History/State of Quakerism

Location of FGC Gatherings and Conferences
A list of all the major gatherings of Friends General Conference, starting in 1862 with its precursor conferences! There's also a photo gallery of a selection of FGC Gathering posters since 1970.

The Historical Connection between FGC and Education
By Deborah Haines. A history of Friends Education Conference, Friends General Conference and the Friends Council on Education.

David and Me
By Marty Grundy. "For a long time I have been telling folks new to Friends, or those who want to learn more about how to be a member of our Religious Society, that since we have no creed or liturgy, what they need to do is find a genuine Friend, follow him or her around, and learn. Then I've had to point out that a good many of our best Friendly examples are dead. The good news is that all is not lost, because a number of them left journals or memoirs. The bad news is that most of these journals are out of print."

Getting Together
By Deborah Haines. A history of the conferences and gatherings that came together for the "Friends General Conference" of 1900. "The Swarthmore gathering marked a major transition. Hicksite Quakers were shedding their history of inwardness and isolation, and taking on a new identity as religious liberals, open to inquiry and difference of opinion, eager to involve themselves in the affairs of the world." From FGConnections.

FWCC Triennial Meetings
By Annis Bleeke. "At Triennial meetings worship is shared from the variety of Friend's experience. Friends who approach worship at Triennial meetings with open hearts and a desire to learn are enriched by the shared experience. Throughout the eight days of meetings there is worship and study in small groups, giving Friends the opportunity to learn together and grow into a community seeking to know God."

Three Twentieth-Century Revolutions:
Liberal Theology, Sexual Moralities, Peace Testimonies
By Jerry Frost. Here is the much-discussed Sunday night plenary at the 2000 FGC Gathering. "The liberal agenda of 1900 was to understand religious experience in terms of modern thought by using creatively the Bible, Christian theology, Quaker history, the fine arts, alternative religions and psychology, biology and physics. Facing the world then was daunting and is a more challenging task today, but it is an endeavor which requires no fear. Creating a new theological synthesis for our faith would build on our liberal traditions in a creative way, be a good way to say Happy Birthday today, and affirm that we expect the FGC to be a vital religious and intellectual movement in 2100." Also included here are the two parts of the talk that he didn't deliver--on changing sexual moralities and the peace testimonies.

Are Quakers Boring?
By Wally Winter. "The young Quakers who find Quakers 'boring' may be seeing only the 'traditional Quaker decorum' and not our hidden 'sweet songs,' 'inner hilarity,' 'exuberance,' and 'burning experience.' They are there, aren't they? They should be. The tension in Quakers between their decorum and their inner exuberance is one of the things, for me at least, that makes Quakers and Quaker meetings extraordinarily un-boring." From FGConnections.

New Friends, New Meetings, New Challenges.
By Bruce Birchard, Fall 1996. "Despite the increase in the number of meetings, overall membership in the unprogrammed branch of the Society of Friends increased only slightly during the same period... These trends point to tremendous opportunities and challenges. How do we welcome the ideas and energies of new attenders and Friends while maintaining the Quaker essentials in our worship, our conduct of business, and our practice of testimonies?" From FGConnections.

Friends Meeting Houses
A very special issue of FGC Connections focused on the history and future of the places where we meet for worship. There were articles on the Friends Meeting House Fund and the Historic American Buildings Survey, plus articles by David Morse on "Building Anew," Marsha Holliday on "Meetinghouses and Quaker Youth, Mary Kay Glazer on "Rochester Friends' New Meeting House" and a compiled story on history Third Haven Monthly Meeting in Maryland.