Advices and queries are not a call to increased activity by each individual friend but a reminder of the insights of the society. Its an appropriate place to start, as its probably the first quaker text most people read. In close relationships we may risk pain as well as finding joy. Quaker faith and practice book of new zealand readings. It is not a rigid set of rules and regulations but a description of what seems to have worked best in the past, based on quaker theology, values and experience. Therefore use the browser back button to return to this page. As shopkeepers and businesspeople, quakers developed queries as a way of taking moral and spiritual inventory of themselves. A word about quaker queries friends general conference. Its published online, as the first chapter of the big red book, as a small red booklet, and in welsh also as a small red booklet. Introducing some quaker books surrey and sussex quakers. The second part has to do with traditional quaker practice. Advices and queries quaker cloud friends general conference. Clerks elders and overseers all those involved in the nominations process trustees. Britain yearly meeting advices and queries and introductory material, including 1656 statement.
Advices and queries form the first part of quaker faith and practice which can be read in full at the link. It also describes the current structures of britain yearly meeting of the religious society of friends. Advices and queries advices and queries are intended for use in quaker meetings, for private devotion and reflection, as a challenge and inspiration to us as friends in our personal lives and in our life as a religious community, and as a concise expression of our faith and practice for enquirers and the wider world. Advices and queries friends do not have a creed but we do have advices, based on the spiritual wisdom gleaned over the years. The quaker belief in continuing revelation is as true in meeting for. A book of discipline may refer to one of the various books issued by a yearly meeting of the religious society of friends, setting out what it means to be a quaker in that yearly meeting. While remaining faithful to quaker insights, try to enter imaginatively into the life and witness of other communities of faith, creating together the bonds of friendship. My growing series of reflections on advices and queries fortytwo pithy statements that collectively capture the british quaker faith. In the authorised version of quaker history it is received wisdom that james nayler, although a man of deep spirituality with a significant gift for preaching and writing, was an unstable and. The common name for this book varies from one yearly meeting to another and includes book of discipline, faith and practice, christian faith and practice, quaker faith and practice, church government and. Its advice includes its advice includes bear witness to the humanity of all people, including those who break societys conventions or its laws. Thus, the beginning of a life of simplicity is the elimination of unnecessary material possessions, or what quakers refer to as cumber. Quakers use various names for the divine including god, the light, the seed, the inward teacher, and the living christ. We also have a set of spiritual queries which help us individually and as communities to consider our spiritual condition.
The book of christian discipline of the yearly meeting of the religious society of friends quakers in britain. It contains a total of 66 queries organized into 16 sections. There is a glossary of terms and an appendix on the history of. A guide for newcomers includes extracts from the testimony of quakers of all backgrounds and beliefs, talking about the ways in which they put their religion into practice. A set of advices and queries drawn up by an ad hoc committee was approved by the yearly meeting in session in july of 2012. These queries are offered to the following groups of friends to help reflection on how well they work together, to share responsibility and leadership. Other quaker groups dont tend to publish them separatelytheyre a section. Australia yearly meeting questions for all quakers 2008. You i, we are encouraged to use whatever pronoun seems the most appropriate or. Inspired by faith and practice of twentysix yearly meetings around the world, advices and queries is designed to sustain and deepen the quaker dimension of friends school communities as it supports administrators, faculty, and staff in examining how their daily practices and interactions reflect quaker values. Be aware of the spirit of god at work in the ordinary activities and experience of your daily life. As part of a major programme of consultation with the yearly meeting, the committee drafted a provisional document with the title questions and counsel. Quakers do not regard any book as being the actual word of god.
Do you cherish your friendships, so that they grow in depth and understanding and mutual respect. Although the corporate use of advices and queries is governed by more. I was recently appointed assistant clerk to my local meeting. The quaker testimonies of simplicity and stewardship are the foundation of our spiritual relationship with money. The book of christian discipline of the yearly meeting of the religious society of. This book of quaker faith and practice is an attempt to express truth through the vital personal and corporate experience of friends. Advices and queries are an important reminder of the insights of the society. They challenge and inspire us in our personal lives and in our corporate life. Quaker faith and practice cloth britain yearly meeting 5th. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading advices and queries. There is a lot of ministry in this mornings meeting and much of it is focused upon friendship. The advices and queries elsewhere in this book help us to discern what god is asking of us in specific areas of our lives.
A thought for the day from trevor bending, member of nfn steering group and nfn website editor. Some of the queries and advices are addressed to individuals, others to the community. It is useful for those who are new to the society, have been newly appointed to a committee, have been entrusted with a task rarely performed, want to find out more about friends practices, and who wish. Britain ym advices and queries concord friends meeting. Advices and queries contained within quaker faith and practice price. The quaker handbook in these pages is intended as a how to manual.
Lake erie yearly meeting of the religious society of friends. There are twelve sets, one for each month, each covering a different topic these queries and advices are meant to be read. These general advices and queries challenge us to turn to the inward teacher and to nurture faithfulness as a foundation for every thought and action. It is made up of sections beginning with the advices and queries, a chapter on approaching god in worship and in prayer, church government at various levels. According to faith and practice of north pacific yearly meeting, simplicity is cutting away all that is extraneous. Advices and queries this is a practical and informative guide to quaker practice in this country. Within the community there is a diversity of gifts. The reading of them should remind us that all aspects of our lives are. The quaker booklet advices and queries book gives a detailed overview of the values involved in quaker faith and practice.
Be patterns, be examples in all countries, places, islands, nations, wherever you come, that your carriage and life may preach among all sorts of people, and to them. Advices and queries for friends new england yearly meeting. New york yearly meeting is the gathering of quaker meetings congregations in new york state, northern new jersey, and southwestern connecticut. Advices and queries for isolated friends with a traditional. Also included are proposed queries from the faith and practice revision committee. Pym faith and practice 2001 pacific yearly meeting. The following are the draft general advices and queries from our new book of faith and practice in new england, which is currently being created. It is a warm and incisive first book for all readers interested in quakers, and an exhilarating read for anyone absorbed by the life of the spirit. Advices and queries published by the religious society of friends in aotearoanew zealand, te haahi tuuhauwiri, 20.
Before there was the first book of discipline quaker elders issued a series of advices concerning expected behavior for friends. In 1986 meeting for sufferings appointed a book of discipline revision committee, and among the earliest tasks which this committee took up was a revision of the advices and queries. A word about quaker queries quakers dont have creeds or formal statements of things all quakers must believe. Most of the hypertext links in this piece do not open in a new tab or window.
I was handed some sheets on which records had been kept during the past seventeen years of the. The advices and queries remind us of the essential faith and principles of the religious society of friends. While remaining faithful to quaker insights, try to enter imaginatively into the life and witness of other. British friends have a little red book called advices and queries. It is recommended that the following advices and queries be read at a meeting at least twice during the calendar year. They are typically found in a yearly meetings book of faith and practice, and are always evolving. Advices, queries, and gospel order big island quaker.