WFS welcomed Drew Smith, the Executive Director of Friends Council on Education, to campus to lead a discussion among our community members titled “275 Years of Quaker Education: What's it all about? Quakerism 101 for Parents.” He opened the conversation by speaking about his own experience as a practicing Quaker in Meeting for Worship and the discovery process that occurs when no one is talking over one another in Meeting; the origins of Quakerism and George Fox’s spiritual vision in 1652; and how Quaker education has been influencing the world for the past five decades, constantly trying to build “truth” that is reliable and finding the “light of God” in everyone.

After this discussion, Drew asked those in attendance to study and reflect on the Quaker Testimonies: Simplicity, Peace, Integrity, Community, Equality, and Stewardship (SPICES). More specifically, Drew wanted the members of the WFS community to determine, after working in small groups with one another, which Quaker testimony was the most important of them all. Once they gathered back together, the audience shared some of their reflections and concluded that one testimony could not be more important than another. Using soup as their example, one group noted that when you take an ingredient out (i.e., one of the SPICES), the soup does not taste as good, for it is incomplete. He noted this is a typical response from Quakers; each testimony has its own importance, allowing the community to build meaning together and develop a reliable truth. 

Reflecting on that evening’s gathering–and the testimony of Community–another group spoke to the power of Meeting for Worship and bringing people together through Quakerism. They noted that if we are all to have “the light” within, then coming together as a group can only allow us (and our world) to shine even brighter. Moreover, by connecting with different community members and optimistically engaging with people, we learn to stand with others and their diverse beliefs, creating a more peaceful and accepting world through our respectful listening.