"... the authority of our Meetings is the power of God"

This pamphlet is a very thoughtful, informed, enlightening, and challenging discussion of authority and power among Friends, from earliest Quaker history to the present. We tolerate diversity and accept seekers where they are, but that does not mean that we stand for nothing. We seek to discern the

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truth about where the Spirit is leading us. We struggle to find the right balance between affirming the autonomy of the individual following her conscience, and affirming the authority of the group to determine what a true leading of the Spirit is.
Lacey explains the evolution of Quaker organization and institutions, and the issues to which they were responding.
As always, modern Quakers can find themselves in tension over issues that pit individual autonomy against sincere seeking for spirit-led unity. This can be reflected in whether Friends pursue "Quaker consensus" or "gospel order.: The question of authority among Friends, which feels very modern, seems to be a perpetual one.

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