Quakers and Fasting

“Fasting was commonly practiced [by Quakers] as a spiritual aid in the mid seventeenth century. Hogwill fasted when in prison in Appleby, […] Nayler had been fasting prior to his “sign” in Bristol, and Farnworth issued a challenge to a fast in the course of a debate at Cambridge.”

— Rosemary Moore, 2000
The Light in Their Consciences: The Early Quakers in Britain 1646-1666

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Today’s Invitation

If it is medically safe for you to do so (see this guide), choose a day this month to fast. The “rules” are up to you (eating before sunrise and after sunset, drinking, abstaining only from certain foods).

Use mealtimes for devotional reading, spiritual journaling, prayer, silent worship, or meditative creativity (singing, dancing, drawing).

Query of the Week

How can spiritual discipline enrich your life?

What areas of spiritual practice would you like to improve on? How can you practice patience with yourself as you move toward your goals incrementally?

Author

  • Maeve Sutherland

    Maeve Sutherland is a communications professional who never recovered from her wonderful childhood at a Quaker elementary school. She has spent her career helping nonprofits share their stories, from schools and universities, to museums, to radio stations. As a Thomas J. Watson Fellow, Maeve spent a year living in “Peaceable Kingdoms,” pacifist intentional communities around the world, where she learned that everyone has a role to play in shaping a better world. She worked as a freelance social media manager before joining Thee Quaker Project. After returning to Quakerism as a young adult, Maeve now attends Chestnut Hill Friends Meeting in Philadelphia.

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