FAQ

Quakers have a wide range of beliefs. We use a variety of religious languages to describe our shared experience. We do not have a creed, but in general we agree that:

Everyone is equal and precious before God.

All people can have a direct experience of the Divine, individually and in shared worship. We have many ways of naming our experience. Some of them are God, Christ, Spirit, Inward Teacher, Inward Light, and Seed, among others.

By whatever name, this experience of the Divine is universal, ongoing, and available to everyone.

The life and teachings of Jesus are an example of faithfulness to God.

Paying attention to and following the Divine changes us. We try to live out our convictions every day in our actions.

We believe that all people have within them the Inner Light of the Divine.

Our guiding principle is: “What would love have us do?”

"I come from a mainstream religious background. Will I be welcome?"
"I have never belonged to a religious institution. Will I be welcome?"
"I don't know what I'm looking for but I want to belong to a spiritual community. Will I be welcome?"
"I am of a different social class, educational background, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion or race from most people around me. Will I be welcome?"

We believe that every person is loved by the Divine Spirit. There are Quakers of all ages, religious backgrounds, races, education, sexual orientations, gender identities and classes. Many of us belong to so-called marginal communities or are active allies. We are an LGBTQ+ affirming faith community.

This is not to say that we are perfect in all our interactions, but we strive to actively educate ourselves on how to be welcoming and inclusive.

Quaker Worship - Worship is central to our faith. We meet together in expectant silence to experience the Divine Presence. We believe the Divine surrounds us and is within us at the same time. We do not create the encounter, but rather open ourselves to it.

We begin by becoming inwardly still, allowing thoughts that usually fill our attention to recede. We can help quiet our thoughts by reciting a prayer, reflecting on a sacred text, focusing on breathing, or other means. As the group settles into stillness, we increase our awareness to include the whole group and movement of the Spirit within it.

In holy silence, we can go beyond words to experience the Inward Light or Spirit. When we worship with others, the awareness is amplified, just as many candles increase the light in a room.

Some of the things we may sense during worship are love, healing and renewal. Sometimes, we feel as one in the Spirit, with a sense of timelessness and peace. We may receive guidance about a problem or a decision. The experience is different for each of us.

The meeting for worship closes when a designated person in the meeting shakes hands with another, and everyone else shakes hands with those nearby. This generally occurs near the appointed time or when the spirit of the meeting seems to indicate that the time to close has come.

Worship can happen at any time and in any circumstance — such as in a home or a field. We carry the experience with us into our daily lives. You are welcome to join us.

Speaking and Listening in Meeting for Worship - The aim of our meetings for worship is communion with the Divine. As we experience the Divine Presence, messages from a deep place may arise out of the silence.

Anyone may receive a message from the Spirit and speak it into the silence. Messages are not prepared in advance. If one is unclear about sharing a message, it is probably best to wait with it.

It is customary for a person to speak no more than once during a meeting for worship. A period of silence follows each message so that listeners can absorb it.

We receive each message with openness. It may strike a chord within us, though not all messages will speak to everyone. We do not respond to an earlier message in affirmation, conversation, or rebuttal.

Meetings for worship may have spoken messages or not. Either can nourish, guide and comfort us. What we seek in worship is stillness that can open to the deep place where the loving Spirit dwells.

Do I need to dress up? - Nope! Quakers have long believed in the principle of plain dress, which means different things to different Friends—but for our immediate purposes, it basically means you can wear the sort of clothes you’d wear any other time of the week. “Business casual” offers one helpful rule of thumb, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see a Quaker at meeting in jeans and sneakers, either. That doesn’t mean you have to dress down, though—what matters is that you wear what’s comfortable for you.

For many, but not all Quakers, prayer is part of our individual lives as well as part of Meeting for Worship.

Prayer - Prayer is simply conversation or contact with God where we open ourselves to the Divine presence. This can take different forms. Quak­ers may pray silently. We may formulate words or an image or just be. It is important that we listen for what God may have to say to us. Some Quakers also use set prayers from the Bible or other spiritual writings when they pray.

Quaker Grace - Before meals, Quakers typically have a silent grace or a moment of silent thankfulness for the meal and for each other. The group often holds hands during grace.

Holding in the Light - During or after worship, a Friend may ask the group to “hold someone in the Light.” The person may be sick, dealing with difficult life circumstances, struggling spiritually, or work­ing to serve others. To hold a person in the Light, imagine them being held in God’s loving presence and offer prayers and love for them. Holding an individ­ual or a group of people in the Light is often part of our practice of prayer.

For me, prayer is more about listening than talking. Prayer is a way of being with God. Deborah Fisch, 2010

To pray is to change. Prayer is the central avenue God uses to transform us. Richard Foster in Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth, Harper San Francisco, 1978

When I read that I was supposed to make “a place for inward retirement and waiting upon God” in my daily life, . . . I thought: “Oh, those stuffy old Friends, they don’t understand! Do they think I’m going to be able to sit for an hour, or half an hour, or a quarter of an hour, or for any time at all, in my very busy life, just to have some kind of feeling of ‘inward retirement’?” I felt irritated and misunder­stood, and I tried to put the whole thing out of my mind. At last I began to realize . . . that I needed some kind of inner peace, or inward retirement, or whatever name it might be called by. . . . I began to realize that prayer was not a formality or an obliga­tion; it was a place which was there all the time and always available. Elfrida Vipont Foulds The Candle of the Lord, Pendle Hill Pamphlet #248, 1983

Quakers’ experience of the Divine affects:
What we do in our personal lives.
What we believe.
Changes we work for in the wider world.

Testimonies are what Quakers call the ways we have found to live and act based on our beliefs. As a group, we find that listening to and following God leads to:
   Integrity - living as whole people who act on what we believe, tell the truth, and do what we say we will do.
   Simplicity - focusing on what is truly important and letting other things fall away.
   Equality - treating everyone, everywhere, as equally precious to God; recognizing that everyone has gifts to share.
  Community - supporting one another in our faith journeys and in times of joy and sorrow; sharing with and caring for each other.
  Peace - seeking justice and healing for all people; taking away the causes of war in the ways we live.
  Stewardship - valuing and respecting all of God’s creation; using only our fair share of the earth’s resources; working for policies that protect the planet.

We do not always hear and follow Divine guidance; being in community with other Quakers helps us to be faithful.

A Quaker meeting is a local worshipping com­munity. Quaker meetings follow the guidance of the Spirit in business as well as in worship.

Quaker meetings function by appointing members to offices and committees. These volunteers prepare business that comes to the entire group for Spirit-led decision-making. Most meetings have no paid workers; some meetings may hire part-time childcare, cleaning, grounds keeping, or administrative workers. Everyone is welcome to participate in the work of the meeting.

 Committees - The bulk of the work is done by committees according to the meeting’s needs and con­cerns. Different committees may care for the quality of worship, finances, peace and justice work, hospitality, religious education, nurtur­ing members, and care of the building, if any. Committees perform specific tasks, think through issues and come up with recommendations to present to the full meeting for consideration and deci­sion-making during a meeting for business.

Meeting for Business - The community has a monthly meeting where we make decisions. We use the collective dis­cernment of members as well as tradition and Scripture to help us understand God’s will for us.

The Clerk - The clerk of the meeting has the role of a ser­vant leader. The clerk:
Serves as the center of communication within the meeting;
Guides the conduct of business meetings;
Serves as the contact person with regional Quaker bodies; and,
Speaks on behalf of the meeting when a spokesperson is required.

Finances - Most meetings have a Finance Committee which draws up an annual budget. If you wish, you can contribute to the meeting by giving money to the Treasurer.

Membership - When you have attended meeting for a period of time and regularly participate in worship, business meetings, and the life of the com­munity, you may begin to feel a spiritual tie to the community. You may want to consider becoming a member. The Clerk can explain the process, which is also detailed in our book of Faith & Practice.