In this powerful reflection ESR MDiv student Anne M. Hutchinson shares about the loss of her son. 

"I had the opportunity to travel to Whittier Friends Church outside of LA this past weekend. I was invited by the dean of my seminary (Earlham School of Religion or ESR) to come and speak about entrepreneurial ministry, which is a name being applied to ministers working outside of traditional church settings. It’s a growing reality and one…

Students in Steve Angell's "Creation of Modern Quaker Diversity" class this fall were asked to imagine a scenario in which Joseph John Gurney and Elias Hicks met up in a present-day context with which the students are familiar. Below is one of the resulting essays, from MDiv student John Edminster:

The following is the text of a message delivered during worship by ESR student Travis Etling on September 22, 2015. 

Harper Lee's new book, "Go Set a Watchman" (the title is from Isaiah 21:6), is her second published novel.  Her first novel, the highly acclaimed “To Kill A Mockingbird,” was published in 1960, some fifty-five years earlier.  “Go Set a Watchman” is set in the same fictional Alabama…

ESR Dean Jay Marshall delivered the following message during Earlham School of Religion Worship on April 29, 2015:

I consider blessing to be a subversive act. The disposition that chooses to encounter the other with affirmation and hope, instilling courage,…

College student Samantha Siebert reached out to ESR's Leatherock Professor of Quaker Studies Stephen Angell to complete a questionnaire on Quakerism for a project in her religion class. Below are her questions and his responses. Do you think he got all of the answers right?

ESR MA student Tracy Davis completed this essay for her Quaker Mysticism course with Carole Spencer.

Quakers are mystics. Friends testify to a communicative Creator who is both transcendent and immanent, present among us, even within us. Our practices of silent waiting worship, corporate…

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…

ESR's Carole Spencer shares her reflections on leading a recent retreat on "Images of God":

A basic assumption of the workshop is that God is beyond all words and images, yet we need symbols and metaphors to be open to the mystery of the divine in which we live. A second assumption is that our language…

The following is the text of a message delivered during worship by ESR student Travis Etling as part of the ESR Board of Advisors meeting on September 28, 2014. 

I think that a robust religious imagination helps us to think about the future. Vision has to do with looking forward, looking outward. If contemplative…

The following is a review of John Dear's book, The Nonviolent Life, by ESR student Christie Walkuski. Dear is the keynote speaker for ESR's 2014 Ministry of Writing Colloquium on October 31-November 1.  You can learn more about that event and register online here. As we lead up to the Colloquium, you are invited to join the ESR community in reading The Nonviolent Life during the…

On Thursday, August 28th, ESR and Bethany Theological Seminary shared their opening convocation in Bethany's Nicarry Chapel. Students, faculty and staff joined together to worship and listen to the message presented by ESR Ministry of Writing Professor Ben Brazil. 

ESR alum and current Richmond First Friends pastor Derek Parker delivered this message during worship there on Sunday, August 24, 2014:

ESR graduate Scot Miller is currently working to complete a Doctorate of Ministry at Western Theological Seminary. This is the second in a series of essays that are meant to contribute to that project.