What Friends hold
Testimonies, written in plain words
Quakers have no creed. What we have instead are testimonies: ways of living we have found to be true, and keep failing at, and come back to.
The testimonies
Six ways we try to live
Friends sometimes remember these by the word SPICES. We have written each one the way we would explain it over soup.
Simplicity
We try to keep our lives uncluttered enough to notice what matters. In practice that means a plain room, short meetings when possible, and a lot of shared lawnmowers.
Matthew 6:28
Peace
We refuse to take part in war and work for the conditions that make it less likely. Some Friends here were conscientious objectors; several still stand at the Saturday vigil.
Isaiah 2:4
Integrity
We try to say the same thing in every room. Friends historically refused to swear oaths, since it implied a double standard of truth. We still affirm rather than swear.
Matthew 5:37
Community
Decisions are made together, waiting for unity instead of counting votes. It is slow. It also means nobody loses.
Acts 4:32
Equality
There is that of God in every person, so there are no clergy and no titles. The clerk is simply the Friend who keeps the agenda this year.
Galatians 3:28
Stewardship
The earth, our money and our time are on loan. We keep two acres of meadow unmown for the pollinators, and we give a tenth of what comes in.
Psalm 24:1
How we make decisions
Business in the manner of Friends
Once a month we hold a meeting for worship with attention to business. The clerk lays out a matter, Friends speak to it from the silence, and we wait until there is a sense of the meeting that everyone can accept.
If a Friend cannot unite with a decision, they may stand aside, or the matter waits for another month. The roof took fourteen months. It is a very good roof.
In their words
Why Friends come back
I came from a loud church. The first silence felt like a held breath. Now the rest of my week feels loud.
Nobody told me what to believe. They asked me what I had found.
My son asked why there is no pastor. I said everyone is the pastor. He said that sounds like a lot of work.
The roof took fourteen months to decide. Nobody left angry.
I have spoken in meeting three times in eleven years. Each time, I sat down shaking.
Join the autumn Quakerism 101 group
Four Thursday evenings in the library, starting October 22. Tea provided.