Quaker Faith and Practice: The Book of Christian Discipline of the Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in Britain

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Care to be taken “for the families and goods of such as are called forth in the ministry, or are imprisoned for the Truth’s sake; that no creature be lost for want of caretakers.” Rather, they are a gift of “patterns and examples,” as George Fox charged all Friends to be. They demonstrate convincingly that real men and women, like us, have opened themselves to the Spirit of God and have been enabled to carry that holy spirit into daily life, no matter what situations they found themselves in. Tâche de vivre simplement. Un style de vie choisi librement donne de la force. Ne sois pas persuadé d’acheter ce dont tu n’as pas besoin ou qui dépasse ton budget. Te tiens-tu informé des effets de ton style de vie sur l’économie et l’environnement global?

Do you try to set aside times of quiet for openness to the Holy Spirit? All of us need to find a way into silence which allows us to deepen our awareness of the divine and to find the inward source of our strength. Seek to know an inward stillness, even amid the activities of daily life. Do you encourage in yourself and in others a habit of dependence on God’s guidance for each day? Hold yourself and others in the Light, knowing that all are cherished by God. Faith & Practice was created by Canadian Yearly Meeting to provide support, guidance and growth to the spiritual lives of Canadian Friends. By serving as a reference of our values, witness and tradition, the book connects our small community spread across a large country. Revision isn't just a case of looking at the current book and changing the odd word here and there, adding a section or two about new topics, and removing anything that seems outdated. It also won't be an exercise (as suggested in some media coverage) of going through and crossing out every reference to God! Early Friends experienced a transforming power when they found their Inward Teacher. Francis Howgill, an early Friend, tells of the sense of the “Lord of heaven and earth…near at hand…We came to know a place to stand in and what to wait in, and the Lord appeared daily to us, to our astonishment, amazement, and great admiration, insomuch that we often said one unto another with great joy of heart: ‘What, is the Kingdom of God come to be with men?’ ”

We know that we want a book which can speak and be accessible to all present and future Quakers. We want something that builds on the work and spiritual insight of previous generations. And this is the comfort of the good, that the grave cannot hold them, and that they live as soon as they die. For death is no more than a turning of us over from time to eternity. Death, then, being the way and condition of life, we cannot love to live, if we cannot bear to die. Faith & Practice forms one half of our Book of Discipline – the other half being Organization & Procedure, a guide to Canadian Yearly Meeting’s structure and processes. Both volumes are usually printed with “Advices & Queries,” a beloved set of counsel and questions worth pondering, which you can read below. There is also a Study Guide to Faith & Practice.

That leads us to the second key principle, our belief in continued revelation. In the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament, we read many stories of God communicating directly with people. Friends believe God’s revelations have never stopped, and that God might reach out to any one of us at any time. When Quakers come together to meet for silent worship, we participate in a shared space in which we strive to become better able, and help each other become better able, to recognize such divine messages. (We’ll have more to say about exactly what happens at Quaker meetings a few questions further in.) Chapter 16: Changes to chapter 16 – Quaker marriage procedure – were approved by Yearly Meeting 2015. Our Advices and Queries caution us to avoid provocative or hurtful language. Friends today have recognized that this admonition has relevance for words relating to gender, especially when used in religious writing. In this Faith and Practice book, a product of the twenty-first century, effort has been made to select extracts that avoid gender-exclusive language or, where necessary, provide clearly indicated modifications. However, it would be distorting the honest intentions of Friends living in past centuries to alter their words in quotations that have become well known and loved. In a similar spirit, the decision was occasionally made to retain an unusual language usage where it was clearly the product of an author’s deeply held conviction. In February 2019, 24 Friends were appointed to be the Book of Discipline Revision Committee (BDRC). We have a great mix of people with different lives, ages and experiences of Quakerism. Do you take part as often as you can in meetings for church affairs? Are you familiar enough with our church government to contribute to its disciplined processes? Do you consider difficult questions with an informed mind as well as a generous and loving spirit? Are you prepared to let your insights and personal wishes take their place alongside those of others or be set aside as the meeting seeks the right way forward? If you cannot attend, uphold the meeting prayerfully.

Instead it is an opportunity to start afresh. What do we want our book of discipline to be? What would be useful and helpful and inspirational to include? How should the physical book interact with modern technological options? How can the revision process and its results help us on our shared spiritual path? In former years a book expressing the faith and practice of a Friends Yearly Meeting would probably have been entitled “Book of Discipline.” Indeed, “Discipline” is the generic term that is still used. In Quaker usage, the word “discipline,” which is related to “disciple,” has grown from the root meaning of learning. Thus, a Book of Discipline enables us, if we are willing, to learn to live as Friends, individually and corporately. As Quakers have no fixed creed, we need ways of maintaining ourselves as a community. In Britain we use Do you cherish your friendships, so that they grow in depth and understanding and mutual respect? In close relationships we may risk pain as well as finding joy. When experiencing great happiness or great hurt we may be more open to the working of the Spirit. It is good to be reminded that even trying to discern works for us as it brings our spirit closer to God. I don’t think of God as something with personal attributes, so I don’t feel forgiven by God when I make mistakes, but I can feel the spirit of God working in others when they forgive me for making mistakes.

The revision should draw on the richness of theological thought in our yearly meeting, now and historically, seeing diversity as fundamental to our community, not as a flaw. QFP = Quaker Faith and Practice (London: Britain Yearly Meeting, Religious Society of Friends, 1995) The walls of the prison are constantly dissolving as relationships are formed out of little more than the mutual presence of two individuals who are open to the mediation of an Eternal Listener, if only for a short time. Seventy-five years ago, the work of Friends on issues of peace, social justice and humanitarian relief led to the formation of the Canadian Friends Service Committee. Since its founding this service arm of Friends in Canada has extended its concerns to include solidarity with aboriginal peoples, support for refugees, international concerns of development and peace and abolition of the death penalty.

Membership in the Religious Society of Friends is offered to those who wish to share in the search for divine guidance, according to the manner of Friends. Meeting in worship, Friends gather to experience communion with God. Believing that God speaks directly to each person, worshippers are listeners, ready to receive God’s message. The call to a vocal ministry may come to any worshipper. Membership in the Society of Friends includes the responsibility of attending meetings for worship and for business, sharing in the religious life of Friends, and in the practical expression of our religious faith through our care for each other and service to the wider community. The early statements of the Society’s corporate witness set the basic principles of the Peace Testimony and served to distinguish Quakers from those suspected of plotting to overthrow the established authorities. That’s how we learn to say, “Oops! That wasn’t right. I/We made a mistake. Let’s try again.” That’s why we call our process “experiments with truth.” We have to act with the light we have and see what happens. We also need to remember that God is merciful, present with us whether we are faithful or not. We have experience of couples in same-sex relationships that are bringing up children in the same loving way we would expect any family we know to do. “Love makes a family.” We strongly object to statements by some religious groups that it is harmful to children to be brought up in same-sex families. Children and young people need love and stability. Are we doing all we can to uphold and sustain parents and others who carry the responsibility for providing this care?

The fundamental elements of their advice are still vital to our practice although three and a half centuries have passed: Early Friends testified against the extravagance and snobbery of English society in their times and turned away from the superfluities of society to wait in stillness on God. They were as concerned as we are that lives too full of triviality and mediocrity overburden and distract us from the essential, the positive, the simple truth that we are children of God, and that the first thing we have to do is love God with all our heart and mind and strength. The Religious Society of Friends is rooted in Christianity and has always found inspiration in the life and teachings of Jesus. How do you interpret your faith in the light of this heritage? How does Jesus speak to you today? Are you following Jesus’ example of love in action? Are you learning from his life the reality and cost of obedience to God? How does his relationship with God challenge and inspire you? We do not own the world, and its riches are not ours to dispose of at will. Show a loving consideration for all creatures, and seek to maintain the beauty and variety of the world. Work to ensure that our increasing power over nature is used responsibly, with reverence for life. Rejoice in the splendour of God’s continuing creation. The committee has announced that it hopes to present the complete draft text to Yearly Meeting 2027. Read on for this story of how we got to this point.Take time to learn about other people’s experiences of the Light. Remember the importance of the Bible, the writings of Friends and all writings which reveal the ways of God. As you learn from others, can you in turn give freely from what you have gained? While respecting the experiences and opinions of others, do not be afraid to say what you have found and what you value. Appreciate that doubt and questioning can also lead to spiritual growth and to a greater awareness of the Light that is in us all. We agree that the time is right to start revising our book of discipline. We embrace and rejoice in this decision. Regular revision is an intrinsic part of who we are as a Religious Society of Friends. We are responsible for what we eat, wear and use. To paraphrase John Woolman: Let us be open to discern how the seeds of destruction of our planet are present in our ways of living.