QUAKERS - are any out there ? tell me about Quakerism...

[MargaretMountford]

There is a meeting house near us and it's always appealed to me - several of my parents friends are Quakers - I was brought up a Catholic but am very lapsed,though I still retain a lot of it in my spiritual life I think...I also pick bits of Buddhism - kind of mix and match approach - I would think that Quakers encompass that idea,from what I've seen.

I fancy quakerism.
But I'm not sure that not believeing in god helps..
sorry, i have no other information- but will watch this thread to see how it goes.

i quite like the idea of "stillness" and calm within the religion.

I don't get so much of that in general.

that's exactly what I liked the idea of - stillness and calm -
Buddhism might be a good bet for you oopsagain - it focusses on the living the best life you can, not harming anyone

Are they the ones that wear a scarf on their very long hair?

those are Plymouth Bretheren ...I think Quakers look at the sacredness of each person, equality,simplicity and peace - meeting the divine through stillness.

This is quite a good site to explain the basics of being a Quaker:
hope this works

MargaretMountord - same here. I started a thread a little while ago and got some interesting answers.
Becoming a Quaker

I agree with you on Buddhism. I have a Japanese friend who is Buddhist and she is an inspiration - she just has this inner calm without being all hippy drippy day dreamy.

oopsagain - a lot of Quakers are aetheists so it does not matter if you are not Christian. I was brought up a very strict Methodist.

I am particularly attracted to the idea of Quakerism because of the number of early Quakers who founded businesses. In today's modern age there has been a general distrust of business people and especially bankers but many of our largest businesses have Quaker foundations that were noted for their ethical approach. For example, Cadburys and Barclays Bank to name just two.

I think business can be ethical and still business like and am shocked by the approach many businesses take that involves routinely misleading customers. It is a very short termist approach and lays at the heart of almost all of the problems that lead to the current credit crunch.

Sorry, I got a bit ranty there, but I spend my days buying and selling shares, bonds, and commodities and there really is no need for business to be unethical. A good dose of Quaker values would do modern business a lot of good and especially banking.

thanks aBetaDad and esor - will have a look at these !

Have a look here too - the official website of British Quakers.

I'm not a Friend, but what's called an Attender (a very sporadic one!) who attends Meeting for Worship. I go when I feel I want to, and when I have time! I also consider myself largely an atheist, but I get a lot out of the Quaker ethos of peaceful, simple living, and trying to live out your beliefs. And the 'corporate meditation' that you find in Meeting can be beautiful. And given that I used to hate being preached at during church services if I was present (school, funerals, weddings, etc), I really appreciate the Quaker tenet that no man or woman can act as Priest, that god/good is inside everyone and therefore nobody needs an intermediary.

I can recommend reading The Light That Is Shining (I think this may still be given away in an Enquirer's Pack) which is a very straightforward and inspiring discussion of what it can mean to be a Quaker. Most Friends would say that it takes years and years to discover what Quakerism means on a personal level, so the best thing would be to be brave and attend a Meeting locally! If you don't like it, you might consider finding another one and giving it a go too, as Meetings can vary hugely. My local one is very quiet and rather elderly, but the one I used to go to in a large town was far more dynamic.

thank you MamaHobgoblin - I have sent for the information pack with that very booklet included

margaret, i live in rural herefordshire and there is a beautiful old meeting house near us - out of curiosity and actually mainly bcs i wanted to set up a local meditation group in the building i went along some 6 months ago - i loved it so much i go regularly now and class myself as an attender. there is something so powerful and healing about sitting in silence every week for an hour with like-minded, open-minded and generally decent people who have opened their arms to me and shown me a really lovely welcome. i found the starter pack v useful as mentioned above. i have buddhist leanings too but find them entirely compatible with quakerism. i would definitely recommend giving it a try! good luck

katie - thank you - oddly enough my parents have announced that they are going to investigate the meeting house tomorrow (we live around the corner from each other and there's a very pretty looking Quaker meeting house in town) How funny that they had the same thought ! They have had friends who've been Quakers and have attended meetings for a couple of funerals and a wedding. It's probably an un-Quakerlike thought but I'm slightly miffed that they are going along when it was to be 'my' thing ! I shall go on my own anyway I think.

DS goes to a Quaker school and I've always been very impressed with it. Quiet reflection, thoughtfulness, equality, etc.

I will !

abetadad, did you by any chance hear R4's In Business programme a few weeks ago, when they had a very interesting discussion about ethics in business? It was looking at various models of how we could go about things differently following the recent fiasco in the finaincial sector. Lots of food for thought. I'm not sure how long things stay on Listen Again, probably not more than a week or so I guess, but see if you can find it.