{"id":71238,"date":"2018-05-17T12:25:08","date_gmt":"2018-05-17T16:25:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kendallharmon.net\/?p=71238"},"modified":"2018-05-17T17:29:25","modified_gmt":"2018-05-17T21:29:25","slug":"guardian-simon-jenkins-the-quakers-are-considering-dropping-god-from-their-meetings-guidance-as-it-makes-some-feel-uncomfortable","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kendallharmon.net\/?p=71238","title":{"rendered":"(Guardian) Simon Jenkins–‘The Quakers are considering dropping God from their meetings guidance as it makes some feel uncomfortable’"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Quakers are clearly on to something. At their annual get-together this weekend they are reportedly thinking of dropping God from their \u201cguidance to meetings\u201d. The reason, said one of them, is because the term \u201cmakes some Quakers feel uncomfortable\u201d. Atheists, according to a Birmingham University academic, comprise a rising 14% of\u00a0professed Quakers<\/a>, while a full 43% felt \u201cunable to profess a belief in God\u201d. They come to meetings for fellowship, rather than for higher guidance. The meeting will also consider transgenderism, same-sex marriage, climate change and social media. Religion is a tiring business.<\/p>\n

I am not a Quaker or religious, but I have been to Quaker meetings, usually marriages or funerals, and found them deeply moving. The absence of ritual, the emphasis on silence and thought and the witness of \u201cfriends\u201d seemed starkly modernist. Meeting houses can be beautiful spaces. The loveliest I know dates from 1700 and is lost in deep woods near Meifod, Powys. It is a place of the purest serenity, miles from any road and with only birdsong to blend with inner reflection.<\/p>\n