The Brainerd Friends Meeting / Quakers are a diverse group from within our own community interested in spiritual reflection and questions, while waiting on the Leadings of God within the space of silent worship. We practice a religion of experience, a contemporary, simple, and radical faith. Quakers are also called Friends.

Quakers believe . . .

  • Every person is known by God and can know God in a direct relationship.

  • The Quaker faith has deep Christian roots. Many Quakers consider themselves Christians, and some do not. Many Quakers find meaning and value in the teachings of many faiths.

  • Quakers strive to live lives that are guided by a direct encounter with the Divine, more than by teachings about the Divine.  Quaker terms for the Holy include God, the Seed, the Light Within, and the Inward Teacher, among others.

  • Testimonies are ways that Quakers have found to express our experience of the Divine in our lives.  Some of the best recognized testimonies include simplicity, integrity, equality, community, and peace.

Our youth have also learned the tenets of Quakerism from the following acronym: SPICES—Simplicity, Peace, Integrity, Community, Equality, and Stewardship.

Quaker worship . . .

Quakers gather in the silence and wait expectantly to come into the presence of the Divine and to be guided by the still, small voice by which God speaks to us from within. During the silence anyone—child, woman, or man—may feel moved to offer a simple spoken message (vocal ministry) that is inspired by this holy encounter.  Following the message, the silence resumes.  A period of worship may include several messages or none. The Brainerd Friends Meeting follows 45 minutes of silent worship with 45 minutes of reading-inspired discussion, and closes with an informal coffee/treats social time.

Quakers include . . .

There are Quakers of all ages, religious backgrounds, races and ethnicities, education, sexual orientations, gender identities, abilities, and classes.  You can find Quakers on all of the world’s continents. Approximately one-third live in the United States and Canada.

"Friends, meet together and know one another in that which is eternal, which was before the world was."

                                                                  ~George Fox, 1632-1691