What draws seekers to Quakerism, and what keeps them coming back? Philadelphia Yearly Meeting and QuakerSpeak asked seven people who have been attending Meeting for 2 years or less.
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Transcript:
Claire Staffieri: The things that were so powerful for me about Quakerism was having an experience with God. That really resonated for me. And silence. Because that which is God for me has no words. There are no words.
What Attracts Newcomers to Quaker Meeting?
Alice Stein: I very much like for example the determination that says somebody believes in peace and has the guts to say in a time of war, “No, I can’t fight. I can’t do that.” I think that takes a lot.
Cassy Hung: I think it had a lot to do with the people. There wasn’t really that hierarchy, where there was someone talking down to us, but we could really share ideas and we could all learn from each other, and I really appreciated those ideals.
Meredith Hung: I think the silent worship was also a big draw for us, to be able to center ourselves and get away from our busy lives.
Kevin Connors: I like the principles that I see the Quakers standing for. I like the focus on peace. I like that there’s not an authoritarian power structure in Quakerism, and that everyone brings something to Quakerism.
Discovering Quaker Meeting
Max Rivers: There was a draft going on for Vietnam and I thought it might be a way to get out of the draft, and I went to a couple of Meetings and really enjoyed the way it was done. I also really felt the integrity of it, and I felt like using it for my own ends didn’t match the faith itself so I went to Canada instead and hooked up with the underground and then didn’t get drafted. It occurred to me about 3 or 4 years ago that meeting that I’d gone to that I’d loved—they were still doing them!
Mary McElroy: A friend whom I really admired invited me, and I just thought she was a lovely person, and I was intrigued. She said, “Come on along, and let’s meet and let’s come this following Sunday!” And I’ve been here ever since.
Kevin Connors: When we had our first child, and still only child, and were looking for a good daycare facility, we weren’t happy with the ones we’d found. We went looking and I just happened upon a Quaker one and decided to investigate. We were just so impressed with the respect that they showed to children.
What was your first experience of Quaker worship like?
Claire Staffieri: My first Quaker Meeting was a wonderment. I do remember walking into that meeting room and feeling a power. It was a transcendental power.
Cassy Hung: My first experience was actually a second First-day, so I went and joined the youth committee and we worked on a community service project for the full hour. I’m 14, and once a month we meet and we work on a project. Sometimes we’ll work on a project for a couple months, for example in the winter we worked to set up a bake sale and raise money for the Heifer Project. We ended up buying several flocks of chickens and other animals for families in need. I just remember really enjoying being with the group and working on something meaningful.
Max Rivers: I just felt really invited in to the silence of it and the sweetness of it and the gentleness of it. You know, I went there to avoid being part of the war but while I was sitting there, I really felt separate from anything like war. That’s my recollection of that first meeting. I didn’t even have to resist the war. There just was no war for that hour.
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The views expressed in this video are of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views of Friends Journal or its collaborators.
