Quaker Language
Attender - a person who worships regularly with Friends but has not joined the Religious Society of Friends.
Birthright - until the late 1940s a person who was born to a Quaker family automatically became a member of the Society by right of birth, hence birthright. Nowadays an application must be made to become a member of the Society. Since then the term has come to be used more loosely to describe any Friend born of Quaker parents. Compare with convincement. (This term is not always officially recognized by Friends.)
Christocentric - a Quaker whose inspiration is essentially Christian and who holds that the Religious Society of Friends is essentially a Christian denomination. Compare with Universalist.
Clearness - a process undergone to discern the true leading of the Spirit of God, especially in ambiguous or complicated situations. Friends often work with clearness committees when struggling with a difficult issue.
Clerk - a person appointed by a business meeting or committee to take a meeting through its business; the only officer of most meetings (as there are no clergy); the person charged with making and keeping the records of the meeting (including the records of births, marriages, and deaths). The clerk's role is to serve—as an honored servant of the meeting—and, whilst revered, is not an authoritarian position. See also convener.
Committee - a groups of Friends who gather to work on a Meeting-related task. Friends aim to build the commonwealth of the Spirit by using committees!
Concern - a idea or prompting by the Spirit which leads a Friend to take on an issue as a personal crusade. The Friend will probably bring their concern to their business meeting to be tested, that is to see if it is a true concern or simply a notion. Friends believe that anyone may feel called by God. Friends consider carrying out a concern to be a form of ministry. Often there may be a meeting for clearness to test the concern after which the meeting may well support the person in their concern. Many well-known organizations, such as the American Friends Service Committee, Don't Make a Wave Committee (the predecessor organization to Greenpeace), Oxfam and Amnesty International, have been founded by Friends "acting under concern".
Convener - usually applied to a person who is responsible for the organization of a one-off meeting for business. Compare with clerk.
Convinced Friend - a historical term for those Friends who were not born into Quaker families, but who came to Friends because of the Truth of Quaker teaching and practice. The process of deciding to become a Friend is known as "convincement."
Convincement - a discovery of truth, as in "Quaker by convincement", one who has become convinced of the truth of the Quaker way. It is used to describe anybody who joins the Society. Compare with Birthright.
Eldering - the process of gentle redirection of a person back onto the path of right ordering.
Epistle - Quaker gatherings often send a report of their deliberations to other Quakers. The best known example is the Yearly Meeting Epistle. They often start "To Friends everywhere..."
Friend - a member of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers). We get our name from the original title of "Friends in the Truth". This doesn't means that we have to be nice to each other, rather our first loyalty is to Truth. Quakers often refer to themselves collectively as Friends and will address a Quaker as "Friend" if they don't know the person's name.
Gathered Meeting - a meeting for worship, where those present feel that they were particularly in tune with the leadings of the Spirit.
Facing Benches - Older meetinghouses often have benches on a raised platform which face the rest of the congregation where Weighty Friends (see below) who might be expected to speak would sit. Historically (and in some meetings still) these would be the recorded ministers and elders.
Hold in the Light - To recognize concern in one's self for another person or situation. This is often considered to be synonymous with praying for someone.
Inquirer - someone enquiring about Quakerism.
Lay down - the action properly taken upon a committee or meeting that is no longer needed; "to lay down" a meeting is to disband.
Lay over - to allow time to pass before action on a consideration, in hopes of obtaining clearness; "the transfer of Mary's membership has lain over for one month"
Leading - a prompting thought to be received from the Spirit; a course of action, belief or conviction that a Friend feels is divinely inspired. It can turn into a concern.
Meeting - used in different contexts, and so confusing. It can be as shorthand for Meeting for Worship, or it can refer to a meeting of Quakers that has gathered for business and administrative matters, for example: preparative meeting, monthly meeting, Six Weeks Meeting and yearly meeting.
Meeting for Worship - the great mystery of Quakerism: what happens in Meeting for Worship? We don't actually worship using a liturgy, agreed words or ritual in the way that other traditions do. Quakers believe that when we gather together in silence we can engage in a direct and personal relationship with God. (But we disagree on the nature of God!)
Meetinghouse - a place where Quakers gather for worship, though not the only place that they may do so. When early Quakers referred to churches as "Steeplehouses" it wasn't meant as a compliment. Friends often gather in homes or rented places, too.
Membership - what you apply for when you decide to want to join Friends. Visitors will then come round to see you. Contrast with Attender.
Ministry - the act of speaking during a Meeting for Worship. Ministry is inspired by the Spirit. (Many Friends use the term more broadly to mean living their testimonies in everyday life). "Vocal" or "proclamational" refer to ministries that are verbal.
Ministry and Oversight Committee - committee charged with the right ordering of the worship and the spiritual support of the Meeting. Individual Friends are also encouraged to carry this concern.
Minutes - these are the record of the proceedings of a business meeting written by the clerk or convener of that meeting. Quaker minutes are written and agreed as the meeting proceeds with its business.
Monthly Meeting for Business - a meeting for business administration and decision making.
Notion - an unfounded, unspiritual position. (Used by George Fox, often to refer to teachings or doctrines that were expressed but not fully understood or experienced.)
Proceed as Way Opens - to undertake a service or course of action without prior clarity about all the details but with confidence that divine guidance will make these apparent and assure an appropriate outcome.
Programmed - describes a Meeting for Worship that has an order of service and is led by a pastor. Two thirds of Friends world-wide belong to Yearly Meetings that hold programmed meetings.
Quaker - originally a pejorative name for a member of the Religious Society of Friends, now a title worn with pride and probably more widely known by the public than the more correct term of Friend.
Quaker Faith and Practice - a book which seeks to express in words the workings of the Spirit as experienced by Quakers over three hundred years. It is both an anthology of Quaker thought and guidance on the right ordering of Quaker affairs. It is revised every generation to reflect the continuing revelation and understanding of the Spirit.
Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) - the correct title of the organization to which Friends/Quakers belong.
Right ordering - done in the correct manner, in keeping with Quaker tradition and practice. A body of wisdom and insights that has evolved over three hundred years of seeking the guidance of the Spirit, it is captured in part by the Faith and Practice. The term is often used in the negative, that is, if someone senses that something about the conduct of the meeting is not proper, they may object that "this meeting is not in right ordering."
Speaks to my condition (speaks my mind) - a phrase commonly used during meetings for business to express that another Friend has spoken what is in the mind of the speaker; used to help add weight to the statements of others.
Testimonies - The cumulative lived witness of generations of Friends. Aspects of our witness on which most Friends can actually agree. They include community, equality, integrity, peace, simplicity and truth.
Testing a concern - a process of deliberation by a Monthly Meeting to examine whether a Friend's concern has religious validity and should be promoted and supported by that meeting.
That of God in everyone - the belief in the presence of God within all people. Also referred to as the Inner Light.
Universalist - a Quaker who believes that there is a universal truth that may be found in all faiths, as opposed to Christocentric.
Unprogrammed - describes a Meeting for Worship where all ministry and prayer is inspired by the Spirit rather than by a predetermined order of service. Compare with programmed.
Visitor - 1) If you apply for membership two people will be appointed by your local Monthly Meeting to help you and the monthly meeting decide if the commitment to membership is right for you. They will write a report to help your monthly meeting reach its decision. 2) A Friend visiting from another MM. 3) Somebody new to meeting.
Weighty Friend - one who is influential (i.e.: their opinion carries weight) within the Society (while remaining consistent with our testimony on equality, of course); a Friend who is respected for their experience and ability over their history of participation with Friends, whose opinion or ministry is especially valued.
Worship - see Meeting for Worship.
Yearly Meeting - 1) A regional group of Friends composed of several Monthly Meetings. 2) A yearly gathering of Friends, usually located on a small college campus, for business, workshops, worship, etc.
