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57-576: There are also parallel Yearly Meetings for young Quakers, Junior Yearly Meetings. Yearly Meeting gatherings are times for Friends from a wide geographical area to come together to worship and to seek God's guidance on decisions and on issues facing Friends in that region. Yearly Meetings publish guiding principles, organizational processes, and collected expressions of faith of the constituent Friends. These publications are called Faith and Practice , and/or Books of Discipline. In Kenya, local meetings are called Village Meetings. Several village meetings form

114-435: A church . Among Quakers, affairs are managed at a particular kind of meeting for worship , called a meeting for business, where all members are invited to attend. Decisions are made as a form of worship, where each individual sits in contemplative silence until moved to speak on a subject. At these meetings, Quakers attempt to reach unity on a subject, in a form of religious consensus decision-making , to find "the sense of

171-543: A Yearly Meeting usually includes the words "of the Religious Society of Friends" (e.g., New York Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends ) although some do not (e.g., Northern Yearly Meeting ). Junior Yearly Meeting ( JYM ) is a gathering for young Quakers . There are various JYM groups worldwide, which cover the same geographical boundaries as their respective Yearly Meeting. Most countries have one Yearly Meeting which corresponds to national borders, but in

228-736: A few other countries the three main groups of Friends are Friends General Conference , Friends United Meeting , and Evangelical Friends International . A broader group that crosses theological, organizational, and national lines and encourages communication and cooperation of the different groups is Friends World Committee for Consultation . See also Quakers in Latin America See also Quakers in Europe Pink Dandelion, B. (2007). An Introduction to Quakerism . Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Quaker Faith and Practice A Book of Discipline may refer to one of

285-739: A manuscript in 1738 entitled Christian and brotherly advices given forth from time to time by the Yearly Meetings in London, alphabetically digested under proper heads . The first printed collection appeared in 1783 as Extracts from the minutes and advices of the Yearly Meeting of Friends held in London from its first institution (popularly known as the Book of Extracts ). This was revised in 1801 and 1822 and 1833 (the last revision resulting in another change in title to Rules of Discipline ). Up until this time,

342-571: A monthly meeting. Several monthly meetings form a Quartely Meeting. Quartely meetings form a Yearly Meeting. Some yearly meetings in Kenya scrapped off Quartely Meetings. Like many aspects of Quakerism, the organization into Yearly Meetings arose gradually. English Friends began to meet shortly after their beginning in a large group starting in the 1650s. The oldest Yearly Meeting in Britain, Britain Yearly Meeting (originally London Yearly Meeting), considers

399-484: A period of ten years from 1993, to express personally the living faith of contemporary Australian Quakers. It also includes the Britain Yearly Meeting Advices and Queries. Britain Yearly Meeting 's current book of discipline is called Quaker Faith and Practice: The book of Christian discipline of the Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in Britain . The text of the first edition

456-501: A requirement that they are read in each meeting, although some meetings do continue this practice. This chapter is published as a separate free booklet and is published in both English and Welsh . The books of discipline of Canadian Yearly Meeting are made up of three publications: In 2000, Canadian Yearly Meeting appointed a Faith and Practice Development Committee to co-ordinate development of its own Faith and Practice , published in 2010. Råd og Spørgsmål (Advices and Queries)

513-499: A structure of meetings which has remained virtually the same up until the present day: local 'particular' meetings, grouped regionally into "monthly meetings", "quarterly meetings" above them, and an annual "General Assembly of the Brethren" (usually referred to as a Yearly Meeting) as the leading authority. There has been a national annual meeting of some sort in Britain every year since 1668. The earliest statement of Christian discipline

570-693: A thousand people on a hilltop called Firbank Fell in Northern England close to the English Lake District. This event is often considered to be the founding event of the Quaker faith. The rock on which he stood is referred to as Fox's Pulpit. Two weeks later in Ulverston, he met Margaret Fell while preaching in the church there. Margaret and her husband Thomas (a Justice of the Peace and later Member of Parliament) by

627-513: A wide range of topical workshops. In the United States, JYM gatherings take place either alongside the annual Yearly Meeting gathering, as a separate annual gathering, as in Britain, or as more frequent gatherings. Baltimore Yearly Meeting , also has a JYM that composed of Young Friends (YF), who are 14–18, and Junior Young Friends (JYF) who are 11–13. BYM YFs are self-governed, choosing two clerks annually, and they conduct conferences throughout

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684-412: A yearly meeting, Friends write an epistle to communicate to other Friends world-wide. It is the custom to read out selections from epistles the Yearly Meeting has received from other Quaker bodies during yearly meeting sessions. All Friends who are members of a constituent Meeting are members of the corresponding Yearly Meeting and may attend and participate on an equal basis—there is no hierarchy within

741-628: Is an anthology of quotes on Swiss Quakers' lives, beliefs and thoughts, published tri-lingually in English, French and German. It differs from other Yearly Meetings' books of discipline in not containing chapters on the structure and organisation of Switzerland Yearly Meeting. The us et coutumes (in French) or Bräuche (in German) is presenting the organisation of the Society. Many of the different yearly meetings in

798-400: Is clear that there is agreement, the sense of the meeting is recorded in the minute. Some Friends at the meeting may have reservations about the matter but choose to defer to the others. Friends believe and hope that the minute is God's will on the matter. However, nothing is considered a permanent and inviolable law among Friends and every matter is open to future change. Before the close of

855-399: 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

912-424: 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

969-629: Is now Germany at Emden and Friedrichstadt (extinct in 1727). English and American Friends organized a Quaker colony in Friedensthal (Peace Valley), which existed from 1792 until 1870 in what is now Bad Pyrmont , a city in the district of Hamelin-Pyrmont, in Lower Saxony (Niedersachsen), Germany. Land was donated for a meeting house in January 1791 and the Quaker Meeting House was built. In 1933, it

1026-462: Is one, even Christ Jesus that can speak to thy condition". And when I heard it, my heart did leap for joy." Feeling the call to preach he met a group of former Baptists, and together they called themselves "The Children of Light". Over the years, moving from the English Midlands into Yorkshire, Fox was accepted by a group of Seekers. As time went on they began to refer to themselves as "Friends in

1083-490: Is responsible for the administration of its congregants, including membership and marriages , and for the meeting's property. A monthly meeting can be a grouping of multiple smaller meetings, usually called preparative meetings , coming together for administrative purposes, while for others it is a single institution. In most countries, multiple monthly meetings form a quarterly meeting , which in turn form yearly meetings . Programmed Quakers may refer to their congregation as

1140-592: Is the Advices and Queries of Denmark Yearly Meeting, being a Danish translation based on the 1994 Advices and Queries of Britain Yearly Meeting. Central and Southern Africa Yearly Meeting's book of discipline is called The Handbook of Practice and Procedure , including chapters on structure, organisation and government of the Society of Friends and Quaker experience and concerns. It also includes Central and Southern Africa's Advices and Queries as its final chapter. Quaker communities were established in 1677 and 1678 in what

1197-518: Is updated periodically by each Yearly Meeting according to the usual practice of decision making within the Religious Society of Friends . The contents of each book of discipline is 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

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1254-469: The United States have their own books of discipline, most of which are titled Faith and Practice . Many of these are made available both in print and online. Monthly meeting In the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), a monthly meeting or area meeting is the basic governing body, a congregation which holds regular meetings for business for Quakers in a given area. The monthly meeting

1311-709: The (Christian) 'Book of Discipline' but this has become less common. The current version, therefore, (in June 2014) is the fifth edition. It is available in paperback, hardback and large print, and is also free to view online. The book is only available from the Quaker Bookshop in Friends House, Euston, London, UK or from the online bookshop. The first chapter, Advices and Queries, originated from queries asked by London Yearly Meeting (the predecessor to Britain Yearly Meeting) to

1368-534: The American Yearly Meetings of Friends as their book of discipline, and this book was subsequently accepted as the book of discipline of California Yearly Meeting , New York Yearly Meeting , Western Yearly Meeting , and Baltimore Yearly Meeting in 1901; and of Oregon Yearly Meeting , North Carolina Yearly Meeting , and Iowa Yearly Meeting in 1902. When Nebraska Yearly Meeting was founded in 1908, they too accepted The Constitution and Discipline for

1425-568: The American Yearly Meetings of Friends as their book of discipline. In 1940, Five Years Meeting proposed that the 1897 Uniform Discipline be updated and revised. The ensuing publication Faith and Practice , was published in three volumes: (I) Faith and Life; (II) Organisation and Business Procedure; (III) Authorised Declaration of Faith. However, controversies and disagreements between Yearly Meetings meant that not all Yearly Meetings accepted this book of discipline – some accepted only one or two volumes, and others made revisions or alterations to

1482-467: The Friends Schools in Britain (but not Northern Ireland) Quaker School also nominates two young people as representatives. The event is organised, clerked and facilitated by 16- to 18-year-olds in partnership with staff and adult volunteers (Over 20s). Participants reflect on the theme through a variety of activities, including main speaker sessions, base groups and small group sessions. There are also

1539-547: The Friends who are gathered wait in silence, listening to the leading of God's spirit within them. Those who feel led to do so share their insights, while the others listen. Eventually a "sense of the meeting" begins to emerge. The clerk of the meeting (a type of facilitator) or the Recording Clerk (a person who writes the minutes) tries to formulate a minute that reflects the sense of the meeting. More input may follow. When it

1596-458: The Quaker approval of same-sex marriage. The rest of the book as currently exists has not been redrafted since 1994; however the process of doing so is currently beginning, as agreed by Britain Yearly Meeting in 2018. Some Quakers in Britain have suggested that future editions revert to having two volumes to the Book of Discipline: Church Government dealing with organisation, structure and government of

1653-624: The Quakers of New Zealand published Quaker faith and practice in Aotearoa New Zealand , their first manual of Faith and Practice. The book is 22 cm and following three pages of prefatory materials, there are 177 pages of text. It is published by Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) of Aortearoa New Zealand, Auckland , New Zealand and distributed by Quaker Book Sales . Friends from Switzerland Yearly Meeting published Swiss Quaker Life, Belief and Thought in 2009. It

1710-404: The Religious Society of Friends grew and spread around the world, new Yearly Meetings were established. While often influenced by the activities of other Yearly Meetings, each of the Yearly Meetings is autonomous. A session of a Yearly Meeting, as with all Quaker business sessions, is considered a time of worship in dealing with matters of business. When a matter has been presented and explained,

1767-429: The Religious Society of Friends. Many specific issues of concern to Quakers are dealt with by committees appointed by Yearly Meetings. Yearly Meetings are named for where they meet: a nation (e.g., Canadian Yearly Meeting ), a region within a nation (e.g., New England Yearly Meeting ), a state (e.g. Indiana Yearly Meeting ), or a large city that serves as a hub (e.g., Philadelphia Yearly Meeting ). The entire name of

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1824-548: The Truth", and it is this that gives us the official name of the "Religious Society of Friends". The term "Quakers", which sometimes appears in brackets after the official name, comes from an insult used by a magistrate in Derby when he was sentencing some Friends for being non-conformist (Fox had bidden him to "tremble at the word of the Lord"). On 13 June 1652 George Fox addressed a crowd of about

1881-666: The United States there are Yearly Meetings on regional, state and city level, and this is reflected in their JYMs. The frequency and age range of gatherings varies between JYMs. In Britain , JYM is a residential annual gathering, held at a different time to the Britain Yearly Meeting all-age gathering, of about 140 16- to 18-year-olds from around the country and a few Friends from European Yearly Meetings. Each Monthly meeting within Britain Yearly Meeting nominates two young people to attend as representatives, and each of

1938-564: The Yearly Meeting; and Faith and Practice dealing with the beliefs, testimonies and practices of Quakers in Britain. The Fifth edition as revised through 2013 is available online. Various Yearly Meetings were founded in what is now the United States from the early days of Quakerism. Each of these produced their own book of discipline, although each was based on the earlier disciplines of London Yearly Meeting. These were revised at various points according to changes in beliefs and practices of Friends over time. Conferences of Yearly Meetings in

1995-481: The greatest good fortune took George Fox into their home, Swarthmoor Hall, and protected him, while the Valiant Sixty of newly converted Quakers ranged far and wide across England, spreading the good news of a simpler form of Christian faith. Some time after Thomas Fell died, Margaret and George were married. While other religious groups of the period faded away with time, Fox devoted himself in 1666–1668 to setting up

2052-440: The kingdom was produced following a meeting of leading Quakers in London in 1669. This had been drafted by George Fox , the name Canons and Institutions had been given to the publication by his opponents. It contained general advices and regulations, and was the basis of future books of discipline, although the name was formally disclaimed by Friends in 1675. The origins of the current book of discipline can be traced back to

2109-618: The later part of the nineteenth century, between the Guerneyite Yearly Meetings, who had accepted the Richmond Declaration of Faith , proposed formulating a Uniform Discipline for all the Guerneyite Yearly Meetings in the United States. In 1897, New England Yearly Meeting , Wilmington Yearly Meeting , Indiana Yearly Meeting , and Kansas Yearly Meeting jointly accepted The Constitution and Discipline for

2166-435: The main practices and testimonies of Friends in that Yearly Meeting arranged in alphabetical order. The title Faith and Practice was first applied to Philadelphia Yearly Meeting's book of discipline in 1955 and it was revised in 1972, 1979, and 1997, with minor revisions in 2002. There are currently over 30 different versions in print, each by a different yearly meeting, some also available to be viewed on-line. The names of

2223-410: The meeting". A monthly meeting is so called because it traditionally holds these meetings once a month, separate from the normal weekly meeting for worship. Each meeting usually nominates members to serve in certain volunteer positions to facilitate administration, including: A monthly meeting is usually associated with a particular place of worship; in many cases, the associated meeting house has

2280-409: The movement. His name was George Fox. At the age of nineteen he entered a troubled period in which he found no spiritual help. Leaving home, he wandered for four years, consulting priests and non-conformist ministers. Having reached the point of near despair, he had a vivid spiritual experience, as he wrote in his Journal: "When my hopes in all men were gone...then O then I heard a voice which said "There

2337-483: The name change to its current form – Quaker Faith and Practice: The book of Christian discipline of the Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends in Britain . The chapters on the structure and organisation of Britain Yearly Meeting have been revised several times since then to reflect organisational changes in Britain Yearly Meeting, and latterly to re-write the Chapter on 'Quaker marriage procedure' in connection with

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2394-454: The publication was an alphabetical list of the main beliefs and practices of Quakers at the time. From 1861 the Rules of Discipline was divided into separate chapters on In 1921, a new publication Christian Life, Faith and Thought replaced the previous Christian Doctrine . This publication adopted a new approach of attempting "to state truth, not by formulating it, but by expressing it through

2451-498: The publication. Extracts from the book are sometimes read aloud in Quaker meetings for worship, or may be reflected upon individually. The Quakers are today almost the only survivors from the many religious groups that sprang up in the religious and social ferment of the English Civil War (1642–1649). They survived and flourished largely through the practical wisdom of a young man whose spiritual experiences and insights launched

2508-453: The publications vary. Most Yearly Meetings either have: Australia Yearly Meeting publishes two separate books in the tradition of Quaker books of discipline. The Handbook of Practice and Procedure gives a brief history of the Society and detailed instructions on how the Society in Australia is run. This We Can Say: Quaker life, faith and thought , first published in 2003, was written over

2565-399: The quarterly meetings about the state of their meetings, and advices originated from the original Christian and brotherly advices given forth from time to time by the Yearly Meetings in London, alphabetically digested under proper heads . Until 1994, there were separate General Advices and Queries , which tended to be related to each other – the advices giving advice on Christian living, and

2622-408: The queries being questions which asked Friends how they were living their lives, and could be used for personal reflection or discussion in groups. There was a requirement that all the advices and queries were read in each meeting over the course of a year. Since 1994, the advices and queries have been mixed together, so that each paragraph has both advices and queries within it. There is also no longer

2679-551: The small liberal Quaker presence in Germany and Austria . This body uses a translation of Britain Yearly Meeting 's current book of discipline Quaker Faith and Practice: The book of Christian discipline of the Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in Britain entitled Quäker—Glaube und Wirken (das Handbuch der Quäker zur christlichen Lebensführung, übersetzt aus dem Englischen) , 2010, 468 pp., price: €25.00 plus postage, ISBN   978-3-929696-44-8 In 2003,

2736-510: The text. The publication was never formally accepted by Five Years Meeting, although some Yearly Meetings did formally accept a revised version as their own book of discipline. Since then, each Yearly Meeting has revised their own books of discipline, and no longer use a Uniform Discipline . Philadelphia Yearly Meeting published their Rules of Discipline of the Yearly Meeting of Friends held in Philadelphia in 1806, with paragraphs on each of

2793-416: The three were merged into one new volume entitled Christian faith and practice in the experience of the Society of Friends . The 1959 edition of Christian Faith and Practice , whilst no longer used in Britain Yearly Meeting, is still a current book of discipline of Canadian Yearly Meeting. Church Government and Christian faith and practice together made up the Book of Discipline. A new British revision

2850-434: The various books issued by a Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends , setting out what it means to be a Quaker in that Yearly Meeting . The common name for this book varies from one Yearly Meeting to another and includes Book of Discipline , Faith and Practice , Christian Faith and Practice , Quaker Faith and Practice , Church Government and Handbook of Practice and Procedure . Each Book of Discipline

2907-440: The vital personal and corporate experience of Friends". Although much of this publication is in the form of prose drafted by a Revision Committee, this publication began the use of extracts which has subsequently been developed as an acceptable method of expressing the breadth of Quaker theology. In 1959 Christian Life, Faith and Thought and Christian Practice were revised, followed by a revision in 1967 of Church Government , and

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2964-462: The year 1668 its official founding. New England Yearly Meeting dates its founding from 1661. In the early days the business of the meeting was to receive answers to the Yearly Meeting's queries to the Quarterly Meetings, to read epistles from traveling Friends, and to seek God's guidance on actions. They also proposed and planned the establishment of Quaker institutions, such as schools. As

3021-516: The year in addition to meeting at the BYM Annual Session. JYFs are not self-governing, but still conduct business meetings and hold conferences throughout the year. Most conferences are themed, and all include adult volunteers whose responsibilities usually consist of ensuring the YFs and JYFs safety rather than directing them. Many Yearly Meetings are members of larger groups. In the United States and

3078-464: Was originally approved by the Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends in Britain in 1994, and it has had four revisions since then, mainly because of changes in the structure of the Yearly Meeting. The fourth revision (giving rise to the 5th Edition, dated 2013) was in connection with the Quaker approval of same-sex marriage in the UK. It is often known simply as Quaker Faith and Practice , or sometimes

3135-584: Was reconstructed and relocated from its original site to Bombergallee 9, Bad Pyrmont. The German Annual Meeting (Deutsche Jahresversammlung) was organized in 1880. The Germany Yearly Meeting (die Deutsche Jahresversammlung or DJV) resulted from the 1923 mergers of the German Annual Meeting with the Friends of Quakerism (Freunde des Quäkertums) and, in 1925, the Federation of German Friends (Bund der deutschen Freunde) and serves as an umbrella organization for

3192-577: Was the Epistle from the meeting of Elders at Balby , in 1656. This was a list of twenty advices as to how Friends should conduct themselves, formed following a meeting of prominent Seekers at Balby in Yorkshire, and is seen by many as the defining document founding Quakerism. The Canons and institutions drawn up and agreed upon by the General Assembly or Meeting of the heads of the Quakers from all parts of

3249-432: Was worked on from 1985, due to requests "not from the centre but from local meetings and individual Friends, as well as committees". to reflect developments in society, language and belief. The new version was accepted by Britain Yearly Meeting in 1994, and appeared in print in 1995, in one volume. This volume is almost entirely made up of an anthology of extracts from other sources, unlike earlier editions. This edition saw

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