Quakers - Church Government and Polity

Church Government and Polity

Governance and decision making is conducted at a special meeting for worship—often called a meeting for worship with a concern for business or meeting for worship for church affairs at which all members can attend, as in a Congregational church. Quakers consider this to be a form of worship, conducted in the manner of meeting for worship. They believe this is the gathering of believers who wait upon the Lord to discover God's will, believing that they are not making their own decisions. They seek to understand God's will for the community via the actions of the Holy Spirit within the meeting.

As in a meeting for worship, each member is expected to listen to God and, if led by Him, stand up and contribute. In some business meetings, Friends wait for the clerk to acknowledge them before speaking. Direct replies to someone's contribution are not permitted, with an aim of seeking truth rather than of debating. A decision is reached when the meeting, as a whole, feels that the "way forward" has been discerned (also called "coming to unity"). There is no voting. On some occasions a single Friend delays a decision because they feel the meeting is not following God's will. Because of this, many non-Friends describe this as consensus decision-making; however Friends are instead determined to continue seeking God's will. It is assumed that if everyone is listening to God's spirit, the way forward will become clear.