Essay on Quaker Meeting for worship

Today I attended the Newtown Meeting. It was held from 11-12am. Today was also what I believe is called "Friendly first"; this is the first Sunday of the month and on this Sunday the members of the meeting bring food for all attendees to enjoy after meeting. I liked how the building that the was the meeting house was obviously more than just a meeting house. Besides the office and classroom upstairs, the George School meeting house is pretty much just a big room with benches to worship on. This meeting house, however, had many different rooms and offices, a kitchen, and make-shift dining area, in fact had I not been with someone who was familiar with the place I would have had to ask where I was supposed to go. The door that leads into the actual meeting area is awesome. It's this tiny door off to the side, as if it leads into a closet or coat room, but once you open it you see that it actually goes into this large pleasingly simple hall of worship. The first thing that caught my eye was how all the benches were arranged towards the front, facing the appropriately named facing bench (Quaker simplicity is too appealing). I was a little taken back by this because it seemed like the arrangement put those who sat on the facing bench not only literally above the others but also symbolically. But then I remembered Chip saying that the facing bench is in fact open to anyone and that at times GS students have sat there also.

        I went to meeting with Lily, who brought her family's signature Friendly First salad, which, by the way, I now know the secret behind. I also saw a group of GS students who I later learned...