“I believe that asceticism is in a very deep sense contrary to the real Quaker spirit, which desires in all things to abstain from any interference ‘in the will of man’ with Divine discipline and guidance, and which would, I believe, regard the idea of self-chosen exercises in mortification of the flesh with the same aversion as it entertains for pre-arranged forms of worship.”
“What is the reason your people tie a great bunch of ribbons behind on their heads, and another under their chin, and on each side of their faces, and on their foreheads? What good do these do you? And what good do these great broad cuffs do you that you wear? Are not these the things that lift up the pride in men and women, that they look upon themselves in their glasses to see whether they be fine? And who taught them to go mincing with their feet? And was not the Prophet moved of the Lord to go naked among Egyptians & the Ethiopians, Isa. 20. What is the pleasures of Egypt, and the pleasures of the world, which are but for a time?”
“Advised that all Friends, both old and young, keep out of the world’s corrupt language, manners, vain and needless things and fashions, in apparel, buildings, and furniture of houses, some of which are immodest, indecent, and unbecoming.”
“I have been traveling among Friends and writing for Friends for 40 years. I have done workshops and retreats, taught academic classes and short courses, written articles, books, and pamphlets. But preparing the material for this week may have been one of the hardest things I have produced for Friends.”
June 2025: This month’s theme is Simplicity. At a moment in our culture when we are encouraged to revere wealth and excess, we will explore the Quaker roots of plainness. We will hear from Friends who examine their relationships with their material desires, and dare to ask ourselves, “how do we know when we have enough?”
“Do you have the wisdom and the heart to repent of all the things that might obstruct your service? Do you have the heart to forgive even the unforgivable? Do you have what it takes to love the unloveable, to walk and talk with those you think are your enemies? Will you be able to see everyone as belonging to the community of God and not otherwise?”
“Oh! love truth and its Testimony, whether its Witness be to you, or against you, love it, that into my Mother’s house you all may come, and into the Chamber of her that conceived me, where you may embrace, and be embraced of my dearly beloved one, Love is his Name, Love is his Nature, Love is his life.”
“Dwell low in your minds, as it is only in the valley of humiliation that we can have fellowship with the Oppressed Seed.”
“Small Treasure to a resigned Mind is sufficient. How happy is it to be content with a little, to live in Humility.”
“Of course, we are still human, still flawed, and if our meetings are to be beloved communities we must learn to accept others as they are, not as we want them to be—to accept the opportunity to bear one another’s burdens…. We are reminded that forgiveness is not about justice; it is about healing.”
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