While Quakers have a lot of amazing, informative resources about how stuff works, I still get questions all the time. They come by email, Insta DM, quick text messages at 8:17pm, and frantic whispers in the backs of rooms.
So in 2022, I started a series called “answers for a small-f friend.” These 200-word-tops articles aren’t meant to be thorough. They’re meant to be quick. If you want to know more, there are lots of places where you can find additional depth.
Can you think of a question I should add? Let me know.
Worship
What’s the difference between silent worship and meditation?
Don’t the rest of you ever have a hard time sitting still?
Beliefs and Actions
Do you think Quakers will stop being Christian?
What do Quakers say about Jesus?
What’s a leading, and what’s a concern?
What’s the difference between a leading for an individual and a leading for a whole community?
Where did the testimonies come from?
Could there ever be new testimonies?
What’s the Quaker position on civil disobedience and other forms of resistance to injustice?
Is it possible for Quakers to work with groups who don’t share the peace testimony?
Types of Quakers
Is there anything all Quakers have in common?
How do those other Quakers think about the Bible?
Are programmed Friends really Quaker?
Are non-Christian Friends really Quaker?
Are African Friends really Quaker?
What are conservative Quakers?
What’s the difference between a pastoral Friend and an evangelical Friend?
Ministers, Elders, and Pastoral-Caregivers
What’s travel in the ministry?
Does recording ministers still happen? What does that mean?
What’s a support committee and how do I get one?
What was the job of overseers and why did we stop using that word?
Business Meeting
How come we say “sense of the meeting” and not consensus?
When do you stand aside and when do you stand in the way?
Why do Quakers take forever to get anything done?
What does Quaker process say such-and-such?
What do I do if I disagree with a decision being made in business meeting?
What happens if we get stuck and can’t find sense of the meeting?
Minutes
Are approving and accepting and receiving three different things?
Why did people freak out about the minute containing the words “thank you”?
What’s with the wordsmithing that happens when we’re approving minutes?
What goes in the minutes and what doesn’t?
Does anybody ever go back and read old minutes, really?
How are minutes numbered and why?
Membership
Does it matter whether you’re a member or an attender?
Did people used to get kicked out of Quaker meetings? What for?
Stuff I Don’t Have a Category For
Turning, Turning 