I Am Not A Ghost: The Memories Our Bodies Carry

A message delivered at Earlham College Meeting for Worship on August 20, 2023 While they were talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them andsaid to them, “Peace be with you.” They were startled and terrified andthought that they were seeing a ghost. He said to them, “Why are youfrightened, and why do doubts arise […]

A Reflection on Micah 6:8

“Do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8) I was recently asked what it means to live a Quaker lifestyle (which for me is a Christian lifestyle), and I felt a strong pull to reflect on it more than just the casual answer that I could have given. In that reflection, […]

(Review) How the Body of Christ Talks

God is a community of persons, a community that is open to humankind in all our woundedness and immaturity, making a space for us to participate in and contribute to the reign of God on earth as it is in heaven. How the Body of Christ Talks by C. Christopher Smith In How the Body […]

With whom are you crucified today?

If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will save it. Luke 9:23-24 There are a variety of calls to be “crucified with […]

(Review) Quaker Quicks: What do Quakers Believe?

Two things in Quaker Quicks: What do Quakers Believe? that impressed me from the start were the avoidance of Quaker jargon (plain speech for the modern age!), and the focus on the present rather than idealizing the faith and activism of past generations of Quakers. This book provides a clear and concise overview of Quaker […]

Un-Deserving

For we each of us deserve everything, every luxury that was ever piled in the tombs of the dead kings, and we each of us deserve nothing, not a mouthful of bread in hunger. Have we not eaten while another starved? Will you punish us for that? Will you reward us for the virtue of […]

Does a clear conscience matter?

My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me. 1 Corinthians 4:4 One of the things I’ve always struggled with was whether I was unwittingly awful, sinful, or condemned. It made sense in my Calvinist upbringing. There really was no way to know if I was […]

A Listening Heart

So give your servant a discerning heart… 1 Kings 3:9 One of the things I’ve found most moving in Quaker worship is the focus on listening. I sit, whether in Meeting for Worship or on my own, and listen for wisdom, comfort, challenges, or whatever may come. It’s not always an easy task. It takes […]

Statement of Faith

Below is a statement I wrote to share with other members of my Meeting, as we worked on structure and curriculum for religious education. I hope to use it as a reference and beginning point as I develop these and other ideas over time. There is an inherent value in everyone and everything, which can […]