Join Us: Quaker Worship and Community in Ghana

Silent worship is practiced at  Quaker meetings since the days of George Fox. According  to George Fox,  an English dissenter who founded the Religious Society of Friends, silent worship is:

 “The Lord is come to teach his people himself… and to bring them off all the world’s worships, to worship God in Spirit and in Truth, which Christ set up above 1600 Years since.” 

This highlights the Quaker belief that God’s presence and guidance are accessible to individuals through quiet contemplation and the “Inward Light”. 

How is this possible?

This can be explained as follows:

  • The Inward Light:

Quakers believe in an “Inward Light” or a divine presence within each person, often associated with Jesus Christ. 

  • Silence as a Practice:

The practice of silent worship, often referred to as “waiting on the Lord,” is a key aspect of Quaker faith, aiming to allow individuals to connect with this inner light and hear God’s guidance. 

  • Spiritual Communion:

For Quakers, silent worship is a way of engaging in spiritual communion with God and others in the meeting. 

  • Empowerment and Action:

Quakers believe that through the inward light, individuals are empowered to live following God’s will and to act in ways that reflect their faith and values.

Be still and cool in thy own mind and spirit from thy own thoughts, and then thou wilt feel the principle of God to turn thy mind to the Lord God, whereby thou wilt receive his strength and power from whence life comes, to allay all tempests, against blustering’s and storms. That is what molds up into patience, into innocence, into soberness, into stayedness, into quietness, up to God, with his power.

George Fox

 Another Quaker, William Penn, wrote, “True silence is the rest of the mind; it is to the spirit what sleep is to the body, nourishment and refreshment.” This quote emphasizes the restorative power of silence, linking it to mental well-being and spiritual renewal. 

 Silence denotes many things in many cultures. Positives and negatives, In some cultures. Silence denotes careful thought. In some, it denotes scorn.  It depends on the circumstances.

  • A Ghanaian proverb says, “Much silence makes a powerful noise.” It means that knowing when to be quiet can be more impactful than constantly speaking.
  • “Even silence speaks.”
  • “A time to keep silent, and a time to speak.” – Ecclesiastes 3:7
  • “Silence is a source of great strength.” – Lao Tzu
  • “The quieter you become, the more you can hear.” – Ram Dass
  • “In silence, there is eloquence.” – Rumi
  • “Silence is the sleep that nourishes wisdom.” – Francis Bacon
  • “Knowledge speaks, but wisdom listens.” – Jimi Hendrix
  • “In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.
  • “It is only in silence that we can plan a great response.”
  • “Silence is golden when you can’t think of a good answer.”
  • “He who does not understand your silence will probably not understand your words.”
  • “Silence is the most perfect expression of scorn.”
  • “Silence is a true friend who never betrays.” – Confucius
  • “He who does not understand your silence will probably not understand your words.” – Elbert Hubbard
  • “Silence is better than unmeaning words.” – Pythagoras
  • “In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.” – Isaiah 30:15
  • “Silence is the best answer to the stupid.”
  • “Even a fool is considered wise when they remain silent, and discerning when they hold their tongue.” – Proverbs 17:28
  • “This act of quietness is not merely the absence of noise but a profound practice that enables us to listen more attentively to our inner voice, leading to enhanced self-awareness. The restorative nature of silence extends beyond mere relaxation, encouraging a deeper connection with ourselves.” – Indian Express

Within the Catholic Tradition, the power of silence and its link with hearing God is expressed by Cardinal Robert Sarah in the following quotations:

 

  • “Man must make a choice: God or nothing, silence or noise.” (p. 67)
  • “Prayer consists of listening to God speak silently within us.” (p. 52)
  • “Sacred silence, laden with the adored presence, opens the way to mystical silence, full of loving intimacy.” (p. 122)
  • “There is no place on earth where God is more present than in the human heart. This heart truly is God’s abode, the temple of silence… The Father waits for his children in their own hearts.” (p. 23)
  • “Noise is a deceptive, addictive, and false tranquilizer. The tragedy of our world is never better summed up than in the fury of senseless noise that stubbornly hates silence. This age detests the things that silence brings us to: encounter, wonder, and kneeling before God.” (p. 56)
  • “Nestling in silence against the heart of God, with the open Bible over our head like the wings of the Holy Spirit, is still the best antidote, the one thing necessary to chase away from our interior territory all that is useless, superfluous, worldly, and even our own self.” (p. 74)
  • “Without silence, God disappears in the noise. And this noise becomes all the more obsessive because God is absent. Unless the world rediscovers silence, it is lost. The earth then rushes into nothingness.” (p. 80)
  • “Mother Teresa had a face charred by God’s silences, but she bore within her and breathed love. By dint of remaining long hours before the burning flame of the Blessed Sacrament, her face was tanned, transformed by a daily face-to-face encounter with the Lord.” (p. 98)
  • “If our ‘interior cell phone’ is always busy because we are ‘having a conversation’ with other creatures, how can the Creator reach us, how can He ‘call us’?” (p. 144)
  • “Silence is an acoustic veil that protects the mystery… a sort of sonic iconostasis.” (pp. 124, 136)

K. Drah

Hill House Meeting 2025,

Resources

Some Links and References on Silence and Silent Meetings  

The Power of Silence: Against the Dictatorship of Noise by Robert Cardinal Sarah with Nicolas Diat, Translated by Michael J. Miller, Ignatius Press, 2016.

 Video on Why Silence is Power   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkJZMxW__nI

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/43647817_The_Communicative_Role_of_Silence_in_Akan

In some societies observance of silence goes with some traditional practices.  For example  why do  the Gas in the capital city of Accra observe silence bfore the celebration of the Homowo festival https://www.newsendip.com/why-noise-is-banned-in-accra-for-a-month-every-year-ghana/

Are you preparing to visit a Quaker meeting for the first time?  The pamphlet may help  you

https://www.quaker.org.uk/documents/first-time-quaker-meeting