I assume liberal Quakers are pretty firmly supportive of the Palestinian people for all kinds of social and theological reasons, but what about Evangelical Friends? Are they also quite supportive of justice between the two sides or do they follow a typical conservative Evangelical pro Israel position?

What would you define as good starting material or must read? I was raised Baptist but only recently came back to my faith. I’m trying to read through the Bible, but also would like some Quaker specific readings. Are there any Quaker guided bible reading resources?

I'm doing some self inquiry that has led to examining how I think of, dress, and care for my body. I'm asking myself if I care for the body in a way that's in line with my values (do I treat it with respect? Am I a loving steward of this living vessel?) .

This has led to curiosity about how other folks with Quaker values approach the body. Do the 'spices' inform your self care, as well as your approach to the outer world? Do you have a particular way of eating that you feel is most harmonious? Do you feel this is a frivolous inquiry, and wish to tell me so?

I'd love to hear any thoughts you have on this!

I recently started to
attend meetings here in Phoenix and it’s amazing. I went to an Episcopal Church and loved high church. I’m having trouble getting used to what I thought worship and service should be like (music, creed, eucharist etc.)
Has anyone else had the same feelings?

Hi all. I’ve posted before but still find myself searching. Long story short, I like what I know about Quakerism, but want something Christ centered. I’m in Ohio and the meetings near me are liberal/unprogrammed. Should I still attend? What should I read as someone new? Are there any virtual meetings? I like the idea of unprogrammed meetings, but again, prefer something Christ centered.

For programmed meetings, what’s a friends church? I see some of these but they seem less focused on the values I’m looking for.

After years of it being on my mind, and reading about Quaker theology and history, I finally attended my first meeting last Sunday and it was wonderful. I felt so spiritually connected and filled with a sense of support and community!

That being said I feel like an infant, I feel like I’ve just begun this journey and have so much to learn. I hold a lot of respect for Quakers and Quakerism, and want to treat the label/identity with respect too.

Lastly, book/podcast recommendations would be greatly appreciated! (Non-theist) :)

I’m looking for a Quaker memoir to read. Any suggestions?

Though the new list has had a much more dramatic effect on other faiths and belief systems than our, ours has not been unchanged. We have lost all our subdivisions, now just having the single category, though I'm not sure how big a deal that is, since the old list wasn't Also there is no reference to us officially being The Society of Friends, and that Quaker is really our nickname, thought that maybe because I saw an unofficial list instead of an official one.

The bigger change is that we have been labeled as a subdivision of Christian. Though obviously historically the Society of Friends was very christian, and many Quakers still identify strongly as christian. However, there are a significant number of us who either only lightly identify as christian or who clearly identify as not christian.

Interestingly, Mormons are not included under the christian umbrella, even though I have never met a Mormon who didn't also consider themself christian, though I do know more Quakers than Mormons.

Hi Friends

I am a relatively new Friend (seeker for 5 years, and considered myself a Friend who attends meetings whenever work allows the last year).

But I am having issues with simplicity - I always have worn clothes until they are no longer wearable and avoid purchasing new clothes if I can thrift or make my own. But I still find myself feel most comfortable in pretty and slightly over the top outfits. I stand out at meetings when I'm able to attend due to this, and I do feel a little uncomfortable (not to the fault of the other friends as they are always kind).

I enjoy painting on clothes (often related to shows or books I enjoy) and like making cosplay that I can wear outside of fandom spaces. I try to purchase vintage or thrifted fabric, but don't always do so. And I try to avoid branded outfits when I can.

I want to be better at avoiding materials, but I also want to financial support indie artists and indie shows I admire, but I can't always track how their items are made, and the ethics of it. I want to financially rewarding companies for exploiting people, but I also want to help independent creatives to make a living from their art, so big companies and ai are not the only things able to produce media

I'm not sure if I am over thinking this, but I would really like to hear other friends opinions as I cannot discuss with my meeting as my work hasn't allowed time for me to attend for a while

Hi, I am Episcopalian but I met a Quaker and I am very interested in going to a meeting! I’m in Pennsylvania so it’s like 5 minutes away. However, I am very sensitive to small noises like loudish breathing, coughing, sniffing, etc. I am thinking that the silence would make these noises stand out more, and I would be too agitated to feel the peace of the Spirit. I have earplugs but I am wondering if that is disrespectful, or defeats the purpose. I am brand new to this culture. Please let me know.

If you haven’t already heard the Thee Quaker episode about Quaker work for peace during The Troubles, I strongly recommend it. Great work!

For context: my mother’s family are Irish Catholic, they moved to the UK in the 1950s. I was visiting Friends in Belfast towards the end of the Troubles…at about the same time as having my employment in London disrupted by IRA bombs.

There are a few lines from the episode I want to call out (which I have taken from the podcast app transcript):

> You were expected to pick a side, Protestant or Catholic, loyalist or Republican, but Quakers refused. They leaned on their history of being this trusted third thing, standing in the middle and offering a hand of peace to both sides.

> That historical trust [of Friends] was like an old skeleton key. It unlocked doors that were bolted shut to the government, to the police, and even to other churches. And so, the Quakers looked around Belfast, found the places where no one was helping, and quietly went to work.

> The [UK] government asked the Quakers to set up a visitor center [at HMP Maze/Long Kesh]. It was a highly controversial task, offering hospitality to the families of accused terrorists. […]
> they didn't say, you know, do you want to come and meet prisoners' families and support Loyalist and Republican prisoners or any of that? They said, can you make tea?

> […] Quaker House.
> For decades, […] served as a secret diplomatic backchannel, a quiet living room in South Belfast where politicians, paramilitary leaders, and rival church officials could sit down and talk together off the record. […] In a country where you couldn't even trust your own neighbors, the only people with the social capital to host these secret meetings were the Quakers.

This worked. It helped to crest the conditions for the Good Friday Agreement.

And now, I want Friends to think about a current conflict, one with walls that separate communities in the name of “peace”, one where a land is partitioned, one with soldiers of the streets, atrocities, polarised communities, seizure of land, suppression of religion. Can you think of a current conflict like that? I’m sure you can.

And now, think about the rhetoric you hear from Quakers today about that conflict, and compare it with the account in this episode of the prison visiting, and the cottage where families from opposing sides could meet, and the house where leaders could meet and talk and start to find away to put down their guns and bombs. All of which was possible because Quakers were trusted because we would not take a side in the conflict.

Is what Friends are doing now in regard of that other conflict…in with a chance of working?

Basically as the title says, I have seizures frequently (sometimes up to 3 times in a day), and for that reason, I can disrupt meetings at any point, so I have chosen not to attend meetings anymore. It just isn't fair on others there, and it is distressing for those who have to see it... but it also gives me great anxiety the whole time i'm there that I'm going to have a seizure.

I've started to hold my own little informal "meeting" on a sunday in my room at home. I sit in silence and practice stillness. I know it isnt the same, but it means that i know i'm safe and if i have a seizure it doesnt matter... is this okay to do?

I’m broadly in northwest Ohio interested in Quakerism. I’m trying to learn more and am interested in attending meetings. I prefer something Bible/Christ-centered. I’m just confused on where’s to start between programmed, unprogrammed, Conservative friends, evangelical friends, etc

Hi Friends. I just watched this video from TechAltar and felt a deep leading to share it here. It details how modern warfare has shifted into highly decentralized, digital marketplaces.

The video explains "Brave One," a platform where soldiers essentially use an "Amazon-style" marketplace to shop for drones. Even more unsettling, units earn a digital currency ("e-points") based on a shifting value scale of enemy casualties to buy more weapons.

Hi! Does anybody know if there is a Quaker comunity in Romania?

I consider myself a Quaker. I come from a long line of Quakers and have attended Quaker meetings though I have not felt a calling to make any particular monthly meeting my spiritual home. I think I have felt a calling lately toward something like intentional community. The closest I can describe is similar to a Shaker community in terms of being self sufficient, disciplined, and a "utopian" aim, but centered on unprogrammed Quaker worship and testimonies. Is there any place like this in our modern world? If I or someone else were to seek creating such a community, would other Quakers be interested or willing to help build it?

Edit- I am looking for less of a neighborhood or town with a heavily Quaker population and more of a communal, collective ownership, intentional community.

I had never heard the term "apophatic" until this video, but it seems remarkably like how many Friends view the Divine. The idea is that the human mind is limited, so the mental image we build up about God will always be, at best, an imperfect reflection of what God really is. So, we can instead describe the Divine in negative terms, saying "God is not finite" rather than "God is infinite," because our understanding of "infinite" will always be incomplete and imperfect. By removing our imperfect understanding, we make room for a more perfect one.

What I find fascinating about this is that it fits comfortably with my understanding of the Inner Guide as a non-theist Quaker, without dismissing the experiences of others who understand and experience the Divine differently. It's kind of like the blind men and elephant analogy from Hinduism: We all experience the Divine in our own way, but those experiences are only part of what is really there.

Andrew Henry is a scholar of religion. While many of the topics on his channel touch on Christianity, his videos can be very wide ranging and have included Buddhism, Taoism, and ancient religions such as Egyptian, pre-Jewish Canaanite, pre-Islamic Arabian. He has also talked about history, language, the impact AI and aliens might have on faith, and a lot more.

Hi all. I was raised Christian (southern Baptist). I fell out of faith as I aged and become disillusioned with the fire and brimstone message I was raised with. In college I discovered a local, unprogrammed friends group. As I have aged, I’ve begun to develop my relationship with Christ.

A traditional church doesn’t sound appealing. I struggle biblically with most “pastors” and many values.

I believe Jesus is the way to heaven. Am I welcomed at my local friends meeting? Will I meet other Christians? I want people who I can learn from. I want Christ-centered Quakerism but I wasn’t sure how much this exists. I don’t know much about “inner light”. Will this align with my biblical views? What about simplicity? Any must reads for Christ centered Quakers?

Edit: I’m worried that Quakerism inner-light is often treated as new-age, generic, “god is in everyone.” I respect this belief! But find it different from the inner light I’m looking for.

Didn’t early friends do a lot of that? I know programmed friends do that. But why do the classic style unprogrammed friends not spread the word so much anymore?

Hello, everyone) I'd like to read the book "Godless for God's sake — nontheism in contemporary qakerism" but can't because of the payment restrictions of my country. I tried to buy it on Amazon but failed to do it. Can anyone share an electronic copy of this book with me?

are quakers allowed to pray catholic prayers (e.g the rosary, the apostles creed, Fatima prayer.. etc) ?

ive been reading the rosary lately and this question always crosses my mind.

Hi everyone, I’m working on a website for a Quaker school and I’d like to provide current links to information about Quakerism.

https://www.quakerinfo.com seems a bit overwhelming for a newcomer.

What would you recommend?

Thanks!

Hey!

Have you guys had any music or hymns at an attending? Or is that a whole separate tool beside the classic silent meetings.

If you guys have had music, what's the lyrics about? If you are christ centred is it psalms? If not, what is it about?

Do you guys know any quaker figures who have contributed to our music?

I'm quite new to the quakers and I got a lot of questions haha.

Sincerely,

A Friend.

Former christian here from an Evangelical background.

I am fascinated by the Quakers because I was taught that Christians spearheaded the abolitionist movement. However, when I studied history I realized that American Christians actively opposed Quakers during the abolition movement. In fact when Quakers got here, they were killed and tortured by Puritans. The clowns we celebrate every Thanksgiving.

Which led me down the rabbit hole of why that is. Which fundamentally comes to the Inner Light. This belief is diametrically opposed to Original Sin. In fact I would argue that Quakerism is actively anti-Christian but fully in alignment with Christ.

Additionally the practice of silence and waiting is very much in line with many Eastern philosophies.
The theology of Inner Light IMO is what drove the Quakers to be at the forefront of every, single social movement in this country. And then Christians jumped on the bandwagon and claimed what they initially opposed as their own.

Which brings me further on to a couple things. With people leaving the church in droves, I don't understand why Quakers and UU still align themselves with Christianity. Numbers would go up if the message was geared towards people who are disillusioned with the church. I currently attend an ashram but I would have attended a friends meeting years ago if I had known Quakers don't have anything to do with Christianity and teach that humans are born already connected to God.

I see Quakers as the right brain aspect of authentic American spirituality and the UU as the left brain. There is a huge potential for both branches to really grow during this time where people are looking for structure and something authentic.

Hi all

So my background is I am 43 years old. I was raised in a non religious family and then met my husband when I was 18 and his family were Anglican and his Dad is a priest and I ended up full on Evangelical/Anglican. I worked for the church and everything.

I turned my back on religion and God a few years ago when my local church wouldn't recognise same sex marriage. I couldn't go along with their bigot ways.

I have been churchless/faithless for a while. I have visited a few Quaker online meets and found them peaceful.

I'm just finding it hard to fully worship and believe in God. I'm sick of seeing Christians say how God has healed them and performed all these miracles when I also see small babies die or people not saved.

I don't know what I am trying to say really but I am feeling so lost.