Greetings to all in and through that Precious Love and Light! I was born into a Quaker family. My first six years were spent in Pennsylvania, going to an unprogrammed meeting weekly, staying in meeting since infancy, following an hour of First Day School. This weekly time of expectant waiting worship within a faith community … More Introducing Deborah Shaw
Wess Daniels has eloquently expressed the concept of being apprenticed to the Quaker faith tradition in his recent eBook, Remixing Faith: Seeds of Renewal in the Quaker Tradition. In it he says, “When it comes to our own renewal as Friends, we need apprentices who are so steeped in the Quaker tradition that they have … More Apprentices
We need to learn to listen in tongues – to really listen to each other, to all of Creation, and to the Divine Other – to listen in ways that open us to fuller understanding, empathy, and authentic relationship. In our individual spiritual journeys, as seekers (and sometime finders) of greater clarity and understanding, it … More Listening in Tongues
And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers; then deeds of power, then gifts of healing, forms of assistance, forms of leadership, various kinds of tongues. (I Corinthians 12:28) Contemporary Friends often feel an implicit (or explicit) hierarchy hidden in discussions about spiritual gifts. The dominant culture in North America … More Spiritual Gifts – An Unbroken Circle
I was arrested earlier this week, and freely admit I was guilty as charged: second degree trespassing – remaining on the premises of another person after having been notified not to remain there by an “authorized person.” My fellow arrestees had some light-hearted banter during the hours we spent being processed about who really owns … More Guilty As Charged
Friends who participate in a program of deepening spirituality or other transforming experience often speak of the problem of taking what they’ve learned “back home” to the monthly meeting to which they belong. I’ve heard this discussed more or less explicitly for over thirty years, and it is coming up now with respect to the … More The “Back Home” Problem
In this time when the economic injustice, racism, and related evils still embedded in our society have been freshly and powerfully brought to our attention, our hearts are filled with the need to do something now, and for our particular part of the Religious Society of Friends to make a statement and take specific action … More Slow Quaker Decision-Making
A question has been raised in some circles about how a program like Deeper Roots, which offers an opportunity in Quaker spiritual formation for individuals, relates to the spiritual health of the home meetings of its participants, and what effect the program might have on the public witness of participating individuals and their meeting communities. … More Individual Formation and Corporate Faithfulness
I saw him out of the corner of my eye as I stepped up to the coffee urn to refill my cup before heading home: he was backing through the door, soda cup and bag of food in his hands. He hesitated mid-step as he saw me, and then my attention was turned to not … More It Happened Again Yesterday
It is almost time for the participants in the Deeper Roots program to gather near Nashville for our first weekend together, and my anticipation is building in a combination of excitement, wonder, and anxiety. All sorts of wonderful things are possible when a group of intentional souls like these Friends come together; the possibilities fill … More Anticipation
