FROM THE MARCH EDITION OF THE WHITEWATER FRIEND
Contributed by Doug Gwyn - Pastor

Visioning

Quakers are a people who believe that the prophecy of Joel has been fulfilled. God promised Joel, "I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions" (Joel 2:28). Because we believe in the reality of God's Spirit working through all of us, when we seek a vision of God's future for First Friends, we need to draw upon the inspiration of everyone in the meeting.

This month, we begin a visioning process, aiming to discern God's will for First Friends. We begin with ten small groups meeting in homes to share their perceptions of who we are and where God is calling us. I will sit in with each group to listen, take notes, and bring your input to Ministry and Oversight. As we sift through that input, we are depending on God to guide us in how to proceed. One of the questions small groups will ponder is where we sense the 'sacred center' of our meeting to be. Where, how, when is the life of our meeting most real to you? What does this sacred center look like? What does it sound like? What does it feel like?

I hope you will be able to attend the visioning group meeting that you have been invited to. I hope that you will share candidly your sense of our meeting's sacred center, and your sense of God's calling to us in this new phase of our life together. See you there!