This is an excerpt from my letter asking to join Richmond Friend's Meeting (dated August 17, 1994). It is the best way to explain why Quaker is what I am:
Since March of 1992 I have served on the Hospitality and Spring Retreat Committees. I have helped teach two different classes in First Day School, and I am co-editor of the newsletter. The more I become involved in RFM, the more I realize that the ways and attitudes of Friends are the ways and attitudes that work for me. I find that the Testimonies and the Baltimore Yearly Meeting Queries help me in guiding my life in the direction I want to go.
I am not saying I have already arrived anywhere on my spiritual journey. In many ways and at many times I feel I have not even begun. I do know that the ideas and values of the Friends are the ideas and values I aspire to and want to use as models for my life. It is those ideas and values that I find have become a map that guides me down the spiritual path I am traveling.
I have recently been through an extremely difficult time in working through many issues in my life. I found that I had to almost completely break down my old life and personality and rebuild from scratch. I had to make my life into what I wanted it to be. I am still working on rebuilding, and I would like to make becoming a member of RFM a part of my new life. It would mean a lot to me to take a stand and say, "This is what I want spiritually. This is a large part of me. This is who I am and what I believe and what I want and what I value." I wanted to write this letter earlier, so this step could be one of the first steps I took in rebuilding my life. The symbolism of starting out again and making, as one of my first steps, the commitment of joining The Religious Society of Friends would have been important to me. Instead, I have waited. I wanted to know that when I went through most of the changes I knew I had to face, that I would still want to join the Friends.
I have realized now that my beliefs and values are a major part of me. I do not change my values to match the situation I am in. Now that I have learned more about who I am and how important Quaker values are in my life, I know, without doubt, that I want to join Richmond Friends Meeting. Thank you for taking time to consider my request.