Living the Quaker Way
Curious about how Quaker seek to live their lives? You're welcome here.
Welcome to the Quaker Way — an invitation to explore how Quakers in Aotearoa New Zealand seek to live out their deepest values in everyday life.
At the heart of the Quaker way are testimonies — lived expressions of spiritual insight that guide how Friends act in the world. These testimonies — Peace, Simplicity, Integrity, Equality, Community and Sustainability — reflect a shared belief that all creation is sacred and worthy of love.
They offer practical, enduring principles for personal living, community life and social engagement. Rather than being fixed doctrines, they grow and evolve as Friends continue to discern together what it means to faithfully bear witness to truth, compassion and justice.
In brief, our current testimonies are:
Peace: taking care to avoid violence as well as opposing violence
Simplicity: prioritising our relationships with others, the natural world and ourselves
Integrity: living authentic lives, being honest in all our dealings
Equality: recognising that all people are of equal value irrespective of difference
Community: Balancing being an accepting egalitarian community with deep respect for diversity and individual integrity
Sustainability: acknowledging our interdependence with all life and our responsibility to care for our planet
Click on each testimony below to explore how Quakers try to live these values in everyday life. You can read just one, or take your time with them all.
Peace: choosing non-violence and reconciliation
“We utterly deny all outward wars and strife.” — Quaker Peace Testimony (1660)
Click to explore how Quakers understand and live this testimony.
- Peace means seeking nonviolent ways to respond to conflict, and working for justice, reconciliation and care for all people.
Peace is at the heart of the Quaker way. Friends believe that every person has inherent worth, and that violence harms both individuals and communities. Because of this, Quakers seek nonviolent ways to respond to conflict and injustice.
This does not mean avoiding disagreement or pretending that everything is fine. Instead, peace is an active commitment to listening deeply, speaking honestly, and working patiently for change. Quakers try to address the causes of conflict — such as inequality, fear or exclusion — rather than responding with force.
In everyday life, this may include respectful parenting, refusing to support war, promoting reconciliation, resolving conflict respectfully, and working for systems that are fair and just for all.
Simplicity: focusing on what truly matters
"A simple lifestyle freely chosen is a source of strength" - Advices & Queries 2013
Click to explore how Quakers understand and live this testimony.
- Simplicity encourages living with enough, reducing excess, and making space for what brings meaning, connection and wellbeing.
Simplicity encourages living with intention and care, rather than being driven by excess, busyness or consumption. Quakers ask themselves what is truly needed for a good life, and what may distract from deeper values.
Living simply can look different for each person. For some, it may mean reducing possessions or spending. For others, it may involve slowing down, creating space for reflection, or choosing work and commitments that align with their values.
Simplicity is not about deprivation. It is about freedom — making room for relationships, community, spiritual depth and care for the earth.
Here is a Quaker video on living a simple life.
Integrity: living truthfully and consistently
"We have a testimony to integrity, which includes honesty and plain speaking . . . Do not be afraid to speak the truth" - Advices & Queries 2013
Click to explore how Quakers understand and live this testimony.
- Integrity is about being honest, trustworthy and aligned in what we say, what we do and how we live.
Integrity means being honest, trustworthy and whole — allowing one’s words, actions and values to align. Quakers believe that truth matters, and that living truthfully is a spiritual practice as well as an ethical one.
“Walk cheerfully over the world, answering that of God in everyone.” — George FoxThis includes speaking plainly, keeping promises, and taking responsibility for mistakes. It also involves listening carefully to one’s conscience and being willing to act on what feels right, even when that is difficult.
In practice, integrity may show up in fair dealing, ethical work, transparency in decision-making, and courage to speak up when something feels wrong.
Equality: recognising the worth of every person
"We are convinced of the equal worth and value of every individual" - Advices & Queries 2013
Click to explore how Quakers understand and live this testimony.
- Equality reflects the belief that every person has equal value, dignity and access to truth, regardless of background or status.
Quakers believe that every person has equal value and dignity, and that no one is closer to truth or God than anyone else. This belief shapes how Friends worship, make decisions and relate to the wider world.
Equality challenges hierarchies based on wealth, gender, race, ability, age or education. In Quaker meetings, there are no clergy, and all voices are valued. Decisions are made together, seeking unity rather than majority rule.
Living this testimony may involve challenging discrimination, sharing power, including marginalised voices, and examining one’s own assumptions and privileges.
You may like to read our Statements on:
Community: belonging and shared responsibility
In the spirit of manaakitanga in Aotearoa New Zealand, all are encouraged to welcome newcomers, offer one another support and encouragement, and to share tasks and responsibilities. Quakers seek to balance being an accepting egalitarian community with a deep respect for diversity and individual integrity.
Click to explore how Quakers understand and live this testimony.
- Community is about supporting one another, listening deeply, and making decisions together with care and respect.
Because equality is so important to the Quaker worldview, there is no formal hierarchy. Decisions are made by weighing each person’s concerns in light of what is best for all, for the community, and for the world at large. In this way, each person’s views and varied experiences are celebrated and valued equally, and all are helped to open to guidance, inspiration, and new possibilities as we discern the best ways forward together.
Sustainability: caring for the earth and future generations
"We need to respect, revere and cooperate with other life systems on our planet. The earth's riches are not ours to exploit." Advices & Queries 2013
Click to explore how Quakers understand and live this testimony.
- Sustainability calls us to live in ways that protect the natural world and consider the long-term impact of our choices.
Sustainability reflects a commitment to care for the natural world and to live in ways that respect the limits of the planet. Quakers see the earth as precious and interconnected, not as a resource to be exploited.
This testimony calls Friends to consider the long-term impact of their choices — on ecosystems, communities and future generations. It connects closely with simplicity, peace and justice.
In everyday life, sustainability may involve reducing environmental harm, supporting regenerative practices, and advocating for social and environmental systems that allow all life to flourish.
Read more: an international Quaker statement on climate change.
These testimonies are not rules or requirements. They are shared guides that continue to grow as Quakers listen, reflect and learn together. Many people find that one testimony speaks to them more strongly than others — and that is part of the journey.
Want to learn more?
You're welcome to explore these pages:
If you'd like to take a deeper dive into Quaker practice, read Advices & Queries, a Quaker booklet by which we challenge and encourage each other to live the Quaker way.
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The Quaker Way
The Quaker Way is to come to agreement, very gradually, over years of discussion and collective silent reflection, on our shared values. Those values that are endorsed by each and every one of us are called our "Testimonies." Because we believe that the truth continues to reveal itself to us over time, the Testimonies change and evolve as our shared perceptions change. At this point in 2025 in Aotearoa New Zealand, we have come to unity on the testimonies of Simplicity, Peace, Integrity, Community, Equality, and Sustainability.
Maintained by
Yearly Meeting Outreach Committee