Page 18 - news and views 2022 definitive.pub (Read-Only)

Five reasons to be a Quaker in 2022 Submitted by David Brown

from an article in January 2022 QUAKE by Paul Parker

Have you ever been asked why you're a Quaker? Often I find my mind goes blank when I'm put
on the spot. So I had a think, and came up with five reasons I continue to be a Quaker:

1. Meeting for worship

Quaker meeting – a shared time of silence – is a wonderful, simple way to set aside everyday
thoughts or distractions and to reach deep within. Quakers' experience is that when we still our-
selves, we can hear the promptings of love and truth in our hearts. For me, Quaker meeting is
how I reconnect with my guiding spirit, reaffirm the values I care about and get set up for the
week ahead.

Since the pandemic started, there are more ways to worship together than ever. You're never far
from one of the 470 Quaker meetings in Britain, and many Quakers are meeting online too, in-
cluding international meetings like the ones Woodbrooke runs.

2. Anyone can be a Quaker
Everyone is welcome in a Quaker meeting. There's no set form of belief, or creed you have to
sign up to. The spirit (some people call it God) can speak to anyone in the silence. One of the
things I value about my Quaker community is that I can come as who I really am – I don't have to
try to fit in, or pretend to be someone I'm not. And I'm not told what to believe – that's something
we explore alongside each other.
Quakers are comfortable with uncertainty, and with the idea that we might ourselves be mistaken
– learning and seeking together in community. Quaker communities welcome people regardless
of their background, ethnicity, sexuality or gender identity. Last year, our Yearly Meeting made a
strong commitment to being an anti-racist community, and to welcoming and affirming gender-
diverse people. We're not perfect – like everyone else, Quakers have biases and assumptions –
but we keep working to address areas where we fall down.

3. It's not just about Sunday mornings

The thing about having faith is that you have to do something with it. So being a Quaker is as
much about how you live your life as about what you believe. When I first went to Quaker meet-
ing, I found people putting their faith into practice in all sorts of ways – working for peace around
the world, teaching, campaigning for nuclear disarmament, working for gender equality, mediat-
ing and looking after people in the local community. Don't expect coming to Quaker meeting for
worship to be enough on its own – Quakers find it leading them into all sorts of work in the world.

4. Quakers are working for a just and sustainable world

Once you've experienced – in the silence – what a just and sustainable world could be like, then
you want to do everything in your power to create it.

18