An Introduction to Quakers
The Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) has existed in Ireland since the late 17th century and in Dublin since 1669. Although membership has never been large, there always seem to have been people who found its message helpful, whether challenging or comforting, whether in life’s crises or in the daily round.
What is this Message?
The essence of Friends’ message is that every human being has the potential to communicate with God and to experience divine love and guidance. Such communication is experienced in diverse ways but is only real if it influences the whole of one’s life.
Quakers believe that God exists in everyone, so that anyone can have an experience with God and love even an enemy.
Accepting that God is in each of us must influence our attitude to our fellows, whether neighbour or stranger.
For Friends, Meeting for Worship is the kernel of their own religious experience. We do not feel the need for a formal programme with hymns, set prayers and a prepared sermon. Instead we gather in silence believing that God, however perceived, will lead us to “worship with him in spirit and in truth” as Jesus taught.
Friends meet regularly on Sunday morning at a set hour in a Meeting House, but Meetings for Worship can be held at any time and in any place.
During the silence a worshipper may feel guided to speak about some aspect of his or her experience or to express some thought that he or she feels it right to share. Someone may pray aloud; occasionally someone may (even) offer prayer or a message in song.
If you would like to worship in a Friends’ Meeting, you would be very welcome. While you will not be asked to take any (obvious) part in the Meeting, we believe that everyone present can share inwardly in offering love and worship to God.
Some people find the silence of a Meeting for Worship helpful in seeking guidance about personal problems or emotional or intellectual conflicts. Others become absorbed in an experience of worship that removes them from their daily concerns. None of us is immune to allowing our thoughts to stray or to occasional boredom but if, in Quaker phrase, we truly “centre down”, we will experience the healing presence of God and a deep sense of peace.
Quakers and the Christian Tradition
Quakers believe that a written creedal statement can limit the interpretation of God, besides the existence of a creed can lead to an attitude of mind which brands as unbelief that questioning of accepted ideas without which progress is impossible. Instead Friends have found that, while words and arguments may divide us, the shared experience of seeking to put Christ’s message into practice can bring us closer together.
George Fox, the found of Quakerism, was a questioning young man in 17th century England. He had an extremely detailed knowledge of the Bible and also believed that Christ could also speak directly to him.
He believed that Christ was the universal “inner light” that could illuminate the soul of all people everywhere, even those who had never heard of Jesus – “the true light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world” John 1,9.
It must be accepted that theological differences have caused unfortunate conflict at times in the history of Quakerism but Quakers manage to embrace a surprising diversity of outlook and remain united. Some see Jesus as a prophet, so supremely imbued with the Divine Spirit that his teaching and example continue to inspire us to follow the same spirit. Others believe that Jesus was uniquely the Son of God, whose life and message led inevitably to crucifixion and that only such a love-inspired offering could bridge the gulf between God and man.
Our efforts to do good, to be good, can never satisfy even our own aspirations; but, as Christ overcame physical death, so love triumphs over evil. Friends occasionally express beliefs that seem almost irreconcilable; but those same Friends find an extraordinary unity in worshipping and in working together, whether campaigning against nuclear war, raising money for a relief project or patiently seeking to reconcile a family conflict.
Endeavouring to enter into joyous adventure with Christ, Quakers seek to live lives in his presence and in the love of neighbours.