The Queries
Quakers use the term Query to refer to a question or series of questions used for reflection and in spiritual exercises.
Friends have used Queries as tools for offering spiritual challenges to the community for much of their history. Queries often take the form of a collection of themed questions that are read at the beginning of a time of worship or reflection.
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- The Queries
Take heed, dear Friends, to the promptings of love and truth in your hearts. Trust them as the leadings of God, whose Light shows us our darkness and brings us to new life.
Bring the whole of your life under the ordering of the spirit of Christ. Are you open to the healing power of God’s love? Cherish that of God within you so that this love may grow and guide you. Let your worship and your daily life enrich each other. Treasure your experience of God, however it comes to you. Remember that Christianity is not a notion but a way.
Do you try to set aside quiet times for openness to the Holy Spirit? We all need to find a way into silence that allows us to deepen our awareness of the divine and find the inward source of our strength. Seek to know an inward stillness, even amid daily life activities. Do you encourage in yourself and in others a habit of dependence on God’s guidance each day? Hold yourself and others in the Light, knowing that God cherishes all.
The Religious Society of Friends is rooted in Christianity and has always found inspiration in the life and teachings of Jesus. How do you interpret your faith in the light of this heritage? How does Jesus speak to you today? Are you following Jesus’ example of love in action? Are you learning from his life the reality and cost of obedience to God? How does his relationship with God challenge and inspire you?
Take time to learn about other people’s experiences of the Light. Remember the importance of the Bible, the writings of Friends, and all that reveal God’s ways. As you learn from others, can you give freely from what you have gained? While respecting the experiences and opinions of others, do not be afraid to say what you have found and value. Appreciating that doubt and questioning can also lead to spiritual growth and a greater awareness of the Light in us all.
Do you gladly work with other religious groups in the pursuit of common goals? While remaining faithful to Quaker insights, try to imaginatively enter the lives and witness of other communities of faith, creating together bonds of friendship.
Be aware of the spirit of God at work in the ordinary activities and experiences of your daily life. Spiritual learning continues throughout life, and often in unexpected ways. Inspiration can be found all around us: in the natural world, in the sciences and arts, in our work and friendships, in our sorrows, and in our joys. Are you open to new light from whatever source it may come? Do you approach new ideas with discernment?
Worship is our response to an awareness of God. We can worship alone, but when we join with others in expectant waiting, we may discover a deeper sense of God’s presence. We seek a gathered stillness in our worship meetings so that all may feel the power of God’s love, drawing us together and leading us.
In worship, we enter with reverence into communion with God and respond to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. Come to the meeting for worship with heart and mind prepared. Yield yourself and all your outward concerns to God’s guidance so that you may find ‘the evil weakening in you and the good raised up.
Come regularly to worship, even when you are angry, depressed, tired, or spiritually cold. In the silence, ask for and accept the prayerful support of others joined with you in worship. Try to find a spiritual wholeness for worship even when you are angry, depressed, tired, or spiritually cold. In the silence ask for and accept the prayerful support of others joined with you in worship. Try to find a spiritual wholeness which encompasses suffering as well as thankfulness and joy. Prayer, springing from a deep place in the heart, may bring healing and unity as nothing else can. Let meeting for worship nourish your whole life.
Be honest with yourself. What unpalatable truths might you be evading? When you recognize your shortcomings, do not let that discourage you. In worship, we can find the assurance of God’s love and the strength to go on with renewed courage.
When you are preoccupied and distracted in meetings, let wayward and disturbing thoughts quietly give way to your awareness of God’s presence among us and in the world. Receive the vocal ministry of others in a tender and creative spirit. Reach for the meaning deep within it, recognizing that even if it is not God’s word for you, it may be so for others. Remember that we all share responsibility for the worship meeting, whether our ministry is in silence or through the spoken word.
Do not assume that vocal ministry will never be your part. Faithfulness and sincerity in speaking, even very briefly, may open the way to fuller ministry from others. When prompted to speak, wait patiently to know that the leading and the time are right, but do not let a sense of your unworthiness hold you back. Pray that your ministry may arise from deep experience, and trust that words will be given to you. Try to speak audibly and distinctly and with sensitivity to the needs of others. Beware of speaking predictably or too often and of making additions towards the end of a meeting when it was well left before.
Are your meetings for church affairs held in a spirit of worship and in dependence on God’s guidance? Remember that we do not seek a majority decision or even consensus. As we wait patiently for divine guidance, our experience is that the right way will open, and we will be led into unity.
Do you take part as often as you can in meetings for church affairs? Are you familiar enough with our church government to contribute to its disciplined processes? Do you consider difficult questions with an informed mind as well as a generous and loving spirit? Are you prepared to let your insights and personal wishes take their place alongside those of others or be set aside as the meeting seeks the right way forward? If you can’t attend, please hold the meeting prayerfully.
Do you welcome the diversity of culture, language, and expressions of faith in our yearly meeting and the world community of Friends? Seek to increase your understanding and gain from this rich heritage and wide range of spiritual insights. Uphold your own and other yearly meetings in your prayers.
Do you respect that of God in everyone, though it may be expressed in unfamiliar ways or be difficult to discern? Each of us has a particular experience of God and must find a way to be true to it. When words are strange or disturbing to you, try to sense where they come from and what has nourished the lives of others. Listen patiently and seek the truth that other people’s opinions may contain. Avoid hurtful criticism and provocative language. Do not allow the strength of your convictions to betray you into making statements or allegations that are unfair or untrue. I think it is possible that you may be mistaken.
How can we make the meeting a community in which each person is accepted and nurtured and strangers are welcome? Seek to know one another in the things that are eternal, bear the burden of each other’s failings, and pray for one another. As we enter with tender sympathy into each other’s lives’ joys and sorrows, ready to give and receive help, our meeting can be a channel for God’s love and forgiveness.
Rejoice in the presence of children and young people in your meeting and recognize the gifts they bring. Remember that the meeting as a whole share responsibility for every child in its care. Seek for them as for yourself a full development of God’s gifts and the abundant life Jesus tells us can be ours. How do you share your deepest beliefs with them while leaving them free to develop as the spirit of God may lead them? Do you invite them to share their insights with you? Are you ready to learn from them and accept your responsibilities towards them?
Do you give sufficient time to sharing with others in the meeting, both newcomers and long-time members, your understanding of worship, service, and commitment to the Society’s witness? Do you give a proper proportion of your money to support Quaker work?
Do you cherish your friendships so that they grow in depth, understanding, and mutual respect? In close relationships, we may risk pain as well as finding joy. When experiencing great happiness or great hurt, we may be more open to the working of the Spirit.
Respect the wide diversity in our lives and relationships. Refrain from making prejudiced judgments about the life journeys of others. Do you foster the spirit of mutual understanding and forgiveness that discipleship asks of us? Remember that each of us is unique, precious, and a child of God.
Friends has always regarded marriage as a religious commitment rather than a merely civil contract. Both partners should offer with God’s help an intention to cherish one another for life. Remember that happiness depends on an understanding and steadfast love on both sides. In times of difficulty, remind yourself of the value of prayer, of perseverance, and of a sense of humor.
Respect the wide diversity in our lives and relationships. Refrain from making prejudiced judgments about the life journeys of others. Do yChildren and young people need love and stability. Are we doing all we can to uphold and sustain parents and others who are responsible for providing this care?ou foster the spirit of mutual understanding and forgiveness that discipleship asks of us? Remember that each of us is unique, precious, and a child of God.
A long-term relationship brings tensions as well as fulfillment. If your relationship with your partner is under strain, seek help in understanding the other’s point of view and in exploring your feelings, which may be powerful and destructive. Consider the wishes and feelings of any children involved, and remember their enduring need for love and security. Seek God’s guidance. If you undergo the distress of separation or divorce, try to maintain some compassionate communication so that arrangements can be made with a minimum of bitterness.
Do you recognize the needs and gifts of each member of your family and household, not forgetting your own? Try to make your home a place of loving friendship and enjoyment, where all who live or visit may find the peace and refreshment of God’s presence.
Live adventurously. When choices arise, do you take the way that offers the most opportunity to use your gifts in the service of God and the community? Let your life speak. When decisions must be made, are you ready to join others in seeking clarity, asking for God’s guidance, and offering counsel to one another?
Every stage of our lives offers fresh opportunities. Responding to divine guidance, I can tell you the right time to take care of or relinquish responsibilities without undue pride or guilt. Attend to what love requires of you, which may be a little busyness.
Approach old age with courage and hope. As far as possible, could you make arrangements for your care in good time so that an undue burden does not fall on others? Although old age may increase disability and loneliness, it can also bring serenity, detachment, and wisdom. Pray that in your final years, you may be able to find new ways of receiving and reflecting God’s love.
Are you able to contemplate your death and the death of those closest to you? Accepting the fact of death, we are freed to live more fully. In bereavement, give yourself time to grieve. When others mourn, let your love embrace them.
We are called to live ‘in the virtue of that life and power that takes away the occasion of all wars’. Do you faithfully maintain our testimony that war and the preparation for war are inconsistent with the spirit of Christ? Search out whatever in your life may contain the seeds of war. Stand firm in our testimony, even when others commit or prepare to commit acts of violence, yet always remember that they, too, are children of God.
Bring into God’s light those emotions, attitudes, and prejudices in yourself that lie at the root of destructive conflict, acknowledging your need for forgiveness and grace. In what ways are you involved in the work of reconciliation between individuals, groups, and nations?
Are you alert to practices here and throughout the world that discriminate against people based on who or what they are or because of their beliefs? Bear witness to the humanity of all people, including those who break society’s conventions or laws. Try to discern new growing points in social and economic life. Seek to understand the causes of injustice, social unrest, and fear. Are you working to create a just and compassionate society that allows everyone to develop their capacities and fosters the desire to serve?
Remember your responsibilities as a citizen for the conduct of local, national, and international affairs. Do not shrink from the time and effort your involvement may demand.
Respect the laws of the state but let your first loyalty be to God’s purposes. Search your conscience deeply if you feel compelled by a strong conviction to break the law. Ask your meeting for prayerful support, which will strengthen you as the right way becomes clear.
Do you uphold those acting under concern, even if their way is not yours? Can you lay aside your wishes and prejudices while seeking with others to find God’s will for them?
Are you honest and truthful in all you say and do? Do you maintain strict integrity in business transactions and dealings with individuals and organizations? Do you use money and information entrusted to you with discretion and responsibility? Taking oaths implies a double standard of truth; in choosing to affirm instead, be aware of the claim to integrity that you are making.
If pressure is brought upon you to lower your standard of integrity, are you prepared to resist it? Our responsibilities to God and our neighbor may involve us in taking unpopular stands. Do not let the desire to be sociable or the fear of seeming peculiar determine your decisions.
Consider which of society’s ways to happiness are truly fulfilling and which are potentially corrupting and destructive. Please be careful when choosing means of entertainment and information. Resist the desire to acquire possessions or income through unethical investment, speculation, or games of chance.
Given the harm done by the use of alcohol, tobacco, and other habit-forming drugs, consider whether you should limit your use of them or refrain from using them altogether. Remember that any use of alcohol or drugs may impair judgment and put both the user and others in danger.
Trying to live a simple lifestyle freely chosen is a source of strength. Refrain from being persuaded into buying what you do not need or cannot afford. Do you keep yourself informed about the effects of your lifestyle on the global economy and environment?
We do not own the world, and its riches are not ours to dispose of at will. Show a loving consideration for all creatures, and seek to maintain the beauty and variety of the world. Work to ensure that our increasing power over nature is used responsibly, with reverence for life. Rejoice in the splendor of God’s continuing creation.
