"The queries are a series of self-directed questions we employ to evaluate our emotional, spiritual, and relational health. Some of the queries are centuries old, others of them newer, speaking to more modern concerns and insights. They vary from one yearly meeting to another, though there is often overlap. Some Friends write personal queries to aid in their own development. Many Friends use them as a guide in worship and daily reflection. Ideally, they are read one at a time, in an unhurried manner, allowing the question posed to be absorbed and considered. I have known some Friends to keep a single query at the center of their attention for an entire year, allowing it to gradually modify their behavior in a desired direction.
"The following queries, gleaned from the previously cited Quaker Faith and Practice: Britain Yearly Meeting, offer us insight into the nature of queries. They include:
"• Are you open to the healing power of God's love?
"• Do you try to set aside times of quiet for openness to the Holy Spirit?
"• Do you follow Jesus's example of love in action?
"• Are you open to new light, from whatever source it may come?
"• What unpalatable truths might you be evading?
"• Do you respect that of God in everyone though it may be expressed in unfamiliar ways or be difficult to discern?
"• Do you cherish your friendships, so that they grow in depth and understanding and mutual respect?
"• Do you recognize the needs and gifts of each member of your family and household, not forgetting your own?
"• Do you faithfully maintain our testimony that war and the preparation for war are inconsistent with the spirit of Christ?
"• Are you honest and truthful in all you say and do?
"• If pressure is brought upon you to lower your standard of integrity, are you prepared to resist it?
"• Do you keep yourself informed about the effects your style of living is having on the global economy and environment?
"Given the Quaker fondness for writing and introspection, it's no surprise that hundreds of Quaker queries have been written. Some, penned for a special moment or event, lasted only a season. Others, speaking to a universal yearning, have endured for centuries and continue to be used and appreciated today. They range in subject from stewardship, spiritual health, earth care, race relations, justice, prayer, marriage, sexual orientation, raising of children, treatment of the elderly, our relationships with governments, peace, simplicity, and our standard of living, to name a few.
"The point of the queries is simple: to encourage honest self-evaluation in light of our Quaker values and priorities. They focus scrutiny on ourselves and away from others. We do not use the queries to assess anyone's life but our own, casting light on those areas of our lives we need to develop. Consequently, the queries are employed in our journey toward wholeness, which is the next dimension of integrity I invite us to consider."
