Comment by Pat Pope on 9th mo. 10, 2011 at 7:54am

I attended an evangelical Quaker meeting for 12 years and they did quite a bit of outreach, mainly that which required people to come to the church and then in the last 3 years or so, they've done more beyond the walls.  They actually had more of the evangelical ethos than the Quaker ethos.  You might want to visit one sometime to see a difference between it and your own meeting.  

 

As for Methodist churches, I'm sure you're aware that they differ just about as widely as Quakers or any other denomination.  I've been visiting one in my area that's quite vibrant with lots of young families and is very active.  At their contemporary service, there are probably a good 200+ in attendance.  However, I visited a much smaller Methodist church weeks ago and there were only 12 at their contemporary service and most of the people there were Boomers or older.  To me, it fit the bill more of the church you mention above as dying.  However, they did have community programs, so I think at least the effort is there.  

Comment by Jon on 9th mo. 10, 2011 at 4:20pm

Hi Pat, Thanks for your comments.

If you don't mind me asking, what about an evangelical Quaker Meeting do you like? I'll have to see if there is one nearby. The Meeting I do attend, is within walking distance, which is nice.

 

I am not familiar with "beyond the walls" outreach, how do you do that?

Comment by Pat Pope on 9th mo. 10, 2011 at 6:58pm

What I liked is the mix of Quaker values/practices such as simplicity with evangelicalism which seemed to be a perfect mix to me, particularly since I was raised in an evangelical environment.  

 

When I say "beyond the walls" outreach, I mean actually getting outside the church building and into the community such as going into neighborhoods and performing acts of service or going to homeless shelters or into low-income neighborhoods and giving out clothes and other items.  

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