Frequently Asked Questions
Question: What are Quaker Testimonies?
Answer:
✓ Quaker testimonies are guiding principles that reflect the values and beliefs of the Quaker faith. They are based on the idea of living a simple, honest, and compassionate life.
Question: What Criteria determine a testimony?
Answer
✓ It is a challenge to act outside one’s comfort zone and for others because it challenges their assumptions and normal conventions.
✓ The testimony promotes spiritual growth: Fosters a deeper connection with oneself, others, and the divine
✓ It originates in a divine leaning
✓ It is communal behaviour, not just personal
Question: What are the Core Quaker Testimonials?
Answer
✓ Simplicity: Living simply and sustainably.
✓ Peace: Promoting peace and nonviolence.
✓ Integrity: Being truthful and honest.
✓ Community: Building supportive relationships.
✓ Equality: Valuing diversity and promoting justice.
✓ Stewardship: Caring for the Earth and its resources.
Question: Are these the only Testimonials or are there other testimonials?
Answer
✓ In the early history of Quakerism, there were testimonials on a range of practices. What determined a testimony was the criteria mentioned above. Testimonials are dynamic, evolving with Quaker meetings within the criteria mentioned above.
Question: Have Quakers in Ghana identified other practices that meet these criteria and Are they seen as important in their daily practice?
Answer: Yes, three such values that have been discerned and discussed in our meetings at Hill House, which we discern as applying to us, are:
Ubuntu emphasizes:
✓ Interconnectedness: We are all connected and part of a larger community.
✓ Mutual support: We support and care for each other.
✓ Humanity: We recognize and respect each other’s humanity.
Compassion is:
✓ Feeling empathy: Understanding and sharing others’ feelings.
✓ Showing kindness: Being gentle, caring, and supportive.
✓ Helping others: Providing comfort and assistance to those in need.
Gratitude is:
✓ Appreciating life: Recognizing and valuing the good things in life.
✓ Being thankful: Expressing thanks for blessings, people, and experiences.
✓ Focusing on the positive: Cultivating a positive attitude and outlook.
Practicing these values promotes harmony, kindness, and appreciation in our relationships and daily lives and is aligned with Quaker Faith and Practice.
How does Ubuntu meet the criteria of being a testimony?
✓ It is rooted in Quaker values: Ubuntu’s emphasis on interconnectedness and community aligns with Quaker principles of equality, justice, and mutual support.
✓ It reflects Quaker practice: Ubuntu’s focus on relationships and mutual support reflects Quaker values of community and cooperation.
✓ It promotes spiritual growth: Ubuntu’s emphasis on interconnectedness can foster a deeper sense of empathy, compassion, and unity
✓ It meets the criteria mentioned above.
How does Compassion meet the criteria of being a testimony?
✓ It is rooted in Quaker values: Compassion aligns with Quaker principles of empathy, kindness, and peace.
✓ It reflects the criteria mentioned above.
✓ It promotes spiritual growth: Compassion can foster a deeper sense of empathy, understanding, and connection to others.
How does gratitude meet the criteria of being a testimony?
✓ It is rooted in Quaker values: Gratitude aligns with Quaker principles of simplicity, contentment, and appreciation for the present moment.
✓ It reflects Quaker practice: Practicing gratitude reflects Quaker values of mindfulness, thankfulness, and appreciation for life’s blessings.
✓ It meets the criteria mentioned above.
L. Sergius Ephson
Hill House Meeting 2025
Resources
Quaker Testimony: What We Witness to the World – Friends Journal
Paul Buckley 2023 Quaker Testimony: What We Witness to the World. Pendle Hill Pamphlets (number 481), 2023. 34 pages.
Testimonies. Quaker org: What Is A Quaker Testimony? – Understanding Quaker Faith, Practices & Values
