Overview

An introduction to the experience of the young Samuel Bownas, who would become a faithful and effective traveling Quaker minister in the 18th century.

30 minutes High School and Up Reading
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Materials & Setup:

Copy of passage for participants to read.

Instructions: 

Consider the experience of the young Samuel Bownas, who would become a faithful and effective traveling Quaker minister in the 18th century:

Samuel records in his journal that at a First Day Meeting in late 1696, “. . .  a young woman, named Anne Wilson, was there and preached; she was very zealous, and fixing my eye upon her, she with a great zeal pointed her finger at me, uttering these words with much power: ‘A traditional Quaker, thou comest to meeting as thou went from it (the last time) and goes from it as thou came to it, but art no better for thy coming; what wilt thou do in the end?’ This was so pat to my then condition that, like Saul, I was smitten to the ground, as it might be said, but turning my thoughts inward, in secret I cried, ‘Lord, what shall I do to help it?’ and a voice as it were spoke in my heart saying, ‘Look unto me, and I will help thee;’ and I found much comfort, that made me shed abundance of tears.”

After this Meeting, the change in his life was remarkable:
“I longed for the meeting-day, and thought it a very long week. When the time of Meeting came, my mind was soon fixed and staid upon God, and I found an uncommon enjoyment that gave me great satisfaction, my understanding being opened, and all the faculties of my mind so quick, that I seemed another man.” 

Suddenly, Samuel found new levels of understanding about the Bible, which had been “as a sealed book to me,” about preaching “in the power and the Spirit,” and about the enormous difference between a Quakerism “only by education” and a Quakerism truly alive to the Spirit.

Reflections on the above passage: These questions can be discussed as a whole group or in pairs.

  1. Do you feel that you leave meeting for worship just as you arrived, or do you feel an inward transformation?
  2. What was the direct role of God in Samuel Bownas’ awakening experience, and what was the role of a human instrument through whom Spirit worked? What role did Samuel himself play?
  3. Are you open to the challenging words of an “Anne Wilson” when you attend meeting for worship?

Credits: Connie McPeak Green (LEYM), Exercise Author William P. Taber, Jr. (1989) “Introduction” to A Description of the Qualifications Necessary to a Gospel Minister: Advice to Ministers and Elders Among the People Called Quakers by Samuel Bownas (1676-1753): Pendle Hill Publications and Tract Society of Friends.

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