Who and what are Quakers?
There are about 210,000 Quakers across the world including a small community who practice the religion, formally known as the Religious Society of Friends, in Harrogate.
Gilly Charters has been one for 35 years after being brought up by atheist parents.
She and around 40 others worship once a week at the Friends Meeting House on Queen Parade.
Ms Charters explains what drew her to the Christian denomination:
“I came to the Quakers because I needed a place to explore my spiritual life where I wasn’t told how to think or made to sign up to rules or regulations. It provided a place for quiet discernment.
“The whole of life is sacred and we as human beings are sacred. I feel very strongly that true religion leads to respect for the earth and all life on it. These are the really important things for Quakers.”
Quakerism dates back centuries and has its origins in 17th century England. Many Quakers migrated to the USA and the religion is also practiced there.
But its sometimes old-fashioned image has been difficult to shake off.
Some people will have an image of the Quaker Porridge Oats man, with long hair, traditional clothing and hat. Ms Charters said that view of the religion belongs to the past.
“That image tends to mean Quakers are dead and gone or are a very old fashioned people, that we can’t exist anymore.
“But we do exist, there are not huge numbers of Quakers, but we are still active”.
The Friends Meeting House in Harrogate
At a Quaker meeting in Harrogate, Ms Charters says people worship together in silence before speaking messages to each other.
She explained:
“It can be about almost anything. Sometimes people will talk about what things are upsetting to them, for example, people who have experienced bereavement might talk about what that person meant to them in their life.
“Someone might talk about how important the environment is to them, or about what that person is doing to work for a better world. It’s all sort of things.”
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Quakers are not necessarily Christians and they don’t all worship the Bible.
Ms Charters added:
“A lot of Quakers would say they are Christians, it’s about having a sense of God’s presence. What people mean by God can be different. It’s a source of a lot of conservation between people. It’s finding a sense of what’s bigger than us.
“A lot of Quakers believe in Jesus as a historical figure, but their route to this deeper sense of being is not through the life of Jesus, it’s not through death and resurrection. There’s a big variety.”
This weekend the Quakers along with HUFUD (Humanity United for Universal Demilitarisation) are organising a peace conference at the Friends Meeting House.
Many wars have been fought in the name of religion but the peace movement is something that the Quakers strongly identify with.
“I can’t believe in the death penalty because if everyone is unique and precious then how can I be part of a state that sanctions that? The same with war, how can I go and fight against a presence of equal being?
“When people ask me, Why are you a Quaker, I say living on this is earth is hard work so when you’re working you need to be alongside a group of people who work in the same way. It helps keep me grounded.”
To find out more about the Harrogate Quakers, visit their website.
