Tag Archives: God

Giving Birth to Christ in Our Time

Posted on December 25, 2018 by friendmarcelle

As Christmas nears, I often think of words by Meister Eckhart, a radical 14th-century Dominican priest, who said, We are all meant to be mothers of God. What good is it to me if this eternal birth of the Divine … Continue reading →

Posted in Contemplative spirituality, Learning from Early Friends, Mysticism, Quaker Faith Today, Radical Christianity | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

A Leading of the Spirit: Witness to Peacemaking and War

Posted on December 14, 2018 by friendmarcelle

Lyndon Back’s life was happily settled. But everything changed in 1993, when a beautiful old bridge collapsed. Until then, the war in Bosnia had been a distant event seen on the nightly news. After she watched the Stari Most Bridge shatter, she suddenly needed to … Continue reading →

Posted in Facing Life with Faith, Following a Leading, Quaker Faith Today, Working for Peace and Justice | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 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 Light That Shines in the Darkness

Posted on March 29, 2018 by friendmarcelle

On a dark, starry night, in a year of whole-hearted seeking, inner senses opened and divine Reality was suddenly revealed. I experienced a Light that flows through everything and a Power that can heal anything. Continue reading →

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

Faithfulness Groups

Posted on January 25, 2018 by friendmarcelle

Participating in an ongoing Faithfulness Group helps me sense more clearly God’s call on my life.  We offer each other a form of prayerful attention and companionship that helps us remember, again and again, that God is always present, ready … Continue reading →

Posted in Facing Life with Faith, Quaker Faith Today, Radical Christianity, spiritual practices | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

Hidden Stories of Christmas

Posted on December 25, 2017 by friendmarcelle

On the winter solstice, a friend sent me a link to a web page about Reindeer legends of northern lands. It’s natural for myths to change over time, but it’s sad to see how myths and cultural legends that once celebrated women, as well as female reindeer, were replaced by a man and a lead reindeer named Rudolph. When it comes to stories of Light coming into the world, however, there’s a far more important story that’s been hidden for many centuries. Continue reading →

Posted in All of Life is Sacred, Learning from Early Friends, Radical Christianity | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

Vistas From Inner Stillness

Posted on June 3, 2016 by friendmarcelle

When is it fruitful to share our deepest spiritual experiences, and when is it better to keep them close, to ponder them only in our hearts? Vistas From Inner Stillness raises the question. In it, author Richard L. Walker describes encountering God in some awesome natural settings, when his mind was in deep stillness. These experiences transformed his faith in the presence of God to an experience of that divine reality. Continue reading →

Posted in Contemplative spirituality, Mysticism, Quaker Faith Today | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Shifting to the Heart

Posted on March 29, 2016 by friendmarcelle

“Meeting for worship is a Quaker technology for shifting levels of consciousness,” Bill Taber sometimes explained. Descriptions of gathered worship reveal that the divine Presence is revealed when the mind is still, and this opens the heart.
Continue reading →

Posted in Contemplative spirituality, Learning from Early Friends, Mysticism, Quaker Faith Today, Radical Christianity | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

The Fruit of Long Labor

Posted on March 11, 2016 by friendmarcelle

For decades I’ve dreamed of finishing a book that would encourage others and empower their spiritual journey. Our Life is Love: the Quaker Spiritual Journey finally arrived on my doorstep the day the cherry tree blossomed. Continue reading →

Posted in Contemplative spirituality, Learning from Early Friends, Quaker Faith Today, Radical Christianity | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

In Order to Give Our Gift

Posted on July 15, 2014 by friendmarcelle

I pray that we Friends grow increasingly able, faithfully, to play our part in the birth of a new, more conscious, connected humanity, a birth now reaching a painful stage of labor. Continue reading →

Posted in Learning from Early Friends, Quaker Faith Today | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments