What to Do When Everything’s Not Going to Be Alright
Hello dear readers,
Thank you for exploring the theme of Hope and Despair with me this month and for your wonderful query responses.
With the change of leadership here in the US, many people are scared. They are facing threats to their security, their health, and their freedom and looking toward an uncertain future. They find themselves in “an ocean of darkness,” as George Fox wrote, though he also wrote that “an infinite ocean of light,” of God’s love, flowed over the ocean of darkness. Our faith does not tell us we will not face challenges, but that we can trust in the guidance of Spirit to show us how to love one another in ways that make a difference.
Quakers with wisdom to share on grief reminded us that once we truly accept our mortality, we can release all other fears; and that sometimes all that is required of us in the midst of others’ despair is our loving presence. We also shared prayers for hope and healing, through art, poetry, scripture, and music.
I want to express my deep gratitude to everyone who became a supporter during our February and March campaign, and of course to those of you who have supported the Daily Quaker even before that! Readers from all over the US, UK, Australia, and New Zealand have stepped up over these past few weeks, saying that they want this ministry to continue. We now have 79 supporters (hooray!), but that number falls short of our goal of 120 supporters. We still have time to make it! If you become a supporter by March 31, you’ll also get a beautiful thank-you gift mailed to you: a limited-edition art print by Quaker artist Maggie Fiori. Visit our support page for more information and to see the print!
Tomorrow we will begin a month on the theme of Quaker Women, learning from the wisdom of 400 years of ministry from women and folx with marginalized genders and identities. We will read about the inspiring lives of Quaker martyrs, mystics, and leaders and listen directly to people whose voices are not always heard.
In friendship,
Maeve Sutherland
Editor of the Daily Quaker Message
Reader Responses
How has grief changed your spirituality?
What does Quaker faith and spirituality offer you in the face of pain?
A few weeks after my teenage son died, a Friend and her husband brought me dinner. We'd raised our kids in First Day School together. After the meal, she offered to give me Reiki. As she did, her face revealed wonder. "You have, like, an energetic grid all around you!" she exclaimed. I laughed. "Yes, I believe that's all the people holding me in the Light."
It's an expression we use often, never knowing exactly what it means for another person — those holding or those who are being those held. As tangibly as I felt grief after losing my only child, I also experienced the sensation of being suspended in a matrix of Light by Friends all around the world. How amazing that we can do this for each other, with our mystical and loving community! It helped keep my profound loss in homeostasis with awe and gratitude.
Jen A., Gainesville, FL, USA
A few years ago, this thought came into my head during a meeting for worship:
"My greatest teachers are grief and failure. Grief can either make me bitter at my fate or tender to the griefs of others. Failure can either humiliate or humble."
Julie P., Portland, OR, USA
In 2004 our 18 year old, a strong, creative, loving girl could no longer withstand what we believe was bipolar disorder. She killed herself and I found it necessary to reach aggressively for G!d. I found Her/Him/They in my friends, in strangers, in books, and in a return to Meeting. I shall never accept the death of our Sweet, Precious Girl but I find my faith and my faith community to be necessary to my survival.
Kate B., Philadelphia, PA, USA
This Week’s Messages
A Seasonal Perspective
We Were Made for Joy and Woe
Your Pain is the Breaking of the Shell
Whatever’s Been Uprooted, Let it Be Seedbed
Winnie the Pooh and Grief
The Children’s Meeting of 1663
Banner image: Richard Brown Lethem
