I moved to a little home by the seaside late Spring last year, for the peace and quiet, but it is just too far to travel to work for me now & the summer traffic is a nightmare I don't wish to relive (one hour to drive 16mile).
Have found a fair priced little home inland, it's a rental but suits my needs for now. Odd thing though, the estate agent has told me I must meet the people on the ground floor. They do not live there but it is a Friends Meeting House, they are Quakers!
Apparently they meet in total silence & 'channel Jebus' and want silence in return.. sounds like voodoo to me.

Does anyone know about these people? I read that some flavours are borderline agnostic, don't value the Bible &have no priest.
I can only picture The Little House on the Prairie...

Will they evangelize me to some crazy place made of straw bonnets?

Quakers "channel" the Holy Spirit by sitting together in silence. Whoever feels moved to speak will do so. They are not dogmatic about following the Bible because the believe that to follow the Spirit allows them to act with relevance and immediacy, in obedience to the Moving of God. They are unlikely to bother you, other than to be overtly friendly. Harmless in almost every respect. You will like them. I like the fact that they are not religious businessmen, and are unlikely to be found collecting large sums of cash.

pelfdaddy wrote:Quakers "channel" the Holy Spirit by sitting together in silence. Whoever feels moved to speak will do so. They are not dogmatic about following the Bible because the believe that to follow the Spirit allows them to act with relevance and immediacy, in obedience to the Moving of God. They are unlikely to bother you, other than to be overtly friendly. Harmless in almost every respect. You will like them. I like the fact that they are not religious businessmen, and are unlikely to be found collecting large sums of cash.

Quite true. Except, if you join them, they will send a member to discuss your finances, this assessment will dictate how much your monthly contribution will be, earn £25,000 per annum? You pay them £2,500 per annum (approximately 10% of your earnings). Not a money making organisation? However, if you are unemployed, they will take your labour as a contribution (plastering, painting, cleaning etc on their buildings). Again, not a money making organisation?

Interesting! Thanks.
I believe they simply wish to check me out, so to speak, to make sure I'm going to be quiet while they fantasise about being 'the one'.
I need a phoneline connected to this flat, I wonder if I'll have to promise (or suggest) it'll be disconnected on Sat nights thru til Sunday afternoons, so as not to disturb their umm thing.

james1v,

You are quite right about the tithe, but I prefer the quakers--who limit themselves to the basics--to most other denominations, who are by contrast extremely aquisitive in the pursuit of growth, programs, building, salaries, etc.

My experience with one family in the wilderness of W. Canada that I worked as a builder for was that they were lovely people. I didn't realise for years that they were christians at all. There is no proselytising, no really weird "thou shalt nots" and they wouldn't care anyway if you "did". Basic respect for others is their motto, and they respond well to the same in return.

Of all the christians I have ever met, the Quakers are the ones to be the model for the rest, IMO.

Another thing about Quakerism is that in British Law being a member was an automatic get out from conscription in both world wars. Having said that a lot of Quakers did serve as stretcher bearers and ambulance drivers, again in both wars and won recognition for their bravery. It is just that they do believe in non-violence.

It is a pity that a lot of other people don't act the same way.

james1v wrote:

pelfdaddy wrote:Quakers "channel" the Holy Spirit by sitting together in silence. Whoever feels moved to speak will do so. They are not dogmatic about following the Bible because the believe that to follow the Spirit allows them to act with relevance and immediacy, in obedience to the Moving of God. They are unlikely to bother you, other than to be overtly friendly. Harmless in almost every respect. You will like them. I like the fact that they are not religious businessmen, and are unlikely to be found collecting large sums of cash.

Quite true. Except, if you join them, they will send a member to discuss your finances, this assessment will dictate how much your monthly contribution will be, earn £25,000 per annum? You pay them £2,500 per annum (approximately 10% of your earnings). Not a money making organisation? However, if you are unemployed, they will take your labour as a contribution (plastering, painting, cleaning etc on their buildings). Again, not a money making organisation?

Bollocks.

I was brought up as a quaker and joined the Religious Society of Friends in young adulthood. I NEVER had money demanded of me, nor was I even pressurised to do so, and this is an experience in common with all those Quakers I have known over they years.

Do they try to raise money? Yes. do they do good with that money? Yes.

By the way, certianly in the UK Quakers are divided between the Christocentrics and the Universalists. Only because they are all so nice this didn't cause any kind of schism.

Really....look for another target. They are a denomination guaranteed to welcome an atheist to their meetings with open arms, and would probably want to engage you in an honest discussion about your beliefs rather than try to convert you.

And yes I will declare my bias: my mother is an Elder. The same one who read the God Delusion and found it 'interesting'

Are the universalist quakers just a hop skip jump from being universalist wiccans?

Fascinating all, I am off to meet these folk in a couple of hours. Seems they don't bite after all

Ironclad wrote:Fascinating all, I am off to meet these folk in a couple of hours. Seems they don't bite after all

Prepare to be love-bombed and given tea

The ultimate cherry-pickers.
Still religious loonies FFS

Scot Dutchy wrote:The ultimate cherry-pickers.
Still religious loonies FFS

What exactly is "loony" about someone who descibes god as "the inner light" and is genuinely fascinated with the religious practices of others.

Seriously.....these aren't the Christians you're looking for.

cursuswalker wrote:

Ironclad wrote:Fascinating all, I am off to meet these folk in a couple of hours. Seems they don't bite after all

Prepare to be love-bombed and given tea

Yay! Tea!
I've had to quit smoking for 48 hours, they don't want smokers living in their house. Kill for a drag right now

They make porridge don't they?

Ironclad wrote:

cursuswalker wrote:

Ironclad wrote:Fascinating all, I am off to meet these folk in a couple of hours. Seems they don't bite after all

Prepare to be love-bombed and given tea

Yay! Tea!
I've had to quit smoking for 48 hours, they don't want smokers living in their house. Kill for a drag right now

Yeah. They can be apallingly New Age

Ironclad wrote: Odd thing though, the estate agent has told me I must meet the people on the ground floor. They do not live there but it is a Friends Meeting House, they are Quakers!

Wow. I missed this bit.

Is is an old building? If so, you would seem to be living in the dwelling that was always placed above the meeting house in order to avoid it being closed as an illegal place of worship. This is usually occupied by al ive in caretaker.

Quakers are among the least 'loony' people on the planet. They are in my experience universally lovely, peaceful and accepting. I have a good friend who is a Quaker. I've been to meetings with her. Never was I judged, preached at, told of a fiery fate awaiting me. I was welcomed, respected and listened to. No one said anything unless they wanted to, and if they did want to, they just stood up and shared with the group something which had really touched them from their reading or contemplation. I'd be surprised if you had any problems with them at all, Ironclad.

...apart from the fact that everyone present at a meeting for worship is regarded as being a minister LOL

Scot Dutchy wrote:The ultimate cherry-pickers.
Still religious loonies FFS

What of quaker behaviors fit any definition of "cherry-picking"?

Recalling you getting rather pissed off because I called you out on lacking methodology when you accused Christians of all kinds of weird conspiracies, it seems you qualify just as well for the "loony" designation. (I.e., for both you and loonies, speculation is enough, and evidence is irrelevant or even to be ignored.)