Fellow Seekers,

I have always been taught that God does not change but since I was little I found it unsettling that God's behavior as written in the Old Testament was different than what is written in the New Testament.  I asked questions about it but have never been satisfied by the answers.  Only recently have I started thinking about this again.  God is considered to be by believers (as I am), to be the source of life.  But what is life and how is it experienced by those of us who…

Well, I got to start somewhere...

Several people at the San Francisco Meeting recommended I read "Friends for 300/350 years". Another recommendation was the "Pacific Yearly Meeting Faith and Practice". Guess I have some good reading ahead huh?!

I also signed up for the UK's Woodbrooke Quaker Study Centre's "Becoming Friend" introduction to Quakerism.

http://www.woodbrooke.org.uk/index.php

It is…

Integration of two sides of the spiritual coin—the inward life and outward action —served as the focus for this year’s North Pacific Yearly Meeting (NPYM -http://npym.org/news.html), the annual gathering of Quakers in these parts. For four days in mid-July, a couple hundred of us from Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Montana met with Friend-in-Residence Michael Birkel (an Earlham College professor, writer, and John Woolman scholar) and…

I’ve always felt a certain discomfort about Nontheist Friends and other dually-affiliated Friends. (But, you protest, aren’t you a dually-affiliated Friend?? Yes, but I don’t identify as a Buddhist Quaker or a Quaker Buddhist: I am both a Buddhist and a Quaker.) Some of this discomfort about Nontheist Friends stemmed from preconceptions I, as a theist* (more on that later), had. A few weeks ago, I joined a Nontheist Friends Google group. At the time, I was questioning my belief in…

Dear all those who stop by....

My name is Jon. I am 51. I am beginning a journey to understand & experience Quakerism and to see if it is my spiritual home.

Some background. I grew up in a Anglo/Scandivan-American, Mid-Western, Methodist, Teacher-parents, family. I attended the local church from as early as I can remember until I was 18. I enjoyed many aspects of going to church.... church camp, youth groups, hanging with friends at church or after, going…

I have posted a blog on nffquaker.org explaining my views on the phrase 'centering-down' and its relationship with the true nature of Quaker Worship

Find it @ http://nffquaker.org/profiles/blogs/centringdown

Please feel free to check it out...

Tomorrow I will attend my 1st meeting in over 12 years.  I'm very excited!  I truly do not know what to expect.  There was no contact information for the meeting.  It is held at a Lutheran Church less than 10 miles away.  I recently discovered this meeting when I went to the Quaker finder directory.  Never saw it listed before.  They call it a *Worship Group*  I wonder how many Friends will be there.  I have longed to be with Friends for so long, I can't believe that I'm actually…

I was at a coffee house the other night when the Holy Spirit fell in a special way.  I normally enjoy His presence when I play but this was a community presence.  No one was carrying on a conversation or on their cell phone.  Everyone was caught up in worship.  It started with two musicians playing some random notes and evolved into a musical worship service the point of which was that once you knew Jesus there was no mistaking LOVE.

I have often been surprised by my fellow Quaker's…

During my two decades as a Friend within the Evangelical sphere on influence, I have noticed two things when it comes to elemental (bread & wine, or juice) communion.  First, every book or article written by a Friend on the subject of the sacraments begins by lamenting the lack of understanding, by Quakers, of their own view of the ordinances.  Second, and I think this is mostly found within Evangelical Friends, is that elemental communion and non-elemental communion are, theologically…

A new pamphlet from Argenta Friends Press looks at civil disobedience from a Quaker perspective. Kenneth Hone’s Awake and Aware was inspired by last summer’s G8/G10 demonstrations in Toronto, Ontario. Hone is a practising Quaker and he explores activism through the lens of faith. This short work is both a careful analysis and a call to action. Hone urges readers to “be a champion and stand up for those who are unable to…

It’s often through story-telling that I rustle through my confusion, my wonderings, my gratitude, my worries, my joys, and my faith. Stories, in specific places, where I remember the smell of the air or the scents in a room; the sound of traffic, or church bells, or the ocean; the texture of pavement or dirt or upholstery of the car’s seat; the touch of a warm hand on mine or a strong arm around my shoulders; the taste of tears coursing to my lips. Stories, peopled with family, friends,…

Here is another stitching project I am currently working on. I love many of the "Goode Huswife" designs. I always find wonderful designs with very pleasing color schemes.  I do, however, sometimes...---->…

I'm feeling so blessed!  I made peace with my ex husband.  It took many years for me to forgive him for all that had been done, but once I was able to, I found the abundance in my life multiply.

My ex husband introduced me to Quakerism and for many years after our divorce I have not attended a meeting because I have not lived near one.   I have yearned to be together in spirit with Friends for so long, I can hardly believe I moved to an area where a meeting is less…

I make Historic Clothing-copies of garments from history. I attend meetings and events of Living History groups where everyone I see is wearing clothing from the era the group covers. For many years I have contemplated moving into the field of Historic Plain Dress (female only, as I never took the 7-year-long Master tailoring course.) But whether I do that or not, I'm left with a dilemma; As a professional costumer, is wearing Plain Dress myself a witness, or advertising?

(I wore…

I know there must be many of you ladies and men who enjoy doing various arts and crafts, and frankly...I would love to see your work!  So I decided to make a new blog where you can post and display pictures of what you've created. What follows is my first post.  So please stop by and join!

In my reading this morning I came across the verse in Romans 2:16.  Did you ever read the bible and one verse just seems to jump up off the page at you in 3-D technicolor? (ok, slight exageration, but it did jump out at me lol)...

Read more here---> A Simple Life in the City

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 I enjoy browsing papers posted to the Social Science Research Network.  Recently I read Fighting the New Wars of Religion: The Need for a Tolerant First Amendment by Leslie C. Griffin of the University of Houston Law Center, posted June 30, 2011.  She discusses tolerance expressed in words and actions by American religious groups in the public square, and criticizes religious groups for weilding the bully pulpit as well as the…