Encounter With Silence: Reflections from the Quaker Tradition

by John Punshon

Silence is a key characteristic of Quaker worship. The author shares his experience of learning to wait in the silence and find God. Perfect for seekers, inquirers and seasoned Friends.

Genres: Religion, Nonfiction, Spirituality, Christianity

131 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1987

Reviews

[Theresa Leone Davidson · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are two different approaches that Quakers around the world take, one being a more traditional approach, in which the Sunday worship includes hymns, a pastor who is in charge, etc. That's called a programmed service. An unprogrammed service is like the one we adhere to at the Shrewsbury Meetinghouse in NJ that I go to on Sundays, and of which I am a member. The Sunday, or what we call First Day, service is in silence. If one wishes to speak, she/he stands and speaks for no more than a minute or two, and only if they believe the message is coming through them from God. This is, of course, somewhat rare, and many Sundays the entire hour of worship is in complete (and blissful) silence. Punshon's book is all about the silence, what we get from it, what we bring to it, and what we take with us when we leave. I grew up Catholic and still go to Mass every so often but I try to live my life as a true Quaker, even though my husband and I have only been going regularly for the last four or five years. The point is there wasn't much I learned from the book, although Punshon is British and their Meetings are slightly different so that was new to me. Nevertheless, I found the book very moving and uplifing.
"Worship is being touched and loved by God, coming into a relationship that is sometimes pretty stormy and is never dull. Worship means opening the heart, and Quakers will say that silent meeting for worship is one of the very best places where this can happen. Words, symbols, and thoughts can pull away the briars, cobwebs and old planks that obstruct and clutter up the doorway of the heart, but when the door itself swings open, we leave them all at the threshold. It is then we enter the real sanctuary, and the silence comes alive." Beautifully said! If you aren't a Quaker, I can't imagine why you'd read this but it certainly will help anyone who wants to know more about the Religious Society of Friends.

[Johann · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had to wrestle a bit with this one. There are parts and ideas that ring true to me, and others that I am just not in a place to go along with. We’ll see where time and experience take me.

Punshon’s motivating factor for his conversion, or “convincement” as he calls it, seemed to be nothing but spiritual bypassing. His father passed away, and he could not handle the grief. It was then that he came to truly believe that his father was in heaven with God and all his loved ones, and that he would see him again. This brought him peace and convinced him to believe his interpretation of the Bible, simply because it was written.

I had many issues with his conclusions, but I’ll share just two here. One being that the Old Testament was mere preparation for what was to come in the New Testament. Another being his absolute certainty of the Living Christ in all that is good. He shares the example of a Muslim woman who questioned why he did not kneel when praying before God. He said that, in that moment, this woman became “a minister for Christ.” This was a critique I had of Richard Rohr’s “Universal Christ,” and continues to be a serious issue for me. There seems to be no acknowledgement of contemporary biblical criticism or a recognition of the wide gap between the Historical Jesus and the Divinized Christ.

My question to him would be, Are Quakers seekers of Truth, or seekers of Tradition? For Punshon, he seems to be stuck in tradition, wishing the Quaker faith would return to how it used to be…in 1600s England.

[Martina · Rating 3 out of 5]

The recurring thought I had while reading this book was “ok, ok, I get it already.” Punshon’s style of writing is really repetitive and nebulous, making it kind of hard to understand what exactly he’s talking about and what point he is trying to make. But I’ll give him the charitable interpretation and assume that this was the point of the book, that it’s more of a stream-of-consciousness sort of memoir and opinion piece on Quakerism than a definitive guide or explanation of it. I did learn a few interesting things about the faith, though.

[Adam O’Leary · Rating 4 out of 5]

An informative and relatable account of the experience of silence in the Quaker tradition. This little volume packs a lot of theological exploration into a small text, so can at times feel a bit dense. As a non-Quaker, I have deepened my appreciation of silence as a spiritual practice and I found interesting parallels between the aspects of Puritan heritage that the Society of Friends shares with the Unitarian tradition to which I belong.

[Rhiannon Grant · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice, often very personal, exploration of key themes in Quakerism, including the practice of silent Meeting for Worship and understandings of the Christian tradition.

[Simone · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought the author did a good job of writing a slim, informative book about the Quaker tradition and some of the ways it branches out today. He also brought his personal experiences to bear on the writing, which made it come alive. One of the things I appreciated most was his discussion of silent meeting, and how no matter how spiritual one might judge others to be when we can't hear their thoughts, know that we're all having the same struggles inside our minds to focus, to gain clarity, to let go of our to-do list or our judgments. I also appreciated his understanding of how to reconcile other faiths with the Quaker beliefs.

[D'face · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great introduction to the beautiful mysteries of silent worship in the Quaker tradition. Punshon talks through many and various aspects of this approach to worship and relates his own experience. I found this little book to be readily accessible and very useful in thinking about my own approach to and experience of meeting for worship.

[Rebekah · Rating 4 out of 5]

John Punshon does a much better job of explaining Quaker worship and tradition than I do. It's also much more approachable (and shorter!) than 350 Years of Friends.

[Carl Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful essay of Friends' understanding of worship and of Punshon's journey there.