Are there any Quakers here?

Question

What type (Hicksite,Evangelical.etc) of Quaker are you?
Were you born into a Quaker family and,if not ,what drew you to the Friends?

Dear Ray,
Your research on the relationship of Quakers and Dutch religious scene(Calvinists,Arminians,Anabaptists, Catholics,Jews,tec) must be very interesting. Please feel free to email me if you feel so moved.by the Spirit.

Dear Jinji,
I would like to go to a Friend's meeting(especially the 'wait on the Spirit"kinds),but i am always busy on Sundays and the Meeting is distant. Do Quakers have midweek meetings like some churches? I went on a mini retreat one time on Consensus among The Friends which was very inspiring.

Answer 1

I am a Friend. I attend a Hicksite meeting -- most meetings (and there are many) where I was raised in southeastern Pennsylvania and here in New York City where I now live are Hicksite. A couple weekends ago, I attended a gathering of Conservative Friends near Lancaster, Pennsylvania, which was my first experience with this more Christ-centric Quakerism. I have the comfort of familiarity with Hicksite meetings, but am finding myself increasingly led towards the Conservative.

My family is part Quaker (dating back to the time of George Fox) and part Roman Catholic. I was raised Catholic, but with a strong Quaker influence. I left the Catholic church almost as soon as I left my parents' house, and stayed away from religion for a long time. Some time ago, I began looking for some religious grounding again, and went to a meeting in Philadelphia, mostly because it was near the hotel I was staying in. ;-) I found the silent waiting worship peaceful and soothing, and most of all, I felt I could draw closer to God because I could listen instead of speaking and hearing constantly (as was my experience at mass).

Those Friends gave me the address of a meeting near me in New York City. I began attending and soon found that the "small still voice" really does speak, and that this is immensely comforting (although I don't always like at first what I hear) ;-). I have heard Friends who were strangers speak directly to my condition when I was in too much turmoil to listen for myself, others speak my mind before I can stand and say those same thoughts myself, and have had several powerfully moving personal experiences.

It was enough to make me a Convinced Friend. :-)

I have also found that the more I move my life to be consistent with the Testimonies of simplicity, peace, integrity and equality, and the more I practice the art of discernment, the more peace I have found. There are other paths to this besides the one I've chosen, of course, but this one has been like coming home for me.

So, thanks for your interest in Friends. If you are feeling led to try out a meeting or two, you can find one in your area here, if you're in the US: http://www.quakerfinder.org/quaker/states


EDIT: In reply to your reply ;-)....

Yes, some meetings have midweek worship. If you contact the one(s) in your area, they can let you know if they do, and if not, they may be able to tell you another meeting that does. Another possibility that some Friends in isolated places use is virtual meetings. They agree on a day and time for waiting worship and are united that way, although they do not meet in person. That may be too impersonal or disconnected for you, especially at first, but it is an option.

Also, your mention of a retreat brings a couple other ideas to mind. Though not retreats, many Yearly Meetings are held in the summer. This is when the small monthly meetings in a geographical (or ideological) area come together for business and worship and lots of fellowship over a week or so. Efforts are generally made to keep costs very low (hey, this is where Simplicity pays off!) and visitors are, as always, welcome. You might find it a good experience. (There is a list of Yearly Meetings here: http://www.quakerinfo.com/ym_int.shtml). There are big conferences as well, such as Friends General Conference (see http://www.fgcquaker.org/ if you're interested). While these may not seem at first to have the intimacy of a small monthly meeting, they may still be helpful to you.

And finally, you never know... way may open for you to attend First Day worship after all. Best wishes.

Answer 2

no, but I've been to some Quaker meetings (in Amsterdam), and I'm writing my thesis on Quaker missionaries in the Netherlands and their interaction with Dutch Collegiants.

Answer 3

You might not find any of Quakers frequenting this site.

Mainly because they have their own, which people are encouraged to visit if they want more information about their beliefs.

http://www.preteristarchive.com/StudyArchive/q/quakers.html

I've looked around the site and they have interesting information about the Early Church.

Answer 4

no quakers.........lots of Quackers