The Continuance Institute

Gatherings

An Introduction to the Practice

First Thursday of every month, at each house, from six in the evening. Attendance is free and no contribution is requested at any point. Reservation is required only so that we know how many to cook for.

The order of the evening

  1. 18:00Arrival. The table is already laid.
  2. 18:10Silence, twelve minutes. You may leave the room; no one will follow.
  3. 18:22A reading of not more than four hundred words.
  4. 18:30Discussion. One question, put plainly. You need not speak.
  5. 19:15The meal, served by those who did not cook.
  6. 20:00Practical business: repairs, deliveries, the rota.
  7. 20:25Notices. First attendances are welcomed by name.
  8. 20:30Close. The empty place is cleared last.

The room is laid before anyone arrives: plain white cups, a jug, the bread board at the end of the table, and the week's rota pinned by the kitchen door. Water is already heating. The twelve minutes begin when the room is quiet and not when the clock says so, and a brass bell — where a house has one — marks the end of them.

Before you come

  • Wear what you would wear to a neighbour's kitchen.
  • You will not be asked what you believe, or what you do for work.
  • You will be asked to carry something, or hand something to someone.
  • You may leave at any point in the evening without explanation.
  • Bring nothing. If you bring something, it will be eaten.

Reserve a place

A steward of the receiving house will write once to confirm. If you do not come, we will not write again.

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From the archive

The rota, as posted in 1981.

The order of the evening is not a ritual; it is a duplicated kitchen notice that has never been withdrawn.

Carbon copy · house file · not to leave the archive room

TO ALL HOUSES. FOR PINNING IN THE KITCHEN.

1. Those who cook do not serve. Those who serve do not clear. Those who clear do not speak at the business.

2. The twelve minutes begin when the room is quiet and not when the clock says so. If the room is not quiet by ten past, the reading is brought forward and the silence is kept at the end instead.

3. A first attendance is welcomed by name at the notices and not before. No one is asked what they do.

4. One place is laid and left empty. It is cleared last.

5. Nothing is collected. If money is left on the table it is entered in the ledger of the house and the person is written to.

This notice replaces the notice of March 1979 and is to be read aloud once a year.

PRO/1981/02 · Shore House

Most gatherings do not take place at a House. Thirty-eight local circles keep the same order of the evening in halls, back rooms and libraries, under the standing orders of 1991.