Faith: Core communal practices
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 Inward Christ—God’s unmediated guidance of the faith community via direct ongoing revelation using the willing, listening hearts of the faithful in the present time.
- Inward Christ: 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 the world
This is a single Testimony rooted in our Quaker faith—not a basket of separate social testimonies. This Testimony is a form of prophecy—words and ways of living that express and live out God’s vision of the world. True prophecy stands in sharp contrast to the values and practices of Empire. Each dimension of this prophetic speaking and living flows from and is rooted in core Quaker faith.
- Prophecy: This is our testimony to the world – The call to prophecy, 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 – plain speaking, integrity
- Justice: Let justice roll down like a mighty stream – gender, faith, class, race, decolonization, LGBTQ+, immigration & xenophobia
- 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 – Liberating the creation from its bondage
Healing: Transforming our personal lives
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—both by God and by those we are connected to in this world. 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
- 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
- Transitions: Letting go & letting God – birth, growth, relationships, aging, and the mysterious passage we call dying
- Personal Wounds: Compassion & accountability – paths to repair in criminal justice, mental health, addictions, abuse and trauma
- Wounds of Empire: Be not conformed to the patterns of this world – equality of all before God, patience & persistence in helping each other shed the scars we all receive of domination patterns, loving practices to notice & repair unintentional harm
Formation: Deepening Our Life in God
These include spiritual practices such as prayer without ceasing, fasting, and setting aside sabbath time – as well as ways our hearts can be cracked open by reading 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.
- Spiritual Practices – intercessory prayer, prayer without ceasing, contemplative prayer, meditation, yoga & body prayer, keeping sabbath, fasting, sacred dance
- Bible: Living in the power in which the scriptures were given forth – Christ 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.
- Song – song as ministry, as a spiritual practice, group singing, use in retreats
- Poetry – Quakers’ & others poems that deepen our journey
- Programs – courses, workshops & retreats, programs, centers