Sharing our faith as a liberal Yearly Meeting

Rachel Malloch, Clerk of Quaker World Relations Committee looks at the challenges of sharing Britain Yearly Meeting’s Quaker experience with other Friends, and how her committee facilitates this delicate but vital work.

Since its emergence in Puritan England in the 17th century, Quakerism in Britain has changed a great deal. So has our cultural landscape.

What would George Fox think if he came to our meetings for worship today?

He would find us engaged with the world and a respected part of society, a far cry from the position of early Friends.

He would find us more diverse in our beliefs, drawing inspiration from many religious sources.

We have shifted towards acceptance of more liberal views both on theology and on social issues.

George Fox might ask some searching questions about the ground of our faith, but he would have no problem with our engagement with the testimonies, for example in our work for peace and justice and our radical thinking on the environment.

George Fox himself travelled widely and contributed to the spread of Quakerism around the world, where it has evolved in different directions. There are meetings in the USA where George Fox would feel totally comfortable and others where he might be on his feet reminding the pastor of his personal experience of the Spirit that inspired the Bible.

We in Britain Yearly Meeting (BYM) encounter the worldwide variety of Quaker belief and practice in many ways, one being the epistles received from other yearly meetings. Some of these inspire us, some challenge us, and a few upset us. The recent focus on differing attitudes to homosexuality represents an encounter of the third kind.

BYM receives these records of the life and service of other yearly meetings because we – and they – are affiliated to Friends World Committee for Consultation. FWCC is an umbrella body that facilitates exchange of ideas, discussion of common concerns, and the building of Friendships.

Quaker World Relations Committee (QWRC) fosters relationships with members of FWCC on behalf of BYM.

QWRC acts as a channel of communication, informing British Friends about Quakers around the world, and Quakers elsewhere about the life of BYM. QWRC helps visitors from overseas who attend our Yearly Meeting. QWRC offers support to the British Friends who represent BYM at Quaker gatherings around the world. Our closest links are with Friends across Europe and the Middle East, where BYM is able to offer its resources and experience to support new and emerging Quaker groups. QWRC is looking ahead to the next major international Quaker gathering, in Kenya in 2012, and working to increase our knowledge and understanding of the diversity found among Quakers.

The differences we discover are not superficial, they go to the heart of what it means to be a Quaker. An extensive range of answers is found worldwide, from embracing all spiritual writings to relying on the Bible, from silent waiting in the Light to a pastor-led service with choir, from a liberal commitment to change the world to an evangelical conviction to save souls.

So what do we have in common? A recognition of the presence of the Spirit in each of us, the testimonies, the Quaker business method, all expressed uniquely within different cultures.

Can we all be Quakers? Yes indeed, we can all be Friends. Making Friends enables us to “know one another in the things which are eternal”. Taking the risk to be open may mean being upset by beliefs we discover, or being challenged by those who think we have lost touch with the roots of Quakerism. But it is inspiring too, so if you are offered an opportunity to meet Friends from another yearly meeting, take it! Join in with QWRC at the Yearly Meeting Gathering in 2009, when we hope to offer a programmed meeting for worship with an African-style choir, which will have rehearsed during the week.

Rachel Malloch,
Clerk of Quaker World Relations Committee