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Ames' Society of Friends try to seek peace
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Off the beaten path, not far from a river of surging humanity - the frantic push of traffic on Lincoln Way, the bustle of downtown streets, the roar of the afternoon train - is a small, sunlit room that echoes with silence like a cool mountain lake. It is in this room that a small group of the Society of Friends, or Quakers, gathers in silent worship each First Day, or Sunday. |
"It is much more difficult to live for non-violence than to die for it."
- Mahatma Gandhi
Off the beaten path, not far from a river of surging humanity - the frantic push of traffic on Lincoln Way, the bustle of downtown streets, the roar of the afternoon train - is a small, sunlit room that echoes with silence like a cool mountain lake.
It is in this room that a small group of the Society of Friends, or Quakers, gathers in silent worship each First Day, or Sunday. And there in the silence, removed from the world, they seek a way of peace and justice.
The room, like the building itself, which is tucked inconspicuously between the residential homes of South Maple Street, is striking only in its simplicity. No rich tapestries line the walls; no stained glass window spreads its aura. There is no altar, no font, no organ, no hymnals. In place of pews and kneeling benches there is only a grouping of chairs.
The room is not termed a "sanctuary" - for the Quaker, the only place of sanctuary is deep within the heart of an individual. And the building is not called a church. Instead, it is a meeting hall where the 30 or so Ames Friends may gather on First Day to draw strength from a sense of community and love.
That strength is needed, they said.
"We are here together because we are more (when we are) together than we are alone," said Deborah Fink, coordinator of ministry and oversight of the Ames Friends Meeting. "To try and maintain a spiritual belief alone is a recipe for going crazy."
Quakers have gone against the flow of accepted culture since the inception of the Society of Friends in the 1600s. Like William Penn, Quakers have worked for brotherly love in times of discord; like Susan B. Anthony, they have sought justice against inequality; and like John Woolman, they have stood for freedom in times of slavery.
Historically, they have set themselves apart in their manner of dress, their speech, their mode of worship and their actions. And although Friends blend easily into today's world - no longer speaking in the "plain language" of thee's and thou's, and no longer dressing only in "Quaker gray" while spurning the gaudy adornment of buttons - they are often left conspicuous by their beliefs.
"We are here (in Ames), and we are not freaks," said Gordon Bivens, clerk of the Ames meeting. "We are just seekers."
For Bivens, that means "seeking a greater understanding of God and a greater relationship with God."
Yet he also points to the statement of purpose issued by Friends Committee on National Legislation, a religiously-based lobbying group begun in 1943, which states: "We seek a world free of war and the threat of war ... a society filled with equity and justice for all ... a community where every person's potential may be fulfilled. We seek an earth restored."
That search often leads in ways that are "counter-cultural," Fink said. Perhaps no more so than when it comes to the Quaker's belief in non-violence, or what is referred to as the peace testimony.
"People think you're stupid," she said, "and that hurts in its own way.
"There are those who have essentially looked at us as non-patriotic because we differ in our beliefs ... but you can love your country and still not agree with its actions."
Like people the world over, the Friends in Ames were stunned by the devastation of Sept. 11. Yet they were equally shocked by the steps that the United States has taken.
"No broadside military action is going to solve this," Bivens said, especially when that blunt action means maiming and killing innocent people. Retribution is not the same as justice.
It is important to understand that the Quaker's peace testimony flows from the concept that "there is that of God in everyone," he said, paraphrasing the words of George Fox, founder of Quakerism. And as such, the sanctity of life - every life - is cherished.
The terrorist actions are a crime against humanity, Fink said, and they should be treated with "justice instead of a war mode. We must hold people responsible without killing."
For the majority of the members of the Ames Friends Meeting, the peace testimony is translated into action. Besides involvement with the committee on national legislation, the meeting supports the Iowa Association for Dispute Resolution and the American Friends Service Committee. Many members join with Time for Peace, a community-wide group which holds a vigil in Ames each Sunday night.
"Pacifism is often confused with passiveness," Fink said. "We have a very active peace community (in Ames) and there are things that can be done. It is very important to work for peace and justice in the world."
Yet in any discussion of the general beliefs and actions of Friends, caution must be taken, according to Fink. There are as many different understandings of appropriate action as there are Quakers. And although over the years "pacifism and abolitionism defines the Quaker ... the majority have taken up arms."
There are no rules, regulations, creeds, nor hierarchy in this faith. In fact, it was in the consternation of mid-1600s-England when church and state stood with no division that George Fox sought a deeper understanding of God. He came to the belief that God spoke to each man's heart with no intercession from another human being, an organization or sacraments.
"Our central authority is our (individual) experience of God," Fink said.
And it is in this authority that the Ames Friends Meeting comes together each First Day to sit in silent worship, to listen to that experience of God and share thoughts with others of like mind.
Although some Quaker meetings retain ministers to direct the flow of worship and embrace music as a part of that worship, the Ames meeting does not.
Instead, they wait as equals and allow the pool of quiet peace in the room to flow where it may. They speak out loud only when the spirit of God compels them - even urges them - with a verse, a word, a thought that bubbles to the surface, spills from the soul and is shared with the others.
According to a non-definitive list on www.quaker.org , there are 18 active Quaker meetings in Iowa. The Ames Friends Meeting is a part of the larger Iowa Yearly Meeting (Conservative). |
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©Ames Tribune 2002
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