SOUTH BELFAST QUAKERS

That of God in everyone

M&O April 22 Update

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WHAT DO WE SAY ABOUT QUAKERS?

A theme that has been in our minds as we carefully emerge from the long "winter" of the pandemic, is how do we approach explaining what Quakerism is about, and to whom.

Because we believe that everyone is open to God - or however we seek to encapsulate that deep ideal - and that everyone will have their own path to that truth, we have been very careful about how we tell other people about Quakerism. Without a creed, and because we believe in a lived faith, it also is somewhat hard to give a brief yet full answer to the question of "what is Quakerism about?"

Those of us who find Quaker ways really helpful are happy to try to share that with others, but we certainly do not believe it is the exclusive way. We are deeply enriched by our ecumenical and inter-faith relations and are deeply conscious of the strength of other traditions.

But a paradox for us as a small community is that many of us come from different traditions, not having been brought up in Quaker families. We have made a journey into Quakerism. And we want that opportunity to be open, and as easy as is possible, for others who might be interested.

Hence, our use of Quaker Quest, where we hope some relatively new enquirers, as well as many of us who have been here for some time, may explore issues together. So too an idea we are mulling over is whether we should seek some outreach to students at Queen's, in the role of occasional meetings on campus, a chaplaincy or other approaches. Our Friends at Frederick Street are likewise thinking about how they relate to the Ulster University. It is only to open up a dialogue, to be present, to see if we can be helpful.


The Ministry and Oversight team - Felicity, Jonathan, Ian, Kerry, Marie, Michael, Sylvia and Will