What is Quakerism?

My protagonist in Speaking of Murder, Lauren Rousseau, is a Quaker. I just happen to be one, too. This means I am a member of the Religious Society of Friends.

I have found over the years that there is a certain lack of common knowledge about who Quakers are. No, we're not the celibate Shakers, nor the Ludditely Amish or Mennonites. Or a guy who markets oatmeal in an old-fashioned hat.

Friends have a long history - over 350 years - and much has been written about them. George Fox founded the Society of Friends in England, and it soon spread to America.

The branch of Friends that I belong to and the Meeting I attend feature unprogrammed worship. This means simply that we sit in silence together on pews in a beautiful and simple Meetinghouse built more than 150 years ago (photos by Ed Mair). We sit in expectant waiting, listening for a message from the Light.

Friends are a tolerant bunch and, while it is at base a Christian faith, no one is quizzed on their individual belief system. One might be listening for a message from God, another for a message from Spirit, another for a message from within, and another might be mindfully meditating. All are welcome. If someone feels moved to share a message, she or he stands, speaks, and then sits.

That's it. We have First Day School for the children, fellowship and refreshments, and a monthly business meeting. We hold peace vigils as well as social potlucks.

The five Testimonies guide our lives:

• Simplicity
• Equality
• Integrity
• Peace
• Community

Quakers believe there is that of God in each person, which leads to the core and strength of the Testimonies. We have no minister because we all minister to each other. We believe in peace and non-violence because we are all equal. Living simply frees us to help others.

Historically, Friends have been rabble-rousers in the name of peace and equality. Mary Dyer was hung on the Boston Common in 1660 for preaching Quakerism. John Woolman traveled the American colonies urging people to give up their slaves. John Greenleaf Whittier, the poet and abolitionist, was on the building committee of the Amesbury Meeting, where I am a member. Many modern Friends have been conscientious objectors in time of war. See my earlier post on this topic, too.
I came to Friends as an adult. I find that quiet individual worship in community suits me, as do the Testimonies. Being a Quaker seems to suit Lauren, too. It's not for everyone, though. I knew someone raised as a high Episcopalian and he really couldn't handle all the silence. When I visited his church, I couldn't take all the busyness!

Did you know what Quakerism meant? If you have ever sat in silent Meeting for Worship, how was it for you?

On Early Quaker Activism

Lauren Rousseau, the protagonist in Speaking of Murder, is member of the Religious Society of Friends, also known as Quakers. I also happen to be a long-time Friend. I've been reading the journal of John Woolman recently and have been much inspired. Woolman was an early American Quaker activist, who ventured forth from Philadelphia (a hotbed of Quakers) to visit neighboring colonies as part of his personal ministry. Many of the beliefs that he described in 1760 resonate even today.

Woolman spoke for equality and counseled against slavery. He felt that that if those who had much would live more simply, the oppressed would not have to work so hard. He refused first-class passage on a ship to England because the luxury had been created on the backs of others. He wore a natural-dyed hat so that hat makers wouldn't have to work with toxic dyes (and then worried about how others would view his 'singularity' in wearing it).

Woolman strived that the way he lived his life would be in alignment with his spiritual beliefs. One of the things he did to earn a living was writing wills. But when a client wanted to leave his slaves to his children, Woolman refused to write that section of the will and tried to gently persuade the owner to instead free the slaves. He was never condemning, never angry, always patient. And always firm.

I admire Woolman's spirit and, frankly, his bravery. I know I could be doing more to stand up for my own beliefs and the Quaker testimonies of peace, simplicity, equality, and integrity in public and in my dealings with the government. I do a pretty good job in my personal life, but John Woolman never limited himself to that sphere. Does Lauren Rousseau? How do you live out your personal beliefs in the public domain?