Quakers: That of God in Everyone

WE UTTERLY DENY ALL OUTWARD WARS AND STRIFE,

AND FIGHTING WITH OUTWARD WEAPONS,

FOR ANY END, OR UNDER ANY PRETENSE WHATSOEVER;

THIS IS OUR TESTIMONY TO THE WORLD...

THIS IS THE "PEACE TESTIMONY,"

FIRST PROCLAIMED IN 1660 TO KING CHARLES II OF ENGLAND

BY A GROUP OF RELIGIOUS SEEKERS LED BY GEORGE FOX

AND CALLING THEMSELVES THE "CHILDREN OF LIGHT",

OR "PUBLISHERS OF TRUTH."

TO THEIR CRITICS THEY WERE KNOWN AS "QUAKERS,"

A DERISIVE NICKNAME THAT THEY UNABASHEDLY ACKNOWLEDGED

AS THEY WERE KNOWN FOR TREMBLING UNDER THE INFLUENCE

OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IN THEIR WORSHIP MEETINGS.

ULTIMATELY, THEY WOULD OFFICIALLY NAME THEMSELVES

"THE RELIGIOUS SOCIETY OF FRIENDS."

THEIR VISIONARY LEADER, GEORGE FOX, WROTE IN 1683:

GOD, WHO MADE ALL,

POURS OUT HIS SPIRIT UPON ALL MEN AND WOMEN IN THE WORLD,

IN THE DAYS OF HIS NEW COVENANT,

YEA, UPON WHITES AND BLACKS, MOORS, AND TURKS, AND INDIANS,

CHRISTIANS, JEWS, AND GENTILES, THAT ALL WITH THE SPIRIT OF GOD,

MIGHT KNOW GOD AND THE THINGS OF GOD,

AND SERVE AND WORSHIP, IN SPIRIT AND TRUTH.

BE PATTERNS, BE EXAMPLES IN ALL COUNTRIES,

PLACES, ISLANDS, NATIONS, WHEREVER YOU COME,

THAT YOUR CARRIAGE

AND LIFE MAY PREACH AMONG ALL SORTS OF PEOPLE,

AND TO THEM;

THEN YOU WILL COME TO WALK CHEERFULLY OVER THE WORLD,

ANSWERING THAT OF GOD IN EVERY ONE.

THAT OF GOD IN EVERYONE AS IT WAS ORIGINALLY USED,

REALLY REFERRED TO PEOPLE BEING MADE

IN THE IMAGE AND LIKENESS OF GOD.

WE ALL SHARE THE SAME FATHER WITH THE SAME PARENTS.

WE'RE ALL CHILDREN OF GOD,

WE'RE ALL CHILDREN OF THE SAME GOD.

WE NEED TO RECOGNIZE THAT THAT'S WHAT WE NEED TO BE RESPONDING TO

IN OTHER PEOPLE, IS THAT COMMON HUMANITY

THAT WE HAVE, THE INWARD LIGHT OF CHRIST.

AND JUST AS THE LIGHT FROM THE SUN

ALLOWS US TO SEE WITH OUR EYES, OUR OUTWARD EYES,

WE HAVE INWARD EYES

AND WHEN WE ARE ILLUMINATED BY THAT INWARD LIGHT OF GOD

WE CAN SEE OUR SPIRITUAL CONDITION

AND UNDERSTAND WHAT IT IS GOD'S CALLING ON US TO DO.

AS THE MOVEMENT GREW IN NUMBER AND MOMENTUM,

THAT INNER LIGHT LED QUAKERS TO PIVOTAL ROLES

IN MANY OF THE MOST TRANSFORMATIVE MOMENTS

OF THE LAST FOUR CENTURIES.

QUAKERS SUCH AS WILLIAM PENN, SUSAN B. ANTHONY, LUCRETIA MOTT,

JOHN WOOLMAN AND GEORGE CADBURY

HAVE ACHIEVED A DEGREE OF FAME,

BUT LESS IS KNOWN ABOUT THOUSANDS OF OTHER FRIENDS,

SUCH AS THOSE FROM THE AMERICAN MIDWEST,

WHOSE FAITHFULNESS TO QUAKER IDEALS

POSITIVELY IMPACTED THE LARGER SOCIETY.

AND THESE ARE THE PREVIOUSLY UNTOLD STORIES

OF SOME OF THOSE ARCHITECTS OF PEACE AND EQUALITY.

QUAKERS LEFT ENGLAND IN THE 17TH CENTURY

TO ESTABLISH A COLONY IN THE NEW WORLD -

WILLIAM PENN'S "HOLY EXPERIMENT" -

INSPIRED BY THE IDEA OF LIVING WHERE THEY COULD BE GOVERNED

ACCORDING TO THEIR FAITH.

PENN HAD BEEN GIVEN THE LAND BY KING CHARLES THE SECOND

TO SETTLE A LARGE FAMILY DEBT.

SO IN 1682, HE SAILS ACROSS THE OCEAN

WITH A GROUP OF COLONISTS, MOST OF WHOM ARE QUAKERS.

BUT HE DOESN'T SAY TO THE PEOPLE ALREADY LIVING THERE,

"THIS IS MINE."

WHAT HE SAYS IS, "I AM GOING TO BUY IT."

HE SAYS THIS NOT ONLY TO THE SWEDES

AND THE DUTCH;

HE SAYS IT TO THE INDIANS AS WELL.

HE SAYS "THIS IS LAND THAT WE WANT TO SETTLE ON.

"WE RECOGNIZE IT AS YOUR LAND

AND WE WILL PURCHASE IT FROM YOU,"

AND BEGINS, THE FIRST ARE THE NUMBER OF TREATIES

THAT PEN AND HIS SONS MAKE WITH THE INDIANS TO BUY LAND

THAT THE KING HAS ALREADY GIVEN TO PENN.

AFTER AN ENCOUNTER WITH PENN,

TAMANEND, A NATIVE AMERICAN DELAWARE CHIEF, DECLARED:

WE WILL LIVE IN LOVE WITH WILLIAM PENN

AND HIS CHILDREN AS LONG AS THE CREEKS AND RIVERS RUN,

AND WHILE THE SUN, MOON, AND STARS ENDURE.

PEN WRITES THIS CONSTITUTION

ALLOWING PEOPLE FREEDOM TO WORSHIP,

ABOLISHING THE DEATH PENALTY EXCEPT IN SOME VERY--

I THINK IF YOU ENGAGED IN TREASON YOU STILL BE EXECUTED,

BUT BEYOND THAT, THIS WAS AN AMAZINGLY LIBERAL DOCUMENT

THAT HE PUT TOGETHER.

THE QUAKER COLONY, PENNSYLVANIA,

WAS OPEN TO ALL AND GOVERNED WITH LAWS

BASED ON EQUALITY, TRUTH, SIMPLICITY AND PEACE.

PEACE REQUIRES JUSTICE, JUSTICE REQUIRES LAW.

LAW REQUIRES GOVERNMENT,

NOT ONLY WITHIN NATIONS BUT ALSO BETWEEN NATIONS.

- WILLIAM PENN, 1693.

IF YOU COULD ONLY BUILD A STATE

WHERE PEOPLE WOULD BE FREE,

THEY COULD HAVE FREEDOM OF RELIGION,

THEY COULD HAVE FREEDOM TO EXPRESS THEMSELVES,

THERE COULD BE EQUALITY,

WOMEN COULD BE AS EQUAL AS MEN, COULD HAVE THE SAME RIGHTS,

COULD DO THE SAME THINGS AS MEN,

THERE WOULD BE NO NEED TO OWN SLAVES,

THAT EACH IN THEIR OWN WAY WOULD GIVE TO THE COMMUNITY,

THAT YOU WOULD HAVE A JUST GOVERNMENT,

THAT WOULD LOOK OUT FOR EVERYONE WITHIN THE SOCIETY.

UNFORTUNATELY, BY THE TIME OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION,

THERE WERE MORE NON-QUAKERS THAN QUAKERS IN PENNSYLVANIA,

AND THE HOLY EXPERIMENT CAME TO AN END

AS QUAKERS WERE VOTED OUT OF OFFICE

OR LEFT OFFICE RATHER THAN PARTICIPATE IN DECISIONS

RELATED TO WAR-MAKING.

HE THOUGHT HE WAS GOING TO ESTABLISH A UTOPIA,

A HEAVEN ON EARTH AND FOUND OUT THAT THE TOUGH REALITIES OF LIFE

REALLY GET IN THE WAY.

BUT HE DID CREATE THIS COLONY, HE CREATED THIS MODEL.

WE HAVE THE MODEL OF RELIGIOUS FREEDOM

THAT PENN ESTABLISHES IN PENNSYLVANIA.

AND THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITES STATES,

IN SOME WAYS DRAWS ON THINGS THAT HE WROTE IN THE 1680S,

ALMOST 100 YEARS EARLIER.

THOUGH THEY WERE NO LONGER A MAJORITY

IN PENNSYLVANIA,

QUAKERS HAD SPREAD THROUGHOUT THE AMERICAN COLONIES

WITH SUBSTANTIAL SETTLEMENTS IN RHODE ISLAND, NEW JERSEY,

VIRGINIA, NORTH AND SOUTH CAROLINA, AND GEORGIA.

AS THE COLONIES IN THE NEW LAND DEVELOPED,

SLAVERY BECAME A PART OF THE ECONOMIC SYSTEM.

BUT QUAKERS WERE TO FOLLOW A DIFFERENT PATH.

THROUGH THE 1700S, FRIENDS URGED THEIR MEMBERS WHO OWNED SLAVES

TO FREE THEM AND MAKE PROVISIONS FOR THEIR WELFARE

AND BY 1784 VIRTUALLY NO QUAKERS OWNED SLAVES.

THE SLAVE ECONOMY BECAME STRONG IN THE SOUTH,

SO IN 1806 MY FAMILY GROUP OF QUAKERS

MOVE FROM THE NORTH CAROLINA PIEDMONT AREA, TO OHIO.

THEY DID NOT WANT TO RAISE THEIR CHILDREN IN THAT SLAVE SOCIETY.

SO IT WAS A MATTER OF CONSCIOUS AND ALSO A MATTER OF ECONOMICS,

A MATTER OF LOOKING FOR A LIFE THAT WOULD BE BETTER

FOR THEIR COMMUNITY AND THEIR FAMILIES.

APPALLED BY THE CRUELTY OF SLAVERY AROUND THEM,

AND ATTRACTED TO THE POSSIBILITY

OF LIVING WHERE SLAVERY WAS PROHIBITED,

MANY SOUTHERN QUAKERS BEGAN MOVING

TO THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY,

SETTLING FIRST ON LAND THAT NOW INCLUDES

THE STATES OF OHIO AND INDIANA.

IN 1787 CONGRESS PASSED THE NORTHWEST ORDINANCE,

WHICH WAS TO PROVIDE FOR THE ORGANIZATION OF GOVERNMENT

AND SETTLEMENT OF THE LANDS NORTH OF THE OHIO RIVER.

WHAT WAS PROBABLY THE BEST ELEMENT OF THE ORDINANCE;

HOWEVER, WAS ITS PROVISION THAT NEITHER SLAVERY

NOR INVOLUNTARY SERVITUDE

WOULD EVER EXIST IN THE LANDS OF THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.

AND FRIENDS ARE DRAWN TOWARD TERRITORIES

WHERE SLAVERY IS ILLEGAL.

DANIEL BOONE, WHO GREW UP A PENNSYLVANIA QUAKER,

WAS AMONG THOSE WHO HELPED FRIENDS MOVE WEST

IN SEARCH OF A PLACE TO LIVE IN PEACE AND EQUALITY.

LET PEACE, DESCENDING FROM HER NATIVE HEAVEN,

BID HER OLIVES SPRING AMIDST THE JOYFUL NATIONS;

AND PLENTY, IN LEAGUE WITH COMMERCE,

SCATTER BLESSINGS FROM HER COPIOUS HAND!

DANIEL BOONE, 1784.

IN 1799, TWO QUAKER FAMILIES

FROM BUSH RIVER, SOUTH CAROLINA, SETTLED ON "MILITARY LANDS"

IN SOUTHWESTERN OHIO, JUST NORTH OF FORT WASHINGTON,

THE SITE OF WHAT WOULD, IN A FEW YEARS,

BECOME THE THRIVING RIVER PORT TOWN OF CINCINNATI.

IN 1803, JOINED BY MORE MIGRATING FRIENDS,

THEY ESTABLISHED THE FIRST FORMALLY RECOGNIZED

QUAKER MEETING FOR WORSHIP, OR "CHURCH",

MIAMI MONTHLY MEETING IN THE VILLAGE OF WAYNESVILLE.

AND THAT SAME YEAR, SOMETHING WAS TO HAPPEN

BACK IN BUSH RIVER, SOUTH CAROLINA

THAT WOULD OPEN THE FLOODGATES FOR QUAKER MIGRATION

TO THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.

ZACHARIAH DIX, A QUAKER,

DESCRIBED BY THOSE WHO HEARD HIM SPEAK,

AS "A POWERFUL RHAPSODICAL PREACHER"

WITH "PROPHETIC INSIGHT IN AN UNUSUAL DEGREE,"

DELIVERED A DISTURBING MESSAGE.

BY THE 1790S, FRIENDS HAD COME TO BELIEVE

THAT ZACHARIAS HAD A GIFT OF PROPHECY.

THAT HE COULD SEE INTO PEOPLE'S MINDS

AND UNDERSTAND WHAT THEIR SECRET SPIRITUAL STATES WERE.

AND THAT HE HAD FORESHADOWINGS OF THE FUTURE.

AS FRIENDS RECORDED THEIR MEMORIES OF HIS PREACHING

DECADES LATER, WHAT ZACHARIAS HAD TO SAY TO THEM

WAS SOMETHING LIKE THIS - "WOE UNTO THEE BUSH RIVER.

THE FLOWER OF THY GLORY HAS FADED.

GET THEE, HENCE, OUT OF THIS LAND OF EGYPTIAN SLAVERY

AND DARKNESS UNTO THE FREE LANDS OF THE NORTHWEST."

AND WITHIN A FEW YEARS, A QUAKER COMMUNITY THAT HAD NUMBERED,

PROBABLY CLOSE TO 1000 PEOPLE,

WAS FEWER THAN A HUNDRED LEFT IN SOUTH CAROLINA.

THE QUAKERS WHO CAME HERE TO THE MIDWEST

WERE THOSE WHO WERE MAYBE MORE RISK-TAKERS.

THEY LEFT HOMES,