Quaker (Friends) beliefs: what the Quaker (Friends) tradition teaches
Friends believe that Christ has come to teach his people himself, by his Light within, that every person can know that Light, and that the whole of life can be sacramental. They wait on God together, decide by seeking unity in the Spirit, and live out testimonies of peace, simplicity, integrity and equality. Friends range widely, from silent unprogrammed meetings to pastoral evangelical churches.
Worship: Unprogrammed meetings gather in expectant silence until someone is moved to speak; programmed Friends churches have a pastor, hymns, Scripture and a time of open worship.
Branches in the quiz: Unprogrammed Friends (Britain Yearly Meeting, Friends General Conference), Evangelical and pastoral Friends (Friends United Meeting, Evangelical Friends Church International).
Take the quizVisit a church
Unprogrammed Friends (Britain Yearly Meeting, Friends General Conference)
Friends General Conference Quaker FinderFGC lists meetings in North America. Meetings vary widely; the quiz’s unprogrammed branch follows Britain Yearly Meeting’s Faith and Practice.
Evangelical and pastoral Friends (Friends United Meeting, Evangelical Friends Church International)
Evangelical Friends Eastern Region church directoryThis directory covers the Eastern Region.
These are each tradition's own church directories. We don't review individual congregations.
Read more
- Quaker faith & practice — Britain Yearly MeetingFree online
Generations of Friends describe their faith and worship in their own words.
- Richmond Declaration of Faith (1887) — Friends United MeetingFree online
The statement many evangelical and pastoral Friends churches still hold to.
- The Journal of George Fox — George FoxFree online
The first Quaker tells how he found Christ speaking to his condition.
Confessions and statements from Quaker (Friends) churches
Figures and practice companions
as depicted by attributed to Peter LelyImage credit George Fox
1624–1691 · Quaker (Religious Society of Friends)
English preacher whose message that Christ teaches His people Himself gathered the Society of Friends.
Read: The Journal of George FoxFree onlineMargaret Fell
1614–1702 · Quaker (Religious Society of Friends)
Mistress of Swarthmoor Hall, a founder of the Quakers and later George Fox's wife, jailed for her faith; wrote Womens Speaking Justified.
Read: Women's Speaking Justified
Practices associated with Quaker (Friends) churches
Waiting worship in silence
Sit with others, or alone, in quiet for twenty or thirty minutes. Do not rush to fill the silence. Bring your attention back to Christ when it drifts, and let Him search you. If a word rises that seems meant for others, Friends would wait a little before speaking it.
Friends' meeting for worship, begun with George Fox in the 1650s, where the gathered meeting waits in silence until someone is moved to speak. Robert Barclay set out its basis in his Apology (1676), Proposition XI.
Source: Robert Barclay, An Apology for the True Christian Divinity, Proposition XI“All true and acceptable Worship to God is offered in the inward and immediate moving and drawing of his own Spirit”
Compare Quaker (Friends) teaching by topic
Quaker (Friends) coverage: 23 of 31 questions. Review status and scoring
Unprogrammed Friends (Britain Yearly Meeting, Friends General Conference) · Based on 14 topics
No official position scored: When God puts a sinner right with Himself, which is closest to what you think happens? Which is closest to what you think about whom Christ died to save? Which is closest to what you think about God's choosing and our choice? Which is closest to what you think: can a true believer fall away and be lost? Which is closest to how you think the church should be led? Which is closest to what you think happens in baptism? Which is closest to what you think about how baptism should be done? When the church shares the bread and cup, which is closest to what you think? Which is closest to what you think about gifts like prophecy, tongues and healing today? Which is closest to what you think about being baptized (or filled) with the Holy Spirit? When Christians pray for the sick, which is closest to what you think? Which is closest to what you think about Christ's return and the thousand years in Revelation 20? Which is closest to what you think happens to believers when they die, before the final resurrection? Which is closest to what you think about the saints in heaven? Which is closest to what you think about Mary, the mother of Jesus? Which music helps you worship most? Which is closest to what you think about how God makes believers holy?
Evangelical and pastoral Friends (Friends United Meeting, Evangelical Friends Church International) · 23 topics available
No official position scored: Which is closest to how you think the church should be led? Which is closest to what you think happens in baptism? Which is closest to what you think about how baptism should be done? When the church shares the bread and cup, which is closest to what you think? When Christians pray for the sick, which is closest to what you think? Which is closest to what you think about the saints in heaven? Which is closest to what you think about Mary, the mother of Jesus? Which music helps you worship most?
Read the positions and sources
Scripture and authority
When Christians disagree about what to believe, which is closest to what you think should settle it?
Unprogrammed Friends (Britain Yearly Meeting, Friends General Conference)
Teaches: “Christ speaks to His people directly by His Spirit, and the Bible and the gathered church help us test what we hear.”
Some hold: “The Bible alone has the final word. Creeds, councils and teachers are all tested by it.”
Source: Quaker faith & practice (Britain Yearly Meeting), ch. 19 (George Fox, Journal)“the Holy Spirit, by which the holy men of God gave forth the scriptures, whereby opinions, religions and judgments were to be tried”
Evangelical and pastoral Friends (Friends United Meeting, Evangelical Friends Church International)
Teaches: “The Bible alone has the final word. Creeds, councils and teachers are all tested by it.”
Some hold: “Christ speaks to His people directly by His Spirit, and the Bible and the gathered church help us test what we hear.”
Source: Evangelical Friends Church – Eastern Region, Faith & Practice (2023 edition), 130 Holy Scripture“there can be no appeal from them to any other authority whatever”
Which is closest to what you think about creeds and confessions (written summaries of what a church believes)?
Unprogrammed Friends (Britain Yearly Meeting, Friends General Conference)
Teaches: “We hold no creed. We test what we believe together, waiting on Christ's leading, with the Bible's help.”
Makes room for: “A short statement of faith keeps us united, and the Bible itself is what we really stand on.”
Source: Quaker faith & practice (Britain Yearly Meeting), 27.24“Rejection of creed is not inconsistent with being possessed by a living belief.”
Evangelical and pastoral Friends (Friends United Meeting, Evangelical Friends Church International)
Teaches: “A short statement of faith keeps us united, and the Bible itself is what we really stand on.”
Some hold: “We hold no creed. We test what we believe together, waiting on Christ's leading, with the Bible's help.”
Source: Evangelical Friends Church – Eastern Region, Faith & Practice (2023 edition), Doctrine“presents its Statement of Doctrine in the following Statement of Faith”
Which is closest to how you see the Bible's truthfulness?
Unprogrammed Friends (Britain Yearly Meeting, Friends General Conference)
Teaches: “The Bible is God's word through human writers. It tells the truth about Christ, and careful scholarship helps us read it.”
Some hold: “The Bible holds God's word alongside its writers' own views, and we discern which parts speak for God today.”
Makes room for: “The Bible is fully trustworthy in everything it teaches about God, salvation and how to live.”
Source: Quaker faith & practice (Britain Yearly Meeting), 5th edition, 27.34“We understand the Bible as a record arising from … struggles to comprehend God’s ways with people.”
Evangelical and pastoral Friends (Friends United Meeting, Evangelical Friends Church International)
Teaches: “The Bible is without error in everything it affirms, including what it says about history and the world.”
Some hold: “The Bible is fully trustworthy in everything it teaches about God, salvation and how to live.”
Source: Evangelical Friends Church – Eastern Region, Faith & Practice (2023 edition), 130 Holy Scripture“without error in all that it affirms, and is the only infallible rule of faith and practice”
Salvation and grace
When God puts a sinner right with Himself, which is closest to what you think happens?
Unprogrammed Friends (Britain Yearly Meeting, Friends General Conference)
Teaches: “God brings us into a right relationship with Him, and that new life means following Jesus every day with His people.”
Some hold: “God forgives us and counts us righteous for Christ's sake, crediting His righteousness to us. We receive this by faith alone.”
Not yet checked against the primary text, so the quiz doesn’t score this.
Evangelical and pastoral Friends (Friends United Meeting, Evangelical Friends Church International)
Teaches: “God forgives us and counts us righteous for Christ's sake, crediting His righteousness to us. We receive this by faith alone.”
Some hold: “God forgives us and makes us truly righteous within by His grace, which grows as faith works through love.”
Source: Evangelical Friends Church – Eastern Region, Faith & Practice (2023 edition), 170 Salvation“God pardons them from past sins and declares them righteous, not for anything they have done but because of the obedience and atoning death of Christ”
Which is closest to how you think God usually gives people His saving grace?
Unprogrammed Friends (Britain Yearly Meeting, Friends General Conference)
Teaches: “Directly and inwardly, as the Spirit of Christ works in the heart, without any need for outward rites.”
Some hold: “When a person hears the gospel and personally trusts Christ. Baptism and the Lord's Supper then show it.”
Source: Quaker faith & practice (Britain Yearly Meeting), 27.38“However valid and vital outward sacraments are for others, they are not, in our experience, necessary for the operation of God's grace.”
Evangelical and pastoral Friends (Friends United Meeting, Evangelical Friends Church International)
Teaches: “When a person hears the gospel and personally trusts Christ. Baptism and the Lord's Supper then show it.” or “Directly and inwardly, as the Spirit of Christ works in the heart, without any need for outward rites.”
Source: Evangelical Friends Church – Eastern Region, Faith & Practice (2023 edition), 170 Salvation“salvation can only be found through faith in Jesus Christ”
Which is closest to what you think about whom Christ died to save?
Unprogrammed Friends (Britain Yearly Meeting, Friends General Conference)
Teaches: “Christ died for every person, so that anyone who turns to Him can be saved.”
Some hold: “Christ's death will in the end bring every person back to God.”
Not yet checked against the primary text, so the quiz doesn’t score this.
Source: Quaker faith & practice (Britain Yearly Meeting), 19.04
Evangelical and pastoral Friends (Friends United Meeting, Evangelical Friends Church International)
Teaches: “Christ died for every person, so that anyone who turns to Him can be saved.”
Source: Richmond Declaration of Faith (1887), Richmond Declaration, The Lord Jesus Christ“is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world”
Which is closest to what you think about God's choosing and our choice?
Unprogrammed Friends (Britain Yearly Meeting, Friends General Conference)
Teaches: “God calls everyone and gives His grace first. We freely cooperate with it, and it never forces us.”
Some hold: “God's grace goes before everyone and frees us to respond. God chooses in Christ those He knows will believe.”
Not yet checked against the primary text, so the quiz doesn’t score this.
Evangelical and pastoral Friends (Friends United Meeting, Evangelical Friends Church International)
Teaches: “God calls everyone and gives His grace first. We freely cooperate with it, and it never forces us.”
Some hold: “God's choosing and our free choice are both true in Scripture, and I don't think we need a system to fit them together.”
Source: Richmond Declaration of Faith (1887), Richmond Declaration, The Holy Spirit“the influence of the Holy Spirit of God, bestowed on mankind, in various measures and degrees, through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Which is closest to what you think: can a true believer fall away and be lost?
Unprogrammed Friends (Britain Yearly Meeting, Friends General Conference)
Teaches: “Yes. A believer can turn away from Christ and be lost, but while we live His grace keeps calling us back.”
Not yet checked against the primary text, so the quiz doesn’t score this.
Evangelical and pastoral Friends (Friends United Meeting, Evangelical Friends Church International)
Teaches: “Yes. A believer can turn away from Christ and be lost, but while we live His grace keeps calling us back.”
Source: Evangelical Friends Church – Eastern Region, Faith & Practice (2023 edition), 170 Salvation“we do not hold this security to be unconditional”
Which is closest to what you think about knowing where you stand with God?
Unprogrammed Friends (Britain Yearly Meeting, Friends General Conference)
Teaches: “We trust God and follow Jesus together, and certainty isn't something we spend much time on.”
Some hold: “The Spirit gives an inner witness that I'm God's child, and I keep walking with Him so I don't drift away.”
Source: Quaker faith & practice (Britain Yearly Meeting), 5th edition, 26.39“True faith is not assurance, but the readiness to go forward experimentally, without assurance.”
Evangelical and pastoral Friends (Friends United Meeting, Evangelical Friends Church International)
Teaches: “The Spirit gives an inner witness that I'm God's child, and I keep walking with Him so I don't drift away.”
Source: Evangelical Friends Church – Eastern Region, Faith & Practice (2023 edition), 170 Salvation“the security of the believer, even for eternity, is indicated in God’s Word and witnessed to by the Holy Spirit to the individual”
Which is closest to what you think about how God makes believers holy?
Unprogrammed Friends (Britain Yearly Meeting, Friends General Conference)
Teaches: “Holiness is following Jesus in daily obedience, with a church that encourages and corrects us.”
Some hold: “After conversion God can, in a moment, cleanse the heart from the sin within and fill it with perfect love.” or “God calls us to perfect love in this life. We press on toward it, and for most of us it's a lifelong path.”
Not yet checked against the primary text, so the quiz doesn’t score this.
Evangelical and pastoral Friends (Friends United Meeting, Evangelical Friends Church International)
Teaches: “After conversion God can, in a moment, cleanse the heart from the sin within and fill it with perfect love.”
Some hold: “God calls us to perfect love in this life. We press on toward it, and for most of us it's a lifelong path.”
Source: Evangelical Friends Church – Eastern Region, Faith & Practice (2023 edition), History and doctrine“Evangelical Friends believe in the Biblical teaching of entire sanctification as a second work of grace.”
The church
Which is closest to how you think the church should be led?
Unprogrammed Friends (Britain Yearly Meeting, Friends General Conference)
Teaches: “By each local congregation under Christ, with leaders such as pastors, elders or clerks, free from outside control.”
Some hold: “By elders, pastors and lay elders together, with local churches joined in regional and national assemblies.”
Not yet checked against the primary text, so the quiz doesn’t score this.
Evangelical and pastoral Friends (Friends United Meeting, Evangelical Friends Church International)
Teaches: “By each local congregation under Christ, with leaders such as pastors, elders or clerks, free from outside control.”
Makes room for: “By elders, pastors and lay elders together, with local churches joined in regional and national assemblies.”
Not yet checked against the primary text, so the quiz doesn’t score this.
Which is closest to what you think about who may be ordained as a pastor or priest?
Unprogrammed Friends (Britain Yearly Meeting, Friends General Conference)
Teaches: “We don't set apart ordained clergy. Any believer, woman or man, may minister as the Spirit leads.”
Some hold: “Both men and women may be called by God and ordained as pastors.”
Source: Quaker faith & practice (Britain Yearly Meeting), 19.25“Women were to play a full part in the life of the church alongside men.”
Evangelical and pastoral Friends (Friends United Meeting, Evangelical Friends Church International)
Teaches: “Both men and women may be called by God and ordained as pastors.”
Some hold: “We don't set apart ordained clergy. Any believer, woman or man, may minister as the Spirit leads.”
Source: Evangelical Friends Church – Eastern Region, Faith & Practice (2023 edition), Equality in leadership“we celebrate the Recording of Ordination for men and women called into vocational pastoral ministry”
Which is closest to what you think about ordination in an unbroken line from the apostles?
Unprogrammed Friends (Britain Yearly Meeting, Friends General Conference)
Teaches: “Each congregation recognizes and calls its own leaders by their gifts. No outside line of ordination is needed.”
Source: Quaker faith & practice (Britain Yearly Meeting), 5th edition, 27.36“so they do not have a set-apart priesthood”
Evangelical and pastoral Friends (Friends United Meeting, Evangelical Friends Church International)
Teaches: “Each congregation recognizes and calls its own leaders by their gifts. No outside line of ordination is needed.”
Source: Richmond Declaration of Faith (1887), Richmond Declaration, Public Worship“it is the prerogative of the Great Head of the church alone to select and call the ministers of His Gospel”
Which is closest to what you think about Christians, war and oaths?
Unprogrammed Friends (Britain Yearly Meeting, Friends General Conference)
Teaches: “Jesus' followers should not fight in war or use violence, and should give a plain yes or no instead of oaths.”
Some hold: “Christians should work for peace, and each believer may follow conscience about serving in the military.”
Source: Quaker faith & practice (Britain Yearly Meeting), 24.04 (1660 declaration)“All bloody principles and practices we do utterly deny, with all outward wars, and strife, and fightings with outward weapons”
Evangelical and pastoral Friends (Friends United Meeting, Evangelical Friends Church International)
Teaches: “Jesus' followers should not fight in war or use violence, and should give a plain yes or no instead of oaths.” or “Christians should work for peace, and each believer may follow conscience about serving in the military.”
Source: Evangelical Friends Church – Eastern Region, Faith & Practice (2023 edition), Peace“we respect individual conscience and surround our members with loving care whether they for Christ’s sake refuse military service or feel obligated to serve”
Baptism and the Lord’s Supper
Which is closest to what you think about who should be baptized?
Unprogrammed Friends (Britain Yearly Meeting, Friends General Conference)
Teaches: “No outward water baptism is needed. The true baptism is the inward work of Christ's Spirit.”
Source: Quaker faith & practice (Britain Yearly Meeting), 5th edition, 27.38“However valid and vital outward sacraments are for others, they are not, in our experience, necessary for the”
Evangelical and pastoral Friends (Friends United Meeting, Evangelical Friends Church International)
Teaches: “No outward water baptism is needed. The true baptism is the inward work of Christ's Spirit.”
Some hold: “Only people old enough to understand the gospel and confess faith in Christ for themselves.”
Source: Evangelical Friends Church – Eastern Region, Faith & Practice (2023 edition), Section 231, Community within the Church (ordinances)“Friends churches practice “believer’s baptism” for those who profess faith in Jesus”
Which is closest to what you think happens in baptism?
Unprogrammed Friends (Britain Yearly Meeting, Friends General Conference)
Not yet checked against the primary text, so the quiz doesn’t score this.
Evangelical and pastoral Friends (Friends United Meeting, Evangelical Friends Church International)
Not yet checked against the primary text, so the quiz doesn’t score this.
Which is closest to what you think about how baptism should be done?
Unprogrammed Friends (Britain Yearly Meeting, Friends General Conference)
Not yet checked against the primary text, so the quiz doesn’t score this.
Evangelical and pastoral Friends (Friends United Meeting, Evangelical Friends Church International)
Not yet checked against the primary text, so the quiz doesn’t score this.
When the church shares the bread and cup, which is closest to what you think?
Unprogrammed Friends (Britain Yearly Meeting, Friends General Conference)
Not yet checked against the primary text, so the quiz doesn’t score this.
Evangelical and pastoral Friends (Friends United Meeting, Evangelical Friends Church International)
Not yet checked against the primary text, so the quiz doesn’t score this.
Which is closest to what you think about how often a church should share the Lord's Supper?
Unprogrammed Friends (Britain Yearly Meeting, Friends General Conference)
Teaches: “We don't hold an outward meal. We seek Christ's presence inwardly, in worship and daily life.”
Source: Quaker faith & practice (Britain Yearly Meeting), 5th edition, 27.38“However valid and vital outward sacraments are for others, they are not, in our experience, necessary for the”
Evangelical and pastoral Friends (Friends United Meeting, Evangelical Friends Church International)
Teaches: “We don't hold an outward meal. We seek Christ's presence inwardly, in worship and daily life.”
Some hold: “Regularly, perhaps monthly or quarterly. It's special, but it isn't part of every service.”
Source: Evangelical Friends Church – Eastern Region, Faith & Practice (2023 edition), Section 231, Community within the Church (ordinances)“Friends should guard against any temptation to allow the outward symbols to replace or take preeminence over the inner spiritual realities”
Which is closest to what you think Christ gave His church to keep as lasting rites?
Unprogrammed Friends (Britain Yearly Meeting, Friends General Conference)
Teaches: “No outward rites are required. All of life can be sacred when it's lived in the Spirit.”
Source: Quaker faith & practice (Britain Yearly Meeting), 27.39“To Fox and the early Friends the whole of life seemed sacramental”
Evangelical and pastoral Friends (Friends United Meeting, Evangelical Friends Church International)
Teaches: “No outward rites are required. All of life can be sacred when it's lived in the Spirit.”
Some hold: “Two ordinances, baptism and the Lord's Supper, kept in obedience as signs of the gospel.”
Source: Evangelical Friends Church – Eastern Region, Faith & Practice (2023 edition), Appendix B, EFC-I Statement of Faith“are spiritual realities which are not dependent upon physical and outward ordinances”
The Holy Spirit’s gifts
Which is closest to what you think about gifts like prophecy, tongues and healing today?
Unprogrammed Friends (Britain Yearly Meeting, Friends General Conference)
Teaches: “The Spirit gives gifts to every believer for building up the church, and I don't sort them into kinds.”
Not yet checked against the primary text, so the quiz doesn’t score this.
Evangelical and pastoral Friends (Friends United Meeting, Evangelical Friends Church International)
Teaches: “They can still happen, but the church should test them with care, and they aren't the focus of church life.”
Some hold: “The Spirit gives gifts to every believer for building up the church, and I don't sort them into kinds.”
Source: Evangelical Friends Church – Eastern Region, Faith & Practice (2023 edition), Gifts of the Spirit“we encourage our churches—and individual members—to refrain from exercising the use of tongues in public ways during times of corporate worship”
Which is closest to what you think about being baptized (or filled) with the Holy Spirit?
Unprogrammed Friends (Britain Yearly Meeting, Friends General Conference)
Teaches: “Every believer receives the Spirit on coming to faith, and we can be filled again and again.”
Not yet checked against the primary text, so the quiz doesn’t score this.
Source: Richmond Declaration of Faith (1887; Orthodox/FUM and evangelical Friends), The Holy Spirit
Evangelical and pastoral Friends (Friends United Meeting, Evangelical Friends Church International)
Teaches: “It's a second work of grace after conversion that cleanses the heart and fills it with perfect love.”
Some hold: “Every believer receives the Spirit on coming to faith, and we can be filled again and again.”
Source: Evangelical Friends Church – Eastern Region, Faith & Practice (2023 edition), History and doctrine“The baptism with the fullness of the Holy Spirit is the way God cleanses from the sinful nature and makes believers holy.”
When Christians pray for the sick, which is closest to what you think?
Unprogrammed Friends (Britain Yearly Meeting, Friends General Conference)
Not yet checked against the primary text, so the quiz doesn’t score this.
Evangelical and pastoral Friends (Friends United Meeting, Evangelical Friends Church International)
Not yet checked against the primary text, so the quiz doesn’t score this.
Mary and the saints
Which is closest to what you think about the saints in heaven?
Unprogrammed Friends (Britain Yearly Meeting, Friends General Conference)
Teaches: “Every believer, living or dead, is a saint. We remember faithful Christians without special honor for some.”
Not yet checked against the primary text, so the quiz doesn’t score this.
Evangelical and pastoral Friends (Friends United Meeting, Evangelical Friends Church International)
Teaches: “Every believer, living or dead, is a saint. We remember faithful Christians without special honor for some.”
Some hold: “We thank God for the saints and follow their example, but we pray to God alone.”
Not yet checked against the primary text, so the quiz doesn’t score this.
Which is closest to what you think about Mary, the mother of Jesus?
Unprogrammed Friends (Britain Yearly Meeting, Friends General Conference)
Teaches: “She was a godly woman God chose to bear Jesus, and an example of faith like other believers.”
Not yet checked against the primary text, so the quiz doesn’t score this.
Evangelical and pastoral Friends (Friends United Meeting, Evangelical Friends Church International)
Teaches: “She was a godly woman God chose to bear Jesus, and an example of faith like other believers.”
Not yet checked against the primary text, so the quiz doesn’t score this.
Last things
Which is closest to what you think about Christ's return and the thousand years in Revelation 20?
Unprogrammed Friends (Britain Yearly Meeting, Friends General Conference)
Teaches: “Christ will return in glory to judge the living and the dead, and I don't think we need a timeline.”
Not yet checked against the primary text, so the quiz doesn’t score this.
Evangelical and pastoral Friends (Friends United Meeting, Evangelical Friends Church International)
Teaches: “Christ will return in glory to judge the living and the dead, and I don't think we need a timeline.”
Source: Evangelical Friends Church – Eastern Region, Faith & Practice (2023 edition), Appendix B, EFC-I Statement of Faith“We believe in the second coming of Christ; that at His coming the dead shall be resurrected”
Which is closest to what you think happens to believers when they die, before the final resurrection?
Unprogrammed Friends (Britain Yearly Meeting, Friends General Conference)
Teaches: “They go straight to be with Christ, fully forgiven, and wait for the resurrection of the body.”
Not yet checked against the primary text, so the quiz doesn’t score this.
Evangelical and pastoral Friends (Friends United Meeting, Evangelical Friends Church International)
Teaches: “They go straight to be with Christ, fully forgiven, and wait for the resurrection of the body.”
Source: Evangelical Friends Church – Eastern Region, Faith & Practice (2023 edition), 190 Last Things“The spirits of the righteous will experience joy and life in the presence of God”
Worship
Which kind of service feels most like worship to you?
Unprogrammed Friends (Britain Yearly Meeting, Friends General Conference)
Teaches: “No set order. We wait together in silence until someone is moved to speak.”
Some hold: “A long time of singing, then preaching, with freedom for spontaneous prayer and response.”
Source: Quaker faith & practice (Britain Yearly Meeting), 2.01“Silent worship and the spoken word are both parts of Quaker ministry.”
Evangelical and pastoral Friends (Friends United Meeting, Evangelical Friends Church International)
Teaches: “A long time of singing, then preaching, with freedom for spontaneous prayer and response.”
Some hold: “No set order. We wait together in silence until someone is moved to speak.”
Source: Evangelical Friends Church – Eastern Region, Faith & Practice (2023 edition), Worship“Evangelical Friends have, over time, recognized the value of “programmed” worship gatherings that include congregational singing, preaching, and other components.”
Which music helps you worship most?
Unprogrammed Friends (Britain Yearly Meeting, Friends General Conference)
Not yet checked against the primary text, so the quiz doesn’t score this.
Evangelical and pastoral Friends (Friends United Meeting, Evangelical Friends Church International)
Not yet checked against the primary text, so the quiz doesn’t score this.
How much should the church year shape worship?
Unprogrammed Friends (Britain Yearly Meeting, Friends General Conference)
Teaches: “No day is holier than another; we keep every day to the Lord alike.”
Source: Quaker faith & practice (Britain Yearly Meeting), 27.39“it was not in itself more holy than Saturday or Monday; every week-day should be a Lord’s Day.”
Evangelical and pastoral Friends (Friends United Meeting, Evangelical Friends Church International)
Teaches: “Every Lord's Day is the feast, and we don't keep other holy days.”
Source: Richmond Declaration of Faith (1887), Richmond Declaration, The First Day of the Week“setting apart of one day in seven for the purposes of holy rest, religious duties, and public worship”
In worship, what do you most hope for?
Unprogrammed Friends (Britain Yearly Meeting, Friends General Conference)
Teaches: “Quiet stillness before God, with plenty of room for silence.”
Some hold: “A close church family sharing life, singing together and caring for one another.”
Source: Quaker faith & practice (Britain Yearly Meeting), 2.01“As, together, we enter the depths of a living silence, the stillness of God”
Evangelical and pastoral Friends (Friends United Meeting, Evangelical Friends Church International)
Teaches: “Clear preaching of God's Word that teaches and convicts, with heartfelt singing.” or “Quiet stillness before God, with plenty of room for silence.”
Source: Evangelical Friends Church – Eastern Region, Faith & Practice (2023 edition), Corporate worship“Worship gatherings will regularly include times of prayer, praise, giving, and preaching, as well as frequent opportunities for reflection, meditation, and decision.”