Becoming a Quaker
Formally, you become "a Quaker" when you are accepted as a member of a Friends Meeting (or Church).
You do not need to be a member to attend in a Meeting for Worship, to speak during worship, to serve on on a Committee (except the Ministry and Oversight Committee), or to hold many of the meeting offices. We have many attenders who have been active in our meeting for years who are not members.
However, if after attending meeting for a while you develop a sense of belonging and begin to feel committed to Quaker attitudes and worship, you can apply to the Monthly Meeting to join the Society.
Membership [in the Society of Friends] establishes a commitment between the individual and the Religious Society of Friends within the framework of a particular Monthly Meeting. It commits a person to the daily pursuit of truth after the manner of Friends, and commits the Meeting to support the member in that pursuit.
Typically, one first becomes acquainted with a particular Meeting through regular attendance. Familiarity with the Meeting's aspirations and ways may lead one to want to share in the responsibilities, difficulties and joys of its community.
All decisions concerning membership in the Religious Society of Friends are made in sessions of the Monthly Meeting. The procedure has several steps.
- An applicant writes a letter to the Clerk expressing a desire to become a member.
- A clearness committee consisting of two or three members is appointed to visit with the applicant.
- When the clearness committee unites with the applicant in the request for membership, it reports to the Ministry and Oversight Committee, and if this committee approves the request, it is presented to the next Meeting for Business.
- The request is not acted upon at that session, but is placed on the agenda for action at the next Business Meeting. This allows members to become better acquainted with the applicant.
- Upon approval of the application, the Meeting minutes its acceptance of the new member.