Monthly Overview

These messages are on the theme of Quaker thought on light and darkness, despair and hope, fear and courage. We read Friends’ reflections on George Fox’s famous description of “an infinite ocean of light and love” flowing over an ocean of darkness. Friends acknowledge their own capacity for darkness and share ways they open themselves to the unconquerable power of Spirit. Toward the end of the month, we hear wisdom about grief and healing from Quaker hospice chaplains.

This week’s messages are guest edited by Right Sharing of World Resources (RSWR), a Quaker organization that works for equity and a life of dignity for all. RSWR programs promote partnerships with women in India, Guatemala, Kenya, and Sierra Leone and encourage those with diverse resources to embrace our shared responsibility for one another’s well being.

This month examines how Friends throughout history have stood up to authority and worked for justice. Quakers speak truth to power when we advocate for what is right despite opposition from kings, presidents, and institutions. We also investigate how Friends maintain their integrity when they are the ones in power.

This month we examine how our relationship with nature can inspire our spirituality. We will read about Friends who have experienced divine ecstasy or received messages in the wilderness, consider our responsibility as stewards of the earth, and be invited to participate in exercises that strengthen our connection to creation.

This month’s theme is Discernment and Leadings, examining individual and corporate practices for listening to our inner guide. We will read about how to recognize and act on leadings, Quaker process, proceeding as way opens, and the fallibility of conscience. Making space for expectant waiting in decision making and patching together an understanding of divine will with the help of Friends are Quaker superpowers.

This week’s messages are guest edited by Ashley M. Wilcox, Quaker minister, best-selling author of The Women’s Lectionary, and founder of Public Friends, a new nonprofit created to support Quaker ministers.

What does it mean to be informed by Spirit in…

With the theme of integrity, we learn from our Quaker ancestors and elders what it means to embody our beliefs consistently in every aspect of our lives. Integrity means honesty and truth-telling, even when those truths are uncomfortable. We dig into the history of refusing to take oaths and doff hats, the invention of the price tag, and other ways Friends have brought their public lives in line with their spiritual convictions.

Contemplation and activism are sometimes presented as a dichotomy in Quakerism, but they are, in fact, intimately related. A rich spiritual life can inspire and ground our work in the world, and faithfulness to leadings can deepen our relationship with Spirit. From the time of the first Friends, Quakers have aspired to “be patterns, be examples” (George Fox) and “stand in the gap” (William Penn), in public witness to our corporate faith.