Walt Kersey, Quaker

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Had it not been for his grandparents, who decided to trade in their Quaker roots for the Methodist church, Walt Kersey might have been raised a Quaker.

Instead, Kersey found his way to Quakerism at the midpoint of his life, when he found himself painfully out of step with the Christian church. It is by conversion that most modern Quakers find their faith, he says. For Kersey, 93, it was the avenue by which to reconcile his belief in Christ with his pacifism.

“All the early Quakers came to this view that the teachings of Jesus about peace had been forgotten by Christians,” says Kersey.

”The most important thing Quakerism teaches the world, you don’t settle anything with war and violence. We have for centuries had a testimony against war. Good Quakers dont go to war.”

The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) is a national Quaker organization advocating for an end to the Iraq War. At the heart of Quakerism is the belief that one can communicate directly with God, without the confines of a church, a preacher or a written text.

Kersey is part of a small group of Quakers, about 40 members, who come together in prayer as the Sacramento Friends Meeting. Quakers refer to their worship gatherings as Friends Meetings because they believe God resides in everyone, so everyone is an equal.

Kersey, who came to Sacramento in 1965 to take a job in the mental health field, has been part of the group for over four decades. Only his second wife, Frances Taylor, has been a member longer. He has always been active in the leadership of the meetings, serving several times as the clerk or presiding officer and has also served on the committee of regional Quaker meetings. In recent years, Kersey has curtailed his involvement, especially now that he doesn’t drive at night.

Quakerism is woven through the fabric of American history and its followers have played an instrumental role in the shaping of the nation. Pennsylvania was founded by William Penn as a space where Quakers could be free to practice their faith peaceably. Later, Quakers became a force in the abolition movement. Susan B. Anthony, a lightning rod for a woman's right to vote, was also a Quaker. Yet Quakers number only in the several hundreds worldwide.

“We don’t proselytize, we don’t look for new members," Kersey points out. And then he laughs, adding, “We aren’t very good at publicity.”

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