“Take time to learn about other people’s experiences of the Light. Remember the importance of the Bible, the writings of Friends and all writings which reveal the ways of God. As you learn from others, can you in turn give freely from what you have gained?”
There must be love remaining. / I believe in love / In spite of things said / And deeds done or hate. / There must be love / In the space of things— / Worlds turning and fixed / Stars burning.
“Christian peace is rooted in faith, nourished by hope, and perfected by love. It is a peace which is not achieved directly by man, but given by God to those who are disposed to receive it. […] When you realize that God has found a home in your spirit, which is the apex of your soul, you feel a security which the world can neither give nor take away.”
“While there is that of God in every person, there is not that of God in every idea. Practices that dehumanize people do not have a place in our Quaker community. They have no light.”
“I see God as life, force, spirit, power, and presence. It’s an energy which we can connect to in others and in ourselves. So it’s beyond good and bad. For me the core of this energy and presence is love and wisdom, which hopefully leads to good actions, certainly good intentions.”
“I believe that appreciation is a holy thing – that when we look for what’s best in a person we happen to be with at the moment, we’re doing what God does all the time. So in loving and appreciating our neighbor, we’re participating in something sacred.”
“Although human life as we know it without God may appear hopelessly broken, God’s image remains within us—partially erased or covered over but still there. This means that, however skewed our vision of God, others, and ourselves becomes, something in us still recognizes God. The image of God that is in us is the part of ourselves that never stops desiring to move toward love.”
“Remember how St. Augustine tells us about his seeking God in many places and eventually finding him within himself. Do you suppose it is of little importance that a soul which is often distracted should come to understand this truth and to find that, in order to speak to its Eternal Father and to take its delight in Him, it has no need to go to Heaven or to speak in a loud voice? However quietly we speak, He is so near that He will hear us: we need no wings to go in search of Him but only to find a place where we can be alone and look upon Him present within us.”
“There’s not an authority that I need to appeal to or try to seek from somebody else. [The light is] here and it’s there and it’s in all of us, together. Seeking my piece of that is incredible. But being in a community that is seeking that same thing: amazing.”
“First, the Inward Light reveals our shortcomings (sins) and second, it guides us towards a better life. Many liberals don’t feel comfortable with the word “sin” so I’d like to suggest a definition that is both biblical and compatible with our modern Quaker ideas. “Sin” in the Bible is not primarily about morality; it is about ethics. Jesus didn’t condemn the adulterer; he lambasted religious hypocrites and those in power, especially the 1%. The prophets of the Hebrew Bible were more concerned with justice than with personal morality. Prophets condemned the rich, lifted the concerns of the poor, and called on God’s people to live lives of justice and truth [….]”
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