Quakers Society of Friends Springfield

05/27/2026

What Ms Rachel said. 💯

To follow Jesus is to love our neighbors, feed the hungry, care for the sick, welcome the stranger, and speak the truth.

📣 Are you a Christian ready to reclaim our faith as a force for love, justice, and dignity for all?

🔗 Join us at bit.ly/ISAIAHchristian

05/04/2026

Gary Kurtz, producer of the Star Wars movies “A New Hope” and “The Empire Strikes Back”, has been called the “father of the Force.” Over the course of many late-night conversations with George Lucas, the two determined that in Star Wars, the Force would be an all-encompassing, metaphysical energy that emanates from people and binds the galaxy together. Does that sound a bit like the Inner Light to my Quaker Friends? Well, Kurtz was a Quaker!

Kurtz was raised in a Quaker family and enlisted as a conscientious objector during the Vietnam War. He served in the Marines as a combat cameraman and refused to carry a weapon.

Star Wars fans, what do you think? Are there similarities between the Force and the Inner Light? Is there anything else that’s Quaker about the Star Wars movies? May the fourth be with you!

04/16/2026

Pastor calls out mixing faith with politics amid Trump–Pope clash ⛪⚖️

Benjamin Cremer weighed in after Donald Trump’s recent attacks on Pope Leo XIV, raising questions about the role of Christianity in political loyalty.

“If our Christianity causes us to defend the president rather than the poor, the powerless… that’s when we know we are following someone other than Jesus,” he said.

His remarks are fueling a broader debate about whether faith should guide political decisions—or stand apart from them.

👉 Is faith being used to justify politics… or challenge it?

04/08/2026

The occasion of war, and war itself (wherein envious men, who are lovers of themselves more than lovers of God, lust, kill, and desire to have men's lives or estates) ariseth from lust.

All bloody principles and practices, as to our own particulars, we utterly deny; with all outward wars and strife, and fightings with outward weapons, for any end, or under any pretense whatsoever; this is our testimony to the whole world.

01/23/2026

[UPDATE: The shelter at 425 W. Walnut is at capacity. If you need shelter tonight, contact Community Partnership of the Ozarks at 417-290-3110 for available shelter beds. Stay safe out there!]

As temperatures drop this weekend, our Cold Weather Shelter at 425 W Walnut will be open to care for our unsheltered friends.

We’re so grateful for the staff and volunteers who continue to show up with compassion, generosity, and love. You are the reason this space feels safe, warm, and welcoming.

Thank you for helping us do our part to be a good neighbor and for loving people well when it matters most. 🤍

01/14/2026

Quakerism was born out of the tumult of the English Civil War, when it felt as if the world was “turned upside down.” Out of this chaotic time came a radical new expression of primitive Christianity.

Friends were willing to go to prison, travel across the world as missionaries, strip naked in public, and even lay down their lives this rediscovery. So what was it they had found?

This month our Quaker daily devotional is publishing a Quaker quote every day by and about early Quakers. Begin the new year with the beginnings of Quaker faith.

Subscribe for free!
https://dailyquaker.com/subscribe/

01/01/2026

🙏Gratitude for Every Condition - On this first day of the new year, let us pause to remember something profound: everything and everyone we have encountered has brought us to this very moment.

The easy days that lifted our spirits and made us smile. The difficult times that tested our strength and taught us resilience. The unexpected turns that confused us at first, but later revealed their hidden gifts. All of it—every single condition, every circumstance, every encounter—has been quietly nourishing us, shaping us, guiding us to where we stand today.

We are here because of the kindness of people who became important in our lives. Because of the challenges that forced us to grow. Because of the moments of joy that reminded us of life’s beauty. Because of the moments of struggle that showed us what we’re capable of enduring.

We are here because of both the storms and the sunshine. Because of the people who said yes and the people who said no. Because of what we gained and what we lost. Because of every conversation, every connection, every opportunity given, every lesson learned along the way.

Today, let us offer our deepest gratitude—not only for the conditions that felt like blessings, but also for the ones that felt like burdens, for they too have been our teachers. Not only for the people who supported us, but also for those who challenged us, for they too have been part of our journey.
Every condition in our lives, whether we welcomed it or resisted it, has played its part in bringing us to this new beginning. And for that, may we bow in humble gratitude.

With this gratitude in our hearts, let us send loving-kindness to all beings—to those who have been by our side and those we have never met, to those who brought us joy and those who brought us lessons, to all who share this precious existence with us.

Let us carry this awareness forward—remembering that we are shaped not by single moments, but by the vast web of conditions that connect us all, nourish us all, and make us who we are.

May you and all beings be well, happy, and at peace.

12/08/2025

In the early days of Quakerism, Friends were often persecuted for their beliefs — fined, imprisoned, and sometimes attacked for living according to their conscience. Refusing to swear oaths, remove their hats in court, or pay church tithes could all lead to jail time.

One lesser-known example of this persecution took place on Christmas Day, 1660, in Warwickshire, England. A group of Friends, believing all days to be equally holy and therefore rejecting holidays, chose to keep their shops open. For this, they were violently attacked as they worked in their shops.

This story survives as a minute in Warwickshire Quarterly Meeting’s records:

“Thomas Wincote, John Medly, Brigitte Nicoles & Richard Kedes & severall others had our shops broaken and our goods spoyled and our selves in danger to be slaine and having durt & stones throwne at us in our owne shops for working and opening our shops upon that idolliysed day which the World calles Cristmasse day 1660.”

Although the 1689 Toleration Act permitted greater freedom to worship and removed some of the restrictions, Quakers continued to be persecuted until the 19th century.

11/25/2025

Quakers have been meeting in Melbourne, Australia since 1843, but those first Friends could never have imagined the Victorian Quaker Centre, where Melbourne City Local Meeting worships.

Melbourne Friends finished their transformation of a 1960s office building into a piece of contemplative art in 2020. Natural light from a skylight above the circular forms in the ceiling causes the light to shift depending on the time of day. Friends set up their chairs in a circle beneath for worship.

The Centre hosts the Victoria Regional Meeting, which includes more than 300 members and attenders. It also serves as a community hub, renting space to local groups and classes.

https://www.quakersaustralia.info/organisation/regional-meetings/victoria-regional-meeting/victorian-quaker-centre

Quakers Australia

10/23/2025

09/28/2025

Here is a PDF of Quakerism 101 curriculum. One of our members Lonny Burger wrote it years ago at the request of Ohio Valley yearly meeting, for new Quakers. I will try to have hard copies available at our next meeting!

https://quaker.org/legacy/miami/documents/Quakerism101.pdf