#6 George Fox & the beginning of Friends

#6  

This lesson, we will be looking at George Fox and the beginning of the Quakers. Please watch these two videos. The first islonger- about 20 minutes. In it the bit between 9 and 12 minutes does not apply for our purposes. The quality is not great, and these are  unedited-- but they are important to our discussion.

What can you learn about George Fox from these presentations? What is the climate in England? As you listen make yourself a timeline that you can add events to as we continue on this journey of exploring Quaker/Friends history and faith.

What questions do you have after watching these videos? Where on the Wesleyan Quadrilateral do you guess that the involved parties sit? In other words, what is their highest form of authority? Please post comments and questions on our Facebook discussion on the thread for lesson #6.  Enjoy!

               George Fox & the Quakers

                              Introducing George Fox

#5 Authority, Wesleyan Quadrilateral

Here is a wikipedia link to a short reading on the Wesleyan Quadrilateral. The purpose of looking at this is not to understand Methodist theology but to look at what we consider sources of authority and in what order-- both as individuals and as a community. This will inform us later when we look at church splits , or break-ups and divorces, if you will.
Quadrilateral
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#4 Gospel Order

#4. Gospel Order

There has been some good discussion on FaceBook about this term and topic. For a bit more insight about gospel order, please read this piece on Quaker Stew

Here is the url in case the link goes wonky:   http://aquakerstew.blogspot.com/2010/06/shalom-and-gospel-order.html

#3 Some Quaker Terms

Quaker terms you should know

Clerk - Clerk is the title that Friends use for the person who facilitates a meeting or leads a committee.
Discernment - The process of recognizing or realizing something. In Quaker business process it is the process of listening together to God and receiving enlightenment or guidance. Discernment may or may not result in a decision or action. A good discernment process will result in clearness.
Gospel Order  - This term was first used by George Fox to describe the way Friends viewed the cosmos and humanity's place within it. This view presumed a God designed orderliness that was seen in all of creation. They viewed creation as good and designed for goodness. Sin and evil is a dis-ordered state. Jesus Christ demonstrated perfect Gospel Order and made a connection for us that empowers us to live in Gospel Order. Among Friends you will often hear this term used to describe Quaker practices, which if done well are harmonious with Gospel Order.

Monthly Meeting – The name of the local body of Friends.  The people ARE the Monthly Meeting.  Also used for the event held every month where business is conducted, although this would more accurately be called “Meeting for worship through business”

Yearly Meeting – The name for a larger group of Friends usually gathered by geography and philosophical/theological issues.  Made up of a group of Monthly Meetings.  Again, the name of the people, but also used for the annual session of the body.

For a really nice glossary of Quaker and theological terms from a Quaker perspective visit the FFC glossary 

Q101 Lessons 1 & 2

FYI only-- The lesson is on Facebook in Quakerism 101 group. Please respond there.  If you are not already part of Quakerism 101 on Facebook, then just request to be added. Thank you!

# 1 & #2 Some friends have already done this-- but others have not. Here are lessons 1 & 2 in one spot for you to work on. I will be posting next lesson this week.

#1: Hi Friends, Please use this thread to introduce yourself, first names, what part of the world you are from, and what you want to learn about Quakerism.
#2: Here is a video of Max Carter giving a 5 minute overview of Quakerism. Pay attention to words that are new to you and note what information is new to you. Share your thoughts about the movie in this thread.

Max Carter on Quakerism