Comment by C. Morningbear Cullimore Mercer on 11th mo. 5, 2009 at 1:31pm

I wonder if the American Experience of the Society of Friends, has thrown a lot of individualistic sentiment into the practice of Friends generally. I notice the African experience is that of Guerneyite principles modified by the American holiness movement. There is a lot of wistful talking about Friends testimonies, as long as they do not impinge on the community ideal.

Liberal Friends are declining in number, it seems, because of the introspection that does not reach out to people as they are. There are few long term liberal Friends that are of poor circumstances, poor educations or disordered either physically or mentally. These folks bring "heart" to the practice of the Society, something that the "head" folks manage to drive off in time. I recall one unprogrammed American meeting that refused to accept attenders from the local mental hospital because they felt the patients would be a risk to health and decorum.

Further, there is a tug of war with the status of seniors in meeting. Some meetings and churches nearly idolize their active seniors, which can stifle outreach to younger members more connected to secularism and technology and less to established structures. All decision making is deferred to the seniors even when they no longer sit on committees. I recall one senior of such stature who told me that if they could not attract new members they would have to close their doors. What the congregation offered was a time-honored routine that was not meeting the needs of their new attenders. Another meeting had this problem with the one senior member who presumed veto power. Finally, Ministry and Council, also of seniors of that generation, decided that doing the right thing was more important than one members comfort zone, again the issue was being open to the attendance of developmentally disabled people. That meeting has an active relationship with its developmentally disabled, capitalizing on the gifts they bring. On the other end of the scale, seniors are largely set dressing, feeling like they must beg meetings for attention and visitation when they are unable to get to worship. Such meetings may be growing but they are lacking proactive community toward members who are in decline.

These few things I have mentioned belie the universality of George Fox's and Jesus' ideals among Friends. We have high expectations of people that are convinced to be Friends. Most meetings ignore simple educational theory and expect attenders to "get it" via osmosis, slowly observing and participating in a practice they have a deep desire to understand. Not everyone is able to learn abstract concepts by seeing and hearing. Some learn by doing and touching, some learn through emotional connection. We expect attenders to get themselves up to speed without plumbing the depths or offering the tools they might need to do so. I was a "guessing" Friend for 15 years. I had my spiritual experiences that seem to fit the mold of Quakerism. Often, my questions were met with rolling eyes. Four years at Earlham School of Religion did the trick and I found a community that was open to convergent ideas, was Christ centered and accepting of the spiritual gifts and diversity of all that walk through the meetinghouse doors.

Then there are those Friends Churches that refuse to be considered Quakers. Don't get me started.

Enoough, already...

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