Why Quaker By Journey?
I wasn't satisfied with the text recommended to new attendees to Quaker meetings (
Geoffrey Hubbard's Quaker by Convincement). While an interesting read, telling the author's story and introducing a lot of the traditions behind present Quaker practice, it didn't speak to my condition. I think that there are many people who have a similar
condition(*) to me and who would value the explanation of the journey I'm on.
I grew up in a Christian family. My parents grew up going to church, from Protestant families and took us to church faithfully each week. As a teenager I took seriously the business of following this pattern of faith, becoming baptised at the Baptist Church we attended when I was fifteen. The provision of pastoral support for teenagers and young adults was excellent at the church and I grew into its habits. I played in the band and still really enjoy making music. When time came to leave for university, I travelled around a hundred miles, settled to my course and found a church to attend. Also I attended the Christian Union, and became heavily involved. I ended up holding the purse strings and with a responsibility for putting on large-scale events to publicise the CU and Christian Faith. The system of faith I held -- which centred on the reliability of the Bible to tell
God's Story Of Jesus Christ -- simply needed people to appreciate the Book, or so I thought, and then they would become Christians.
I suspect the story can be characterised as burnout; perhaps it is outgrowing the system I found myself in. Either way round that last sentence should show that my system of faith had its limits. After about five years of reading the Bible religiously, praying regularly, listening to sermons in church, attending conferences and festivals and aligning my life with the accesories of a Proper Christian life, I felt that there wasn't enough to this culture to support its life-long adherence. I needed more input, more thinking creatively and a wider appreciation of the Cosmos in which we find ourselves. The personal characteristics of Jesus Christ (or those which I wish to follow) were highly important and remained highly important; the certainty that Jesus' Church was only my church friends disappeared.
I left my church congregation to give my head peace from its noise. I left to have a break and to re-assess the important parts of my faith practices. I left to escape the ghetto of Evangelical Christianised living. I left to show that the prodigal children aren't all outside the church. I left to follow the narrow path... Almost a year after stopping going to church, stopping praying and stopping the worship-songs-in-your-head that I had done, I made it to my local Friends Meeting House.
That was a breath of fresh air. Having intended to make a pilgrimage for a long time, arriving at Meeting, being greeted, taking a seat and participating in the silence, it was good to be there. Simply good.
Why Quaker By Journey? I maintain that my journey was heading in the direction of Quakerly ways before I even arrived. I am convinced that my intentions (to live sustainably; to trade fairly; to be honest and trustworthy; to speak out for those who cannot defend themselves; to make peace) were each intentions I had before making any Friends. I attend my local meeting because we (I and the meeting) are sympathetic to each others' aims.
I didn't one day realise that I was amenable to the tag "Quaker", but hope I am becoming such a person that I would one day be recognised as one.
Take care.
love Ken.
*: This is a only a technical term if you permit such things. It may have become embedded in Quaker wordings by tradition. I think that these contemporary alternatives should convey the same thing: worldview, perspective or practice of tradition.
