Visiting Friends

Kenyan Quaker Robert Wafula reflects on his visit among British Friends

My visit among British Friends from 14 June to 7 July was one of the most exciting, informative and educational experiences in my life as a Quaker. It is one thing to read and talk about history in an abstract manner, but for me it was an exuberant moment when I came face-to-face with Quaker history itself.

Friends, thank you for opening the doors to your hearts and homes, and thank you for letting me in and for donating your time to my schedule, beginning with my reception at Heathrow Airport to my complete ‘flummox’ of train rides to the Woodbrooke Quaker Study Centre in Birmingham for the Friends Association for Higher Education (FAHE) conference, which was held during 16-19 June. The two extra days I enjoyed at Woodbrooke enhanced my spiritual, meditative, stillness and my soul-searching, especially coming, as I do, from the programmed evangelical Quaker tradition in Kenya. It was something I needed.

Quiet moments

My first experience of walking in the grounds of Rowntree Park, York, and sitting among Quaker-led organisation leaders on 15 June, my visit to Cadbury World and the transect walk in Bournville Village in Birmingham three days later greatly increased my historic understanding of Joseph Rowntree and George Cadbury, the two Quaker chocolate manufacturers and philanthropists. It was humbling for me to learn about their generous spirit of giving to the Religious Society of Friends and less fortunate communities in York and Birmingham. Reflections in my quiet moments led me to think of whether spirits such as this still exist among our global Quaker communities.

The climax of my excursion was my visit to two significant Quaker historical sites: the Bunhill Fields burial ground in London, where George Fox lies, and his former home, Swarthmoor Hall in Ulverston. It was quite an emotional moment for me as I walked in the footsteps of George Fox in the 1652 Country, the birthplace of Quakerism, sat in the chairs in which Fox sat and walked through the doors of Swarthmoor Hall, the former home of Margaret Fell, and when I visited the burial ground of William Penn at Jordans Meeting.

I also enjoyed spending time at the Quaker Centre in Friends House with Nim Njuguna. He is Quaker prison chaplain at HMP Wormwood Scrubs (London) and a member of the Quaker Prison Chaplains Committee.

‘That still small voice’

I appreciated the rich heritage of the unprogrammed tradition of worship among British Friends. Having come from a predominantly programmed evangelical Quaker tradition, the quiet moments of meditation and ‘soul-searching’ in Meetings for Worship were, especially, a reminder to me that there should be moments when we Kenyan Friends might stop the speaking, singing and dancing in our places of worship and let God speak to us in what George Fox described as ‘that still small voice’.

In the sharing of my Kenyan experiences of ways of worship, some Friends asked me a variety of questions. One concern was raised frequently: ‘We hear that Kenya has the largest constituency of Quakers in the world. What factors contribute to this growth?’

First, growth is attributed to birthright. Second, there is our witnessing and evangelism in open places such as marketplaces, schools and colleges. Third, every person who wishes to become a member of the Friends church (church is used in place of Meeting or Meeting house) is first enrolled into what is known, generally, as ‘catechetical’ or confirmation class for associate and full membership.

Associate membership takes six months of instruction in basic understanding of the Bible and Quakerism; and a full membership class takes twelve months. Instruction for the latter is mostly focused on Quaker history, faith and practice and on church leadership in the manner of Friends. Upon completion of these two classes, participants are confirmed as associate or full members in a ceremony.

A majority of the people would simply join the Religious Society of Friends by listening to a message from the speaker. This is reminiscent of George Fox’s style of preaching as he toured the 1652 Country, when his sermons attracted thousands to join the Quaker movement in England. I wondered how different the movement would be today had British Friends continued to follow George Fox’s evangelical tradition of preaching from the Bible.

A Christian first

The fourth factor is that for Kenyan Quakers one cannot be a Quaker and not be a Christian. In most testimonies in Kenya you would hear someone say: ‘I am a Christian first, a Quaker second.’ My experience and observation has informed me that this is not the case among our liberal unprogrammed traditions.

Among Kenyan Quakers religious life is centred on scripture. In Kenyan Quaker churches the Bible is the most read and quoted book during Meeting for Worship. Books on faith and practice are kept in offices and people’s homes. They are only referred to or read during Business Meetings, and hardly at all during worship services.

Why do we exist as Quakers?

The fifth factor is that most Kenyan Yearly Meetings have congregations ranging from 200-2,000 members. As much as they impress the theology of a ‘ministry of all believers’, congregations have engaged full- or part-time pastors (both men and women) to facilitate ministry and counsel. Currently, there are eighteen officially registered Yearly Meetings in Kenya.

My travel and worship among North American, British and East and Central African Friends – with a variety of traditions ranging from liberal, unprogrammed, semi-programmed, programmed and evangelical – leads me to two big questions: ‘Why do we exist as Quakers?’ and ‘How are we defined as Quakers by the twenty-first century global society?’

Robert is a Friends pastor and principal of Friends Theological College, Kenya.

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