Finding out about Quakers

How do you expect to look eye to eye with someone, if you are looking down on them?

The Quaker Query of the Week is developed by Year 10 students at The Friends School (1/8/08).
The Friends' School, Hobart, Tasmania, is the world's largest Quaker school.

Finding a Quaker Meeting for Worship

Quakers in Australia hold silent Meetings for Worship which are open to all. To find Quaker meetings within Australia click:  Contacts - Find a Meeting for Worship, or click on the state where you hope to worship:

• Australian Capital Territory
• New South Wales
• Queensland
• South Australia
• Tasmania
• Victoria
• Western Australia

Accessing the members only section

Anyone in Australian Quaker Meetings, Office-holders, Members and Attender can use the Member's Logon. The first time you log on, click 'forget my password'.  The system will email your registration number and password.

Quaker News Alerts

Casper and Erin Adson are travelling Australia speaking to Quaker Meetings about their work with the Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT), an international nonviolence program initiated by the historic peace churches, Quakers, Menonites and Brethren. For more information about CPT visit www.cpt.org.

Who we are

The Religious Society of Friends began in Britain in the 17th century with the teachings of George Fox, and has spread to most regions in the world.

It has always been clear that George Fox was not unique in his spirituality, but an eminent member of a community experiencing an outbreak of mysticism. … Early followers were never George Fox's 'adherents', but were already spiritual 'finders' in their own right.
(O'Shea 1993, quoted in this we can say; Australian Quaker Life, Faith and Thought , AYM 2003)

There are a quarter of a million Quakers worldwide; in Australia, we have around 2000 people who worship in Meetings for Worship, of whom 1000 are in membership.

Quaker beliefs and testimonies

Quakers share a way of life rather than a set of beliefs. Guidelines for living the Quaker way can be found in Australian Advices and Queries .  Quaker practice within the past four centuries has given rise to a number of testimonies  —

• Peace testimony
  
• Testimony of Simplicity
• Testimony of Equality
• Testimony of Integrity

Quakers and Social Issues

• Quakers and the environment
• Quakers and Indigenous peoples
• Quakers and the death penalty
• Quakers and homosexuality
• Quakers and other religions
• Quaker nonviolence calendar
• Quakers and development aid

For media comments on these issues, contact the national office (email YMsecretary@quakers.org.au or telephone 07 3374 0135).

Read public statements from Quakers in Australia on these and other topics. Also check out our FAQ page.

Statement on David Lowe, Queensland Quaker

Queensland Regional Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) is aware that one of its members, David G Lowe, has been described in some Internet discussion groups as being employed by Quakers in an unusual role. We would like to make it clear that David G Lowe is not employed by us for any purpose. He is a valued member in good standing of the Society, and is currently a Queensland Regional Meeting overseer.  He has served Queensland Regional Meeting as a volunteer in many other ways.

Quaker Peace and Legislation Committee Action Updates

The Quaker Peace and Legislation Committee have issued two watching briefs on Restorative Justice and the 2020 Summit Peace Action. To read more, click on the following —

• QPLC Action Alerts

Quaker issues for action in 2008

Issues for action agreed at Yearly Meeting in January 2008:

• Global warming
• Earthcare —Earthcare
• Indigenous justice
• The Middle East conflict
• Restoring peace in the Pacific

Quaker Voices in the 21st Century 

Full details can be found at http://voices.quakers.org.au/index.php/