Category Archives: Quaker Faith Today

Appreciating Inner Images

One of the most powerful ways to help people open up to divine guidance is to assist them in exploring key images that they receive inwardly. These images might come during a dream, but also while engaging in activity, or … Continue reading

Posted in Contemplative spirituality, healing, Quaker Faith Today, spiritual practices, Supporting Spirit-led Ministry | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Invitation to Quaker Eldering

Early in the Quaker movement, Friends recognized that the living Spirit of God was guiding them directly without need of intermediaries. Members of the faith community were given particular gifts of the Spirit for the benefit of all. Not all … Continue reading

Posted in Contemplative spirituality, Facing Life with Faith, Learning from Early Friends, Quaker Faith Today, Radical Christianity, spiritual practices, Supporting Spirit-led Ministry | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Between This Life and the Next

About a year after my friend Jim died, I began to sense–or imagine–that from the next life he was somehow nudging me to write about my experience of his dying and death–and what happened afterwards. It was as though he … Continue reading

Posted in Facing Life with Faith, Quaker Faith Today, Stories that Heal | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

A Hand Across the Ocean

I’m grieving the death of my brilliant young friend Rachel, a Quaker climate specialist and university teacher who has died suddenly. I met Rachel almost twenty years ago when she was the young Friend sent by Britain Yearly Meeting (Quakers) … Continue reading

Posted in All of Life is Sacred, environmental activism, Facing Life with Faith, Following a Leading, Quaker Faith Today | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 31 Comments

Earth Day S.O.S.

On a lovely spring day, Earth Day, we drove forty minutes from our home in Chester, one of the poorest cities in Pennsylvania, to the headquarters of Vanguard, a company that manages more than $7 trillion in financial assets. In … Continue reading

Posted in All of Life is Sacred, environmental activism, Facing Life with Faith, Quaker Faith Today | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Quaker Wisdom for the Spiritual Journey

When I took a 9-day solitary retreat this winter, I brought three slim books with me to provide spiritual guidance and companionship, for those moments when I needed some help to turn again to the wisdom that comes from the … Continue reading

Posted in Contemplative spirituality, Learning from Early Friends, Mysticism, Quaker Faith Today, Radical Christianity | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

One With God And Each Other

In preparation for an online conversation and exploration of how we can be more receptive to the gathered meeting, I’ve been reading everything I can get my hands on that’s been written about the amazing experience of entering what can … Continue reading

Posted in Contemplative spirituality, Learning from Early Friends, Mysticism, Quaker Faith Today, Radical Christianity, spiritual practices | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

The Radical Quaker Spiritual Journey

Earlier this month I was fortunate to be able to spend nine days in a hermitage on the edge of some woods. I went for many reasons: rest; renewal; reconnecting (with God, nature, and my soul); deep inward listening; discernment; … Continue reading

Posted in Contemplative spirituality, Learning from Early Friends, Mysticism, Quaker Faith Today, Radical Christianity | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Opening to Our Direct Connection with the Divine

When I was in my mid-twenties, my graduate school program was not meeting my great longing to understand the nature of reality. I began to seek inwardly. Yearning to know what life was about, I paid attention to my inner … Continue reading

Posted in All of Life is Sacred, Contemplative spirituality, Mysticism, prayer, Quaker Faith Today, spiritual practices | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Eating for the Planet

When I was a teenager, I was inspired by Frances Moore Lappe’s book Diet for a Small Planet. I read it as part of my research for the high school debate team; that year the nation-wide topic was how to … Continue reading

Posted in Quaker Faith Today | 10 Comments