It would be hard to start an inquisition with this understanding. We think that is good. The Faith and Practice Most Christian churches have a statement of belief. It may be called a creed, or the doctrine of the church, or a book of discipline. Most groups of Friends have what is called a Faith and Practice. This may be a collection of testimonies, advices and queries, or it may be an explicit declaration of faith. The Faith and Practice is the collective testimony of the group and the written document describing how business is done. At Freedom Friends Church, we think that the distinctive thing about our Faith and Practice is both how it is used and how it is not used. This is a statement of our present belief. It is not a creed; it is not written in stone. It can be changed by the discernment of the Monthly Meeting for worship through business. It is not used as a test of acceptability. You do not have to agree with everything in the document in order to participate in the community or be a member. We recognize that parts of it can be believed in different ways: whether truth is metaphorical or literal, it is still truth. We recognize that there can be agreement in principle, but divergence in application. This is the best articulation of the beliefs and intentions of the Friends who felt called to start this church. We use it to inspire, and as a starting point for discussion and study; it is our organizational guideline. It is the campfire that we sit around.
Posted on: Sat, 29 Mar 2014 17:03:53 +0000
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