Friends General Conference

Together we nurture the spiritual vitality of Friends

You are here

Home

The Spiritual Deepening Library

Photo by Sharon Gunther
Overview: 

Welcome to the Spiritual Deepening Program Library.

The Spiritual Deepening Program invites newcomers, individual Friends, and meetings to explore how Quaker spiritual practice can transform lives and take them deeper in the life of the Spirit. The Spiritual Deepening Program Library contains the resources, readings, queries, and activities that support this process.

The Spiritual Deepening Library is a collection of spiritual exercises meant to deepen the life, worship, and witness of individuals and meetings, through the exploration of Quaker thought and roots, sharing and deeply listening to each other’s spiritual stories, and helping individuals go deeper through both understanding and practice. The Library has materials for adults and children.

Library Contents:

The Spiritual Deepening Library is a collection of resources, activities, exercises, and texts that support the process of Grounding, Sharing, and Practicing. The materials were developed through a collaborative process involving Friends across diverse yearly meetings and backgrounds.

Grounding Materials invite participants to explore the transformative experiences of past and contemporary Friends to help us deepen our understanding of our Quaker roots and give context to Quaker practices and beliefs.  

Sharing Exercises are opportunities for deep listening and sharing in order to hear the Truth manifesting in others.

Practicing Exercises are communal and individual spiritual practices that encourage deep listening, individual reflection, and opportunities to live out new ways of encountering The Divine in our lives and in the world.

Here are links to Meeting Resources and Resources for Small Group Leaders, and Spiritual Deepening for Children. 

Exercise Search:

Search the exercises according to the length of time each takes to complete, the suggested age range of participants, and whether an activity is newcomer friendly.

Updates and new materials in the Spiritual Deepening Library are made possible through the generous support of the Friends Foundation for the Aging.

Library Topics

Silence and Expectant Waiting

Explore the Quaker experience of worship, silent waiting, and vocal ministry.

Grounding Exercises: 6
Sharing Exercises: 6
Practicing Exercises: 15
For Facilitators Exercises: 1
The Light, Seed, Christ Working In Us

Explore the experience of being led by the inner guide.

Grounding Exercises: 7
Sharing Exercises: 12
Practicing Exercises: 11
Friendly Practices

Explore the practices of Friends, including discernment, Meeting for Worship with attention to business, worship sharing, and more.

Grounding Exercises: 7
Sharing Exercises: 6
Practicing Exercises: 13
Becoming Patterns and Examples

"Be patterns, be examples," advised George Fox. This topic explores how Quakers put faith into practice. 

Grounding Exercises: 5
Sharing Exercises: 8
Practicing Exercises: 6
Living into Wholeness

Many of us know that the Beloved Community is “not yet,” because we see the trauma of white supremacy and colonialism playing itself out across the globe. But can we co-create and Live Into Wholeness together?

Grounding Exercises: 6
Sharing Exercises: 10
Practicing Exercises: 5
Aging, Death and Dying

Growing old, even when that means facing physical or other changes, can help us focus on what is essential.

Grounding Exercises: 10
Sharing Exercises: 14
Practicing Exercises: 6