Kevin Arnold, former Clerk of London Grove Friends Meeting, gave an excellent talk about Quakerism on Nov. 29 at West Grove meeting as part of their ongoing "Faiths of Our Neighbors" series. As he observed, though, he was "preaching to the choir"; I recognized almost everyone as active members of the local Quaker community.
Kevin was an exceptionally interesting speaker and gave an overview of Quaker history in England and America. He talked about the basic tenets of the religion (summarized using the acronym SPICES: simplicity, peace, integrity, community, equality, and stewardship); Quaker worship and decision-making methods; and the current problems facing the faith.
I had an interesting conversation after the lecture about the balance in Quakerism between politics and civil activism versus God and traditional spirituality -- an old, old debate.
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