Outdoor Worship in the Rain with Bristol Friends
“The best thing one can do when it’s raining is to let it rain.”
Bristol Meeting is one of the smaller meetings in Bucks Quarter, with a small, dedicated group of Friends that gather for meeting for worship in their historic meetinghouse on the fourth Sunday of every month. That is, until the pandemic shutdown began in March 2020, when all indoor gatherings were halted to try to stop the spread of COVID-19. During the summer and fall, as long as the weather cooperated, they met under the large tree in their yard, masked and socially distant. But as the weather turned colder and the virus continued to spread, Friends felt that it would be safer to suspend their meetings for worship until the weather turned warmer.
Last month, Friends decided it might be warm enough to begin outdoor worship and planned to gather again under that large tree on the last Sunday of March. But instead of being warm and sunny, the day dawned rainy, damp and chilly. But that did not stop the four hearty souls who arrived for worship; they simply moved into the carriage shed to shelter from the rain and held their meeting for worship there.
A space heater provided welcome warmth, and Friends stayed dry in the 200+ year old structure. The rain gave a lovely background sound to the silent worship; afterwards Friends shared that they heard the call of a morning dove, observed the change in the intensity of the rainfall, and were aware of the drip-drip-drip as the water ran off the roof onto the ground. The daffodils were even bowing their heads in prayer.
Bristol Friends will again gather the fourth Sunday of this month – April 25 – and invite others to join them. Be prepared – the weather forecast is calling for a 90% chance of rain, so you may have the opportunity to worship under the shelter of the carriage shed with them.