Excerpt for a message at Durham Friends Meeting on July 1, 2018<\/p>\n
Quakers often talk about Quaker Values in terms of ‘testimonies’ many of us remember with this mnemonic SPICES: Simplicity, Peace, Integrity, Community, Equality and Stewardship.<\/p>\n
Where did the SPICES list come from?\u00a0 That\u2019s a complicated story, probably one for another day.\u00a0\u00a0 Let\u2019s just note this: you won\u2019t find this list or anything like it in any Yearly Meeting\u2019s\u00a0Faith and Practice<\/em>\u00a0before about WWII. The SPICES list is of relatively recent origin. Nevertheless, this list of Quaker Values has come to define us \u2013 or we have slipped into letting them define us.<\/p>\n We say, \u201cLet Your Life Speak.\u201d That\u2019s a Quaker phrase I like. By it, we mean our beliefs should be active, not inert. We should live out our values, even when it is difficult \u2013 like the difficult week or year we\u2019re having now. These Quaker Values, these Testimonies, are orientations to action.<\/p>\n So where did the SPICES list come from? I like to think of it this way.<\/p>\n Quakers believe that God speaks to each and every one of us \u2014 if we\u2019ll still ourselves to listen. We believe there is \u2018that of God\u2019 in each and every one of us \u2014 that allows us to hear God. And thus,<\/p>\n And so we have SPICES list: Simplicity, Peace, Integrity, Community, Equality, Stewardship. It\u2019s a good shorthand list \u2013 perhaps a Quaker rosary.<\/p>\n But \u2014 here\u2019s the but. Are these values our<\/em><\/strong> values in the sense that we own them, or have a special claim on them \u2013 a claim that others don\u2019t? Are they especially ours? Are they our brand? Is that why we call them \u2018Quaker Values?\u2019<\/p>\n Are these\u00a0our<\/u>\u00a0Spices, and other people use different flavorings?\u00a0Do these values make us special? Set us apart? Do they make us better? (Heaven forbid!)<\/p>\n If we are to let our life speak, do we think that other people\u2019s lives should speak in different ways \u2013 upholding war or selfishness or deceit or waste? How do we expect to persuade anyone of anything if we few think we have a corner on goodness, because ours are \u2018Quaker Values?\u2019<\/p>\n Or are these values for everyone?<\/p>\n Are these values for everyone because they speak to something fundamentally right about being human, about living a good life? Some would add: Are these values for everyone who is listening to God?<\/p>\n Aren\u2019t these the values of the Sermon on the Mount?<\/p>\n Put another way, do Quakers hold these values because they are Quaker, or do we hold them because they are the right values \u2013 right for everyone?<\/p>\n If they are right for everyone, and I\u2019m pretty sure they are; if they are right for everyone because these commitments are what God expects of all us, what should we call them? Not \u201cQuaker values,\u201d I think.<\/p>\n One more question.\u00a0\u00a0 If we should not call these Quaker values, if we shouldn\u2019t think that these values are what makes us distinctive, what does make us distinctive?<\/p>\n +++<\/p>\n You can find the entire message, “Quaker Values”<\/a> on Doug Bennett’s blog, River View Friend\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Excerpt for a message at Durham Friends Meeting on July 1, 2018 Quakers often talk about Quaker Values in terms of ‘testimonies’ many of us remember with this mnemonic SPICES: Simplicity, Peace, Integrity, Community, Equality and Stewardship. Where did the … Continue reading \n