Who are Quakers? We are also known as the Society of Friends. Our roots date back to the 17th Century. This year is the 400th birthday of George Fox, founder of Quakerism.

We are not: Puritans, Plymouth Brethren, Freemasons. Our roots are in Christianity but you can be Muslim, Buddhist, Jewish or even Atheist etc and still be a Quaker. It is more a way of living. So anyone can become a Quaker.

There are no set beliefs but 5 “Testimonies”: Equality, Peace, Simplicity, Integrity and Stewardship.

Quakers have always been pioneers of equality. Women have always been seen as equal to men and we were the first “Church” to accept same sex marriage.

There is no one “in charge” at a Quaker meeting. Anyone appointed to take on a specific task is only in place for three years. Decisions are made by the whole meeting.

Many people are aware that Quakers promote peace. But most do not realise that the Quaker peace testimony dates back to 1660. The declaration to Charles II distances Quakers from the Fifth Monarchists and declares that Quakers utterly deny all outward wars and strife and fightings with outward weapons. In times of war, Quakers will take on the roles of ambulance drivers, medics and other non-combatant positions.

Many of today’s well known charities were started by Quakers. These include Oxfam, Amnesty International and Greenpeace.  Among well-known living Quakers are: Damon Albarn, Joan Baez and Judi Dench.

Meeting is a kind of worship, although there are no set prayers or texts. Quakers meeting involve a period of silence, although one may be moved to speak during this time; followed by “afterword”. This is a chance to say something that a person wasn’t moved to say during the silence, then refreshments and socialising. Not all Quaker meeting are the same.  Some only have “afterword” occasionally and some have themes for afterword. All have a period of silence and refreshments though. Meeting, has another definition too. I would say I belong to Tavistock Meeting. If I go elsewhere I would introduce myself as coming from Tavistock Meeting. If I were to move to a different place I would transfer to the meeting there.

If you want to come along to see how all this works, you will be welcome. In Tavistock we meet at 10am on Sunday mornings at the Quaker meeting house in Canal Road. It is the building that acts as a roundabout in the main car park, with the public loos at the back.

There are meetings in other cities and towns in both Devon and Cornwall. Check them out on Google.