Philadelphia Yearly Meeting Records: Discipline Revision Committees (1911-1996)

In 1911, a Committee of Men and Women Friends of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting (Hicksite) was appointed to Consider Propositions for Changes in Discipline from Concord Quarterly and Southern Half-Yearly Meetings. The revised discipline was approved by the Yearly Meeting in 1913. The next revision, The Book of Discipline of the Religious Society of Friends, Christian Practice, Business Procedure was published in 1927 as approved by Yearly Meeting.

When the Hicksite and Orthodox branches of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends agreed in 1950 to work towards an ?organic? unification, a committee made up of members of both meetings worked to create a single revised ?book of discipline.? Faith and Practice was published in 1955 and reprinted with minor revisions in 1961.

In 1964, concerns relative to membership, particularly the status of non-member children and the section on Worship and Ministry, became sufficiently pressing that a committee was appointed to revise Faith and Practice to address these concerns. It was some time until the committee was actually created: in 1965 the Yearly Meeting agreed that a revision committee ought to begin work within the space of a year. The volume was originally scheduled to be released in 1970, but was not published until 1972.

After another reprinting in 1978, a concern originating in the Committee for Education and Care of Members and reinforced by the Women?s Committee and the Worship and Ministry committee suggesting a general revision of Faith and Practice be undertaken was presented to the Representative Meeting. This was presented by the Representative Meeting at the 1986 Yearly Meeting, whereupon a list of names formulated by a previously appointed Nominating Committee was approved by the Yearly Meeting. This set of revisions included a major reorganization of the entire volume. It focused on removing sexist language and improving the representation of women?s voices in the section of Friends? quotations. The volume was finished in 1996 and published in 1997.