There are two fundamental aspects to Quaker faith. First, Friends believe that all people
are capable of directly experiencing the divine nature of the universe—which is known
by many names, God or the Holy Spirit or simply Spirit being among the most common.
We believe there is that of the Divine in every person. During meeting for worship, we
gather in silence, believing God’s spirit can touch each of us directly, without a minister
or other intermediary. We settle into a deep stillness. By trying to clear our minds of
extraneous matters, we open ourselves to listen for the “still small voice of God.”
Someone may rise to minister to us by sharing what they hear. We learn to listen with
an open heart and mind to the words and the spirit of the message. No direct response
is made and we observe some minutes of silence to absorb what has been said before
anyone else speaks a message.
That leads us to the second key principle, our belief in continued revelation. In the Bible
we read many stories of God communicating directly with people. Friends believe God’s
revelations have never stopped, and that spirit might reach out to any one of us at any
time. When Quakers come together to meet for silent worship, we strive to become
better able, and help each other become better able, to recognize such divine
messages.
Derived from Quaker.org and Swarthmore Meeting’s brochure.
Spiritual Deepening Resources:
Friends General Conference (conferences, religious education materials),
– Spiritual Deepening Program,
https://www.fgcquaker.org/fgcprograms/spiritual-deepening-program/
– Quaker Books: https://quakerbooks.org/
– Ministry on Racism: https://www.fgcquaker.org/fgcprograms/ministry-on-racism/
Philadelphia Yearly Meeting (gatherings, library, youth and young adult programs,)
https://www.pym.org/quakerism/about-pym/
QuakerSpeak (short videos about many aspects of Quakerism and Quakers)
https://quakerspeak.com/
Friends Journal (monthly journal online by donation)
https://www.friendsjournal.org/issue-archive/
The (Quaker) School of the Spirit: https://www.schoolofthespirit.org/
Pendle Hill (learning opportunities, workshops, retreats, bookstore):
https://pendlehill.org/
Quaker Centers outside of Pennsylvania offering programs online as well as in person:
Powell House (NY): https://www.powellhouse.org/
Woolman Hill (MA): https://woolmanhill.org/
Quaker Center (CA): https://quakercenter.org/
Woodbrooke (UK): https://www.woodbrooke.org.uk/learn/
