Quaker Quest is Revitalizing Media Friends Meeting
Image, its ten o’clock at night and the meeting house is alive and abuzz with Friends and visitors talking about the faith and practice of Quakers. Imagine that dozens of visitors have been coming for six weeks in a row to hear about the personal beliefs of individual Quakers, and to experience our unique form of worship for the very first time. What’s all the buzz about? It’s about Quaker Quest, a spiritual path for our time that is simple, vibrant, and contemporary.
Luis Ramos, a member of Media Friends Meeting, puts it this way, “I feel honor and joy about our Quaker Quest sessions. I feel honored to hear the journeys of our fellow members, and to hear their messages. Quaker meetings are inspired by what others have to share. When others share deeply from the heart, deeply from a place of quiet honesty, there is community. We come together to hear messages in community. We hear God through you, and your messages will live forever in my heart.”
What is Quaker Quest? Simply put, Quaker Quest is an outreach program designed to appeal to people who are curious about Quakers, or who are seeking a spiritual community. The program features three speakers, small group discussion, a brief introduction to the Religious Society of Friends and our testimonies, an abbreviated meeting for worship, and plenty of time for questions, conversation, and fellowship. As one visitor put it, “I have never felt so accepted and free to be myself with a group of people I barely know, and I never knew there was a religion that tolerated such a diversity of thought and belief. I can’t wait to come back next week and hear what the other speakers have to say!”
But more than an outreach program, Quaker Quest is also an in-reach program. Meeting members who participate in Quaker Quest sessions learn about the spiritual lives of their fellow meeting members in a deeper and more sacred manner than casual conversations over coffee on Sunday. As Luis said, listening to our fellow meeting members share their faith during a Quaker Quest session builds a sense of community that is inspiring, and has been revitalizing to our meeting.
To learn more about Quaker Quest for your meeting, contact Harry and Lois Forrest, Clerks of the Quaker Quest Working Group at callighrf [at] medleas [dot] com.
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