An hour after the 11 attendees arrived at the Athens Religious Society of Friends, secretary Betsey Collins finally greeted them.
“Good morning, friends,” Collins said upon the completion of a Quaker tradition called “silent worship.”
“The goal is to silence your mind to get to a higher message,” said Athens resident and member Sophia Durand. “So there's no chatter. There's nobody telling you what to think, there's no storytelling from a priest — that would be clutter.”
Silent worship involves meditation to seek messages from the spirit of God, according to the Athens Friends’ website. If during silent worship a member hears a spiritual message that they are compelled to share, they are encouraged to stand up and speak it aloud.
Collins, who lives in Arnoldsville, said the purpose is not to start a conversation but rather to simply share the message in a safe environment where they won’t be critiqued or judged.
In this past Sunday’s meeting, no one stood up to speak, which can be typical for smaller groups such as the Athens Friends.
“It's very hard for me to settle down and silent worship,” said Jessica Brooks, Collins’ daughter and an Arnoldsville resident. “And I've been a Quaker since I was 4 years old. But it's super peaceful if you can just quiet your brain — but it's really hard to get to.”
Origins of the Athens Quakers
The Religious Society of Friends, or Quakers, of Athens began to meet at each other’s homes in the mid-1980s. Their numbers increased, so they moved to what was then the Methodist Student Center on Lumpkin Street, which was where Collins attended when she moved to the area in 1988.
But after a meeting between the pastor and Collins with her then-boyfriend, the group was asked to leave.
“(The Methodist pastor) said we were very nice people, but we weren't Christian, and we didn't fall into the Christian column — his definition (of it),” Collins said. “So this was heartbreaking to me because I had been a Methodist.”
After leaving, the Athens Quakers rented places throughout Athens, until five years ago. Cherokee Corner Church on U.S. Highway 78 in Winterville was about to shut down, and its former members wanted another religious group to take it over.
The Athens Friends moved in and have been there ever since.
What do the Quakers believe?
Tim Johnson, the treasurer and congregation representative at the Interfaith Clergy Partnership of Greater Athens, described the beliefs of Quakerism.
“Everyone has that of God within them,” he said. “We see the light within ourselves and within others. We do that through a sovereign worship.”
Quakers are not universally accepted as Christians. Some, including Johnson, identify as such, and some do not. They differ in their views of the Bible, said Collins, where some believe in every word while others take it as metaphorical writings.
Within the Athens Friends, for example, Durand does not believe in the Bible, but her husband — who is also a member — does.
Between the terminology of “friends” as opposed to members and “meetings” rather than services, the congregation gives off a casual atmosphere. During the meeting, everyone sits in a circle — there is no altar or pew, or pastor to lead. Not all Quakers follow this idea of no hierarchy — “programmed” Quakers have leaders, but the Athens congregation is “unprogrammed” and does not.
“We’re all spiritual leaders to one another,” Brooks said. “So traditionally, we don’t spank our children.”
A progressive history
Historically, the Quakers have had progressive ideals. Despite starting off as slave traders, they became early abolitionists and helped enslaved people escape through the Underground Railroad. They also supported women’s suffrage.
Today, the Quaker United Nations Office “recognizes the personal and collective responsibility” to fight climate change, according to a statement from 2017.
Members of the Athens Friends demonstrate in their own individual ways. Collins protested against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the congregation spoke to the children about the integration of the Tybee Island beaches. They would also typically have a table at the Athens Human Rights Festival, Collins said.
As far as why this small group of locals chooses to follow the Quaker faith, it differs, but it all comes back to its values of equality, peace and simplicity.
“I feel freer here to express my faith the way I want to, and I feel I was constrained by the things that make up usual religions, like hierarchies and the formalities and the ceremonies,” Winterville resident Melissa Powell said.
The Athens Religious Society of Friends welcomes everyone to attend their meetings every Sunday at Cherokee Corner Church.
“I showed up once and I just kept coming back because there's something about the energy here,” Powell said. “Everyone has their own take on it. But we're all here for the same reason, because we all believe (there is the spirit) of God within us.”
To listen to accompanying audio story for this piece, you can visit The Oglethorpe Echo's PodBean website.