I just came from what may have been the best board meeting of my life. Three months ago, I shared with you all the story of Moses and the parting of the Red Sea, in which God worked a miracle but only after Moses lifted his walking stick. The Bible is full of stories like this. Jesus asked the blind man to wash in the river, asked the servants to fill the wine jugs with water, asked the little boy to give over his bread and fish—again and again, we see the theme: God works miracles, if we do our part.
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It’ll mean a serious look at lots of moving pieces—everything from communications to donation platforms to income sources to budgetary structures to staff to physical property. But I have faith. We’ve got a walking stick; we’re lifting it up; God can part the Red Sea. I’m excited to get started. We’ll keep you up to date with how it goes.
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The Early Registration discount for Stoking the Fire, our annual North American retreat for Friends, has been extended to April 1st. Join Friends as we stoke our spiritual fires and stretch ourselves through communal worship, learning, and fellowship. Together we will open ourselves to Christ's presence and power and allow the Spirit to work within us as we seek God's power for transformative action.
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The Fall 2019 issue of Quaker Life, on justice, is in the mail and on shelves now. In the Bible, justice has to do with land and labor and family structures; with ownership and employment; with widows, orphans, and immigrants; with food and water and housing; with access to God at the Temple—with everything, material or spiritual, that is required for a human being to thrive. God cares for ALL of what God has created, and therefore shows a special regard for the weak and the marginalized for whom society cares less. And since God shows a special regard for the weak and the poor, a corresponding quality is required of God’s people. God’s people must also be especially concerned with equity and fairness in society and economy, with guaranteeing every creature’s access to the necessities of life: to water, food, health, respect, attention, kindness, helpful community, and the opportunity to draw near to God. As a foundation for life together, justice is a vast and widening gyre, and our authors in this issue explore the theme from many angles.
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“What is this community worth to you?” By “community,” I mean the spiritual family that sustains, nurtures and inspires us in our faith. It includes those mentors, teachers, and examples who spur us on toward love and godliness. I am referencing the faith laboratory in which we get to practice (often with great regularity!) the essential disciplines...
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The notion that all our resources belong to God is integral to the message of simplicity. Where Roger excelled—and helped me find that missing and liberating element within simplicity—was in generosity. Roger loved to give, and he did so with a spirit of joy and gratitude for being able to partner in God’s work in the world.
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Throughout our history, the people known as Friends (or Quakers) keep rediscovering an essential and enduring truth: There is one who speaks to our most basic needs and most significant hopes—Christ Jesus the Lord. Both individually and communally, we are learning to know and follow the Voice that guides us in the way we should go. Together, we seek to understand and obey that truth which sets us free. As a people, we share in the experience of that powerful life which makes all things new. Maybe you are searching for an authentic and transforming faith and community to call home—if so, come in and join us as we seek to know and follow Christ.
Friends United Meeting commits itself to energize and equip Friends through the power of the Holy Spirit to gather people into fellowships where Jesus Christ is known, loved, and obeyed as Teacher and Lord.
