Quaker Faith and Practice

Quaker Faith and Practice or Faith and Practice is the common name of the publications of many Yearly Meetings within the Religious Society of Friends. It is intended to be an expression of that Yearly Meeting's sense of truth and purpose, and also describe the current structure and administration of that yearly meeting.

Text and usage

The contents of Faith and Practice are agreed on by seeking unity among members of the authoring yearly meeting. Instead of voting or seeking an earthly consensus, the Meeting attempts to gain a sense of God's will for the community. Each member of the meeting is expected to listen to that of God within themselves and, if led, to contribute it to the group for reflection and consideration. Each member listens to others' contributions carefully, in an attitude of seeking Truth rather than of attempting to prevail or to debate. This process can be tedious and lengthy. Nevertheless, this is thought to be the best way of reflecting the breadth of Quaker theology and practice, and is consistent with an intention that they be based in evolving personal experience and 'inner light' rather than fixed creeds. The writings are not intended to represent strict rules which followers must agree with or adhere to, but may be used as a source of guidance or discipline. Since the majority of the Society remains within a Christian theistic tradition, this is typically reflected in the publication.

Extracts from the book are sometimes read aloud in Quaker meetings for worship as a focus for meditation or consideration.

History

The origins of the publication can be traced back to a manuscript in 1738, following the development of the Quaker movement in the mid-17th century in England. The first printed collection appeared in 1783. From 1861 the "Book of Discipline" was divided into separate chapters, and in 1921 adopted a new approach of attempting 'to state truth, not by formulating it, but by expressing it through the vital personal and corporate experience of Friends'. This began the use of extracts which has subsequently been developed as an acceptable method of expressing the breadth of Quaker theology. The British 1959/1967 revision consisted of two volumes: "Christian faith and practice" and "Church Government".

A new British revision was worked on from 1985, due to requests "not from the centre but from local meetings and individual Friends, as well as committees"cite book|title= Quaker Faith and Practice|edition= 3rd edition|pages=page 14|author=Britain Yearly Meeting|isbn=085245306X] . to reflect developments in society, language and belief. The process of revision is described by Brian Meara in an article in "Friends Quarterly" (1994) in an extended metaphor - "charting a river" [Brian Meara "Charting the river: the revision of the Book of Discipline" in "Friends Quarterly" Vol 28, No. 2 pp 49-53. (April 1994).] . The new version appeared in 1995 in one volume. Britain Yearly Meeting, in 2006, started the process of producing a new Book of Discipline [New edition started - report in "The Friend", Dec 8, 2006). ] .

The first Quakers showed up in the seventeenth century about the same time the English translation of the Bible was printed. Quakers were first called “Seekers” and they did not agree with the Christianity of their day. They stated “The Churches have forgotten the real Christ.” Quakers wanted to go back to the early forms of Christianity, where Christ’s words and the examples he set were what mattered most. George Fox was a shoemaker and leather worker in England. He struggled to find answers and truth until one day he had a revelation. He wrote in his journal that a voice came to him and told him “There is one, even Christ Jesus, that can speak to your condition.” Elated by this, he then believed that in each person there was a small part of the spirit of God. This piece of God has many names, most commonly it is called a soul or spirit; Quakers refer to this as “the inner light.” George Fox began holding meetings and attracting followers. Later creating a society, knowing that without some type of organization Quakerism would fall apart. He composed sections of meetings; the first meeting called is a Local meeting, in which the members would discuss business matters. Next is a Monthly meeting, an accumulation of many local meetings. Representatives from the monthly meeting would appear at a Quarterly meeting, and lastly a Yearly meeting is held with a collection of many representatives from Quarterly meetings. These meetings not only kept organization and foundation for the Quaker faith but it kept them socially connected.

Current publications

There are currently over 24 different versions in print, each by a different yearly meeting, some also available to be viewed on-line. The names of the publications vary.

Britain

Britain Yearly Meeting produce the current British "Quaker Faith and Practice". The text of this edition was originally approved by the Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends in Britain in 1994, and is regularly revised to reflect developments in Quaker attitudes or organisation. It is sometimes termed the (Christian) 'Book of Discipline' but this has become less common. The current third edition is sold in print and is freely available on-line Currently available at http://quakersfp.live.poptech.coop/qfp/index.html] .

The first chapter, Advices and Queries, originated from queries asked of Britain Yearly Meeting to the quarterly meetings about the state of their meetings. Over time the queries became ones to be considered rather than answered and general advices were also included. This chapter is also published as a separate booklet and is published in both English and Welsh.

Philadelphia

Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, in the United States, title their version "Faith and Practice". It was originally published under that title in 1955 and was revised in 1972, 1979, 1997 and minor revisions were made in 2002. Prior to Faith and Practice, Philadelphia Yearly Meeting published a Book of Discipline as early as 1806The 1806 version can be seen on-line at http://www.qhpress.org/texts/obod/] . The current edition is available both in print and on-line Australia Yearly Meeting (2005) [http://www.quakers.org.au/pubs_handbook4.shtml Handbook of Practice and Procedure] , 4th Edition] . "This We Can Say: Quaker life, faith and thought", first published in 2003, was written over a period of ten years from 1993, to express personally the living faith of contemporary Australian QuakersAustralia Yearly Meeting (2003) [http://www.quakers.org.au/old_pubs_twcs.html This We Can Say: Quaker life, faith and practice] ] . It also includes the Britain Yearly Meeting Advices and Queries.

ee also

* The Testimonies of the Religious Society of Friends
* [http://www.quaker.org/pacific-ym/fp/ Pacific YM Faith and Practice online] (California)

References

External links

* [http://u19s.quaker.org.uk/level3/resources/qyf/qyf-faith-and-practice.html Do Young Friends Use Quaker Faith And Practice?] from Quaker Youth Forum
* [http://www.pym.org/publish/fnp/otheryms.php List of different Quaker Faith and Practice books in use] compiled by Philadelphia Yearly Meeting.
* [http://worship.quaker.org/qfp/ Search many different Quaker Faith and Practice books]