The coming together (“confluence”) of Friends in silent worship is a rare and precious human experience. Even if other creatures have their equivalent merging with the Divine, Quaker worship is a distinctly human thing to do.
Friends (of the non-pastoral sort, at least) do not have a hierarchy. No chain of command. No higher-ups. No in-group. No pyramid of authority. No ultimate decision-maker, where the buck always stops. Nobody on the bottom, who must keep his/her head down and mouth shut for fear of retaliation. Nobody who is powerless. Nobody more powerful than whomever fills the temporary and limited ro
