Welcome to the North Scotland Quaker Note Book!
It’s YOURS and we hope that it will answer the many ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ from existing Members and newcomers to the Society of Friends, about the Quakers and the way we function. Please feel free to print out what you want and scribble over it as you wish – no one will shout at you!
The questions posed, and the responses provided, contain links to other sections of the Note Book, other publications, and to web-based articles and information which can expand your knowledge further.
Please take your time to explore and find your way around.
Why?
Newcomers, especially, to Quakerism as well as established Members and frequent Attenders are often confused by the terminology, ideology, structure and management of the Society of Friends. The situation is made more confusing by the absence of a fixed creed, doctrine or set of beliefs. The only commonly held view is that there is ‘that of god in everyone’, and even then many Friends might insert the phrase ‘… whatever you mean by god’.
How?
To help resolve the many FAQs that arise, we have asked established Quakers and, on occasion, those new to the Society, to offer their own interpretations or answers to the questions. In some cases views may differ, or more than one person has contributed. You might therefore find more than one response to a question. This only goes to celebrate the variety and wonderful inclusivity of Quakerism and reflects the breadth of views of the contributors: there’s not always just one answer to a question …
You, too, are invited to add your views, explanations or questions – please contact the site coordinator at editor@northscotlandquakernotebook.org if you’re interested.
All views and/or explanations expressed are those of the named authors. They may have been edited where necessary to ensure that they accurately reflect the breadth, as well as the consensus view within the Society of Friends. On occasion they may also have been amended to make them more accessible to the proposed readership, the most important group of which is those new to the Quakers.
Where?
There are Quaker meetings across the North of Scotland. To find your nearest meeting, have a look at our interactive map.
What next?
This is just the start, we hope, of an ongoing process of involvement and learning, in which we want you to participate. This first version was conceived before Covid-19 was even heard of, and crafted throughout ‘lock down’, and is released to you as a positive outcome of our collective energy. We hope it’s helpful.
Oriole Hall, Inverness Meeting
The Co-ordinating Editor can be contacted on the following email address: editor@northscotlandquakernotebook.org
Download a pdf of the most recent version of the Notebook here (about 1.4 MB):
