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Norman Friends Meeting - Quakers

When:	Sundays at 10:00 A.M. - 11:00 A.M. for silent (unprogrammed) worship.
Where:
	Episcopal Student Building , St. Anselm of Canterbury
	800 Elm Street (one block north of Lindsey)
	Parking Available in the OU lot across the street

Who are the Quakers?

While Quakers are rooted historically in Christian tradition, we began as a reaction against established church practices, and today's Quakers come from a variety of backgrounds. Ours is a non-dogmatic spiritual path. We have no orthodoxies to define, no creeds to defend, and no test of faith. In all things, we seek the guidance of the Light Within. Quakers believe that the same Spirit or Inner Light that inspired sacred traditions and writings throughout history continues to work in the lives of individuals today.

Quaker Worship

Quaker worship is a little difficult to explain to someone accustomed to church services centered on creed and ritual. Because we believe that the “Inner Light” is accessible to all, we have no clergy or hierarchy. Instead Friends seek the guidance that comes from the experience of collective worship. In unprogrammed meetings like ours, Quakers gather together in attentive silence, each seeking direction for our lives and our actions. At times the silence may be broken by brief messages of vocal ministry from any person present. This unique style of worship is at the heart of the Quaker experience.

Quakers are a society of friends who seeks to encourage one another along a spiritual path which affirms the potential of every person to connect with the central mystery that lies at the heart of the human experience. Some call this mystery “God”, some the “Inner Light”, some “Spirit”, and some prefer not to name it at all. What we all share is the common conviction that there is “that of God” in each of us, and that it can be known through direct personal experience. This experience guides us through life and opens our consciousness to a growing awareness of the unity of all human beings. The fruits of this process have found outward expression in certain principles referred to as our Quaker Testimonies.

Quaker Testimonies

An old Quaker story tells of a puzzled newcomer's question, “when does the service begin?' “When the meeting for worship ends,” came the reply. Not believing in creeds, Quakers developed “testimonies”, that are a set of principles used to guide one's life. Some of the primary ones are:

Integrity What is integrity but another word for truthfulness? Quakers strive to put truth, honesty and integrity into practice in their daily lives, in dealings with others, and in the internal conversations they have with themselves.

Equality The conviction that the presence of the divine dwells within each person has led to a radical commitment to human equality within Quakerism. Regardless of race, religion, gender, age, sexual orientation, or economic status, all people are deserving of respect and dignity. Quakers have often been at the forefront of important social movements including humane treatment of prisoners and the mentally ill, abolition of slavery, and equal rights for women and gays.

Simplicity A voluntary simplicity of life is central to the Quaker Way . Mental and material clutter destroys peace of mind and distracts us from the spiritual values by which we seek to live. Even more so, in a world of limited and shrinking resources, our luxuries may deny others of their necessities, creating poverty, want, and war.

Peace Of all the testimonies identified with Quakers, the peace testimony is perhaps the best known and most controversial. The Society of Friends is committed to non-violence as the method of dealing with conflict on both a personal and societal level. In the three centuries of their existence, Quakers have given the world a powerful and consistent witness to peace and non-violence. Individual Quakers have often accepted persecution and imprisonment rather than take up arms. Friends reject the notion that violence is an inevitable element of the human condition. The quest for peace will always begin within the individual human heart and with the knowledge that peace is more than simply the absence of violence, it is also the presence of justice, tolerance, equity, and love.

“Let your lives speak” –– George Fox

Stewardship

Stewardship of our natural and economic resources is an emerging testimony that unites many of our Quaker ideals. Our faith gives us a direct call to action. We must protect our natural environment and live simply so that all people may share in the earth's bounty. Economic justice is the prerequisite of peace.

Activities

1. Fellowship: Monthly potluck dinners are held after meeting for worship with attention to business.

2. Spiritual Growth: Monthly evening sessions for discussion are held in homes.

3. Inclusiveness: We have taken several steps to assure the public at large as well as the GLBTQ community that we are a welcoming and affirming place to worship.

4. Annual ecumenical event, Evening of Prayers for Peace: We invited all religious entities in Norman that we could identify to participate in an ecumenical Evening of Prayers for Peace. St. John’s Episcopal Church agreed to open their church for the event that was held on Wednesday, 6 October 2010. Sixteen groups made brief presentations before offering a prayer for peace to a nearly full sanctuary. It was a deeply moving evening. A committee is preparing plans to create a similar event in 2011.

5. Educational campaign promoting reform of Oklahoma’s incarceration policies: Oklahoma incarcerates women at a rate higher than any other state and twice the national average. Most of the women are there for non-violent crimes. We began a public education campaign about the unparalleled incarceration rate of women in Oklahoma and the tragic impact this practice has on their children. This was done in 2010 with a display table and tent set up at University of Oklahoma home football games, Norman fairs, and art events and the Oklahoma City Peace Festival. Our meeting put on a workshop on incarceration for the Arkansas-Oklahoma Winter Quarterly Meeting and repeated it at SCYM meeting in April. Norman Meeting will also sponsor at the 2011 FGC Gathering in Grinnell Iowa, an interest group session entitled “Mass incarceration, where do Quakers stand?” Future efforts by our Meeting on this topic are being planned and overseen by a committee.

6. Student Group on OU Campus: Norman Friends Meeting supports a student group that is officially recognized by the University. Calling itself Friends and Friends, it is open to all regardless of religious affiliation. It seeks to follow Quaker practice in organizing its activities.

7. Quaker witnesses: We set up a Quaker Earthcare Witness table and display at past Oklahoma Sustainability Conferences. We are the state coordinator for American Friends Service Committee's "Eyes Wide Open Exhibit" that promotes awareness of the human cost of our current wars.

Contact us

Clerk, Dorothy Foster 405-321-7971

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