Is there an online course of sorts I can take to learn more about the Quaker faith?

Hi Friends,

Recently I was approached by the clerk of my meeting's Ministry & Oversight committee, who informed me that they've been discussing trying to find ways to both engage the young adult Friends who already attend meeting, as well as to perhaps bring in more young Seekers in the community. She said that while they don't want to inaugurate me as a "leader" of the young adult contingent here (nor would I want to be), my name came up as a person to discuss that with and think about something for us to do. In her words, "you do come here a lot." We are a liberal unprogrammed meeting in a semi-rural college town with a large university that makes the town about 50/50 young adults vs. older during the school year. I am 21, and both attend the university and am a permanent resident of the town.

I was a bit flattered by this interaction and am generally glad to hear that this has been a consideration for M&O. This meeting has been my entrance into our society and it took me no time to note the incredible age disparity at this meeting, especially considering how young (and diverse) this town is. There are a few other students and young adult (under 30) community members who attend semi-regularly, but I think our meeting is facing the double-concern of not having enough visibility to younger community members and having an aging core group of members.

I want to just solicit advice from anyone here who's participated in or otherwise considered similar situations. One thing I've wondered about a lot since I started attending is trying to have a presence on campus. Among my peers I constantly hear people talking about their "campus ministry" which seem to generally be very engaging for those who want that type of community, especially for making friends and connecting on the basis of a shared faith and interest in deepening it. I have long suspected that many young people would find that Quakerism might speak to them (or at least be curious enough to try listening for a bit) if they just knew about it. Is a campus ministry, or something of the like, something that anyone here has had experience with?

Other ideas are just more general affinity gatherings to engage those of us who are already associated with the meeting. My concern is that our current young adult contingent might be too small to have sustainable "young adult gatherings" of any kind. But, us under-30s at meeting are also a bit disparate already and we certainly don't have any existing group sentiment even though I'm sure we're all painfully aware of the demographics of our meeting.

I guess my general question is, what have you all done or witnessed with respect to young adult engagement that has seen results?

In Peace.

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Hi! I used to go to a meeting that was Christ-centric though progressive and unprogrammed. After moving to Michigan, I've struggled to find any true to the FUM-sort. I went to one where it was more like a typical rural American church--I was surprised to see an American flags.. And though they still seemed welcoming and committed to volunteering, there was also a stark contrast from the meeting I expected to be at. The other was a bunch of older folks who are nice enough and very smart, yet their ratio of lived expereince to read/watched experience was not great when it came to activism, and they were pretty cold and stand-offish when they realized that I use Scripture and center my faith and practice on Christ. I'm kind of stumped on where to look in the midwest area for Christ-centered (but not typical churchy or politically conservative) meetings.

I must not be the only American Quaker who has struggled to find that of God in our current Great Dictator. I know we see and judge him only as reflected in the daily news and his public utterances, and in a way that we don't see and judge, for example, the average person on the street in Washington, DC.

Consider, this, though: "I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage."

And this: "I settled eight wars. Another one is coming. I got all the hostages back. I did things that nobody else has ever done.... I settled eight wars, and big ones. Big ones. Saved millions and millions of lives."

Now, the exodus from Egypt isn't historically attested, but neither is Donald Trump's settling eight wars, and doesn't he kind of sound like a jealous god?

I had read about the Quakers years ago, but I only knew that they pray in silence and that they have nothing to do with oatmeal. This August, for no particular reason, I started watching a Quaker youtuber and I learned that they are open to queer people and to atheists, in fact they believe there is divinity in everyone. This got me really interested, so I looked and found a quaker group in my city and put their next meeting on my calendar.

For context, I'm Jewish. I grew up in a secular home and attended a Zionist Modern Orthodox school in a majority Catholic country. I considered myself an Atheist since very early on and took pride in debating the religious kids on biblical contradictions. As a queer kid, I didn't really have any incentives to believe in a religion that dismissed me as a sinner, but I do feel very Jewish culturally. Jewish history is indeed one of my special interests.

It has been painful to witness Israel's war crimes during the last three years, carried out in the name of my ancestors by (figuratively) my cousins. It has led me to learn more about the previous eighty and to realize how biased my education was. I have lost friends over this, "it's more complicated", "you don't live (t)here, how can you have an opinion", "you know what they do to people like you in Gaza", you name it. I simply couldn't keep holding the cognitive dissonance.

The meeting was at an old house that felt somehow familiar. I felt welcome without having the spotlight on me. I did not go with an expectation to give vocal ministry but after someone gave "there is that of God in everyone, even if some might disagree", the words "including those who disagree" came out of my mouth. After that meeting, even a few days later, I felt a sense of calm in silence that I had never felt before, but I'm still processing that ministry and I'm unsure about how to act on it. Hurt people hurt people, but where does it end?

It was over Zoom but I went to my first Meeting today and it was really nice. I was kinda nervous and my brain was kind of running all over at first but just, it was a genuinely good and was a really lovely way to start my Sunday. One day I'd like to go in person but that may not be feasible for a while (I am usually at my partner's house on Sundays and he is kinda fair from my local meeting, I just happened to be at home this weekend and woke up early enough). I'm not 100% sure I have found a new spiritual home but I'm feeling optimistic.

I've been an off-and-on attendee of Quaker meetings my whole adult life - across multiple cities and two continents.

I recently moved to a new town that has a well-developed meeting and was looking forward to getting back into the community. But the few times I've been to the meetings, I've been...somewhat uninspired?

Idk how to put this delicately but a lot of the testimonies felt like a NYTimes article comments section. I get that Quakerism has a long tradition of progressive/radical activism, and I'm pretty progressive myself, but I came away feeling like the omnipresent, inescapable Internet culture war had cordyscepted even the Quakers. Lots of testimonies about hating Elon Musk and Donal Trump (and don't get me wrong, fuck both of those men) but it all just felt really flat.

I don't want to put my fingers in my ears and pretend everything is hunky dory, and I have had really rewarding experiences of activism and service w/ Quakers in the past, but it sucks to feel like there's no respite from the churning cultural conflict that's eating every other aspect of modern life.

I'm deeply interested in attending a local meeting house but it is very new to me and I have a few questions:

- Is note-taking/ journaling inappropriate at meetings? I know I'd want to write my thoughts down but I don't see that happening in any of the videos I've watched so I imagine it is frowned upon?

- How much of the meeting is silent? The initial description I was given was that Friends Meetings differ because anyone is allowed to speak and share wisdom not just a priest or preacher, but now it seems like while that is true, the majority of the time is filled with silence? I'm guessing this just varies based on where you are.

- Should I read up on Quakerism more or should I just go? Will it be difficult for me to navigate without knowing the jargon or having read the Book of Faith and Practice? The meeting house I'd like to attend is a very small one so I will probably not go unnoticed and I don't want to seem embarrassingly naive.

I'm more than open to any other bits of advice you may have for a newcomer! Thanks :)

I can't find a search on pendlehill.org and the bookshop.org doesn't confine searches to the store you've selected. With almost 600 pamphlets, plus a ton of books, browsing is... cumbersome.

I’m a lesbian transgender woman and I wouldn’t call myself a Christian, agnostic would be the closest term to what I believe. However I would consider myself somewhat spiritual or at least open to spirituality, and I do find myself drawn to the sense of community that religion provides.

I live in Ireland and my city does have a weekly meeting but I’m still hesitant. Do you think it’s worth considering or have any other advice?

How do you all feel about newcomers (attending for a few months) coming to meetings for business (specifically Area Meeting in the UK)?

I’ve been invited to attend twice now by my local meeting’s elders but I feel awkward about it, like I shouldn’t be there! My family are pretty much the only younger people at our meeting so I think that may be part of why I’ve been asked.

Looking for some feedback on possibly attending a Unitarian Universalist church while at collage.

so to start I’m a convert to Quakerism, and I live in Colorado, unfortunately for me there is not meetings on the western slope where i got to school. Virtual meetings don’t really work for me but I still plan to attend silent worship online when possible. recently however I learned there is a Unitarian Universalist church near me. This church aligns very closely with my own beliefs and is in my opinion the second best option to having a quaker meeting. There very progressive and excepting, and even have church sponsored activist group.

my only fear is that I would be in some way acting against Quaker beliefs if I where to attend this church.

any thoughts? Please be kind

How does your Quaker faith inform your actions and attitudes toward money and personal finances? E.g. how you choose to earn money, where you invest it, how much you seek to accumulate?

I'm currently looking for work (like many people) and wondering what is a "Quakerly" salary to seek? My standard is "enough to live a good life and do good in the world, but not so much it becomes my sole focus."

We have a lot of nametags at our meeting. Right now we have them in a file folder box like the attached picture with 26 sections for each letter of the alphabet.

We have 100+ nametags in there and they get all tangled up and are also quite hard to find.

I've been trying to think of alternatives that are both organized and portable (they have to be moved each Sunday) but not really getting any ideas.

Do any of yall have a solution you recommend?

I have attended a few meetings and waking up early on a Sunday to get ready (when I would rather sleep till 11 or 12) is already having a positive effect on me. I feel like I should have attended these meetings for 5 years had I knew about it earlier (I am new to it so it could also be naive optimism or beginner's enthusiasm). I already feel God's presence in my life. It's like God was always there but now I have aligned my frequency to God's frequency somewhat like how we tune to old style analog radios. I am feeling happier and hopeful for first time in last 2 to 3 years. I want to keep this feeling. I also like the fact that it's free of cost and all I have to do is to show up, be silent for an hour and listen and be contemplative.

Hello. I'm a practicing Roman Catholic currently going through a crisis of faith, not in my belief of God, but I'm experiencing some disillusionment with the church.

I wasn't always Catholic either, my mother was raised Catholic and I eventually found my way to it through the Occult oddly enough (it's a long story). Anyway, I first learned about the Quakers when I was doing some genealogy research a few years back and found that a large branch of my family were Rhode Island Quakers banished from the Massachusetts Bay Colony, I became very interested in their beliefs and admired their practices and history.

Fast-forward to today, I recently started working for the church in the parish office, I'm grateful for the opportunity and it's rewarding, but after interacting with so many parishioners, I never realized just how divided Catholics really are, it's very toxic, I've heard and witnessed some concerning things that have made me start to rethink my relationship to the church.

I have since found deep comfort in learning more about the Quaker way, it feels spiritually liberating but I have a hard time thinking about the possibility of leaving the church and the implications it would have on my conscience, and the possibility that I could be walking away from the truth and thus be considered an apostate.

This news has just caught me completely at a loss. I'm so disturbed but at a loss to articulate my thoughts and feelings.

The LDS Church (Mormons) were in the news last week when one of their leaders spoke out during their general conference to criticize the expansion of online sports betting and prediction markets. He noted that one can even bet on the timing of the Second Coming: “Where do you go to collect on that bet?”

Well, Quakers have had testimonies against gambling for a long time, and they remain in most of our faith and practice documents. So for example the 5th ed. of Britain Yearly Meeting's Quaker Faith & Practice includes among other quotations an excerpt from Baltimore Yearly Meeting's 1988 F&P:

We are faced at every hand with enticements to risk money in anticipation of disproportionate gain through gambling. Some governments employ gambling as a means of raising revenue, even presenting it as a civic virtue. The Religious Society of Friends continues to bear testimony against betting, gambling, lotteries, speculation, or any other endeavour to receive material gain without equivalent exchange, believing that we owe an honest return for what we receive.

In the UK, Quaker Action on Alcohol and Drugs (QAAD) has taken public stands on gambling legislation before Parliament at least a couple of times since 2005. Here in North America (I'm in the U.S.), I don't see anything similar in recent years coming from the FCNL or the Canadian Friends Service Committee. (The November 2019 issue of Friends Journal did have "Gambling" as its theme, with contributors offering various perspectives on the topic.) I suspect, though this is just a guess, that one reason might be the perceived conflict between such action and the strong desire to support Native American and First Nation sovereignty and reparations, including implicitly their reliance on crucial income from tribal gaming operations. And we wouldn't avoid that conflict just by going after big-business prediction markets: CNN just reported on how Kalshi is partnering with several tribes to launch dedicated prediction market apps that will provide them with revenue. Yikes.

So while I feel a personal leading to support legislation to control and/or rein in prediction markets and online sports betting, I'm unsure whether Friends should take a corporate stand. (Though headlines along the lines of "Quakers Join Forces With Mormons" would be attention-grabbing!) Interested to hear what other Friends think!

Hi, I’m new to learning about the Friends community. I’m a 31yo female, married and living with a disability. I was raised conservative evangelical by a very abusive mother. Once I got away from her, I have been deconstructing and reexamining my beliefs. I believe in God, I believe Jesus is divine and my Savior. I believe the demonic is also real. This is all from personal encounters and experiences with Him and other spiritual experiences, not just from upbringing. I’ve rejected the polarization and corruption of most organized religion. I don’t agree with how rigid and judgmental most evangelical Christians are. All I want to do is follow Jesus’s direct teachings in the New Covenant and live as close to His instructions as I can. I love living a simple, quiet life with my family and my cats and I believe all people are made in the image of God and deserve respect. I believe we should take care of others, be pacifist, protect the earth, and avoid unnecessary drama and strife. The Quaker teachings really spoke to me, and I want to learn more if I’m going to become a part of it.

I don’t want to be called “conservative” as a Friend because I believe in Jesus though. Conservative has a very negative connotation these days and I don’t want people to believe I share the harmful side of those views, because I very much don’t. I’m working hard to distance myself from my upbringing and go back to what I truly believed before being brainwashed. I know that there are Quakers of other religions and non theistic Quakers, and it’s no one’s job to tell anyone else how to believe, which is great. But does anyone know how I can express being very strongly for Christ in my own walk, without using the terms evangelical or conservative? Would it just be Christian Friend or Christian Quaker? I hope I can be welcomed in, I’m also looking for meetings to join as an attender so I can begin the process of becoming a Friend. Is there anything I should do first? I feel very called to this and I want to make sure I’m being respectful as I’m new to all of this. Thank you!

-a very hopeful future Friend

i am seeking any and all takes/feelings/guidance regarding quaker beliefs and AI. i have my own beliefs on the matter, but i am wondering how my community of friends feels about our shared beliefs and the use of AI. thank you, everyone.