Life is tough for young people, but being a Quaker has given me hope In February, a small group of Quakers sat silently in a circle, as Quakers have for centuries, and two microphones […]

In February, a small group of Quakers sat silently in a circle, as Quakers have for centuries, and two microphones were set to record. The result was a 30-minute broadcast of a Meeting for Worship, in which listeners can hear the ticking of a clock, creaking chairs, softly turning pages of scripture, and a trumpeting nose being blown into a hanky.

Quakers are a faith group founded in the 17th century, committed to simplicity, peace, integrity, community, and equality. We believe there is God (or good) in everyone, and we all have direct access to the divine — which is partly why we worship in silence, with no ministers or creeds.

When a friend came to me last year and suggested the Young Quaker Podcast record a silent Meeting for Worship I was intrigued. But given that most people are not quite so enamoured with silence as Quakers, I couldn’t have anticipated the interest and response that followed.

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In silence, young adults can find hope

Today, Quakers’ simple values and unusual practices might seem out of date, but they are more timely than ever.

As a young adult, I’ve found a particular relief within this community that values stillness and calm. My generation of ‘entitled avocado addicts’ are the children of unprecedented economic instability and austerity. We are coming of age among welfare cuts, political polarisation, and deep-rooted anxiety, and with so much importance assigned to our productivity, it’s unsurprising many of us feel almost horrified at the thought of sitting quietly and doing ‘nothing’.

But Quakerism has taught me the power and value of sitting in silence and made a tangible difference to the way I move through the world. I pause while walking to really take in the sky; I listen carefully to what’s being said, rather than fixating on how I will respond; I try to extend empathy to people whose values oppose mine.

Young Quaker groups are starting across the UK

Having a point of stillness that the rest of my week revolves around makes my life calmer and more considered. And I’m not alone — young adult Quaker groups are springing up all over the UK, hoping to provide some community for a cohort starting their adult lives with precarious access to housing, financial security, or time to rest.

It has sparked a flicker of hopefulness that I can make a difference, in whatever small and mundane ways I am able. That it is ok to fail. That it will all be ok

As the stillness of a Quaker meeting unfolds, it opens up a space in which we can listen and wait — both comfortable and uncomfortable, holy and ordinary, still and dynamic. And whilst I don’t pretend Quakerism has all the answers, sitting in collective quietness with other Quakers has been profoundly healing for me because the silence has made way for something else in my life: hope. The radically kind and egalitarian foundations of Quakerism, coupled with this weekly practice of stillness, has sparked a flicker of hopefulness that I can make a difference, in whatever small and mundane ways I am able. That it is ok to rest. That it is ok to fail. That it will all be ok.

Regardless of whether you are young or old, atheist or faithful, I would encourage you to take some time for silence today. Sit down, let the quiet wash over you, and breathe.

Jessica Hubbard-Bailey is the host of The Young Quaker Podcast and a member of the Nottingham Young Quakers