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Gunpowder Friends Meeting
of the
Religious Society of Friends (Quakers)

SILENT RETREAT
at Gunpowder Friends Meetinghouse

also called "Quiet Day"

    Can you afford to take the time for Silent Retreat?  You may be better served to ask whether you can afford not to prioritize time for healing, renewal, reading, writing, "catching up", or getting a little fresh air in the countryside.
     Dates: Silent Retreat is offered the second Saturday of each month, with date-changes occasionally necessary due to other events or holidays (please check calendar or Newsletter).
     The Dayís Schedule:  The Meetinghouse is opened at 9 AM.  We settle together into silence at about 9:30, then rise to our separate contemplative or active ways (inside or outside the Meetinghouse) as we are inwardly led.  At about noon, a bell calls us to "simple lunch", which we share in silence (sometimes a Friend is led to speak briefly or read a passage).  We clean up and return to individual silence.  At 2:30, a bell calls us again, this time to another communal circle of silence during which ìworship sharingî may (or may not) occur.  We break this worship at 3:00, and close the Meetinghouse by 3:30.
    On Simple Lunch:  This alone is worth the trip.  The four to five "regular" attenders of Silent Retreat arrange among themselves to prepare a hot entree, salad, dessert.  While uncomplicated to serve, the meal usually causes the silence to be disturbed by a mantra of "yummmmm..."   Light snacks and tea are available throughout the day. Special dietary needs will be accommodated if they are known in advance.  While we prefer that irregular or new attenders let someone know they are coming, it is also true that one, two, or even three unannounced drop-ins will not deplete the available lunch (it's a Mystery).
    On the Silence:  We are not tyrannical about the silence.  If in silence we may come closer to the ineffable, there arise situations (as with a recent hyperbubbling overflow of the dishwasher) in which laughter and words are appropriate, and gesticulation alone is ridiculous.
    How Some Use the Day:  Choose from the hundreds of spirit-enriching books and pamphlets in the library, or bring something of your own.  Journal.  Meditate.  Take a nap.  Grade papers.  Catch up on correspondence.  Take a walk along the country roads (four and six mile loops for fit walkers).  Take a bicycle ride (four, six, eight-mile, and longer routes available).  Sit in the sun.  Pray (but are not these others also prayer?).
    Who is Welcome:  Friends (Quakers), Gunpowder or otherwise.  Seekers of any stripe.  Anyone in need of what we offer.
    Fees:  There are no fees, no required contributions to Meeting.  Costs of the Meetinghouse are shared by the Gunpowder community, and lunch is a gift we give ourselves.
    Points of Contact:  Anita and Rebecca are the principal coordinators.  Or contact the Clerk or the WebRube.  There is a phone in the Meetinghouse (410-472-4583) for emergency contact with the noisy world.