Grand Rapids Friends Meeting
Religious Society of Friends (Quakers)
Testimonies express in action Quaker beliefs in equality, simplicity, peace and community.
The easiest, the most constant, and the most obvious are the testimonies in the area of peace and human equality. More obscure and more fluid but still an important part of Quaker living and worship is the testimony on simplicity.
Equality: People everywhere are children of God and members of one family. We value the worth of each person. We cannot be easy in our own lives when others suffer indignity, injustice or want. In the Spirit of Christ, we are ready to put ourselves at one another's side and share each other's burdens. As we are true to the Divine within ourselves, we respond to the Divine in others.
Simplicity: Friends are advised to strive for simplicity in the use of their earnings and property and in their style of living, choosing that which is simple and useful. This does not mean that life is to be poor and bare, destitute of joy and beauty. All that promotes fullness of life and aids in service for God is to be accepted with thanksgiving. Each must determine by the light that is given what promotes and what hinders the compelling search for inner peace.
Peace:
"... We utterly deny all outward wars and strife, and fightings with outward weapons, for any end, or under any pretence whatsoever; this is our testimony to the whole world."From the Declaration of 1660
As we work for peace in the world, we search out the seeds of war in ourselves and in our way of life. We refuse to join in actions that lead to destruction and death. We seek ways cooperate to save life and strengthen the bonds of unity among all people.
... We work to create the conditions of peace, such as freedom, justice, cooperation and the right sharing of the world's resources.
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