In times like these, we need to practice the art of welcoming.  And by “we” I mean the whole world.

We need to rediscover the high art of welcoming the stranger,

… relearn that welcoming is an antidote to fear,

… exercise the art of welcoming until it is second nature,

… recognize that welcoming is a higher art than the art of war.

As waves of displaced people seeking refuge from war wash across the world, we need to welcome them and not build walls forcing…

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What you must believe

 

Some time ago I wrote a little essay based on ministry I gave in worship with the title “It’s not about belief.”  In it, I assert that Quakerism has room for all kinds of theological beliefs because it is based not on faith but on practice.

 

I now think this assertion is not wholly true, because there is one thing you have to believe to be a Quaker: You have to believe it works.

 

You have to…

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Liquid Offerings

 

What we do in Meeting for Worship is hard to describe in words, once you have said the obvious “sitting in silence.”  A metaphor may be better than further factual description:

 

Imagine we are all wineglasses, or perhaps just plain cups.  We gather like glasses set on a table, clinking together softly as we settle.

 

We come into the Meetinghouse full of ourselves:

 

Some prefer to be filled with fresh fruit…

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Catholics recently made changes to the English wording of the Mass.  The priest says “The Lord be with you,” and where the congregation once responded with “And with you,” they now are supposed to say “And with your spirit.” I confess these changes don’t matter much to me.  Perhaps the change was necessary to redefine the relationship between priest and congregation, or because God might not hear these prayers if they were not said exactly right.

These invocational prayers, along with…

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   The metaphor-producing part of my brain has served up another:

                         Knowing God is like eating an artichoke.

    To begin with, very few people eat artichokes. Anyone could – given an artichoke – but one has to know where to begin.

    An artichoke is a good metaphor for monotheism: it is one thing, but you never eat it whole. Eating…

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Rich Morgan asks (on Quaker-L, an ancient ancestor of the blog) "Who or what to Quakers pray to-God, Jesus, the light . .. Who would a secular humanist pray to?"



Although almost all dictionary definitions of "pray" assume it is a transitive verb, with God (or something) being prayed to, it does not have to be so. One of the definitions is "to offer (as a prayer)," which in part describes my… Continue

It’s not about belief …



You and I have been given a pile of lumber and a small plot of ground. Being human, we each build a house. Being human, and not apes or whales, we don’t even think about building something other than a house. We need – a need deeper than our human bodies demand – shelter from the cold of night, the heat of day, the rain and wind and fearsome beasts of the wilderness all around. So we build houses, for the comfort of body and soul.



Most of the lumber… Continue

Long Names

 

The names we give things – particularly living things – are too short to say what needs to be said.

 

In Ursula LeGuin’s Earthsea, wizards are able to work magic if they know the true name of the thing they wish to enchant.  Everything has a name in the language of the Making as well as its common name.  The word for stone – “tolk” – is part of the name of every stone, but every stone – and every drop of water in the sea – has its own name…

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Instead of journal-writing in the tradition of Friends, I have developed the habit of writing down any worthwhile ministry I have spoken during Meeting for Worship.  I do this afterwards - which requires remembering what I said - so as to comply with the Advices on prepared ministry.  Some of these mini-sermons may be publishable; we shall see.  And some I will post here, like this one from today in Palo Alto Friends Meeting.

 

Love and…

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