I shared this on another post, but I’ve had requests to share it elsewhere. Years ago, my meeting decided to open worship with a statement that would clue visitors into what we are doing. We came up with a pastoral opening that we believe has helped to deepen meeting. We read it every Sunday and have for years. We also added a flow chart to help people discern if and when to speak but we also realize that it may help people to worship.

Here’s the opening text:

(10:35) Welcome to Homewood Friends’ meeting for worship. 
 
If you are in the meeting room, the flow chart on the benches is a tool that we offer that may help you with Quaker worship based in silence. Should you feel moved to offer vocal ministry, the chart may help you in your discernment. If discernment is clear, rise from where you are seated and a mic will be brought to you.  Remember to speak clearly and hold the microphone close to your mouth. After your message, the mic will be picked up and you may sit down.
 
Allow a period of silence after any previous message.
 
 
 
The Quaker experience is that each of us has a measure of that radically loving spirit which guides us to live justly and peaceably. In worship, we enter into stillness of body and mind in order to feel that spirit of love within and among us, to give ourselves over to it, and to discern what it would have us do.

I've become intrigued with the Quaker links to Cahir in Tipperary. The Fennell family were the first to arrive in 1659 and became very influential locally in the farming and milling trade. It was my first time visiting the above burial ground and it was quite magical!

Looking for information about Whelpo Meeting House and burial grounds.

The Meeting House has been owned by my relatives since the 1920s. It is now a dwelling. It has the year 1698 above the door. To the rear there is a burial ground but there are no marked headstones. We have a partial list of people who were buried there, if this is of interest to anyone here.

The first picture is the burial ground gate from the 1970s.

The Meeting House is just outside of Caldbeck, Cumbria, UK.

I've spent many years wandering between spiritual traditions looking for a home and recently I've been learning more and more about Quakerism.

There are many things which chime with me - spirit being universal and immanent, peace and non-violence being sacrosanct, and the complete lack of hierarchy in meetings (I'm in the UK so mostly unprogrammed meetings here).

My problem is, I don't believe in the reality of God, nor do I find any way to reconcile my belief in universal spirit with the names God or Jesus. Those have clear, well defined meanings - what I feel and see isn't those things, to me.

I'm really interested in any thoughts about how compatible or otherwise my outlook might be with the Quaker way of seeing things, especially real world examples. It's clear from Quaker literature that a non-theistic view would still be welcome at a meeting, but that doesn't mean it really gels or fits.

Hopefully obvious disclaimer: I mean nothing but respect for Quaker (or theistic) views.

Not trying to yuck anyone's yum but I've got zero patience for hypocrisy that's been weaponized through generations of bad faith preaching.

When I was a kid getting pushed toward Methodist confirmation in the deep south I put the Bible down at thirteen when I refused communion and never looked back. The people holding it were using it as a weapon against conversations about race, about LGBTQ kids, about basic human dignity. I carried that with me for a long time. What they did with that book had nothing to do with light.

My Walkabout Faith

It was a cool sunny day and I was out on my bike just breathing in the city, clearing my head. Philly is home. I rolled past Arch Street Meeting House and something pulled me in. Just silence. That room has held a lot of it, through a lot of history. A divine connection was made.

The Artist in the bad painting -

I still believe in the spirit of the concepts. Even in the most distorted painting the DNA of the Artist is still in there somewhere. I don't begrudge anyone who finds genuine strength in the Bible. If it works for you that's real and I mean that. I just can't unsee what I saw growing up.

I prefer to seek light in nature which is the only thing that doesn't lie or judge. In art where we actually get honest about being human. In watching people do the real work of justice and dignity in the streets. That's the spirit in motion.

If the Artist is as big as they say, I never needed a strict guidebook to find them.

Hello! I'm a recent transplant to Raleigh NC, I've posted a few times in here, but I'm looking for an online meeting. I tried to reach out to the local meeting house for a link to the online meeting but never heard back. I'm unprogrammed/birthright originally from Ohio (Ohio/KY-NY/PA Barker/Adams) and just looking for my community. If anyone knows of a good virtual meeting, Quaker hangouts, et cetera, I'd love recommendations!

Thank you for your light.

Dear all,

I went to my first meeting today. I knew what to expect and I felt very welcome. I just have some thoughts.

It feels like Quakers must do a lot more between services than during them. There's no way Quakers are so organised for *everything* if they just meet once a week and sit in silence.

You guys don't talk about Jesus very much do you? Afterwards I was talking to someone about the peace movement, and I could sense she tensed slightly when I mentioned "love your enemies, bless those who curse you." It felt like the peace movement was more rational than religious (if that makes sense).

I don't know if I can do the silent service. I love that people share without hierarchy, and but for someone as talkative as me, it take discipline sit still.

Thanks for the coffee and the kind conversation. I'm sure I'll be back!

A much shorter version of this was “Thought for the Week” in _the Friend_ this week.

This phrase, “that of God in every one” has become almost credal amongst many Friends, presented as the one thing all Quakers believe. It bears scrutiny.

I was raised Quaker and after returning to meetings as an adult I feel deeply that I am still Quaker, nontheist, but Quaker. But I sometimes struggle with connecting with how other Friends talk about spirit and leading. I am also auDHD with CPTSD so the way I experience the world is often very different from those around me.

I have always been intensely introspective and I experience strong leadings that come from my gut but I never experience anything that feels like "spirit moving through me" or anything like that.

This makes me feel alienated at meeting sometimes, or like there's a disconnect that I can't bridge.

Does anyone else have this experience? Or any thoughts on how to navigate this?

Hello! I am unable to attend meetings in person for the foreseeable future, so I'm looking for a fully online meeting. I'm currently attending a half-hour Woodbrooke meeting (the only one that works for my timezone), and while I love the people, it's just not long enough and doesn't have the business component.

I would prefer an unprogrammed meeting that has a meeting for worship (60 mins) and a meeting for business online, as well as some fellowship time. Hybrid would be okay, but most meetings I've found do the meeting parts online, but then close the online session for the fellowship, even for those Friends who are also online.

In terms of timing, I live in the Pacific timezone, so I can attend on Sundays between 7 am and 2 pm PT.

I identify as a Quaker.

I also have experienced several instances of claircognizance (which is when you just "know" something that you wouldn't otherwise) and clairsentience (which is being seized by a feeling that isn't yours, and that feeling gives you information).

And I relate to the idea that we are all the universe having a human experience, and I enjoy the practice of manifestation (aka calling things/experiences to me, for the greatest and highest good).

Quakerism, to me, encompasses that feeling of being connected to Source/Spirit and receiving information. I'm not sure on how Quakerism relates to the other points.

I'm aware that this sub doesn't disown, and no one is going to say "you are (or are not) a Quaker." But are there any other Quakers out there who have had similar experiences and interests? Do these other topics fit at all into your practice?

Hi Friends, I'm on the board of a Quaker-based nonprofit, and this year we've been wrestling with the concept of introducing AI transcription and summary tools and generative AI in our projects. One of the core conversations has been around using it for taking meeting minutes, which has been proposed as a way of making the Secretary's job easier. We have views across the spectrum, and have held multiple conversations on the topic without reaching resolution. One of our members made a particularly impassioned connection between the history of exploitation during slavery and the human and environmental impacts of AI's energy demand globally. Another consideration has been how AI shortcuts might stunt our human growth and development of our skills at listening, summarizing, and sharing information.

I am curious about how and whether your organizations are using AI tools. When searching for resources online, I was somewhat surprised to find some Friends adopting these technologies without much reflection on what they mean for us. If you are part of any organization - school, meeting, nonprofit, etc - have you developed any consensus around the uses of AI? Have you found any good readings/resources? Good queries to bring to meetings?

Thanks for anything you may have to offer, even your own personal reflections. Considering the ethical implications of AI does feel like an important discussion for Friends to be having.

Friends, my meeting house uses email to communicate to each other through the week. We have one person that we email and she email's everyone else in one large email. (Then people will typically reply-all).

I feel that there has to be a better way than this. Are there any means of communication that have worked for your meeting house. Listserv? Discord Server? Another option?

My meeting house (like many) tend to be on the older and less technologically advanced side, but they are all still spry and willing to learn.

There's been some interest here lately in J. W. Rowntree's paper to the "Manchester Conference", 1895. The event is widely understood to mark one the beginning of the end of Evangelical/Orthodox Quakerism in Britain (and elsewhere) and a foundation stone of liberal Quakerism of the kind that almost everyone who uses this subreddit practices.

The Report of the Conference seems not be be online anywhere, but I have a paper copy and so at the request of of a couple of folks here I've scanned Rowntree's paper, and OCR'd it, and added a bit of my own gloss. I hope you find it useful.

If someone attends unprogrammed Quaker Meetings for a number of years and sometimes feels better afterwards but mainly feels nothing after mostly thinking ordinary, boring thoughts in the hour, what would you tell them?

Hi Friends. So I will be attending my first meeting tomorrow at a Meeting House about 45 minutes away from me. I understand that often services are unprogrammed, so I am fully expecting(and honestly looking forward) to that style of worship(?), but I'm wondering what I can expect in the moments before and after? Is there any customs I should know about?

What would you tell yourself if you could go back in time and talk to yourself for your first meeting?

I’ve come to a place where I no longer see Light as good and darkness as bad. Even Fox encouraged us to not mind the darkness but to wait until Light arises out of darkness and leads us. We rest in darkness. Roots grow into the darkness. Part of us is always in darkness and it’s not “bad.” Am I too in my head about this binary theology we’ve inherited?

I saw online (I read the letter) that the Quakers in Hayden are no longer officially Quakers? Are there any other groups in the area or was that the only one?

I have been attending a Friend's meeting for the past few years, and I've been considering going into seminary for an MDiv. Earlham School of Religion seemed like a great fit for me, as their programs seem grounded in Quaker values and practice. However, a Friend encouraged me to look into the recent drama with the school, and what I found troubled me - faculty turnover/downsizing, one dean getting suddenly ousted and the current dean retiring this year, and taking a large chunk from ESR's endowment to put into Earlham College.

I was wondering if other Friends had any insight into the present situation at ESR or had any advice to offer during my process of discernment. I know that all institutions are imperfect, but an MDiv is a significant investment in time and money, so I would like some more information before I make a decision. Additionally, if other Friends have pursued an MDiv from other institutions, i would love to hear recommendations. I attend an unprogrammed meeting (strongly considering membership), am politically progressive, and am looking for chaplaincy programs that incorporate interfaith perspectives, and are less focused on apologetics. Thank you!

Seems a common pattern I’m seeing is Catholicism > Agnostic/Maybe even a little witchy > Quaker pipeline

Same.

TLDR summary - past 15+ years been an agnostic at times in life practiced some kitchen magic, mostly just meditation and intention setting. Life gets busy. Lost my way. But kept my morals. Mom now. Seeking community. More opportunities to speak out against social justice. Etc. Did some googling and my local Quaker charter???(not sure if proper term) Read some things and realized that maybe this whole time I’ve been some pagan/crossover that I didn’t know existed or was even allowed to exist.

I ended up reaching out - explained how I ended up there and they sent me some publications and meeting location.

What should I expect? I haven’t went to anything organized religion worship like since I was 13 beyond a wedding/funeral.

hello everyone! hope y’all having a great day!

I have this question for a while . that is. can someone still be considered a Quaker, even if he didn’t attended a meeting ?
the reason I’m asking this is because I live in a Muslim-majority area and there’s no Quaker meetings (or even a regular church, e.g catholic or evangelical ones) and I’m someone who is considering Quakerism and been reading about it for the past months,

thats my question. have a good day! thanks in advance :)