Speaking in Quaker Meeting for Worship: What, When, How, and Why

By Rhiannon Grant. Christian Alternative Books (Quaker Quicks), 2025. 88 pages. $11.95/paperback; $4.99/eBook.

In 1700, Quakers learned how to worship in the manner of Friends from hours of observation. Worship was held three times per week, for three hours at a time. The Society was 50 years old, and nearly all of those in attendance were birthright members. Friends grew up hearing good ministry and bad ministry and learning to tell the difference.

Eighteenth-century Friends also witnessed the consequences of poor attempts. A person whose ministry was lacking was likely to be visited by one or more of the meeting’s elders and given advice on how it might be improved or, indeed, if it should be offered at all.

Today, most Friends in unprogrammed meetings have come from another religious background or none at all. Even so, we still seem to expect members and attenders to naturally absorb the rules. Formal instruction is rare: let alone a chat with one or more meeting elders to help shape the messages an individual might offer. For the most part, we muddle through. Some meetings are blessed with the presence of gifted ministers (although we don’t often call them that), but others get by on a diet of ministry that is sufficient or merely adequate. We accept it because we don’t know any better.

Whether you are a newcomer or an old-timer, Speaking in Quaker Meeting for Worship is a treasure-trove of facts and guidance. In a gentle, conversational tone, author Rhiannon Grant provides a concise overview and analysis of the functions of outward speech in deepening an underlying ministry of silence. Then, in a few pages each, Grant lays out basic terms and their definitions; a description of Quaker worship; insight into how it can work well; and a breakdown of the ways in which worship breaks down. In a more personal section, she helps readers envision themselves in the role of speaker.

Looking at more recent trends, there are a few pages on the use of technology and an examination of what Grant terms “afterwords”: the practice in many meetings of setting aside time for people to share thoughts that arose during worship that were “not quite ministry.” A lifelong Quaker and academic researcher, Grant has written extensively about Quaker theology and practice, with a particular focus on religious language. She previously explored the pros and cons of afterwords in a Friends Journal article in 2022 and wrote another about assessing the rules of vocal ministry in 2025.

Although I have attended scores of meetings over nearly a half century, this booklet gave me much to think about. I want my meeting to read it, preferably together, and highly recommend it to every meeting I know.

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Paul Buckley has written numerous articles and books on Quaker history, faith, and practice. He worships with Clear Creek Meeting in Richmond, Indiana, and travels in the ministry urging spiritual renewal among Friends. His most recent publication is the Pendle Hill pamphlet Teach Us to Pray. Contact: [email protected].