Quakers share a way of life, rather than a set of beliefs. We seek to experience God directly, within ourselves and in our relationships with others and the world around us. These direct encounters with the divine (however defined) are where Quakers find meaning and purpose. Quaker faith is a search for truth, not an arrival.
We don’t have a fixed creed because we have found that the search for truth can lead us to new expressions of values as well as confirming existing ones. We call these values ‘testimonies’. Today we focus on simplicity, peace, truth, equality and environmental sustainability and how they relate to one another.
Quaker worship
Quaker meetings for worship can be held anywhere, at any time. Every meeting begins in silence. We use it to open ourselves to the wisdom that comes out of stillness. It enriches us and shapes us, individually and collectively.
“We need no mass for to teach us, and we need not your common prayer, for the Spirit that gave forth the scriptures teacheth us how to pray, sing, fast, and to give thanks… The true faith changeth not, which is the gift of God, and a mystery held in a pure conscience… Our faith, our church, our unity in the Spirit, and our Word, at which we tremble, was in the beginning before your church-made faiths, and our unity, church and fellowship will stand when they are all ended.”
George Fox
Quaker faith in action
Quakers live out our testimonies in the world, as illustrated in this 3-minute video.