This online library is organized thematically into four major groupings and 6 sections under each of those groups covering different aspects of Quaker faith and practice, with an introductory page for each of these 24 sections that broadly describes this area of Quaker faith and practice and lists writings on that subject. Understanding this way the library is organized will help you find resources that you may be looking for.
You can also use the upper right hand corner search to look for writings by a particular author or on a specific subject.
Faith in Community: Core communal practices of Quakerism
Quakerism has developed unique approaches to worship, communal decision-making, and ongoing nurture of spiritual gifts and ways of holding each other accountable in love and in truth. All spring from a theology of the Light Within or Inward Christ — God’s unmediated guidance of the faith community as mediated through the open, receptive hearts of the faithful.
- The Light Within: Christ has come to teach His people Himself – Quaker theology of direct unmediated revelation as the wellspring of Quaker practice & witness
- Quaker Worship: Gathered hearts & Spirit-led vocal ministry
- Leadings: Many gifts, many ministries – Discerning one’s call, clearness committees, oversight of ministries, faithfulness groups
- Eldership: Nurturing others’ spiritual gifts – history, role in the meeting, accounts & experiences, relationship with those carrying ministries
- Gospel Order: Hearing & following God’s guidance with others – Meeting for business, membership, accountability, healing rifts within the faith community
- Good News: Sharing our light with others – sharing what we have found with others, being invitational, claiming our truth without believing we are the only path to God, universalism
Witness: Transforming our ways of living & the world around us
Friends have come over the centuries come to substantial unity on the ways God is asking us to live with each other and with the earth. Our witness to the world is of words, of our actions as a community on behalf of others, and creation, and more importantly in the way we live our lives and how we live with each other in our faith community.
- Testimony: This is our Testimony to the World – God’s hopes for the world, speaking & writing God’s vision, living the vision, the Lamb’s War
- Truth: The truth will set you free (“Integrity”) – plain speaking, living out consistently the things we believe in all aspects of life
- Justice: Let justice roll down like a mighty stream (“Equality”) – treating all people with dignity and respect regardless of gender, faith, class, race, country of origin, or whom they love.
- Simplicity: Leaving space for God to get through – single-heartedness, plain living, spaciousness that keeps our hearts open to God’s voice in our hearts
- Peace: The seeds of war in these our possessions
- Earthcare: care for the creation
Transformation: Personal practices drawing us closer to God & heal our brokenness
Having a willing, teachable heart is key to a life of faithfulness. And our ability to open our hearts is, in turn, deeply tied to the extent that we feel ourselves to be loved — by God and by those near us. We are learning how to live in and love our own bodies as temples of God’s spirit — and to untangle and heal many form of brokenness that get in the way of our ability to love and serve God with all our heart.
- Willingness: Learning how to lean on God – submission, bearing the “easy yoke” of dependence on God, willingness to be changed by God, letting go of willfullness & isolation from God
- Prayer: Being present with God, asking for help, naming our needs, praise and gratitude.
- Embracing Change with Open Hearts – birth, growth, relationships, aging, and the mysterious passage we call dying
- Love & Trust: Caring for one another – the capacity to receive love from God & others, pastoral care, vulnerability, marriage, family, friendships
- Embodiment: Living in, caring for & praying for our bodies – wholeness, self-care, spiritual healing of bodies, faithful sexuality
- Healing Personal Wounds: Compassion & accountability – paths to healing & repair in mental health, addictions, abuse, and trauma
Resources: For deepening our personal & corporate life in God
These provide a variety of tools and practices by which our hearts can be cracked open through reading and reflecting on the Bible, the writings of Friends, song, poetry, and adult religious education courses, workshops, and long-term programs. All facilitate a deeper relationship with God — both for us as individual Friends and for our meetings.
- Bible: Living in the power in which the scriptures were given forth – Christ (God working in our hearts & lives) is the Word not the words of scripture, capacity to understand the deeper meaning, different approaches to Bible study & reflection
- Quaker Writings – early (16th c.), middle period (17th-18th c.), modern (20th-21st c.), Quaker libraries and publishers.
- Teaching – courses, workshops & retreats, programs, retreat centers
- Song – song as ministry, as a spiritual practice, group singing, use in retreats
- Poetry – Quakers’ & others poems that deepen our journey
- Art & story – using the visual arts, play & story for spiritual formation. Faith in Play that work for all ages and those with different learnign styles.