What made me decide to become a Quaker? | Barney Smith | Quaker Talk | 30 Jan 2026 скачать в хорошем качестве

What made me decide to become a Quaker? | Barney Smith | Quaker Talk | 30 Jan 2026

Barney Smith reflects on the question “What made me decide to become a Quaker?” — beginning with a Quaker childhood, but moving quickly into the real turning points: community, responsibility, and the lived experience at the heart of Quaker faith and practice. A wide-ranging discussion follows, with Friends exploring membership, “peak experiences,” silence, service, and how Quaker community can become a kind of chosen family across a lifetime. Talk summary Barney traces a path from “temporary membership” as a Quaker child, through the mixed blessings of compulsory worship at a Quaker school, to the formative experience of Quaker camps and Young Friends. He introduces a key Quaker tool: the difference between notions (beliefs held without experiential evidence) and experience (what is tested and lived). A pivotal moment comes with the challenge: “What are you going to do about it?”—leading to service, responsibility, and a deeper sense of belonging. Barney also offers three “buttons” for membership: a desire for spiritual life, sympathy with Quaker values, and willingness to play one’s part in community. Friends then share their own journeys—through powerful spiritual moments, long periods of attending before joining, the role of welcome, doubts about “measuring up,” and the ongoing reality of Quakers as a spiritual home. Chapters / timestamps 00:00 Welcome & introduction 01:02 “My parents were Quakers…” — but that’s not the whole story 02:30 Quaker school and the problem of “compulsory worship” 04:19 Quaker camp and real community 05:02 A key idea: notions vs lived experience 07:40 Young Friends, service, and learning Quaker process 09:34 The turning question: “What are you going to do about it?” 11:36 A spiritual moment: the blackbird (response, appreciation, humility) 13:16 A sharp lesson: “not entitled to speak” — and what it changed 15:09 Deciding on membership 15:26 Three “buttons” for membership 18:40 Reflections from Friends: values, community, and “thinking about membership” 22:24 A “peak experience” during online worship 26:49 Membership standards: encouraging rather than daunting 28:41 From Marxism and hippie community to Quaker belonging 33:01 Reflections on “peak experiences” and spiritual practice 38:31 Notions, fasting, and body chemistry — a lively tangent 44:35 Finding Quakers and feeling “at home” 47:08 “I joined to lower the tone” — and Quakers as family 57:15 “Meeting for worship is the major thing” 01:01:10 Notices: next week’s talk Next talk: Earth Care Gathering (6 Feb 2026) ---------------------------- See this cumulative playlist for more Bristol Quaker Friday discussion group talks :▶️    • Living with history in a pandemic | Martin...   Friday 11am Discussion Group zoom link:: ▶️ https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84009232514...