Faith and Practice

Fort Collins Friends Meeting is a small, Quaker religious community serving the spiritual needs of folks in the Northern Colorado region. The Meeting began on an informal basis in the 1960s, became a formal monthly meeting in 1986, bought and developed our meeting house on West Vine in 1994 and added a new wing to the buildings in 2009.

Fort Collins Friends practice a form of open, silent worship. Friends come together on the First Day (Sunday) in silence waiting to be moved to speak; any Friend may speak, but will only do so with urging from an Inner Light deep within. This form of worship is referred to as an "unprogrammed" meeting in that there is no set service of Bible readings, singing or other ritual. Quaker meetings of this type believe that all are called to be ministers, so all of our business and works are carried out by community members ourselves. Silent meetings are conducted in great simplicity without sermons, singing, or formal readings unless a Friend is so moved to share the promptings of the Spirit.

Quakerism began in the 17th century, a time of great civil unrest and war in England. George Fox, a young man trained as a cobbler, came to the belief that God’s will is continually and directly revealed to every person who seeks it. For this reason, Quakers are also sometimes called seekers. Quakers refer to God’s will as the Light, and devote their attention to minding the Light or seeking the Light. The term Friend comes from an early description of the group as "Friends of the Truth." The formal title for Quakers is The Religious Society of Friends.

Friends place an emphasis upon expressing their faith through their lives rather than through a written creed of specific belief. George Fox said, "Let your lives speak." The set of Quaker values on how we should live our lives is referred to as the Testimonies. Friends' testimonies include: Simplicity, Peace, Integrity, Community, Equality and the Environment. These are the values that guide everyday behavior. Quakers, along with Mennonites and the Church of the Brethren, are included as one of the Historic Peace Churches in being opposed to war and all forms of violence, believing in nonviolent means of social and political change.

For those with ongoing interest in Quakers, please visit us at our Meeting House at 2222 West Vine, Fort Collins, on First Day (Sunday) mornings at 10:00 or contact us at 970-491-9717 or info@fortcollinsquakers.org .

Ruth Fowler is a Quaker lobbyist for FCNL, featured in a short video at this link QuakerSpeak.com
If you don't want to watch the 5-minute video, there is a button to click to see a printed transcript.
Ruth Flower says that the way Quakers approach lobbying is to talk to anyone, no matter what assumptions we might have about them. Where do you think this approach comes from? How do these principles play out in our lives in other ways?
Ruth says that when she goes into a politician's office, she's talking to "that of God" in them. What does she mean? What situation have you been in where you were speaking to "that of God in someone else?"

A recent (2014) article about Quakers by Alena Hall is at the Huffington Post.

For further background information, see our page on Education or use the following links:

• Fort Collins Quakers videos on YouTube
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_Society_of_Friends
• http://www.quakerinfo.com/qi_list.shtml