The gospel of John ends with the writer noting that there weren't enough books in the world to record all that Jesus did during his ministry (John 21:35)  I believe that among those unrecorded acts was the following discussion between Jesus and one of the Apostles who because of the personal nature of the conversation will go unnamed:

Anonymous Disciple/Apostle: I don’t understand why Peter loves his wife so…

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The writing that follows was initially intended to be posted on Keith Saylor's comment wall but ended up too long for that, and so it's going up as a blog post instead. Readers  may want to trace down Keith's full comment (I quote only part of it in this post), which also contains  the original statement that prompted his response. Sorry for the round-about way this thread is presented, but I thought that the Benson ideas that I've quoted in this post are highly relevant not only for this…

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I originally wrote this post as an open letter to my Meeting, Friends Meeting of Washington, DC. In it, I reflect upon the romantic notion of a perfect Thanksgiving and the way it often turns out instead. 

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Dear Friends,

Thanksgiving means warm thoughts of togetherness and familial bliss to many of us. Yet, for some of us, it…

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As a pacifist, I don’t know what to do about Veterans Day. On this year’s November 11, I drove down the main street of a town that is home to a naval air station. Five days earlier I’d travelled that same route the opposite direction on my way to a writing workshop. That morning, winds had gusted at 35-45 miles per hour and whipped the American flags that lined the street in a wild dance.

 …

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My grandfather Sidney Albert lived simply. He lived in a small house in the country, grew his own vegetables, kept a few chickens and all his food was cooked at home in the kitchen. His house had no electricity or gas; it was kept warm by a wood-burning stove and lit by oil lamps and candles. I was very young when he died, but I do remember him wearing a collarless shirt, black worsted trousers, braces (that’s suspenders in North America) and a waistcoat. He never ever went out without…

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Mary Mills is a retired teacher of French and German at County Prep High School in Jersey City, N.J., and a former member of Woodstown (N.J.) Meeting. She has served as a Mandel Teacher Fellow of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C.

In the…

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Presence is known in conscious and is awash in conscience. In times of great outward joy and great outward sorrow, in outward concord and discord, in outward comfort and discomfort, ever is Presence, so that none of these rule or have place; they do not shadow the inward Light that in strength and power washes over the outward from within. I am the Light in all things. I am the Light shining from within.

To experience and live the inward Name is to no longer live in vain.

I…

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Fifth day, 13th, Eleventh month, 2014.

Do you understand this? Some folks call this Quaker-speak. This is normally written Thursday, November 13th, 2014.

I recently became administrator of my Meeting's (this is what Quakers call their congregation) website. In reviewing the format of the website I was faced with choices.…

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Getting ready for another Gloriously "Holiday" Free Season!  At last count I think I know of about three other "Christmas" abstaining Quakers among the bunch of us.  I gave up the whole lot of these so called "holidays" years ago.  I just now today began to realize that the fuss of this whole bothersome thing was beginning to get buzzing in those of that worldly, dare I say, pagan,  way around me, and breathed a sigh of relief, that once again, I am free.  I won't spoil it for any of those…

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Recently, A.J. Mendoza (At Queer Quaker) and I had a challenging and enlightening discussion on his blog and and here at QuakerQuaker. 

The shining aspect, for me, of the discussion is the experience of Presence amidst discord. It is clear that AJ and I share little…

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Thomas Swann reflects on Father John Dear's keynote lecture from ESR's 2014 Ministry of Writing Colloquium:

My back went soft in the presence of his spoken truth when I heard him quote Daniel Berrigan, an early and constant influence, "The point of this life is to make our story fit into the story of Jesus".  Oh my.  What a contrary flow of theology in…

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During a recent support group for people with anxiety disorders, I mentioned that I was a Quaker. The moderator was extremely familiar with Friends terminology, even knowing our Testimonies (Simplicity, Peace, Integrity, Community, and Equality) by heart, a rare feat for someone who isn't one of us. She had great respect for what I and…

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Walking the streets of Bandon I am alive in the inshining of Presence. The veil of outward forms (the things that mediate) are lifted and I look upon the unveiled face of Christ; no longer through outward layers placed before me by others. The conservative's static tradition and the liberal's shifting  ideological, political, and intellectual, forms no longer blanket Presence. Through spiritual eyes, I gaze full upon the open face. Moment by moment I am renewed in the glory of the eternal…

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Note: This post was first published on Quaker Universalist Conversations, the blog of the Quaker Universalist Fellowship.

During a one-month practice period (dathun) at the Buddhist Gampo Abbey in the spring of 1989, …

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As I navigate through the mire of another election season I'm mindful of peace in Presence and ever watchful, in thankfulness, for the self-evident inward Light.



People anxious over whether the ideology they seek to impose on others will win or lose. People predicated and enchanted by outward political ideology and the political professors who seek the right mix of words to enchant those who put their trust and faith in mediated incantations.



As the power of the… Continue

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