Luray Friends Meeting

02/19/2026

02/18/2026

“I am a Jew... but I am also a Quaker, and perhaps a few other things besides. It does not seem inconsistent to me to belong to many religious groups and at the same time hold membership in none. I believe that honest-to-goodness religion must be above all denominational bounds.”
- Friend Bernard Gross

02/17/2026

"There is in each of us a deep-flowing River. Some call it Tao or Life source, others the Indwelling Spirit, still others simply Energy. Our life rests upon It; we are carried and cradled by It, as the child by its Mother."

- Friend Teresena Havens

02/15/2026

"Quakerism is often seen as akin to other traditions labelled as mystical, such as Vedanta Hinduism, Sufism, Kabbalah and Buddhist meditation. Quakerism’s focus on this mystical essence is thought to make the Quaker meeting a theologically inclusive space, holding different surface beliefs whilst worshippers are mystically united."
- Friend Mark Russ

02/13/2026

"Here I recall an occasion when a Muslim said to me, 'I can see your noor,' which is the Arabic word for 'light.' Muslim spirituality speaks of an inward noor, which is a manifestation of Divine Presence. As a Quaker, I could hear resonances with my own tradition. His light beheld my light in mutual recognition. My experiences among these generous Muslims give rise to a yearning to continue and deepen the encounter, to perceive the beauty and noor, and to be further transformed. " - Friend Michael Birkel

02/11/2026

“...Christian Quakers have to accept the fact that Quakerism is radically universalist in its interpretation of Christianity. Universalist Quakers, on the other hand, have to accept the fact that Quakerism is radically Christian in its interpretation of Universalism. … Christ, in Quaker theology, is the Light. … ‘There is One, even Christ Jesus, that can speak to thy condition,’ said the voice to George Fox … That Christ Jesus … was the Eternal Risen Christ, the Light of the World, come to teach all people who would hear his voice, not just professing Christians. To be Quaker is to be a follower of Christ, Who witnesses Within each one of us as we walk through life.” - Friend Sam Caldwell

02/09/2026

"[I am] a Christian universalist. In other words it is through Christianity that I develop and maintain my spirituality, but I accept the authenticity of all the other faiths ... I see God as pure love, unconditional love ... God draws the devotee to himself and the idea of grace is very important in Hinduism and Sikhism as well as Christianity."

- Friend Owen Cole

02/07/2026

"Friends maintain that expressions of faith must be related to personal experience. Some find traditional Christian language full of meaning; some do not. Our understanding of our own religious tradition may sometimes be enhanced by insights of other faiths. The deeper realities of our faith are beyond precise verbal formulation and our way of worship based on silent waiting testifies to this. Our diversity invites us both to speak what we know to be true in our lives and to learn from others. Friends are encouraged to listen to each other in humility and understanding, trusting in the Spirit that goes beyond our human effort and comprehension. So it is for the comfort and discomfort of Friends that these advices and queries are offered, with the hope that we may all be more faithful and find deeper joy in God’s service... Obedience to the Light within, however that may be described, is the real test of faithful living."

- Britain Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends

01/28/2026

"As the soul is more emptied of the strength and riches it received from God, so it is more prepared to enter into, and live in, the Pure Being itself. For nothing can live there which veils. In the life God was, and is, and is to be all in all forever. Therefore, that which enters there, and lives and abides there, must be poor, empty, naked, nothing, and remain nothing forever. But as it gathers anything from the fullness, and becomes anything in itself, it is thereby shut out."

"Seek not ease in the flesh, no, not in the least; but take up the cross every day, in everything, till the earthly be slain; until the wisdom and strength of the flesh be wholly subdued, and then the wisdom and power of God will become natural."

-Friend Isaac Penington

01/27/2026

There will be no meeting tonight, Tuesday, January 27th, due to potentially dangerous icy conditions. Have a safe week!