October 2024: 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.
“In my own search for Truth, a major step came during the years 1952-1953. This step consisted in a release from the belief that Truth had to be ‘certain;’ rational, logical, self-sustaining, self-evident, publicly demonstrable. I suddenly came to see that whenever I made such demands I inevitably discovered only myself: I was walled in by myself, limited to myself, for I was the one who was being logical, being rational, standing as judge over the Truth. It is a small world on those terms.”
“Some among us have a clear sense of what is right and wrong – for themselves personally if not for everyone else. They have a reassuring certitude and steadiness which can serve as a reference point by which others may navigate. There are others who live in a state of uncertainty, constantly re-thinking their responses to changing circumstances, trying to hold onto what seems fundamental but impelled to reinterpret, often even unsure where lies the boundary between the fundamental and the interpretation…”
“Thank you for exploring the relationship between faith and action with me this month, and for your wonderful query responses. As someone who leans contemplative, I often find myself overwhelmed by my activist leadings, overthinking them until they fizzle out. But the messages this month reminded me that I am not tasked with fixing the whole world alone; I have Spirit, I have community, and I have been given a few specific responsibilities to effect change.”
“If there is an identifiable Quaker approach to service, we could hope that it is embodied in this: that as in worship we follow the leadings of the Spirit and the Light faithfully, we are prepared to be led where it takes us — to let go of comfortable certainties and be taken into new knowledge, and also into painful and difficult experiences.”
“Tim Buckley is the CEO of Vanguard, one of the world’s largest investment management firms. Vanguard holds about $300 billion invested in fossil fuels, with about $101 billion invested in coal. As such, he has incredible power and sway in the world of fossil fuel investment. We’re walking to his house today to hold Quaker-style Meeting for Worship. It is simultaneously a spiritual gathering for worship and a campaign action organized by Earth Quaker Action Team.”
“As a faith practice, sanctuary brings back into focus our community’s covenant to serve the Peaceable Kingdom. First, sanctuary cannot be reduced to or dismissed as a matter of individual conscience. An individual may provide refuge to the violated and may even prophesy, but only a congregation can gather as a church and enter into the communion that is sanctuary. Second, the practice of sanctuary fuses the concerns that are separate and even competing issues when relegated to the faith practice of individuals.”
“Young William Penn, a gentleman of high social status, had heard Quakers preach and had experienced an opening of the Spirit in his own life. After a few months he had the opportunity of meeting George Fox, the inspiring leader of the Religious Society of Friends. Penn was obviously troubled in his conscience about following the custom of his class of wearing a sword. So he asked Fox, ‘How long should I wear my sword?’ Fox replied in the Quaker language of that day, ‘Wear thy sword as long as thou canst.'”
“In prayer, the seeds of concern have a way of appearing. Often enough a concern begins in a feeling of being liable, personally responsible for someone or some event. With it may come an intimation that one should do some little thing: speak to some person, make an inquiry into a certain situation, write a letter, send some money, send a book. Or it may be a stop in our minds about some pending decision, or a clear directive that now is not the time to rest, or an urge to stay home when we had been meaning to be away.”
“My cosmic love, or the Divine Lover loving within me, cannot accomplish its full intent, which is universal saviourhood, within the limits of three score years and ten.* But the Loving Presence does not burden us equally with all things, but considerately puts upon each of us just a few central tasks as emphatic responsibilities. For each of us these special undertakings are our share in the joyous burdens of love.”
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