Ted Bongiovanni reports on a visit to Manhattan Meeting, a programmed, pastor-led Quaker meeting in New York City that just celebrated its 50 year anniversary.
In the US, and here in New York City, most Quaker meetings are "unprogrammed". We arrive, grab a seat and sit in silence, and wait on the divine. Someone may speak into the quiet. This mode of worship is actually something of an outlier around the world, where most meetings are "programmed," also known as pastoral. But did you know that there's a vibrant programmed meeting right here in New York City? Manhattan Monthly Meeting just celebrated its 50th anniversary. It meets every First Day in Room 1 at 15th Street and on zoom. I have had a chance to worship with this group several times.
Longtime Manhattan Meeting member Beverly Archibald greeted me warmly in the hallway at Rutherford Place. We stepped into the room where several Friends had already gathered along with more Friends joining online. Bright light streamed in through the almost floor to ceiling windows and drenched the plants. The meeting benches, the large screen for remote guests, the Friends sitting quietly: all of it is familiar. The first difference a visitor from an unprogrammed meeting may notice is that there are hymnals and Bibles available.
A few months ago, David Herendeen, Manhattan Meeting's longtime pastor and a minister to Friends for over 30 years, died. In true Quaker fashion, members of the meeting have taken up the work of the ministry. Gloria Thompson opened with a prayer based on the New York Yearly Meeting theme, "Led by Spirit," and then invited a remote Friend to do our first reading from Ephesians (4:25-32). After a few moments of quiet, Dwight Huey, a young Friend and longtime member of the meeting, queued up "Make Me a Blessing," a hymn on YouTube complete with words. We all sang along.
We moved to a responsive reading, Psalm 51:10-17, and then settled into a generous amount of silence. We concluded with a chance to share prayer requests and joys. On this First Day, there were many bags and boxes of books in the room — donated by Friends around the Quarter and Friends Seminary students in support of Peace libraries at Quaker schools in Kenya and Jamaica.
Manhattan Meeting's ministry extends well beyond worship. In addition to the libraries, this year the meeting is encouraging members and attenders to focus on reading three books of the Bible that are critical to Friends' testimonies: John, Ephesians, and Revelation (the source of our first reading that morning). The idea is to read just 5 verses a day and then write a brief reflection. This slow and reflective approach is new to me, and a very welcome addition to a daily spiritual practice.
Part of the joy of being a Friend is the diversity of our community and how each meeting around the city is both familiar and different. I felt spiritually nurtured by a meeting that has taken up its own ministry, and would invite other Friends to visit. 15th Street Meeting has long organized inter-meeting worship once per Quarter — the next shared worship meeting is on July 5th — but Friends are welcome any Sunday. Visit the Manhattan Meeting webpage.
Ted Bongiovanni
