The meetinghouse with two doors

During the week of FGC's Gathering in River Falls, it was rare for me to be able to attend any afternoon event, especially early in the week when there were a number of workshop-related campfires to put out. I say "campfires" because they were very manageable and contained, but should not have been left burning for too long.

On Monday of the Gathering, I attended a brief presentation by Michael Wajda ("WHY-dah") and Deborah Fisch, both of whom I consider dear personal friends. Michael is the author of the Pendle Hill pamphlet, Expectant Waiting: Finding God's Thread of Guidance; and Deborah's talk, given for the 2006 Weed Lecture, was recorded, transcribed, and printed as the pamphlet, Being Faithful as Friends: Individually and Corporately.

Both Deborah and Michael are very good storytellers. That is, they have many experiences and personal stories that they lift up to illustrate their lives and struggles as Friends. And they tell a good story well. Plus, their delight in God and their joy in sharing their delight was in turn a delight for me to witness.

After the hour, though, and now more than a week later, there has been one image and one question that still lingers with me from that afternoon.

Michael had placed a large piece of paper behind him, and on it was a very simple but large drawing of a house--the kind of house a child might draw: a roof line, the outer walls, a few squares for windows, a rectangle for a door.

But in Michael's drawing--a typical meetinghouse, he explained--there are two doors, with a sign over each. Over the first door is a sign that says "Meeting for Worship." Over the second door is a sign that says "Meeting for Good Ideas."

The question Michael asked is,

Which meetinghouse door do we usually walk through in our meetings?

Blessings,
Liz