Quaker or Friends meetings inherit a tradition of silent worship, which allows no room for congregational music or the arts. In some churches, however, particularly in the Evangelical Friends branch, many aspects of free-church worship are finding their way into Friends services.
Trends in the use of music and the arts by Quaker or Friends churches are best understood against the backdrop of their 350-year history. In classical, silent Quaker worship—also called unprogrammed—there was no pastoral leadership, service planning, or prearranged music. All human elements were carefully avoided to allow the Spirit of God complete freedom to move as he pleased. Worshipers waited in silence for the Spirit’s movement and then contributed individually to the service as led by the Spirit’s direction.
The face of Quaker worship in America began to change in the mid to late-nineteenth century as a strong evangelical movement emerged from within the Quaker tradition. The revival and renewal that took place within American Protestantism during that period and the evangelistic success of pulpit-centered churches caused many Quaker churches to adopt a programmed, or structured, approach to worship. More recently, Quaker churches, like many others, have felt the influence of the charismatic and praise-and-worship movements.
Today Quaker worship and use of music and the arts exhibit a synthesis of their own theology and these two historical influences. Lacking a strong musical tradition of their own, Quaker churches seem to have adopted an imitative pragmatism to guide their use of music and the arts. Simply put, they borrow freely from others and adopt what works—that is, those things that “aid” worship or attract outsiders—with the result that they now share much in common with their evangelical, pulpit-centered neighbors from the free-church traditions.
Within the context of their recent heritage, the music used in evangelical Quaker churches ranges from traditional to popular. Most churches, except perhaps those that have adopted a congregation-centered praise and worship style of worship, have choirs or other vocal ensembles. While they may occasionally sing a “popular” standard anthem-like Jane Marshall’s “My Eternal King,” more often they may be heard singing anthems by composers like Tom Fettke or Robert Clatterbuck or arrangements of hymns and currently popular songs.
Congregational music, likewise, ranges from traditional evangelical hymns and gospel songs to praise choruses. Quaker congregations are increasingly adopting the use of extended periods of singing, for reasons not unlike their historical commitment to silent worship. For these, they use projected texts instead of hymnals. Accompaniment varies, ranging from piano and organ, individually or together, to synthesizers and “praise bands.” Little use is made of chants, psalm-singing (apart from praise chorus texts), or antiphons.
In addition to the instruments referred to above, handbells and brass, woodwind, or string instrumental ensembles may be found in Quaker churches. Some maintain small orchestras or assemble them for special occasions, using both members of the congregation and contracted players.
Use of the arts in evangelical Quaker churches is limited mostly to that found in contemporary musicals and the occasional chancel drama and readers theater group. Little attention is paid to environmental art, except at the holidays, and liturgical dance is virtually nonexistent.