Quaker Universalist Fellowship
The Quaker Universalist Fellowship is an informal gathering of persons who cherish the spirit of universality that has always been intrinsic to the Quaker faith. We acknowledge and respect the diverse spiritual experience of those within our own meetings as well as of the human family worldwide; we are enriched by our conversation with all who search sincerely. We affirm the unity of God's creation.
QUF provides resources and opportunities that educate and invite members and attenders to experience, individually and corporately, God's living presence, and to discern and follow God's leadings. QUF reaches out to seekers and to other religious bodies inside and outside the wider Religious Society of Friends.
QUF pamphlets include introspective pieces from renowned Friends, historical overviews and incisive book reports. Read about universalism in other cultures, and the effort to include all peoples. As QUF continues to put ever more content online, the Quaker Library will grow to become a great collection of contemporary Quaker writings.
Scanning and posting these pamphlets on the Quaker Universalist site is an on-going project, and new pamphlets will be added to this website from time to time. You can be notified when additions are made by sending email to webmaster@pamphlets.quaker.org
QUF is pleased to reprint a chapter from the book Models of Revelationwritten by the then Father Dulles. This distinguished Catholic theologian reveals, through meticulous scholarship, the various positions on Divine revelation taken by both Protestants and Catholics and the "inbuilt tension between particularism and universalism." Cardinal Dulles is the first American theologian named to the College of Cardinals. (1985)
One of four panelists speaking on Quaker "theology" at the 1986 FGC Gathering, Dan traces the universalist strain in Quakerism and reflects on ways to truly share our religious unity. (1986)
Defines the reality of Quaker universalism and reviews the opportunities for the Fellowship to become a reconciling and enriching group among Friends. (1988)
QUF was given an opportunity to truly listen with open hearts to the variety of ways that some of their fellow Friends, from a wide range of theological perspectives, give structure to their lives. (1990)
Herb Walters has taken his Listening Project successfully to areas of racial, ethnic, and cultural conflict. Here he recounts some of the methods and results of the increasingly used "Listening" to bring seemingly opposed "sides" to mutual understanding and reconciliation. (1990)
Elizabeth lovingly shares her life's spiritual experiences particularly as she made her pilgrimages to Israel, India and Greece. She found that the journey to universalism is a journey to the universe. (1991)
A Reflection on the Practice of Goddess Spirituality in New York Yearly Meeting From the Perspective of a Universalist Friend
by Daniel Seeger.
This is a thoughtful account of events that started with a women's weekend at Powell House (NYYM's conference center) and ended at that year's Yearly Meeting sessions. Seeger consulted with the Friends involved and has noted where their perspectives differed from his. QUF is indeed privileged to be able to publish this important document.
Four Perspectives
Tom Ceresini, Mickey Edgerton, Al Roberts and Sally Rickerman heeded the comment made by a non-English-speaking American Indian, listening to John Woolman, "I love to hear where the words come from." Sharing the wide variety of religious experience which shaped each's faith, all present were able to hear the Spirit and not let words interfere with deep understanding. (1992)
Gwyn tells of his concern that Friends need focus to "...reclaim the unique Christian spirituality of Quakerism as the shared core of our faith." Here he distinguishes between personal faith and shared witness, rejoicing in the light shining in lives of other religionists. (1992)
QUF takes great pride in presenting a 1663 Quaker tract which 'argues' for the authenticity of inward experience. This pamphlet also has a summary by Rufus Jones in its preface. The Epilogue reports on newly discovered connections between Quakers, the Collegiants and Spinosa. (1663, 1992)
During a time of mental illness, Knudsen-Hoffman explored the relationship between religion and psychological health. Insights gained and meaningful meditations from Quakerism, Zen Buddhism and Hasidic Judaism are shared with readers. (1994)
John summarizes for Friends the testimony of John Woolman about his rich and varied prayer life. He also helps us understand how it moved from direct prayer to living the spirit of prayer. (1994)
This view of Quakerism -- as a body defined by its form of worship, the quality of its community, and its service to the world is presented by a presiding clerk, who later became secretary of Australia Yearly Meeting. He states that Quakerism is "centered toward a God not cramped by definitions which will satisfy some and estrange others." (1971, 1995)
Given at Guilford College's 1953 Ward Lecture, Cadbury's exposition of the Quaker approach is today still germaine to Friends as he carries on a long tradition. The first evidence of the 'distinctive' was first seen by Samuel Fisher, deemed by some as the most radical Biblical scholar of the 17th century. (1953, 1996)
by Daniel A. Seeger
Dan uses John 15:15 to explore his own relationship to and with Jesus and how it effects his universalism. He points out many of the "unresolvable dichotomies ... innate to humankind’s spiritual quest" and the overwhelming unifying quality of love. (1997)
As we look today at the world-wide wave of fundamentalism and see the way it threatens to divide both the world and the Religious Society of Friends, many of Morgan's insights speak to us with fresh conviction. (1954, 1998)
The author looks back on her journey as a Quaker universalist -- from her ancestral roots in 17th-century Quakerism, to her family's experiences on the American frontier, to her own being a 20th-century Friend by both "nature and nurture". She also reflects on her perceptions of Quakerism and the leadings that have drawn her into working for QUF. (1999)
QUF is privileged to be able to present Sells' sensitive translations of ten of the suras (chapters) of the Qur'an. This gives our readers an opportunity to understand more fully and to appreciate the universality and beauty of the Islamic message. (2001)
These three essays give the experiential reflections of three authors on the meaning of Meeting for Worship to each of them from a universalist perspective. (2001)
QUF has edited selections from this bood, originally published privately in 1983. This is a small collection of meditations on science, nature, humankind and God. Schmoe was a concerned Friend, a dedicated environmentalist and an active peacemaker. (2001)
The Quaker Universalist Fellowship is happy to make available to 21st-century readers a manifesto addressed by George Fox to the Parliament of England in the year 1659 and not reprinted since that time. We are particularly grateful to Larry Ingle for supplying an introduction that explains this long neglect and sets the pamphlet in historical perspective.(2002)
A Survey of 199 Nontheist Friends by David Rush
This pamphlet was published last year in the United Kingdom as Number 11 of The Woodbrooke Journal. Rush surveyed nearly 200 Quakers, both in Europe and in America. In this report he presents not only his analysis but direct quotations from theist and non-theist Friends alike. (2004)
Two Essays By David Boulton
Was Gerrard Winstanley a Quaker? Did he have any direct connection with Quakers? Did George Fox read his books and pamphlets, and was he influenced by them? These questions—the first two, at least—were asked in the seventeenth century, and have been asked again by historians and scholars in the twentieth.
