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And so we all went away with questions and challenges – a website to look up, a book to read, a determination to get rid of some clutter or to join with other local groups to work for sustainability and economic justice.   Above all we were reminded that the basis for our actions should at all times spring from love for one another and for the Earth – without which our actions are meanginless and empty. 

quaker britain

The Meeting continues to deal with the fallout. Three listening sessions have been scheduled. A majority of voices have resolved to allow a sex offender to Worship with us, albeit with severe strings attached. Yet, questions remain. How will we handle something like this in the future?

quaker community

Somewhere in the middle of all this, I started to go and see a counsellor. I also attended different religious groups. Some of these were helpful, and they provided time to reflect, but in most cases I felt I was being offered answers to questions I had not actually asked.

quaker comvincement

I believe that this rich experience of community life, with a deep-rooted but non-dogmatic spiritual basis, is something that many people are looking for, but very few of them would be likely to think of Quakers as somewhere to find it –largely because so few people have any idea of what we are about.

quaker outreach britain

So often, we think of obedience as passive, but I am beginning to believe it is anything but! What is passive about listening for God’s guidance, then following it?Sometimes the waiting and listening are hard and seem passive, but I believe it takes great strength. persaverance and effort to do so.

quaker

I spoke about how Friends have sat in silent worship there for more than 200 years, each generation listening to the laughter of its children. I mentioned some of the dear old Friends who were gone from our midst, but who were once the children laughing outside, bringing energy and joy to our little community

quaker community

I was not yet clear about whether I identify myself as “a Quaker”, or whether I just really like Quakers. I do my best thinking through journaling, so I presented myself with the query: “What would be true about me if I were a Quaker?” I came up with a list, which I lovingly dubbed my “Quakifesto”.

quaker convincement

Every now and again I take part in a Quaker Meeting for Worship that is totally silent: a whole hour where not a word is spoken. To an outsider looking in, all these occasions may look the same, but to the worshipper these experiences can vary wildly.

quaker liberal

In my experience, one prayer that God answers consistently and immediately is this one: "Lord, humble me." Help me to set my sights lower, smaller, simpler. Teach me to quit making the ministry about myself - even vicariously through my community.

quaker

What can the Quaker community do to support those whose outreach and evangelism is accompanied by God's confirming acts? Often the word "support" leads to a request for money or volunteers, and those are hugely important. But what we need most of all is revival! We need Friends and meetings whose normal state is a readiness to see God at work. W

quaker

As I prepare for this venture, through study and building friendships (with people I have little connection with other than the word Quaker), through prayer and waiting on the prompting of the Spirit to move forward, I am more and more aware of how much I have to learn from my un-programmed f/Friends and how much they can learn from the little spark of light that I bear

quaker oregon evangelical liberal

In accepting the full divinity of Christ, Quakers believe also there is ‘something of God’ in each and every human being. But we are reluctant to extend thoroughgoing special divinity to other human beings (Mary, the saints), even as we recognize that some human beings have a stronger ability to hear or to know the Light within.

quaker christianity bible

For me the traditional pattern was reversed: Instead of "believing, behaving, belonging," I first found belonging in a supportive spiritual community. There, I learned practices that taught me how to "behave." Finally, this supportive community and the spiritual practices they taught me drew me into an authentic set of beliefs

quaker

In other churches that first wave Fundamentalism (the doctrine - not the process) was being replaced with a second waved Fundamentalism that emphasized lists of behavioral rules. Arthur considered Friends to be outside of this stream. - That’s right - they were the progressives in that place and time, emphasizing response to the Spirit and abundant grace.

quaker evangelical

I think that’s what’s behind our young people’s dissatisfaction. The adult Quakers around them are just going through the Quaker motions and those motions are not visibly getting them off. They don’t see anybody having profound religious experience as Quakers. They want something more, something real and relevant.

quaker youth

I asked these questions in early April seeking responses from Friends in various Yearly Meetings across the United States. I’m grateful for the many responses that came back. I didn’t hear from every Yearly Meeting, but I heard from enough to begin to see the pattern –and that pattern is both expected and unexpected.

quaker sexuality

I suggest that this dichotomy is false. One can be a Christian in a substantial sense, while being at home within contemporary liberal Quakerism.

quaker Britain christianity

The peace testimony--a life lived in obedience to the Prince of Peace and in defiance of the massive historical reliance of peoples and nations everywhere on violence--is to me a confirming sign of the reality of the Gospel. We don't practice nonviolence just because we're nice people or clever people, nor do we practice it because we don't believe evil should be confronted

quaker witness

When people ask me this question, my immediate response is no:  Proof-texting doesn't work.  For anyone.  Pulling out another Bible verse to respond to attacks is never going to change anyone's position. After giving it a little more thought, I said that I only had one verse: "By their fruits you will know them."  Matthew 7:20.

quaker sexuality fwcc

One thing I have learned is that prophets are mirrors, not problem-solvers.  The prophet's job is to deliver the message; it is up to the people listening to decide what to do with it.  In practical terms, that means I usually don't have answers when people ask me, "What are you going to do to fix this problem you have named?"

quaker fwcc ministry