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How are we being called in this moment?
Two years ago, Adria Gulizia reminded us of the origins of the Quaker peace testimony in a declaration Friends made to King Charles II shortly after he was restored to the throne of England in 1660—a promise that, while they would not fight on his behalf, neither would they commit violence for any other cause.
“What’s interesting about that articulation is that it was both a theological statement and political statement,” she said. “The theological statement is [that] as followers of Christ, we believe that we have been disarmed by the gospel.”
“Early Friends were fond of quoting the scripture verse that we must work out our salvation with fear and trembling,” Adria continued. “As we consider the peace testimony, it’s not enough to say, ‘Oh, well, George Fox said this and Barclay said that.’ The question as it was in Fox’s time is: what canst thou say?”
Examining the PEACE Testimony
Keeping that question fixed in her mind, Adria always finds herself returning to basic principles. “Do I believe that the Spirit that spoke through Jesus that said, lay down your sword; that said, resist not the evil person; that’s informed Christians and Quakers for the last 2000 years… Do I believe that that Spirit has changed? Have I experienced the reality of that Spirit? Have I experienced that feeling of being disarmed?”
Have you? Share your thoughts in the comments section—or reply to this email!
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This week's 'Quaker Speak' Video discusses God is in the Silence. It is very impacting, and if anyone has a non-Quaker background, this sums it up in 5 minutes.
Ms. Davis, in the video, states this:
“When I came to Quakerism, and I sat in a completely quiet, silent meeting, I didn’t know what to do with myself,” Lynette Davis recalls. “I was so used to being preached at, being told what to do, being told that ‘God told me to tell you…’” That history had put her at odds with the church she grew up in, rebuked every time she dare to ask a question.
“When I left the church, I was kind of done with religion, but I wanted to know who God was, for myself,” she says. Quakerism helped her understand that she wasn’t done with God—and that God wasn’t done with her. Realizing that God’s creative spirit was present in the sacred silence helped her better understand her own creative practice. “Even when my writing seems secular,” she says, “it is always a process and a journey that I articulate in communion with God.”
“When I left the church, I was kind of done with religion, but I wanted to know who God was, for myself,” she says. Quakerism helped her understand that she wasn’t done with God—and that God wasn’t done with her. Realizing that God’s creative spirit was present in the sacred silence helped her better understand her own creative practice. “Even when my writing seems secular,” she says, “it is always a process and a journey that I articulate in communion with God.”
