In 2024, Shareletter began a series of interviews of Milwaukee Friends, asking a set of ten questions; some of which are standard, but others which require thoughtful consideration. Following are Don and Linda’s answers to these questions
- How long have you been a Quaker?
Since 1995.
- What brought you to Quakerism?
Linda: I was in a grad school Anthropology Class on participant observation. I needed to find a group to observe for a semester and I chose the Quakers, having learned about them a couple of years earlier when we were standing at an abortion clinic in 1992 helping to keep the clinic open. I had met a woman who mentioned that she had been going to a Universal Unitarian church but said she was going to try the Quakers, because they had a philosophy of social action that appealed to her. That stood out to me and so I chose the Quakers for my study. I was hooked pretty quickly. My TA said, after reading my second journal entry, “You know you’re going to have to keep some objectivity in this.” I talked to Don about coming with me but because I was doing course work, I attended by myself that first semester. And then Don and the kids started coming when that class was done.
- What keeps you coming back?
Don: The many friendships that we have developed and the sense of peace the worship provides.
Linda: I agree. It has also been a place that brought together my desire to make change in the world as a reflection of my religious beliefs.
- What aspects of Quakerism do you absolutely cherish?
Linda: I love the quiet. I love the silence. That amazing feeling of expectant waiting. It feels like sitting in that corporate silence taps into a collective unconscious that’s very beautiful.
Don: Ditto.
- Are there any aspects of Quakerism that you would rather do without?
Linda: Our decision-making process can at times be challenging but I value it as well. I wouldn’t want to do without it.
Don: Not that I can think of.
- There is a continuum of faith regarding the role of God in the world. Some believe that the Divine is active in the world and “has a plan” for everything while at the other end of the spectrum, others believe that there is a Divine Spirit infused in everything but that there is no “hand of God” guiding the universe. What is your “theory of God” and how does that impact your spiritual journey?
Linda: I don’t have a clear answer for this. I grew up a United Methodist preacher’s kid and came from very religious Protestant families. And so I grew up with this belief in God and the plan that God had for all of us. So that’s a comfortable idea for me on some level. And yet I sometimes feel that this idea of “God’s plan” doesn’t always feel right for me. What I love about Quakers is that there’s room for my uncertainty and ambivalence and an acceptance that my understanding of God or Spirit and my spiritual journey are my own and will continue my whole life.
Don: I believe in God. The Quaker phrase “there is that of God in everyone” has been a touchstone for me during my time in this wonderful Meeting. I see God in the kindness, thoughtfulness and love exhibited by the people in this community.
- What do you find most challenging about your spiritual journey?
Don: Taking enough time to just sit and be, in expectant waiting.
Linda: I agree with Don – taking time to be in the spiritual journey is challenging. I also find it hard to live the Quaker values sometimes – to find that of God in the people I’m dealing with, or not being as active on issues that are important to me as a Quaker.
- Is Quakerism a practice (orthopraxy) or a religion (orthodoxy)?
Don: One of the men at Waupun Prison who I visited for years and who had studied all the great religions, once said he “liked the Quakers because they didn’t force anyone to follow a specific creed”. He also said in one of our worship groups that when we were sitting together listening for spirit “that we didn’t need to talk about it. Just sitting in the same space together and listening for that of God was enough.” I agree with him completely.
Linda: Our son Aaron, who attended Scattergood Friends School, used to talk about Friends who are Quakers because of social action and community, and those who are Quakers because of religious faith. I don’t know if I’m able to say which one Quakerism is (I’m an inherently ambivalent person), but I feel like people come to Quakers for both reasons – practice and religion. Perhaps what makes most sense to me is to try and bring those two things together – faith and practice.
- What advice do you have for someone just beginning to explore Quakerism?
Linda: I feel very fortunate about how I came to Milwaukee Friends Meeting and how I learned about Quakerism. Because it was a grad school class, I spent time interviewing people, learning from different Quakers, as well as doing some research. I interviewed Rebecca North and Janet Hilliker and Priscilla Camilli and learned so many different things about our meeting and how Quakers can think and act and that helped me feel that this was a spiritual home for me and my family. And I got involved with things that worked best for me at that time – Children’s RE; I helped some with Peacemaker’s Camp; I attended Women’s Spirituality, which I loved; I served on Nominating Committee, which helped me learn more about members and attenders of our meeting. I really recommend committee work as a way to learn more and find one’s place in Meeting and really cement what draws one to Quakers.
Don: In addition to attending Meeting on Sundays, I too suggest joining a Milwaukee Friends Meeting committee that interests you, such as Peace & Justice, Hospitality, Meetinghouse or Loaves & Fishes. There are many others. You could also pick up a copy of ‘Faith & Practice’ from our library and read about the values this community lives by.
- Anything you would like to add?
We really love this community so much! We’ve been so supported through hard times and have been celebrated when exciting things happen. It’s been such an important faith community as we raised our kids and I’m so grateful for the impact of Quakers – MFM, NYM, Camp Woodbrooke, Scattergood, and our experiences at FGC Gathering – on their lives and ours.