George Fox 400th Anniversary Invites Quakers to Share Their Faith

George Fox is perhaps the best-known and most important figure in Quaker history, according to a recent Quaker blog post marking the 400th anniversary of his birth. The author recalls learning about Fox as a child in Sunday morning children’s classes and enjoying Quaker history while colouring in the Quaker Tapestry colouring books.

The author also describes being fascinated by other historical Quaker figures, including Elizabeth Fry, Margaret Fell and William Penn, who all played a large part in spreading the Quaker message. Still, the author writes, none held as much influence as Fox. After a year spent studying Fox and early Quakers, the author argues that Quakerism has not one founder but many, since the movement that became the Religious Society of Friends grew out of the shared experience and actions of many people in the mid-1600s.

Reading Fox’s *Journal* for the first time, the author writes, did not produce warm feelings toward him. The author describes Fox as forthright and determined to make his point, which the author contrasts with the calm, unassuming way of speaking about faith that the author grew up with in the Religious Society of Friends. The author says Fox’s confident approach to those he met, and his effort to convince them of his truth, was surprising.

After learning about other early Quakers, including James Naylor, Elizabeth Hooton and Mary Fisher, the author concluded that this passionate evangelism was the norm. The author credits the organisation and conviction of these early Quakers with the rapid spread of the movement. The initial campaigns of the “Valiant Sixty,” in which pairs travelled across England and beyond to share their faith and way of worship, are described as key to Quakerism taking hold in England and America and surviving to the present day (Colossians 3:23). The author states that there are now more than 360,000 Quakers worldwide.

The author says Fox’s writings offer a useful example of outreach and that Fox and his peers spoke about their faith, experience and values with confidence. The author writes that this has made them more comfortable discussing their own beliefs and how their faith shapes their daily life with non-Quakers.

The anniversary, the post says, is being used to talk more widely about Quakerism in local communities, nationally and around the world. The author points to Fox’s account of his travels and the positive reception his message received from thousands of people on both sides of the Atlantic. Anniversary events have already taken place, and more are planned for later this year. Quakers will be opening their meeting houses to invite local communities to learn about what happens inside them.

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