I love me a bit of silence: it can be wonderfully still, and comforting, and spiritual, and thought-provoking. I'm not a Quaker, but I get myself a scheduled weekly dose of silence by attending my local Quaker meeting most Sunday mornings (and they don't seem to mind that our theological differences are larger than our theological similarities). For those who didn't know already, "unprogrammed" Quaker meetings are held in silence, broken only if somebody feels moved to minister (and I've been to plenty of meetings which have just been silent from beginning to end). It's not complete silence - the occasional shuffle, cough, or the movement of a bird outside can be easily heard - but it's special to me specifically because what you've got is about 50 people who are just sitting in silence: it's the intent that makes their silence special, IMHO.