Religious Society of Friends

a brief on Quakers and my roots in the faith and practice

The Society of Friends, also Quakers or Friends of Truth or simply Friends

The Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) is a Christian faith and practice founded by George Fox mid-17th century. Fox called those who gathered around him to know Christ as “no dim and distant figure”, but a Friend “whose living witness shone in their inmost hearts.” Thus, Quaker faith in practice turns one inward for knowing Truth. In traditional (unprogrammed) worship, Friends gather in silence with no intermediate between the individual and divine wisdom. When led, Friends speak with the understanding that what they have received in silence is meant for all to hear.

My Quaker Roots

I was born and raised for service among Friends in Indiana and attended both programmed and unprogrammed meeting for worship during childhood. My paternal family roots reach to England and Ireland in Valentine Hollingsworth’s line (Valentine and his family arrived with William Penn) and both the Robinson and Hollingsworth farms were on route of the underground railroad. The family line includes men who were discharged from their meetings due to military service and later embraced. My grandmother Miriam Robinson Hollingsworth was among the founders of Irvington Friends in Indianapolis, where she served as clerk and organist. Grandma Miriam was a conservative (frugal) Friend. Her maternal Quaker line includes my great great grandmother Sally Ann Kendall. The Kendalls participated in the “great” Quaker migration from High Point, North Carolina (1820-30s) to abstain from slavery. Today, the town of Kendal (located within the River Kent’s dale, county of Cumbria in England), originally known for the manufacture of sturdy woolen goods (“Kendal Green”), is a designated Fairtrade Town and is home to James Cropper paper makers who produce paper without financial profit for Royal British Legion Remembrance poppies.

My mother Barbara Bennett Mays served Quaker publishing with Friends United Meeting and Friends General Conference (see Contemporary Quakers below). She was a founding member of Quakers Uniting in Publications, an international cross-branch organization. During her time with Friends General Conference, Mom edited two books exploring racial discrimination and first-person African American experience among Friends: Fit For Freedom, Not For Friendship—Quakers, African Americans, and the Myth of Racial Justice by Donna McDaniel and Vanessa Julye and Black Fire—African American Quakers on Spirituality and Human Rights edited by H.D. Weaver Jr., P. Kriese, and S.W. Angell (FGC QuakerBooks).

Contemporary Quakers

Contemporary Friends are a diverse human lot. For more on the Religious Society of Friends, please read Friends History on early Friends as restorers of “original Christianity” at Friends United Meeting and About Quakers at Friends General Conference. Summer 2024, Friends Journal published an issue commemorating the 400th anniversary of founder George Fox’s birth.

For current work on genocide, colonization, and forced assimilation of Native peoples, please see Friend Paula Palmer’s work Toward Right Relationship with Native Peoples via Friends Peace Teams. Paula speaks about the lasting trauma of Quaker Indigenous boarding schools in a 2023 Quaker Speak interview. Quakers are also engaged in “homeland return.” In 2024, Woolman at Sierra Friends Center transferred 232 acres of Nevada City Ranceheria Nisenan's traditional homeland (Yulića) to the Tribe. Everyone is encouraged to continue financial support of what will be the Tribe’s ongoing maintainence and operational expenses for Yulića. Please also see Decolonizing Quakers.

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