Just Hanging Out

Something happened this month that took me back to my younger days in the 'hood. I attended a Quaker gathering that was just hanging out with Friends.

I didn't go for the program which was hardly considered. I didn't go to get anything or to give anything in return. I didn't even go out of boredom or the need for companionship. Ask me what I experienced there and I would honestly have to say, "Just the satisfaction of being able to hang out with Friends".

Just hanging out often leads to just hanging around. Likewise, just hanging around often leads to being included as a Friend.

No program to speak of here either, though an opportunity to share where you've come from and where you feel you're headed. Nothing received or given, unless acknowledged acceptance counts for something. A little more fellowship, perhaps, than usual and companionship that extended later into the day.

In fact, the most minimal, yet satisfying, experience of being welcomed as a Sojourner. Pull up a stoop and let's hang out, South Philly-style.

Spirits drawn to settle down rather than strive. Ward Ewing, an Episcopal priest, writes, "Striving for financial security has the curious effect of leading not to security but to more striving." When is "good enough" good enough? When fear doesn't drive us to drive ourselves and others crazy. When everyone has a key, with or without a formal presentation, everyone has access to the collective cooler where it's alright to come and chill.

My first response-ability, as a Friend, will be to attend to climate control. Running the de-humidifier the night before Meeting while organizing the books to form a lending library of sorts is the climate I choose to offer. Maybe, come cooler climes, the Meeting can offer a reading room and facilitate a book club along with Bible study groups.

After all, the sky's the limit when you need no other excuse than "just hanging out".