While Friends do not rely on creeds and dogma, there are guides to follow and to measure against. Testimonies are fruits of the Spirit marking directions for our lives. They are the direct consequence of an encounter with the Spirit and of our response to that encounter. Testimonies among Friends vary over time according to the life and spirit of each Friends group. Today these six testimonies are seen as central in Bridge City Friends Meeting and our Yearly Meeting (North Pacific Yearly Meeting)
Testimonies are adopted by each of the Quaker Yearly Meetings, and although this leads to some variation across the greater Quaker community, particularly in their elaboration, a core set of agreement surrounds these. The collection of widely-shared Friends testimonies is sometimes referred to by the acronym “SPICES”:
Simplicity
Peace
Integrity
Community
Equality
Stewardship
Each of these terms takes on greater meaning in Friends contemplations on the testimonies, described in the documents below.
To be clear, membership or participation in the Society of Friends does not require personal ascription to any dogma or creed, but rather a willingness to participate in the spiritual life of the community, with the conviction that we are all privy to that “still, small voice of God” within, and can best attend to this in our collective practice.