Reaching Out
Advices
Friends’ fellowship begins and is nurtured within the home and Meeting. It reaches greater fulfillment as we carry our beliefs into the wider community.
Share your Quaker faith. Take time to learn about other people’s experiences of the Light and, as you learn, give freely from what you have gained. Respect the experiences and opinions of others, but do not be afraid to say what you value. Welcome the diversity of culture, language, and expressions of faith in your Monthly Meeting, the Yearly Meeting and the world community of Friends. Encourage discourse with Friends of Pastoral and Programmed traditions, and with members of other faiths.
Friends have a long history of involvement in public and private education, sharing our values with the world and nurturing future generations. Be mindful of the needs of children in your community and of avenues for deepening understanding between peoples.
Queries
- How does my life reflect Friends’ beliefs and thus encourage others to be interested in the religious society of Friends?
- Do I respond generously to inquiries about the Quaker experience and belief?
- What does our meeting do to make others aware of Friends’ principles and practices?
- What are we doing to help people of various races, cultures, and backgrounds feel at home among us and we among them?
- How do we encourage newcomers to return and participate in activities of the meeting?
- In what ways do we participate in the life of the interfaith community and in the wider fellowship of Friends?
*from Pacific Yearly Meeting Faith and Practice (2001), 53-54
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