 |
| George Fox's pocket Bible. Photo by Judy Maurer. |
Originally posted on Facebook (June 11) by Scott Wagoner. Used by permission.
Scott in front of the North Church Venue,
Muncie, Indiana. Photo courtesy of Scott Wagoner.
QUAKERISM REIMAGINED (a kind of open letter)
Muncie, Indiana. Photo courtesy of Scott Wagoner.
Tomorrow afternoon I'm having a coffee with a friend who wants to have a conversation around the future of Friends. Now, I've had many conversations in my Quaker journey around the "future of Friends", and they can seem the same and sometimes tiring. The gist of those conversations usually goes like this, "Quakers are outdated and no one understands us, so we need to get out from underneath the weight of our traditions and just be the church!" This is often code for "Let's just be a community church and not worry about our Quaker peculiarities." And often it's the last desperate move of a struggling Quaker meeting trying to find which magic level to pull or turn.
But I've yet to be convinced that becoming a "community church" or generic is the way forward. And I'm not saying that because I'm in my early 60's and I'm opposed to innovation (at least I hope not). I'm not convinced of the "community church" or "generic" model mainly because I still feel—and am convinced—our world needs and hungers for the unique gifts we have to offer—peacebuilding, waiting worship and silence, equality, seeking a sense of the meeting (in other words, no voting), women and men in ministry, simplicity, and a faith that isn't cluttered with ceremony as well as pomp and circumstance. In fact, I'm even more convinced that when someone seeks out Quakers and attends a Quaker meeting and doesn't find any of these qualities present, they are a bit confused and often disappointed. It's a bit like false advertising—why have the "Quaker" sign out front if the product inside doesn't match what's advertised.
Having said all that, I'm also not convinced that a fascination with our history is also the way forward. The late Quaker Thomas Kelly challenged folks when he referred to present day Quakers as "paled-out remnants" of the original movement of the mid-1600s. He writes that we are, "...for the most part respectable, complacent, comfortable, with a respectable past, proud of our birthright membership in the Society of Friends which guarantees us entrance, if not into heaven, at least into a very earthly society." In other words, being a Quaker is more than about good networking or being a lifetime member of a respectable group with an equally respectable history. I'm pretty certain that our early Quaker forefathers and foremothers lived a faithful witness through persecution and sometimes death for more than just respectability.
The way forward, it seems (and this is what my friend and I will talk about) is reimagining this vital Quaker witness (and even our Quaker history) towards an inviting, energizing, alive, courageous, and faithful Quaker witness. It means taking the best of our Quaker history and it's inspiring narratives and imagining what that might look like today in a world suffering from conflict, violence, war, and division. It means taking our living tradition and throwing it forward into the future and imagining what it looks like to offer places of silence and quiet in a very noise and chaotic world. It means taking our awareness of equality and justice and reimagining what that can look like in a world desperately in need of a people and witness that sees that of God in everyone and discrimination is nonexistent.
In his book [Future Shock], Alvin Toffler wrote, "In dealing with the future...it is more important to be imaginative and insightful than to be one hundred percent 'right'". For the most part, Quakers have spent the last decade or so trying to prove each other wrong while maintaining their own group's "rightness" either theologically or doctrinally, and what we've ended up with is mainly smaller meetings, split Yearly Meetings, and a fractured Quaker witness. Along the way, we forgot how to dream and imagine and reimagine what Quakerism could look like in real time and in real life.
It's time to reimagine Quakerism for our world today. I'll have my conversation tomorrow. If this is a conversation you would like to also have, let me know 🙂 Coffee is on me.
Now to God who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish far more than all we can ask or imagine, to God be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
(Ephesians 3:20-21)
With Gratitude for All the Faithful Witnesses Before Me,
Scott
Note from Johan: See Scott's original post on the Facebook site to read the many comments posted there. Scott and I would like the conversation to continue. Feel free to comment here or on whatever platform you found the link to this post. If it seems useful, I'll try to gather up your comments for a follow-up post.
According to my calculations, next year Scott Wagoner and I will have known each other for four decades! He is presently the Pastoral Minister at High Point Friends Meeting (Friends United Meeting) in High Point, North Carolina. Scott also serves as the Assistant Clerk of Friends United Meeting and also on the Board of School of the Spirit ( a Quaker Contemplative Prayer ministry) Along with his Quaker activities, Scott serves on the Board of his local Rotary Club and chairs the Peacebuilding Committee. Through his LLC, Growing Edge Resources, he offers coaching, congregational coaching, and leading/facilitating of retreats. He is married to Lynda and they have two adult children (Erin and Chad) and a granddaughter (Maisie). Scott can be reached at scottwagoner62@gmail.com.
Scott is a contributor to one of my favorite devotional resources, the quarterly Barclay Press periodical Fruit of the Vine, which is also available in the form of a daily e-mail.
Related posts:
A great people to be gathered?
 |
| José y MarÃa. Source. |
Daniel the Hispanophile: How Everett Patterson's image of "José y MarÃa" invites us to rethink the meaning of Christmas.
When Hal and Nancy Thomas spent Christmas under arrest.
Micah Bales at Berkeley Friends Church: Thomas Kelly's call to faith amid darkness.
When people asked John [the Baptist] what they were to do to get ready for the coming kingdom of God, John’s answer was consistent: Stop trying to win at the games of the current system. Be content with what you have. Share your wealth with others. Become part of a community that no longer has a stake in the current system, but which instead is ready to hear the good news when it arrives.
Joel Looper in First Things: Bonhoeffer is not your cipher.
Jonathan Haidt in The Atlantic (gift link): Why the last ten years of American life have been uniquely stupid.
More blues music next week, but this evening I'm indulging in nostalgia for our home during the years 2007-2017 through this video by our friend Sergey Kadyrov, "December."
2 comments:
FUM Weekly E-news 6 November 2024
Historically and theologically, Friends had little use for the liturgical seasons (Advent, Lent, and Pentecost) or the liturgical holidays (Christmas, Epiphany, Easter, Pentecost, All Saints Day). But as some of these seasons and holidays—Christmas, in particular—have become commercial and economic seasons in their own right, as well as family judgments, some Friends have turned to the devotional practices of the liturgical churches in order to stay focused on the spiritual heart of ideas that are being turned into material gain. For that reason, the FUM online bookstore brings in a few books every year aimed at personal and family devotions for the Advent season.
(rephrased) Turning to liturgy to focus on spiritual heart of ideas seems to turn Friends completely on its head. If that is the acceptable or even preferred way to focus on the spirit then maybe there isn't much of a future for much of Quakerism
The commnt was ot meant to be anonymous.
Post a Comment