividly remember how the Quaker stance on Peace hit me straight. I had been readied for it by my upbringing in a radical left wing family ( soicial democrat atheist) and this first encounter stirred me during the following periods of my life. Ever grateful for it. Greetings and amitié’s. Piet Kruihof

  4. Although what led me to Quaker meeting was not the same as what led A.J. to attend the first time. My experience was incredibly similar. At my first Quaker meeting I started crying as soon as we settled into silence, and I cried through the entire service. As my husband and I were driving away from the meeting house, I told him, “I just came home for the very first time”. Listening to A.J.’s account and recognizing my own experience in his words; reaffirmed my spiritual experience. Thank you for sharing.

  5. Thank you for sharing your experience. The feeling of religious acceptance from the Society of Friends is amazing and can be overwhelming (I, too, have wept through meeting). Any journey to God is a good journey.

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