What is Quakerism and what is its mission today? Supervised Ministry Response

If I have to answer in a different way from my answer in the denominational essay, then I fear I have little to say.  My ministry setting is my room in Cadbury House, where I write a book about theology, Christianity, and Quakerism.  I am trying to write in such a way that those who have been alienated by Christian thought might find some healing.  I am trying to move people deeper into Quakerism so that they can relate better to non-Quakers, to their former religions (if they joined us from other religions), and to themselves.  In some ways, what I am trying to do is to add the liberal end of the dialogue to Brian McLaren’s reframing of the evangelical side of Christianity.  I am not certain that I will be successful.

For me, unprogrammed Quakerism is a way of life and a theory of evolution, if you will.  Can we evolve away from our genetic inheritance, in which physical and psychological dominance determines who survives, procreates, and defines the cultural surroundings, toward a life defined by love, peace, and equality?  I am optimistic enough to say, why not?  At least most of the time.  I am also realistic enough to doubt the sanity of this optimism at times - which is also fine, because I like Quixotic quests.

For whatever reason, I believe that I receive guidance at times, guidance that appears not to have a rational, physical basis.  I attribute this guidance to the Spirit, the inner light, the workings of God.  Of course, this experience may be the result of a complex physiology, but I don’t think so.  Very occasionally it is a shared experience, and I have received confirmation from other people of their similar experience.  This, for me, confirms the foundations of Quakerism experimentally, as George Fox would say.

So, from my ministry setting, unprogrammed Quakerism is a group of people who choose to explore some of their existential questions together, whether directly, in conversation, or indirectly, through worship.  It is also where we practice love.  My love drives me to try to articulate answers to hard questions, and to learn how to help us all blunder through life’s dissonances with the least possible damage.

My basic stance in life is that a benevolence has caused us to alive, that death cannot be a tragedy since it is part of life, and that, while I may never know very much, I sure do love being alive most of the time.  I am fortunate to have natural curiosity that makes many things interesting to me, and I have been blessed with basically good health for most of my life.  So, while many of the circumstances of my life have been less fortunate, I cannot complain.  On the overall, I bounce back to a basically happy position, given very minimal encouragement.  How could those givens have been created by something not benevolent?

It is my experience that many unprogrammed Quakers share this basic stance, at least in outline.  We see our mission as incarnating love.  If that sounds naive or simple-minded, well, it’s good enough for me.  It’s also a courageous act, and I like that too.