Uploaded October 2019 | Updated September 2026, 22 hours ago
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UPDATE: The Beacon Campaign completed successfully in 2019. You can support Friends Publishing's continuing work at friendsjournal.org/donate



![The Quaker Simplicity of Talking to God
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Filming and Editing by Christopher Cuthrell
Transcript:
Silence is a power of, you know, many things Like, the silence will stop the war, silence will restart the joy, and the silence will restart the love. Thats why I like silence and I am continually trying to get connected with the friends around the world; so I can participate and engage and contribute whatever I can.
I am Mr. Pradip Lamichhane from Nepal, so I go to Bhaktapur Evangelical Friends Church in Nepal. I have experienced poverty, I have experienced difficulties, I have experienced conflict. So during this period of years, the God help me to go through all of these difficulties, poverty, sorrows, pains, starvations. Even all.
Thats all given by God. Thats what we say in evangelical way. You know, if you follow the all door will be opened, all the wisdom will be poured to you and all the circumstances will be clear. Thats what I believe. So every morning I wake up, I say “Thank you, God”. Thats all. Before going to bed, “Oh God, thank you very much. How lovely you are.” Many people things they have to do lots of things to talk to God, you know? You dont have to do anything. You just live with the God. But saying that, you need community. You know? So community help you to guide you to connect to God.
Sometime people say, “So why should I go to the church? Why should I go to the meeting? Its all old out there.” The young people says, “They are not speaking what we need. They are speaking old traditions. Old culture.” The Friends church and Friends community started from this problem actually. During that time, everybody is complaining. What they are complaining? They complaining Pastor is not good, they are complaining church is not good, they are complaining the meeting is not good, they are complaining seating chair is not good.
George Fox said that you can directly talk with God and your problem will be solved. [No matter] how difficult that your questions or problem is. You don’t need to go and complain, but that of God is inside of you. Then why do you complain to others because that is inside of you? If you complain, complain for yourself. Because the problem is not outside. The problem is the inside. You dont need to go outside, you ask inside and you will get peace, youll be blessed, and then friends will join you. They will feel that of God in you and they will also bless. The blessing is like that: You get blessing, and you pass the blessing. Thats how it would work. Give and pass.
In other culture of religions, there is a lot of thing you have to do. You have to wake up early morning, go to bath in the cold waters, and there are lots of materials you have to prepare in order to worship. And for us, just say. “Thank you God, how are you doing?” How is he? People dont understand, you know? Why they make things complex? I dont know. Why they want to make things complex? It is very simplex.
Before, IT used to be very complex. This information technology, old traditional types of things. Now the IT innovation they are making very simplex way. You just deploy software in one place. You want that tomorrow in another cloud? U.S.? You want to run from UK? You don’t need to do anything, you know? Its called seamless. You can seamlessly transfer. You dont need that guy who do the coding, who do the IP, all these things. Why we are making complex? I dont know. Its okay. I go with a simplex. God is love. God is full of mercy. God will be there always for you, but you need to talk with him.
The views expressed in this video are of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views of Friends Journal or its collaborators. The Quaker Simplicity of Talking to God](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/UDVeUrS6ccE/mqdefault.jpg)






![Identity and Christianity: Navigating Gender Transition as a Quaker
QuakerSpeak is a weekly video series. New video every other FRIDAY!
SUPPORT QuakerSpeak! https://quakerspeak.com/donate/
SUBSCRIBE for a new video every other week! http://fdsj.nl/QS-Subscribe
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Filming and Editing by Layla Cuthrell
Transcript:
This is a very difficult time to be a trans person in the United States. As bad as the Election Day was, I think the harder day for me was the day when I read the presidents executive order that basically said, “trans people do not exist.” And at that point, I realized just my existence was an act of resistance. Even in that numbness and shock, my response was to take my trans pride flag out and put it on my porch, saying, “I am here, Im not going anywhere and Im not going to hide.” So many people who want to be allies with the trans community, in fact, dont know many trans people and have never heard people tell their story and so the one thing I can do to in this situation is to be telling my story.
Im Willa Tabor. Im a transgender woman. I live in Arlington, Massachusetts, and attend Fresh Pond Meeting. And Im also a regular attender at Three Rivers meeting, which is a monthly meeting in New England Yearly meeting that meets entirely on Zoom.
When I first started HRT, which is hormone replacement therapy, I was glad to be doing it but I didnt feel any physical changes immediately. After Id been on it for about four months, one morning I woke up and the world had totally changed. It was the first time in my life that I had felt in touch with my body and fully whole and that I could relate to myself. And then, after I got out of bed and started interacting with other people, realized I could connect with other people as well. One of the things I thought about was George Fox, who was the founder of Quakerism, how he felt hed come up through the fiery sword and into the state of Adam before the fall, and how the whole world seemed changed and had a new savor.
I also, in the course of my life, have read a lot of the journals of Quaker ministers. Theyre often describing situations of their going off and being asked to do things that they dont quite know why theyre being asked to do, and trying their best to be faithful to those. And I had no idea where I was going when this started, and it certainly seemed very strange and peculiar.
I have often referred to the early stages of my transition as it being a masterclass in overcoming panic. I would go into the store to buy clothes, and I was afraid of what people were going to think. You know, “what is this dirty old man wandering around the womens lingerie section?” I would only dress in womens clothes inside the house. I was afraid to go outside for fear of what people would think. What I came to realize [was] that I wasnt really overcoming the fear of my neighbors or what people could think, but I was actually overcoming the effect of a lifetime of internalized transphobia. And that really I was afraid of the changes that were happening in me and where I was going, and that was the fear I really had to overcome.
Joy was my guidepost through my through my transition. I was absolutely amazed at how much joy I was finding just in wearing womens clothes, and I realized that at the age of 70 I was too old to postpone joy. I realized shortly after that at four years old I was too old to postpone joy, but I didnt know it then.
Three Rivers is a monthly meeting in New England Yearly meeting, and it identifies as a queer Christian meeting. I know that Christianity, especially in the trans community, is eyed with a skeptical eye. It isnt trans peoples job to heal Christianity, especially at the risk of traumatizing themselves. In the trans community, theres a lot of very deeply spiritual people. If youre seeking for a spiritual community, look around and find one that fits and is welcoming. Any church or any spiritual organization only exists to try to provide scaffolding for a persons spiritual growth. The place where that comes from is that voice inside; I will say, the ability of the divine to speak to us. There is a voice inside you that knows what it is you need to do and its trying to tell you. First thing I would say is find that voice and trust it and listen to it, and eventually it will lead you to the community you need to find.
The views expressed in this video are of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views of Friends Journal or its collaborators. Identity and Christianity: Navigating Gender Transition as a Quaker](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/WKq6o1RbN1k/mqdefault.jpg)