Author Archives: friendmarcelle

About friendmarcelle

A Quaker writer, teacher, workshop leader, and spiritual director, I've traveled widely to facilitate workshops and retreats about the spiritual journey. I'm the author of Our Life is Love: The Quaker Spiritual Journey, and A Guide to Faithfulness Groups.

Healing Prayers for the Nation

Posted on September 8, 2020 by friendmarcelle

At my house, for half a year we’ve been watching the evening news daily. We’ve discovered that doing so fosters an underlying sense of agitation, which makes it harder to retain a calm, clear connection to God’s love and guiding … Continue reading →

Posted in All of Life is Sacred, Facing Life with Faith, healing, Living in a Time of Pandemic, prayer, Quaker Faith Today, spiritual practices | Tagged divine reality, divine Wisdom, election, healing, healing prayer, meeting for prayer and healing, one nation under God, peace, prayer, presidential election, Quaker, Spirit of Truth | 7 Comments

Within the Vast Wholeness

Posted on September 1, 2020 by friendmarcelle

Three weeks in the Shenandoah Valley helped me settle better into my place on this wide Earth. It was my first trip since the pandemic began. Lack of other recent travel perhaps helped me open more fully to the awesome … Continue reading →

Posted in All of Life is Sacred, environmental activism, Facing Life with Faith, Living in a Time of Pandemic, Stories that Heal | Tagged climate change, grounding, landscapes, life on Earth, mindscapes, Pro Life, sabbath time, Shenandoah Valley, unsustainable development | 15 Comments

The Power and Potential of Faithfulness Groups

Posted on July 21, 2020 by friendmarcelle

A couple of hours before my faithfulness group met, an unexpected event triggered strong emotions. I had waited a few months for my turn to give a presentation, and I was dismayed to be in such an emotional state when … Continue reading →

Posted in Contemplative spirituality, Facing Life with Faith, Quaker Faith Today, spiritual practices | Tagged evolutionary potential, faithfulness group, honesty, mutual spiritual accountability, prayerful accompaniment, small group, spiritual potential, Spiritual practice, trust, vulnerablity | 2 Comments

Where Does Healing Begin?

Posted on June 19, 2020 by friendmarcelle

I’ve struggled with the sense of being led to write this blog post. Surely, God, others are better qualified, have more to say, have greater wisdom on the subject of racism and white supremacy! No doubt others are better able … Continue reading →

Posted in Living in a Time of Pandemic, Radical Christianity, Stories that Heal, Working for Peace and Justice | Tagged bias, George Floyd, healing, James Baldwin, Jesus, Logos, Mark 5:25-30, Mark 7:24-30, racism, Trevor Noah, white privilege | 9 Comments

The Power of Healing Prayer

Posted on April 10, 2020 by friendmarcelle

We all have the capacity to be channels of powerful, divine, healing love. The more we practice this, the more we are likely to experience that power flowing through us to a world in need. As a child I said … Continue reading →

Posted in All of Life is Sacred, Facing Life with Faith, Living in a Time of Pandemic, Quaker Faith Today, Radical Christianity, spiritual practices, Stories that Heal | Tagged answered prayer, channels of divine healing, energy, healing prayer, holding in the Light, intercession, petition, physical healing, Power of God, praying | 10 Comments

Beginning Our Self-Isolation

Posted on March 21, 2020 by friendmarcelle

Early in the first week in isolation, Terry and I felt shaken, both by the changes that were going on so quickly, inside our house and in the world, and by new pressures on our marriage. As a couple, we … Continue reading →

Posted in Facing Life with Faith, Living in a Time of Pandemic | Tagged air filter masks, coronavirus, flatten the curve, masks, medical masks, pandemic, self-isolate, self-quarantine | 10 Comments

Creating Loving Community by Supporting Faithfulness

Posted on February 8, 2020 by friendmarcelle

When I prayed about my Pendle Hill lecture in advance–held it in the Light and listened inwardly for God’s guidance–two strong messages came to me. The first was to let the event BE what it was talking about. This meant … Continue reading →

Posted in Facing Life with Faith, Following a Leading, Quaker Faith Today, Radical Christianity, spiritual practices | Tagged A Guide to Faithfulness Groups, clearness committee, facing climate change, faithfulness group, holding in the Light, Marcelle Martin, minute of religious service, mutual spiritual accountability, Pendle Hill, Pendle Hill lecture, spiritual support, supporting calls and leadings, Swarthmore Meeting | 6 Comments

The Gift of Deeper Listening

Posted on January 8, 2020 by friendmarcelle

The best gifts can’t be wrapped. Being lovingly present with another person in a way that helps them attend more deeply to themselves and to the presence of God with them is a better gift than any material object. Certain … Continue reading →

Posted in All of Life is Sacred, Contemplative spirituality, Facing Life with Faith, Following a Leading, Mysticism, Quaker Faith Today, spiritual practices | Tagged attention, authenticity, being present with another, clearness committees, deeper awareness, deeper listening, divine guidance, divine voice, evoking questions, faithfulness, Faithfulness Groups, intuition, inward listening, listening skills, movement of the Spirit, spiritual guidance, the voice of God within | 8 Comments

The Moses Of Her People

Posted on December 7, 2019 by friendmarcelle

“Harriet,” the first feature-length film about liberator and abolitionist leader Harriet Tubman, emphasizes the prophetic nature of her extraordinary gifts. In school I learned only a few brief facts about Harriet Tubman: she escaped from slavery and then, bravely, went … Continue reading →

Posted in All of Life is Sacred, Facing Life with Faith, Following a Leading, Radical Christianity, Stories that Heal, Working for Peace and Justice | Tagged Abolition, Araminta Ross, freedom, guided by God, Harriet Tubman, liberation, Pennsylvania Society for the Abolition of Slavery, prophet, prophetic call, slavery, the Moses of her people, Thomas Garrett, Underground Railroad, visions, voice of God | 3 Comments

Something Grew Wild in Our Backyard

Posted on November 27, 2019 by friendmarcelle

Something wild and amazing happened in our backyard this summer. Four little butternut squash plants, started from seeds stuck in a bit of dirt, grew wild at the back of our yard, beside the garage. Surprised and amused at how … Continue reading →

Posted in All of Life is Sacred, environmental activism, Stories that Heal | Tagged butternut squash, fertility, garden, gardening, growing plants, home garden, squash, starting seeds | 6 Comments