A “Seed” Invitation to Conscience Raising Activity

How do we, as a faith community, live in the creative tension between the world we know is possible and the reality of the ‘tragic gap’ we have to face head on today?

The “seed” is this: Our Quakerism is not a historic relic to be admired, but a source of constantly emerging spiritual fire to be reclaimed. By examining this radical faith in our ancestors, we can re-energize our own witness to create simple, meaningful, accessible pathways for newcomers or neighbors to join us in this urgent work. Now is the moment.

Why This Seed, and Why Now?

Our region is steeped in Quaker history. From the early settlements along the Delaware River to the abolitionist work that thrived and was contested in South Jersey, our soil is fertile with stories of courage and conviction. Yet, we often struggle to connect that past to our present identity and outreach. This conversation is designed to bridge that gap, moving from a “polite society” to a prophetic community, rooted in our specific context.

The Structure: A Three-Part Journey

This seed is structured to grow into a 90-minute to 2-hour gathering, blending worship, conversation after presentation, worship sharing, multipart seminar and/or dialogue. It is designed to be facilitated by a team from within the Quarter or Project.

Jersey Roots – A Foundation of Courage
We can begin grounding ourselves in this local spiritual geography. Ours is a rich and continual history here. We’ll recall that Quakers who settled in this area were not seeking a quiet life, but a platform for building a Society of revolutionary faith. We’ll lift up the examples of John Woolman of Mount Holly, whose gentle but unwavering witness against slavery shook the conscience of the colonies, and the Underground Railroad networks that ran through our very communities. We’ll open with the query: “What hinders us, who inherited this legacy, from obeying the truth we see today?”

Our Present Practices and a Discipline of Truth-Telling
This is the heart of the conversation—a move from history to practice. Using worship sharing, we will create a brave space to explore the fears and fatigue that keep us from deeper engagement. Guiding queries may include:

• What are we, in our specific Meetings, really afraid of when we consider terms like “justice,” “reparation,” or “solidarity”?
• How can the testimonies of Equality and Community guide us in 2025, not just as historical principles?
• What is our spiritual fatigue trying to teach us?

Our Local Harvest – From Faith to Faithful Action
A faith that is strengthened internally must be expressed locally. We will explore together what it means to be a modern abolitionist—dismantling systems that harm human dignity—right here in South Jersey. This is not a call to invent new work. We seek to continue a lineage of service to resume existing leadings through empowered collective mutuality. We’ll share sparks of action now happening and discern new ones:

• How can we support migrant justice work in our urban/agricultural communities?
• What would a reparations witness look like in our local/immediate context?
• How can we open our historic meetinghouses as centers for radical welcome and coalition building?

How our South Jersey Quakers Project (SJQ) Can Nurture This Seed:

• Archive & Record: We document conversations, insights, leadings and ideas to help proliferate what can emerge across different Meetings, creating a living record of our collective discernment.
• Provide Resources: We develop and share simple facilitator’s guides, curate lists of local Quaker historical examples, other curate resources and supportive texts.
• Connect Meetings: We help link Meetings. We explore similar queries, support Quarters in hosting wider conversations, and promote hybrid zoom on a theme.

Invitation to Monthly Meetings and Quarters:

This seed is offered for you to plant and nurture within your community of F/friends. The guide and pastor may  helps us  rediscover, together, how our radical past can inspire a courageous present. Can we be patterns and examples South Jersey needs, right now?

This article has images borrowed from FGC resources for Worship Sharing and Friends Journal https://www.fgcquaker.org/fgcresources/spiritual/adult-re/