quaker meetings

I visited a Quaker meeting some while back and found it very tranquil - and welcoming. I went just to learn what it was like

Earthmother9

I live in an independant living flat, one of our ladies is or was a quaker,, I went down to the coffee morning when I first came here and she told me I was someone who no one wants to be around. I had lost all of my family and I had no one. Kindness would have been appreciated.

I think this person was like that in spite of being a Quaker rather than because they were. It certainly seems very unquakerly to me and not at all typical.

I've known several Quakers and others who simply found the meetings calming and welcoming. They were all, without exception, people I liked and admired. One was my cousin's daughter who sadly died in her late 40s leaving 3 teenage children. She knew she was dying and felt the Quakers meetings helped her to cope.

The point no-one has mentioned to date - they are about 400 years ahead of the curve re equality of the sexes.

There are still churches to this day (eg Brethren anyone...) that don't believe women are equal, ie anyone can speak...provided they are a man. Women are relegated to helpmate role.

Society as a whole still doesnt have full equality for women. It's a long way down the road to what it was - but it ain't there yet. Try deciding to do equity release on your home for instance - and a man of exact same age in exact same value of house will be given more than a woman would and loads of people believe the excuse given for that (ie "Ah...but the average man doesn't live as long as the average woman"). Easily remedied - just change the actuarial tables to be "people" - rather than "men" and "women". Job done. That's not the only inequality still existent even in our Western society here - but it's the first one that came to mind. That's not to mention various outdated societal attitudes many people still have....

My parents married in 1942 in a Quaker meeting at a small meeting house in the home counties. Their marriage certificate is beautifully worded and was signed by all those present at the meeting. Some years ago I discovered that two of those were uncles of the husband of a friend of mine - up here in the north. Both my parents are buried in a Quaker burial ground alongside some very famous local Quakers. All the headstones are exactly the same with the same form of wording.

See if their style suits you. They can be aggressively reasonable! But they’re absolutely harmless and aren’t after you money.

I live in an independant living flat, one of our ladies is or was a quaker,, I went down to the coffee morning when I first came here and she told me I was someone who no one wants to be around. I had lost all of my family and I had no one. Kindness would have been appreciated.

I am C of E and Quakers have always intrigued me. I woud like to go to a meeting one day. I was interested to see a glimpse on a programme recently featuring Sheila Hancock. Do let us know how you get on red1 if you do go to a meeting.

Oe of my ex husband's aunts was a quaker. I only met her a few times but she seemed a lovely lady. I attended a leaving party for her son who was moving to Nicaragua - I think to work for a charity - held in the quaker meeting house. Her husband refused to attend as he was opposed to his son going out there. Sadly he was killed in an accident while in Nicaragua.

I recently wanted to donate some clothes to the homeless in my home town and discovered that one of the organisations that runs a day centre for the homeless is based in a quaker meeting house where they provide clothing meals and advice.

It all seems to fit with an ethos of kindness, peace and a desire to live at one with everyone. My ex's aunt used to buy Christmas presents from Oxfam's merchandise and I still have a set of mugs she gave us.

Quakers have a Christian heritage starting in the 17th century through the teachings of a preacher called George Fox. The insights of the early Quakers are still very much valued but we believe that though some things are eternal the way they are talked about and understood can change over time. I still use the word God but many Quakers today might use the words "spirit" or "love' instead. The Quaker book of discipline has been updated several times since the seventeenth century. It is being updated at the moment.

There are no set words or beliefs you have to hold to be a Quaker. Quakers are advised to listen to the promptings of love and truth in our own hearts and to cherish them and let them grow within us and guide us. We believe that silent listening helps us to hear what is of God in us. And we believe that there is that of God in everybody, people of all faiths and of none. We are challenged to live simply, to be truthful, to be peaceful, to treat all people as equal and to let our lives speak for us. But of course it is not easy for any of us to always attend to what love requires of us. I know I don't always do so. But I do find the Quaker way very helpful. It is the right way for me but it may not be so for everybody.

I have been a Quaker for about thirty years. The posts here are lovely and I think true and show what a high regard Quakers are held in. But we are just ordinary people and a funny old lot sometimes.

Whilst discussing our local church with a neighbour who was choir leader and church warden at times, she told me her husband had joined the Quakers.

She said he was a non theistic member and felt welcomed and at peace when there and had also felt they aligned with his beliefs wishes for world peace.

The Quakers hzve not always opposed violence. During the English Civil War in the 17th century many fought in the New Model Army against the monarch. They adopted pacifism at the Restoration in 1660.

I’m a Quaker attender. The responses on here are so helpful. I hope you will try a Meeting for Worship , I find them both peaceful and challenging!

Grammaretto

NotSpaghetti what a lovely thing to say ☺️
I will surely disappoint in RL!😄 🤣

Well of course that is exactly what she might have said!
🥰

red1

thanks for replies, the tenets of quakerism are, truth, equality, simplicity and peace, in this crazy, broken world they don't seem achievable or practical ,that why i used the word, lofty.

" truth, equality, simplicity and peace" These are not lofty prescriptive theoretical values, they are basic aims without which people become false-hearted, discriminatory, and cruel, and relationships (personal and between sections of the community or between different communities) are tangled and antagonistic. Religions, demoninations, sects and cults which emphasise how much better their beliefs and practices are than those of other groups contribute to this.

NotSpaghetti what a lovely thing to say ☺️
I will surely disappoint in RL!😄 🤣

red1

Im thinking of visiting a quaker meeting anyone have any experience,ive read a brief background in the beliefs but they seem a little lofty? i guess that applies to all religions, but then some say quakerism is not a religion, im confused!

For some years we volunteered to help at Xmas day dinners for the homeless/ lonely etc.
The Quaker one was the very best. So gentle, kind and most of all, non judgemental, unlike other organisations who could be.

Grammaretto
I had quietly wondered if you might be a "Friend" - you are (online) SO like my lovely friend, Annie, in America. It was she who truly opened my eyes to being a better person with her love and generous spirit.
🙏

I'm a Quaker. Magenta has explained very well.
You can read all about it on the Quakers in Britain website.
I would add that no two Meetings are
the same and it would be good to try a few.
I value the quiet worship and find it uplifting. DH was a Quaker too but seldom sat through meeting. He put his beliefs into action which led him to building the community hub which is his legacy.

We have no written creed or paid ministers. There are Advices and Queries and a Book of Discipline
both packed with thought provoking and comforting writings. And the bible! We are basically Christian but non conformist.

Quakers' proper name is "the Religious Society of Friends"
commonly known as Quakers - a nickname dating from the 17th century.

I went to Quaker meetings some years ago, occasionally only (when my children were small and a meeting house let a group of us meet there for play) and then i went back after we went into Iraq. I was drawn there by my "swords into ploughshares" feeling. This group meet in a local Anglican church "lobby" area.

It was simply a quiet hour of personal thought/meditation and internal conversation with our God (with occasionally a thought spoken aloud).

Some of the nicest people I ever knew were Quakers - I really felt they lived a life of genuine kindness.
We had a number of Quaker friends when we lived in America.
Non judgemental and warm (to a fault?) - they made me want to be a better person.

I regularly attend a C of E church. Sometimes I go to a mid week Quaker meeting. It is half an hour of silence which I use to pray and just to 'be'. Not all Quakers are Christians but a lot are.

I don’t have any religion but surely truth, equality, simplicity and peace sound like wonderful things to try and attain

I come from a Quaker family and there seem to be a great deal of myths about what they practise and believe.

They meet for worship in a Quaker meeting house and there is no form of clergy leading the meeting. The meeting lasts an hour and is silent except for when the spirit moves someone to stand up and speak. The meetings are run by elders who are regular attenders but they do not lead prayers or hymns. That is very briefly what happens in a meeting.

My father was an elder and like all Quakers, he was anti violence and a pacifist. There is no form of baptism but attenders can become members at sixteen. I was married in a Quaker meeting house and the was no officiating priest, we stood and said our vows in front of an officiating Quaker registrar, our guests and the members of the meeting.

Many Quakers are vegetarian or vegan.

A fuller explanation of The Religious Society of Friends' (Quakers) beliefs is available online.

They are free church Christians. I don't think that the aims of Quakerism are any loftier than other religions many of which are far more doctrinaire and prescriptive.

They seem eminently achievable to me, and therefore very practical. The problem is some people are not even willing to try...