Are we scared?
Jill Allum is inspired by one of the essays of the 2009 Friends Quarterly essay competition.
Have we really listened to the challenge of our three prize-winning essayists of 2009? The competition received one hundred and six entries, some of them fifty pages long, and I would like to focus on the essay of one of the second prize-winners, Simon Best. The judges called it ‘the most radical challenge… taking us back to what we should be – a worshipping group.’
Simon starts his essay with a powerful statement: Quakers are not simple, not contemporary, and certainly not radical. He believes: ‘we are scared…scared of falling numbers… scared of disappearing entirely… scared of being too religious… scared of spiritual intimacy… scared of saying what we believe…’ After such a strong accusation, we would do well to listen and take action.
Do we fall over backwards to include everyone who comes near our doors and accept an ‘anything goes’ policy? Are we scared of offending? We have a great plurality of belief in Quakerism. We want people to think what they want and still be part of our Quaker family. Testimonies, Simon argues, are ‘now up to the individual’ and he believes the influence of Christianity has diminished. Quaker discernment no longer seeks ‘the will of God’ but the ‘feeling of the Meeting’. We have moved from a ‘scriptural understanding of worship and lost our collective intimacy with God’. We are becoming secular Quakers.
Do we want to be ‘a vibrant religious community?’ is Simon’s challenge. We need a ‘spiritual renewal’ and to become radical again. Have we gone too far in mistrusting certainty of truth, diminishing God-talk, criticising Christian ministry and Bible reading in worship? Have we lost our standards of belief for admitting people into membership? Are we scared of asking for an acceptance of our tradition and of being faith-based?
Quaker theology has emphasised ‘continuing revelation.’ That is what makes it radical. Early Friends were radical and contemporary in their time. Could we be rooted in our past traditions but energised by a dynamic dialogue with the present? Are we willing to experiment with new forms of practice? Could we sometimes try semi-programmed worship? Do we always have to be in our Meeting on a Sunday? Could we also use ‘dynamic, informal, networks’? Maybe we should ask our Young Friends how their ‘community and spiritual needs’ are best met?
We may be resonating with today’s society but not presenting ourselves very well. Could we have a more ‘liquid feel’? Is our aim ‘to listen to the guidance of the spirit’ and to learn ‘what God wants us to do?’ Are we ready to ‘set aside our egos’ and sacrifice our individual beliefs? Are we ready for ‘spiritual sharing’ and for being ‘open to new leadings?’ ‘Young Friends have greater opportunities to share their beliefs. They don’t walk on eggshells.’ Can we learn from them? It would be refreshing and maybe contemporary.
We are a ‘priesthood of all believers.’ The ending of recorded ministry has ‘done us no favours.’ ‘We need to reaffirm the place of spiritual authority.’ We need to trust our thirty-year-old spiritual leaders. Simon tells us that Young Friends ‘feel there is no way for them to voice their concerns… they wouldn’t be listened to by older Quakers.’ This is a terrible indictment on us. Simon has been with these Young Friends and he knows they can ‘follow the will of God’ and ‘consider an issue prayerfully’ and that they have faith in the Quaker business method. Simon had a strong sense that God was guiding them.
Let us take Simon’s words and these challenges seriously. Let us run with them. Let us ‘make God visible in the world around us’.
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