SPOKANE, Wash. – The month of July marks the 400th birthday of George Fox, a co-founder of Quakerism and one of the most significant figures in American religious history.
Spokane Friends, the Lilac City’s Quaker meeting house, is living out the legacy of Fox and movement co-founder Margaret Fell by emphasizing that everyone is welcome.
“The Spirit is guiding us, and everyone has a space to speak and be heard,” community member Lois Kieffaber said.
Quakerism has a long legacy in Spokane, with Spokane Friends being officially established in 1952 according to Kieffaber.
Quakers practice the core values of simplicity, peace, integrity, community, equality and stewardship (referred to by the acronym SPICES), and practice a non-hierarchical form of spiritual community.
Community member Jon Maroni highlighted that anyone can attend a meeting and share in community regardless of their spirituality.
“In terms of what people experience at Spokane Friends, ‘wonderfully unpolished’ is what I like to say…I think that unpolished nature is emblematic of what George Fox was about as well,” Maroni said.
Those interested in attending a Quaker meeting will find a reverence for silent prayer over the performance of specific rituals. On Sundays, worship begins in stillness.
“One of the key differences that people would experience here is silence. That is one of the key ways that we experience community with each other and the Light,” Maroni said.
Maroni describes meetings as an opportunity to experience both the Light of God and the way the Spirit works through other members of the community.
As the 400th birthday of George Fox’s birthday approaches, Spokane Friends continue to offer a spiritual home open to all.
