Friends believe each person can be in direct relationship with the divine without special rituals, sacraments or ordained priests. We encourage each other to turn for guidance to that of God within us.

For this is the true ground of love and unity,

not that such a man walks and does just as I do,

but because I feel the same Spirit and Life in him,

and that he walks in his rank, in his own order,

in his proper way and place of subjection to that;

and this is far more pleasing to me than if he walked

just in that track wherein I walk.

Isaac Pennington

There is a large range of theological belief within the Religious Society of Friends both worldwide and within our local meeting. We do not have a creed to which we expect members to agree. Some of us are Christ-centered, some of us experience a less specific Spirit of God within the world which is available to guide, comfort and minister to us. Our lack of a standard creed places much responsibility on the individual and the community to listen for God’s guidance as a way of life. Our experience of God’s guidance has led Friends to believe in and work for equality among all people, peacemaking, simplicity and social justice.

"Quakers have never had a creed as something to be repeated

or as a standard of admission to membership.

This deliberate omission is not to be understood as an indication

of the judgment that convictions are unimportant.

The deepest difficulty with a fixed creed is

that it inevitably becomes formal, and, consequently,

can be repeated without conviction.

Even with the best of intentions, the formula is artificial

and external, and therefore something for which the sincere Christian

dare not settle...

God, Quakers believe, is real."

"The People Called Quakers",

by D. Elton Trueblood, Friends United Press, 1980, page 65

Turning to God, the spirit of Truth, our Inner Guide is what we encourage each other to do. We come together to gain inspiration and courage and to share and check our spiritual leadings with one another.

Believing that God is available to guide us we aim to conduct our business prayerfully, seeking God’s guidance rather than simply our own wisdom. We do not vote or follow majority rule , because the majority is not necessarily correct. Rather, the person leading a meeting for business gathers up the “sense of the meeting” after encouraging everyone to consider the issue and speak the truth as they perceive it.