TELL US ABOUT QUAKERS
In 2008 a class from St. Mary’s School in Memphis sent me 22 questions about Quakers to help prepare me for a class interview, which I later attended. These are my responses.
1. What are the basic beliefs of the Quaker faith?
Quakers have no creed or affirmation required for membership, but we speak often about there being a spirit of light or truth in every person that can be a guide to right living. This Inner Light, we think, leads us to affirmations of equality, simplicity, peace, integrity (or rigorous honesty), and community (our testimonies).
2. Do you prefer to be called a member of the Society of Friends or is “Quaker” acceptable?
We usually call ourselves Quakers, but I often refer to us as Friends to remind myself that friendliness and making friends might be our central mission.
3. Is there a process or a sacrament practiced in the process of becoming a Quaker?
There is no membership sacrament, but to become a member, one is encouraged to be involved in the meeting’s life for a period of time (during which one will be treated as an equal partner in most of our business and ministry activities). When one is ready, he or she is invited to write a letter to the meeting clerk expressing a desire to join and explaining why. The clerk will set up a clearness committee to meet with the applicant to listen to his or her spiritual journey and determine if the way is clear for joining. This committee will then recommend (or not) the person for membership, which can be approved by the monthly meeting for business.
4. We studied about George Fox. Could you tell us more about him?
George Fox, the founder of Quakerism, rebelled from the Church of England in the mid-1500s, believing that the sacraments, rules of authority, and form of worship distracted people from realizing what the Inner Light of Christ would reveal to them. He organized people, who were called Seekers, Seekers of the Truth, or Children of the Light, to sit quietly and wait upon the Spirit of God to call them to speak on spiritual matters. Fox himself was often called to speak, and his messages resonated with many of the English. He also rose to speak during worship services of the Church of England, angering the authorities enough to take him outside and beat him, later to jail him (and many of his followers). After a few years of religious rebellion, Fox tempered his acts enough to work diligently at organizing his followers into a new religious denomination.
5. How and when did the Quakers come from England to the United States?
Tired of persecutions, Quakers immigrated to the colonies, hoping to find tolerance. Unfortunately, many were persecuted here, too, until William Penn “bought” the land he would name Pennsyvania and began the great Quaker Experiment.
6. Is there a sacred writing that the Quakers use?
No. We have traditionally spoken of the “continuing revelation” of truth that can be found in many writings, one of which is the Bible.
7. What social issues do Quakers support? Which issues do they oppose?
Quaker testimonies speak to our concern for social life. Simplicity calls us to temper our material acquisitions and seek to avoid unnecessary complications. Peace calls us towards nonviolence. Integrity calls us to speak the truth plainly without oaths. Community calls us to value the strength of community above power. Equality calls us to respect the rights and wisdom of all people and cultures. Some think that we are also moving towards another testimony: earthcare, which calls us to conservation.
8. Explain the Quaker philosophy on war.
If there is an Inner Light of God inherent in all people, then killing another human being is killing that of God within that person. Therefore, many Quakers believe that there is no legitimate occasion for war, and with the advent of nonviolence as a strategy for confronting evil and abuses of power, most Quakers are strong advocates of nonviolence strategies as an alternative to war. (The “War is Not the Answer” yard signs you see in Memphis and other cities are distributed though the Friends Committee on National Legislation.)
9. We also researched William Penn. Tells us more about him.
William Penn believed that Quakers could start a different kind of state. Thus, he “bought” the land named Pennsylvania from both the English authorities and the Native Americans who lived in the land the English claimed was their own. In this way he established friendly relations with both “owners” of the land. Quakers were then invited to establish a colony that would be governed by Quaker principles (or testimonies). Philadelphia itself means “City of Brotherly Love.” This “Quaker Experiment” was assimilated into the broader American culture, but it continues to influence us in subtle ways today, not the least of which is our American tendency towards openness (which has some roots in the openness of Friends).
10. We know that Quakers were persecuted. Are there historical incidents you recall? Do you feel that Quakers are discriminated against in modern times?
Mary Dyer was burned at the stake in Newport, RI, in the 1600s for merely being a Quaker and refusing to convert to the Puritan ideals. It was totally unjust by almost anyone’s standards. Quakers were often thrown into jail for refusing to be sworn into a court of law. (They argued that we should tell the truth at all times, and the act of swearing to tell the truth implies that we sometimes don’t or that we will tell more of the truth after swearing in.) Because authorities tired of jailing good people for such a trivial crime when they knew they would tell the truth anyway, laws were changed so that, to this day, no one is forced to be sworn into a court of law (you may affirm that you will tell the truth).
11. How do Quakers worship?
We enter into a circle of worshippers, sit down and be quiet, waiting on a spiritual inspiration. If one is moved by the spirit, he or she may speak, sing, pray, read, or even dance (almost all messages are merely verbal). We worship for an hour, and at least 90% of that time is usually in silence. All are welcome to attend, and anyone is free to “minister” to the meeting if he or she feels inspired to share a message. Meetings for worship end when the clerk shares hands with close-by worshippers and others shake hands and say hello. Then announcements are shared until the clerk calls for worshippers to rise.
12. How are meeting houses different then a typical church?
They are very simply furnished and chairs are in a circle. There is no front and back.
13. How often do the Quakers meet?
In Memphis every Sunday from 11 am to noon at 3387 Walnut Grove Road and Prescott.
14. What holidays are the most important to Quakers?
Traditionally none are, but most Quakers celebrate Christmas or other traditional holy days. There is no plan for worship to be different during holiday times.
15. Do Quakers have any restriction on diet or lifestyle in comparison to other faiths?
Not really, although the testimony of simplicity might call some Quakers to own less things, or the testimony of peace is often expressed by a Quaker living on so little income that he or she will not be taxed. To some the peace testimony calls them to not eat meat.
16. Explain and discuss the three branches of the Quaker faith.
As I understand it, the Hicksites and Wilburites split off over disputes over the importance of the Bible. The Hicksites took a more open-minded approach to religion, and the Wilburites were more inclined to emphasize discipline and lines of authority. These two branches have essentially merged again. The third branch was the development of pastoral meetings, now called Friends Churches, which have mostly programmed worship services led by a “Recorded Minister.” The closest Quaker Church is in DeWitt, Arkansas, where I grew up. There are more Quakers in North Carolina and Kenya than any other places, mainly because there are more Quaker Churches in those two locales, for having a minister often helps a church grow in ways that meetings without ministers do not accomplish so easily (paid ministry is often more efficient).
17. How did the name Society of Friends come to be?
Early Quakers were called “Seekers of the Truth” and “Friends of the Light.” Because they wanted to distinguish themselves from churches (Fox called them “Steeple Houses”), they called their organized body a society. The informal name Quakers is said to have arisen from a comment a judge made upon having to preside over the trial of more Quakers for trivial offenses of conscience (like not taking their hats off in the courtroom). He looked at them and said, “I quake at having to do this again.” The other tale it that after speaking passionately in meetings for worship, the speakers would often sit down and shake or quake (which is a common human experience when one speaks about something he or she feels deeply about–hence we might all be Quakers!).
18. Is there a difference between the treatment of men and women in the Quaker faith?
Not intentionally, nor is there a difference in the treatment of races, or people of different faith backgrounds who convert, or of gays and lesbians.
19. Explain the Testimonies of Faith.
In my opinion, all of the testimonies follow logically from the manner of worship. Worship is meant to be Simple, Peaceful, Honest (Integrity), with Equal authority among all worshippers, lifting up the Community spirit to test and affirm individual messages. Personally, I think it all begins with a faith that fundamentally means openness, not belief, but radical openness to life and others.
20. Do Quakers support higher education? What areas of study are most important to Quakers?
There are many Quaker schools and colleges, and, in my experience, most Quaker meetings are full of very well educated people. Most Quakers are particularly supportive of education that is meant to lift up higher values and change what is wrong in our society and world.
21. When did the Quakers first come to Memphis? How were they treated?
The first gathering of Quakers known in Memphis was a group that began in the 1950s. A Monthly Meeting was established at the Chisca Hotel downtown in September 1957. This meeting was lain down in the late 1960s, resurrected in the 1970s, lain down in the late 1970s, and resurrected again in 1984. In 1987 the Memphis Friends Meeting was reestablished as a Monthly Meeting affiliated with the Southern Appalachian Yearly Meeting and Association, and it has survived and thrived for over twenty years since then. Quakers, to my knowledge, have never complained about their treatment, although there is a long-standing concern with race relations in Memphis and the South.
22. Where does the current congregation of Quakers worship?
3387 Walnut Grove Road and Prescott.
Ron McDonald, Clerk
Memphis Friends Meeting
October 14, 2009