As summer draws to a close, we tend to turn our minds to organizing ourselves for our upcoming busy time. What is simplicity in this complex society? What do Quakers have to offer?
Stairs leading to the second floor of Northampton Friends’ meeting space. Published in Friends Journal.
Quakers historically have no creed: we are not required to accept a formal set of beliefs. We do, however, recognize guidelines to the way we live our lives known as “testimonies.”
The Quaker Study Committee offered the opportunity to share thoughts and views about the Quaker testimony of simplicity in an evening of facilitated discussion.
When Mark Burch delivered a Quaker Study series on Simplicity to the Canadian national gathering in 2014, he asked these initial questions, which we will use to get the conversation going:
- In practical terms, what does living simply mean to you? How are you living the testimony to simplicity right now?
- What difference do you think the decision to live simply makes in terms of issues like environmental sustainability, peace, the priority you give to spiritual development, the quality of your family life, your own well-being?
Breastfeeding Friendly Organization