Quakers
🌷Practicing resurrection.
April 17, 2022“A rabbi friend taught this prayer to me many years ago. The Jews did not speak God’s name, but breathed it:
Inhale=Yah
Exhale=Weh
“God’s name was the first and last word to pass their lips. By your very breathing, you are praying and participating in God’s grace. You are whoo are are, living God’s presence, in the simplify and persistence of breath.
God creates things that continue to create themselves.”
-Fr Richard Rohr, Center for Action & Contemplation
What Did Easter Mean to Early Quakers?
Quakers insisted that the spirit of Christ that was experienced by Jesus’s disciples after the resurrection, by Paul on the road to Damascus, and in gatherings of the early Church, is universally available to everyone in all ages, locations, and cultures.
For early Quakers, Christ was not tied just to Jesus, but, as with the Word in the Gospel of John [Gospel of Mary Magdalene-dayle], was present from the beginning and is manifest in the prophets of Judaism and other religious traditions. One might say today it does not matter if the resurrection of Jesus was physical or spiritual, for, from the beginning, Quakers have insisted that Christ’s spirit can be experienced by any of us anywhere. Hence Mary Fisher, one of Quakerism’s founding Valiant Sixty, felt confident she could minister to the Sultan of Turkey, because he would know the same universal spirit of God or Christ that she did.
Let us then think of the risen Christ [consciousness] as a transforming experience of the Divine that is available on any day of the year without regard to religion or theology.
[The Beloved Companion/The Complete Gospel of Mary Magdalene,
by Jehanne de Quillan]
The Gospel of Mary
In our present age, we stand at a crossroads in our history. No one can deny, as well at our world today, that all about us we see turmoil and suffering, war and economic exploitation, corruption and greed; while torture, rape, and murder have become politically justifiable weapons of war. In our clearest moments, we must recognize that these are the first signs of the collapse of our social and economic forms and institutions. Perhaps, in the midst of this seemingly endless change of chaotic events, we need to look very closely at the value sand beliefs that have brought us to this place. For only be amning our past can we come to understand our present, and perhaps, by learning from our mistakes, begin to change our future.
Pink Moon
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‘Focus on the feminine aspects of beauty, forgiveness, compassion and healing.’
-Power Path
‘All shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well.’
-Julian of Norwich
‘History is set on an inherently positive and hopeful tangent.’
-Fr Richard Rohr
R
I
L
K
E
‘Ever again, though we’ve learned the landscape of love
and the lament in the churchyards names
and the terrible, silent abs where the others have fallen;
ever again we walk out, two together,
under the ancient trees, ever again find a place
among wildflowers, under heaven’s gaze.’
The origin of the order can be traced to Mount Carmel in northwestern Israel, where a number of devout men, apparently former pilgrims and Crusaders, established themselves near the traditional fountain of Elijah about 1155; they lived in separate cells or huts and observed vows of silence, seclusion, abstinence, and austerity. Soon, however, the losses of the Crusading armies in Palestine made Mount Carmel unsafe for the Western hermits, and around 1240 they set out for Cyprus, Sicily, France, and England. [Britannica]
Carmelite philosopher Edith Stein:
“I do not exist of myself, and of myself I am nothing. Every moment I stand before nothingness, so that every moment I must be dowered anew with being … This nothing being of mine, this frail received being, is being … It thirsts not only for endless continuation of its being but for full session of being.”
St. Teresa of Ávila
Of all the movements in the Carmelite order, by far the most important and far-reaching in its results was the reform initiated by St. Teresa of Ávila. [Britannica]
Ileo Delio:
“For Stein, the very existence of ‘I’ means the ‘I’ is not alone; the ‘I’ experiences loneliness only when it becomes unconscious of its very existence.”
French philosopher and mystic Simone Weil:
“Whoever says ‘I’ lies.”
[The Unbearable Wholeness of Being, p. 61.]
A final thought in memory of my late sweet friend Marilyn Andrews:
“How do we give thanks and give back to other earth — G A I A ❀ — and the cosmos and all the blessings our species has inherited?”
Rabbi Abraham Heschel teaches that a prophets primary task is to interfere.
Julian of Norwich, by calling us to interfere with patriarchy and heal the wounds that it has wracked upon human history and the human soul and the earth, beckons us from folly to wisdom. Are we listening?” -Matthew Fox
Are we practicing resurrection? -dayle
Abolition, Women’s Rights & America’s 2nd Revolution
May 7, 2021
From the intimate perspective of three friends and neighbors in mid-nineteenth century Auburn, New York—the “agitators” of the title—acclaimed author Dorothy Wickenden tells the fascinating and crucially American stories of abolition, the Underground Railroad, the early women’s rights movement, and the Civil War.
Harriet Tubman was one of the most important conductors on the underground railroad and hid the enslaved men, women and children she rescued in the basement kitchens of Martha Wright, Quaker mother of seven, and Frances Seward, wife of Governor, then Senator, then Secretary of State William H. Seward.
Many of the most prominent figures in the history books—Lincoln, Seward, Daniel Webster, Frederick Douglass, Charles Sumner, John Brown, Harriet Beecher Stowe, William Lloyd Garrison—are seen through the eyes of the protagonists. So are the most explosive political debates: about women’s roles and rights during the abolition crusade, emancipation, and the arming of Black troops; and about the true meaning of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.
Beginning two decades before the Civil War, when Harriet Tubman was still enslaved and Martha and Frances were young women bound by law and tradition, The Agitators ends two decades after the war, in a radically changed United States. Wickenden brings this period of our history to life through the richly detailed letters her characters wrote several times a week. Like Doris Kearns Goodwin’s Team of Rivals and David McCullough’s John Adams, Wickenden’s The Agitators is revelatory, riveting, and profoundly relevant to our own time. [Amazon]
The New Yorker Radio Hour
“The Agitators” is a book about three women—three revolutionaries—who changed the world at a time when women weren’t supposed to be in public life at all. Frances Seward was a committed abolitionist who settled with her husband in the small town of Auburn, in western New York. One of their neighbors was a Quaker named Martha Coffin Wright, who helped organize the first convention for women’s rights, at Seneca Falls. Both women harbored fugitives when it was a violation of federal law. And, after they met Harriet Tubman, through the Underground Railroad, Tubman also settled in Auburn. “The Agitators,” by The New Yorker’s executive editor, Dorothy Wickenden, tells their interlocking stories. “These people were outsiders, and they were revolutionaries,” Wickenden tells David Remnick. “They were only two generations separated from the Declaration of Independence, which they believed in literally. They did not understand why women and Black Americans could not have exactly the same rights that had been promised.”
Thomas Merton:
‘You can easily guess that in using the term “innocent bystander” I had to examine my conscience to see whether I was being facetious. I do not remember if I smiled when I first thought of it; but, in any case, I am no longer smiling. For I do nothing the question of our innocence can be a matter for jesting, and I am no longer certain that it is honorable to stand by as the helpless witness to a cataclysm, with no other hope than to die innocently and by accident, as a nonparticipant.’
[Raids one the Unspeakable]
FCNL
December 4, 2020
‘Speak truth, act from hope, show love. Together we can work for the world we imagine.’
-Diane Randall, FCNL
Love.
Peace.
Justice.
Quakers, Race, and Police Brutality
September 2, 2020
Friends Committee on National Legislation
Friends across the country are speaking out against racism and police violence. Here, we excerpt some of the minutes and statements that they have shared with us.
A minute from a Quaker meeting or church represents the wording of a decision or agreed-upon action to be taken by the community. Minutes are also powerful advocacy tools to let members of Congress know how their constituents are thinking about and acting on an issue.
As FCNL works for a society free of racism, we affirm the statements collected here from across the breadth of the Religious Society of Friends:
For This Time
Western Yearly Meeting, June 2, 2020
“For God ‘hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth’ (Acts 17:26). Friends believe that any racial discrimination is essentially a violation of God’s law of love, whether by legal enactment or by inequitable practices that interfere with democratic liberties or cultural or economic development.”
A Time for Repentance and Transformation
New England Yearly Meeting, June 5, 2020
“As Friends serving in leadership on behalf of Quaker communities across New England, we join with people around the world to grieve, and to commit to action in opposition to the evils of racism and white supremacy that are again laid bare in our country … We speak to reclaim the symbols of faith from their use to justify the sins of empire. We speak to publicly recommit ourselves to Truth. Black Lives Matter.”
Minute on Responding to the Police Violence Against People of Color
Friends Meeting of Austin, June 7, 2020
“Friends Meeting of Austin … stands with those protesting the continuing police violence against people of color here in Austin and around our country and we affirm that Black Lives Matter … As Quakers, people of faith with a deep commitment to equality, justice, and peace, we commit to continuing our anti-racist work grounded in Spirit through study, prayer, and action, both locally and nationally.”
Statement on Racial Injustice
Evangelical Friends Church International-North America, June 8, 2020
“The global pandemic and widespread economic stress … serve to add weight and a growing awareness to the attitudes and systems of racial injustice and violence that persist in our country. We recognize this as blatant opposition to God’s design and vision for the world … We also recognize our need to redeem individual attitudes, processes, systems, and institutions that perpetuate injustice on the basis of race or ethnic identity.”
Minutes for Black Lives
Sierra-Cascades Yearly Meeting of Friends, June 13, 2020
“Sierra-Cascades Yearly Meeting of Friends witnesses the current people’s uprising for police accountability and for racial justice, and we take a stand for Black lives. We urge all Quakers, in our yearly meeting and beyond, to do the same in word and action. Neutrality is not an option if we are to fully embrace our underlying Truth as Friends: to recognize God in all people.”
A Message Regarding State Sanctioned Violence
Fellowship of Friends of African Descent, June 17, 2020
“Given the continued murder of Black men and women at the hands of police and vigilantes, we feel the Spirit’s urging to return to our minute … that make[s] recommendations for policing … We believe that Friends have much to contribute to the present public discourse on policing and reimagining a system of peacekeeping based on our testimonies of equality and community.”
How to be an ally.
June 1, 2020FCNL/Quakers
The Friends Committee on National Legislation
FCNL stands with protesters across the country. Advocates are calling for radical change because our institutions, poisoned by a legacy of racial oppression, have failed us. It will require work from every one of us–especially white people–to pave the way to a better future.
And we must make repeated calls for our government and leaders to do better. If you aren’t protesting yourself, hold protesters in the Light and ally yourself with impacted communities. Here are some ways to start:
THINK TWICE BEFORE SHARING VIOLENT VIDEOS
In an article for gal-dem, writer Kemi Alemoru discusses what should be done with videos of police brutality, questioning who these clips are for and whether they actually bring about justice. She writes: “We’re now in 2020, and black people already know about brutality and oppression. It’s this fact that forces the question of whether creating a spectacle out of black death is for black people, who are already familiar with the evils of racism, or whether it is to make white people see the white supremacy they ignore.”
On a platform like Twitter, where videos on your timeline autoplay, users are regularly faced with violent, disturbing footage that could damage their mental health – particularly when it shows someone being murdered. “Sharing violent, explicit, and exhausting images of George Floyd’s brutal death is not healthy for black people to see continually,” poet and activist Kai-Isaiah Jamal wrote on Instagram. “There is so much death, there is so much imagery of death. Please find alternative ways to share this story without the triggering video that is circulating.”
ONFRONT RACISM WHEN YOU SEE IT
In a chart shared by education organisation The Conscious Kid, examples of white supremacy are split into ‘overt’ and ‘covert’. At the top of the pyramid is lynching, hate crimes, and blackface, all of which are categorically unacceptable in society. Further down are examples including calling the police on black people – e.g. this week’s BBQ Becky: Amy Cooper – racial profiling, and ‘All Lives Matter’, which are all still regarded as socially acceptable. In order to change this, and ensure no racism is deemed OK, white people must confront one another about their privilege and enforcement of white supremacy.
As Dazed 100-er Marcelo Gutierrez wrote on Instagram: “To my white followers. It is your responsibility to engage and confront your white family and white friends. Have them question themselves. Hold their inaction accountable. Hold their ignorance accountable. Show them how to take action. Teach them how to begin to change their white community.”
TAKE ACTION
“Do more / something other / than re-sharing images of violence on my timeline challenge,” Travis Alabanza wrote on Twitter yesterday (May 27). Many have criticised the grim trend of simply sharing an image of a black person killed by police, along with a hashtag or empty sentiment, without actually taking action, nor – in the case of white people – addressing the systemic racism that benefits them and kills POCs. Instead, join Black Lives Matter protests – follow your local group on social media to find out when marches are planned – donate to funds that support people of colour, including this one in Minnesota, call your local politician – in the case of Floyd, contact Minneapolis’ mayor Jacob Frey. As Jamal continued on Instagram: “This is not another excuse for you to pretend like you stand with us, whilst filling up our online safe spaces reminding us of our current position in the world and our proximity to danger.”
ACKNOWLEDGE YOUR PRIVILEGE
In a post on Instagram, Munroe Bergdorf urged white people to reflect on their privilege at a time like this, and question how they could use this privilege to make change and educate others in their community. “We need to acknowledge that privilege exists as a spectrum and is an indicator for where the work needs to take place,” the model and activist wrote. “Expecting marginalised folk to be the ones to deconstruct their own oppression is as good as saying “not my problem” and letting it happen, as it doesn’t acknowledge where the problem is coming from. The definition of privilege is thinking that something isn’t a problem because it isn’t YOUR problem.”
PRACTICE SOCIAL DISTANCING
Earlier this month, it emerged that black people are four times as likely to die from coronavirus than white people. Based on this alone, to be a true ally – as gal-dem founder Liv Little rightly pointed out – you must practice social distancing during the pandemic (no matter what example the UK government is setting). As Little wrote on Instagram, accompanied by a chart showing the disproportionately high levels of Black Caribbean COVID-19 deaths: “If you aren’t practicing social distancing, you are truly selfish and there are no polite words to describe how I feel about you.”
The power of organized people.
July 10, 2018
Richard Rohr
Center For Action & Contemplation
People have good reasons to be angry and afraid today. Poverty, racism, climate change, and so many other injustices are causing real suffering for much of the world. Unfortunately, dualistic and oppositional energies cannot bring the change we so desperately need; we cannot fight angry power with more angry power. Only the contemplative mind has the ability to hold the reality of what is and the possibility of what could be. Unless our hearts are transformed, our fears will continue to manipulate our politics, reinforcing a polarized and divided society.
Quaker activist and teacher Parker Palmer has a hopeful, but not Pollyannaish, view. He writes:
Human beings have a well-demonstrated capacity to hold the tension of differences in ways that lead to creative outcomes and advances. It is not an impossible dream to believe we can apply that capacity to politics. In fact, our capacity for creative tension-holding is what made the American experiment possible in the first place. . . . America’s founders—despite the bigotry that limited their conception of who “We the People” were—had the genius to establish [a] form of government in which differences, conflict, and tension were understood not as the enemies of a good social order but as the engines of a better social order.
As “We the People” retreat from the public square and resort to private gripe sessions with those who think like us, we create a vacuum at the center of America’s public life. Politics abhors a vacuum as much as nature does, so nondemocratic powers rush in to fill the void—especially the power called “big money.” . . .
When the Supreme Court gave big money even more power [in the 2010 Citizens United decision], it made many Americans feel even more strongly that their small voices do not count. . . . Wrongly held, our knowledge of the power wielded by big money can accelerate our retreat from politics, discouraging us from being the participants that democracy demands and reducing us to mere spectators of a political game being played exclusively by “them.”
Palmer quotes Bill Moyers: “The antidote, the only antidote, to the power of organized money in Washington is the power of organized people.”
Society of Friends
June 25, 2018
‘A farm in not a farm without its barn.’
- integrity
- equality
- simplicity
- community
- stewardship of the Earth
- and peace.
From a friend:
“All of us, culturally, and each of us individually, has a piece of the puzzle, a part of the answer; I don’t quite know the question, but I believe that the answer is peace.”