When We Joyfully Gather
Indianapolis First Friends Quaker Meeting
Pastor Bob Henry
March 1, 2026
Good morning, Friends, and welcome to Light Reflections. The scripture passage I chose for this morning’s message is a short one, from Mattew 18:20 from the New Revised Standard Version,
“For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.”
This week’s catalyst that I sketched and reflected on for bringing back my joy was to gather.
Our scripture for this morning is a promise that calls us to gather with the Divine in our midst. Sometimes among Friends you will hear someone mention after a meaningful or focused Meeting for Worship that what they experienced was a “gathered meeting.”
But this gathering is much more than just being in the same meeting room or sitting with each other. Rather it could be described as a gathering that lets go of our mental and emotional preoccupations and opens together to the Divine/God/Christ/Spirit/the Light/the loving Mystery at the center of everything. This allows those gathered to shift levels of consciousness collectively, sometimes in a mild way, sometimes with more intensity.
We call it a gathered meeting when those present experience their oneness with one another in the Divine. In the time of being gathered, the group receives guidance, healing, teaching, and ministry from the Spirit, blessings that strengthen them, unite them in love, joy, peace, and refresh them to participate in work the Spirit is nudging them to accomplish together in the world.
To gather in this way can also be experienced in small groups, book groups, times of meditation or study, protests and activism, singing together, and even programmed classes and presentations. And gathering with others is essential for Friends to do the work of the Meeting on committees, boards, and within our Yearly Meeting. That is why we believe our business (and for that matter any gathering of Friends) to be an extension of our worship.
It is what I grew up saying in other churches that I did not fully understand until among Quakers, that when we come together in this way, we are communing with one another.
We are finding “Common Union” with our fellow neighbors and friends. Whether that is around a table over a meal in our homes, on a walk with friends in a park, in a circle at unprogrammed worship, or even on a road trip with a couple of friends in the car, when we gather together with others we should be seeking “common union” with one another. This is why when we enter waiting worship, some Quakers would say that we are entering our time of communion.
Interestingly, the context surrounding our scripture passage for this morning is not about the importance of worship, or Spiritual formation, or even doing the ministry of the Meeting. Ironically, it follows a discussion of navigating conflict, or what to do when someone wrongs or hurts you.
Which makes total sense to why I was led to include “gather” in my catalysts for bringing back my joy.
When we are going through hard times or struggling with conflict, we easily lose our joy. But it often takes gathering with our Friends and loved ones to be reminded of the joy that we have within us.
So, this morning, I want to dive a bit deeper into the wisdom of gathering, a knowledge we see evidenced in the life and example of Jesus and that I believe, science is finding increasingly important to our lives.
Before we set up Threshing Together for the Men and what has become Soul Sisters for the Women of our Meeting, I shared in a message some findings about isolation that I heard on NPR that made me realize the need for such fellowship opportunities. I went back and did a little more research and with the help of Drew Rick-Miller the editor of Science for the Church, I have a bit more for us to chew on and wrestle with.
The former surgeon general Vivek Murthy named our current situation as an epidemic of loneliness. In his study he described the danger we are facing this way:
“The mortality impact of being socially disconnected is similar to that caused by smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day, and even greater than that associated with obesity and physical inactivity.”
And the rates of isolation in the United States currently are dangerously high. Murthy adds,
“Our epidemic of loneliness and isolation has been an underappreciated public health crisis that has harmed individual and societal health. Our relationships are a source of healing and well-being hiding in plain sight—one that can help us live healthier, more fulfilled, and more productive lives. Given the significant health consequences of loneliness and isolation, we must prioritize building social connection the same way we have prioritized other critical public health issues such as tobacco, obesity, and substance use disorders.”
Of course, gathering together for worship or one of the many other ways I mentioned earlier are just some of the ways we together can reduce isolation and address the health crisis of loneliness.
I think Jesus knew the danger inherent in loneliness—one we measure today with scientific studies – and his antidote we heard in our scripture for today.
This spring, the Global Flourishing Study, a grand effort to measure human flourishing across the globe by collecting data from over 200,000 people in over 20 countries, representing nearly two-thirds of the world’s population—released the first wave of results. Next spring, a second wave comes out, which surveys the same people. These studies begin to tell us more about the causes of flourishing.
This massive study examines six major domains that contribute to flourishing that have been identified in the existing scholarly literature. Just listen to these 6 contributors to our flourishing (and possibly our joy),
1) financial and material stability,
2) happiness and life satisfaction (Joy!),
3) mental and physical health,
4) meaning and purpose,
5) character and virtue, and
6) close social relationships.
One of the key findings, should grab our attention both as Friends and as a Meeting. Participation in group activities was a pathway to flourishing, and in nearly every country, the positive connection between flourishing and religious service attendance was stronger than between flourishing and participation in civic activities.
Weekly participation in group activities—both religious and secular—made a measurable difference in flourishing compared to those that never participated in either religious or civic groups. That is to say, the benefits are not exclusive to gathering as communities of faith.
Additionally, participation in religious groups and regular worship attendance was also strongly connected to another key dimension, meaning and purpose.
This shows that participation in faith communities contribute, in nearly every country, to higher levels of purpose. And remember, these were people of all different faiths.
The global flourishing study adds to the growing literature that identifies the benefits of gathering regularly and gathering intentionally in our faith communities. Just what Jesus encouraged and Friends have embraced throughout history.
Folks, I can sum this up pretty easily, gathering with others is good for your health, and gathering with a religious or faith community is even better.
A large part of my spiritual formation growing up, was being told I needed to have some type of daily quiet time or devotional time – where I was to be alone with God in scripture and prayer. I even for a long time bought into the “JAM Principle” – where I was to focus each day on simply “Jesus And Me – JAM”
I will be very honest, I was never very good at it. I found it easier to gather with my youth group or school friends in groups large and small for worship and study. Throughout high school I had gatherings in my parent’s basement for this very purpose. We didn’t know what all that we were doing back then, but I remember discussing how “Jesus and Me” had to be more than that.
I would continue to search for a more meaningful gathering until I happened upon my first unprogrammed worship experience in my doctoral program on Cannon Beach, Oregon almost 20 years later. I would still today, describe that experience as a “gathered meeting” which helped me let go of my mental and emotional preoccupations, and opened up each of us gathered together to the Divine/God/Christ/Spirit/the Light/the loving Mystery at the center of everything.”
Yet, there seems to be an ongoing trend at least in the United States of expressing “Christian faith alone.” Something, bad theology, poor exegesis, even Christian nationalism, and the need for power have created.
Numerous studies on the decline of church participation indicate that the “nones” (those who are not affiliated with any organized religion) still believe in the Divine, pray, and hold fast to other aspects of their faith. For many, it’s less a breaking away from faith and more fading away towards expressions of faith outside the communal life of the church.
While I totally believe that folks can encounter God in isolation, it is clear, especially after spending two years in a pandemic, that when we isolate we miss out on the benefits both of social connection, but also of gathering for worship, formation, and ministry with fellow Friends.
Let me close with one final story. This week my mom, posted a Throwback Thursday photo of a news article about the community dinner that our Meeting in Oregon helped serve every Wednesday night at 5pm. You can see the photo on the cover of our bulletin this morning (right). The entire 10,000-person community of Silverton, Oregon was invited.
Our Meeting in conjunction with the host church and other faith communities in our town helped staff, cook, and serve the people. It started with only serving 39 people the first time we offered it but grew to serving almost 600 people every Wednesday night. While our family lived there and served we were part of the 100,000th meal celebration.
Yet food was just the catalyst for getting a widely diverse section of the community together. We had homeless people eating with doctors, young families with the elderly, we had Mormons talking with Christians, Lutherans with Quakers, Republicans with Democrats, LGBTQ youth outcasts sitting with Evangelicals, it was amazing and it was a weekly event – and nothing like I have ever seen sense.
But what happened around those tables in that giant fellowship hall was more than filling stomachs. It became a place to discuss life, to listen to each other, to meet each other’s needs, to network, to even at times sense where the Divine was speaking to our community as a whole. We laughed together, we cried when people passed away in our community, we even at times sang songs together, as most nights we had someone from the community playing the piano. Holy days were celebrated as a community.
I would say THAT weekly dinner did more for that small community than most Sunday morning worship gatherings. Because it was bigger than our religious divisions. There we found guidance, healing, teaching, and ministry from the Spirit, blessings that strengthen us all, united us in love, joy, peace, and refreshed us to participate in the work the Spirit was nudging us to accomplish together in our little part of the world. Just sharing this brings back so much joy.
That right there is why we need to engage with our neighbors, Friends, and loved ones, because when we gather, it can bring back our joy in a multitude of ways. I challenge you this week to find a group to engage in a deeper more meaningful way. See how it changes you and those around you. And allow the Spirit to reignite the joy in your heart! Amen.
Now as we enter a time of waiting worship, please take a moment to ponder the following queries:
· Have I ever experienced a “Gathered Meeting” – what made it so?
· How have I let loneliness and isolation impact me?
· What community or group do I need to engage to reignite my joy?