(Here is a picture of my marching in last year's North Carolina Gay Pride Parade)
At the core of my faith is a truth that cannot be fully
communicated directly with words, it can only be experienced. I believe
that our soul can directly experience the Divine, and this mystical experience
of worship can happen all the time in our lives. Quakers have described this
experience with many metaphors including the "inner light,"
"inner guide," "Christ within," "Love," "and
"seed," among others. This fundamental spiritual truth is
within each person and is immediately accessible directly by all
people. A person need only look within to find the
truth. For me, all of the other Quaker testimonies, organizations,
and practices as Quakers can be understood as experiments and attempts to
enhance and develop our experience of this spiritual truth. One
important aspect of this "light" is that it seems more accessible
when it is shared; and so, coming together in Meeting for Worship is the most
important Quaker practice intended to help nurture and develop this spiritual
seed in ourselves and the group. At the core of this sense of Light is
Love. What I experience when I am together with others, centered in
the Light, is a love which connects me to others, to my community, and to all
life. Love expresses the interconnectedness of this spiritual
experience. Experiencing the light is a unifying experience, that
brings us together with a sense of Love. Attention to the light
helps me reject or avoid things which distract me from the fundamental connectedness
of the spiritual experience. My Quakerism is marked by both radical individual
freedom and deep reliance on the fellowship of my community. My individual
freedom is rooted and nurtured in the fellowship, guided and tested by the
fellowship, and sometimes comes into conflict or tension with my fellowship.
1. Waiting Worship: Because the inner light is immediately accessible and
the experience is impossible to describe adequately with words, our form of
worship is to wait in silence and focus inwardly to experience the Spirit and
our spiritual connection with each other. (Douglas Steere on Waiting Worship: http://www.pym.org/resources/quaker-worship
; The Quaker Meeting, Howard Collier, http://www.pendlehill.org/images/pamphlets/php026.pdf
)
2. Vocal Ministry: I believe we are connected by the inner light and believe that it works among us in worship and sometimes moves people to share messages out of the silence that will help bring us closer to the inner light and assist with putting inner truth into practice in our outer life. Vocal ministry is not supposed to be discussion, commentary, or personal meditation. Vocal ministry is divinely inspired words spoken in fear and trembling under the guidance of the “Holy Spirit.” (Douglas Steere on Vocal Ministry: http://www.quaker.org/pamphlets/pdf/php182.pdf )
2. Vocal Ministry: I believe we are connected by the inner light and believe that it works among us in worship and sometimes moves people to share messages out of the silence that will help bring us closer to the inner light and assist with putting inner truth into practice in our outer life. Vocal ministry is not supposed to be discussion, commentary, or personal meditation. Vocal ministry is divinely inspired words spoken in fear and trembling under the guidance of the “Holy Spirit.” (Douglas Steere on Vocal Ministry: http://www.quaker.org/pamphlets/pdf/php182.pdf )
3. Integrity: I believe that attention to this inner light leads to a truth that can be shared and is undivided. I therefore believe it is important to be truthful in my dealings, to be careful with my words and not overreach or distort the truth because falsehood distracts me from my attention to the Light. Integrity requires that I express my deepest beliefs and commitments in the actions and choices of my life. My life should speak the truths I try to follow.
4. Worship with Attention to Business: We believe that all practical decisions in the world can be made individually and as a group by following the Light among us. We therefore wait in silence as we attend to practical business decisions and do not act until there is unity among us as to what the Spirit requires of us. We arrive at a "sense of the Meeting" when we are led as a group by our attention to the Light to a Truth that is clear to all of us. (FGC Material on Business Meeting: http://www.fgcquaker.org/ao/quaker-business-basics; Quaker Decision Making Howard Brinton: http://www.pendlehill.org/images/pamphlets/php065.pdf )
5. Family: I also seek to bring the Light into my family and cultivate practices in my home that keep me focused on the spiritual experience of love. I am committed to practicing the love and practices of peace in my family that I experience in Meeting and seek to take out into the world.
6. Children and Education: My belief in the Light in each person leads to a belief that children ought to be educated in a way that honors the light in each individual child and equips each child to find and follow their own inner guide. (On Education and the Inner Teacher – Paul Lacey: http://www.pendlehill.org/images/pamphlets/php278.pdf )
7. Community: Because we believe that everyone has equal access to the
light, we reject hierarchical or organizational structures which vest truth,
power, and control in a higher authority. We do not have clergy or paid
ministers because we are all equally responsible for our own spiritual growth
in the light and the growth of the light in the meeting. We have monthly
meetings , yearly meetings, committees, and clearness committees to help us
make decisions about our spiritual life and how we practice our spiritual life
in the world. Our organization reflects and nurtures our commitment
to the truth which arises from attention to the inner light. (Community,
Douglas Steere: http://www.pendlehill.org/images/pamphlets/php010.pdf
)
8. Equality: Because I believe that everyone has equal access to this spiritual truth, I believe that we are all equal. I reject divisions in our society which separate people from each other. Quakers have a history of rejecting racial, gender, class, religious, nationalist, sexual orientation, and other divisions within society. We adopt practices and habits which affirm our equality among all people. I see wealth and power as things which tend to divide us from each other and cause conflict, therefore I try to avoid divisions along class and power.
8. Equality: Because I believe that everyone has equal access to this spiritual truth, I believe that we are all equal. I reject divisions in our society which separate people from each other. Quakers have a history of rejecting racial, gender, class, religious, nationalist, sexual orientation, and other divisions within society. We adopt practices and habits which affirm our equality among all people. I see wealth and power as things which tend to divide us from each other and cause conflict, therefore I try to avoid divisions along class and power.
9. Peace: Because we believe that everyone has equal access to spiritual truth, we believe that we should not intentionally harm others - even when they are trying to harm us. We respect the light in all people, and believe that violence divides and distracts us from the truth of interconnected love and light among all beings. Our work for peace begins with inner peace, and flows into the circles of our families, communities, and into the world. (Inner Peace: http://www.pendlehill.org/images/pamphlets/php044.pdf ; World Peace: http://www.pendlehill.org/images/pamphlets/php013.pdf ); Practicing Peace, Catherine Whitmire
10. Simplicity: I believe that greed for wealth and material things distracts me from attention to the light and love. Wealth separates me from my less fortunate brothers and sisters and causes division which can also lead to violence or conflict. Therefore I seek a simple spirit in tune with the light, and avoid complicated life styles and possessions which distract me from the Spirit. (Different aspects of Simplicity, http://www.pendlehill.org/images/pamphlets/php003.pdf )
11. Environment: I believe that our culture's commitment to wealth and power have had a terrible and destructive impact on the environment. My attention to the light leads to a commitment to equality, peace, and simplicity which also requires attention to how we equitably
distribute the earth's resources and take care of our Earth.
12. Service Works: Because my experience of the light leads to a sense of Love, my commitment to the Light often results in actions in the world to serve and help others in need. In service I find my connectedness to others in the Light and honor the light among others and break down barriers between myself and others. I do not have beliefs and then try to make time for service. My faith is a vibrant force in my daily live that pulls me inevitably into service. I try to live in the life and power that takes away the occasion for wars, and my aspiration to pacifism is a symptom of my inner spiritual state. My effort at service is both a path to God, and the result of the outpouring of God’s love into the world through me.
13. Testimonies: Even
though Quakers did not adopt creeds, the practice of love and light in the
world over time suggested themes that were recurring. These themes became known as “testimonies” or
shared values that we express in our lives.
Simplicity, Peace, Integrity, Community, and Equality are the classic
Quaker testimonies. Much has been written about each of these testimonies. We would likely add Environmental and Earth
Care as an emerging testimony among Friends.
14. Queries: Quakers
have expressed our values in Questions or Queries that we ask ourselves
individually and in our community regularly to mark our spiritual progress. An
example of a Query to be considered by our Monthly Meeting is: Do we endeavor by example and precept to
cultivate in our children a sense of openness and expectancy about life, and to
aid them in their growth in spiritual understanding and moral discernment? Do
we share with them the faith that guides the practice of Friends, while
encouraging them to develop their religious insights as the Spirit of God may
lead them? (For more on Queries in the North Carolina Yearly Meeting
(Conservative) Faith and Practice: http://www.ncymc.org/fpframes.html
). Here are a list of my personal queries that I have crafted for my own daily
devotion and reflection.
- Do I maintain spiritual awareness, continual prayer, connectedness in each moment?
- Family life: Am I fully present for my family? Do I communicate my love for them daily? Am I good advocate and listener? Do I communicate clearly, deal directly with hard issues, manage time in a way that honors my family. Do I make space and time for silence, solitude, prayer and meditation in the home, in a way that nurtures the spiritual growth of my children? Do I take advantage of opportunities to practice loving patience, kindness, peace, simplicity and integrity in my domestic life? A long-term relationship brings tensions as well as fulfillment. If your relationship with your partner is under strain, seek help in understanding the other's point of view and in exploring your own feelings, which may be powerful and destructive. Consider the wishes and feelings of any children involved, and remember their enduring need for love and security. Seek God's guidance
- Possessions: do I regard
and use my possessions, privilege and power as channels of universal love?
Do I let go of anxiety surrounding accumulating and preserving wealth? Am
I mindful and intentional about responsible use of our material resources
toward financial freedom and loving service of my family, my Meeting
community, and the world?
- Integrity: am I truly myself in each moment? Do I
articulate and live my values even when it is uncomfortable or difficult?
Do I claim my own voice as a writer, singer, song writer, poet, activist,
dancer, and minister?
- Body: do I eat? Do I
choose food that is healthy and mindful of hunger and fair allocation of
resources worldwide? Do I avoid addictive substances like excessive
caffeine, alcohol, or tobacco? Am I vegetarian?
- Equality: do I take every
opportunity to tear down walls of inequality and then build bridges across
differences? Am I mindful of creating a safe space for oppressed voices?
- Peace: do I cultivate
peace within and hold painful feelings like a crying baby? Do I take
opportunities to transform conflict into a moments of grace? Do I use
resources and luxuries that contribute to violent global conflict?
- Environment and
sustainable development? Do I look for opportunities to support local,
organic, sustainable products and economies? Do I choose products and
activities that leave a light footprint and do no harm to the environment?
- Simplicity: does my
spiritual connection lead naturally to the discarding and removal of
possessions or habits which distract me from the life of the spirit?
- Community: do I nurture my
family, my Meeting, my workplace,
my city? Do I make an effort to cultivate relationships with the
poor, persecuted, despised? Am I aware of the group dynamics and
opportunities to deepen and broaden my community?
- Do I listen so deeply that
I help a soul into finding its own path and voice?
15. Clearness
Committees: When we need help
discerning the work of the Spirit in our lives we can ask the Meeting to
appoint a committee of Friends to help us come to clearness. This group of spiritual listeners will hold a
space for deep discernment with silence, prayer, and open ended questions
designed to help the person discern the guidance of the inward teacher. The committee members do not offer advice or
share their own views, they create an open space for discernment by asking
questions arising from the Spirit in the silence. Toward the end of the time, it is appropriate
for the committee members to selectively reflect back to the person what they
have said. These committees are often
called for questions of membership in meeting, marriage, divorce, career
decisions, and guidance for spiritual leadings in the world.
16. Spiritual
Reality, Theological Diversity: Although Quakerism began and still is a
Christian movement, there are now Universalist (http://www.quaker.org/pamphlets/QUF.html
) and even Non-theistic Quakers in my Meeting. There are strains of Buddhism as
well. The role of the Bible in my
Quakerism is central but not primary. It is a human account God at work in the
lives of individuals and communities for thousands of years and is full of
truth. It is also written by humans,
with their personal and historical limitations, and interpreted by humans with
our own limitations, and is therefore not a primary source of truth. God did
not stop speaking two thousand years ago, but truth is continually revealed to
us in our hearts and in our community. (Thomas Kelly, Reality of Spiritual
World: http://www.pendlehill.org/images/pamphlets/php021.pdf
; Approaching the Gospels: http://www.pendlehill.org/images/pamphlets/php219.pdf
)
We all seem to have the Light in different measures and are called within to take different kinds of actions and articulate our beliefs in different ways. We have many different styles of spiritual practices, beliefs, and lifestyles, but we are united in a sense of shared experience of Truth among us. (Summary of Quakerism: Howard Brinton, the Nature of Quakerism - http://www.pendlehill.org/images/pamphlets/php047.pdf )
There are a variety of kinds of Quaker writings, and I will summarize some of my favorites here.
We all seem to have the Light in different measures and are called within to take different kinds of actions and articulate our beliefs in different ways. We have many different styles of spiritual practices, beliefs, and lifestyles, but we are united in a sense of shared experience of Truth among us. (Summary of Quakerism: Howard Brinton, the Nature of Quakerism - http://www.pendlehill.org/images/pamphlets/php047.pdf )
There are a variety of kinds of Quaker writings, and I will summarize some of my favorites here.
Quaker Journals: Quakerism is extremely individualistic and
communal at the same time. Because we don’t have creeds or set beliefs, our
values, habits, and customs are communicated more by how we live than what we
say. From the beginning of our Quaker history, journaling has been an important
practice for documenting spiritual progress, and sharing spiritual insights of
individual growth in relation to the community.
The Journal of George Fox is the spiritual story of the insights of the
man who led to the growth and development of Quakerism in the 1600s. I like the
revised edition by John L. Nickalls..
George Fox
Although I have spent quality time with
portions of this book, I must admit the 17th Century language and
cultural difference have been too formidable for me to make it through from
start to finish. Rex Ambler’s anthology of Fox’s writings, in Truth of the Heart, highlights Fox’s
best writing, and has the ancient language on one page with a modern
translation on the next. Rex Ambler is an important Quaker writer whose Light to Live By and The End of Words are very insightful
explorations of Quaker meditative practice.
My favorite Quaker Journal is by
John Woolman, an 18th century Quaker businessman, writer, traveler,
abolitionist. My favorite edition is The
Journal and Major Essays of John Woolman edited by Phillips P. Moulton.
This edition also includes his essays on slavery and poverty. His language is
amazingly modern for an 18th century writer, and I am drawn through
this book over and over without the difficulties I encounter with Fox’s
journal. (For more on John Woolman on Worship: http://www.pendlehill.org/images/pamphlets/php051.pdf
; Woolman and the 20th Century: http://www.pendlehill.org/images/pamphlets/php096.pdf
; Biographical Pamphlet: http://www.quaker.org/pamphlets/pdf/php187.pdf
; Motions of Love, Woolman as Activist and Spiritualist: http://www.pendlehill.org/images/pamphlets/php312.pdf
)
I also like the Journal of Levi
Coffin, titled Reminiscences of Levi
Coffin, edited by Ben Richmond. Coffin grew up in Greensboro just before
the civil war, and cultivated the grounds at Guilford college. His journal is
populated by exciting stories of his risky efforts, from childhood and
throughout his life, helping slaves escape. He moved to Indiana and has been
called the conductor of the Underground Railroad.
Finally, anyone attending Durham
Friends Meeting should spend time with the journal of Calhoun D. Geiger, called
Leadings along the Way. (You can only get this book through Durham Friends Meeting, I think) The first
time I attended Durham Friends Meeting, he gave the only vocal ministry from
the book of Micah 6:8, “What does the Lord require of you? But to do justice,
and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God.” This was a favorite message of our beloved
Cal, and I have known few people who have lived a life closer to this aspiration.
He hosted my clearness committee for membership in Durham Friends Meeting, he
walked with Dr. King, he knew Rufus Jones, he taught at Carolina Friends
School. He worked in a mental health hospital for his alternative service as a
conscientious objector during World War II. His life shows the soul force that
grows in a person living a life in tune with leadings of the Spirit and marks
the guideposts of a life of pacifism.
Quaker Faith and Practice and Discipline: Large groups of
Quaker Meetings have historically documented their habits, testimonies,
queries, practices, and aspirations in a Quaker Faith and Practice. The North
Carolina Yearly Meeting (Conservative)
describes it as “both a moral guide and a manual of structure and
government within the Body. The document is revised from time to time.
Additions and revisions show the evolution of moral consciousness as it becomes
more sensitive to spiritual and social inharmonies.” (http://www.ncymc.org/fpframes.html).
This is the most succinct statement of our Quaker ways of worship, doing
business, coming to clearness, and activism in the world. Also worth reading
are the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting Faith and Practice (http://www.pym.org/content/pym-faith-and-practice)
and the Quaker Faith and Practice of British Yearly Meeting (http://www.quakerweb.org.uk/qfp/). In addition to clear description of our
practice, these volumes have the most thorough collection of Quaker quotes,
stories, and anecdotes.
Minutes: If you are reading our own Newsletter then you have
read the Minutes of our Meeting for Worship with Attention to Business. The
most spiritual part of the Minutes is when we collectively consider our
“Query.” Our queries pose our most central values, testimonies, and aspirations
as questions. Our practice of collectively answering these queries each month
keeps us engaged with our values, and creates a historical record of our
progress. They are the journal of a Meeting’s collective spiritual progress.
Each of the Meetings in North Carolina answer the queries, and they are all
read at the Annual Yearly Meeting, and recorded in the Minutes of the Yearly
Meeting. They are all beautiful and moving, instructive, and inspirational. Our
Yearly Meeting has also published essays on the Queries, Advices, and Vocal
Ministry. (http://www.ncymc.org/journal/index.html)
Pendle Hill Pamphlets
Pendle Hill is a retreat and study center in Pennsylvania,
they have published pamphlets on an incredible range of spiritual subjects
interesting to Quakers since Pamphlet Number 1 in 1934. They are numbered, and
available online at http://www.pendlehill.org/php. Many of them are free and can be downloaded
in PDF format. (http://www.quaker.org/pamphlets/PendleHill.html
) The newer ones usually cost less than $7.00. Some good examples of pamphlets
include: Phillips P. Moulton, The Living
Witness of John Woolman, Pendle Hill Pamphlet No. 187, William Taber, Four Doors to Meeting for Worship, PHP No. 306, Douglas Steere, Being Present Where you Are, PHP No. 151,
Integrity, Ecology, and Community: The Motion of Love, by our own Jennie
Ratcliffe, PHP No. 403.
Anthologies, Histories and Others: Good anthologies of Quaker
writings include Jassamyn West’s, The
Quaker Reader, and Quaker
Spirituality: Selected Writings, edited by Douglas Steere. A more recent Quaker
anthology is called Quaker Writings: An
Anthology, 1650-1920, edited by Thomas Hamm. The sections by Elias Hicks,
John William Graham, and Rufus Jones are particularly good. Also the Civil War
journals are very interesting. Also worth reading is our own Durham Friends Reader, which includes
short essays by members of our Meeting on a variety of our aspirations in
spiritual practice. Good daily devotional writings include Linda Renfer’s two
volume set of Daily Readings: From Quaker
Writings Ancient & Modern. Another good short devotional work is
Elizabeth Gray Vining’s, The World in
Tune. There is a good anthology of peace sayings and thoughts called Practicing Peace by Elizabeth Whitmire.
A classic statement of Quaker Theology is Barclay’s Apology, edited and written in
modern English by Dean Freiday. A favorite Quaker Historian, Margaret Hope
Bacon has written Mothers of Feminism:
The Story of Quaker Women in America, and Valiant Friend: The Life of Lucretia Mott. Howard Brinton’s Friends for 350 Years, is a good one
volume history. Thomas Kelly’s A
Testament of Devotion and John Punshon’s Encounter With Silence are both beautifully written and
inspirational descriptions of our unique spiritual practices.
Rufus Jones was a prolific writer fusing a deep historical
Quaker mysticism with modern science and historiography. Rufus Jones: Essential Writings edited by Kerry Walters is a good
introduction. Another good Rufus Jones anthology is Rufus Jones Speaks to Our Time, edited by Harry Emerson Fosdick. A
good book on prayer is Douglas V. Steere’s Dimensions
of Prayer.
I also return again and again to non-Quaker mystic/social
justice advocates. Buddhist Monk, Thich Nhat Hanh’s Peace is Every Step and Being
Peace. Selected Writings of Dorothy Day, edited by Robert Ellsburg, and
her diary called Duty of Delight by
the same editor. I have quite a collection of writings on contemplation and peace by Thomas Merton that I dip into daily. Leo Tolstoy’s religious writings share the mysticism and primitive
approach to reading the Gospel – His Kingdom
of God is Within You, and Religious short stories, Walk in the Light and 23 other stories, are masterful. Mary Oliver’s poetry combines a sensitivity
to nature with a mystical sensibility of the divine that always inspire me. There are wonderful works about community by
Jean Vanier, Community and Growth,
and Living Gently in a Violent World.
I hope you enjoyed this tour through my brand of Quakerism. I would love the opportunity to discuss more, share more, and hear about your spiritual journey.
