The Quest of Quakers: what is it?

Alec Davison responds to the concern that there is a ‘crisis of confidence’ in contemporary Quakerism

Truth

Quakers are Friends of Truth, seeking it wherever it may be found. Bearing witness against all dogma and creed, we are an open-minded Society ready to explore not only our spiritual experience but also fresh thinking and research in all fields of human discourse in the sciences, arts and humanities. We affirm that the revelation of Truth, the divine creative Spirit, has not been given once and for all time, nor in one person, but is continuing. Our findings are shared and questioned within our religious community for discernment, acceptance and inclusion in Quaker faith & practice, our book of inspiration and discipline, which, in an unparalleled religious undertaking, is revised every generation.

Worship

The Quaker way is founded on religious experience. We reflect on these inward knowings and bring them to outward understandings – a dance of reality and mystery to deepen new experience. Our worship is a response to the Divine within us when together we journey through the gateway of silence to wait in the Light, discovering its inward power in the midst of stillness. We reach for a ‘gathered Meeting’ where all become responsible and committed to the life of the community, laying down human power and hierarchy so that it may be Spirit led. From promptings of love and truth we know the leadings of our Source calling us to speak to the needs of the world.

Vision

Our Religious Society arose 350 years ago from within Christianity. The teachings of the historic Jesus remain central to our public testimony and life together today. But in trying to live adventurously we find that the Spirit is guiding us in new directions and we understand the Christ in new ways. What was always a latent universalist dimension within the Quaker faith, under a growing global and multicultural consciousness, is now emerging more tellingly to the fore. We are enriched by insights and dialogues in the wider spiritual world. Those of all faiths and none are welcome to worship and witness with us in our experiment to build new bridges and to seek for a greater human unity.

Equality

It is our discovery that there is that of God in everyone: each of us is a unique child of the Divine and humanity is one family. In the Light of the Spirit all members of that family are equal. From our beginnings when we recognised women as fully equal to men, until today when gay and lesbian Friends are a fully integral part of our fellowship, this insight has impelled us to engage in shifts of consciousness and social change – the abolition of slavery, relief of poverty, prison reform, the welfare state, same sex marriage, and new charitable enterprise. We aim to work that everyone may experience respect, dignity and justice, beyond all barriers of age, gender, race, class, ability and sexual orientation.

Peacemaking

Born out of the experience of the seventeenth century civil war in England, our Society has since taken a stand against all war of any kind, anywhere. This has led us to experiment at every level of community with its many alternatives, through mediation, dialogue, civil resistance, conflict resolution, democratic innovation, diplomatic perseverance, nonviolent direct action and the building of civil society.

We are recognised as a Peace Church and these robust, well-tried peaceable processes we offer with the authority of long practice to those in the global community now also seeking to create a world without war and division.

‘We are the Religious Society of Friends of Truth our worship is a spiritual path for today – simple, radical, contemporary’

Simplicity

We try to work towards a simple lifestyle to ensure that there might be a sustainable world with a sufficiency for everyone’s need. We join with others in the struggle for economic justice, fair trade and environmental care. The Quaker Way is guided by our sacramental vision: we value all life on Planet Earth as an expression of divinity. Together it is fashioned into an interrelated and interdependent fragile unity, which is set in a universe of awe, wonder and mystery. Each experiment of evolving life, including our own, has a unique and transitory potential seeking brief fulfilment. It is precious: it is sacred. We celebrate with joy its diversity and wholeness.

Isn’t that a marvellous Society to belong to? Isn’t that worth spreading and broadcasting and encouraging others to join with us? No one dimension is original but all six dimensions together are absolutely unique. At heart, wrapped about in a mantle of silent and mystical worship, are the ‘Four Bright Shiners’: Truth, Peace, Equality and Simplicity – ‘an ocean of light’.

But we are well aware, and the weekend’s multi-supplemented newspapers are eager to remind us, that we are increasingly encircled by ‘an ocean of darkness’. It is as if the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are now well armed and girding their loins to confront and arraign a preoccupied world.

Riding their steeds of greed and violence, ignorance and fear, they are putting us to the test, challenging our apathy and denial. Climate change, economic instability, the nuclear military machine and impoverished unemployed peoples are wounds enough for the care and attention of people of goodwill who have understanding and a prophetic eye.

I believe that Quakers are such people and that alongside those from other denominations and faiths and humanistic endeavours we will need to put on our spiritual armour and gird our loins to witness far more robustly. We need to be ready. Our Quaker trust is that the ‘ocean of light’ overcomes the ‘ocean of darkness’: the four Bright Shiners will prevail.

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Comments

Thank you. Excellent and inspiring

By doreen.osborne@outlook.com on 11th August 2016 - 9:10

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Yes, core of this are the promptings of love and truth - that consistency of faith is what we need to remain deeply confident in, in your words, human unity .  And the ability to see the profound changes in society, and act on the need to ‘build new bridges’ is also what you rightly recognise will enable us to address so many difficulties. Difficulties that arise globally every day, leading us towards a complex future.

By Sarah F on 12th August 2016 - 0:19

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Thanks, Alec
There is that wonderful quality of “aliveness” in your article and in the Quaker Way. We are in France where a fil-maker is preparing a film on important values, not valued enough by the French. He has come across this small group of people introducing and supporting these central values - they are called “Quakers”. I would like to translate your article into French for him.
R Thompson

By Sylvette T on 17th August 2016 - 18:27

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