Welcome to Friends of the Light

"As many candles lighted and put in one place do greatly augment the light and make it more to shine forth, so when many are gathered together into the same life there is more of the glory of God, and God's power appears to the refreshment of each individual, for each partakes not only of the light and life raised in oneself, but in all the rest."

Robert Barclay (1648-1690)

Welcome to the Friends of the Light community web site. If you are new to Friends, we hope the information provided here will give you a better understanding of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers).

The Friends of the Light community is grounded in Quaker Practice, which is passionately Christian and passionately inclusive, and aims to grow through its commitment to the on-going spiritual lives of its members and attenders.

Does this speak to you?

Have you ever wondered about being Christian, but have been put off by what you have heard, read or understood about Christian beliefs and by the behaviour of Christians in times past, and indeed of some today?

Or perhaps you have always thought of yourself as Christian, but are beginning to have second thoughts about it because it seems to require a number of impossible beliefs and meaningless rituals?

Have you heard of “The Religious Society of Friends”, more usually known as Quakers? We have a very distinctive and different way of being Christian.

You may be a Quaker already. There are now quite a lot of Quaker web-sites and there may be a Quaker Meeting near you but you may still be confused and even disillusioned by the conflicting views and vagueness of what you might find there.

We must make it clear that for us this is a way of being Christian – but with a difference. If that is what you are looking for we hope we can help.

This site has come about as the result of what we believe is a considered need for a “Friends’ Understanding of the Christian Message” which opens up opportunities for support, nurture, exploring and learning to enable an individual, or a group, to grow and develop their walk with God. Our aim is to do this in a non-confrontational, or judgemental, way but this also relies on your help in approaching others as you would want them to communicate with you when using this site.

About this online community – How can I become Involved?

We would like to welcome you and invite you to use it to the full, should you agree to join.

Before you decide please take as much time as you need to explore the information presented in the ‘I’m New Here’ section to try to help you to understand some of the basic elements of the faith of Friends.

We invite you to post any questions that you may have to give us an opportunity to try to help you further – please do not be afraid to ask questions, however insignificant you feel they may be – they could help us to help others and improve the information on the site. You can contact us on info@friendsofthelight.co.uk

You might also wish to attend the online Meeting for Worship (or a few of them) before you make any final decisions to join us or not. This will give you a flavour of what the online Meeting for Worship can offer, you can join us by following this link, or by going to the Meeting Room section signposted above.

Joining will open up access to the site and you can browse and join in just as much, or as little as you feel comfortable with. We are here to help and support you in your journey to a more meaningful Christian experience

If you decide not to join us at this time it does not prevent you coming back to look again in the future, we will be disappointed but wish you well in your search.