Valiant 60, doctors of the church, yearly meetings, historic or recent. What epistle is closest to your heart and had an impact on you.

I live in a rural area (the largest city in the area, but by no means a giant city) in the Midwest. I'm new to the town. The closest active meeting is just under two hours away. There used to be a meeting in my town, but it appears that it died out and was absorbed by the meeting two hours away.

I feel a calling to start a new meeting in my town. But I don't know where to start - not sure how to find a place to have meetings (there is no meeting house here), gauge interest, determine how much money I may need to spend to get things running, etc. I'm sure there are a million things I'm not thinking of.

Any advice, direction, comments, etc. from anyone? I thank you all immensely for sharing my question and any help you can provide.

I am writing an article for Friends Journal about Quaker intentional communities. I would like to ask for suggestions of such communities to profile. I am interested in both U.S. based groups as well as those around the world. Thank you!

Just as the title says, I went to my first unprogrammed meeting today and was immediately struck with the feeling of “where has this been all my life?” I was worried I’d fidget and make too much noise during the silent hour, or that my mind would wander and get bored, however instead I felt peaceful. In fact, having never gone to such a service before, I had never realized how anxious a regular church service could make me at times: being sure I was following along properly, or just feeling like I had to be on best behavior, dressed right, and otherwise watched. It was the first time in a long time I felt revived leaving instead of immediately needing a nap. I’m actually looking forward to going back next Sunday!

I’ve been an avid supporter of hunting and fishing sport my whole life. There is so much ecology conservation in the sport and I’ve always strived to report my catches for ecology monitoring, practice catch and release as much as possible, and never waste anything that’s kept (right down to bones being ground for bonemeal in gardening).

Recently, I really connected with Quakerism but I worry often that other Quakers will find it problematic that I participate in such sports. I’ve been attending meeting for quite some time now but have never worked up the courage to ever mention my participation in such things. I don’t inherently feel it conflicts morally but I suppose I worry others will.

How do you good friends feel?

I really agree with the inner light philosophy ( if that is the right way to say it), being peaceful, anti war and anti violence. But it seems like protest and activism is key to being a Quaker? I am to the point where I am neutral on political and world affairs. Not neutral but there is always suffering on both sides of the issues so how can one pick a side to protest against? Anyway is activism and protesting a “requirement “ of being Quaker?

I live in a U.S. state that recently passed a law that allows school teachers and staff who go through training and get approval from their school to carry a gun at school. The idea is to have more people on school grounds ready to prevent school shootings, but, as a parent of a soon-to-be kindergartener, this law horrifies me in so many ways. First, there's the potential for accidents and overuse, and, in the bigger picture, it's indicative of something gone horribly wrong with our culture when we've reached the point of thinking that arming teachers is a reasonable and logical thing to do.

Personally, as a Friend and a pacifist, I am thinking of contacting the school that my son is enrolled with and requesting a religious exemption to him being placed into a classroom with a gun-carrying teacher. I actually don't think this law will be very popular with teachers and don't think many of them will actually carry guns. But I'd prefer to at least know if my child would be placed in a room with a gun-carrying teacher, and I'd likely want to opt out of that situation. Do you think, as a Friend, that it would be reasonable to frame this as a religious preference? I think it has more potential for being taken seriously and maybe getting attention of administration at higher levels when framed this way.

Hey y'all,

Don't know if yall have been keeping up with the student protests for divestment from supporting the genocide in Gaza right now, but please hold them in the light, as well as the college admins, that their hearts won't harden and they will see what evil and terror they participate in by supporting weapons companies <3

Wrong answers only

( I thought this would be fun to see what people come up with but totally fine if it's not allowed )

Do any of you have any thoughts on the similarities between these two? I have just started to read up on Taoism. I believe that some people on this subreddit consider themselves Quaker and Taoist. Would love to hear your thoughts. Thanks!

The earliest days of the Quaker movement were amazing in many ways. Some of us may know of John Perrot from his famous disagreement with George Fox about whether men should be required to remove their hats when praying (Perrot believed men should only remove their hat if moved by the Spirit, while Fox was for mandatory hat doffing in prayer).

This dispute seems kind of funny looking back, but is really very interesting when you understand the context. One aspect I never knew about till reading this wonderful essay, Gender, the Hat and Quaker Universalismin the Wake of the English Revolution, was the gender equality argument.

You see, for men, wearing a hat was a sign of power. The most senior man kept his hat on in the house, while his sons never wore them in his presence. Same for the king and his subjects. When a man took off his hat in prayer, he was signalling his submission to God. But for women, wearing headwear was a sign of submission. Women prayed with their hats on.

Perrot thought that all this was a ridiculous worldly custom and an unscriptural distinction. If we followed the logic of Galatians 3:28 then the clothes we wear in prayer make no difference.

There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.

So committed to ‘no longer male and female’ was Perrot that he even signed some epistles as ‘one of your dear sisters’ and ‘your sister in our spouse’. The ‘spouse’ presumably was Christ.

I’m not sure we can apply modern labels to Perrot’s position (I’ve seen nothing to suggest he didn’t otherwise present as a man), but it seems remarkably modern for the 17th century. And he had his supporters on the ‘hat testimony’ issue, including at some points prominent Friends Isaac Penington and Benjamin Furley.

Fox, one could say, was not pleased and berated Perrot repeatedly. Perrot ultimately ended up in the Caribbean as a deal to leave prison and Fox’s position on hats and the wordly subordination of women prevailed among Quakers (albeit with clear recognition of spiritual equality and giving more respect and power than anyone else in the 17th century accorded to women).

I just thought this was a fascinating aspect of early Friends. Their disputes can look strange at the surface level, but if you delve a little deeper there were fundamental issues at play. I’m not sure Fox’s success in quashing what he saw as the ‘ranterish’ tendencies of Naylor, Perrot etc. were entirely beneficial.

I’m personally glad that many Quakers today are more open to individual inspiration than in the intervening centuries since Fox’s time. And we are maybe beginning to catch up to Perrot on the implications of Quaker spirituality on gender.

After doing some religious unlearning I’ve gravitated most to being a Quaker. And I’m happy! Been reading and listening to a lot of things like podcasts and Phillip Gulley’s works.

I have a busy schedule with my job and I’m a new dog mom. What are little ways you spend with to god each day? I’d like to make it a part of my schedule. During lunch I like to decompress and when I get home after I walk my little one I’m so tired. What helps you or what Quaker focused materials do you spend a little time with during the day?

Thanks!

Please continue to pray for peace. Holding all of the affected nations and peoples in the light.

Hey folks, I’m new to this (grew up Methodist), but I recently attended my first Quaker meeting and found it to be one of the most moving, genuinely spiritual experiences I’ve had in any kind “church.”

I had the thought that I’d love to keep my little book of Psalms in my back pocket so that, if I felt I needed something to recenter my mind on, I could just take a quick peek.

It’s not that I’m afraid of judgement from anyone else there (they’re all incredibly nice), I just don’t know what the usual practice is. I would love any advice or guidance you have to offer.

Hi! I have been interested in writing a fanzine comicbook about the quaker faith (doing from an admiration point of view, there will be no disrespectful or mockery of quaker faith) for a while, and I just found the story. Without giving too much context, it's about a British quaker who in the 1980s decides to go on a spiritual journey. Not proselytizing or passing on the gospel, simply living the normal life of a culture that is not his own while exploring his spirituality.

So I have some questions:

1. What were Friends like in the 80s? Especially, those between 30-40 years old.
2. How did they dress? I understand that it was not the parody of Quaker Oats logo, but I would like to know if there was a trend or if hard beliving quakers kept the modest dress code to the letter.
3. Also, any kind of aspect of the quaker faith you would like to highlight?

Hi, does anyone have any resources on the history of queries in Quakerism? Thank you!

I saw something on Wikipedia about Quakers including the epistle to the Laodiceans in their Bibles. Is this still done today?

And is it included in an apocryphal sense or is it considered scripture?

I’m just curious about the various bible canons across Christianity (and am currently trying to read all I can get my hands on, so if this epistle is considered scripture today by you, I will read it.) Thanks.

———————————-

Edit: I read about it on this Wikipedia page on the various Bible canons. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biblical_canon

If you scroll down to the “Canons Of Various Christian Traditions” section and then scroll down some more to the New Testament chart and find Laodiceans and then look under Protestantism it says says

“No − inc. in Wycliffe and Quaker Bibles.[N 11]”

And then the footnotes says

“[N 11] The Epistle to the Laodiceans is present in some western non-Roman Catholic translations and traditions. Especially of note is John Wycliffe's inclusion of the epistle in his English translation, and the Quakers' use of it to the point where they produced a translation and made pleas for its canonicity (Poole's Annotations, on Col. 4:16). The epistle is nonetheless widely rejected by the vast majority of Protestants.”

Hello mom-theist friends I'm reaching out with a question; what do you think about during meeting? It's a meeting for worship but since you're non-theists what are you thinking about? I appreciate your thoughts

https://www.ccel.org/ccel/richardson/fathers.viii.i.iii.html
I had forgotten about this for a while, but it is some nice light reading. Very short list of advices by what seems like some very, very early Christians. I thought it was an interesting note that the Didache calls for us to:

What these maxims teach is this: "Bless those who curse you," and "pray for your enemies." Moreover, fast "for those who persecute you." For "what credit is it to you if you love those who love you? Is that not the way the heathen act?" But "you must love those who hate you,"475 and then you will make no enemies.  4"Abstain from carnal passions."476 If someone strikes you "on the right cheek, turn to him the other too, and you will be perfect."477 If someone "forces you to go one mile with him, go along with him for two"; if someone robs you "of your overcoat, give him your suit as well."478 If someone deprives you of "your property, do not ask for it back."479 (You could not get it back anyway!)  5"Give to everybody who begs from you, and ask for no return."480 For the Father wants his own gifts to be universally shared. Happy is the man who gives as the commandment bids him, for he is guiltless! But alas for the man who receives! If he receives because he is in need, he will be guiltless. But if he is not in need he will have to stand trial why he received and for what purpose. He will be thrown 172into prison and have his action investigated; and "he will not get out until he has paid back the last cent."481 6 Indeed, there is a further saying that relates to this: "Let your donation sweat in your hands until you know to whom to give it."482

I also appreciated the later note regarding discerning "true prophets" from not; seems like some interesting advice that we might apply to our own discerning of messages from the Inward Light (I'm not sure though, I have a hard time with this too... not sure if I've ever heard anything yet- or maybe I just haven't had the ears to hear, &c.)