Quakers
Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers as the founder of the movement, George Fox, told a judge to quake "before the authority of God". The Friends are generally united by a belief in each human's ability to be guided by the inward light to "make the witness of God" known to everyone. Quakers have traditionally professed a priesthood of all believers inspired by the First Epistle of Peter. They include those with evangelical, holiness, liberal, and traditional Quaker understandings of Christianity, as well as Nontheist Quakers. To differing extents, the Friends avoid creeds and hierarchical structures. In 2017, there were an estimated 377,557 adult Quakers, 49% of them in Africa followed by 22% in North America.Some 89% of Quakers worldwide belong to ''evangelical'' and ''programmed'' branches that hold services with singing and a prepared Bible message coordinated by a pastor (with the largest Quaker group being the Evangelical Friends Church International). Some 11% practice ''waiting worship'' or ''unprogrammed worship'' (commonly ''Meeting for Worship''), where the unplanned order of service is mainly silent and may include unprepared vocal ministry from those present. Some meetings of both types have Recorded Ministers present, Friends recognised for their gift of vocal ministry.
The proto-
Quakers were known to use ''thee'' as an ordinary pronoun, refuse to participate in war, wear plain dress, refuse to swear oaths, oppose slavery, and practice teetotalism. Some Quakers founded banks and financial institutions, including Barclays, Lloyds, and Friends Provident; manufacturers including the footwear firm of C. & J. Clark and the big three British confectionery makers Cadbury, Rowntree and Fry; and philanthropic efforts, including abolition of slavery, prison reform, and social justice. In 1947, in recognition of their dedication to peace and the common good, Quakers represented by the British Friends Service Council and the American Friends Service Committee were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Provided by Wikipedia
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by Society of Friends. Philadelphia Yearly Meeting. Meeting for Sufferings
Published 1782
Published 1782
reprinted by Walker and Pennington, In Coffee-Yard for N. Bell
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by Barclay, Robert
Published 1773
“...Society of Friends...”Published 1773
Printed by Joseph Crukshank, in Market-Street between Second and Third Streets
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by Fothergill, Samuel
Published 1771
“...Leeds Monthly Meeting of the Society of Friends...”Published 1771
London: printed, Philadelphia: re-printed, and sold by Joseph Crukshank, in Third-Street, opposite the work-house