Gurneyite Friends make up nearly fifty percent of the worldwide population of Quakers and are represented largely in the Friends United Meeting, which is active in North America, Africa, India, Ireland, and the Caribbean.
The Gurneyite Friends are the modern followers of a form of Evangelical Quaker theology that was promoted by Joseph John Gurney in Britain during the 1800s. Gurneyism was once the largest Friends movement in Great Britain, but now has only a minor representation in the United Kingdom.
The largest group of Quakers who fall under the category of Gurneyite Friends today are the Friends United Meeting. Headquartered in Richmond, Indiana, the FUM are responsible for most of the growth of the Society of Friends in Africa and Latin America.
The Friends United Meeting began in 1902 as part of the Five Years Meeting. After World War I, interest in a more fundamentalist approach resulted in splits in the Five Year Meeting. Northwest Yearly Meeting left in 1926, the Association of Evangelical Friends was formed in 1947, and the Evangelical Friends Association came about in 1965, which became Evangelical Friends International in 1989. However, in the 1950s. several North American yearly meetings joined to become members of the Five Years Meeting and Friends General Conference. In 1963, the Five Years Meeting became Friends United Meeting.
The two Quaker organizations that most closely resemble the Friends United Meeting are Friends General Conference and Evangelical Friends Church International, but these organizations represent different branches of the Society of Friends. The FGC holds to a more liberal theology, representing the Liberal Friends branch, while the EFCI is an Evangelical Friends organization.
Friends United Meeting is the largest and most centrist of the Quaker branches, including a diverse range of Quaker theological viewpoints, from the progressive and the inclusive to conservative and traditional outlooks among individual members, monthly meetings, churches, and affiliated yearly meetings within the Quaker body. The Friends United Meeting also includes a range of worship styles, from unprogrammed worship, often known as silent worship and led by lay members, to semi-programmed services, which are led by a pastor, to completely programmed worship.
Because the Friends United Meeting does not observe creeds, there is room for a wide range of Quaker theologies.
Gurneyite Quakers consider Jesus Christ to be their Teacher and Lord. Gurneyite yearly meetings tend to have working relationships with other Protestant Christian churches and denominations. The Friends United Meeting, for example, holds a membership in the National Council of Churches.
To the Gurneyite Friends, the authority of the Bible as the Word of God is given more weight than personal and direct experiences of God, unlike some of the other branches of Quakerism. Gurneyite practices include ongoing Bible study and religious education, and many Gurneyite worship services include the singing of Christian hymns and Bible readings.
The focus of topics in this category is on Gurneyite Quakerism or the Gurneyite branch of the Society of Friends, including Friends United Meeting or other yearly meetings of the Gurneyite branch.
Recommended Resources
The Association of Religion Data Archives offers a denominational profile of the Gurneyite branch of the Religious Society of Friends, an organization of Quakers. A historical sketch is provided, along with membership data from 1942 and on, as provided by the National Council of Churches’ historic archives and recent editions of American and Canadian church yearbooks. Its geographical distribution and trends are included.
http://www.thearda.com/Denoms/D_1043.asp
Meeting in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the site offers a description of a typical Friends meeting at Cambridge, giving new attendees an idea of what to expect and prepare for. Its membership policies, messages and minutes, committees and groups, and educational programs for youth, young adults, and adults. Its ministries and outreach projects are published, and its history and traditions are outlined.
https://fmcquaker.org/
The Quaker body includes thirty-seven yearly meetings and associations, thousands of local gatherings, and hundreds of thousands of individuals. Its organizational structure, leadership, and resource development efforts, evangelism, communication, and global partnerships are highlighted, along with a member list, locations, and an overview of its missions and ministries. Employment opportunities are posted.
http://www.friendsunitedmeeting.org/
Founded in 1969, the Quaker publishing company is the publishing arm of the Friends United Meeting, and a member of Quakers Uniting in Publications. Offering a selection of books, educational curricula, pamphlets, gifts, novelties, and prints of Quaker artwork, as well as a collection of the works of Howard Thurman, which are highlighted here and made available for online purchase. A catalog may be requested and press kits are downloadable.
http://shop.fum.org/
Founded by William Penn in 1689, as the Public Grammar School, and chartered in 1698, Penn Charter is the oldest Quaker school in the world, the oldest elementary school in Pennsylvania, and the fifth oldest elementary school in the United States. Today, Penn Charter enrolls boys and girls in PK-12th grade. Its history, campus, and admissions policies are outlined, along with its tuition and fees, academic, arts, and athletics programs.
https://www.penncharter.com/
