Ministry Among Pagan Friends (Quakers) and Quaker Pagans
There are as many answers to this question as there are folks who identify as Pagan Quakers or Quaker Pagans. While I don't speak for all of us, here is what I think of when I use the words "Quaker Pagan" or "Pagan Quaker."
Someone who is a member of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), or who identifies as a Friend/Quaker; and who experiences That-Which-Is-Sacred primarily through Nature, the Earth, Her cycles and seasons, the Divine Feminine, the Goddess and the God, or other pre-Christian Deities, or who also identifies as Pagan;
Someone who identifies as a Pagan; and who finds Friends' practices, worship, and testimonies (Simplicity, Peace, Integrity, Community, Equality, Earthcare, and Stewardship) essential to their lives, or who is also a member of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) or identifies as a Friend/Quaker.
To start, head over to the Resources section of my website. There are pages with Resources on both Pagans/Paganism and Quakers/Quakerism.
The best way to find out more about unprogrammed Quakerism
...is to go to an unprogrammed Quaker Meeting. If there's one close to you, you can find it at QuakerFinder.org.
The best way to find out more about Paganism
...is to talk to folks you know who are Pagan. A good way to start the conversation is to tell them you've been reading some things at this web site, ask them if they'd be willing to talk, and then ask them what excites them about their religion, or how being a Pagan meets their spiritual needs.
In the month of September, you can also attend a Pagan Pride Day event in your area, where you are likely to find information about a number of different Pagan traditions in your community. Folks who are presenting or tabling at a Pagan Pride event will be willing to answer questions, and may also have printed information you can take with you.
No! Everyone is welcome, and there is a special welcome for:
Friends (Quakers) who experience the Divine through nature, the Earth, Her seasons and cycles;
Pagans who are familiar with or interested in Friends (Quaker) worship and testimonies.
If Quaker worship, testimonies, and practices appeal to you, and if you experience the Divine most easily when you’re outside, or as the Divine Feminine, or in any of the other ways outlined above, then you are especially welcome.
These are usually unprogrammed Meetings for Worship: we settle into silent worship and “expectant waiting” on the Goddess. Sometimes someone will be led, or we as a group will be led, to invoke the directions, to invoke the Goddess explicitly, or to cast a circle; oftentimes, not. Sometimes we have worship-sharing on a particular topic or query.
Some Friends (Quakers) do wear "funny hats" as part of a leading to wear what we call "plain dress."
Some Pagans, especially Witches, like to wear "funny hats" -- especially black, pointy ones -- for fun on special occasions.
During sunny weather, I tend to wear a sun hat to prevent sunburn, and during cold weather, I wear a rainbow crocheted hat that I made, or a good wool hat, to prevent frostbite or hypothermia. As a Quaker Witch, I tend towards the practical. However, several people in my life tell me regularly that these hats are funny.
Nope. Not at all. Not one bit.
My ministry among Pagan Friends and Friendly Pagans includes:
Hosting, and supporting other Pagan Friends in hosting, Meeting for Worship
My blog, Musings of a Quaker Witch
Managing/moderating the QuakerPagans Yahoo!Group
Facilitating Interest Groups at Friends General Conference Gatherings
Facilitating week-long workshops at Friends General Conference Gatherings in 2007, 2009, 2011, and 2013
Facilitating shorter workshops at other Gatherings of Friends, and for Friends Meetings (including singing workshops!)
Co-coordinating and co-facilitating Great Waters Pagan Friends Gathering in 2007
Wherever you are, you are invited to join Friends and Pagans who are gathered for Full Moon (or Dark of the Moon) Meeting for Worship or Worship-Sharing.
Please see the Events & Schedule page for the next date(s).
You are welcome to worship at the same time (GMT), or between 7:00 and 8:00 pm your local time, or another time the same day or evening which works for you.
6:45-7:00, gather
Local, in-person gatherings: decide on Meeting for Worship or worship sharing
7:00-8:00, Meeting for Worship/worship sharing
8:00-8:45, potluck tea (in-person gatherings)
8:45-9:00, clean up and good-byes (in-person gatherings)
If you'd like to worship in virtual community with us, please let Stasa know. You can of course also worship on your own.
If you'd like to host a local, in-person gathering -- Full Moon (or Dark of the Moon) Meeting for Worship/Worship-Sharing -- on this same evening, please let me know. You can also simply invite Friends and friends to worship with you. I will update this space with information on local hosts as that information becomes available.
For more discussion, please see this post on Stasa's blog.
Important Information
Fragrance-free: Please consider: At in-person gatherings, for medical / accessibility reasons, not using, or wearing, any scented products, including but not limited to perfume, cologne, essential oils, scented hair products, etc. (Look for "fragrance-free" on the label, rather than "unscented.")
For more information about how to help a get-together be accessible to folks with chemical sensitivities, please click here.
No alcohol: Please do not bring alcohol, or bring any food you have cooked with alcohol.
PLEASE NOTE: If you've never been to Meeting for Worship before, you will want to familiarize yourself with some of the resources below beforehand.
Resources
I highly recommend the Quaker Information Center's "Your First Visit to an Unprogrammed Friends Meeting: a Practical How-To Guide," at http://www.quakerinfo.org/quakerism/worship.html. (If you read only one piece of information about Meeting for Worship, this is an excellent choice.)
I also recommend Marsha Holliday's "Silent Worship and Quaker Values," at http://www.fgcquaker.org/library/welcome/silentworship.html.
If you are unfamiliar with worship-sharing, you will find it helpful to read FGC's handout on worship-sharing beforehand. (I try to have a few copies on hand, as well.)
In the US: for a general description of Meeting for Worship, or to find a Friends Meeting near you, see QuakerFinder at http://www.quakerfinder.org/.
To find a Friends Meeting near you in the UK or to learn more about Friends, see Quakers in Britain at http://www.quaker.org.uk/.
For general information about Paganism, see the Pagan Pride Project's "What Is a Pagan?," or the Covenant of the Goddess' "Frequently Asked Questions - with Answers."
For information about Pagan Quakers/Quaker Pagans, see the Resources page.
Thanks! We look forward to seeing you!
What am I thankful for in the month since the last Full Moon? Or, since we met last? What do I wish to bring to fruition by the next Full Moon?
The phases of the moon -- waxing, full, waning, and dark -- can be seen as the phases of a woman's life, and as the three faces of the Goddess: Maiden, Mother, and Crone, and the space between between death and life. How have I experienced the Goddess as Mother? How have I experienced another Deity, or another face of the Divine, as Mother?