WORSHIP AND SPIRITUAL NURTURE
THROUGH THE LENS OF EARLY FRIENDS AND OURSELVES
with Michael Birkel
January 8-10, 2027 (Friday-Sunday)
including
EXTENDED WORSHIP
with Michael Wajda and Jean Rosenberg
January 9, 2027 (Saturday 9am to 3pm)
SCHEDULE
PROGRAM OVERVIEW
PROGRAM FACILITATOR
WORSHIP OVERVIEW
WORSHIP CONVENORS
LOGISTICS
REGISTRATION
SCHEDULE
FRIDAY
5:30-7 p.m. Light supper
7:30-9 p.m. Program: John Woolman’s and Our Experience of Worship (see description below)
SATURDAY
7:30 a.m. Breakfast for those staying overnight
9:00 a.m. Tea, coffee, and light snacks will be available for all with an opportunity for
conversation in the main building (Conference Center)
9:30 a.m. Meeting for Worship (in Meeting House)
12:30 p.m. Lunch
1:15 p.m. Reflections on the morning experience of extended worship
2:30 p.m. Closing/break, time for a walk, relaxation, conversation, etc.
5:30 p.m. Dinner
7:30-9 p.m. Program: Spiritual Nurture from Margaret Fell’s Letters
SUNDAY
7:30 a.m. Breakfast
9:00 a.m. Program: “Responding” – Writing and sharing our own spiritual nurture letters
11:00 a.m. Meeting for Worship
12:00 p.m. Closing, light lunch, clean-up
2:00 pm Departure
PROGRAM OVERVIEW
WORSHIP AND SPIRITUAL NURTURE
THROUGH THE LENS OF EARLY FRIENDS AND OURSELVES
with Michael Birkel
Friday Evening: John Woolman’s Experience of Worship
“In real silent Worship the Soul feeds on that which is Divine.”
We’ll listen to John Woolman’s descriptions of his encounters during meeting for worship. He reflected both on the individual and the collective dimensions of worship. Do his words connect with your experience? Do they open new possibilities for you?
Saturday Evening: Spiritual Nurture from Margaret Fell’s Letters
“My dear hearts, be faithful every one in your particular measure of God, which he hath given you, and in the invisible wait in silence, and patience, and obedience, in that which opens the mystery of God.”
We’ll hear some passages from Margaret Fell’s letters of spiritual nurture. Her letters can be inviting and loving. They can also be bold and direct. Are her words still of use in our day?
After hearing from Margaret Fell the previous evening, Friends will have the opportunity to write their own letters of spiritual nurture, to speak in the language of our times words of encouragement to one another.
PROGRAM FACILITATOR
Michael Birkel is a retired teacher and writer. Most of his career was spent at Earlham College and Earlham School of Religion in Richmond, Indiana. Much of his writing has focused on Quaker spirituality, from early Quaker letters of spiritual nurture, to John Woolman, to the Quaker encounter with Buddhism. Within and beyond the classroom, he has been concerned to promote interfaith understanding and has written a book on interpretation of the Qur’an among contemporary North American Muslims. He has traveled widely as a speaker and workshop leader among Friends. He likes walks in the woods, reading poetry, and being a grandfather—finding awe and wonder in these activities.
EXTENDED WORSHIP OVERVIEW
In earlier times Friends would often worship for hours fully expectant and deeply patient for the Living Presence to do its work in the gathered body of Friends. These gathered experiences were core to Quaker convincement, personal transformation, and prophetic challenges to the cultural behaviors in the places where Quakers lived.
Modeled on a twenty-five-years of practice in Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, we have been offering these opportunities for New England Yearly Meeting Friends to experience a full day of Quaker worship. In January we will be holding another meeting, once again at Woolman Hill, with an option to participate in a full weekend program. We hope you will join us.
For the all-day worship, we will gather in the Woolman Hill Meetinghouse at 9:30 a.m. for three hours or so of expectant waiting worship. Three hours may sound like a long time, but Friends who have been practicing this kind of extended worship have often been surprised how quickly it seems to go by. Friends are free to get up and move around, to lie down on the benches, to use the bathroom, even to take a walk outside and rejoin the worship as led. Following the worship, we each eat our own brown bag lunch (beverages provided). After lunch, we either will return to worship or gather for some worship-sharing about our experiences of the morning. We will close by 2:30 p.m. Friends are welcome to come for the morning only, to stay for lunch, or to stay for the whole day.
Transformative experiences can happen when the Living Presence has adequate time to remove the spiritual cobwebs and to shine a Light on the deep calls that are beckoning us to change and to make the world a better place. It is God’s work to awaken people to God‘s wisdom, guidance, and love. These extended meetings for worship can provide a seedbed for God to do that awakening. You can also read Marcelle Martin’s Pendle Hill Pamphlet, An Invitation to a Deeper Communion, which describes the beginnings of these extended worship experiences in Philadelphia Yearly Meeting.
EXTENDED WORSHIP CONVENORS
Jean Rosenberg, Middlebury Meeting, and Michael Wajda, Bennington Meeting, started these full-day extended meetings in May 2022 and are committed to moving them around the yearly meeting every 2-4 months as possible.
For questions about the extended worship portion, please contact Michael Wajda (mfwajda[at]gmail.com, 484-639-3356) or Jean Rosenberg (jrosenbe[at]middlebury.edu, 802-388-6453).
Our vision is to strengthen Friends’ corporate yielding to
the Living Presence in all our meetings for worship and business
so that the Inward Teacher can fully do its work of abundant love and guidance.
We look forward to being with you in That Which Is Eternal.
LOGISTICS
Registration, meals and overnight accommodations
- It is essential that you register if you plan to participate in the weekend program (unless you are only coming to the Saturday morning worship).
- We will be prioritizing accommodations for those planning to attend the full weekend. All meals will be provided for those who register for the full weekend. (Please bring your own lunch if you are only coming for the Saturday worship.)
- If there is still overnight space available two weeks before the event, we will open that to people planning to attend only a portion of the weekend. You may let us know when you initially register that you prefer to stay overnight if possible.
- If you plan to come just for the extended worship, it would be helpful to let us know, particularly in case we need to make changes due to weather. Please come for worship whether you let us know or not!
COST & REGISTRATION
Saturday Extended Worship:
There is no set fee for the extended worship itself. We welcome donations. We appreciate registrations to help in our planning; you may come just to the worship whether or not you have registered.
Weekend Program (Friday eve through Sunday lunch):
The standard rate for the full weekend retreat is $250, with a sliding scale of $200-400. The fee includes program, lodging and food from Friday dinner through Sunday lunch. Commuter rate for the full weekend is $200. Registration is required; overnight accommodations priority will be given to those attending the full weekend.
A non-refundable deposit of $50 is required to hold a space for the program unless otherwise arranged. If you need to cancel, the deposit can be applied to a future workshop or retreat within 18 months. The balance is due at the beginning of the event.
We are committed to financial accessibility: please pay whatever amount fits in your personal budget, encourage your faith community to financially support your participation if that is appropriate, and let us know if you have additional questions related to fees.
REGISTER HERE
ARRIVAL & DEPARTURE
Friday, January 8: Plan to arrive after 4:00pm. Dinner will start at 5:30pm, program at 7:30pm.
Saturday, January 9: Fellowship before worship will begin at 9am; sharing will end by 2:30pm
Sunday, January 10: Anyone participating in the full weekend program will depart by 2pm.
We are centrally located in western Massachusetts, close to both I-91 and Route 2. For those arriving by car, we will send directions prior to the event. Please let us know if you’d be interested in car-pooling.
The nearest Amtrak train station is in Greenfield (MA), ten minutes’ drive away. Vermont Transit and Peter Pan bus lines also stop in Greenfield. Please contact us in advance to see if we can arrange a ride from these stations.
ROOM & BOARD
Our 19th-century farmhouse has hand-hewn beams and wide pine floors, with simple lodging (typically double occupancy) with shared bathrooms. The meetinghouse and the first floor of the main building are wheelchair accessible. Our rustic cabins have electricity, woodstoves and outhouses.
We serve nourishing, home-cooked meals and always offer vegetarian options. Please let us know if you have any dietary restrictions. Part of the community building at each retreat includes the joyful sharing of meal chores and final clean-up.
Note for those coming only for Saturday worship: Please bring your own brown bag lunch.
WHAT TO BRING
- If only attending for Saturday worship: brown bag lunch
- If staying overnight: Toiletries, towel, and bedding (sleeping bag, blankets or comforter, sheets and pillow case). Pillows are provided.
- Outdoor footwear for walking between buildings
- Indoor slippers or comfortable shoes
You might also like to bring:
- Flashlight or headlamp
- Journal or writing materials
- Art supplies
- Book or devotional reading material (there are also some on site)
Please do NOT bring:
- Pets or candles
We have limited internet access and cell phone reception. We encourage guests to consider how device use may detract from the experience of being fully present, here and now.