Living our beliefs “Many of us have experienced Quaker meeting for worship on a hill, in a hotel lobby, under the stars; it is often on these occasions, with others, that the silence can surprise and the Spirit can burn even more brightly.” Inside these covers are short, simple passages and thoughtful quotations introducing diferent aspects of Quakerism. Some chapters explore the words we use to express ourselves and our faith. Other chapters describe how and why we worship, make decisions and involve people in our communities. Living our beliefs also introduces the testimonies that we use to guide us and some Quaker roles and responsibilities, as well as key dates in Quaker history. Tis book may intrigue, challenge or comfort you; however it makes you feel, may it inspire you to go out into the world and breathe life into your beliefs. An exploration of the faith and practice of Quakers Developed and edited by young Quakers £6 where sold with Graham Ralph Cover ideas 1.indd All Pages 03/03/2016 14:34:14 Living our beliefs Living our beliefs An exploration of the faith and practice of Quakers Compiled and edited by Graham Ralph with young Quakers First published February 2016 This second edition published April 2018 Quaker Books, Friends House, 173 Euston Road, London NW1 2BJ www.quaker.org.uk © Britain Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) The moral rights of the author have been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilised, in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without permission in writing from the publisher. Reviewers may quote brief passages. Enquiries should be addressed to the Publications Manager, Quaker Books, Friends House, 173 Euston Road, London NW1 2BJ. ISBN: 978 1 999726 94 2 eISBN: 978 1 999726 95 9 Book design by Cox Design, Witney Illustrations by Rob Pepper Printed by CM Print, Brighton Go to www.yqspace.org.uk/living-our-beliefs for online content. While every efort has been made to contact copyright holders of material reproduced in this book, the publisher would be glad to rectify in future editions any errors or omissions. LoB copyright page.indd 1 14/03/2018 17:41:52 Living our beliefs Be patterns, be examples in all countries, places, islands, nations, wherever you come, that your carriage and life may preach among all sorts of people, and to them: then you will come to walk cheerfully over the world, answering that of God in every one. George Fox, 1656 O Let your life speak. Advices & queries 27 Acknowledgements This book has been compiled and edited by Graham Ralph in partnership with young Quakers. In addition to the young people making up the editorial group, a great deal of help has come from various gatherings in 2015: the Young People’s Participation Day alongside Meeting for Suff erings (also in 2014), Junior Yearly Meeting, the Young People’s Programme and the regional summer events. Quakers in Britain staff , particularly Quaker Life’s Children & Young People’s Work team, have been an invaluable help and support. Contents Introduction 1 Who are Quakers? 5 Meeting for worship 11 Belief in action 19 Truth and integrity 25 Peace and confl ict 31 Equality 39 Simplicity 45 Sustainability 53 Membership 59 Decision making 65 Life journeys 71 Advices and queries as compiled by young Quakers 79 Organisation of Quakerism 83 Roles in Quakerism 87 Words used by Quakers 89 Some dates in Quaker history 93 Links, events and more information 95 Bibliography 99 Additional content can be found online at www.yqspace.org.uk/living-our-beliefs Introduction oung Quakers have for many years wanted a book that Ywould tackle similar topics to Quaker faith & practice but would be shorter, more accessible and more concise. This book, Living our beliefs, is the response. Living our beliefs is also available as an ebook at www.yqspace.org.uk/living- our-beliefs. Living our beliefs recognises that words have limitations, but they can still be valuable tools for describing our faith and journeys. Part of the introduction to Quaker faith & practice expands on this idea: “Words must not become barriers between us, for no one of us can ever adequately understand or express the truth about God. Yet words are our tools and we must not be afraid to express the truth we know in the best words we can.” It is this conviction that has prompted the selection of a wide variety of extracts for inclusion in this book, confi rming our testimony that truth cannot be confi ned within a creed. “We must trust that faith is robust, compassionate and ‘not quick to take off ence’, and that the Spirit which gives the words is communicated through them” (Introduction to Quaker faith & practice). We hope that the words in this book will be tools for questioning and understanding. Most chapters in Living our beliefs begin with a list of words relating to the chapter topic. These words start the process of questioning and discussion. A purposefully brief written section follows, adding information. The fi nal section of each chapter consists of quotations selected from a wide variety of Quaker and other sources, refl ecting the belief that truth can come from many diff erent directions. The 1 LIVING OUR BELIEFS quotations include contemporary and current thoughts that are likely to remain relevant to a wide readership. The editorial team has aimed to include material from younger Quakers, particularly from Junior Yearly Meeting, the Young People’s Programme and the regional summer events, in the hope that this will add to the depth and relevance of the book. Many chapters of Living our beliefs include links to web- based material (music and video) that was created at Junior Yearly Meeting 2015 and Britain Yearly Meeting’s Young People’s Programme 2015. For the music, young Quakers chose some music tracks that refl ected their understandings, experiences or feelings about their Quakerism. Using these suggestions, the young people on the editorial board of Living our beliefs created a playlist of the most popular songs as well as playlists for some of the book’s chapters. See www.yqspace.org.uk/ playlists. For the video clips, young Quakers explored their thoughts and feelings on which passage of Quaker faith & practice was their favourite. Participants were recorded reading their favourite passage and in some cases sharing why the passage they had read was important to them. The young people’s editorial board for Living our beliefs agreed the video clips to be used and the chapter of the book that each related to. See www.yqspace.org.uk/passages. Although the motivation for Living our beliefs came from young Quakers, the potential use and readership of the book are much wider. Those new to Quakers and those who want a concise, informative introduction should also fi nd it helpful. Because of this, we have used the name ‘Quaker’, which many people are familiar with, rather than ‘Friend’ (the name Quakers use to each other). The word ‘Friend’ 2