Category Archives: All of Life is Sacred

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 , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 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 , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 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 , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Choose Life: the Global Climate Strike

Posted on September 26, 2019 by friendmarcelle

When I arrived at the Sept 20, 2019 Global Climate Strike, my first sight of the crowd lifted my spirits in a way I hadn’t expected.  All the images of the planet, most on handmade signs, made me realize that … Continue reading →

Posted in All of Life is Sacred, environmental activism, Facing Life with Faith, Quaker Faith Today, Working for Peace and Justice | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Fighting for Life on this Planet: Two Movies

Posted on April 21, 2019 by friendmarcelle

Two powerful films highlight the danger of climate change and the sources of hope for the future of life on this planet. Continue reading →

Posted in All of Life is Sacred, environmental activism, Facing Life with Faith, Following a Leading, Stories that Heal | Tagged , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

She Lived in a Tree: The Spirit-Led Witness of Julia Butterfly Hill

Posted on January 5, 2019 by friendmarcelle

At age eighteen she opened a restaurant, but a serious car accident three years later changed Julia Butterfly Hill forever. She needed to find a deeper purpose in life than running a successful business. She traveled to California and encountered … Continue reading →

Posted in All of Life is Sacred, environmental activism, Facing Life with Faith, Following a Leading, Stories that Heal | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

An Ancient Forest and the Ground of Being

Posted on November 17, 2018 by friendmarcelle

We had waited a long time to walk among those ancient trees. Finally we rented a cabin in Cook Forest State Park, and there we were, walking between towering pines and hemlocks. Some are as old as Quakerism, having gotten … Continue reading →

Posted in All of Life is Sacred, Contemplative spirituality, Quaker Faith Today, Radical Christianity, spiritual practices | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

The Overstory: a Novel

Posted on October 15, 2018 by friendmarcelle

I‘ve read many of the best novels ever written. The Overstory, by Richard Powers, may be the most eye-opening of all. In the first section of the book, in eight short stories, Powers creates diverse, interesting characters who are all impacted … Continue reading →

Posted in All of Life is Sacred, Facing Life with Faith, Stories that Heal | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Red Alert for the Earth

Posted on September 5, 2018 by friendmarcelle

At an encampment to listen for God’s leading to a prophetic response to climate change, I was given an image to keep in my mind both our extreme danger and the availability of God’s guidance. Continue reading →

Posted in All of Life is Sacred, Facing Life with Faith, Quaker Faith Today, Radical Christianity, Stories that Heal | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

Beckoned by Trees

Posted on August 8, 2018 by friendmarcelle

The first tree that beckoned me, long ago, was a sapling on the far side of my grandmother’s lawn. Sensing that it was silently calling me, I went to investigate and discovered that it was being strangled by an orange … Continue reading →

Posted in All of Life is Sacred, Stories that Heal | Tagged , , , | 28 Comments