Quakers - Seeking the Light Within - Compass - ABC Religion & Ethics

Quakers - Seeking the Light Within - Compass - ABC Religion & Ethics

Quakers - Seeking the Light Within

A look at the history and experiences of The Society of Friends - Quakers - in Australia and their disproportionate contribution to education and peace activism.
Broadcast: Sun 28 Sep 2003, 10:00pm
Published: Sun 28 Sep 2003, 10:00pm


Transcript


Intro:

Hello and welcome to Compass. I'm Geraldine Doogue.



In the current climate of international tension the threat of hostilities never quite goes away.

Tonight we profile a religious organisation whose response to the challenge of war is the vigorous pursuit of peace.



It began over three hundred and fifty years ago but most people know little about the organisation called the Religious Society of Friends, better known as the Quakers. Throughout history their numbers have been small but their influence considerable.



Tonight we meet a group of people who may not have met but who all call themselves "friends". They're on a shared journey that reflects both their beliefs and their determination that their lives be a testimony to those beliefs.
Peter Jones
Quakerism represents a road that you walk on. It's a search.

Sarah Davies
For me being a Quaker is definitely something that involves a lifestyle

Jo Vallentine
It's like a spiritual well into which I dip for renewal.

John Green
And in Quaker speak we would talk about that of God in every person.

Narrator
In Sydney's leafy north Quakers have gathered for their weekly Meeting for Worship. For Quakers world wide this practice is both integral to their faith and central to their lives. There is no priest or pastor, no sermon, hymns or spoken prayer.

It's a form of worship conducted largely in silence ....broken only when an individual feels called to speak.

-----------

Speaker

Each of us in our relationships with people every day can provide a model for how communities and nations and cultures might and can relate to each other.

Narrator

Quakers believe the experience of a shared active and listening silence brings them closer to their God....and that God is present in each and every individual.

Sheila

When you are really centred in a meeting with a group of people it's a very powerful experience

Pera

I think a sense of oneness it's not just a brotherhood or sisterhood or whatever. It's actually being part of each other. That's my experience.

David

The notion that the spirit is there to be encountered, to be heard, to be listened to is the heart of it.

Narrator

Quakers accept Christ's teaching but not Christian dogma.

Their daily lives are geared to upholding testimonies of Peace, Truth, Integrity, Equality and Simplicity.

Ro Morrow

One of the strongest testimonies for me, and perhaps one of the hardest is the testimony of simplicity.

Narrator

Ro Morrow lives near Katoomba in the Blue Mountains district of NSW where she teaches permaculture.

Searching for something more she abandoned the Anglicanism of her childhood to find a spiritual home in Quaker belief and testimonies.

She tries to live simply with no car, television or refrigerator....It's a way of life she finds rewarding.

Ro Morrow

So to live simply is to live as much as I can from the garden; to live simply is to be a very low low consumer. Like not to consume packaging and be part of the big buying thing.

To live simply is also to consume locally and support local people. To live simply is to try and speak simply and to think more purely.

In fact it's a joy, it's so less cluttered. Your shopping list goes down to about six or eight main things and that's it. Most of your supermarket is in your garden. No life is much much better living simply.

Narrator

Through her work with Quaker World Service Ro Morrow is passing on her horticultural skills to women in third world countries so that they too may become more self sufficient.

Ro

In Cambodia I was involved in a project to teach district women, all women, how to grow food. And when they could grow food they had to go and teach poorer women.

So I basically taught them permaculture. And they had to practice it before they could teach. It's a sort of nutrition that takes people out of chronic persistent hunger into better health. So it's food gardens and fruit.

Poverty is an injustice against the spirit of God or the inner spirit of all those people. And at least if they have food they can rise a little above that terrible gut feeling of being hungry and worse for many people is seeing their children hungry.

Narr

Quakers do not prosyletise. They believe people can't be converted but must discover for themselves whether they are Quakers or not. The great majority are Quakers of conviction who have come to the belief from different beginnings.

This was not the case for Sarah Davies.

Sarah Davies

My mother is a Quaker so it was a natural process for me to become a Quaker. When she went to meeting I just came along. Her father actually was a Quaker. I don't have a process where I went from knowing something else or going to a different church and then becoming a Quaker like a lot of people have. For me it was just a natural process, I was always there.

Narrator

Sarah Davies' grandparents were Quakers. The advent of World War II was to herald very challenging times. The attacks on Britain both tested her Grandfather's Quaker convictions and isolated him when other men were rallying for their country.

Sarah

My grandfather was a conscientious objector during the 2nd World War. And this was due to his being a Quaker. Quakers believe in pacifism, and I know stories about my grandfather. During that time he would be given white feathers by people, such as a symbol of being a coward. But I think often it is the person who says no, and who says this is wrong is the person who is much more courageous.



Narr

Sarah Davies is a media studies graduate but her career path has taken a very different direction from that of her fellow students.

As a consultant with the Geneva based World Council of Churches she spent 2002 working in their peace building and disarmament section.

In 1999 she went to Israel and Palestine as part of a Quaker peace observation team

Sarah

For me to be able to see these people and talk to these people face to face was just an unbelievable experience.

We went as part of a peace observation team, sponsored by Quakers, but not all the people there were Quakers. And people on either side of the fence if you like in Israel and Palestine were told we were coming, were invited to come and talk to us.

And it really really opened my eyes to how the situation was. I think it was a harrowing experience as well to be able to witness what they're going through, and then how easy and wonderful our lives are here.

Narrator

For Sarah Davies being a Quaker determines how she lives her life.

Sarah

There's one famous quote which is from George Fox which says Live Adventurously and that's something I really try and do with my life. Don't stand back, don't hesitate. Live adventurously and let your life speak when you're doing that. Let your life be what you're trying to do or trying to be.

Narrator

The Quaker movement was founded by George Fox, the shoemaker son of Puritan parents in the mid 17th century.

In the midst of a spiritual crisis Fox experienced what he believed to be the voice of God speaking directly to him.

He began expounding the gospel of the inner light which emphasised the immediacy of Christ's teaching within each person. He argued that all human beings had the capacity to know God directly and had no need for consecrated churches and ordained clergy.

Fox and other early Quakers were persecuted and imprisoned for their radical beliefs.

But the movement grew and underwent various name changes.

Peter Jones

Quakers originally called themselves Publishers of the Truth, or Children of the Light. And they are both phrases I really enjoy.

But in 1652 George Fox was on trial before Judge Bennett, and I think he was an Anglican - or you had to be in those days if you were a judge- in Derby in England. And the judge was laughing. He wasn't a very religious Anglican. And Fox turned around to him and said, Thou shouldest quake at the name of the Lord. And Judge Bennett thought this was so funny he called George Fox a Quaker, and the name stuck.

Narrator

Peter Jones has been a Quaker for 30 years. He was born in Britain to peace activist parents. The family were staunch protestants, his father a lay preacher

Peter Jones

Historically Quakers undoubtedly came out of 17th century Christianity. They're one of what we call the three historic peace churches. We're part of the radical reformation if you sort of trace it from the Catholics through the Anglicans and the non conformists, and the Puritans. And then right at the end of this you've got the Society of Friends. And everybody hated the Quakers and that's why so many of them went to gaol.

Narrator

Quakers were denied access to university and the professions.

Instead they turned to business and manufacturing. Cadury's Chocolate was established by Quakers...and great banks like Lloyd's and Barclay's.

The movement spread to America.

In 1862 William Penn founded Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on Quaker principles.



In 1832 it came to Australia when two London Quakers were sent to report on conditions in the colony.

Sheila Given

Well of course I consider Tasmania to be the cradle of Quakerism in Australia because this is where it began when the two English missionaries George Washington Walker and James Backhouse came here in 1832. They had the first meeting, Friends Meeting for Worship in Australia here on 12th February 1832.

Narr.

Sheila Given is a former teacher and historian at the Friends School in Hobart. Originally an Irish Anglican it was through teaching at the school that she was drawn to Quakerism 25 years ago at age 50.

Sheila

I have been all my life fascinated by children and education. And I believe and always have that a child is not born in original sin but is an original blessing. Has a core spirituality, magnificent mystery inside them and that you build on that.

And when I came to this school Friends School I found my educational beliefs aligned really well with the beliefs of, the underlying beliefs of this school.

I feel that that of God whatever that God is I'm not sure whether I'd even put a capital G to it ..is in everybody. That's not to say they don't have the reverse, evil or wickedness or wrong. But it is up to the individual to nurture that of God in themselves.

But the mystery of it intrigues me and the seeking after whatever it is that the spirit, the inner light, or whatever one wants to call it, is exciting to me and has been from the start and continues to be.



Narrator

Since retiring Sheila Given has been busy.....A grandmother of five, she gained a Ph.d at 64; a place on the Council for the Ageing;

A column on aged issues for a weekly newspaper; and Presidency of her local University of the Third Age.

Sheila

There are two aspects to being a Quaker. That is 'being' a Quaker and two is 'doing' from that belief...action to do with the community or following through on any of the testimonies. People are often astounded at their commitment and where has that come from. Where does anyone's commitment come from? It comes from their basic beliefs. And I think the Quaker basic beliefs inspire one. They're an inspiration.

Narr

Originally financed by London Quakers, The Friends school was established in Hobart in 1887.

The Cadbury family were ongoing benefactors.

Whilst the school does not aim to produce Quakers, it does aim to inspire students with its Quaker values....and to instil a sense of service.

On the surface it may look like many other schools but what distinguishes the Friends' School is its emphasis on the practice of silence.

John Green

I think this is very distinctively Quaker. And it makes us a Quaker school. We live in a world that very rarely gives a great deal of value to times of quietness and reflection. But I think in those periods it's a time when we become aware that there is something greater than self. And it is a time when we start to realise that fulfilment is more than the narrow pursuit of self interest.

Narrator

John Green is school principal and one of only three Quakers on the staff. But he believes the Quaker principle of the 'light within' shapes the culture of the school.

John Green

In this school it's a commonly held idea that there is something special inside oneself and in others. And that I think has a profound influence on the way relationships develop in a Quaker school. Because if you start to believe that there is something intrinsically good or that of God in someone else you treat them with less arrogance and with more respect. And so if you actually believe there is that of God in someone else then obviously it produces a more egalitarian feel in the whole place.

Peter Jones is also on the staff of the Friends School.

From a young age he took part in anti war demonstrations and at 16 attended his first Quaker meeting.

As a student at Oxford University his commitment to Quaker ideals was cemented and at age 23 he became a full member.

The road he's travelled has led Jones to full time work in the peace movement and has brought him in touch with Quakers around the globe. He's taught in Quaker schools in Yorkshire and Romallah and now teaches comparative religions at the Friends School.

Peter

What's happened is that in the last hundred years there has been a sort of difference amongst Quakers. There's those Quakers that are very Christocentric, equally there are those who are drawn from other faiths. We call them universalist, who wouldn't probably call themselves Christians. And those of us who are everything in the middle. And I'm somewhere in the middle.

Peter

As a teacher of comparative religion I value a lot what I learned from my Jewish friends, my Muslim friends, my Buddhist friends, my Hindu friends. But I have always seen myself as a radical Christian, and I rather accept the idea of God as sort of the top of the mountain. But there are many ways to walk up the mountain, and nobody has a prerogative of the truth.

This inclusivity underpinning Quaker belief is one of the features that attracted overseas aid worker Mark Deasy.

Mark

I think the meeting at its best is very inclusive, very accepting. And I think if we go back to that doctrine of the inner light, of recognising there is that of God in every person it becomes much easier to be inclusive.

Narrator

He comes from a long Anglican tradition. His grandfather and father were both clergymen and he grew up happily in a strong parish community. But in adolescence he began to question both his sexuality and his church.

Mark

I think one of the key things though for me was going to an elite church school. And there seemed to be a dissonance between the values that the church officially professed and what was in fact supporting in terms of this elite institution which seemed in some ways to be about the perpetuation of difference, of injustice, of inequality in society that got me asking some serious questions about the church.

Narrator

On the advice of his school house master, at age 16 he attended his first Quaker meeting.

Mark

It was the time I was really coming to terms with my sexuality, recognising that I was gay when I was about 15 or 16. And not being at all satisfied with what was coming through in terms of official church doctrine about that.

It was at that time that Quakers were somewhat in the news because they'd put out in Britain a couple of publications which were the first to come out of any long-standing mainstream church, which was to suggest that homosexual relationships were not intrinsically sinful.

So I went along to a Quaker meeting. And I think the sense that I had there was what a lot of people will describe when they first come to Friends. That it's not a sense of conversion - we never really talk about that. It was a sense of homecoming.

Mark Deasy's spiritual homecoming was to hone his concern for social justice issues and steer his working life.

Much of it has been spent in relief and reconstruction projects in areas of conflict or its aftermath in Asia and the middle east. He's been with Quaker World Service, the Middle East Council of Churches, and for the past decade with the strictly secular Oxfam community Aid Abroad.

But it was his work with Quaker Service Australia that took him to Cambodia when few others had been allowed entry.

Mark

Quakers see themselves as having a mission particularly to work either in areas of conflict or in the aftermath of conflict. And of course in Cambodia this conflict continuing there was also the aftermath of genocide.

Narrator

Deasy's experiences influence his views on the proactive demands of pacifism.

Mark

I think being a pacifist is not about waiting till the conflict happens and then saying, I'm not going to take up arms. It's about in all the stages previously, looking at the sources of injustice, the sources of conflict of exploitation of aggression and giving the rule to work against others. Also working on mediation, working on conflict resolution.

Narrator

Fundamental to Quakerism is the Peace Testimony, a testimony first proclaimed to Charles II in 1660.

It is this principle that most clearly defines Quakers in the public mind.

Jo

Well the peace testimony is very important to me. And I think that's one thing that I was very interested in about the Quakers when I first started going along in 1972. At that stage we were involved in the Vietnam War. I'd been to moratorium marches. I'd seen these people who were marshals and I like the way they were in the marches. They were quiet and dignified and weren't ranting and raving and so on. So that appealed to me.

And that really led me to going along to Meeting for Worship. And so it was the first testimony that I became aware of, and it has given me a framework in which to lodge all of the feelings that I had about non-violence and not wanting to fight and so on, that came from the teachings of the people like Jesus. Because he was a great exponent of non-violence.

Narrator

She was raised a Roman Catholic but thirty years on former Greens Senator Jo Vallentine has become one of Australia's better known Quakers.

It was the issue of nuclear disarmament that first saw her elected to the national Parliament.

A long time activist her passion for peace and social justice issues has twice landed her before the courts and produced short stints in prison.

Jo Vallentine

I think civil disobedience should be taken through to its logical conclusion. For me that's not paying a fine to get out of going to goal. For me it is going to gaol and bearing that witness right in the gaol system. It's also helped me with my AVP work of course.

It has given me a perspective that I would otherwise not have. Of what it's actually like to be locked down, to be deprived of liberty. Not to have any of your own personal things around you. To have to live in very crowded situations.

Narr

Through history Quakers have been no strangers to prison. In the 19th century Quaker Elizabeth Fry wrought wide-sweeping reforms in the prison system thoughout England and Europe.

These days Jo Vallentine works on the "Alternatives to Violence" Project.

Now mainstream, it was initiated 30 years ago when prisoners at a US gaol invited Quakers to devise for them a "non violence" program to help bring about personal change.

Jo

So that's really how it began. And I think from that light within that the Quakers believe is in everybody. No matter where they've been or what they've done, no judgments, out of that a loving atmosphere could be engendered. A spirit of community could be built in a workshop, even in the darkness of prisons. Even with people who had done the most dreadful things.

You see we're all capable of violence, and I believe we all actually do violence in our lives.

Another way must be found to deal with conflicts from the personal to the international. And that's what Quakers really work on very hard.

Quakers are famous for setting up meetings between diplomats of countries that would not normally talk to each other. And they will come to the Quaker house in New York and have these lovely lunches and sit and talk off the record no media no reporting back. They just provide the opportunities for people to get together and know each other. Because then they can really begin to talk about the things that separate them if they've found some common ground first.

Narrator

Quakers believe that all life is sacred and war is not the way to resolve conflict. Whilst their calls for peace may seem idealistic to some, Quakers insist that their peace testimony is not merely about abstaining from violence. Instead it's about seeking a process that can lead to a different way of being in the world.

Jo Vallentine

Sometimes I've been called an armchair pacifist and I guess that's the case for a lot of us if we haven't actually suffered repression at the point of a gun. But I do think that it's important to be a witness.

We're called to be faithful, to be witnesses to what we know is true. We're called to be faithful to be witnesses to what we know is true. We're not necessarily called to be successful. And so we stand out there on street corners week after week saying non violence is the way, let's not go to war. Let's address the underlying causes of terrorism that is in front of everybody's minds at the moment. Let's look at what's behind all of that. Address those issues. We're never going to have peace without justice. So as well as being an idealist and saying well let's not have war, Quakers really put that into practice by looking at the underlying injustices

Peter Jones

Quakers don't deal with the concept of evil very well, and I'm acutely aware of that.

And I think it's something we really have to come to grips with.

I can understand why people turn to war. In many ways it's actually the easy option because it represents a black and white view of the world. I'm good you're bad. But the world isn't like that. It's different shades of grey, and all that war breeds is more hatred and more war. It's not the answer.

I think the problem for Quakers is we can warn about the conditions that create war. That is why we put the emphasis on equality and simplicity and the sharing of right resources and so on.

I think what a lot of Quakers are wrestling with today through groups like Peace Brigades International and the global peace force is trying to find some way of dealing with some of the dictatorships, some of the injustices in the world in a way to say we have got a non violent solution but we certainly don't claim to have an easy answer. War has never worked either.

Narr

Peter Jones believes that much of the conflict in the world today is shaped by a refusal to respect the beliefs of others.

Peter Jones

Probably the greatest evil facing the planet today is fundamentalism. It doesn't matter if it is Jewish fundamentalism, Christian fundamentalism, Hindu fundamentalism or Muslim fundamentalism. It is the position that simply says, I am right and you're all wrong, and I'm going to shove my religion down your throat whether you like it or not, and all the ideas that go with it.

And I teach comparative religion because I want students to understand that that's actually the opposite of what religion stands for.

So I take my students to the synagogue, I take them to Muslim prayer. I bring people to come and talk to the school. And we try and celebrate the festivals and Holi is one of the is one of the most fun loving joyous festivals in the Indian calendar because it is the spring festival. So I bought the power back with me from India. We filled the dust bins with water and we throw water over each other like one billion Indians are doing today.



Narr

As Peter Jones' religion class reinvents the Hindu spring festival of Holi, he sees it as just another small step that can build bridges to other faiths and peoples. Quaker numbers have always been small yet their influence considerable. They believe Quaker values lay the groundwork for a wider vision of society... The task of individual Quakers is to communicate their testimony by the way they live their lives.

Peter Jones

If you look through the history of the world, the only things that have made the world a better place are the little people who did little things. There's very few of us are going to be great leaders. But it's all those little cumulative acts.

The first women who demanded the vote, you know. The first trade unionists. The first people who demanded equality for black and white people, or spoke out against slavery. Those are the people who make the world go forward.

Ro Morrow

I think your lives need to speak. I think it's much more powerful than words.

Ends
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AWPS Gathering Hong Kong September 12 – 16 2018 – FWCCAWPS

AWPS Gathering Hong Kong September 12 – 16 2018 – FWCCAWPS




AWPS Gathering Hong Kong September 12 – 16 2018


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Gathering Epistle September 2018

Dear Friends,

Greetings to Friends everywhere from a warm hilltop with magnificent views in Hong Kong.

Between the 12thand 16thSeptember 2018, thirty-five Friends from the Section of the Asia West Pacific Region gathered on Cheung Chau Island, Hong Kong.

The group came together as a community, mindful of the great diversity of the Section and keen to explore what it means to be a Quaker in this part of the world (the theme of the gathering). The gathered group heard warm messages from Quakers across the region as these absent Friends expressed goodwill for the upcoming days of discussion and fellowship.

The focus on the first morning was the Quaker Testimonies with initial addresses setting out the philosophical and historical events which led to their establishment.

 Friends shared their experiences of the Quaker Testimonies, namely: Simplicity, Truth, Equality and Peace, (STEP) and Simplicity, Peace, Integrity, Community, Equality and Sustainability. (SPICES).

The testimonies guide the work of Friends worldwide – they encapsulate the unique perspective that Friends bring to issues and concerns. We shared how the testimonies are influencing our involvement in social action.

Friends were united in agreeing that Quakers ‘Live the Message’ and what is important is to return, through example, to the fundamentals of life and living. We found the sharing inspiring and despite the group’s diversity and varying cultural backgrounds, there emerged a common understanding, unique to Friends.

The importance of taking one’s time to answer became a powerful message as Friends reflected on giving time for the emotions to subside before speaking out.

Flute and guitar playing as well as singing offered us a renewed understanding of the universality of music and was much appreciated.

During the Business Meeting, there developed the strong awareness, that for the Asia West Pacific Section (AWPS) to serve the needs and priorities of the region there is much to be done. But it was agreed that this is time very well spent because AWPS enables Meetings throughout the region to contribute to the regional and global witness of Quakers. During business meetings we agreed processes to strengthen the section and put it on a firm foundation, both organisationally and financially.

Taking effective and just action on both mitigation and adaption to climate change is a key issue. We greatly appreciated and benefited from having the FWCC Sustainability Communications Officer with us. It helped us deeply consider climate change and the Quaker contribution to the urgent responses at local, regional and global level that are required.

The Quaker concern for justice and fairness to all brings an invaluable perspective to action. Climate change is a double injustice: it has been caused by actions that have benefited the affluent; while its adverse impacts fall most heavily on the poor and disadvantaged. A just response must recognise this.

While responding to climate change is challenging there are messages from the heart of the Quaker testimonies on simplicity, community and equality that speak to the changes required. Further, we can be joyful about making change as it supplies reason and opportunity to embrace and promote greater community engagement.

One Friend shared his settling in phrase wait, listen, trust and abide; this provided a fitting introduction to a deep and very personal session on Quaker relationships, their strengths and value. 

We arrived as a disparate group and very quickly developed a kindred spirit and felt the love deep down and all around. To listen to another person’s soul in a condition of disclosure and discovery may be the greatest service that any human being ever performs for another. (Douglas Steere)

The gathering had an unexpected extended period of fun and fellowship as we waited for a super typhoon to pass through and release us from our island home.



Ronald Titus
AWPS Clerk
Salesian Retreat Centre
Cheng Chau
Hong Kong

16 September 2018



“We commit to…radically changing the way of living – let us do so out of joy, celebration, reverence and a deep love of life.” Australian Friends Statement on Earthcare, 2008.

By Ronis Chapman|October 25th, 2018|Epistles and Reports, Recent Events|0 Comments

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Friends World Committee for Consultation - Wikipedia

Friends World Committee for Consultation - Wikipedia




Friends World Committee for Consultation
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The Friends World Committee for Consultation (FWCC) is a Quaker organisation that works to communicate between all parts of Quakerism. FWCC's world headquarters is in London.[1] It has General Consultative NGO status with the Economic and Social Councilof the United Nations[2] since 2002.[3] FWCC shares responsibility for the Quaker UN Office in Geneva and New York City[4] with the American Friends Service Committee[5]and Britain Yearly Meeting.[6]

FWCC was set up at the 1937 Second World Conference of Friends in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, US,


"to act in a consultative capacity to promote better understanding among Friends the world over, particularly by the encouragement of joint conferences and intervisitation, the collection and circulation of information about Quaker literature and other activities directed towards that end."[7]


Contents
1Structure
1.1Africa Section
1.2Asia West Pacific Section
1.3Europe and Middle East Section
1.4Section of the Americas
2FWCC triennials, conferences and international representatives meetings
3References
4External links

Structure[edit]

FWCC has four sections in addition to the world office in London:[8]
Africa Section, based in Nairobi, Kenya
Asia and West Pacific Section, based in Australia
Europe and Middle East Section, based in Histon, Cambridge, England
Section of the Americas, based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States

In addition every three years FWCC organizes an international Triennial. The triennials are attended by about 175 representatives, appointed by the almost 70 affiliated yearly meetings and groups aiming to provide links among Friends.[7] The 22nd Triennial was held in August 2007 in Dublin, Republic of Ireland, with the theme "Finding the Prophetic Voice for our Time".

Africa Section[edit]

Africa Section represents Friends throughout the continent of Africa. Most African Friends are from the evangelical and programmed traditions. However, a significant minority are from the unprogrammed tradition. South Africa Yearly Meeting is principally an unprogrammed Yearly Meeting and there are unprogrammed Meetings elsewhere in Africa, notably in Kenya. Africa Section is numerically the most numerous of the Sections and the administrative headquarters are in Nairobi, Kenya. The 2012 Friends World Conference was held in Kenya.

Asia West Pacific Section[edit]

Asia West Pacific Section (AWPS) is geographically the largest FWCC Section stretching from Japan in the north to New Zealand and Australia in the south and from the Philippines in the east to India in the west. Asia West Pacific Section is growing significantly and recently welcomed into Membership the Philippine Evangelical Friends Church, a Filipino programmed and evangelical Friends Meeting; Marble Rock Friends and Mahoba Yearly Meeting in India. Some AWPS Friends Meetings are numerically small, e.g. those in Korea and Hong Kong but nonetheless give generously to Friends work internationally and contribute a lot to the life of Friends. Other Friends Meetings in the Section are relatively large with several thousand Friends. The geographical area of the AWPS region includes numerically large Friends Meetings of the evangelical programmed tradition which have not as yet affiliated with FWCC, although friendly relations are maintained locally.

Europe and Middle East Section[edit]

Europe and Middle East Section (EMES) is numerically the smallest of the Quaker Sections but historically the oldest and is growing in former Eastern Bloc countries, though declining in so-called Western Europe countries. EMES includes Britain Yearly Meeting, the mother Meeting of Friends, being the heir to the former London Yearly Meeting. Britain Yearly Meeting's "Faith and Practice" or book of discipline is used by many Friends around the world as a guide to Friends' practices and procedures. Britain Yearly Meeting is the largest Meeting in the Section with approximately 16,000 Members, followed by Ireland Yearly Meeting with around 1,000 Members. Other Yearly Meetings in Europe are small, in some cases smaller than Monthly Meetings in Asia but retain the name and form of Yearly Meetings for historical reasons.

Friends have a long-standing presence in the Middle East and the Palestine, dating back to Ottoman times. For example, Friends School, Ramallah, is a noted educational centre and Friends are active in attempts to build peace at the grass roots in this troubled area. Britain Yearly Meeting's Quaker Peace and Social Witness (QPSW) is one of the significant international Friends agencies. The FWCC Quaker United Nations Office (QUNO) in Geneva is partly supported by Britain Yearly Meeting. Friends presence at the United Nations has engaged and continues to engage in much quiet diplomacy to reduce violence and build peace around the world. Friends House in Geneva is a quiet haven in a busy international city and hosts Geneva Meeting.

Section of the Americas[edit]

Section of the Americas is numerically the second largest section and includes Friends from all Friends traditions in both North and South America as well as in the Caribbean and Central America. Section of the Americas is officially bi-lingual in Spanish and English, though Canada Yearly Meeting also operates in both English and French. FWCC's other QUNO branch is located adjacent to the New York UN Building and is closely connected with the quasi-Quaker organisation American Friends Service Committee (AFSC). 

AFSC was founded by Friends and still has a substantially Friends Board of Trustees, however, only the Director of AFSC is required to be a Friend and the vast majority of AFSC staff, including senior staff, are not Friends and are not familiar with Friends worship or testimonies leading to some Friends' Meetings distancing themselves from AFSC and its activities. In 1947 the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Friends for 300 years of work for peace and received on behalf of Friends by AFSC and its London counterpart, the Friends Service Committee, now known as Quaker Peace and Social Witness. 

Approximately 160,000 Friends live in the USA and some 300,000 live in Latin America. US Friends are often relatively affluent whereas many Latin American Friends come from relatively impoverished and oppressed indigenous communities. As in Asia and Africa, in Latin America, Friends are a growing church. Section of the Americas Friends have a long history dating back to the mid-17th Century. Friends founded or helped found a number of the US States, notably Pennsylvania, named after distinguished 17th Century English Friend, William Penn; Rhode Island; New Jersey and Delaware all had substantial Friends' contributions in their founding. William Penn's constitutional documents for Pennsylvania formed an important and influential source for the later United States Constitution.[9] 

In the early colonial period Friends were persecuted in Massachusetts and New York. Friends also had a substantial impact in the early days of colonisation of the Caribbean, for example in the 17th century and early 18th century 25% of the population of Barbados was Friends. The history of suffering is a uniting factor with Latin American Friends, many of whom live in difficult circumstances and find living the transformative Peace Testimony a daily commitment.

It is difficult to speak about American Friends as a whole because they represent such a broad and diverse range of Friends traditions, however, it is a tribute to their commitment to Friends beliefs that they respect each other and work together.

FWCC triennials, conferences and international representatives meetings[edit]
LocationDateTheme

Mexico 1985 Profundizar Más = Digging deeper.[10]
New Mexico, USA August 1994 On being publishers of truth [11]
Birmingham, England July 1997 Answering the love of God : living our testimonies.[12]
New Hampshire, USA July 2000 “Friends: A People Called to Listen, Gathered to Seek, Sent Forth to Serve”
Aotearoa/New Zealand January 2004 “Being Faithful Witnesses: Serving God in a Changing World”.
Dublin, Ireland 11–19 August 2007 “Finding the Prophetic Voice for our Time”.[13]
Nakuru, Kenya 17–25 April 2012 “Being salt and Light: Friends living the Kingdom of God in a broken world”.[14]
Pisac, Peru 19–27 January 2016 “Living the Transformation: Creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the Children of God”.[15]

South Africa 2023 TBC


In 1991, the Fifth World Conference of Friends held on three sites—The Netherlands, Honduras and Kenya—replaced the usual Triennial meeting.

As noted above, the second World Conference took place in Pennsylvania in 1937. The first had been held in the U.K. in 1920. The third was held in Oxford, U.K. in 1952 and the fourth in Greensboro, North Carolina, U.S.A. in 1967. A World Conference was held near Nakuru in Kenya in 2012 in lieu of triennial gathering in 2010.[16] In future Plenary Meetings will be held every six to eight years and called International Representatives Meetings.

References[edit]

1. ^ "FWCC World office homepage". Fwccworld.org. 14 January 2011. Retrieved 2011-09-27.
2. ^ "ECOSOC database of NGOs". Un.org. Retrieved 2011-09-27.
3. ^ "United Nations Civil Society Participation (iCSO) – Friends World Committee for Consultation". esango.un.org. Retrieved 2016-07-17.
4. ^ "QUNO website". Quno.org. 14 February 2011. Retrieved 2011-09-27.
5. ^ QUNO Governance in New York Archived 16 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine
6. ^ "QUNO Governance in Geneva". Quno.org. Archived from the original on 26 September 2011. Retrieved 27 September 2011.
7. ^ Jump up to:a b "WIDER QUAKER WORLD | Ottawa Monthly Meeting". ottawa.quaker.ca. Retrieved 2016-06-21.
8. ^ "Contact | Friends World Committee for Consultation". www.fwccafrica.org. Retrieved 2016-07-17.
9. ^ "Frame Of Government Of Pennsylvania". Avalon Project.org. Retrieved 11 April 2011.
10. ^ Profundizar Más : ensayos para ayudar a los Amigos, y a las Juntas de los Amigos, a prepararse para la 16a asamblea Trienal del Comité Consultivo Mundial de los Amigos = Digging deeper : papers to assist Friends and Meetings prepare for the 16th Triennial Meeting of the FWCC]]. – Mexico : Friends World Committee for Consultation, 1985.
11. ^ On being publishers of truth : a discussion guide in preparation for the 18th Triennial Meeting of FWCC ... 1994 / prepared by Gordon M. Browne Jr. and Heather Moir. – London : Friends World Committee for Consultation, 1994
12. ^ Answering the love of God : living our testimonies : [documents, etc. from the] 19th Triennial Meeting, Friends World Committee for Consultation, Westhill College, Birmingham, England, 23–31 July 1997
13. ^ Website for Triennial 2007 Archived 4 July 2007 at the Wayback Machine and official Blog.
14. ^ "Welcome to the World Conference website | World Conference of Friends 2012". Saltandlight2012.org. 2012-04-25. Retrieved 2014-02-15.
15. ^ "Website for World Plenary Meeting 2016". Retrieved 2016-02-10.
16. ^ Minutes of the 2007 Triennial, website cited above.

External links[edit]
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퀘이커 서울모임 자유게시판 Advices and queries

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퀘이커 서울모임 자유게시판입니다. 자유게시판은 무삭제원칙으로 운영됩니다. 단, 상업적인 글과 인격을 모독하는 글은 글쓴이의 동의없이 삭제합니다. 전체 885개 - 현재 1/59 쪽 885   모임 관심 은별엄마 2018-10-20 125 884      모임 관심 관리자 2018-10-25 161 883   정재영님 답변 Adam 2018-08-03 181 882   문의합니다. ... [1] 정재영 2018-07-31 188 881   퀘이커부산모임 ... [1] Adam 2018-07-21 185 880   모임은 언제 있습니까? ... [1] 민들레 2018-06-28 181 879      모임은 언제 있습니까? ... [1] 퀘이커서울모 2018-06-29 220 878   강연회 Adam 2018-06-15 158 877   함석헌 선생님 탄신 117주년 기념식 및 강연회 초대 함석헌기념사 2018-03-16 213 876   Advices and queries Adam 2018-01-15 273 875   Quaker Faith & Practice ... [1] fifth edition 2018-01-03 311 874   모임에 참석해보고 싶습니다. ... [1] JSG 2017-08-10 525 873   정기모임에 대해서 문의드립니다... ... [3] 친구 2017-06-10 558 872   박양수친우님의 '이단의 경제학' 축하 ... [1] 권술용 2017-02-21 595 871   100만명은 왜 하나처럼 행동했나/ 권술용 2016-11-21 1030 [맨처음] .. [이전] 1 [2] [3] [4] [5] [다음] .. [마지막]                  제목                 이름                 내용

Quakers in Seoul, from my archives | Ruined for Life: Phoenix Edition

Quakers in Seoul, from my archives | Ruined for Life: Phoenix Edition

Quakers in Seoul, from my archives

Posted on October 10, 2011

Today I finally went to my first Quaker meeting. I’ve been curious about them since my cousin Rick told me about their lobbying work and website, both of which I feel are terrific tools for social justice.

Since my friend Bill left Seoul, I don’t want to bother going all the way up to Songbuk-dong to the English mass that’s rather old fashioned. After mass there’s this awkward social time when people gather outside and mingle. The men flock together, the white “soccer moms” flock together and the women of other races flock together. It’s this weird grouping after church that bugs me. Also, the soccer mom group feels so uninviting since I’m not married, even though with a degree and interest in children’s education I can contribute to their conversation. When Bill lived here I could join the men’s group, where there was more interesting talk without being perceived as a hussy. (It’s all so ridiculous.)

We have mass at Sogang in Korean every Sunday, but that’s hard to follow. (Impossible.) Twice a month there’s English mass, a new event, and I’ve been going there and am satisfied. Yet I thought I’d see what the Quakers were like to fill out the other 2 Sundays a month.

I went with Linda, who’d been before. When we arrived there were a few people (say 5) quietly sitting and we joined their circle. Then more people came in quietly. At 11 we started to meditate without any direction or discussion. That continued for 50 minutes. Evidently in the U.S. latecomers aren’t permitted, but here stragglers, noisy ones, kept coming even at 11:40.

At 11:50 one man started reading something in Korean. Fine. That wasn’t translated so I have no idea what it was about. Then an American man started speaking. He said, “You know it’s really hard to talk to you people.” The tone was tense and full of simmering frustration, perhaps even hostility. He sort of rambled. Perhaps he didn’t want to upset anyone. Yet he was clearly upset. He talked about the concept of covenent. That it’s like a promise, but stronger. He wanted to convey that if you join a religious group you enter into a convenent agreeing to be willing to let that religion or faith or group change you rather than you changing it. I can see his point, though I don’t agree completely. I think sometimes you might have a responsibility to change it. All this would depend on how long you’ve been in the group and what you tried to change. Dealing in such generalities is meaningless anyway.

Someone proceeded to translate.

Then a Korean man commented that this was his second time there and he thought the service would benefit from changing the format so that they read more scripture. Aha! I see what the first guy was talking about. The main thrust (for a few centuries) of Quakers is the silent, communal worship. Here some new guy who doesn’t know much about the tradition saying, “Change your ways ‘cuz that’s how my church does it.”

There wasn’t any discussion, just more silence. Linda asked if they had a query for the month. Evidently, the tradition is to offer a query at the start of every month as something for individuals to meditate on.
In 1682, London Yearly Meeting started asking representatives from quarterly and monthly meetings a number of factual questions on Friends and their activities. In the 1700s, these questions were revised to allow them to be used to ensure consistency of conduct among Friends as well as the reporting on the state of the Society. In 1833, they were rewritten and expanded to emphasize evangelical principles and to encourage Friends to consider whether they should not adopt them personally.
Further revisions and extensions took place every 20 – 40 years. The present text was approved by London (now Britain) Yearly Meeting in 1994 (English Quakers)
Here’s a few examples:1 “If pressure is brought upon you to lower your standard of integrity, are you prepared to resist it? Our responsibilities to God and our neighbour may involve us in taking unpopular stands. Do not let the desire to be sociable, or the fear of seeming peculiar, determine your decisions.”
Advices and Queries, 1994, No.38

2 We are subject to all the persuasive powers of commerce and are influenced by family, friends and neighbours. Take time to understand yourself, your real needs and your true potential. Try to bring all your actions in line with this understanding and your knowledge of the world around you.

3 “Try to live simply. A simple lifestyle freely chosen is a source of strength. Do not be persuaded into buying what you do not need or cannot afford. Do you keep yourself informed about the effects your style of living is having on the global economy and environment?” (ibid)
Interesting points to ponder.

One guy perked up at Linda’s question and said that would be nice if they went back to that tradition. No one commented further. My guess is the current group consists of some anti-query types.

The service was sort of falling apart. Lots of tense, disappointed quiet, so Linda and I left and went out to lunch.

From October, 2006