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Philosophy/religion

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Catholic to Quaker

22 replies

Meadowland · 12/03/2021 09:28

I have been a catholic since birth but have struggled at how slowly it is adapting to the times. I have huge admiration for Pope Francis and his constant actions to help the poor.
However the Vatican is so outdated in it's views, that he is faced with an almost impossible task to modernise - certainly not in my lifetime)
I have, and always will, believe in God and have been researching other denominations. The one that seems to fit best is Quakers.
Has anyone else joined the Quakers ? I would love to hear experiences/ views.
(Please, this is not a question about whether God exists - I am very happy with my belief in God)

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partyatthepalace · 12/03/2021 13:27

I think it’s a good thing to explore - only thing about the Quakers is they are getting very old - it’s a dying organisation right now sadly. That could change of course.

jollyunicorn83 · 12/03/2021 13:29

How important is communion to you? And singing? I'm pretty sure the quakers don't do that. Have you tried out a Methodist church? I grew up in a Methodist church, they are mostly very practical in helping others, and also they love the singing Grin

Meadowland · 12/03/2021 14:31

Thank you for your replies. Definitely points worth considering. I'm very much at the exploration stage.
Would love to hear from some Quakers too.

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Somatronic · 12/03/2021 14:34

Good luck trying to leave the Catholic church. It's like Hotel California.

OooPourUsACupLove · 12/03/2021 17:20

I grew up a Quaker, don't attend now but have a lot of affection and affinity for them.

It's not clear from your post - have you actually attended any Quaker meetings? They are open to anyone and there's very little difference between a member and an attendee in practice. Plenty of people attend for years without joining. As far as Quakers go there would be no concept of a clash between attending Meeting and any other church or religion you might belong to. Anyone is welcome in Meeting as long as they attend with a genuine intent to be part of the meeting.

So the best thing I can suggest is just start attending a meeting and see how it goes for you! No one will try and convert you or give you a hard sell, it's very much not the Quaker way. And they will be happy to chat to you about Quakerism if that's what you want.

The main thing is, as someone said upthread, it's a small group and getting smaller. So you may want to do some research to find a relatively active Meeting as some are only single figures now.

(This all assumes you are UK. Quakerism in other places can be very different).

NannyR · 12/03/2021 17:26

I was interested in learning more about the Quakers a couple of years ago and I filled in something on their website. They sent me loads of interesting books, leaflets etc for free, then someone contacted me by email a couple of weeks later to see if I wanted to ask any questions or talk about anything. I didnt, so declined politely, I wasn't contacted again. It might be worth checking if they still do something similar on their website.

Meadowland · 12/03/2021 22:22

@OooPourUsACupLove . I haven't been to any meetings as they are all currently closed due to Covid. I didn't realise you could just turn up.
@NannyR. Thank you, I'll check the website.

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archimedescat · 12/03/2021 22:29

Many meetings have moved online at present. If you contact the clerk for your nearest meeting they will likely send you details for a zoom meeting.

yellow25 · 12/03/2021 22:36

Hello,
I wonder if you have checked out the videos by Fr. Mike Schmitz and Ascension Presents on YouTube? I have many doubts about my faith but find that the way he gets different messages across very encouraging. I understand your concerns about modernising. Have you looked into the theology of the body? I also find the focus on the dignity of the person there aligns a lot with my faith. I hope you find peace soon, wherever that is! xx

Blueberries0112 · 12/03/2021 22:50

My family have a long line of quakers but they do seem strict . I am surprised it is still around.
I think quakers will be a huge jump from Catholic.

You probably be interested in Christian church - disciple of Christ

Meadowland · 13/03/2021 14:09

Thank you, I will look at those videos.
And also the Christian disciples of Christ - not heard of that denomination.
Yes I realise it is a huge jump.
I've realized though that what I will miss most is the community aspect of my church life, gathering together every week for mass, the friendships, visiting sick and elderly ,helping homeless etc but there is no reason why I cannot continue to be part of that.
It is just the rigidity of the catholic church teaching that I find stifling.

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Blueberries0112 · 13/03/2021 15:37

Probably not available where you live but they accept all sort of Christian faiths: disciples.org/

OooPourUsACupLove · 13/03/2021 16:15

It's interesting that a PP thinks of Quakers as strict, because I think of them as tolerant to the point of being barely a formalised religion at all!

There is a belief in Quakerism that you should live by your values not just pay lip service and so individual Quakers may well be vegetarian, or teetotal, or active in charities and social movements but none of that is prescribed or expected. But I wouldn't say that Quakerism requires that sort of active faith, more that it appeals to that sort of person.

There is no creed to repeat or priest to lead the worship, and since they don't have hymns or spoken prayers there is literally never any time where your worship has to involve repeating words someone else wrote. The capacity of everyone to have of a direct and personal relationship with God* without intermediaries is the core of Quakerism.

(* the meaning of "God" is not necessarily fixed to the Christian God - again, it's personal)

Of course a Friend may chose to read something aloud in Meeting, but it would be their choice to do so not a prescribed ministry, and whether what they say resonates with you or just passes over you is equally valid. In a Meeting, the only "leader" type thing that happens is when an elder or clerk shakes hands with their neighbour to indicate the meeting is over.

That said, all the above is just my view as a person involved in Quakerism 30+ years ago. Because the other thing about having no creed is every Quaker will have a slightly different idea about Quakerism, and they are all right :)

And also it's UK Quakerism. Out in the wider world there are Quaker groups where pretty much every single thing I've said does not apply!

Blueberries0112 · 13/03/2021 16:43

Maybe modern quakers aren’t as strict but in the past, but researching genealogy, it seems a lot of them got kicked out

OooPourUsACupLove · 13/03/2021 18:34

@Blueberries0112

Maybe modern quakers aren’t as strict but in the past, but researching genealogy, it seems a lot of them got kicked out
Oh yeah, they were some of the original Puritans back in the 17th and 18th Centuries! No celebrating Christmas, plain clothes, strict teetotal (hence the chocolate). Did well in business though because they had a reputation for honesty. But modern (UK) Quakerism is very tolerant.
StonedRoses · 14/03/2021 12:59

The church I attend is high church Anglican Anglo/Catholic. So Catholic but not Roman Catholic. Big difference for me is that they support (and encourage ordination of women) and accept all human relationships. In many ways I suspect the liturgy is very similar I attend it because I find I worship better with the beaty of calm of ritual rather than the more lively church in town

I wonder if a Anglo-Catholic church might suit the type of worship you are looking for without the baggage of the Catholic Church (although I fully accept the CofE has enough baggage of its own!)

StonedRoses · 14/03/2021 13:00

Apologies for the shocking typos! Fat fingers and a mobile phone!

ZenNudist · 14/03/2021 14:38

No experience of the Quakers sorry. I wish I could help. Do you enjoy mass at all? What are you looking for in worship?

My priest recently described the Catholic church as your home but not your prison. I was asking him about me attending methodist church in addition to Catholic.

Quaker meetings seem very very different to Catholic mass, is that why you are interested?. I attend a non conformist methodist meeting and that is lovely and very community driven. Not structured but still biblical and really involve my dc.

I try not to get bogged down in global Catholicism but its nice that it is a worldwide religion. Catholicism is one way to celebrate God and grow in relationship with Him. If you get that out of mass then ignore the hard line. Lots of people do.

Meadowland · 14/03/2021 16:38

I really appreciate your replies which have given me a lot of food for thought.
A lot of good work is done by the catholic church, and, as I said, Pope Francis is a truly good man and I was very hopeful that things would change when he was appointed.
I am in favour of priests marrying, women priests, and same sex marriage.
I cannot see these changing and so feel the time has come to find a spiritual home which embraces these.
@StonedRoses. I tuned in to my local CofE church this morning and found it very uplifting. They meet 2 out of 3 of my values, and are certainly becoming more liberal on same sex relationships. I had a lovely message from the vicar when I wrote to her afterwards. So I will definitely be speaking with her again in more depth.
@ZenNudist. I do enjoy the mass but more important for me is somewhere I can call my spiritual home. And the catholic church sadly does not do that anymore.
You are right, I think I looked at Quakers as I am looking at all options which are different.
The methodist church is also on my list, as they too have a liberal approach.
So thank you all again. I am taking on board all your points- they are really helpful.

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ZenNudist · 14/03/2021 20:07

I hope you find something that works for you. The Cof E is definitely better on homosexuality in some churches.

I too am in favour of priests marrying, women priests, and same sex marriage. Eventually there will be so few priests that things will have to change.

lightofthetrees · 08/04/2021 20:57

It's the rigidity of the teaching of the Catholic Church that I find freeing.

WanderingFruitWonderer · 26/05/2021 11:35

There are quite a few Quanglicans! Part Quaker, part Anglican. So I guess you could be Quatholic?! A bit of Quaker, bit of Catholic? The Quakers these days are an extremely tolerant bunch, and would certainly allow it. But whether the RC church would allow it, I don't know, not having an RC background myself.
My background is mostly Anglican, though I've dipped my toes into all sorts of churches. Anglican churches vary enormously of course, from high church to very evangelical, and liberal & woolly, and everything in between. I like the liberal woolly ones! Which are sympathetic to Quakerism, and most Quanglicans would be of that tradition.
Like you, I have a very strong faith, but I never quite felt I fitted into conventional ecclesiastical culture. I love the Quakers. I'm a very committed pacifist, vegan, lefty. But also, a strong faith and deep love for Jesus Christ. It suits me. But I still crave 'proper' church sometimes. I need the music, singing, teaching, praying sometimes. Sometimes I love the contemplative silence of the Quaker meeting too. I feel fine with a bit of both.
Of course, since Covid struck, I've evolved somewhat, and love online church now! I've been able to attend church services of all denominations and none, all over the world! I honestly now don't consider myself any denomination anymore. I see all Christians, and indeed all living beings as my brothers and sisters now. Quakerism has had a big part to play in me coming to this understanding... Smile

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