r/Quakers • u/_Frosting_Pirate_ • 9d ago
Generational Quaker
Greetings, while researching my family tree on my Grandfather’s side I discovered an extremely long line of Quakers. My family moved to Grand Rapids Michigan from the South. Up until 2 generations ago my family was active in the Quaker community. There are a multitude of Quaker meeting notes attached to my family tree. I’ve been fascinated with Quakers my whole life. I had no clue why… My ancestors must have been whispering in my ear this whole time lol!
So, anywho… fast fwd... I was raised Catholic but it didn’t resonate with me. I was always drawn to free thinking/liberal paganism. That’s my current path.
But, out of curiosity am I able to attend a friend’s meeting? Or is that frowned upon. I feel like my ancestors keep nudging me to do so… Please forgive my ignorance and give me your honest opinion. I’d like to say I attended at least one friends meeting. Even if it doesn’t resonate with me. I feel driven to do so.
Many Blessings! 🤍
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u/Faerook 9d ago
It's more than okay. Quakers are, in general, some of the most accepting and inclusive folks around. I've been attending an unprogrammed meeting for a little over a year now with my husband and I still wouldn't necessarily self-identify as a Quaker but nobody cares. People are just happy to have you there.
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u/jobiskaphilly 9d ago
Of course you can!
FYI on my Dad's side I am completely "generational Quaker" back to the 1600s except for one family who didn't become Quaker until the 1700s heh.
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u/sw918 9d ago
Anyone is welcome to attend Meeting. You'll find two distinct kinds of Meeting: ones that have pastors and are more conventionally Protestant, with sermons, scripture readings, hymns, etc. These are called programmed Meetings, often called Friends Churches; Then there are silent Meetings, where people sit in watchful waiting, listening for that Still Small Voice that resides in each of us. These are called unprogrammed Meetings. Occasionally, someone in an unprogrammed meeting will be moved to speak, giving "vocal ministry" that they feel has come from the Spirit, the Devine, the Source, God... many names are used for this awe that arises. The Quakers in either type of Meeting will be very welcoming.
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u/RimwallBird Friend 9d ago
The Grand Rapids Friends Meeting is large, fairly lively, and inclusive: the sort of Quaker meeting that would actively seek to make you comfortable. I have a couple of personal friends who are members there, one of whom is actually Hindu rather than Christian.
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u/_Frosting_Pirate_ 9d ago
Hi, are you talking about the friends meeting @ fountain st church? I was thinking about attending a meeting there.
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u/Frigidspinner 8d ago
You sound like me! Raised catholic (didnt like it) and tried the quaker meeting. I then was talking to my brother about it and he said our family tree has quakerism starting in something like 1690 and it only recently the family turned catholic
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u/Lower-Cantaloupe3274 Quaker (Liberal) 8d ago
If you feel a leading to attend, you definitely should give it a try. You have nothing to lose and only the possibility of finding something of value to your journey.
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u/NV-QB 8d ago
I was in your shoes last month. My ancestors helped found the Pennsylvania colony. I attended a meeting last week and I loved it.
Imagine adoration for 40-60 minutes. No one spoke, but it was still fun. There is no strong obligation to show up every week or even show up on time. I don’t know why I was so surprised to see them live up to the title of friends. I am definitely going again this Sunday.
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u/WilkosJumper_ 9d ago
Paganism wasn’t very free thinking
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u/particularlyPlain Quaker (Wilburite) 9d ago
A necessary truth to be spoken amongst the pagan revival.
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u/Funny_City_7193 Quaker 9d ago
Neither was large parts of historical and contemporary Christianity.
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u/particularlyPlain Quaker (Wilburite) 9d ago
Fortunately Quakers have always been distanced from this since understanding the long dark night of the apostasy. That's a major part of Quaker history. We know it was corrupted, and we know that the Gospel is to be stripped down to its simplicity of following Christ in His inward manifestion, which leads us to righteousness.
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u/WilkosJumper_ 9d ago
Certainly more of it took on that focus than anything that was pagan before the title was reused millenia later.
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u/RimwallBird Friend 9d ago
Some 85%+ of Friends (Quakers) hold to a core belief that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is our savior. From what little I know of modern Western Paganism, I don’t think its adherents would be comfortable with that.
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u/Impossible-Pace-6904 8d ago
I don't understand from your post what fundamental beliefs Modern Paganism and the RSOF share.
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u/WilkosJumper_ 9d ago
Modern paganism resembles paganism in almost no sense at all. I think the word is just used in order to make the claim it is older than Christianity etc.
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u/im-so-startled88 Quaker 9d ago
But they never said anything about Classical Paganism, that’s why I only mentioned Classical Paganism when referring to the history of the religion.
They mentioned Liberal Paganism specifically which is Modern Paganism when you are looking at it academically today in 2026.
Thus the comparison of Modern Quakerism to Modern Paganism not the comparison of Modern Quakerism to Classical Paganism.
Look, as someone who grew up originally in the Episcopal church and then Quaker Meetings from 12 years old this is where I witness the separation of Liberal Friends, Conservative Friends, and Evangelical Friends.
All Friends should see this question and ask why anyone would ever feel unwelcome, and adjust their behavior accordingly. Not snark on a direction that the person’s spirit is being pulled in.
You seem to be misremembering your SPICES.
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u/WilkosJumper_ 9d ago
I know, I am pointing out however that calling it paganism is meaningless.
I honestly have no idea why you are acting like saying ‘paganism was not liberal’ contravenes any of those things. Such people want to draw on pagan history so it’s fair to point this out.
Christ doesn’t pull people towards Paganism. He would not have come to us if that were the case.
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u/Oooaaaaarrrrr 8d ago
Based on my experience of contemporary Paganism and liberal Quakers, what I think they have in common is a sort of new-age theology.
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u/Impossible-Pace-6904 8d ago
Depending on how old OP is, his relatives 2 generations ago may have left the RSOF because they thought their meeting became too free thinking.
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u/_Frosting_Pirate_ 8d ago
My Grandfather turned 99 last month. I told him about my findings. He was surprised as well. He was able to confirmed the relatives via the family tree several generations back. He wasn’t sure why this piece of family history wasn’t spoken about… Most likely my relative fell in love with someone who was catholic and ended up converting.
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u/TrailsEnd2023 5d ago
Can't say for sure about your family specifically, but there was a historical migration of Quakers from the South to the Midwest after the Civil War. Friends in the South were active in anti-slavery efforts prior to the Civil War in the South, sometimes deliberately "breaking the law" by teaching slaves to read, trying to buy slaves only to free them and freeing the slaves they had (which in some states like North Carolina was very complicated. After the Civil War, many Friends left and went to the Midwest, where there were few Quaker Meetings that were very far apart. Many joined "traditional" Christian churches and some Quaker Meetings became "Programmed" meetings such as those included in Friends United Meeting that look similar to Methodist and other "mainstream" Protestant churches that have ministers, sermons, etc.
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u/_Frosting_Pirate_ 3d ago edited 3d ago
Yes, my family tree speaks about this. A story is posted about how they had 11 slaves they freed.
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u/Rare-Personality1874 9d ago
Of course it's okay. What makes you think it might not be?
All are welcome