Quakers tend to sit in circles quietly for worship. This involves putting out chairs. Attendance varies; we’ve had anywhere from 3 to 14 people at Wednesday night meetings. There’s generally about 10 chairs. Sometimes, that’s not enough, so we go get extra chairs, to make room.
There’s just one thing. We don’t wait for someone to show up, then make room. When someone shows up, if that person takes the last chair, someone gets another one. Ahead of time. So, when someone shows up, there will be room for one more. There is always room at the table.
This is a very neighborly way to be. I like it.
Comments [archived]
From: PlaidMan
Date: 2005-03-04 11:31:52 -0600
The rule of thumb for designing a more traditional Protestant sanctuary is to make the room big enough that on a typical Sunday the pews will be 2/3 full. If the pews are half full, the room looks too empty, and visitors get nervous. If the pews are too full, visitors don’t feel like there’s room for them.
It’s also good practice to have the area outside the sanctuary available for overflow seating. This also allows people with small children to go outside if the kids get fussy– but if there are loudspeakers, they can still hear the service.