“The Lord let me see why there was none upon the earth that could speak to my condition, namely, that I might give Him all the glory; for all are concluded under sin, and shut up in unbelief, as I had been, that Jesus Christ might have the preeminence, who enlightens, and gives grace, and faith, and power. Thus when God doth work, who shall hinder it? and this I knew experimentally.”
“Quakers need to know our history because we are human and human beings are storytelling animals. In prehistoric times, we sat around campfires and shared stories—stories of spirits, of ancestors, of tribal triumphs and defeats…”
January 2026: Quakerism was born out of the tumult of the English Civil War, when it felt as if the world was “turned upside down.” Out of this chaotic time came radical new ideas, rooted in primitive Christianity. This month focuses on messages from early Friends, with modern analysis about early Quaker ideas. These messages give insight into the fervent spirit of early Friends, and the theology of our spiritual ancestors.
“I hope you have had a season full of warmth and light in the northern hemisphere’s darkest month of the year. The holidays have the potential to bring joy, togetherness, and hope, but for some they may bring feelings of stress, loneliness, or grief. So however December was for you, for the New Year, I wish you rest.”
Allowed my mind to be ruffled and soured by some cross occurrences this morning; which, however, I strove to suppress, and believe it was not discovered by others; but that did not satisfy me, not feeling that sweet peace which I prize above every other enjoyment. I retired awhile, and, centering down out of the cumbers and cares which had perplexed, was favoured to feel something of that healing virtue, which now, as formerly, heals every malady, and alone restores peace and tranquillity within our borders.
“Now, at the start of a new year, the True Love gives as the first in a sequence of gifts a partridge in a pear tree. It is a pretty picture, even though it is so quaint. It belongs to another age; an age when there was more time, more opportunity, to escape into aloneness, to survey, to ponder.”
“It’s probably less important that Christ was born, but more important that Christ is born in us. And that can happen at any time. It’s not limited to any time of the year.”
“An angel tells the young Mary that God has elected her to be the means whereby divine love will be enfleshed in the human world. As a parabolic character, Mary represents us. She is a normal human being, which means that she is, by nature as it were, self-centered, self-enclosed. So she asks, in effect: ‘How can that happen? I’m alone; it’s just me.’ The angel replies, ‘The Holy Spirit will overtake you, and the power of God will overshadow you…'”
“‘Hospitality’ as a word today is more often associated with ‘industry’ than with personal or community behaviour… Advertising tries to teach us to link ‘rest’ with a holiday somewhere hot, a luxury purchase, an indulgence, me-time (and perhaps we need some of that sometimes). However, we also need to be careful to avoid having a too commercialised or individualised understanding of what rest is. There are many kinds of rest (physical, mental, emotional) but to truly experience most of these does require the creation of a social space that allows it.”
“Leisure implies (in the first place) an attitude of non-activity, of inward calm, of silence; it means not being ‘busy,’ but letting things happen… Leisure is a form of silence, of that silence that is the pre-requisite of the apprehension of reality: only the silent hear and those who do not remain silent, do not hear. Silence as it is used in this context, does not mean ‘dumbness’ or ‘noiselessness’: it means more nearly that the soul’s power to ‘answer’ to the reality of the world is left undisturbed. For leisure is a receptive attitude, and it is not only the occasion but also the capacity for steeping oneself in the whole of creation.”
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