{"id":305,"date":"2023-10-09T23:50:43","date_gmt":"2023-10-09T23:50:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wisecontradictions.com\/blog\/?p=305"},"modified":"2025-03-01T12:25:25","modified_gmt":"2025-03-01T12:25:25","slug":"why-am-i-a-quaker","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wisecontradictions.com\/blog\/?p=305","title":{"rendered":"Why am I a Quaker?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Start with why. That\u2019s the wisdom of Simon Sinek\u2013asking people to sharpen their thinking but his question makes me wonder if he might be a Friend.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Almost 25 years ago, young and fresh to New York City, I had the good fortune to meet Scott\u2013an attender from Brooklyn Monthly Meeting. After my umpteenth question, and many patient answers, Scott just said, \u201cyou know, why don\u2019t you come to meeting sometime?\u201d His\u00a0 casual invitation changed my life.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Why?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I was seeking\u2013a place to fit in, a place to be myself, a place to connect with others. I found it.<\/span><\/p>\n

Why?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Well, the idea of \u201cthat of God in everyone\u201d seemed right. The stern Catholic tradition of my youth framed it differently. We are all made in God\u2019s image. We have fallen. If we are good, we\u2019ll get into heaven and live forever. The Friendly framing spoke to me\u2013a spark of the divine in me? In everyone? Well, what an animating and useful principle. It spoke, and speaks, to my heart and mind.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Why?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Because if we believe that there\u2019s something of the divine in everyone then I am on equal footing with you.\u00a0 Another pithy message from Bono\u2013another latent friend?\u00a0 \u201cWe are one, but we\u2019re not the same. We get to carry each other.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Why?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We believe in \u201ccontinuing revelation,\u201d in other words, we favor questions over answers\u2013and the answers that we find are provisional, until we find better answers\u2013together. Not one text. All texts. All people. All voices.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Why?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Because we seek in silence\u2013and everyone can be a source of truth–a messenger. We just have to be still and listen. Being still is not easy in today\u2019s modern world of digital tethers, where distractions are a screen away. A Quaker meeting dedicates a time and place for us to sit, and listen\u2013for our own inner voice, and for a message from a friend that might speak to us.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Why?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Because I am wary of promises of the next world. I am certain that this one needs our attention\u2013in a way that is consistent with us being\u00a0 stewards for the generations that will follow us.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Why?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Because the problems are bigger than us, but solvable by us. Together we can figure it out.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Why?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Because I think that if we all treated one another as though there were something of the divine, then\u00a0 we\u2019d listen more\u2013we\u2019d care more. This is also a wish for me\u2013I am seeking, and need reminders.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Why?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Because I am inspired by what our beliefs have led us to do\u2013whether it was an early renunciation of slavery, or providing relief to those harmed by war\u2013regardless of what side they were on. Because there\u2019s still a vast gap between what we believe and what exists. The Jacksonville shootings of three Black people are a reminder that white supremacy is alive and well.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Why?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Because together, Friends, we can work to close that gap, to love one another and build a stronger community.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Are you a friend? Thinking about it? Why?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019m listening.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Ted Bongiovanni is a member of Brooklyn Monthly Meeting and the Executive Directory of the New York Quarterly Meeting. \u00a0This post originally appeared on Spark<\/a>, the newsletter of the New York Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Start with why. That\u2019s the wisdom of Simon Sinek\u2013asking people to sharpen their thinking but his question makes me wonder if he might be a Friend.\u00a0 Almost 25 years ago, young and fresh to New York City, I had the good fortune to meet Scott\u2013an attender from Brooklyn Monthly Meeting. After my umpteenth question, and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":309,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,121],"tags":[122],"class_list":["post-305","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-new-york-city","category-spirituality","tag-quakers"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wisecontradictions.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/QuakerMeeting.jpeg?fit=1260%2C1034&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wisecontradictions.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/305","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wisecontradictions.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wisecontradictions.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wisecontradictions.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wisecontradictions.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=305"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/wisecontradictions.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/305\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":323,"href":"https:\/\/wisecontradictions.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/305\/revisions\/323"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wisecontradictions.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/309"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wisecontradictions.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=305"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wisecontradictions.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=305"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wisecontradictions.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=305"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}