Journeys

We asked five Quakers to share their stories with us and to tell us about their experiences. You can read more about them in our themed leaflets:

If you are new to Quakers, you may also be interested in our newcomers leaflet:

Your first time in a Quaker Meeting

The Quakers featured in our leaflets submitted longer pieces of text than we could include in each leaflets. They are printed in full here:

Journeys: contributions of 5 Quakers on their spiritual journeys

Vincent:

Faith

We seem to yearn for a spiritual dimension to our lives. Growing up in a multicultural society, I had access to many religions. I gradually came to understand that a spiritual tradition was most useful if it led me to develop as a person, discern the Truth, care for my fellow living beings, steward the earth’s resources, and live joyfully. Other traditions address one or more of these ideas but Quakerism incorporates them at its core. They promote a spirituality where one is able, in the Buddha’s words, to ‘work out your own salvation with diligence’. Quakerism enables me to view life as a journey rather than a destination, the Quaker community as a welcoming space where each person’s experience is honoured.

Worship

I’m reminded of St Augustine’s quote that ‘our hearts are made for god and cannot rest until they rest in god’. Spiritual writers from most religions say that the natural course of spiritual practice should gradually lead one beyond belief statements to a place of silence. While many traditions incorporate silence into their worship, for Quakers silence is worship. It flows from and back into the conviction that something of god (however you define god) exists in everyone and silent worship allows us to block out the noise of daily life and truly listen for what’s most important. Out of this silence which we experience together in Meeting for Worship, come insight, creativity, and love for others. I believe these three are the most important outputs of a well-lived life.

Quaker living

Religion is often thought to promote a private worldview and solitary lifestyle. For me, spiritual practice, to be worthwhile, should help shape my life and values so that I can be a better person both internally and in community. As Thomas Merton wrote, ‘For me, to be a saint is to be myself’. Quakerism provides a template. It does not issue a set of dogmas I have to accept as a condition of membership but a framework of principles to form my life over time. Importantly, too, the framework allows for ongoing enrichment: every human is seen as having the potential to develop the content of our faith over the centuries. The test of Quaker living is that one keeps trying, not that one has arrived. Knowing my Quaker community believes this, I feel my own quest is nurtured and honoured. It also encourages me to take responsibility for the spiritual wellbeing of others.

Community

Quakerism attracts people from every walk of life and spiritual tradition. As I get to know them better, it occurs to me that I have never before been in a space where everybody is so unconventional, each with their own story and philosophy. I feel totally at home, exploring the spiritual path from many perspectives. I cherish the kindness and humility with which they share their insights with me. I’m reminded of the G. K. Chesterton quote, ‘Truths turn into dogmas the instant that they are disputed; thus every person who utters a doubt defines a religion’. Quakerism not only believes in the usefulness of doubt and speculation, it actively promotes it as the means to get to the heart of what is truly important, the heart of god, you might say.

Maia:

Faith

As somebody who isn't quite sure if I believe in a God, the Quaker faith has been a safe harbour in which to open my mind and explore my thoughts and feelings on the matter. I find inspiration in the ministry of friends at meeting which usually takes the form of very accessible personal stories or reflections from day to day life.

There is no shared creed. We don't all say we believe the same things, because we don’t, and we don't pretend to. But Quaker friends do have shared values which resonate with me and shine a light on my path ahead, inspiring me to uphold these values in my everyday choices. Since joining the community of friends who live by these values, my personal resolve to live by these principles is much stronger and at the same time I feel lighter with it.

These shared values - equality, justice, sustainability, simplicity, truth, and peace - link directly into my own personal ethos and the way I strive to interact with people and the world around me, and so I found a home in Quakerism.

Quaker Worship

I find coming to Quaker meeting gives me a setting to find stillness and to quiet my mind in amongst the whirl of modern life that urges us to be always moving on to the next thing. I don't think of it some much as worship but as an opening up, letting my soul settle.

Listening, deep attentive listening, isn't a skill that most of us use often in everyday life. I value the chance to practice it in the stillness of Quaker meeting. I feel it has given me a greater capability for active, engaged listening in daily life at work and in my personal relationships. Being mindfully present in a meeting for worship, hearing the sounds in the room, the birds outside, feeling the mood of the meeting, listening to the words shared among friends grounds me to my present experience and is good exercise for my mind. I miss it when I don't come to meeting the way I miss running as exercise for my body if I'm cooped up inside.

For several months I attended meeting for worship but was sure what I was doing was not worship in the traditional religious sense of the word. I wouldn't have called myself a Quaker, just someone who went to Quaker meeting to soak up the stillness, silence and peace that I found there. But the more I learned about Quakerism that more I found things that spoke to me and echoed aspects of my own life.

In a world increasingly polarised along the lines of religion and politics I found the Quaker acknowledgement of God in everybody to strike a chord with me and my understanding of humanity. Quaker faith has provided me the tools to navigate through a world ever more divided. And I have come to realise that finding stillness and connecting with my deepest self is my version of worship.

Quaker Living

I think about the future a lot and mull over what choices I should make and wonder what lies around the corner. Quaker living and staying true to the values that Quaker Friends share has helped me to make decisions that are true to myself. I feel secure in my choices as I am supported by the community of friends, gently and informally guiding me. Knowing I can turn to others for a listening ear and some reassurance from those that share my values has been such a help in my twenties - a time of much change in my life.

Quakerism has helped me to find and celebrate wonder in this very beautiful, but also challenging world in which we live.

Quaker Community

Being part of the Quaker community among people who don't tell you what to think or even necessarily ask you what you believe has been refreshing and a great strength to me starting out in a new place. I have found myself accepted, encouraged, and welcomed even when joining a well-established group where I am only able to come to meeting sporadically. I have struck up friendships with people I would never ordinarily have met in other aspects of my life.

Lucas:

Faith

"My own spiritual journey has taken me from literalist Catholicism to liberal Catholicism, to a confused agnosticism, to Quakers. I have always felt the reality of God in my life -- in the beauty of nature, in the kindness of people, and through the prodding of conscience in my own heart. But I have long struggled with who and what God is. Since I was about 12 or so, I have not been happy to accept the answers in the Christian Bible. The vengeful Yahweh of the Old Testament strikes me as a figure like Zeus or Odin -- an impressive superhero, and a loyal protector, but hardly someone whom I can love or admire. The Father of Jesus in the New Testament is a better person, but still not a perfect one.

Ultimately, I see the stories of the Bible as a record of how two peoples -- first the Hebrews and then the Christians -- made sense of their feelings that there was more to this universe than just dumb matter. The Bible is full of stories that challenge us to think more about ethics, justice, wisdom, and beauty. But so also are the Qur'an, the Bhagavad Gita, the Dialogues of Plato, and the Legends of Maui. People are good, so I think that many of the religions of the world can help us reach for God. But people are also imperfect, and so too are, I think, all religions.

Within Quakers, I have deepened my confidence that God exists, and I have equally deepened my confidence that I know very little about God. The Quaker community has been a safe place for me to admit my doubts, and for me to keep reaching for God in my own way. Like many Quakers, I continue to appreciate the contributions of the varied religions of the world to theology, ethics, and all kinds of art."

Worship

"Quaker Meetings for Worship are radically egalitarian -- this fact, more than anything else, appealed to me when I first came into contact with Quakers. At most Meetings, attenders sit in a circle around a central table, which normally has a collection of spiritual books on top of it for attenders to borrow during the Meeting. For the most part, the Meeting takes place in silence. If any attender feels called to speak, he or she may do so. There is no priest, no pastor, no chairperson, and no moderator.

I have asked many Quakers what it is they usually do during the silence of Meeting, and I have heard many answers. Some Quakers use the time to pray to God. Some use the time to think or meditate. The founder of Quakerism, George Fox, encouraged his early disciples to silence their minds as best they could, and to listen carefully for the quiet but clear voice of God in their hearts. I, personally, have spent many Meetings mostly reading a spiritual book from the library at my Meeting House.

What is important to me is that I have never been told what to do in Meeting. I have never been told to direct a certain prayer to God, or to put down the book I am reading. Different Quakers have a variety of beliefs about God, including the Christian conception, non-Christian monotheistic beliefs, agnosticism, and non-theism. Some Quakers feel that they connect with God during the silence, while others appreciate the silence for the psychological benefits that they find in it. The Meeting for Worship has space for all of these different types of attenders."

Living

The four values of "peace", "simplicity", "equality", and "integrity" have been dear to Quakers since early in their history. In modern times, Quakers have formalised these four values into a list of four "Testimonies".

The "Testimonies" are not commandments or rules to be followed in a prescribed way. However, they are principles that Quakers strive to be guided by in their everyday lives. For example, the "Peace Testimony" is not the same thing as a political stance of pacifism, although many Quakers have been pacifists and conscientiously objected to conscription. Rather, the "Peace Testimony" calls on us to promote peace in all facets of our personal, familial, corporate, and national life. It asks us to consider our own violent habits (physical or emotional) and think about how we can overcome them. Similarly, the "Simplicity Testimony" does not ask Quakers to become ascetics, but it does ask us to think about how we can reduce our waste and analyse our reasons for wanting things.

As a lawyer, the "Integrity Testimony" has strongly influenced the way I work. It seems to me that most lying does not come from Machiavellian plans, but from people not trying to think clearly about what is true and untrue, and consequently just saying whatever seems most convenient to them in the situation. When I feel tempted to tell "white lies" or gloss over inconvenient truths, the Integrity Testimony reminds me to front up to reality in my own head -- both positive and negative. When I can accept the truth, I feel far less inclined to tell lies.

Community

I attended my first Meeting for Worship at the age of fifteen. It was a small provincial meeting -- there were about eight regular attenders, whose ages ranged between sixty and ninety. By all rights I should have been discouraged from coming back to Meeting by this great disparity in age between me and them. But the next week and the week after I came back to Meeting. Why? Because those Quakers made me feel at home. Like me, they were all searching for spiritual truth, and they fully invited me to join them as an equal in that search. When I finished high school, I moved to a larger city for university, with a larger Meeting for Worship. The Quakers at that new Meeting were just as welcoming as those in my home town.

When Quakers must make collective decisions (such as those about corporate property), they hold a meeting for worship where they seek spiritual guidance on what to do. All members are called to attend and speak their insights, but attenders are discouraged from directly debating each other’s points. Unanimity, or occasionally overwhelming consensus, is sought, with voting of any kind being extremely rare.

I find this system very intriguing. Sometimes, I find it frustratingly slow compared to democratic or autocratic decision making. However, I really like the idea that the decision-making process is something that all the participants are doing together, rather than a battleground on which different factions try to get what they want. I try to apply aspects of Quaker decision making to my working life also.

Eleanor:

Quaker Faith

I don’t consider myself a very religious person in the traditional sense. Certainly I’m very hesitant about talking about a relationship with - or faith in - God. My faith is open to possibility. I believe there is an essential core in each of us that should be nurtured: a unique potential, goodness, capacity to love, creative energy. Some Quakers may describe this as “that of God” or a connection with the divine. For me it is the spiritual dimension of our existence.

I have been attending Quaker Meetings since childhood. I have kept going throughout my adult years because it suited me. Being with Quakers, and worshiping with Quakers, provides the best framework for tapping into that spiritual dimension that I know.

Quaker worship

I love the simplicity of a Quaker Meeting for Worship. We gather in silence. With no priest or church official to guide us, it can be a very personal experience. We find our own way to let go of outward distractions and focus on the Light within. However, although we take our individual paths into stillness, we become more connected and gathered as we sit together.

The silence is broken if someone feels deeply, spiritually moved to speak, or offer “Ministry” as it is known. We listen to what the person says and seek what we recognise as the truth in their words. We recognise that our unique experience leads us to express things in different ways so search for the deeper meaning, allowing their Ministry to settle and enrich us.

Quaker Living

Recently, I find myself dwelling more and more on the Quaker values of Peace, Integrity (or Truth), Simplicity, Equality and Sustainability. Although not unique to Quakers, these values seem more important than ever in today’s uncertain times.

They underpin the way I try to live my life. I don’t always feel that I do a good job, but I feel that my Quaker faith helps keep me on the right path.

Quaker Community

As Quakers we value everyone as individuals. This is evident in the way we sustain our Quaker meetings and other Quaker communities we may be part of. Our decision-making allows everyone to contribute.

My best experience of a Quaker Community has been as a volunteer member of staff at a holiday school for teenage Quakers. We find ways for everyone to feel comfortable, welcomed and cared for in the group. The energy, creativity and lifelong friendships that come out of the supportive environment we create for these young people has been such a privilege to see and be part of.

Moira:

Quaker Faith

My faith is centred on a spiritual Presence, personal and infinite, awe-inspiring and intimate. A compassionate guide. Somehow always present and accessible even when I feel distant and in a dark place. It is in trusting this Presence that I come to recognise what I do not know. I accept this ‘not knowing’ as part of the mystery of the Divine. I can only speak for myself, for I acknowledge that each individual person is a unique spiritual being on a human path.

Quaker Worship

I cherish the time I spend in Quaker worship. I come to help create a place of stillness and safety. For many years, meditation has been part of my life. I think of Quaker worship as a place of expectant waiting and deep listening. The group energy holds me in silence, providing a safe place to go deeper. I may experience a feeling of connectedness with others and all beings. I appreciate that there is diversity of belief. All are equally invited to speak their truth.

Quaker Living

How does my Quaker faith influence my life? I try to live with integrity and respect for others, nature and the planet. With a compassionate and caring heart, careful listening and awareness. The Quaker values of simplicity, peace, integrity, community and equality, inform and challenge my choices and actions. e.g. the process of decluttering, reducing waste and recycling are ways I live simply. Through active contemplation and contemplative action I find that the peace I find outside myself is equal to the peace I find inside.

Quaker Community

I knew nothing about Quakers. I had drifted from my Methodist roots, so when a new friend invited me to a Quaker meeting I was curious. I found a rich diversity of people, a community with a spiritual heart and real sense of purpose. I felt accepted and free to be myself. I found my spiritual yearning to belong fulfilled. There are shared interests and passion for social justice issues and action. I am able to create opportunities for spiritual nurture, growth and education. I am part of something with wide reach in NZ and world-wide.