Prophetic Service as Formation and Transformation

Author: Christina Repoley 

Rufus Jones once said that the most important and distinctive calling of the Religious Society of Friends is our prophetic service. Prophetic service, as opposed to secular service, is grounded in a religious experience expressed communally. It is a vital religious practice which forms and transforms people into Quaker identity and into lives committed to peace and justice. For previous generations there were many such opportunities, but until recently they have all but disappeared. Christina’s own desire for such an experience led her to work with others to create Quaker Voluntary Service, one effort to reclaim this foundational religious practice, reshaped to meet the needs and longings of present generations of Quakers and spiritual seekers. She has also done extensive study of past work camps and reflects on both past and present iterations of prophetic service.