Foreword—I spent more than half of 2013 at Pendle Hill in Wallingford, PA, and fell in love with many things about it. My latest passion is with their pamphlets. Here I have, after reading them, set down the most impressive excerpts of each, with rare paraphrasing and additions of my own [in brackets]. Most of all I am impressed with the timelessness of these pamphlets, the old- est of which go back more than 80 years.
Anthony Manousos; 1992)
About the Author—Anthony Manousos attended Princeton Meeting as of 1985; he joined in 1986. He earned a Ph. D. in Classics & 18th century Bri- tish Literature, and has taught at 5 colleges and university. He has led work- shops on writing & Soviet-American reconciliation at Friends General Confe- rence, conducted retreats, & published poems in Friends Journal. He was the Wilmer Young International Peace and Reconciliation Scholar at Pendle Hill. He married Kathleen Ross, a Methodist minister; they have had a challenging joint venture together.
The chief value of the Russian experiment for Americans is as a chal- lenge to our thinking Henry Hodgkin
Surely there can be no question that much of the dangerous strain be- tween our country & other countries comes from our rich standard, which we are not willing to share, except piecemeal. . . out of our surplus. If Americans could . . . do with less . . . in order that the poorer nations might have necessi- ties, we might become the leader of a peaceful world. When we scoff at Russia for [not meeting our standard] we are planting the seeds of war. Mildred B. Young (PHP #90)
The Quaker Theory of Christian responsibility has prompted religious journeys, relief missions and messages of goodwill to Russians [and others]. Anna Brinton (PHP #62)
[The Beginnings of Soviet-American Reconciliation]—My Soviet- American reconciliation work has taught me that each of us can do our small part in peacemaking just by learning to listen. We discover that we have much to offer each other. I had a strong leading to go to Philadelphia and do a peace work project. There I met Janet Riley; she also had a strong leading. She spoke of compiling and publishing a book of poetry and fiction by contempo- rary Soviet and American writers.
The book’s concept began with Kent Larabee, who walked into the So- viet Union in 1983; he was arrested. He preached so movingly about peace that they took him to the Soviet Peace Committee. When Larrabee published “A Quaker Meeting in Moscow?” strong feelings, for & against, surfaced among Friends; his project would conflict with ongoing Friends activities by both Philadelphia & London YMs; the Quaker US/USSR Committee was formed. The Committee decided that its goal would be to create “spiritual linkage” between East & West.
About the Author—Anthony Manousos attended Princeton Meeting as of 1985; he joined in 1986. He earned a Ph. D. in Classics & 18th century Bri- tish Literature, and has taught at 5 colleges and university. He has led work- shops on writing & Soviet-American reconciliation at Friends General Confe- rence, conducted retreats, & published poems in Friends Journal. He was the Wilmer Young International Peace and Reconciliation Scholar at Pendle Hill. He married Kathleen Ross, a Methodist minister; they have had a challenging joint venture together.
The chief value of the Russian experiment for Americans is as a chal- lenge to our thinking Henry Hodgkin
Surely there can be no question that much of the dangerous strain be- tween our country & other countries comes from our rich standard, which we are not willing to share, except piecemeal. . . out of our surplus. If Americans could . . . do with less . . . in order that the poorer nations might have necessi- ties, we might become the leader of a peaceful world. When we scoff at Russia for [not meeting our standard] we are planting the seeds of war. Mildred B. Young (PHP #90)
The Quaker Theory of Christian responsibility has prompted religious journeys, relief missions and messages of goodwill to Russians [and others]. Anna Brinton (PHP #62)
[The Beginnings of Soviet-American Reconciliation]—My Soviet- American reconciliation work has taught me that each of us can do our small part in peacemaking just by learning to listen. We discover that we have much to offer each other. I had a strong leading to go to Philadelphia and do a peace work project. There I met Janet Riley; she also had a strong leading. She spoke of compiling and publishing a book of poetry and fiction by contempo- rary Soviet and American writers.
The book’s concept began with Kent Larabee, who walked into the So- viet Union in 1983; he was arrested. He preached so movingly about peace that they took him to the Soviet Peace Committee. When Larrabee published “A Quaker Meeting in Moscow?” strong feelings, for & against, surfaced among Friends; his project would conflict with ongoing Friends activities by both Philadelphia & London YMs; the Quaker US/USSR Committee was formed. The Committee decided that its goal would be to create “spiritual linkage” between East & West.
After nearly a year of meeting, Janet Riley and Jay Worrall went to the Soviet Embassy in Washington, D.C. Janet said: “That’s when we came up with the idea for a joint book of poetry and fiction called The Human Experience.” It seemed like a way had opened for me. I felt a great deal of urgency about So- viet-American relations at this time. The Human Experience could help “dispel the poisonous atmosphere that has kept us from knowing each other, and lay the foundation for a peaceful future.” Some experts on Soviet affairs were skeptical whether the book could be done, particularly by amateurs.
Like many citizen-diplomats of this period, we had good intentions but little knowledge of Soviet language and culture; this was both a strength and a weakness. Many 19th century Quakers who went to Russia were similarly unprepared & unsophisticated in their approach; they “followed their leadings,” sometimes with mixed results. Thomas Shillitoe had no agenda, no clear pur- pose when he went to Russia in 1824. A pamphlet he wrote caught the attention of Czar Alexander. The 2 men met, spoke about social problems and had silent worship. Such was his “ministry of presence.” In 1892, Joseph J. Neave and John Bellows went to Russia to help the persecuted Doukhobors. They met Leo Tolstoy who offered to donate the proceeds of a book; Bellows considered the offer “immoral” and refused it. Friends’ unsophisticated reliance on leadings continues.
In the early stages of the book project, I had a chance to meet my first Russians; one could have passed for an American academic. I found myself thinking, “Why he’s human, just like us.” However great our intellectual know- ledge or sophistication may be, our lack of face-to-face experiences often cause us to imagine that they aren’t “like us.” Thanks to the outreach of Janet and Jay, we were also fortunate to have friends at the Soviet Embassy such as Oleg Benyukh and his chauffeur.
After encounters such as these, I was becoming hooked on the charms of citizen diplomacy, but I still felt some reluctance about making a commitment to this project. [I doubted that I had enough resources or was qualified for this kind of work]. [I joined the Princeton Quaker meeting], and had the chance to travel around the country, meeting Zen masters, hermits, priests, Sufis and Tibetan monks. This hardly seemed like appropriate preparation for working with the Russians on a joint book project. But I knew I had to do what God was clearly leading me to do, in spite of my apparent lack of qualifications.
Like many citizen-diplomats of this period, we had good intentions but little knowledge of Soviet language and culture; this was both a strength and a weakness. Many 19th century Quakers who went to Russia were similarly unprepared & unsophisticated in their approach; they “followed their leadings,” sometimes with mixed results. Thomas Shillitoe had no agenda, no clear pur- pose when he went to Russia in 1824. A pamphlet he wrote caught the attention of Czar Alexander. The 2 men met, spoke about social problems and had silent worship. Such was his “ministry of presence.” In 1892, Joseph J. Neave and John Bellows went to Russia to help the persecuted Doukhobors. They met Leo Tolstoy who offered to donate the proceeds of a book; Bellows considered the offer “immoral” and refused it. Friends’ unsophisticated reliance on leadings continues.
In the early stages of the book project, I had a chance to meet my first Russians; one could have passed for an American academic. I found myself thinking, “Why he’s human, just like us.” However great our intellectual know- ledge or sophistication may be, our lack of face-to-face experiences often cause us to imagine that they aren’t “like us.” Thanks to the outreach of Janet and Jay, we were also fortunate to have friends at the Soviet Embassy such as Oleg Benyukh and his chauffeur.
After encounters such as these, I was becoming hooked on the charms of citizen diplomacy, but I still felt some reluctance about making a commitment to this project. [I doubted that I had enough resources or was qualified for this kind of work]. [I joined the Princeton Quaker meeting], and had the chance to travel around the country, meeting Zen masters, hermits, priests, Sufis and Tibetan monks. This hardly seemed like appropriate preparation for working with the Russians on a joint book project. But I knew I had to do what God was clearly leading me to do, in spite of my apparent lack of qualifications.
Janet was similarly unprepared for this kind work, [and had to forge ahead, sometimes meeting stiff resistance & having to spend her own money] to keep her dream [of Soviet-American reconciliation] alive. I learned from her that, even with a leading, one has to do quite a bit of hard work to make a miracle happen. Oleg Benyukh said: “Any effort along these lines to foster peace and understanding cannot be wasted.”
[Preparation, Collaboration, Publication]—During this “gestation peri- od” I undertook a crash course to teach myself about the Russian language and culture; I discovered I have deep affinities with the Russians. The Com- mittee was broke and decided to let me go because I was eager for the trip and had volunteered to pay my own way. The Committee and I trusted my Inner Guide. A Quaker philanthropist read my article in Friends Journal and called to offer a contribution of $14,000. I am sure the Spirit was taking care of us.
[Preparation, Collaboration, Publication]—During this “gestation peri- od” I undertook a crash course to teach myself about the Russian language and culture; I discovered I have deep affinities with the Russians. The Com- mittee was broke and decided to let me go because I was eager for the trip and had volunteered to pay my own way. The Committee and I trusted my Inner Guide. A Quaker philanthropist read my article in Friends Journal and called to offer a contribution of $14,000. I am sure the Spirit was taking care of us.
We left in early January and during “the coldest [winter] since General Frost defeated the Nazis.” Russia was like a fairyland, the world out which Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker emerged—snow mists and birches, and long myste- rious nights of oriental dreams. In -30°F (-35°C) we walked over to Red Square. As if by magic, a Russian appeared speaking flawless English and carrying a bag full of furry Russian hats.
[Janet had gone to Russia & connected with a publisher who was fas- cinated with New Age crystals]. At a meeting in which we were supposed to sign a contract, we were told by his assistant that this publishing house was not authorized to do fiction. After this discouraging meeting, I collapsed in bed with jet lag & flu, & could hardly move. It seemed as if we had come to Moscow for nothing. We got a phone call the next day saying that the publi- sher was going to introduce us to an another publisher. While we waited we made the rounds in Moscow to introduce ourselves to journalists & at the American embassy; we also went church-hopping.
[Janet had gone to Russia & connected with a publisher who was fas- cinated with New Age crystals]. At a meeting in which we were supposed to sign a contract, we were told by his assistant that this publishing house was not authorized to do fiction. After this discouraging meeting, I collapsed in bed with jet lag & flu, & could hardly move. It seemed as if we had come to Moscow for nothing. We got a phone call the next day saying that the publi- sher was going to introduce us to an another publisher. While we waited we made the rounds in Moscow to introduce ourselves to journalists & at the American embassy; we also went church-hopping.
[In the Baptist church], the presence of the Spirit could be unmistakably felt in the radiant faces of the congregation [made up of] families & young peo- ple as well as the elderly. The people greeted us so warmly & lovingly it was almost overwhelming. The Baptist minister Alexei Bishkov explained the Bap- tist faith’s history in Russia, which began about 100 years ago, when the Bible was translated from Slavonic into the vernacular. Our driver was also named Alexei. He didn’t speak any English but manage to communicate well anyway. We shared William Penn’s “Let us try then what love will do” on a postcard in Russian with him, & became fast friends.
We met & talked to Archmandrite Valentin in Suzdal, joined together in silent worship, & were invited back the next day for a Blessing of the Water ceremony. A choir chanted Russian hymns as we walked down to the [Nerl] river. Carved into the ice was a cross-shaped hole surrounded by candles; after being blessed the water was collected as holy water. [An American Friend we met was bitterly critical of Russian Orthodox priests].
Our primary means of making spiritual links with the Russians was not through established religion but through literature. We were “led” either by luck or by the agency of a Higher Power to 2 Soviet literati [George Andjaparidze and Tatiana Kudryatseva] who proved crucial for our project. Even today it seems miraculous to me that 2 Quaker “innocents abroad” happened to en- counter 2 Soviets who were so eminently qualified to make such a project happen. Our project could not have succeeded without a healthy balance between the inspired amateurism of Friends and the hard-headed realism of dedicated professionals.
We met & talked to Archmandrite Valentin in Suzdal, joined together in silent worship, & were invited back the next day for a Blessing of the Water ceremony. A choir chanted Russian hymns as we walked down to the [Nerl] river. Carved into the ice was a cross-shaped hole surrounded by candles; after being blessed the water was collected as holy water. [An American Friend we met was bitterly critical of Russian Orthodox priests].
Our primary means of making spiritual links with the Russians was not through established religion but through literature. We were “led” either by luck or by the agency of a Higher Power to 2 Soviet literati [George Andjaparidze and Tatiana Kudryatseva] who proved crucial for our project. Even today it seems miraculous to me that 2 Quaker “innocents abroad” happened to en- counter 2 Soviets who were so eminently qualified to make such a project happen. Our project could not have succeeded without a healthy balance between the inspired amateurism of Friends and the hard-headed realism of dedicated professionals.
Over the next 1½ years, the Soviet and American editorial boards met jointly both in the Soviet Union and in the US to decide [what to put in the anthology]; decisions were made by consensus. Sometimes what seemed a brilliant poem to the Russians came across to us as trite, and vice versa. Be- cause we shared a love of literature and felt a commitment to a common goal, we were willing to listen to one another, make adjustments, and learn the sometimes difficult art of collaboration. [When Tanya and I saw The Human Experience for the 1st time, we exchanged the look of parents] with a new baby. [When the “communion” of the book’s writers were gathered together] writers on both sides “were groping towards a new world now in the process of being born—where major problems are global in nature and call for a global response.”
[The Human Experience’s Aftermath]—One of the discoveries I made in compiling this book was how often morality and religion surface as themes in the current Soviet writings. Yevtushenko, in his poem “On Border, anticipates the crumbling of the Berlin Wall & alludes to Christ as the crucial link between peoples: “Thank God,/ we have invisible threads and threadlets/ born of the threads of blood/ from the nails in the palms of Christ./ These threads struggle through/ tearing apart the barbed wire,/ leading love to join love/ and anguish to unite with anguish. [I met Yevtushenko and together we visited Pasternak’s grave].
[The Human Experience’s Aftermath]—One of the discoveries I made in compiling this book was how often morality and religion surface as themes in the current Soviet writings. Yevtushenko, in his poem “On Border, anticipates the crumbling of the Berlin Wall & alludes to Christ as the crucial link between peoples: “Thank God,/ we have invisible threads and threadlets/ born of the threads of blood/ from the nails in the palms of Christ./ These threads struggle through/ tearing apart the barbed wire,/ leading love to join love/ and anguish to unite with anguish. [I met Yevtushenko and together we visited Pasternak’s grave].
A deep respect for Truth & Freedom lies deep in the Russian soul. Many came to our Quaker meetings & took part in our worship. At a conference, while no writer was a believer, they were all firmly convinced that religion could play an important part in the moral regeneration of Soviet society. One writer said: “Our government tried to build a super society without the power of faith … It is time for a spiritual revolution in our country.” The more you are exposed to their literature, the more you realize what great spiritual gifts they have to offer to all.
[Tatiana Pavlova]—I have had many heart to heart talks with a Russian historian named Tatiana Pavlova who has come to epitomize for me the spiri- tual legacy of Russian writers. Tatiana found out about Quakers in books long before she encountered them in person. She studied the Second English Re- public [i.e from Oliver Cromwell’s death to the restoration of Charles II]. She was moved by the fact that 164 Quakers signed a petition asking to take the place of those who had been imprisoned for their religious views. Tatiana’s re- search into Quakerism and radical Protestants drew the attention of British Friends, some of whom went to Moscow and met her. British Friends visited her on a fairly regular basis over the next few years. Quaker worship provided her a sense of freedom and connectedness that was lacking in the Orthodox practice.
Her involvement with American Friends began in 1985 when she met Janet Riley and Jay Worrall; she experienced a deep spiritual affinity with them. She spent 2 months in England, met with scholars, did extensive research, and addressed London Yearly Meeting. From January to April, 1990, she traveled around the US, speaking at various Friends groups on the East Coast, in California, and the Midwest.
[Tatiana Pavlova]—I have had many heart to heart talks with a Russian historian named Tatiana Pavlova who has come to epitomize for me the spiri- tual legacy of Russian writers. Tatiana found out about Quakers in books long before she encountered them in person. She studied the Second English Re- public [i.e from Oliver Cromwell’s death to the restoration of Charles II]. She was moved by the fact that 164 Quakers signed a petition asking to take the place of those who had been imprisoned for their religious views. Tatiana’s re- search into Quakerism and radical Protestants drew the attention of British Friends, some of whom went to Moscow and met her. British Friends visited her on a fairly regular basis over the next few years. Quaker worship provided her a sense of freedom and connectedness that was lacking in the Orthodox practice.
Her involvement with American Friends began in 1985 when she met Janet Riley and Jay Worrall; she experienced a deep spiritual affinity with them. She spent 2 months in England, met with scholars, did extensive research, and addressed London Yearly Meeting. From January to April, 1990, she traveled around the US, speaking at various Friends groups on the East Coast, in California, and the Midwest.
I was curious to find out how Tatiana viewed America. One of the 1st observation the Tatiana made is how the people in the US and Russia have much in common temperamentally. Her most vivid impressions were of people and landscapes that seemed to express the American soul. [She met an artist with AIDS and] was very touched by his struggles and his hopes as an artist. [She encountered] the American landscape in the beaches of Malibu, Hunting- ton Gardens and the San Gabriel Mountains.
Another spiritual high point of her trip was the weeks she spent at Pendle Hill. “For me this is a truly blessed community.” Tatiana’s intense concern for spiritual values made me see the US and my own life in a different way. I begin to realize how much my wife and I own and take for granted; [Russian lifestyles are much more materially limited]. [I found out how much when I went] back to Russia in the summer of 1991 to lead a Quaker work camp. Decent food was scarce, plumbing facilities were primitive, and the homeless and hungry were becoming more prevalent. Friends are working to translate Quaker classics into Russian, and going to Russia and the Ukraine [to stand beside and educate them about providing social services, social activism, and Quakerism].
Another spiritual high point of her trip was the weeks she spent at Pendle Hill. “For me this is a truly blessed community.” Tatiana’s intense concern for spiritual values made me see the US and my own life in a different way. I begin to realize how much my wife and I own and take for granted; [Russian lifestyles are much more materially limited]. [I found out how much when I went] back to Russia in the summer of 1991 to lead a Quaker work camp. Decent food was scarce, plumbing facilities were primitive, and the homeless and hungry were becoming more prevalent. Friends are working to translate Quaker classics into Russian, and going to Russia and the Ukraine [to stand beside and educate them about providing social services, social activism, and Quakerism].
[Tatiana wrote about] the need to maintain our links with our new found Russian friends: “We are forging links with the world outside; we have much to offer [in return]: 1,000 year tradition of religious culture; writers as the consci- ence of the people. We want to talk to the world & we need the assurance that the world is listening. Perhaps, slowly & by degrees, hostility can be replaced by tolerance, indifference by concern, & anger by love.”
Can the world’s problems be solved just by listening? Listening may be simple; but it isn’t easy. I am grateful [to have been] shown another way to relate to people, one that relies on developing sensitivity and trust. [There is a place and a need for professionals who seek] an intellectual understan- ding of other cultures. There is also a place for inspired amateurs, for those who listen and labor in love.
Can the world’s problems be solved just by listening? Listening may be simple; but it isn’t easy. I am grateful [to have been] shown another way to relate to people, one that relies on developing sensitivity and trust. [There is a place and a need for professionals who seek] an intellectual understan- ding of other cultures. There is also a place for inspired amateurs, for those who listen and labor in love.
1992)
About the Author—Teruyasu Tamura is a professor of American lite- rature at Chukyo University in Japan. He went to Tokyo University of Foreign Studies and received a Master’s from International Christian University. His family belonged to a Soto Zen temple near Izumozaki. It wasn't until he visited the University of PA as a scholar that he began sitting in zasen. He received guidance from Eido Shimano Roshi and Koun Yamada Roshi. This essay is a written version of what he shared at the forum of Swarthmore Friends Meeting in 1990.
[I]—I attended Sunday worship at Swarthmore Friends Meeting & Pen- dle Hill, and a weekly meeting for Zen sitting held at Pendle Hill. The present article tries to compare Quakerism with Zen Buddhism; it is a personal attempt to understand some features of Quakerism that I have happened to notice as a Zen follower. Zen is a sect of Buddhism. Zen is awakening to one’s original na- ture or true self through the practice of zasen (sitting meditation in a cross- legged posture) and becoming free from all delusions and sufferings.
Soto Zen does not seek enlightenment, and does not use kōans (enig- matic questions). It insists on shikantaza (just sitting). Soto and Rinzai Zen are remarkably different in approach, but the final goal of these 2 schools is to transcend the ego and realize the Original Face, the true nature, or the True
About the Author—Teruyasu Tamura is a professor of American lite- rature at Chukyo University in Japan. He went to Tokyo University of Foreign Studies and received a Master’s from International Christian University. His family belonged to a Soto Zen temple near Izumozaki. It wasn't until he visited the University of PA as a scholar that he began sitting in zasen. He received guidance from Eido Shimano Roshi and Koun Yamada Roshi. This essay is a written version of what he shared at the forum of Swarthmore Friends Meeting in 1990.
[I]—I attended Sunday worship at Swarthmore Friends Meeting & Pen- dle Hill, and a weekly meeting for Zen sitting held at Pendle Hill. The present article tries to compare Quakerism with Zen Buddhism; it is a personal attempt to understand some features of Quakerism that I have happened to notice as a Zen follower. Zen is a sect of Buddhism. Zen is awakening to one’s original na- ture or true self through the practice of zasen (sitting meditation in a cross- legged posture) and becoming free from all delusions and sufferings.
Soto Zen does not seek enlightenment, and does not use kōans (enig- matic questions). It insists on shikantaza (just sitting). Soto and Rinzai Zen are remarkably different in approach, but the final goal of these 2 schools is to transcend the ego and realize the Original Face, the true nature, or the True
Self. To study Zen is to: forget self; be enlightened by myriad things; drop off the body & mind of self or others. [In comparing Zen with Quakerism, Takashi Takemoto states]: “If you can be free from dualistic rumination, you can see the Absolute. There is nothing mystifying about Zen. Zen is clarity itself.” I would say that all mystical experiences, whether Buddhist or Christian, are fun- damentally the same, as long as they are genuine.
[II]—William James gave “4 marks” of what may justly be called mystical: it defies adequate expression; it gives deep insight; it soon passes away; pas- sivity, not will power [is essential]. All mystical experiences [can] be reduced to what might be called “the direct, personal experience of the Being of beings.” I was amazed at the similarity of the methods and teachings of The Cloud of Unknowing to Zen’s way of attaining enlightenment. For example, The Cloud of Unknowing teaches the monk to stop thinking or using imagination in any way; a simple reaching out directly toward God is sufficient. The final aim of this exercise is to let go of everything and makes one’s mind completely silent, to stop the working of intellect and imagination, to let go of ego.
Compare Zen master Yengo’s talk on enlightenment with George Fox’s Journal. 1st, Yengo: “Let body and mind be turned … inanimate … a stone or a piece of wood. When a state of perfect motionlessness and unawareness is obtained all signs of life will depart and every trace of limitation will vanish; you have become open, light transparent. You gain an illuminating insight into the very nature of things, which appear as fairylike flowers having no graspable realities. Here is the original face of your being. This is when you surrender all.
George Fox: “I saw into that which was without end, can’t be uttered & of the greatness and infinitude of the love God, which can’t be expressed by words. [All things were new; & all the creation gave unto me another smell than before, beyond what words can utter]. For I had been brought through the ocean of darkness & death …which chained down & shut up all in death.” If we construe Fox’s “ocean of darkness & death” as the worldly desires or the discursive ideas, we will find these statements coincide underneath. [What Yengo said] reminds me of “the Inner Light.”
George Fox: “I saw into that which was without end, can’t be uttered & of the greatness and infinitude of the love God, which can’t be expressed by words. [All things were new; & all the creation gave unto me another smell than before, beyond what words can utter]. For I had been brought through the ocean of darkness & death …which chained down & shut up all in death.” If we construe Fox’s “ocean of darkness & death” as the worldly desires or the discursive ideas, we will find these statements coincide underneath. [What Yengo said] reminds me of “the Inner Light.”
[III]—Jung’s “unconscious” theory will be very helpful. It casts a great deal of light upon various psychic phenomena & religious experiences. It gives us clues as to what methods are more effective. The conscious forms the top [point] of the psyche. Immediately below spreads a large area of memory, called the pre- or subconscious, where we accumulate knowledge or memories. Deeper down lies a personal unconscious and below that the collective uncon- scious. It is held in common by a group of people, [beginning with] a family or social group. The deeper we go down, the wider group the unconscious' layers represent. It is a storehouse of Jung’s “archetypes.”
Jung stops there, but we may trace the past back to the time when hea- ven and earth were yet undivided, and assume a still deeper, limitless layer of the collective unconscious, the “universal unconscious.” The problem of religi- ous practice is how we can reach this deepest layer of the Unconscious. Si- lence is the place where God lives, and silence is the way to reach there. Quakerism and Zen put much stress on silence in their daily worship.
To reach a deeper layer of the psyche we must first quiet the overlying strata. We must suspend mental activity in the conscious and subconscious by not stirring up the 5 senses. Almost every method or device is nothing but a means to keep us complete silence. The deeper our inner silence is, the deeper we can sink into our unconscious. Coventry Patmore says: “What the world calls ‘mysticism’ is the science of ultimates, the science of self-evident Reality.” Both Quakerism and Zen have mysticism and are religions of experience, and ways of living.
[IV]—The words “worship and “vocal ministry” clearly show that there is a distinctive difference between Quakerism and Zen. We never consider Zen services as worship [of something beyond ourselves]. In Zen, Buddha is none other than human beings, animals, plants, mountains, and rivers. God in Quakerism seems to stand at once within a human being and beyond the person. Quakers and Buddha will come to the same monism when they attain union with God in their mystical experience.
A greater, more serious difference consists in “vocal ministry.” It is a dif- ference from Zen and a confusion and frustration to Quakers themselves. In Zen we talk of “mayko,” which means “state or universe of the devils.” It is the many internal phenomena that happen to [distract and] prevent us from attai- ning enlightenment. However wonderful mayko may be, we must let go of them. As they come at very deep layers of the psyche, they show that we are not very far from enlightenment.
To reach a deeper layer of the psyche we must first quiet the overlying strata. We must suspend mental activity in the conscious and subconscious by not stirring up the 5 senses. Almost every method or device is nothing but a means to keep us complete silence. The deeper our inner silence is, the deeper we can sink into our unconscious. Coventry Patmore says: “What the world calls ‘mysticism’ is the science of ultimates, the science of self-evident Reality.” Both Quakerism and Zen have mysticism and are religions of experience, and ways of living.
[IV]—The words “worship and “vocal ministry” clearly show that there is a distinctive difference between Quakerism and Zen. We never consider Zen services as worship [of something beyond ourselves]. In Zen, Buddha is none other than human beings, animals, plants, mountains, and rivers. God in Quakerism seems to stand at once within a human being and beyond the person. Quakers and Buddha will come to the same monism when they attain union with God in their mystical experience.
A greater, more serious difference consists in “vocal ministry.” It is a dif- ference from Zen and a confusion and frustration to Quakers themselves. In Zen we talk of “mayko,” which means “state or universe of the devils.” It is the many internal phenomena that happen to [distract and] prevent us from attai- ning enlightenment. However wonderful mayko may be, we must let go of them. As they come at very deep layers of the psyche, they show that we are not very far from enlightenment.
In Quaker meeting for worship, [even the best of vocal ministry is] may- ko, and some] of them did not seem to be even mayko. Vocal ministry does not seem to be advisable from a Zen point of view. William James said: “Qua- kerism is a religion of veracity rooted in spiritual inwardness.” All Quakers want to know God directly, but vocal ministry seems to be preventing it. Eliza- beth Gray Vining asks: Does the church exist to provide spiritual inspira- tion or to change the social system?
The problem of vocal ministry seems to have been felt even in the early 18th century. Voltaire attended a meeting for worship that had [“bad”] vocal mi- nistry with a friend. When asked why they suffered such nonsense, the Friend replied, “We are obliged to suffer them because we can’t tell whether any one who rises is moved by the spirit or by folly.” “Vocal ministry” out of deep silence has a marked and different quality from products of reasoning. Deep silence must continue for at least a ½ hour before this can happen. Some of my Qua- ker Friends share my doubt and prefer completely silent worship.
The problem of vocal ministry seems to have been felt even in the early 18th century. Voltaire attended a meeting for worship that had [“bad”] vocal mi- nistry with a friend. When asked why they suffered such nonsense, the Friend replied, “We are obliged to suffer them because we can’t tell whether any one who rises is moved by the spirit or by folly.” “Vocal ministry” out of deep silence has a marked and different quality from products of reasoning. Deep silence must continue for at least a ½ hour before this can happen. Some of my Qua- ker Friends share my doubt and prefer completely silent worship.
[V]—The 2nd stage of Quaker history is usually referred to as Quietism, the doctrine that every self-centered trait must be suppressed or quieted in order that the divine may find unopposed entrance to the soul. Many modern Quaker writers don’t seem to like Quietism. They believe that vocal ministry is the driving force in Quakerism. This distinctively Quaker element helps turn their religious conviction of universal brotherhood & sisterhood into concrete philanthropic activities and behaviors. Zen enriched the lives of the upper and middle classes, and taught the lower classes quiet submission to karma. A Bodhisattva is supposed to try to save others before saving themselves. But Zen has done very little to save the poor and suffering.
One aim of Quaker worship is to know God; another is to hear the voice of God, and follow its leadings to act. Psychologically, these 2 aims are com- pletely different activities that are carried out on different levels of the psyche and require different spiritual exercises. When it comes to knowing God expe- rientially, one must ignore even valuable images or thoughts, and come down into the universal unconscious. Vocal ministry, on the other hand, seems to derive from the tradition of Biblical prophets.
One aim of Quaker worship is to know God; another is to hear the voice of God, and follow its leadings to act. Psychologically, these 2 aims are com- pletely different activities that are carried out on different levels of the psyche and require different spiritual exercises. When it comes to knowing God expe- rientially, one must ignore even valuable images or thoughts, and come down into the universal unconscious. Vocal ministry, on the other hand, seems to derive from the tradition of Biblical prophets.
Howard Brinton writes: “Quakerism might be said to combine 2 concepts without any attempt to work out a consistent system … The silent waiting … & the cultivation of contemplation and sensitivity to inward leading is more Greek than Hebrew. The ministry in Quaker meetings stems from Hebrew prophetism rather than Greek mysticism. Quakers are now known more for their work than for the depth of spiritual life; more for doing than being.” Vocal ministry is the vital force in Quakerism; it is essential to Quaker life and practice, though not ideal for deep contemplation. Weekly corporate worship could be done with the expectation of leadings to share with the congregation. Daily devotions should keep regular practice of complete inner silence.
[VI]—William Penn says: “The Christian convent & monastery are within, where the soul is encloistered from sin … True godliness doesn’t turn men out of the world, but enables them to live better in it … [I admire solitude ... retreats for the afflicted, the tempted, the solitary & devout, where they might undistur- bedly wait upon God . . . & being thereby strengthened may with more power over their own spirits, enter into the business of the world again] … When ne- cessary, shut the doors & windows of the soul against everything that would interrupt waiting upon God no matter how pleasant … or needful at another time. Then the power of the Almighty will break in.”
[VI]—William Penn says: “The Christian convent & monastery are within, where the soul is encloistered from sin … True godliness doesn’t turn men out of the world, but enables them to live better in it … [I admire solitude ... retreats for the afflicted, the tempted, the solitary & devout, where they might undistur- bedly wait upon God . . . & being thereby strengthened may with more power over their own spirits, enter into the business of the world again] … When ne- cessary, shut the doors & windows of the soul against everything that would interrupt waiting upon God no matter how pleasant … or needful at another time. Then the power of the Almighty will break in.”
If we ignore the trifling differences, we may say there are 2 approa- ches to contemplative worship. One is to try not to think; the other is to con- centrate one’s whole mind on one formless thing [like “love” or “God”] to prevent one’s mind from thinking, feeling, or imagining. Pure Land Buddhism was star- ted by Priest Shinran; [one] only calls on the name of Amida Buddha. It spread rapidly among ordinary people, mostly uneducated people and workmen. There are a few truly enlightened people among them. For modern intellectuals who are immersed in floods of information and are thinking every moment, it is almost impossible to practice it.
One of the most important discoveries of Oriental religions is that body and mind are so closely related with each other that we can control our mind by controlling our body and breathing. Yamada Roshi said: “To think rightly as well as to keep inner silence, you had better sit in a right posture [with a straight back].” Quakers are not much aware of the importance of the right sitting pos- ture as Zen Buddhists.
[VII]—As Quakers talk of the historical Christ, so the Mahayana Bud- dhists talk of 3 bodies of Buddha: historical, earthly body (Nirmānakāya); true spirit of Buddha’s teaching (Sambogakāya); transcendent, cosmic body or ulti- mate reality (Dharmakāya). When one attains enlightenment, one will know the true spirit of Buddha and the highest wisdom directly. They will not stick to the Buddha’s teachings in sutras. When the teachings differ from or conflict with their experiential knowledge, they are ready to throw them away or kill the Buddha.
Quakerism is a religion of God and Zen is a religion of self. They are both based upon mystical experience. They both make much of silence and simple life; they both put more stress upon faith and life experience than up- on idle words. Quakers could learn from Zen’s way of sitting, and Zen must learn from Quaker’s peace efforts and selfless devotion to social services.
[VII]—As Quakers talk of the historical Christ, so the Mahayana Bud- dhists talk of 3 bodies of Buddha: historical, earthly body (Nirmānakāya); true spirit of Buddha’s teaching (Sambogakāya); transcendent, cosmic body or ulti- mate reality (Dharmakāya). When one attains enlightenment, one will know the true spirit of Buddha and the highest wisdom directly. They will not stick to the Buddha’s teachings in sutras. When the teachings differ from or conflict with their experiential knowledge, they are ready to throw them away or kill the Buddha.
Quakerism is a religion of God and Zen is a religion of self. They are both based upon mystical experience. They both make much of silence and simple life; they both put more stress upon faith and life experience than up- on idle words. Quakers could learn from Zen’s way of sitting, and Zen must learn from Quaker’s peace efforts and selfless devotion to social services.
More & more people are becoming aware that all the nations on the earth are one family sharing the same destiny. [While] no longer obsessed with nuclear war, the environmental pollution caused by scientific & technolo- gical progress has become so grave it might possibly be the ruin of human- kind. Too much computerization may make us little better than robots. What is needed is religion that goes beyond the world of opposites, into the deep reality of existence, a religion that knows humankind shares one & the same life with the rest of nature, a religion that knows & [acts]. I hope such a religi- on will emerge out of close communion between Quakerism & Zen.
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sidered from a Literary Point (by Peter Bien; 1992)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR—Peter Bien is Professor of English and Com- parative
Literature and co-ordinator of Peace Studies at Dartmouth College
Blessed be the man/who in this
confusion,/ this verbal muteness,/utters a truthful word or 2./Yet even more
blessed be the man/ who, wrestling his meaning from the bosom of silence,
acknowledges the perfection of Unutte- rableness.
S. S. Harkianakis
“I love to feel where words come from” Chief
Papunehang of the Dela- ware
Nothing could be more unlike the natural
will and wisdom of human beings than this silent waiting … People thus gathered
together are inwardly taught to dwell with their minds on the Lord and to wait
for his appearance in their hearts … Thus the forwardness of the spirit of man
is prevented from mixing itself with the worship of God. The form of this worship is completely naked
and devoid of all outward and worldly splendor. n
“Whoever should hear this Word in the Father—where it is completely still—must be quite still and cut off from all images and forms.” Meister Eckhart
[Silence:
Then and Now]—Robert Barclay’s
point in the quote at the beginning of this section is that silence subtracts
from worship the intervention of the human will and all other forms of
idolatry. This is an understanding that
should be as valid for Quakers today as it was in the 17th century. While hono- ring the older understandings of
silence, I nevertheless want to reconsider silence from a 20th
century point of view.
While early
Friends wanted to remove language as a factor in human knowledge of the divine,
I am suggesting that the divine may best be under- stood not by removing language
but rather by investigating its nature. [In
E. M. Forster’s A Passage to India is
an enigmatic English woman named Mrs. Moore].
She goes to a group of caves, which have a peculiar echo. “Whatever is said,” the narrator tells us,
“the same monotonous noise replies … ‘Boum [‘bou-oum, or ‘ou-boum] is the sound
as far as the human alphabet can ex- press it...The echo began to undermine her
hold on life … And suddenly at the edge of her mind, Religion appeared, poor
little talkative Christianity, and she knew that all its divine words only
amounted to “boum.” Then she was
terrified.”
What
has terrified Mrs. Moore is that she has discovered a realm be- yond language,
which, because it refuses to make distinctions, undermines her previous
religiosity, her Christian value system.
Forster’s “boum” is the Hindu mystic syllable Om , which as the Chandogya Upanishad says, holds together all speech. Poor Mrs. Moore can
only feel undermined by Om , which seems to her to rob the world of value.
[Samuel
Beckett and the Bible]—In Samuel
Beckett’s novel Murphy, the title
character’s major desire is to halt the natural man’s roving imagination.
Murphy doesn't want to do, he wants simply to be. He seeks to reach Barclay’s
goals by tying himself to a rocking chair & rocking himself out of all the
self- workings & motions of his mind. Beckett’s point is that whereas our
noblest effort is to escape contingency, we are condemned to remain the
playthings of contingency, the only escape being death. Murphy is in his own
way waiting on the Lord.
We find the same distinction between
speech & silence in the tradition of the Hebrew & Christian
Testaments. In Genesis 1:1-6; 8-10, God
reached out from a distinctionless, timeless, shapeless, placeless state of
Being in order to do something,
making distinctions of time, shape, & place, & then na- ming [those
times, shapes & places]. [Once made,
man] imitated the divine process of naming by which distinctions are ratified.
[An infant gradually makes distinctions & separations, gives itself a name,
thus separating itself from its parents & siblings, splitting itself in 2,
becoming “I” & "me]. God does not
have a name because God is distinctionless & bodiless.
[When
asked for God’s name, God answered, “I AM WHO I AM (I will be what I will be).
Even the Y-H-W-H is a verb (“to be”) rather than a noun. Hence the distinction between naming &
namelessness, & more generally between speech and silence, may be found
in the Hebrew Testament. John’s Gospel begins with “In the beginning was the [Logos]
Word, & the Word was with God, & the Word was God. It announces the
Trinitarian paradox of distinction- within-unity and Jesus’ divinity and
humanity. What precisely did John mean by the term logos? Is the Word to be
connected chiefly with the Doing aspect of God head or with the Being aspect?
[Ancient
Usage of Logos]—[One definition is]: Logos, the word or out- ward form by which the inward thought is
expressed, and the inward thought itself; logos
includes both the Latin ratio and
oratio. The internalization may
have begun as far back as 500 B.C. with Heraclitus, who “resorted to logos as the eternal principle of order.” The figure closest to John in the
evolution of logos was Philo Judæs
(40 A.D.), for whom logos was the
divine prototype of which the created universe is but a copy. The parallels between John and Philo are
striking. Logos and Sophia are
commonly paired as synonyms.
The
issues raised here were discussed in post-Biblical theology long before Fox &
others picked them up in the 17th century. Tertullian said around 200 A.D., “For before
all things God was alone—being in God’s self & for God’s self universe, and
space, & all things … Even then God had God’s own Rea- son with God. God had not Word from the beginning, but God
had Reason even before the beginning.”
The
distinction between words and the Word and between words and silence can be
attested in discussions shortly after the New Testament was written. The implication is that Word should be
identified with silence. If we link the
Word with Being rather than Doing, it follows that the Word becomes
para- doxically silent. Meister Eckhart
wrote: “whoever should hear this Word in
the Father—where it is completely still—must be quite still and cut off from
all ima- ges and forms.” Silence is a mark
of the Deus absconditus [the hidden
God].
[George
Fox & the Word]—George Fox
wrote: “They asked me whe- ther the Scripture was the word of God. I said, ‘God was the Word, the Scrip- tures
were writings; and the Word was before writings were, which Word did fulfill
them.” For Fox, even the memorable words
of poor little talkative Chris- tianity from “Let there be Light” to “It is
finished” are inauthentic compared with the unified, enduring unfragmented
Reason or Light or Life or Word that John says “was God.”
In
abandoning the inauthenticity of language, the silent worshipers in a Friends’
meeting ritualistically participate in Godhead.
Naming divides; silence unifies.
In the meeting’s silence, we flee Doing and enter Being. Words be- come a barrier between us and
Godhead, which can best be expressed in hu- man terms, Nietzsche claims, by dance
& music as opposed to speech, since neither dance nor music distinguishes or
separates, the way speech does.
Henri
Bergson takes Nietzsehe’s metaphysical critique of language and applies it to
human psychology. He said that the ever-changing inner life is “inexpressible,
because language cannot get hold of it without arresting its mobility.” “There is no common measure between mind and
language.” [While the Quakers tried to
eliminate language from worship, in the end] we some- times feel relieved despite
ourselves when the dynamic processes of the si- lence that are so deliciously
melting into one another to form an organic whole are interrupted by spoken
ministry.
Even while waiting on the Lord
we remain the fragmented playthings of contingency, & as such are condemned
to use words, those emblems of frag- mentation.
[But in the end] “the Word became flesh [and dwelt among us].” [There was a danger that flesh would] “melt
into spirit, imitation of Christ slides into identity with Christ,” as in the
case of James Nayler. Let us hope that
our own Quaker meetings may honor the paradox that the Word contains words
within itself, just as the inactive God head contains with itself the
possibility of action.
[Applying
Beckett to Quaker Silence]—Beckett’s
trilogy explores the synergy between silence and speech. The successive [trilogy] characters strive to
do less and less and to be more and more, thereby escaping contingency [into]
the unity and integrity of the silent Word.
And, of course, they fail. They
are us. They are every Quaker who sits
in meeting week after week striving to escape the language of what Barclay
calls the human being in his natural state. The religious quest to escape language is predicated on
self-conscious- ness and self-consciousness is impossible without language. Silence is not speech’s elimination so much
as its seed-bed. In silent meeting for worship we attempt to enter the code, [the system offered by the silent Word], to “give birth to something wordless in words.”
This is what happens in Beckett’s novel.
The
extraordinary force of a successful Quaker meeting is its reenact- ment of the
nature of Godhead through silence & of the synergy between that Godhead and
us through the spoken messages that emerge from silence and die back into
it. The synergy between silence and
speech releases extraor- dinary amounts of creative energy. So, like Quakers in meeting Beckett goes on,
caught within this dilemma, yet also energized by it. In Beckett, as in mee- ting, the silence of the
wordless Word paradoxically gives meaning to the mes- sages, just as the messages
paradoxically give meaning to the silence.
304. Mind What Stirs in your Heart (by Teresina R. Havens; 1992)
[About
the Author]—Teresina Rowell
Havens was born 1/13/1909 and died 2/14/1992 in [the home in Portland OR Japan Teresina
FOREWORD—I am a liturgical dancer, whose understanding of dance
& prayer has been altered by some of the very processes that Teresina
PART
I. MOVEMENT AS CREATIVE FORCE—In the
beginning, ac- cording to the ancient Chinese sages was Flow—the Rhythm, the Tao,
the Process. Out of this flowing “Empty Source,” emerged the primal polarity
of Yin & Yang, Inflow & Outflow, 10,000 things; movement precedes form.
In all things great & small the whole of nature is interwoven with interpenetrating
rhythms & movements, & forms are created in the interplay between them.
This view turns upside down the classic Western view [where the form comes 1st,
then movement].
This
primordial moving energy in dance cannot be split into “spiritual” vs. “physical.” Through the movement of our bodies we
experience the unity of spirit and breath.
The way you move may be your teacher; we learn through moving. Preoccupation with the amazing circuitry of
the brain has tended to blind us to the mutual
interaction between the brain and the rest of the orga- nism. Kinaesthetic experience may lead to insight.
PART II.
BREATHE/Exercise 1: Breathing with One Another—The divine Ruakh
(breathing Spirit) brought form out of chaos in the Beginning &
continues to renew us in each moment of out-breathing and in-breathing.
Be- tween the first opening of our tiny diaphragm at birth to the last closing of
our faithful, weary diaphragm our life unfolds. With spiritual awakening or “2nd birth,” this sensitive intersection of the
autonomic with the central nervous networks becomes pliable & yields to
mindful intent.
Join
someone near you to form pairs. Sit down
together, one behind the other with their hands gently on the middle of the
front partner’s back, over the lungs and diaphragm. Be aware of the rhythmic out and in. The listener may gently reinforce the
partner’s out-breath with very light
pres- sure. After both have done it, face
one another and share insights gained from listening to breathing rhythm.
Exercise 2: Breathing with Penington—After stretching, sit down on the floor; center
down. Let your hands gently support your
own out- and in- rhythm. As you listen to
Penington, let your body respond. Listen
to:
Breath is the prayer of the living child to the Father
of Life, in that spirit
which quickened it, which giveth it the right sense of
its wants. The Fa-
ther is the fountain of life, & giveth forth breathings of life to God’s child
at God’s pleasure. /// My dear Friends, let us retire,
& dwell in the peace
which God breathes./// In time of great trouble there
may be life stirring
underneath . . . in which there may be a drawing nigh
& breathing of
the heart to the Lord. /// Oh! … small breathings, small
desires after
the Lord, if true & pure, are sweet beginnings of life. ///
Wait to feel the
Seed, & the cry of thy soul in the Seed’s breathing life.
Each of us may have our own
intention or aspiration or “cry of our soul” to send forth on the breath. You may want to try it daily & write down
what you learned
for future exploration.
Exercise 3: Breathing Life into the Dry Bones—[In nature there is a place that represents the Divine Breath-Wind-Spirit. It is] the “Sacred Breathing Mountains
Exercise 3: Breathing Life into the Dry Bones—[In nature there is a place that represents the Divine Breath-Wind-Spirit. It is] the “
The
Black Mesa aquifer is endangered by the demands on its water. We must broaden our prayerful breathing to
include the needs of our planet. Ima- gine
enacting Ezekiel 37: 1-11a and the spiritual “Dem Dry Bones”, with a nar- rator,
Ezekiel, Dry bones [rest of class] and scarves for wind. [Close with] “Then he said to me, “Son of
man, these bones are the whole house of Israel
Let no
Friends be discouraged, but Walk in the Truth & the love
of it, & to it
bend. Walk as
becomes the glorious Order of the Gospel,
having the Water of Life in your
Cisterns, and Bread of Life in your
tabernacles & fruit on your trees, to the praise of God. Dwell in the
Truth & walk in the love of the Truth, in patience
As to Unity,
it makes all like it self, that do obey it; Universal to
live out of [away from] narrowness & self. Unity watches over all Pro-
fessors of it,
for their good, to keep within its bounds, & walk within its
Order. George
Fox
PART III. WALK/ Exercise 1: Placing Feet
on the Earth—Scout the outdoor area beforehand & establish
limits for the area to walk in. Find a part- ner,
sit down, gently hold and bless one another’s feet. Everyone move out- doors in a circle, standing
in pairs; the “mover” closes her eyes; the witness/ supporter gently holds the
mover’s hand. Feel your connection with
the earth, the pull of gravity. The
supporter is there to provide protection, not to guide. Walk as if you were sauntering to the Holy Land , trusting the land beneath your feet to be holy. Each partner will have about 5 minutes to
walk blindfolded, with a few minutes afterward to share the experience.
B. Walking with the Psalmist—We have “listened” with the soles of our feet. We have
paid attention to the feel of the earth beneath us. We have be- come aware of how
much we depend on our eyes in relating to Nature & the world around us. We
now turn to a way to discover new dimensions of meaning in Biblical &
Quaker metaphors by physically walking them. There is a natural affinity
between the Hebrew & Quaker images
of the spiritual life as a walk; the very way
we move is an expression of our inner state, and in turn affects our outer
state.
Exercise 1: “Moving a Verse from the
Bible”—In this exercise each one is
invited to select a passage from the Old Testament (OT) passages listed below
and to express its spirit in movement and posture. The OT passages are: Lev. 26:13; I Kings 8:23; Pss. 18:33, 36;
35:6; 40:2; 55:22; 90:15; 119:45; 135:7; Prov. 19:2; Job:2-3; Isaiah 40:
31. Find a partner and together choose one passage. The warm-up exercises are designed to free up
inhibited parti- cipants for group movement [i.e. tossing around a “ball of
air”]. Read the pas- sage and “listen” to
the body images it invokes; let your body lead you. Don’t be too literal. Return to center spot. Invite each group to share a movement- insight. Close with a period of silence.
Individually,
you may “move a verse”; you may also use a verse as a mantra or seed-verse in
your daily life. When used with body
movement, this practice has power to reinforce intention, to remind us of our direction. Walk very slowly. Repeat the phrase until it begins to say
itself. A mantra may help to keep wandering thoughts at bay and may open the
door to a deeper silence. Sidney
Carter’s “George Fox Ballad” may be walked and moved to. How do
we walk differently when we walk in the light?
C. Walking in Truth/Exercise: Walking
with Fox—We shall open our- selves to
the cumulative impact of Fox’s walking advices because it is difficult to enact
them singly, literally, one by one. They
are suggestive seeds to take into our imagination as we walk, letting them
germinate there at their own pace.
Choose one or more of the following phrases, [and walk with them]; find
your own pace.
Let no Friends be discouraged, but Walk in the Truth & the love
of it, & to it bend. Walk as becomes the glorious Order of the Gospel,
having the Water of Life in your Cisterns, & Bread of Life in your taber-
nacles & fruit on your trees, to the praise of God. That ye may all come,
come to know, how to Walk up to God in God’s wisdom. WALK soberly,
honestly, modestly & civilly & lovingly & gently & tenderly to all people.
Dwell in the Truth & walk in the love of the Truth, in patience.
All you who know this Glorious Gospel of Peace; live and walk in it. Keep your feet upon the top of mountains and sound deep to the Wit-
ness of God in everyone. Then will your feet be beautiful, that publish
Peace, and to the captives proclaim Liberty.
As to Unity, it makes all like it self, that do obey it; Universal to live
out of [away from] narrowness & self. Unity watches over all Profes-
sors of it, for their good, to keep within its bounds, and walk within its Order. Meet together, & in the Measure of God’s Spirit wait, that with it
all your Minds may be guided up to God, to receive Wisdom from God.
PART IV. WAIT/A. Woolman and the Ecology of Haste—Our purpose in this part is not movement per se, but deeper understanding of our Quaker heritage and its implications for our lives today. John Woolman was, like Fox, an indefatigable walker, and also pondered explicitly the symbolic meaning of walking. Woolman traveled long distances on foot, declining a lift. He refused the ride because he could not conscientiously contribute to the oppression of post-horses and post-boys. Woolman points out how both the world of Nature and the human spirit pay a price for our haste. He said:
“The true Calmness of life is changed into Hurry … many by ea-
gerly
pursuing outward Treasure, are in great Danger of withering as
to the inward
state of the Mind.” “Many have looked on
one another,
been strengthened in superfluities, one by the example of another
… Dimness has come over many, and the
Channels of true Brotherly
Love been obstructed.”
“In the love of money and in the wisdom of this world, business is proposed, then the urgency of Affairs push forward, and
the mind can-
not in this state discern the good & perfect will of God
concerning us.”… “[Even when I say] ‘I must needs go on; and in going on I hope
to keep
as near the purity of Truth as the business be fore me will admit of,’
the
mind remains entangled and the Shining of the Light of life into the
Soul is obstructed.”
Exercise 1: “Shining of the Light … into
the Soul.”—Walk forward while
repeating the quote beginning with “I must needs go on …” How do
you walk when the Light is blocked from shining into your soul? How would it change our economic justice
efforts to focus on the psychic costs of our competitive economic system? Where
are Woolman’s observations about hurry most relevant today?
B. Penington’s Way of Waiting—Is your
meeting graced with a wai- ting spiritual worship? Let us explore [and “listen to”] how our bodies react
to the necessity of waiting.
Exercise 1—Allow ample
physical space. Imagine yourself in a parti- cular waiting situation; be
specific. Find a posture expressing how
your whole organism is feeling. Hold
that posture until you can repeat it. In
a group, take turns showing your posture & letting the others guess what you
are waiting for.
Exercise 2: Waiting for a Birth—Find a posture suggestive of waiting for an inward
development. Imagine you are pregnant. How would your posture change as you
progressed through the process? Share postures and discove- ries with the group.
Exercise 3: Waiting to Feel the Seed with Penington—“Oh, wait to feel the Seed, and the cry of thy soul in the breathing life of the Seed … Wait for the risings of the power in thy heart … Be still and quiet, and silent before the Lord, not putting up any request to the Father.” Let your body respond spontaneously and directly to Penington’s images, without undue thought. Make some notes on what you have discovered.
Exercise 3: Waiting to Feel the Seed with Penington—“Oh, wait to feel the Seed, and the cry of thy soul in the breathing life of the Seed … Wait for the risings of the power in thy heart … Be still and quiet, and silent before the Lord, not putting up any request to the Father.” Let your body respond spontaneously and directly to Penington’s images, without undue thought. Make some notes on what you have discovered.
Through the practice of “Authentic Movement” [which is
only the title of this discipline], I learned to wait till my whole body was
quiet & ready to be moved from within from a deep inner impulse.
Expectation, programs, agen- das had to be set aside. “If so moved” is familiar
language to Friends. This discipline also fostered a discernment that answers
the queries: How do we know when we “are moved?” How do we distinguish our own will
from a true “leading?”
It
is not easy to wait or just be unprogrammed; it takes effort to stop and wait. Penington suggests:
Come out of the knowledge and comprehension about
things, into
the feeling life … without reasoning, consulting, or
disputing. ///There
is a river, a sweet, still, flowing river, the streams whereof will make
glad thy heart. And learn but in quietness and stillness to
retire to the
Lord and wait upon him. /// And so, sink very low and become very
little, and know little; know
no power to believe, act, or suffer anything
for God, but as it is given thee.
Another movement discipline grounded in Zen is found
in Japanese Noh dances. Janet Heyneman
writes: “I still understand very little
of what goes on in the plays, but I know how the boards feel under my feet … It
is a kind of waiting, this mindless repetition of movement, waiting for articulation of an un- derstanding that is too physical for consciousness. It’s a meaning the brain can’t explain, but
that the body understands. Noh dance had
developed out of the sacramental movements of a human being filled by a
god. It would un- cover the movements that
trace the furrows of human inner life.”
In the mysterious organism of Mother Gaia, including
not only our planet but our interstellar system, everything affects everything
else. The unfolding of the divine Seed
within us is so momentous, so unpredictable, that we cannot afford to clutter
our worship with pre-programmed hymns, prayers and sermons; the only
appropriate response is to wait.
Keeping deliberately and faithfully unprogrammed is a way to keep the
void or center open. One format to
encou- rage spontaneity is to leave a spacious center free for movement, with
mem- bers sitting until moved to move.
Trust the Unexpected.
V. THE
“KEEPER” AND THE “FORWARD PART”—This
exercise utili- zes the Breathing, Walking, and Waiting of the previous
chapters. It may be used by itself as a
single workshop without preparation. “It
is one thing to sit waiting to feel the power, and another to feel and keep
within the sense and limits of the power when Ye come to act… Oh, wait and
watch to feel your keeper keeping you within the holy bounds and limits, within
the pure fear, within the living sense, while ye are acting for your God; that
ye may only be God’s instrument.” [In
this scenario there are three figures]: The “Forward Part” (“outruns her
leadings”); the “Keeper” (i.e. “within holy bounds and limits; the
Quaker/Pilgrim (asked to wait). The first
2 interact with the Quaker/Pil- grim; each person tries every role. Each group shares their movement-disco- veries
with the whole circle.
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305. Spiritual Discernment: The Context and Goal of Clearness
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305. Spiritual Discernment: The Context and Goal of Clearness
Committee (by Patricia Loring; 1992)
About the Author—Patricia Loring has
been released by Bethesda (MD) Friends Meeting for a ministry in nurturing spiritual life, [i.e.] creating/ leading adult religious education; spiritual
development; retreat ministry; workshops; spiritual guidance; writing. She
spent 5 terms at Pendle Hill & completed long-term programs in Spiritual
Guidance & Group Leadership at Shalem Institute in Washington, D. C.; this
pamphlet grew out of those pro- grams. She was told to write something on the
clearness process as spiritual discernment herself.
Divine
Guidance and Spiritual Discernment—Spiritual
discernment lies at the heart of Quaker spirituality and practice. Discernment is the faculty we use to
distinguish the true movement of the Spirit to speak in meeting from the wholly
human urge to share. Discernment is a
gift from God, not a personal achievement.
We all have some measure of this gift.
As we grow and are faithful in the spiritual life we may well be given
more. The development of discernment is
one dimension of a lifelong, ongoing conversation with God, in which we learn
to listen to a profound and subtle language and “let our lives speak.” As we grow in our willingness & God-given
capacity to carry out God's will or to live in tune with God’s will, we
grow towards living a discerned life.
Many
early Quakers did not distinguish [clearly] between a motion of the Spirit
& the most pressing or plausible impulse within themselves. Cruel
pun- ishments inflicted on James Nayler for his ride into Bristol
Discernment:
Tests of Leadings—[The
“guidelines” Quakers deve- loped] for discerning leadings remained rough,
experiential, & uncodified. As a
result, there are no handy lists of discernment tests in early Friends’ writings of. The earliest group of signs Friends had as they were testing their leadings is the “fruits of the Spirits” [Galatians 5:23 ,
namely] “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, trustfulness,
gentleness & self-control” [They were as- sumed present in a life truly lived
in the Spirit]. Some of the fruits indicated what has been called the moral
purity of an action [i.e. freedom from self- willed, self-serving or
self-centered motivations]. Promptings
truly of divine origin are more likely to persist over time, despite outward
checks.
Obviously
self-control is a closely related indicator of moral purity. Early Friends [also talked of the “the
cross.” [some were led to the conviction
that the more humiliating to the individual were consequences, the more likely
it was to be a true leading. Another
rough grouping of fruits of the Spirit illumi- nates the quality of a leading by
its results in community life. To
experience unity in God’s love bears fruit in love of neighbor. The fruits of the Spirit, kind- ness and gentleness, are dimensions of the first fruit love.
The
experience of being united in Truth produces the expectation [of consistency
between the] perceptions of persons attuned to divine guidance. Early on, quite
discerning people submitted leadings to others whose capacity for discernment
they respected. In discerning a formal leading in ministry to the body of
Friends, it became customary to bring it into the corporate discernment
process of the meeting for business. What is sought is a sense of deep,
interior unity which is a sign the members are consciously gathered together in
God & may therefore trust their corporate guidance. Friends have so valued
the fruit of group discernment that they have been willing to labor hard &
to wait long to come into unity with one another before proceeding in a matter
of substance.
Friends
utilize the Bible, the writings of spiritual leaders or saintly people from
Quaker & other traditions. They work
with passages they feel are in the spirit of the essence of the work rather
than with exceptional passages. Peace has been regarded both as the Spirit's fruit & as a sign of authenticity. Quaker experience has been that living
close to the Spirit has the effect of harmonizing and reconciling both within
and between persons. A new task disturbs
a per- son’s peace; faithfully discharging the task leads to restoration of inner
peace. The word “clear” is today more
apt to be used in the shape of a leading than in discerning when a leading has
been fulfilled.
Being
Led as Response to Outer Needs—Sometimes
something happens in the wider community or world disturbs a person’s peace,
and some action will be required to restore it.
The wait and solution may be short and simple, or prolonged [and
long-term]. For the person whose
mystical sense of unity has extended to the whole of creation the agony of
being in the world and at odds with its values and actions may be acute. It requires [real] discernment to discover
whether the ministry called for requires prophetic speech, humble and hidden
activities, bold and dramatic action, or other novel and previously unimagined
course.
We
are responsible for faithfully discerning and performing our own part in the
process, leaving the outcome to God. The
more deeply we come under guidance ourselves, and stay faithful [to all
direction, the less] time, energy, and attention [we have] for trying to bring
and keep others up to our mark. Peace
which is neither apathy nor avoidance has also been a sign for Friends that they
are in compliance with God’s will for them.
There are no rules in this mat- ter of leadings & discernment. Leadings come from the mysterious depths of God.
Being
Led as Growing into our True Selves—Divine
guidance doesn’t always beckon in outward events or situations. Some of our
leadings are promptings by inward impulses to growth or change, [when a logical
course becomes barren or shuts down completely]. To review lives in light of
Eternity fosters respect for the unpredictable timing, interconnections, &
[consequences] of events, for the manifold variations in human lives. Each of
us is a unique part of the unfolding of the universe, with unique constellations
of gifts, to be exer- cised in God’s service.
We
may be led to areas of weakness or disability to teach us humility. Most of the
time we are led to function in our gifts' area; indeed, we’re respon- sible
for doing so. Identification of spiritual gifts doesn’t begin with system, but
with the vision of unique giftedness in each person in service of a harmoni- ous
spiritual community. The development of the individual’s gifts is for the spi- ritual
community’s sake & God’s purposes; [that is often not the same as] the prevailing system, [& in fact at times critiques prevailing systems [&
their faith- fulness to divine unfolding]. In addition, there is no one identity
or leading which defines a person for a lifetime.
Unprogrammed
Quakerism’s vision has been one of slow and steady change, [consistent
faithfulness & character]; early Friends called this “perfec- tion.” Their writings [indicate] deep willingness to
change and be changed, willingness to see and do and become whatever was
required of them in love and confidence in God.
[Paul’s expectation of] “unveiled faces like mirrors re- flecting the
glory of the Lord” [is meant] not just for a few, but of all of us as we enter
more intimately into relationship with God.
Thomas
Merton writes of false and true selves.
To the extent that the self is founded on or constructed of the labels,
expectations, or directives of other people, Merton calls it a false self. And to the extent that the self is
conceptu- alized rather than being made up of the activity of the undistorted
upwelling of Life in the individual it is false. The “perfection” of early Friends may be seen
as a movement from false self to true self.
At the entry of the pure breath of Life into us, at its taking shape in
us & our response, we find our most authen- tic self. The effort to come to the true self and to be
led through it, is discern- ment at its most profound level.
The Community's Role in Personal Discernment—Quaker tradi- tion held expectations that God would
raise up prophets from the community to speak to people for the good of the
community & the world. Individual & community were accountable to each
other for the prophetic role. [The com- munity would discern that a leading was
“of God,” & minuted its discernment, committing the individual to carrying
out the leading, and the community to support of the individual]. More
recently, it has meant financial assistance for the period of the
ministry.
We
can cultivate an environment among us which will foster one ano- ther’s spiritual
growth by directing & re-directing intention & attention to God. The
responsibility for spiritual nurture is shared by the members of the meeting,
[some having a greater gift for it than others]. The gift of vocal ministry was to bring the
community beyond outward preaching to the inward Teacher and Guide.
[The
elder’s gift might be to discern whether the vocal ministry’s source was from
the true self guided by experiencing the Truth] or from the false self’s need.
The elder’s interior experience of God’s work in his own heart & life was
integrated with sensitively observed experience of Quaker community life to
shape his discernment & guidance of others’ spirits. The proportions of
intuition & outward evidences in discernment varied depending on the
individual elder.
In the 19th century, the proportion shifted
heavily in the direction of out- ward evidences, [taking the form of discernment
by outward rules of dress & marrying within the community]. This sad
perversion of discernment by a peo- ple who professed to be guided by the spirit
of God was a major factor in the near-demise of unprogrammed Friends. [The gift
of eldership still exists al- though most meetings abolished the office].
Unofficial elders are hampered by lack of recognition, cooperation, and nurture of their own growth by their meetings.
The
Evolution of the Clearness Committee in the 20th Century—In the early part of the 20th century,
there seems to have been mainly relief at the removal of the eldership
authority. Young Friends became a
creative force in the Society.
Maintaining the Peace Testimony and initiating healing of the cen- tury
old division and wounds within Friends [became priorities]. Young Friends began the current adaptation of
clearness committees to discerning leadings and other questions of spiritual
import in individual’s lives.
The
purpose [of early clearness committees] was [more clearance than clearness], to go into the outward aspects of the
business or problem at hand, to determine the relevant & legitimate
questions which might be raised in refe- rence to it & to find information needed
for deliberation; actual discernment was left for the meeting for business.
Another use of clearness committees among Friends has been in requests for
membership, again more a process of clea- rance than clearness; the applicants
sense of leading to join Friends is often regarded as sufficient.
In
the 60s clearness committees began evolving into an instrument for matters too
personal or not sufficiently seasoned to bring under the weight of the meeting
for business. [The “new”] clearness
committee seems to offer a way back into community support and guidance at
critical times in people’s lives. [In
the process of evolution, the term “focus person” developed] for the one whose
questions or leadings are the focus of the group. There was no conscious effort to use the
clearness process [specifically] for spiritual discernment.
We go to a clearness committee with
heart and mind prepared, setting aside our own purposes, in holy expectancy of
whatever new thing God is bringing about, as we wait, centered in silence, we
trust we will be given the ears to hear what is significant and the words to
evoke what is meant to come forth. Patricia Loring
The
Clearness Committee as an Instrument for Discernment—Much of the vitality of the clearness committee lies
in its improvisational quality, which leaves both its form & its participants
open to the promptings of the Spirit. A
clearness committee should have members gifted with discernment developed in
their personal relationship with God.
They should be capable of restraining the very human impulse to give
advice. Support is given to the Truth of
the focus person’s leading by God and not to what could be a passing attachment
or mistaken judgment. [It is best if]
the committee members refrain from ma- king statements or suggestions, but only
questions.
The
questions should, in Parker Palmer’s words be “authentic, challen- ging, open,
loving questions so that the focus person can discover his or her own agenda …
Caring, not paternalism or curiosity, is the rule for questioners. The clearness process is profoundly counter-cultural
in assuming that the greatest help we give is to refrain from problem-solving,
to create a situation in which a person may discern for herself what is needed. The focus person’s discernment process may
not only be thwarted, but she will undoubtedly feel violated rather than
assisted by the imposition of someone else’s sense of reality in place of
encountering reality for herself.
It
begins with a moment of silence in order to give over one’s own firm views, to
place the outcome in the hands of God.
[It continues with listening], with as much complete attentiveness as we
can muster. Douglas Steere says, “To
‘listen’ another’s soul into a condition of disclosure and discovery may be
almost the greatest service that any human being ever performs for another.”
Many clearness committees find a natural rhythm which includes a good deal of
silence. It is to allow the questions
and the answers to sink into us in the silence which follows them, and to sink
into them. Some time for reflec- ting back
what was heard may be allowed.
Sufficient time in silence at the end may allow a sense of what has
emerged to begin to crystallize. A gift of ten- derness and love is often a fruit of gathering together in intimacy and open- ness to wait upon God’s guidance.
Details
of Preparation and Organization/In Conclusion—The focus person needs to be clear about what she
needs to discern. She puts into a FEW
pages of writing what is most important for her committee to know at the
outset. Her committee’s preparation will
be to read carefully, assimilate and hold [the focus person’s] background
[material] in the Light. Who is to ap- point the members of the
committee? It should be someone who
might be expected to have a developed sense of the gifts needed for the work and of potential committee members.
[Not
just anyone can be on the committee]; volunteers are discouraged, [as someone
who really wants to help] might have neither the requisite liste- ning ear nor
the capacity to restrain themselves from imposing their solutions on the situation. It is helpful to have another
member of the committee under- take responsibility for the convening the
committee and for directing the flow of the process.
In
era when the loss of community is being mourned, a clearness com- mittee may be
helpful in inviting greater involvement in one another’s lives. Within the committee, the focus person may
choose to establish areas of her life which are not open to questions, or
questions we may answer inwardly but gently decline to answer orally. Freedom to ask searching questions and to give honest intimate, or profound answers—or to decline to give answers— must be uninhibited by worry about where they will be repeated or how they will be
interpreted.
Is any record of the proceedings to be
kept? [If so, what, & how?] Should the entire matter be left as
unrecorded as a meeting for worship, in confidence that the process will work
in its own way and that what is forgotten is not required for the right
discernment?
Insights
often emerge [long after the session, when] the experience per- colates through
the consciousness, the unconsciousness and back again. Sometimes the result of the percolation is
that a new layer of questions has emerged and needs to be addressed in another
sessions. 2 hours generally seems to be
the maximum time that people can function with alertness in this kind of
intensely focused way.
The
crucial element for the meeting for worship for the conduct of busi- ness, [and
for the clearness committee] is the establishment of context of prayerful
attentiveness for the entire meeting.
Liberal amounts of silence be- tween utterances permits them to be heard
with all their resonances and taken below the surface mind. It can allow what does come forth to arise
spontane- ously from the Center.
Preparations need to be made, and then let go of, the better to see what
is in the present without preconception under the guidance of the Spirit.
We
go to a clearness committee with heart and mind prepared, setting aside our own
purposes, in holy expectancy of whatever new thing God is bringing about, as we
wait, centered in silence, we trust we will be given the ears to hear what is
significant and the words to evoke what is meant to come forth.
306. Four Doors to Meeting for Worship (by William P. Taber; 1992)
About the Author—William Taber is in his 11th year at Pendle Hill; he teaches about history, practice and spiritual of Quakerism. He wrote The Pro- phetic Stream (PH pamphlet #256). He and his wife,
INTRODUCTION—When some people attend their 1st Friends
meeting for worship, they feel themselves gathered into a living Presence &
they know they have come home at last; others find it difficult, but something
draws them back. A modern synonym for worship is adoration, an intense and
loving focus on That which is most dear and important to us. The writings of George Fox and many other
Friends all point to communion as central to Quaker worship; early preaching
was meant “to take the hearers to Christ and to leave them there.” [They did
and we can] enter at any time a reality which has always been there from the
beginning of time. One way to enter the stream is to imagine passing through 4 stages or doors which lead into and through the meeting for worship.
THE 1ST DOOR: THE DOOR BEFORE—[This door opens] when we find ourselves in a
worshipful state of mind at any time during the week; once a week is not
enough. [In our stressful time] it
becomes all the more important that we enter the Door Before many times a week
so that we may enter the meeting room already prepared in mind & heart &
spirit. [In this prepared state a person] will require less time to let go of
the rhythms & preoccupations of life & can therefore enter more quickly
& easily into full attention. People who have gone through the Door Before
often find it easier to stay in touch with the living Source & have a
gathered meeting.
Entering
into worship often feels to me somewhat like entering into a stream. Entering into the stream of worship needs no
justification to one who has experienced the healing, the peace, the renewal,
the expansion which accompanies this altered state of consciousness; [worship
is something I enter rather than do.
In some mysterious way this stream unites me with the communion of the
saints across the ages, [and with Christ].
Each
day is filled with countless opportunities for going through the Door Before,
for dipping into brief moments of communion with that eternal yet ever present
stream. [Making the most of such opportunities] seems to be one of the most
important steps toward real spiritual growth & a more meaningful meeting
for worship.
For some the time of going
to sleep at night or awakening in the morning can be a brief precious time of
remembering who and whose we are. Travel
can be a wonderful opportunity for going through the Door Before. [Seeking out and being aware of all the
beauty around us can provide] a momentary entrance through the Door Before, to
be touched for a moment, by the Stream “which makes glad the city of God
Moments of
pain or frustration can be converted into brief times of secret prayer for
ourselves and blessing for the problem. Eventually
this prac- tice of dipping in and out of the Stream, or going through the Door
Before, or practicing the Presence becomes an important part of each day, and
makes us ready for the rich communion of a regular meeting for worship.
It
takes time and patience for some people to feel the results of these spiritual
disciplines of the Door Before, [because we are culturally conditioned] to pay
attention to only a narrow band of physical & intellectual reality. I would give 4 suggestions for re-awakening
our [connection] to the spiritual dimen- sion: [simple regular spiritual
practice; focus word or phrase; feel and experi- ence beauty and wonder; worship
with a few spiritual friends. The
improve- ment from the 1st suggestion may be slow and a long time in
coming. The 2nd may be a
word, scripture passage or inspirational writing. The 3rd is often achieved by
cultivating those moments that are already there. The 4th can sometimes be more
powerful than individual worship & make being in the Stream easier to
recognize.
THE 2ND DOOR: THE DOOR INWARD—Passing through the 2nd door is when the
meeting begins. When does the meeting
actually begin? It often begins before its official start. Each time we
focus on & visualize the mee- ting-to-come we are already “beginning” the
meeting. The night before the meeting seems to be an especially good time to
focus attention for a few moments on the meeting to come. [The Living Stream we
touch that night] is the same stream which we shall enter when tomorrow’s
meeting gathers. Awakening on Sunday morning can be full of the joyous wonder
& sense of holy expectancy so characteristic of Jewish literature about
Sabbath. [Imagine] that on this day the Stream will be there waiting for us to
enter with our dear friends.
There
have always been a few Friends called to spend a special time of personal
“retirement” before meeting on Sunday morning; many found it helped their
experience of group worship later that morning. Entering the meeting room door can be a “body prayer” as we continue to
let body, mind, & spiritual senses seek attunement with the Stream in this
holy place of converging willing souls,
as we move toward a seat.
Virtually
all religious traditions have developed aids to help participants make the
transition from the ordinary state of mind into worship’s expanded
consciousness. A Quaker meeting requires worshipers—not just the minister [&
worship planners]—to give the same kind of loving focused attention to this
transition from 1 level of consciousness to another. [Different Friends have
different approaches]; they include 3 qualities: desire to be in the Pre- sence; focus,
alertness in God’s Presence; trust in
[floating safely] in the deep & Living Water of the Stream.
List of
possible approaches and images to use: Remember,
you are in the Presence; you are only
seeking awareness of it. Use a restful, easy-to- hold position; relax. Repeat
Lord’s Prayer or other inspirational phrase. Use mantra to lead towards the group experience of being open to the
work of God. Try spontaneous, free prayer. Pray for each person around the
room. Ima- gine: being in the Stream of Divine Presence; God’s transforming love [shi- ning upon you, bathing
you deeply]; love flowing to members; Jesus or some other Divine aspect being
present in the room; participate in a Bible story; imagine a Quiet Presence, a
Space opening within & around you.
The
combination of relaxed focus seems
especially helpful. As we learn to relax
our anxiety to do the right thing,
then technique becomes far less im- portant than our desire to be fully present. After
some difficult meetings we may wonder if we ever got there, [because of all the distractions we experi- enced]. The reality of God’s continuing,
transforming work within us becomes more and more evident as we realize that
there is a new steadiness, calm and centeredness underlying our daily
lives.
THE 3RD DOOR: THE DOOR
WITHIN—An experienced Friend can
usually feel the difference, that the meeting is “settled” or “gathered”; there's no signal or burst of light that accompanies a deepening quality of silence. For many people, it feels like being lifted or expanded into
another state of consci- ousness which enjoys an inward, effortless quietness.
Others may experience an effortless flow of logical thought about some problem.
It is as if we have stepped into a living stream full of renewing, healing
energy, a stream which reaches back & forward across time. Most of us are
not yet like the apostles & prophets; the Stream still has plenty of work
to do in cleansing & transforming us. [The Stream shares many qualities
with an earth- ly river: we can recognize when we are in it; it seems to have no
beginning & no end; it is always alive & flowing & changing; it
flows between recognizable boundaries. Traditions & scriptures help us to
know where the Stream may be found.
In
this living Presence it becomes safe for the ego to relax, [the self’s sharp
boundaries can relax and blur, and we can enter into a] sense of corpo- rate
reality, [“the body”. We can also]
become aware of being in the “mind of Christ.”
“Amazing grace and new perceptions in the Light” can also be very
painful. George Fox insisted that an
important work of the Light is to reveal to us how off-track and muddled our
lives really are. The same Light that
shows us [this] shows the way to get beyond it. In our more expansive, less judgmen- tal state of consciousness we may
become aware of new dimensions, or causes, outcomes of the problem as we
continue to hold it in the Light. It is probably best not to “worry” such a problem too long in any one meeting, but to allow the rhythms of the corporate silence to carry us farther out into the living stream.
For
some the Inward Work of Christ may bring a strong sense of inward healing, joy
peace, praise for the wonders of creation. For others the only words are
“unity, unity, unity…” We may see a familiar member in a new way, [what lies
beneath the outer mask]. We may become conscious of a face or a bent head across the room, that we are called to pray for that person, [or otherwise contact
them]. A person may be led to explore old memories in a dramatically new way,
[seeing where God & guiding had “been there all along.”]
The cumulative
effect of new perceptions brought about by Inward Work of Christ is to bring a
profound but subtle change in the way we relate to our- selves, other people,
animals, & all created things. We may find ourselves “un- der concern” to devote
time & energy to some need in meeting, the community, or beyond. If we
allow the “magic” of the meeting to do its work, our listening becomes absorbing the words rather than merely
hearing & reacting to them.
For
over 200 years, monthly meetings “recognized” or “recorded” those whom they
discerned as having a calling and gift in [vocal] ministry. These re- corded ministers were accountable to
each other, to the elders, and ultimately, their own monthly meeting. How
can the small number of modern ministe- ring Friends, or anyone who speaks, be
sure that we are not speaking too often, too long, or from our own ideas? The most sure way is to make cer- tain we
are feeling united both with fellow worshipers and with the Divine. [Eventually there will be] a skilled,
practiced awareness of the inward motion
and of the inward peace which follows such speaking.
It
is also important to recognize that the inward
motion can lead to many God-called activities other than speaking in
meeting. Sometimes those who speak
frequently in our meetings need to take a vacation from speaking for a
while. Even if I knew what the meeting
needed to hear, experience taught me that, if I spoke without a clear inward motion to speak, my words would
have little effect, and might even hurt.
There's a more important silent ministry
open to everyone in the meeting. This
“invisible ministry” helps the meeting reach that state consciousness in which
minds and hearts and will are opened and united so that the work of God may go
on among us. Some are drawn into secret
prayer for others during meeting. If we
have a message for the meeting but lack the inward
motion to speak it aloud, we can spend time silently “praying the message”
on behalf of the meeting. As we do this,
we sometimes forget who is holding whom, and we just rest wordlessly in the
amazing Presence. The effectiveness of
my ministry depends on the invisible, hidden faithfulness of people who seldom
if ever spoke in meeting more than I realized.
THE 4TH DOOR: THE DOOR
BEYOND—This privileged experience of
nourishing oneness must end sometime, & we must proceed through the Door
Beyond, shifting back to the more “normal” state of everyday
consciousness. For some, their
experience in meeting has helped them internalize the spiritual laws of cause
& effect about which Jesus spoke so powerfully. We may leave the meeting with a heightened
sensitivity to the injustice, violence, and pain all around. Fortunately, the same power that makes us
more sensitive also makes us more open to an increasing awareness of beauty and
spiritual re- sources which can enable us to be faithful followers of the way of
which Jesus spoke.
No
matter how exalted our experience may have been, it was never intended to be
“just a trip” without reference to the quality of our daily life and witness
in the week to come. We need to be very
intentional about this [brief but important] shift. At the end of each silence, it is helpful to
take a “token” out of the silence into our life in the world. What
new insight, what new understanding has this meeting time with God given me to
take into my daily life? [What change
have we promised to bring into our daily life]?
Perhaps the promise is simply to call to remember God more often in
our daily life. Each handshake [at the
close of meeting] is a token, a promise of our new or renewed openness to God
and of our commitment to go forth into the world with new eyes and a greater
faithfulness in all that we do.
307 Beyond Consensus: Salvaging Sense of the Meeting (by Barry
Morley; 1993)
About
the Author—Barry Morley belongs to
Sandy Spring (MD) Mee- ting. He taught in Quaker schools for 25 years and directed Catocin Quaker Camp for 23; he has had a variety of jobs. He has
become [very] concerned about “doughnut Quakerism” [i.e. those who] diminish
the spiritual core from which the values & concerns originally emanated.
[He believes in a Religious Society of Friends, rather than an Ethical Society
of Friends].
I.
Never Consensus—Sense of meeting
is a gift. It came to the Qua- kers through their commitment to continuing
revelation, which could lead to revealed corporate decisions. For some reason, present-day Quakers seem intent upon rejecting sense of the meeting.
I hear “consensus” everywhere. I
hear “consensus” whenever Quakers gather to conduct business. I don' t be- lieve in consensus; I am committed to the sense of the meeting.
Streamlining
the language has affected the name Quakers use.
Very few Quakers know that their founders considered themselves Friends
of the Truth. [Friends seem to need
reminding] that they are the Religious Society
of Friends. Through a similar process,
Quakers may already have arrived at a place where they are more comfortable
with consensus than with sense of the meeting.
What is the difference between
consensus and sense of the meeting? Reaching
consensus is a secular process. In sense
of the mee- ting God gets a voice. Sense
of meeting is a commitment to faith.
Sense of meeting hears all the concerns, then moves beyond the verbal expressions to the spirit of the concern in order to discern what is ‘right’
for the group.
A
consensus, a decision that all of us accept brings us to an intellec- tually
satisfactory conclusion. Because
everyone has given up something to attain consensus commitment to the
conclusion is often shallow. [At Catocin
Quaker Camp, I tried to force a consensus without imposing my authority. We all compromised and reached consensus]. It was clearly not a sense of mee- ting. I found later that I had gotten agreement
without commitment. [There was an issue
around the availability of drugs at camp.
After giving them the oppor- tunity to ask questions about this issue, I
said: “I think we should set this aside
for now. Talk among yourselves. I suggest that I not be at the next business
meeting, so that you can talk more freely.”]
Whatever
process counselors & staff were working their way through seemed to spark
their sense of purpose. [In the 1st
week of camp, the coun- selors asked to meet with me. In the discussion process,
one counselor started forming queries without realizing what they were. I
suggested they write a set of queries, & ask one of them at each business
meeting & meditate on it]. We had another meeting to arrange language &
clarify meaning. [In the midst of the meeting we found the sense of the
meeting. The queries were shared at the yearly meeting, who thought they were
wonderful. When a similar issue involving alcohol arose, a minute was written
which said]: “We encourage each other to
refrain from using substances which might harm our performance or reputation.”
[The
difference between a consensus and sense of the meeting is that consensus
aims at making decision that produces a product. Sense of the meeting involves
nurturing a process which is completed when God’s recog- nizable presence
settles over us in silence. [At camp], our immersion in the process elevated
the quality of our work & the atmosphere in which it was done. We arrive at a place of Intended Resolution
in which an elegant solution is delivered to us out of the Light; we allow
ourselves to be directed to the solution that awaits us.
We have allowed ourselves to be led to a
transcendent place of unmis- takable harmony, peace, and tender love. When we allow ourselves to be led to and
gathered by the peace of Light and Love where unity rests in silence, bonds are
forged which extend infinitely. [Even
long after we had left camp], members of that group still sensed an ongoing
depth of connection that is uncommon in ordinary comings and goings; we had
acknowledged the Pre- sence together.
II.
Allowing the Process—A Quaker
meeting for worship is particularly vulnerable to abuse by [people who place
more faith in flawless reasoning than they do in the work of Light and
Spirit]; meetings for business are subject to the same kinds of abuse. When we are all able to set our ideas aside,
doors are opened which allow [the sense of meeting] and solutions to enter on a
shaft of Light. Compromise & consensus
can assist early in the process; they must be laid aside as we reach for the
Inward Presence.
Ideas
should be offered & explained, rather than argued. Pressures im- posed by
urgency must not be allowed to erode process. At Sandy Springs , the need for a balcony caused a very contentious
dispute. At issue were the 2nd - story partitions, which had to be
removed to build the balcony. [They had been part of the meetinghouse so long
that many Friends resisted their removal]. “Those beautiful old panels” became
the symbol of the impasse, [which lasted 3 years]. One day a Friend stood up in
worship and said: “I see a balcony in
this room & it is faced with the panels from the partition.” The next
business meeting adopted that vision [as the sense of the meeting]. There was
increased sensitivity to each others feelings during the 3 years, and even now
I still find myself connected with the elderly Friends, long gone, who loved
the partitions.
3
components are essential in the process which leads to a sense of meeting:
release; long focus; & transition to Light. Friends whose feelings have
been aroused by an issue need to release them. They should be listened to
lovingly & no effort should be made to intervene. Release should be
encou- raged & appreciated. Loving
encouragement allows feelings to emerge at any point in the discussion. Tender
attentiveness is the meeting’s gift. The sense of a [place where feeling may be
safely expressed] is essential in reaching the sense of the meeting.
In
long focus, we should focus our attention beyond the immediate dis- cussion toward the sense of the meeting. Strong feelings, really important issues,
personal investment—these push us towards consensus. Contention and compromise narrow our
focus. Experienced Friends who treasure
sense of the meeting stand on an inward high place and look beyond the ideas
being discussed, where ideas lose the sharp edge of immediacy.
In
transition to Light, long focus brings to the Source of resolution &
clarity, and we turn increasingly inward in order to transcend differences. Transition to Light makes possible a gathered
meeting. Once, when a distres- sing issue
was raised in meeting for business, sadness, upset, & anger needed to be
released. One Friend, by shifting the
focus from the cause of the upset to the upset person, began to lengthen the
focus. The upset caused by the Nixon
Presidency began with a letter asking his Meeting to read him out the meeting,
triggered the response, “I had hoped that Friends had reached a place where
they no longer read people out of meeting,” and ended with a letter expressing
support of his home meeting for the pressures they might be feeling at this
dif- ficult time.
It
is not essential that all 3 components be employed every time a sense of
meeting is sought. The nature of the
issue and the feelings generated by it will determine the mix. By opting for consensus we decide that the
immediacy of a decision is more important than moving toward spiritual
completion as a gathered people; urgency and impatience are uncentering. We are
products of a culture committed to products.
The process by which we produce the pro- ducts is, at best, secondary.
In seeking sense of the meeting, process is paramount. The gifts gene- rated by that
process seem endless. Quakers at their
best are people who perceive the world differently, [influenced by the Presence
that is found in the sense of the meeting].
It is not decisions they respond to, but a process and Presence through
which they sense their joyful connection to one another.
III.
The Great Testimony—Whether we
wish to admit it or not, sense of the meeting is a Quaker equivalent of
Communion. [In sense of the mee- ting] we form invisible bonds among ourselves;
it came through us & for us, not from us. We participate in each other’s
well being. We take to ourselves the gift of experiential faith which the early
Friends promised us. We make decisions which feel good to us long after they
cease to be germane.
Since George Fox’s time, Quakers have
sought to take away the occa- sion of all wars. Somehow we haven’t done it. At
times our efforts seem feeble & ineffective. George Fox implies that we
aren’t required to end war. We are encouraged to live in the virtue of Life &
Power, to center ourselves in it. That will
take away the occasion of all wars. Do I
dwell consistently in the virtue of Life & Power so that occasions for war
may dwindle?
Quakers’
faith in the sense of the meeting fades.
But Catoctin Quaker Camp has been run through the sense of the meeting
for 25 years. [It has been so
successful] that the governing board of the camp has ceased promul- gating
functional policy for the camp. Board
decisions affecting day-to-day functions are passed on to the camp as
suggestions. When offered a raise for
experienced counselors, the sense of the meeting was that salary increa- ses
were inadvisable as they might encourage people to seek jobs at the camp
primarily because of the pay scale.
[Sense
of meeting had many uses at camp, from deciding acceptable risks in challenging
the campers’ physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being, to honoring the
staff’s place in the decision-making process, to training young campers to grow
in the depth of their answers and the sensitivity of their lis- tening. In response to the Catoctin experience of
sense of meeting, admini- strators of other Quaker institutions sometimes say
that running a summer camp is different from running a year-round, day-to-day
operation.
But no Quaker institution of
which I have direct experience makes day- to-day decisions whose immediacy is as
critical or far-reaching as in a summer camp.
My daughter’s college rowing crew uses a similar process in prepa- ring
for a regatta. Each of the young women
in the boat, as it slid upriver to- ward the starting line, had reached a place
of internal harmony which mani- fests in collective outward harmony.
The
world craves this gift. But if Friends
are to give it, we must 1st come to cherish it ourselves. And before we can do that we must rededicate
our- selves to making sense of meeting work among us. Encouraging the learning of the sense of the
meeting can easily be incorporated into adult education programs, and become a
staple in offering to adults.
Inspiration and instruction for centering, which is integral in seeking
the sense of meeting, should be rea- dily available. Yearly meetings can offer workshops on sense
of meeting. The world is filled with
people who long for sense of the meeting without even kno- wing what it is. Perhaps it is not too late for Friends to
recover the gift intended for them which they seem willing to toss aside.
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308 Marriage: A Spiritual Leading for Lesbian, Gay and Straight
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308 Marriage: A Spiritual Leading for Lesbian, Gay and Straight
Couples (by Leslie Hill; 1993)
About the Author—Leslie was born in 1954, in Waltham, Massachu- setts Simmons College Harvard Divinity School Brattleboro , VT
“For the right joining in marriage is
the work of the Lord only and not of priests and magistrates; for it is God’s
ordinance and not man’s … we are but witnesses (1669). George Fox
[Introduction]/
The Marriage of George and Margaret—Friends
in many meetings are revising the definition of marriage to include same-sex
couples. What is the meaning &
purpose of marriage? How does Quaker marriage relate to [LGBT] & straight
couples? When Friends in the future look back, the 1989 marriage
certificate of John Calvi & Marshall Brewer will be important evidence that
gay relationships were joyfully celebrated I [Putney ,
VT.
This
account of same-sex marriage & this particular marriage is] offered in the
prayerful spirit of seeking Friends. It is faith in continuing revelation which
empowers us to hold all loving relationships in the light. Quaker marriage’s
evolution began with the marriage of George Fox, 45, traveling preacher, &
Margaret Fell, a 55 year-old widowed woman of property. Advices on marriages
for couples today may be found in early Quaker epistles.
George
Fox 1st received the idea from the Lord, then mentioned it to Fell.
He consulted with Fell, Fell’s children, & meetings of men & women at Bristol
The Historical Roots of Quaker Marriage—[As Quaker marriages evolved, spirit-led vows became
memorized promises and] Women’s Meetings became influential in making marriage
decisions and keeping records. Civil
marriages became compulsory in 1653, but the married couple was instructed to
report their marriage to a justice only
if they felt it was right to do so.
By 1661, civil marriage was abolished, and shortly thereafter Quaker
marriages were challenged and upheld as legal by the courts.
In
1667-68, George traveled through England
At the end of the century the procedure consisted of:
the couple be- ing Friends; the couple stating their intention in meeting for
worship; producing letters of consent from parents & themselves; making 2
appearances before Women’s Meeting & 1 before Men’s; provision for
existing children; couple be- ing free of prior commitments to others; probably
memorized vows; certificate being signed; marriage being registered in the
Book of Minutes or Marriages. A Quaker couple married for love, to help each
other in the life of the spirit & service to God. Their union was to
benefit the meeting & God.
At
the 3rd 5 Years Meeting, in 1897, it was decided to publish a common book of
discipline, the Constitution &
Discipline for the American Yearly Mee- tings of Friends; New England
Reaching Clearness—Since 1970, the Quaker focus has shifted to re- quests
for marriage by lesbian & gay couples. “Clearness” has become a broa der
concept, including all considerations a couple may take into account. Eli- zabeth
Watson suggests that the composition of a clearness committee should be relevant to the couple’s needs. [The committee’s role is to ask queries that
explore how well-thought-out the planned union is]. Putney Friends’ Commit- tee
on Lesbian, Gay & Bisexual Concerns has developed one set of marriage
queries for all couples.
[Canadian
and London Yearly Meeting begin their marriage disciplines with George Fox, who
writes]: “For the right joining in
marriage is the work of the Lord only and not of priests and magistrates; for
it is God’s ordinance and not man’s … we are but witnesses (1669). Iowa Yearly meeting states: “A major goal of marriage is a spiritual bond
which will make itself felt not only in the home but also in the Meeting and in
the community. North Pacific Yearly
Meeting states: “We are unable to reach
unity on whether marriage is ‘a cove- nant between 2 persons’ or ‘a covenant
between a man and a woman & God.’
In
1989, a Quaker Conference on Sexual Morality stated: [There is dis- agreement
over]: “to what extent homosexuality is genetic or subject to change;
scriptural authority, interpretation, & tradition with respect to homo- sexuality;
the meaning of marriage & family today as compared with previous times.”
[The 2 most persistent claims against gays, their non-reproductive & “unnatural” relationships, are not consistent with many current homosexual marriages or with examples from nature]. Bible exegetes on opposing sides of the scriptural argument have drawn
on the same texts in the Hebrew Bible and New Testament either to support or
refute claims that scriptures prohibit ho- mosexual relationships. My reading of the Greek Biblical texts & modern translations leads me to agree that discrimination against lesbians and gays is a form of popular intolerance not supported by scriptures.
It changed some of my ideas about
marriage … Now I think it can form a stronger bond. It seemed so good that they went through all
those tests to get married … I think that it is right that if 2 good men love
each other, they should be together and get married. (13
year-old) Jessica Dolan’s thoughts on a gay marriage.
The Sense of Putney Meeting—In 1983, New England YM passed a minute affirming
homosexual Friends. In 1984, Putney
Meeting affirmed and welcomed lesbian and gay Friends, saying in part: “Having been brought up in a society where
sexuality and spirituality are often separated … we wish to sponsor a rejoining
of these aspects of ourselves which we sense to be deeply and naturally
connected. Our aim is to move beyond
unexamined and some- times rigid judgment to a real interest in finding out what
makes another person smile and sigh … Friends need to recognize that when gay
men and lesbian members are not fully embraced, they feel only parts of
themselves are accep- table to the Religious Society of Friends … Expressions
of love & spirituality are intertwined: to deny loving expression is to deny
part of our spirituality.”
Friends
throughout New England were becoming increasingly con- cerned about hostility,
prejudice, and discrimination being leveled against les- bians and gays. Hartford MM passed an inclusive marriage
minute in March 1986. The 327th
New England YM recorded a minute advising all MM that were part of this YM to
consider the questions which Hartford Meeting had raised.
Not
all members and attenders of Putney MM were enthusiastic about making this
concern a priority. The queries used
were: What does marriage under care of the meeting mean for any couple? What are the respon- sibilities of the meeting
and the couple? How do we nurture all commit- ments among ourselves? We limited our consideration to the
recognition of the spiritual union between same-sex couples.
In March 1988, after more than a year of
corporate discernment on same-sex marriage, Putney recorded the following
minute: [excerpt] “We af- firm our
willingness as a Meeting to participate in celebrations of marriage for both
opposite-sex and same-sex couples. We
intend to follow the same… process … for all couples who wish to unite under
our care. At every stage we intend to
treat all couples with respect, care and love.”
Because
lesbian & gay couples in Vermont & elsewhere, do not have the same
civil rights as straight couples to a marriage license, Putney Friends began to
seek clearness on whether we should approve any
marriages, other than spiritual ones, in order to abide by a single
standard. [There were strong differences
within the meeting on how to go forward].
Rather than try to reach unity, gathered Friends looked inward for
guidance and decided to explore our feelings of homophobia, [which is a
spiritual dis-ease (i.e. it lacks love and the presence of the spirit].
The
1989 New England Yearly Meeting State of Society Report included the
following: “Many meetings continue to
struggle, painfully but prayerfully, to listen to each other and to God around
the affirmation and condition of gays & lesbians within our midst and in our
wider culture. They have found that this
struggle has deepened their understanding of committed relationships between
individuals, among Friends and before God.”
Open acceptance of legal marriage
for lesbians and gay men, at state and federal levels, and in the private
sector, is an essential step in changing attitudes toward homosexuality and
increasing lesbian and gay rights.
Putney Friends’ Committee on Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Concerns printed
a small card which says in part: “We
affirm God dwells in every person regardless of sexual orientation. We welcome lesbian and gay attenders to our
meeting for worship and to all other occasions.
We are committed to educate ourselves in the Meeting about the condition
of lesbian and gay men, & to end ignorance about discrimination against these
women and men.”
The Marriage of John & Marshall/Continuing
Revelation—[We pre- pared the
Rockingham Meetinghouse for the wedding]. The calligrapher put the certificate,
looking like an illuminated manuscript, on the table with a special pen. The
atmosphere was light, jubilant, expectant, & solemn. [A diverse group of people] all found their
places and prepared to worship in silence. John and Marshall reached their
bench and sat together facing the gathered Friends. [A brief history of gays &
Christianity, Quaker weddings, & same-sex marriage was given]. John &
Marshall rose, took each other by the hand, & declared to each other the
promises they could faithfully carry out using traditional Quaker vows.
This
particular wedding had a significance for many guests beyond our joy for John
and Marshall. There was hope that an end
to injustice, prejudice, and the oppression of all people, was imminent. A 13-year old said: “I think it was beautiful and it was evident
that there was a lot of love and respect and caring there; it was the most
romantic thing I’ve ever been to … It changed some of my ideas about marriage …
Now I think it can form a stronger bond. It seemed so good that they went through all those tests to get married
… I think that it is right that if 2 good men love each other, they should be
together and get married.”
The
Quaker process of spiritual discernment was established long ago to do what is
needed today—to respond to ongoing revelation.
Our committee for marriage reached the clear sense that each man was
following his spiritual leading to marry, and that we were clearing the way by
agreeing to bless and oversee the marriage.
The marriage of John and Marshall heralds the coming of a new age in
which the leaves of the trees of life on either side of the river serve for the
healing of the nations.
Marriage Queries—Are you seeking a
spiritual union, a legal union, or both?
Have you taken steps necessary to
compensate for any lack of state recognition or legal provision for committed
lesbian and gay relationships.
What are your expectations of
marriage?
What are your thoughts on a
spiritual Quaker marriage?
What do you think about the traditional
masculine & feminine roles?
Can you be ready to compromise your
plans or wishes out of re- spect for one another?
How do you deal with conflicts between
you?
How will finances be handled in your
marriage?
Have you discussed any health
problems?
How do you feel about your new extended
family?
Are you willing to give the time,
patience, and openness to a good sexual relationship?
Are you willing to recommit yourself,
day by day, year by year, to try again in spite of difficulties, to recognize,
accept, love and delight in each other’s individuality?
309. Universalism and Spirituality (by Ralph Hetherington; 1993)
About
the Author—Ralph
Hetherington, a psychologist, has been a member of the Society of
Friends
for 50 years. He has contributed regularly to Friends' publications,
mainly in the UK. He joined the Quaker Universalist Group (QUG). He
discussed the psychology of peak experiences at the Swarthmore
Lectures (UK; 1975).
This
essay sets out to discuss the nature of spirituality and its
relevance to universalism. A commitment to a particular religious
tradition might be helpful, it is not essential. The
ideas "universalism" enshrines have developed within
Quaker thinking and experience. Some
suggest that universalism poses a dan- ger to Quakerism, because it is
not rooted in a historic living faith, that
any Friend can believe anything and the Society stands for nothing.
But perhaps it is in Quakerism as mysticism that universalism might
develop and flourish.
[Introduction]—Modern
use of universalist
and
universalism
began
with John Linton in 1977. In 1893 at the World's Fair in Chicago,
there were ses- sions of the World's Parliament of Religions. William
Loftus Hare said: "There was a persistent effort to sustain a
universalist feeling." The Unitarian Univer- salists have now
adopted views which are similar to those of Quaker Univer- salists. John
Ferguson tells us that the term universalism
refers
to a strong stream of mysticism which holds that all human beings are
one in & with God. God does not coerce, but in forgiving love never finally abandons anyone.
The QUG statement: Spiritual
awareness is accessible to men and wo- men of any religion or none ...
no one faith can claim to be a final revelation or have a monopoly of
truth.
The
US Quaker Universalist Fellowship (QUF)
statement: "The QUF is an informal gathering of persons who
cherish universality's
spirit; it
has always been intrinsic to the Quaker faith. We acknowledge and
respect the diverse spiritual experience of those within our meetings
as well as the human family worldwide; we are enriched by dialogue
[with them]." The
universalist position is
universal, so that it includes any sincerely held view, whether or
not such views are christocentric; universalism is opposed to
religious fundamentalism.
The
Development of Universalist Ideas in Quakerism—In
The
Chris- tian Quaker,
William Penn expounded universalist ideas, which he called Gen- tile
Divinity. The
Light of Christ, present in all men &
women everywhere,
is likely equivalent to the Buddha Nature, Brahman of Hinduism, or
the Tao. A universalist
theology is based on a doctrine of personal revelation which has
always been available to all.
Isaac
Penington said: "Learn of the Lord to make a right use of the
Scriptures,
by esteeming them in their right place, &
prizing
that [Light]
above them which is above them." George Fox said: "I saw in
that Light and
Spirit which was before Scripture was given forth ... that all must
come to that Spirit, if they would know God or Christ or the
Scriptures aright,
which they that gave them forth were led &
taught by."
Robert Barclay said: "The Scriptures are only
a declaration of the foun- tain &
not the fountain itself, therefore they aren't to be esteemed the
principal ground of all truth &
knowledge ... they are &
may be esteemed a secondary rule, subordinate to the Spirit, from
which they have all their excellency and certainty ... according to
Scriptures the Spirit is the first and principal Leader." Revelations
received
were not invalid if they were not confirmed by scripture; the
inward Light and scripture are not fully equivalent. Scripture could
not be used to validate the inward Light.
Friends
during the 18th
century's quietist period, stopped short of asser- ting that any
"openings" not confirmed by scripture must be false.
During this period, the assumption that inward light was the
principal leader of truth was emphasized while the assumption that
there was an indissoluble link between the inward Light & the
Jesus of history was underplayed; pre-occupation with the scriptures
& even thinking was to be avoided.
In
1806, Philadelphia Yearly Meeting (PYM) made it a matter of
disown- ment to deny the divinity of Christ, the
immediate revelation of the Holy Spirit, or the scripture's
authority. The
[opposition
to &
movement]
toward
the abso- lute authority of scripture came to a
head in 1827 when Elias Hicks led a size- able body of Friends to a
separation from the main body. London Yearly Mee- ting (LYM)
managed
to avoid [major separation] and the extremism of either side of the
argument. The underlying trend throughout most of the 19th cen- tury was away from Quietism and the primacy of
the inward Light and towards Fundamentalism and the primacy of
scripture.
A
LYM
epistle
in 1827 read: "Vital Christianity consisteth not in words but in
power, &
however important ... a right apprehension of the gospel doctrine
[is], this availeth not, unless
we are regenerated by the Holy Spirit." An 1836 LYM epistle
read: "The declarations contained in the Scriptures rest on God's authority &
there can be no appeal to any other authority ... Whatsoever any man says or does which is contrary to Scriptures, though under
profession of the Spirit's
immediate
guidance, must be reckoned and accounted a mere delusion."
Darwin's
Origin
of Species and
[the call for] intelligent, informed, and scholarly criticism of
biblical texts [exerted a different pressure]. An
anonymous document called A
Reasonable Faith
offered a lucid, forward-looking alterna- tive to biblical reference
that is subject to intelligent and informed historical and textual
criticism.
Things
came to a head at a conference in Richmond, IN in 1887. It
was a laudable attempt to reassert Quaker principles.
It
also opposed the Hicksite meetings, whose representatives were not
invited. The Richmond Declaration of Faith stated that Quaker
belief had to be scriptural and personal revelation in the shape
of the inward Light had to be subordinate to scripture. LYM found
the Declaration too nearly a creedal statement, with too little room
for the pri- macy of the inward Light of Christ.
Development
of Universalist Ideas in Quakerism: The Manchester
Conference and After—The
great Manchester Conference in 1895 led to liberal revival &
a rational &
informed criticism of biblical
texts. Most yearly meetings (YM)
worldwide accept the Richmond
Declaration, the
major excep- tions being Hicksite &
Wilburite YMs, LYM, &
most European YMs. Friends remain divided over the primacy of the Inward Light over scripture. Since many Friends worldwide now accept the validity of biblical criticism,
the Jesus of history has become a more problematical figure. The gospel
speaks to our condition, some
parts inspiring, others less so.
The
Mystical Basis of Quakerism/ Universalism & Liberal Theology The
Quakers belief in an immediate call
was abhorrent to the Commonwealth and their biblical faith. Rufus
Jones and Aldous Huxley together supplied good evidence that Fox
continued the continental mystical tradition of the Catholic mystics
and spiritual reformers of the 14th-17th
centuries. Fox
was well-versed in the classics and the religious literature of his
day; he had Boehme & Franck in his own library. There
is no dichotomy between the prophetic and the mysti- cal since
"prophetic
power springs from & is motivated by mystical experience."
John
Punshon sees liberal theology as an answer to the evangelical
Quakerism
expressed
in the Richmond Declaration &
asserts: "[This liberal movement] has collapsed under the weight
of its contradictions; [such
as]
it is impossible to give people total freedom and at the same time ... keep certain central principles sacrosanct. [LYM
claims a Christian connection], but when you want a little precision
... you find that there is no corporate answer except an anthology of
writings capable of an infinite number of interpretations ... The QUG
provides a rationale for diversity that the liberal period sought and practiced, but couldn't accommodate
its thinking to."
Spirituality
& Religion—It
appears that a new spirituality which
inte- grates the material, humane, and translucent—nature, humans and
God—is beginning to emerge in the conditions of our time. Early
Friends were convinced that spirituality was universal, in all people
& periods, from primitive to modern times. Most
would accept that "spirituality"
and "religious" are not synonymous.
Religions are
organized and institutionalized, with an emphasis on the beliefs held
by a particular church. Spirituality
seems to refer to something inherent in the individual rather than
the institution, first-hand experience rather than from [passed on]
beliefs. Religious
experience
means spiritual experience in a
religious context. Peak
experience is similar,
but may or may not be religious. George Fox asserted that the Inward
Light was [meant] to bring people into unity. The
integrity of the Society will be preserved through a common
spirituality, without having religious statements of belief.
Alister
Hardy believed that spirituality evolved because it fits us for the
world &
therefore has survival value. Danah Zohar's The
Quantam Self dis- cusses
the physiology of brain function at the sub-atomic level in quantum
terms &
various aspects of spirituality. The
Gospel of Thomas teaches
that "the Kingdom of Heaven" is not a place elsewhere which
we may or may not attain; it is in us &
it is here &
now.
The first Christian theologian to
advance universal spirituality was pro- bably Irenaeus in the second
century. He asserted "God became human so that humans might
become God."
200
years after Irenaeus, Augustine of Hip- po [found] no divine spark in
men and women and laid out the doctrine of original sin, which the
Roman Catholic and most Protestant churches have followed ever since.
Irenaeus' ideas were
kept alive by men and women like: Hildegard of Bingen, Francis of
Assisi, Meister Eckhart, Julian of Norwich, Teresa of Avila, Teilhard
de Chardin, and George Fox.
Mystical
experience doesn't always occur in a religious settings
&
have therefore been given a number of names. Abraham Maslow's popular
term is peak experiences.
They
share one or more of the following characteristics: indescribable in
words; great significance &
meaning; short
duration; passive experiencer; oneness with everything; timelessness;
loss of ego; sense of pre- sence. Other indicators in combination with
the above are remarkable coin- cidences &
fortunate sequences of happenings. When
these & other remark- able experiences are accompanied by one or
more of the characteristics listed above, they can be regarded as
indication of spirituality.
There
are in addition to these a whole series of less intense and more
frequent experiences, ranging [down-ward] from peak experiences to
Thomas Kelly's "mild moments of lift and faint glimpses of
glory." The
latter might be called off-peak
experiences which
most people have at one time or another. The Alister Hardy Research
Center's collection of 5,000 reported religious ex- periences [were a
descriptive answer] to the question Have
you ever been aware of or influenced by, a presence or power, whether
you call it God or not, which is different from your everyday self?
Can
God be Known?—The
conceptions of God held by men & wo- men the world over not only
vary widely between the adherents of various religions; it varies
within any given religion. The
Cloud of Unknowing says:
"By
love may God be gotten and holden, but by thought never." Most
of us need some serviceable image of God to think about and pray to.
What name shall we use?
For
Quakers, the divine source's name is the Inward Light. It is
accessible to everyone, everywhere, and always has been, with no
bar- riers of time, space,
or creed. This is an important ingredient of
Universalist
Quaker theology.
In
our images
of God, we invest the attributes we most admire: love, compassion,
mercy, omnipotence, and omniscience. The
wide range of perso- nal God images is a consequence of variations in
historical & cultural patterns. God
may also may also be thought of in
impersonal
terms as a process rather than an entity, a creative process rather
than a person. The image of God as creative energy leads
to a continually changing and developing universe, an integrated
singular whole of a universe. There is now a modern concept of Gaia,
the integrity of creation and the need to achieve wholeness as part
of creation.
Spirituality
and Religion: Panentheism—The
Gospel of Thomas "Cleave
the wood &
I am in it, lift the stone &
there am I," must be one of the earliest expressions of
panentheism,
the
belief that God is in everything and everything is in God. God is more than &
not exhausted by the universe. The panentheistic view suggests that
God suffers with those who suffer &
shares their pain &
grief. Modern physics is beginning to suggest that there was no
beginning; there may never have been a
moment of creation. This would imply that even the Creative Process
has always had to conform to the universe's
natural
laws.
Panentheism
removes the iron curtain between God &
ourselves. We can now envisage an interpenetration of the stuff of
humanity with the stuff of divinity. Poets
&
mystics have known this all along. That
our conceptions about God should vary so widely makes it difficult to
communicate some of our deep- est spiritual experiences, & causes
some quarrels.
Pam
Lunn writes: "[As we] continue to grapple with those language
pro- blems ... Maybe we are in a unique position to speak to those who
have no language with which to speak of spirituality."
Conventional
religious language seems inadequate, inappropriate, or meaningless.
Finding a serviceable lan- guage may mean giving up our cherished
religious images. [Belief specific] statements would need
considerable explanation
before it could be understood by those outside the belief. Perhaps
we need to speak at a more basic level about what we actually
experience, and share the sense of presence, love and unity, and
compassion for
suffering. Or as Robert Barclay said: "I felt the evil weaken
in me and the good raised up."
In
William James' [Varieties
of Religious Experience]
&
the collections of his successors, specialized images or theological
terms are hardly ever used. We
shall have to learn how to describe our spiritual experiences simply
&
how to listen to &
understand other people [as they too, struggle with inadequate language. If
we do, we may discover more seekers with their proper share of spirituality but without the language with which to describe it.
Green
& Creation-centered Spirituality—Important
insights &
disco- veries about the environment have become generally realized
recently; they have been known by scientists for much longer. They
indicate the appalling damage we have been inflicting on the
ecosphere. There
is good biblical sup- port for homo
sapiens'
exploitation of creation &
even the population explosion. There
is also the notion that we are visitors to the physical planet
&
not really part of it, only temporarily in a physical body, longing
for release. Wherever civilization appears
the rest of creation has suffered. Homo
sapiens can't
be the end-product of evolution. There must be a
lot
of
evolutionary development ahead of us. There is no call to write off
Homo sapiens
as a complete disaster. We
now have the task of learning to develop in harmony with, &
not at the ex- pense of, the rest of creation.
In
Matthew Fox's Original
Blessing,
Fox assumes that all people are capable of
spirituality without the [popularly assumed] "sacrifice"
made by Jesus of Nazareth. Matthew Fox places
[universal] compassion [as opposed to just people compassion] at the
center of creation-spirituality. Every species is spe- cial and has
unique qualities. The fact that Homo
sapiens have
a greater effect on the ecosphere
than others gives us greater responsibilities. Our spiritual
experience of oneness with the Cosmos informs and shapes our
attitudes and intentions and so, in the end, how we respond.
Conclusions—The
recent World Conference of Friends held in the Netherlands, Honduras,
&
Kenya has revealed that there isn't one but several Societies of
Friends. There was personal friendliness and goodwill between
members of the Conference, [even as] their differences caused anger,
resent- ment, pain &
distress. Many hoped, &
still do, that if Friends could travel past the [theological gulfs],
the words &
dogmas, they might yet be able to reach a place where these
differences no longer mattered. Unless
Friends can learn to understand each other, there is little chance
that they will understand anyone else. The differences encompass
religious humanism at one end of the spec- trum and biblically-based
theology at the other. Even "that of God in everyone" seems
not to be held by all Quakers.
Are there any defining mark
which might be applicable to all YM's worldwide?
The
1st
defining mark is experiencing Inward Light, unmediated commu- nication
between
humans & creative
source. 2nd
defining mark is that
leadings of Inward Light have primacy over scripture. 3rd
defining mark is there being "that of God" in everyone.
Universalist Quakers have adopted Irenaeus' views rather than
Augustine, believing there is no unbridgeable gap between God &
humans. They use creation-centered theology in universalism.
John Linton developed his
universalist ideas from silent worship with people of many different
religions. Early Quaker ideas of "Gentile Divinity" were
essentially universalist. The Manchester Conference of 1895 made
bibli- cal criticism respectable. Rufus Jones research revealed the
mystical roots of Quakerism. Its universalism seems particularly well
fitted to provide a theo- logy & discipline which are able to meet
the present time's needs.
310. Findings: Poets and the Crisis of Faith (by John Lampen; 1993)
About
the Author—John
Lampen is a Quaker, a member of Ireland YM. He was headmaster of a
therapeutic community school for
10 years. He now works for peace & reconciliation projects in
Northern Ireland. He & his wife were Friends-in-Residence at
Pendle Hill in the fall of 1992; he worked on this essay then. Poets
offer confirmation to religious seekers that their glimpses of divine
presence &
intention are valid. Poets give them a language in which to describe
glimpses without demanding adherence to a belief system they cannot
accept.
Growing
Doubts—[The
dying]
went
to God's Right Hand/ That Hand is amputated now/ And God cannot be
found./ The
abdication of Belief / Makes the Behavior small [Excerpt
from Emily
Dickinson's
Poem 1551].
It is surprising that this "contemporary" sentiment was
written in the 1860s. Many religious people believe human existence
can only be explained by the drama of sin, atonement, repentance and
salvation. We
know the quagmires of bigotry and violence into which constructed
religions, dogmatic political ideologies, and private obsession can
lead us. John
Hewitt confesses [his childhood religious bigotry in the poem "The
Green Shoot"].
Judaism
&
Christianity were always rich in resources to reconcile be- lievers in
a loving, omnipotent God to the unfairness &
cruelty of life. In
an "age of faith" these resources helped many people to
surmount suffering &
retain trust in the love &
power of God. As the works of Darwin, Marx, Freud, & mo- dern bible criticism was developing, the intellectual climate
changed. I found relief as a teenager in Edmund Blunden's "Report on
Experience," with its denial of falsehoods &
platitudes we were taught in church.
It was modern warfare, blessed
by the clergy on both sides, which seemed to show the hollowness of
orthodox belief. War poets identified battle- field sufferings with
the suffering of Christ. [There
is hopeless, ghastliness, and even Christ's powerlessness over]
the
dark kingdoms at his feet. The
only comfort in our darkest moments is the belief that Jesus suffered
the same depths as ourselves. We are no longer offered a way out.
The
Crisis of Faith—[In
the dark
times
written of above, there]
is a gospel of suffering but not of hope; it had no saving power.
Some
writers attack the church for losing the original message and
substituting an opiate or an instrument of repression, such as King
Calvin with his iron pen,/ And God, 3 angry letters in a book/ And ... the Mystery is impaled & bent/ Into an ideolo- gical instrument. [Excerpt
from Edwin
Muir, "The Incarnate One"]. The doctrine is now seen to
be false and irrelevant, because in the [general] chaos the
whole rickety structure has collapsed and crushed it.
[There is angry
bitterness in] rejecting the promises which offer an answer to the
problem of pain. Some
of us find that the hymns, scripture, and rituals in which we once
found strength are gradually or suddenly drained of meaning. [We
feel guilty because we are "losing our faith," even though]
we were taught that merit comes from
holding to our faith when the devil attacks it.
Those
who prize a strong faith and demand certainty
of Christian belief must
be appalled at an age which can offer no better news than that Christ
suffers with us. They reject despair as unworthy of a Christian, and
claim everyone could and should accept the traditional doctrines.
But pretending to believe, forcing ourselves to believe, is only a
disguised form of despair. Stevie
Smith writes: I
think it will be too much for us, the dishonesty,/ And, armed as we
are now, we shall kill everybody,/ It will be too much for us, we
shall kill everybody. [Excerpt
from "How
do you see?"] [Those
3 lines]
no
longer seem [like much of] an exaggeration.
The
Empty Silence—The
alternative to forced "belief" may be an emp- tiness in which
prayer isn't merely unanswered, it becomes impossible. [T.S.
Eliot in "The Waste Land" part I, &
Arthur Rimbaud in "Alchimie du Verbe" [Alchemy of the Word]
reflect
this experience]. St. John of the Cross (1542-91)
saw them as an essential part of our progression towards God, [even
when] "they experience no pleasure &
consolation in spiritual things &
good exercises where
they were wont to find their ... pleasure ... Instead they find
insipidity &
bitterness in the said things." He knew that God was still
there, &
that there remained support
&
prayer of a believing community around one. Now when we have this
experience of emptiness &
loss of meaning, there is no sense of support.
There
is only 1
religious experience which still appears possible, &
that is to ask questions. To doubt, to question &
challenge God, is to believe against whatever odds in an answer.
Quakers
now seldom speak of the emptiness &
loneliness of silence. Isaac Penington wrote: "I met with the
very strength of Hell. The cruel oppressor [Satan] roared upon me, &
made me feel the bitter- ness of his captivity ... yea, the Lord was
far from my help." Job
Scott wrote: "My way is hedged up—I see no way to go forward
... The light of God's coun- tenance ... seems to be quite withholden
from me, &
nothing else in heaven nor in all the earth can satisfy my longing
soul."
George
Fox's experiences taught him that
this dark wood isn't a conclu- sion but a starting point. He wrote:
"Wait upon God in all that is pure. Though you see ... your
emptiness ... nakedness ... barrenness &
unfruitfulness, and see the hardness of your heart and your own
unworthiness; it is the Light that discovers all
this, and the love of God to you; it is that which is immediate."
T.S. Eliot wrote: "I
said to my soul be still, & wait without hope/ For hope would be
hope of the wrong thing; wait without love/
For
love would be love of
the wrong thing; there is yet faith/ But the faith and the love and
the hope are all in the waiting./ Wait without thought, for you are
not ready for thought;/ So the dark- ness shall
be the light, and the stillness the dancing. ["East
Coker" part III].
George
Fox recorded: "When all my hopes ... in all men were gone, that
I had nothing outwardly to help me, nor could tell me what to do,
then, oh then, I heard a voice." For some seekers, it was
not even a voice, but simply a pre- sence that could not be denied. Was
the loss of familiar reassurances a necessary step
toward new awareness? Anne
Ridler concludes "Deus Ab- sconditus" [Hidden God]: Here
he is endured, here he is adored,/ And any- where. Yet
it is a long pursuit,/ Carrying the junk and treasure of an ancient
creed,/ To a love who keeps his faith by seeming mute/ And deaf, and
dead indeed.
The
Poet &
the Theologian—Theologians
might class such experien- ces as "epiphanies," daily
revelations
of God's presence &
glory, [&
insist on attaching theological language to
them].
As soon as revelations are put
into service of a belief
system,
some at least will feel alienated from them. Edith
Scovell pleads with believers to:
Believe
I also with my dumb/
Stranger
have made a marriage bond/
As
strong &
deep and torturing &
fond.
These
people
are making a journey without a trustworthy
map;
[they
use momentary glimpses of their path for guidance]. They have allies
in those poets who have made the same journey &
recorded
their moments of true direction. Poets, like theologians, believe
that the experiences of life have secret con- nections, hidden depths
and meanings that
have to be sought. Poetry does not have to explain and systematize
its questions and findings.
In
the Middle Ages theology was the "queen of the sciences,"
engaging some of the best minds in Europe. Economic,
political, military, cultural &
sci- entific changes led to an era which elevated rationality, at first
in harmony with
religious faith, but soon attacking it. [With all the failures of
technical progress, communist vision, &
social reform],
there is no refuge for many thinking people except cynicism &
despair. Throughout
this process Christianity has continued to support and inspire
millions of people.
Perhaps
a false Christianity
was
sometimes preached; that doesn't mean that its followers had no
genuine knowledge of Christ, no Christian hero- ism and no true faith.
With those who stayed in touch with truths the intellec- tuals had
lost, new awareness grows out of the old stem. New
theologies are created, of which Freud writes: "Where questions
of religion are concerned, people are guilty of every possible kind
of insincerity & intellectual misdemea- nor ... calling 'God' some
vague abstraction which they have created for them- selves ... they
may even pride themselves on having attained a high and purer idea
of God, although their God is but a shadow."
For
myself, I have come into a phase where I find it very hard to read
religious books; after many years I am now able to read poetry again.
Carol Murphy suggests that "The deepest truths can be conveyed
only in poetry, and Christian theology
is not a set of dusty propositions, nor a dreamy fairy-tale, but the
highest poetry, full of illuminating images and brilliant paradoxes."
[Robinson Jeffers
writes of transcendent feeling in The
Excesses of God:
Rainbows
over the rain/ And beauty above the moon, and secret rain- bows/ On the
domes of deep sea-shells,/ And make the necessary embrace
of breeding/ Beautiful also as fire ... There is great humaneness at
the heart of things,/ Humanity can understand, and would flow
likewise, If power and desire were perchmates.
For poets as for scripture, there is "a certain truth that none
can understand their writings aright without the same Spirit by which they were written." Spirit
descends and a spark [of truth] flashes from writer to reader.
"I
brought them to their own Teacher"—Friends,
like
artists &
writers, witness to the significance of experience, &
sit light to the doctrines which try
to explain it. Fox
[could] argue Christian doctrine &
still acknowledge that Teacher in the native Americans,
in the Koran's
pages,
&
the divine in the natural world. Friends have long-standing
testimony against overanalyzing. Scott
Crom writes: "This experience's sheer power had been so
compelling, the visual sequence so crystal clear, &
my helplessness &
passivity
so overwhelming, that I didn't wish to examine it, although I
'looked'
at it again." James
Naylor advised intellectuals to "no more consult with your own
wisdom, nor follow your own understanding, but let that in you that's
pure & simple lead you."
We
have in meeting for worship a
wonderful resource for contemplating
experiences.
Ministry
which comes from a deep place inside
is
very
much
like
poetry. Travelers
can be helped by testimony that doctrines are like clothes which may
need changing,
clothes which partly conceal, partly reveal the lovely body beneath;
such
doctrinal clothes tend to become old-fashioned. Our mee- tings often
give the impression that "it does not matter what you think"
is the purpose of the Society of Friends, as long as you want to
share in fellowship.
Travelers
aren't looking for this. They want a community which witnes- ses to a
meaning at the heart of things, and doctrinal clothes which fit
comfor- tably, without distortion. They see most Christians fighting
against old clothes being taken off—as if they feared there
might not be an emperor inside the robes. Does
the Society of Friends provide a home for someone who wants to
believe, but finds the traditional language of religion too deva- lued
by formality, dogmatism, familiarity, and even dishonesty?
"Christ
the Tiger"—Many
travelers remain fascinated with Jesus, even after discarding
Christian beliefs. Like
Jesus' first followers, they knew him first as a man, and it was his
blazing humanity which attracted them long before they had religious
beliefs about him. Dogmatic and sentimental traditions of the Church
have concealed many qualities which inspired the disciples to say
"This was indeed the Son of God." Other "[Jesus
travelers] feel
that his concerns were very different from those of most Christian
churches.
Walt Whitman writes of Jesus: I
do not sound your name, but I under- stand you .../ We walk silent
among disputes and assertions, but reject not the disputers, nor
anything that is asserted,/ ... We
walk upheld, free, the whole world over, journeying up and down till
we make our ineffaceable mark upon time and the diverse eras,/ till
we saturate [them], that the men and women of races, ages to come,
may prove brothers and
lovers as we are.
What
kind of Jesus is presented when travelers come to a Christ- centered
Quaker meeting? Do they encounter a personality relevant &
poetically complex, [or someone] as dry &
precise as a "How-to"
manual?
As
Stevie Smith writes of The
Airy Christ:
He
doesn't wish that men should love him more than anything/ Because he
died; he only wishes they would hear him sing. Poets
show us how some people come to knowing
Jesus by throwing away
the garment in which conventional followers clothe
him. In
I
come like a beggar &
The
Danger,
Sydney Carter challenges complacent assumptions
that Christians understand &
possess their Master.
The experience to which many
poets testify offer help & support; it is mysterious,
unpredictable, demanding—very different from conventional piety's
comfort. Jesus of Nazareth's impact on his friends & enemies was
disturbing & reassuring, powerful & tender. Early Friends
insisted that historical Jesus & Inward Christ are the same; they
challenge us in an identical way. Elizabeth Jennings writes in
Answers: I kept my
answers small & kept them near./ Big questions
bruised my mind but still I let/ Small answers be a bulwark to my
fear ... The big answers clamored to be moved/ into my life.
Their great auda- city/ Shouted to be acknowledged &
believed.
"Small
answers" are the slogans, platitudes, &
conventional replies which aren't based on a deep wrestling with the
difficulties of life and belief. If those wrestling
within their souls seem to reject Jesus, they may be rejecting
one of the false Christs which have been preached to the world. They are still given those holy experiences which they are unwilling to
name as God's. Understanding
such travelers &
their needs is part of loving them.
The
Emmaus Road—These
travelers may come to a personal faith in Jesus Christ [on their own
"road to Emmaus"]. Cleopas and his wife Mary learnt God's
truth on this dusty road, and their hearts burned within them. They
were unable to name Jesus until he broke bread with them in the cool
of
the day. Then they moved from bereavement and meaninglessness to
acceptance and understanding. T.S.
Eliot uses that road in The
Waste Land,
Part V, as an image for his way out of "the waste land,"
towards hope.
In
Ash Wednesday,
he describes letting go, leaving behind his
original [hope and] belief-system, & the despair of the desert.
Later
in the same poem,
the
faith of his youth has to be given a "new verse," and some
part of what he once had or was is not to be
restored, but taken away for burial. It
is an experi- ence which included tears and resignation, but also
recovery—in its double sense of healing and finding what was lost.
[Again
in
Ash Wednesday, he
asks]:
Suffer us not to
mock ourselves with falsehood/ Teach us to care and not to care/
Teach us to sit still/ Even among these rocks,/ Our peace in his will
... At
this point, Eliot rejoined the church. His
religious life as described in Dry
Sal- vage is
in part: Hints
followed by guesses; & the rest/ Is prayer, observance, discipline,
thought and action. The hint half guessed, the gift half understood, is Incarnation.
The
Christian Mysteries in Direct Experience—When
belief seems impossible, it is the poets who help us be aware of
experiences of healing &
forgiveness
which seem to come from outside or from places deep within, [like
D.H. Lawrence's description of]: ... snatches
of lovely
oblivion, &
snatches of renewal/ odd, wintry flowers upon the withered stem, yet
new, strange flowers/ such as my life hasn't brought forth before,
new blossoms of me—/ then
I must know that still/ I am in the hands of the unknown God,/ ...
breaking me down to his own oblivion/ to send me forth on a new
morning, a
new man.
Or
Walt Whitman's
wish: ... to
disengage from ... corpses of me, which I turn &
look where I cast them,/ To pass on, (O living! always living!)
&
leave corpses behind. These
are religious experiences which witness powerfully to the resurrection's
reality [&
doctrine]. We can have no understanding of resur- rection doctrine
except through the wisdom which such experiences give. Sydney Carter wrote: Your
holy hearsay isn't evidence;/ Give me the Good News in the present
tense. ["The
Present Tense"].
Friends
used to believe in a relationship between scripture events and their
own experience. Job Scott believed "they are mainly meant of
internal operations, discoveries and over-turnings which God, in his
dealings with
the soul, leads it through." Friends today find this difficult
to accept intellectually, but it can still resonate as poetry.
Arthur
Rimbaud, a non-Christian, celebrates his release from his inner
prison and the dawning awareness of a new task [using biblical
images of hell, the son of man, the silver star, and the 3 magi]
"to salute
the birth of the new work and the new wisdom, the flight of tyrants
and demons, the end of superstition, and be the first to worship
Christmas on earth." [trans- lated from the French].
Edith
Sitwell uses the cross, the nails, Dives &
Lazarus, Christ's blood in
"Still Falls the Rain",
&
T.S. Eliot uses Pentecostal images in "Little Gidding" part IV, to describe God's
power &
love &
the evil &
suffering of the
London bombing raids. Quaker
tradition sees judgment not
as an event at the end of time, but
something that occurs within the individual, who participates in it,
and in doing so gives her or his life its meaning. James
Naylor wrote: "And if there be a dwelling in the Light, this
judgment ceases not, till the throne of Christ be established in the
heart in peace; for this is his judgment, and is upon all that stands
up against his kingdom." Kathleen
Raine in "The 8th
Sphere": Why
then on earth, all who have been here ask,/ Why in the body's narrow
prison?/ But why this here and now only when I loved I knew/ And
lifted with joy the burden of this sorrow.
New
Wine and Old Wineskins—Some
people find the hints and gues- ses founded on
undeniable experience intensely exciting, as opposed to a taught or
caught religion. Jesus
was ambiguous
about the relationship of tradi- tional understanding to new
revelation, [hence
the analogies] of new cloth on old garments and new wine in old
wineskins. In
"2 Trees," David Sutton uses the image of a
crab-apple
tree growing out of the trunk of a rotting willow,
with their branches intertwined. He closes with: The
willow played its part by standing
there.
These
experiences offer only a starting point. For those who learn to
trust the vision they are given, struggles
of faith against doubt give way to new priorities. T.S. Eliot
implies that there are only isolated moments of under- standing. He
says [in "The Waste Land" and "Burnt Norton"]:
Sudden in a shaft
of sunlight/ Even while the dust moves/ There rises the hidden
laughter/ Of children in the
foliage/ Quick now, here, always—/ Ridiculous the waste sad time/
Stretching before and after. Wordsworth
is well-pleased to
recog- nize/ In nature and the language of the sense ... The guide, the
guardian of my heart, and soul/ Of
all my moral being.
Richard
Eberhart, [in "The Incomparable Light"], writes of: The
light beyond compare is the light I saw. I
saw it on the mountain tops, the light/ Beyond compare. I saw it in
childhood too./ ... I saw it in political action, & I saw/ The light beyond compare in sundry deaths. Edwin
Muir asks
in The
Transfiguration: Was it a vision?/ did we see that day the
unseeable/ One glory of the everlasting world/ Perpetually at work,
though never seen/ Since Eden locked the gate that's everywhere/ &
nowhere? Was the change in us alone,/ the enormous earth still left
forlorn,/ exile or a prisoner? Yet the world/ We saw that day made
this unreal, for all/ Was in its place. Muir's
vision of "that radiant kingdom" is so intense that it
convinces him
of the possibility of universal healing and forgiveness. He ends his
poem with the image of Judas, the betrayal ... quite undone & never more be done.
We can dismiss it; or if it resonates with our own deepest intimations, we can embrace it. Any doctrine, any church, any poem can be a container for the truth; but if we come to value it for itself and not the reality it contains, the life drains out of it, the angel departs, and the form becomes empty. In Kath- leen Raine's imagination the divine revelations are a succession of huge an- gels coming to earth throughout history: ... In vain we look for them where others found them,/ For by the vanishing stair of time the immortals are always departing;/ But while we gaze after the receding vision/ Others are already descending through gates of ivory and horn.
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311. Without Nightfall Upon the Spirit (by Mary Chase Morrison;
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311. Without Nightfall Upon the Spirit (by Mary Chase Morrison;
1993)
About
the Author—At
83, Mary Morrison feels qualified by age to share thoughts on growing
old. She taught the Pendle Hill Gospel course for several years; she
still leads Bible study at her retirement community. She has kept a
journal for many years, &
is the author of 6 Pendle Hill pamphlets. This
pam- phlet grew out of a talk in the Fall of 1992 at St. Andrews in
Yardley, PA. Virgi- nia Woolf instructed us to "Observe old age."
Reflections
on Aging—I
hope in this pamphlet to bring the extremes "too bright &
cheery" &
"too dark &
gloomy" together without denying them;
both
are valid. Presiding
over disintegration of ones body, [especially] short- term memory
loss, calls for heroism no less impressive for being quiet &
pa- tient. To watch the process in someone you love, or the [fading
away] that leaves an
empty shell, calls for
heroism in defeat beyond words.
Queries—Where
does the necessary gallantry come from? How do we find it within?
What will old age demand of us? Where is the dignity to be found in
it? The
spirit, psyche, soul, self, inner life is the area or arena of life
and growth and work for our old age. Carl Jung writes: "I don't
live, but life is lived in me." I follow his advice to watch
what I do so I can find out who I am. Dealing with the difficulties,
we can even become wise.
If
2 elderly friends receive short visits, and 1 says "Why did you
bother to come at all" and the other says "It's so good for
you to make the time for me," which
of
them is headed into a happy old age? In
order to learn who we are, we need to look at our attitudes, watch
them day by day. watch how we approach life. It takes vigilance to
be aware of the inner work that must be done to keep level with life
as it moves us into old age.
What
inner tools do we need for this inner work? We
need to begin keeping a journal, a thoughtful writing-down of
happenings, thoughts, dreams, nightmares, and our ongoing response to them. A journal is an instrument of
awareness, to watch what we do & find out who we are. We need to
be com- fortable with paradox: Failure
is success; losing life is finding it; in my end is my beginning; in
my beginning is my end. In old age we begin to experience them. We
must learn to live with continuing questions to which there seem to
be no immediate answers: What
has life been? What will death be? Who &
what are we? Rainier
Maria Rilke's instructions are to love the questions &
live gradually
into
the answers.
The questions come down to one personal, intimate one: How
do we respond to the inevitable, growing diminishment that
is coming upon us?
Journal:
August 29, 1978—In
visiting the Florida home &
family, one thing was deeply &
disturbingly different. Maxey
and I were now the oldest generation. [No more younger or even middle
generation for us]. Our
parents, uncles &
aunts had died or moved into retirement centers. We weren't where the
action was. We weren't where the decisions, large &
small, were being made. We
were on the sidelines. A bad feeling/ good feeling, it was some of both—definitely a strange feeling, &
a new relationship to the family both immediate &
extended.
We were included in things, but people [started] making
time for us &
usually it was time that was hard to make; [this
will get more so as we get less active].
[Other
transitions and roads to different family roles]
were
clearly marked. The road to becoming the oldest generation is not
marked at all. I am feeling its uncertainty trailing off into a
whole perspective of question marks losing themselves in the distance
and over the hill. Queries—Do
we detach ourselves and make a new life? Do we still consider
ourselves part of the family whole?
If
we live along into those questions, an answer begins to emerge. Our
grandchildren look to us for comfort and unconditional love when
they are small; we can give it to them because we are not responsible
for them. We can befriend
their adolescence because of the more relaxed attitude toward con- ventions & outward demands that we have acquired. They may
even turn to us for some of our old-fashioned ideas to guide them.
This marvelous, warm place waits for us on the periphery of family
life.
Next,
we need to realize that the word "young" or even
"middle-aged" can never be applied to us again. 1st, we
mourn without envy. We say, "Let go, farewell." We have had
[our life]. It was our time,
and we lived it. It happened, therefore it exists, in our hearts and
memories, and no one can take it from us. Living
in the past is the shadow half of a process that this period of our
lives requires of us—the "harvesting" of our past in
memory, in thought, in writing.
[There is no telling what treasures
may result in delving into ones distant memories, not
just for oncoming
generations, but especially for us]. If we relive it well in memory,
it will bring us its wisdom; we will see our life as the whole that
it is. [Barely noticed]
decisions become significant choices; once-devastating emotions
become opportunities for forgiveness. If we have done our harvesting
well, we see our life-stages from a different perspective, as parts
of a whole that we could not see while we were living
it.
Journal:
December 31, 1990–[3
grandchildren came to visit]:
Lesa (27), Suzi (24),
Tim (23); youth in its glorious maturity, with some choices made, but
all the possibilities of the future still ahead. Youth with its aura
of peace, however temporary. Youth,
full of the "precious uncertain fire of life" burning
unselfconsciously, so unconscious of its own beauty, a fine clear bla- zing. What was coming was a gift that its owners were unaware of;
if they thought about
it at all, they
thought
of it as part of themselves, not as a
tem- porary loan. I particularly love youth when it lives in people who
are using it well. Perhaps seeing that beauty is one of the gifts of
old age.
The
aloneness that comes with old age is a gift waiting to be accepted,
the chance to move from loneliness to solitude, [the
chance] to be
ourselves,
to know what our tempo is if left to itself, what we think, how we
feel, how we [live within ourselves]. We
can turn from caring for others to finding: the riches of our own
being; companionship in our own thoughts &
feelings; and solitude as our best friend, &
longtime companion. It
takes longer to do everything. Underly- ing this slowing-down is a
basic life-fatigue, [varying from] hardly noticeable to
overpowering; it is always there. Tiredness brings its own gift if we are alert to discern it.
Journal:
June 19, 1990—In
Vermont, we found ourselves tired &
old, sitting on benches [more]. We [also] found ourselves enjoying
the clouds, the lake, the hills, the spring flowers [more]. Now
in age I feel that exhaustion
[from climbing] &
ecstasy from the beauty of the view were connected. I
think this combination is one of old age's
gifts. Now there is no more climbing to do; we are too tired.
But the view is
still there; &
we are exhausted enough to reach into (or be reached by) our ecstasy
in the
water, skies, clouds, trees, flowers, moun- tains, people. And if we
wait, what we want to remember will come to mind, swimming slowly to
the surface of our minds like a fish rising. Personality,
character, &
even basic life-wisdom can last far into the mental slowness &
even confusion of old age. My father reached a state in which he
wasn't sure whether I was his sister or his daughter. His
years of wisdom were
still avail- able—if only I hadn't been distracted by this minor,
trivial mix-up.
The ability to sleep well may
forsake us too, leaving us wakeful for 2 or 3 hours in the darkest,
most interminable hours of the night, say from 2 to 5. It can be an
affliction, or an opportunity to: take imaginary walks; re-visit
vistas; have "a good think." Best of all, we learn
something new about prayer. William Law wrote: "As the heart
willeth & worketh, such & no other is its prayer ... Pray we must, as sure as our heart is alive ... When our heart isn't in a spirit of prayer to God, we pray without ceasing to some other part
of creation." Perhaps as we watch what we do, we can enlarge and
refocus our prayer, until we find that we aren't so much praying as
being prayed through, and our best hopes & the world's hopes are
flowing through us, but not at our bidding.
In old age we experience time
differently. We used to be governed by chronos time, clock/
calendar time. Now it is kairos time, the appropriate time as
decided by life's rhythms. Where is the life that late we lived?
What is it now time for us to do or be? The conventional wisdom
is that the old shouldn't segregate themselves into their own
age-group, but to stay in a lar- ger, intergenerational society. The
difficulties between generations are almost all a matter of tempo.
Life together exhausts patience on both sides, no matter how much
love and goodwill we bring to the situation. We elders need to be
together, be our- selves, sustain one another, live at our own tempo.
One old woman said: "Don't deprive me of my old age; I have
earned it." The decision to move along into a new pattern brings
a hard time for us when we must leave the life-setting & all the
past that we have lived with and loved for so many years.
Journal:
July 2, 1988—This
spring consisted of dividing up posses- sions, what to keep, what to
pass on. In the end, it came down to saying "Take it, take it"
to anyone who showed the slightest interest in anything of ours. We
said thank you and goodbye to all the house's sheltering gifts of the
past. The children and grandchildren visit for their last times.
We found tears near the surface at all kinds of unexpected times,
tears that came from being emotionally moved by what we had given
&
shared. We were moved and awed by what a human life is; how we come
and go, and others take our place in the stream of life. The more we
have allowed ourselves to love fully and freely a place, person or a
way of life, the more fully and freely we can leave it.
Journal:
February 8, 1988 (part of a letter)—[I
have found]
that with things, places, and possibly
people, it's easier to let go
if you have let yourself love than if you've held back; letting go
becomes part of fulfillment. I'm finding this long
process of saying goodbye to this much loved house &
to our life here a very
good one. Sorting through [old
daily records] gives events a perspective & clarity they didn't
have in their present. Any
process
not held back from, is fulfilling &
beautiful. I hope I can remember that when I'm dying. Our
process is taking us to death; in old age we live in daily awareness
of that fact. An
obser- vable moving into greater distance is part of the very old's
development; it takes
them longer
to come back from their mysterious inner distance. Even where the
inner distance is so great that the personality appears
absent, there can be important soul-work going on.
We
can't presume to know all that is going on inside
in these last stages; what we can see may not be all that is
happening. We can follow only in imagi- nation. My
doctor friend, who has sat by many a deathbed, reported that she
would see, at the moment of death, a fleeting expression of
incredulous joy, as if something were happening [beyond]
all dreams, hopes, &
promises. We can watch what we do so we can find out who we are
before we come to the end of our [lifelong]
day. St.
Ambrose prayed in the 4th
century: "May the day go by joyously:/ In the morning of
purity,/ In the high noon of faith,/ And without nightfall upon the
spirit." Let us close, with luck &
good management, without nightfall on our spirit, which is capable of
great things until the end.
Queries—When & how did you experience a transition into aging? How much need do you feel for solitude as you grow older? [How important is it] to evaluate, sort, and come to a sense of where you were, where you are, and how you got here? What is your relationship to younger people as part of the oldest generation in their lives? How does increasing age affect your attitude toward death? How much anger do you feel as you experience the diminishments of age? What do you most fear about the latter stages of the aging process? How do you deal with your fears?
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312.
Motion of Love: Woolman as Mystic and Activist (by Sterling
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Olmsted; 1993)
About
the Author—Sterling
Olmsted was Dean of Faculty at Wilming- ton College of Ohio, &
has been active in the Religious Society of Friends for 30 years,
serving on Yearly Meeting (YM) committees (Wilmington
&
Ohio Valley), as well as Friends Committee on National Legislation,
Friends World Committee for Consultation, &
Friends Committee for Higher Education (FAHE). He taught "Nonviolence
&
Social Change."
The pamphlet's
1st
version was at the FAHE 1989 annual meeting at Swarthmore. Sterling
says "I had been car- rying on a dialogue with Woolman, which I
was finding very useful, & I wanted to bring others into the
dialogue."
[Introduction]/ Woolman'
Faith Revealed—John
Woolman offers
us a [long-running], detailed and continuing record of inner motions
& outer actions which connects with our experience. John
Woolman is both mystic & activist or prophet. It is not unheard
of, but neither is it common to the degree which I find in Woolman.
In both these roles, he is accessible to us. His mysticism is so
much like ours that we may not even think of it as mysticism.
Woolman seldom reports
experiences which involve hearing voices or seeing visions. He has concerns, openings, and motions of love. If Woolman is mystic and
activist, so are many of us. Our inner motions may be less
demanding and powerful, our actions less courageous, but in principle
they are the same. We
need to look at his writing very closely to see his beliefs and how
he was inwardly moved and what he did.
John Woolman's Journal
provides a starting point for
constructing a co- herent body of beliefs: "I kept steady to
meetings, spent First Day afternoon chiefly in reading the Scriptures
... & was early convinced in my mind that true religion consisted
in an inward life ... As the mind was moved on an inward principle to
love God as an invisible
being ... it was moved to love God in all God's manifestations in the
visible world ... Sincere, upright-hearted people in every society
who truly loved God were accepted of God ... As I lived under the
cross and simply followed openings of truth, my mind from day to day
was more enlightened."
Central
to Woolman's faith is
belief in an inner source; early in the Journal, he
calls it a
principle. He writes: "The
true felicity [joy] of man in this life ... is in being inwardly
united to the fountain of universal love &
bliss." Woolman sees this inner source as universal, "confined
to no forms of religion, nor excluded from any where the heart stands
in perfect sincerity," [young or old]. He also sees the inner source as being addressable in
others, "so that I trust the pure witness in many minds was
reached." This concept is a signifi- cant part of Woolman's faith.
Woolman sees contrary motions
as arising from individual will, the sel- fish spirit, the "spirit
of oppression." He writes: "[When the principle] which
in- cites to the exercise of goodness ... [is] being frequently &
totally rejected, the mind shuts itself up in a contrary disposition
... [&] there remains an ob- struction against the clearness of
light operating in us." Because of these contrary motions,
Woolman is careful to say that his efforts are only partially what he
had hoped for.
At times he would say: "As
I was preserved in the ministry to keep low with the truth, the same
truth in their hearts answered it; it was a time of mutual
refreshment from the Lord's presence." Woolman's faith helps us
understand his attention to inner motion, his inattention to outward
results, his efforts to liberate oppressors from oppressing, &
the speaking of a principle within him to the same principle in
others. The Bible is very much part of his experience & must have
shaped his understanding; guidance seems to come to him from an inner
source.
Woolman's
Faith in Action—We
are looking for specific Journal
pas- sages
in which Woolman reports his inner motions, the choices he made, &
the obedient actions he
took. I was able to identify 111 narrative accounts which fit these
criteria. I charted the components of these passages under 6 headings, 3 inner &
3 outer. Almost
never in these narrative accounts does Woolman make reference to
outer results. All
6 components appear in only 8 of the passages; the most common
number is 4.
Most begin with a reference to the world around, or with
inner motions. More than a quarter of the passages have more than 1
entry in a given column. [Editor's
note: I have listed headings below in the fonts in which
their respec- tive components will appear; they won't
always appear in this order, nor
are all of them used in every passage]:
Outer World Around Woolman; INNER MO- TIONS OF THE SOURCE; INNER
TURN TO GOD; Outer Social Check; Outer
Action; INNER REFLECTIONS].
[Example]:
"The
great number of slaves in these parts &
the continu- ance of that trade MADE A DEEP IMPRESSION ON ME &
MY CRIES WERE PUT UP TO MY FATHER IN SECRET [SO THAT I COULD]
DISCHARGE MY DUTIES ... We
took Swansea ... in our way to Boston where we also had a meeting ...
OUR EXERCISE WAS DEEP, AND THE LOVE OF TRUTH PRE- VAILED, FOR WHICH I
THANK THE LORD.
[There
are 6 more examples in the Appendix]. Queries: What
decision is Woolman facing? Is he trying to decide where to go next?
What is the context of his particular journey?
In 1760, Woolman was moving toward an even stronger focus on slavery
and the slave trade. This passage recounts one step in the process.
It shows the way in which his concerns & actions develop.
Dialogue with the
Text—All
111 passages, taken as a whole in relation to each other & to
Woolman's faith, makes it possible for us to carry on a dia- logue with
the text, to ask
questions, find some answers, think of new ques- tions, look for more
answers. Queries:
What does Woolman's
language tell us about his state of mind? How does the INNER MOTIONS
column content compare with that in INNER REFLECTIONS? How
does Wool- man's observations of his world affect his INNER MOTIONS? How close is the connection between his INNER MOTIONS and action? What does Woolman do and how does he do it? When
& why does he stop short of action? When and for what does Woolman
turn to other Friends? When he makes explicit appeals and requests to
God, what does he ask for?
"State
of Mind" Words and Phrases
INNER MOTIONS
motions
of love ...admonition ...heavy ...distress of mind
... way opened in pure flowings of divine love want
of strength ... in a watchful and tender state
INNER REFLECTIONS
found relief ... encouragement ... calmness of mind ... heart enlarged ... love of truth prevailed ...sense of God's goodness ... pure witness reached ... heart contrite
Some phrases in the 1st column
suggest a positive or happy state, but the dominant impression is: suffering, pain, affliction, weakness, sorrow, hea- viness. Woolman
is uncomfortable, unclear. He undergoes painful exercises. He feels
engaged to do something. He feels drawn, concerned. In the 2nd
column, after Woolman has acted and is reflecting on how he feels, he
writes of finding relief, feeling forgiveness, finding peace,
comfort, calmness of mind, inward healing. More than ½
the phrases refer either
to the state of other individuals
or group minds while he
was visiting.
Central to Woolman's thinking, is the strong emphasis
in the INNER
REFLECTIONS column
on mutuality or unity. When
in close conversations with others, he is clearly concerned that
what he does will strengthen rather than weaken his ties with them.
He said: "My heavenly Father hath preserved me in
such a tender state of mind that none, I believe, hath ever been
offended at what I have said." It is certainly clear from the
INNER
REFLECTIONS'
expres- sions that Woolman saw what was happening to himself and others
as the work of God, not his own work. God gets the credit in 20
entries from this column.
Many
initial references to the world are no more than places, dates, or
establishing a context. In many others, what happens, or what is
observed, produces inner motions. He clearly carried with him
continuing and growing concerns. There
was a very complex interaction between outer observations and inner
motions. In
meeting with Indians, 2 things were already working within him—love
and a sense of injustice. He has a chance meeting which gave him an
opportunity to observe the Indians closely. He begins to feel in- ward
drawings, which he keeps mostly to himself until they come to
ripeness. His
path was like one through a miry place with steppingstones "so
situated that one step being taken, time is necessary to see where to
step next."
There
is usually a clear connection, a flow, between inner motion and
action. In nearly ½
the passages, the word used to describe the inner motion is followed
by naming the action, actual
or proposed. Sometimes he does not feel clear; he then often turns
to God for further guidance or assurance. He is moved to communicate
or persuade—to speak in meeting, to labor with indivi- duals, to
leave something in writing. As
he
talks with people, he seeks, with God's help, to reach the witness
within them, without impairing the unity which
he prizes so much. He directs his persuasion particularly to those
who are in a position to effect change—influential Friends, slave
owners, and rich people generally. This emphasis on unity does not
imply a reluctance to speak plainly. He nearly always feels he is doing it under a concern or engagement,
with God's help.
Most of Woolman's accounts of
his actions are quite brief; many confirm that he did what he set out
to do. There were times when he stopped short of action, because he
felt comfortable in leaving matters to God or to other people. In
such instances, he seems to be "looking less to effects ...
than to the pure motion and reality of the concern as it arises from
heavenly love." When & for what does Woolman turn to other
Friends? When does he appeal to God? What does he ask for
from God [and other Friends]? Woolman almost always asks [for
some sort of letter authenticating his journey and its purpose]. Most often he is looking for a traveling companion, or for help
laboring with slave owners. [He once explained his choice of
traveling alone as]: "My concern was that I might attend with
singleness of heart to the True Shepherd's voice."
He turns to God much more
often than he turns to people. He asks for help most often for
stressful actions, difficult issues, or wrestling with contrary
motions. A query he put to himself was: "Do I in all
my proceedings keep to that use of things which is agreeable to
universal righteousness?" Or he will "ask my gracious
Father to give me a heart in all things resigned to the direction of
his wisdom." It appears that generally it is suffering which
calls forth an appeal to God. What he seeks is to be an instrument
of God. Therefore he turns to God explicitly when he [needs
clarity], when he is uncertain of his own strength, or when he fears
he is not low enough, humble enough, to hear and obey.
Woolman's
Visions—The
accounts we have been examining reinforce the impression that what he
felt and did is well within the range of our own experience. To
understand Woolman more fully, we must look at 2 experiences in his
Journals which
are much less ordinary. He
awakens [in the night &] sees
a light
"at the distance of 5 feet, about 9 inches in diameter, of a
clear easy brightness and near the center the most radiant. He also
hears words ["of
the Holy One"] inwardly
which fill his inward man: "Certain
evidence of Divine Truth." "They were again repeated
exactly in the same manner, whereupon the light disappeared."
He is wide awake, in good health [and lucid]; he did not take action
as a result of it.
"2nd
day, 8th
month, 1772 ... In a time of sickness ... I was brought so near to
the gates of death that I forgot my name ... I saw a mass of matter
of a dull gloomy color ... [which] was human beings in as much misery
as possible &
yet live ... I
was mixed in with them &
henceforth might not consider myself as a distinct &
separate being ... I believed [I heard] an angel's voice who
spake to other angels [say]: "John Woolman is dead." [I
remembered I was once John Woolman, &
... I greatly wondered what that heavenly voice could mean ... "
"I was
carried in spirit to ... where poor oppressed people were digging
rich treasures for ... Christians, &
heard them blaspheme the name of Christ ... They
said: "If Christ directed them to use us in this sort, then
Christ is a cruel tyrant ... and I perceived ... that the language
John Woolman is
dead meant
no more than the death of my own will ... After
this sickness ... my mind was very often in the company with
oppressed slaves as I sat [silent] in meetings ... The divine gift
operated by abundance of weeping in feeling the oppression of this
people."
[There were differences
between the 1st and 2nd experience in world- liness, mood, and the
similarities to or differences from Fox's visions]. The 2nd vision
can be seen as marking a radical restructuring of Woolman's inner/outer dynamics; he takes the vision very seriously. In a short time,
[he experiences: death of self and separate will; "seeing"
suffering humanity; being "incorpora- ted" into it; more
unity with the divine source]. He writes long afterward in
Con- cerning the Ministry on
complete dependence on the Inward Christ:
Christ,
being the Prince of Peace, and we being no more than ministers, I
find it necessary for us, not
only to feel a concern in our 1st going forth, but to experience the
renewing thereof ... Thus I have been more and more instructed as to
the necessity of depending, not upon a concern which I felt in
America, but upon fresh instructions of Christ, the Prince of Peace,
from day to day.
Woolman as
Pattern—[Woolman
echoes Fox
in saying]: "Your example in a plain life might encourage other
rich families in this simple way of living." We Quakers,
walking as Woolman did within the Christian tradition, may well find
ourselves in the company of Hindus and Buddhists. [Woolman's
seeing self & will as obstacles, his avoiding emphasis on his labors' effect, his com- plete dependence on the inner actions of God,
his
awareness of the suffering of all creatures],
is close to Hindu and Buddhist thought.
[Editor's
emphasis]: What I see Woolman offering the spiritual
seeker is a detailed report of his own search, which
shows a coherent & balanced pattern in which inner and outer are
connected in life and practice. He shows us how to carry the motions
of love we feel into the workings of the world. He
does not withdraw from that world, nor does he become so fixated on
results that he tramples over others, and he does what he does by
addressing the witness in others. This is a pattern which is valuable for our own journey, and which can bring us close to the experience
of seekers in other traditions.
Appendix—[Editor's
note: I have listed the headings below in the fonts in which
their respective components will appear in
the analysis of the narra- tive accounts;
they won't
always appear in this order, nor
are all of them used in every passage]:
Outer World Around Woolman; INNER MOTIONS OF THE SOURCE; INNER
TURN TO GOD; Outer Social Check; Outer
Action; INNER REFLECTIONS.
Following
are 7
examples:
1.
At
Camp Creek Meeting and a meeting at a Friend's house I FELT SORROW OF
HEART AND MY TEARS
WERE POURED OUT BEFORE THE LORD, BY WHICH WAY OPENED to
clear my mind amongst Friends
in those places ... From there I went to Fork Creek and to Cedar
Creek. HERE I FOUND A TENDER SEED, AND I WAS PRESERVED IN THE
MINISTRY TO KEEP LOW WITH THE TRUTH ... [mine & theirs, & there
was] MUTUAL REFRESH- MENT FROM THE PRESENCE OF THE LORD.
2.
HAVING
FELT MY MIND DRAWN TOWARD A VISIT TO A FEW MEE- TINGS IN PA I
WAS VERY
DESIROUS TO BE RIGHTLY INSTRUCTED AS TO THE TIME OF SETTING OFF ...
TO SEEK FOR HEAVENLY INSTRUCTION AND COME HOME OR GO ON ... THROUGH
THE SPRINGING UP OF PURE LOVE I FELT ENCOURAGEMENT and
so crossed the river ...I was
at 2 Quar- terly and 3 Monthly Meetings and felt my way open to labor
with Friends who kept Negroes. AS I WAS FAVORED TO KEEP TO THE
ROOT ... I FOUND PEACE THEREIN.
3. We
continued in our tent &
HERE I WAS LED TO THINK OF THE NATURE OF THE EXERCISE WHICH ATTENDED
ME. LOVE WAS THE 1ST MOTION, &
THEN A CONCERN ... TO SPEND SOME TIME WITH THE INDI- ANS ... &
AS MINE EYE WAS TO THE GREAT FATHER OF MERCIES, DE- SIRING TO KNOW
WHAT GOD'S WILL WAS CONCERNING ME, I
WAS MADE QUIET &
CONTENT.
4.
THROUGH THE HUMBLING DISPENSATION OF DIVINE PROVI- DENCE MY
MIND HATH BEEN BROUGHT INTO A FURTHER FEELING of the difficulties of
Friends and their servants southwestward AND
BEING OFTEN ENGAGED IN SPIRIT ... I BELIEVED IT MY DUTY TO WALK
THROUGH
THE HUMBLING DISPENSATION OF DIVINE PROVIDENCE & having obtained a
certificate I
took leave of my family ... rode to the ferry ...and from thence
walked.
5.
And now sitting down with Friends, MY
MIND WAS TURNED TO- WARD THE LORD TO WAIT FOR GOD'S HOLY LEADING WHO
WAS PLEASED TO SOFTEN MY HEART ... AND
DID STRENGTHEN ME ... THE NEXT DAY THE LORD GAVE US A HEART-TENDERING
SESSION ... THROUGH THE HUMBLING POWER OF TRUTH.
6. On
the 5th,
5th
month, 1768 I
left home UNDER
THE HUMBLING HAND OF THE LORD having obtained a certificate in order
to visit some meetings in Maryland AND
TO PROCEED
WITHOUT A HORSE LOOKED CLEAREST TO ME.
I
was at Quarterly Meeting at Philadelphia and Concord ... Thence back
to Chester River and taking a few meetings in my way ... home. IT
WAS A JOURNEY OF MUCH INWARD WAITING ... IN MY RETURN I FELT RELIEF
OF MIND ...HAVING LABORED IN MUCH PLAINNESS ... SO THAT I TRUST THE
PURE WITNESS
IN MANY MINDS WAS REACHED.
7. I, being much amongst the seamen, HAVE, FROM A MOTION OF LOVE taken opportunities with one alone, & labored to turn their minds toward a fear of the Lord ... and we had a meeting in the cabin WHERE MY HEART WAS CONTRITE UNDER A FEELING OF DIVINE LOVE.
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313. Friends and Alcohol: Recovering a Forgotten Testimony (by
7. I, being much amongst the seamen, HAVE, FROM A MOTION OF LOVE taken opportunities with one alone, & labored to turn their minds toward a fear of the Lord ... and we had a meeting in the cabin WHERE MY HEART WAS CONTRITE UNDER A FEELING OF DIVINE LOVE.
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313. Friends and Alcohol: Recovering a Forgotten Testimony (by
Robert Levering; 1994)
About
the Author/ [Introduction]—Robert
Levering's interest in Qua- ker social testimonies dates from the
Vietnam era when he worked for peace on the staff of the American
Friends Service Committee, A Quaker action group, and Friends Peace
Committee.
Friends
have expressed strong concerns about the use and abuse of alcohol for
more than 300 years, through
yearly meetings' advices and queries. Many contemporary Friends find
such queries quaint at best. Some new Friends thought that "we
laid down our 'temperance testimony' long ago
... certainly by the time the nation repealed Prohibition."
There are instances of Quakers consuming alcohol at home and socially
at meeting pot-lucks, chil- dren's overnights, and weddings. Such
instances are hardly isolated events, nor are they confined to
"liberal" Quaker meetings. [Pastors and clerks from Friends
Churches report "liberal" use of alcohol, and not reading
"alcohol abstinence" queries that make some
"uncomfortable]."
Contrary
to the Spirit/ A Social Concern—The
19-year-old George Fox was so disturbed that professing Christians
would engage in [drinking bouts] that he couldn't sleep one
night.
This
incident convinced Fox to leave home and begin the spiritual journey that eventually resulted in Quakerism. Early Friends condemned drunkenness [along with] other sins.
John
Woolman wrote: "The frequent use of strong drink
works
in oppo- sition to the Holy Spirit on the mind ... a man quite drunk
may be furthest re- moved from that frame of mind in which God is
worshipped ... a person [drin- king] without being quite
drunk [accustoms] oneself to that which is a less de- gree of the same
thing ... it must by long continuance necessarily hurt mind &
body." Excessive drinking interfered with discernment of divine
will. [Getting drunk Saturday night and repenting Sunday morning
in church] is precisely what Fox found offensive about his cousin's
drinking bouts; every moment was to be lived in the Spirit.
Early
Friends were concerned about the social and political ramifications
of temperance. William Penn writes: "Drunkenness, excess in
drinking, is a vio lation of God 's law, our own natures; it doth of
all sins rob us of reason, de- face the impressions of virtue, and
extinguish the remembrance of God's mer- cies &
our duty ... [It
tempts some to] incest, murder, robberies, fires and other villainies
... [which] makes drunkenness a common enemy to human society ... It
spoils health, weakens humankind, and above all provokes the just God
to anger."
John
Woolman decried the selling of rum to Native Americans, and get- ting
them drunk in order to cheat them. Woolman writes: "To conform a
little to a wrong way strengthens the hand of those who carry wrong
customs to their utmost extent; the more a person appears to be
virtuous & heavenly-minded, the more powerfully
does one's conformity operate in favor of evil-doers."
From
Moderation to Abstinence—The
first generations Friends were not teetotalers. William
Penn accepted the custom of drinking for refreshment, but he did not
countenance "social drinking." In Penn's day, before
refrigeration or vacuum packaging, there were few alternatives to
alcohol. People thought it beneficial to
drink alcohol [in widely varying conditions, & for numerous
mala- dies].
When 17th
and 18th
century Friends urged "moderation," they were recommending
moderate use of a necessity, like food; [that is no longer true].
Despite
frequent advices for Friends to be moderate and temperate, many of
them developed serious drinking problems. Between 1682 and 1776, Jack
Marietta found that drunkenness was the second most common cause for
disownment, after marrying outside the faith; [some
instances included traveling ministers]. Some 1,034 Quakers were
disciplined (about 60% of whom were disowned). Disownments were
rarely automatic in such cases, as Friends la- bored patiently with
their drunken brethren. By
the end of the 18th
century, Friends had learned sadly that exhortations to moderation
didn't work; the rest of society wasn't even trying. Whiskey
was fast replacing rum as America's favorite drink by the mid-1700s.
Elizabeth
Levis of Philadelphia YM is credited as being the 1st
Friend in
the early 1750s to
urge the prohibiting of Friends from participating in the liquor
business. In
1774, Anthony Benezet wrote the essay entitled The
Mighty De- stroyer Displayed: In some account of the Dreadful Havock
made by the mis- taken use [&]
Abuse of Distilled Spirituous Liquors. He
compared addiction to alcohol to the bondage of slavery, &
[voiced concern about the increasing havoc it would cause in the
decades &
century to come] "if some check isn't put to
its career." Benezet carefully debunked conventional wisdom
about alcohol, argu- ing that strong drink is harmful to one's health,
[not beneficial].
To
Benezet, "all intoxicating liquors may
be considered poisons; how- ever disguised, that is their real
character, and sooner or later they will have their effect." In
1777, 3 years after Benezet's essay appeared, Philadelphia YM
prohibited Friends from importing, distilling or retailing liquor,
and advised members [to use] spirituous liquors [only] for medicinal
purposes. The Society of Friends thereby became the 1st Christian
religious group in modern history to take such a position; the advice
later included wine and beer.
A
Corporate Testimony—Slavery
&
temperance concerns came
from
the Society's
late 18th
century re-form movement. [American
reformers] inclu- ded John Woolman, John Churchman, Israel Pemberton;
English Friends &
reformers included Samuel Fothergill, Mary Peisley, &
Catherine Payton. The reformers' insistence on stricter Society
discipline led to a lot
of disownments for many
different
offenses. [Through
strict, perhaps] harsh disownments, the Society [weeded
out]
those not
serious about living according to high Society standards.
Late
18th
&
19th
century Friends took
radical personal stances.
Quaker
pacifism stems from commitment to Christian love; abolitionism from
belief in the divine spark; &
temperance from commitment to a Spirit-led life. John Pun- shon
explained that Quaker testimonies, consistently
carried out, is
a radical departure from accepted norms, &
"socially disturbing." They proclaim how the world ought to
be, what
other people ought to do.
The
social assertiveness of Quaker testimonies creates a certain
unea- siness among Friends today. Earlier Quakers [knew]
their testimonies
might cause ripples in society, but were willing to pay the price for
standing up for their beliefs. [Many early Friends expected]
the statement of their testimonies to be inferred from how they lived
their lives; for many others, testimonies implied social action.
Quakers individually &
collectively were forerunners of major sla- very &
temperance reform movements that engulfed American society during the next century.
Temperance
Reformers—After
the Revolutionary War, there were almost
no controls on alcohol's
availability.
By 1830 Americans over the age of 15 averaged
7.1 gallons of pure alcohol a year (5 shots of whiskey, 5 glasses of
whiskey, or
5
cans of beer a
day).
[In the midst of] this national binge the tem- perance movement was
born. 19th
century temperance reformers saw the damage being done to society by
people abusing alcohol. They believed that social ills would be
drastically reduced by eliminating alcohol from society. The
temperance movement encouraged people
who were not
"drunkards"
to sign a pledge and set an example for those with real or potential
drinking problems. Quaker reformers often cited Paul's advice, that
one had to be aware of
the effect of one's example on others' behavior.
Lucretia Mott preached to
Philadelphia medical students: "By practicing total abstinence
from that which intoxicates ... you may be instrumental in set- ting
the feet of many upon the rock of Temperance and put the song of
total abstinence into their mouths.
Susan B. Anthony was a temperance
organizer before throwing herself into the women's suffrage movement.
She said: "Though women, as a class, are much less addicted to
drunkenness and licentiousness than men, it is uni- versally conceded
that they are by far the greater sufferers from these evils."
Anthony saw suffrage as the way to halt the evils of intemperance.
Elizabeth Comstock argued: "There must be, on the part of
Christian people, a fire of love that is willing to renounce personal
interests, tastes and pleasures, and, with the blessing of God on our
efforts, the drinking uses of the land will be changed.
Substantial contributions to
the temperance movement were made not only by individual Quakers, but
also by the Society's various temperance com- mittees at both monthly
and yearly meetings; they sponsored coffee stands, a Coffee and
Lodging House, and lobbied the state legislature on a bill that would
place more restrictions on the issuance of liquor licenses. From the
7.1 gallon per year average in 1830, alcohol consumption decreased to
2.1 gal- lons by 1900; educational efforts of the temperance reformers
were given much of the credit.
Among those who believed that
the only solution was absolute prohibi- tion of the sale and distribution of alcohol was Rufus Jones, who wrote: "We honestly
believe that the liquor problem is beyond all question the greatest
problem before our nation, and the greatest moral problem in the
world ... It ought to be as impossible for [one with uncontrolled
passion for drink] to get liquor as for a crazy person to get
dynamite." The "great anti-liquor crusade" that Jones
supported resulted in the 1920 Prohibition Amendment.
James H.
Timberlake points out: "Although today sometimes regarded as
conservative, prohibition was actually written into the Constitution
as pro- gressive reform." Why Prohibition was repealed after only
13 years is a long & complicated story, & primarily an
economic one. [While it had an impact], most people today believe
that Prohibition was a total failure, so the tempe- rance movement
which spawned it is considered an embarrassment & is best left
ignored.
A
Major Social Problem—Friends
have done little to bear
witness to our historic testimony on alcohol in recent years. It is
rarely seen as a social or political issue. Some are unaware of
Quaker alcohol testimony, and many condemn teetotalism as part of a Puritan legacy (It
actually is not part of it). I think we would do well to
take a long sober look at this issue. The social pro- blems of alcohol
abuse may be worse today than 100 years ago when tem- perance was the
top issue on the Quaker social agenda.
Among the problems are:
drunken driving (20,000
deaths, 300,000 in- juries annually and nationally); alcohol-related
deaths; fetal alcohol syndrome birth defect (5,000 born annually).
Alcohol is implicated in a high percent of emergency room visits,
suicides, and violent
crimes (52% of all rapes and
other sexual assaults). Alcohol ranked ahead of heroin, crank,
cocaine and marijuana in terms of addictive potential. All
researchers of the subject note that most
alcohol-related social problems are caused by "moderate
drinkers, not by alcoholics.
[Alcohol,
Children and Women]—At
least
8,000,000 teenagers use alcohol every week; 500,000 go on weekly
binges. A
Univ. of
CA—Davis
stu- dent survey reported that 29% of students said they had
experienced alcohol- related personal problems. Quakers
can join MADD or SADD (Mothers/ Stu- dents Against Drunk Driving)
among others; we can push for stricter drunk driving laws. With
the exception of some black churches, fighting the social evils of
alcohol is being undertaken by secular groups.
Virtually all
religious groups in America have been deafeningly silent on alcohol
abuse issues. The California
"Dangerous Promises" campaign is trying to stop alcohol
advertising that depicts women as sex objects. My meeting was the
only religious organization to endorse and join in an effort endorsed
by 2 dozen various women's and community groups.
Alcohol
and Quakers—Groups
like Al-Anon & Adult Children of Alco- holics have made the public
much more aware that problem drinkers are not the only ones affected
by alcohol abuse. 1 of every 4 or 5 Americans comes from or now
lives with alcohol abuse in their family. For us to think this
doesn't happen to us Quakers is the height of denial. I
think the 1-in-4 figure is a rea- listic estimate for many Quaker
meetings.
Chuck
Fager writes: "Friends may have all but forgotten to face up to
the problem of alcohol abuse, but it
has not forgotten
about us ... Several
per- sons and families [we
know] have been ravaged by it. If comparable numbers of Friends were
hauled off to jail for refusing to swear oaths or submit to the
draft, we would be organizing committees nonstop on their behalf."
We
[need to] first acknowledge that there is a problem of
alcohol in society, including in our Society of Friends. We must be
tender toward those who have this terrible addiction or who live or
have lived with
it. Quaker gatherings need to be safe havens from alcohol.
Social
drinking can be divisive. It
still amazes me how social dynamics of groups change dramatically
with
alcohol present.
We might think about what kind of community we have that requires
a drug to help
us
reveal our- selves. We now offer almost
no information to younger Friends on alcohol &
drugs. Their
education is
left to
society, &
the nearly $2,000,000,000 a year the alcohol industry spends
on advertising &
promotions. In most cases, drin- king
alcohol is seen as glamorous, mature, even
humorous
behavior; liquor consumed on TV has little if any effect on the drinkers.
Drinking is a life-&- death
issue for our children. It is sad that we remain
silent on it.
A
Spiritual Issue—Modern
Friends need to get
involved in social &
po- litical efforts to relieve alcohol
abuse &
pay closer attention to alcohol's
use at Quaker gatherings.
We shortchange
our Quaker predecessors if we don't
also address personal drinking
habits. Some contemporary Friends see "nothing wrong" with
social or "moderate" drinking. Friends
might consider how social drinking
squares with well-established Quaker testimonies like simplicity &
truth. Thomas Kelly reminds us: "Life is meant to be lived from
... a Divine Center—a life of unhurried peace
&
power. It is simple. It is serene. It takes no time, but
it occupies all our time."
Alcoholic
beverages must now certainly be categorized among "unne- cessary
things." Using alcohol in small quantities to relieve stress or
to make one feel less socially inhibited raises serious spiritual
questions. How does
"moderate drinking" reflect living a life of the Spirit or
living from a Di- vine Center? How
does using a substance that lessens our ability to be worshipful and
to seek God's will fit with a
spiritual life?
How
does the Quaker testimony of a single standard of truth apply to the
reasons given for drinking? People
may have ulterior, concealed mo- tives for drinking beyond alcohol's
actual effects. Or people often deny that alcohol has any effect on
them whatsoever, a myth reinforced by mass media.
Hugh Doncaster
wrote: "There is the [rationalization] which pleads for
moderation in all things ... In moderation alcohol is
cheering and makes for good fellowship ... We need moderation is some things and total abstinence from others, such as murder [or war] ... [But] it is
important the total abstainer not judge or misjudge the occasional drinker in such a way as to hold one
at a distance ... "
"The total abstainer shouldn't consider oneself more
virtuous than the occasional drinker ... In
this respect one
has discerned God's will more truly than those who differ from one;
but one recognizes that in many other respects one is far less truly
pursuing the path of Christian discipleship."
It
is difficult for many of us contemporary Friends to take even small
acts that go counter to society, against the social grain. Our
current enmeshment with the wider society raises the question: Have
we lost something impor- tant about our singularity, [our "in but
not of society" status]; if so, how do we regain it? How
much [will] we give up to regain our spirit-led sin- gularity? Friends' testimony on alcohol challenges us to give something that may be of little consequence to ourselves, but which could possibly have a big impact on others. William Penn wrote: "Principles are
half as forceful as examples. Every- one that pretends to be serious
ought to inspect oneself ... One should be so wise as to deny oneself
the use of neutral enjoyments if they encourage ones neighbor's
folly." If you
were accused of being a Quaker, would there be enough evidence to
convict you? If we are not willing to deny ourselves "neutral
enjoyments" for the sake of others, what are we willing to do
for our faith?
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314. Spiritual Hospitality: A Quaker’s Understanding of Outreach
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314. Spiritual Hospitality: A Quaker’s Understanding of Outreach
(by Harvey Gillman; 1994)
315 Answering that of God in Children (by Harriet Heath; 1994)
About
the Author—Harvey
Gilman was born in Manchester in 1947 of Jewish parents. He studied
French &
Italian at Oxford, &
became
a teacher of modern languages. He became a Friend in 1978, a
publication secretary of Quaker Peace and Service, and in 1980
outreach secretary for Quaker Home Service. [He has published several
things, including poetry].
This pamphlet arises from 1993
Pendle Hill and Swarthmore Meeting
talks.
That
of God: Our Leitmotiv
[Recurring Theme]—As
we reach out to God, we find other people. As we reach out to
others we reach out to God. Spirituality
is about self, relationship, the other person or people, the world
around, and that which is beyond or within all people which confers
some sort of meaning to
reality, [and purpose to life]. In
my search for reality [and pur- pose], I have been both guest and host.
My spiritual journey began in the Jewish world, led through doubt
and isolation, agnosticism & atheism, [even] Zen. I
tried to make connections at each stage; when that was no longer
pos- sible I moved on.
At
each stage I was made welcome. [Along the way people have shared
their stories, their anger and bitterness at dying (and at the same
time their love of life)];
my father taught me what it could be like to be a man in touch with
and not afraid of his deepest feelings. If I have become a Quaker, it
is simply be- cause I have found there the best home for my spirit. I
hope I am writing for those who are Friends, who are thinking of
becoming Friends, who are uncer- tain, and those whose spiritual paths
are taking them in other directions.
Caroline
Stephen, in her classic Quaker
Strongholds (1890;
abridged ver- sion in Pendle Hill Pamphlet #59) writes: "It
is not Quakerism, but Truth, that I desire to serve and promote ...
That view of Truth which has found in Quaker- ism its most emphatic
assertion ... is of perennial value and efficacy, and
the need for fresh recognition [of purely spiritual worship and the
supremacy of the light within] seems to be in our own day peculiarly
urgent." How
welco- ming and open are we? How
far are we answering the eternal in each other? How far we allowing
people to find their real selves, where their light shines most
brightly?
The
One Who Welcomes—In
my 20's I would have called myself an atheist, because I didn't
recognize the face of God and didn't experience God as a living
reality. One day, I was startled by an unsought apprehension of
a harmony underlying all of existence. I was startled by a feeling
that I belong to the world, and that it was necessary to see clearly
and then I would be in the presence of the one who welcomes. To
me, "the one who welcomes" is both Christ and not Christ,
the light and the fire, personal and not personal, male, female, and
neuter.
The welcomer is not labeled, but
is defined by the act of welcoming. I use Christ
in
its original sense of anointed
and
a translation of the Hebrew Meshiakh.
Each
human being has a role in creation; we are all as it were anointed
with oil for a particular role, a particular way of channeling the
wel- coming grace; we
are all called to be Christs. I
am careful about using "Christ" in order not to get in the
way of welcoming. I most often worship with Quakers in
Britain, though I worship also with Anglicans.
Outreach—Ole
Olden wrote to The
Friend in
1955: "I
should like to change the name seekers
to
explorers.
There is considerable difference
there: we don't 'seek' the Atlantic, we explore it. The field of
religious experience has to be explored, and
has to be described in a language
understandable to mo- dern men and women."
[One
hears of] an open-ended process of seeking, [or of] a great
[timeless] find of early Quakerism. [I find that] the ever-seeking
and the constant finding live
in healthy tension as each generation has sought that which speaks to
its condition, weaving more threads into the 350 year-old tapestry.
People
react to what they think others are saying; what they hear is based
upon their own past histories. What I am most concerned with is
inten- tional
outreach, communicating our faith to theirs, [simply because] faith
is worth sharing. John Woolman writes: "That the mind was moved
by inward Principle to love God as an invisible, incomprehensible
being, by the same principle it was moved to love God in
all God's manifestations in the visible world." If
God is one who welcomes, then we are called upon to [manifest
welcome], to be welcomers.
Spiritual
hospitality is
enabling each human being to find his or her sacred space and to
dance therein. The image of dance is chosen because it involves the
whole body and mind, [while] so many Friends speak and act as if only
the head mattered. The
dance becomes a process of total liberation where "that of God"
becomes real and manifested. How
are we liberated in the Spirit or clear channels of the Spirit? If
we live and live abundantly, then we can change the
world. But the call to life is frightening, as it may lead to and
through dark places of the self and to the loss of masks we have been
forced and have chosen to assume.
George
Fox writes: "I
had a vision ... that I was in this travail and suf- fering ...
I went on and bid Friends
dig in the earth ... & there was as mighty vaults full of people,
and I bid them throw
it down and let all the people out, and so they did." Fox
could use what was blocking his life positively to help empathize
with others and rescue them from their pain. Risking
opening out to others, risks the opening of the self, and there may
be many stones and rocks to remove in the process.
Fundamental
Principles/ Hospitality—How
we
treat others is our per- sonal statement about God. If enquirers want
to know what Friends are about, they will read the books, they will
also read us. My "Christocentric" queries
are:
How are we Christs
to one another? How do we walk as fragile, vulner- able, anointed human
beings who were sent to do
the Spirit's work? My
"Universalist" query is: How
much of the universal light do we show in our own understanding of
the Spirit? HOW ARE WE THE GOOD NEWS?
Hospitality
implies reciprocity; it involves a sacred relationship of trust &
bonding.
The paradox is that we are all travelers, hosts &
guests. In the tent image, the tent is the temporary home, we can
live there, move within it &
with it; it is the explorer's
best home. One
is host in a house that doesn't belong to them. The earth doesn't
belong to us; neither do we own the meeting house. The meeting house
is only as holy as we allow God to make it. The
members of one meeting told me they loathed the word "outreach"
and yet Friends always complain that few people know
much about us and
what they know is often inaccurate.
Friends
are wary of
those who do not see the person at the gate as the holy guest who may
be offering us gifts and is a manifestation of God. They see not a
guest, but a
potential convert, remade in the missionary's image. Hospi- tality is
about accepting the guest in the form and shape in which he or she comes to us. Most
of us from a more liberal, mystical, non-evangelical tradi- tion have
to reinterpret the evangelical's sacrificial,
suffering,
death, cross, re- surrection
vocabulary [before giving assent to this description]. We are about
liberation of the sacred through the infinite possibilities and
diversities of the sacred.
Affirmation
& Being Good Hosts—Affirmation
is the basis of the bond between host &
guest. Meeting
for worship, &
["finding the sense of the mee- ting"] in conducting business
are [among the] modes of affirmation
for the spi- ritual explorer. [As good hosts], we are about the
spiritual health of all who come to us; that involves our own
spiritual health. [Many kinds of seekers come to us, among
them:
the
spiritually hurt; the formerly non-religious]. Out- reach [after]
greeting people is making sure they are ministered to once they are
inside the building &
giving them the opportunity to minister to us. [Are we seeking the role of host or always wanting to be guest? How can mee- ting provide an opportunity to meet someone or something beyond
all those present?]
How
able and willing are
we to show the guests around [our
own inner, spiritual] house?
Liberal
Friends fear being too prescriptive so we lapse into an embarrassed
silence. When
our guests ask us to share with them, we have the duty to respond. It
means accepting the [limited, doubtful, fearful]
stranger within
ourselves. Some days I think that kindness is everything. By kindness
I mean reaching out in love and empathy to the pained world
around and seeing our own responsibilities for this state of affairs.
Being
"nice" can be static, being kind can lead to a
greater
wholeness & growth. We need to speak to them in a language they can
understand, [avoiding]
the Quakerese of our many acronyms or our use of words in ways others
might not understand. Hospitality extends to the way we speak as
well as how we act.
Community—Community
grows when we feel at home with other peo- ple, but still remember what
it means to be the guest ourselves. There is always the danger that
we end up designing our faith-home so that only close relatives feel
at ease. The challenges of the guest can be a liberation from the
Quaker cliché of language and practice. [If our reception leaves the
enquirer untouched, because we fear getting it wrong or our own
limitations],
then we have revealed our true theology, which may not be the one we
profess [out loud].
We
empower our guests to ask what gives us so much nourishment, &
we are empowered to share what we have found. [In
this asking at its best there is a]
meeting of
Spirit with spirit, [&
an opportunity to share Quaker spiri- tuality, rather than Quaker
theology,
which can come later]; without the Spirit our theological treasures
will seem lifeless. If
we have done our part, Friends can rejoice in whatever path the
spiritual explorer will take. We can actually rejoice in the
diversity and we do not need a formula which
will iron out the difference.
One
Quaker treasure is an epistle written by Young Friends in Greens- boro
in 1985. They wrote out what for them was the essence of Quaker good
news. They
came up with 4 sources of authority: Light or voice in the heart;
discernment of the worshiping group; Christ speaking in the heart;
words of the Bible. That
we do not all name the tree with the same expression does not impede
the growth of the tree. Quaker tradition has thrown up many different
expressions for the tree's growth. We are to share its fruits with a
hungry and thirsty world.
Young
Friends wrote: "After much struggle ... we can proclaim [that]
there is a living God at the center of all, who is available to each
of us as a present teacher at the very heart of our lives. We seek
... to be worthy [of] the Lord's transforming word, to be prophets of
joy who know from experience and can testify to
[God's work in]
the world ... We
call on Friends to redisco- ver our own roots in the vision and lives
of early Friends; who's own trans- formed lives shook the unjust social
&
economic structures of their day ... We call upon Friends across the
earth to heed the voice of God &
let it send us out
in truth &
power to rise to the immense challenges of our world today." My prayer is that we be hosts to &
guests of this divine voice, hearing it in our own depths, in the
words of people we meet, and in the very murmurings of creation.
Hopes
for the Future—On
one occasion I fell in love with the town where we joined in a Quaker
Meeting's anniversary celebration; we eventually moved there, based
on hospitality [we had received]. The Religious Society of Friends
will stand or fall by the life
it leads today &
tomorrow, rather than by sitting on yesterday's
laurel leaves. What follows as a conclusion to this pam- phlet is a
list of hopes or visions related to hospitality:
I
envisage a Friends' Society with a
vision that emphasizes the spiri- tual interconnectedness of all
things, & a concern for the world's welfare.
I
envisage a Friends' Society with a new vigor in worship, &
seeking the sense of the meeting in its business.
I
envisage a Friends' Society
of trust & openness, [where the whole person attends, shadows and
all].
I
envisage a Friends' Society that
focuses on the spirit's liberation and not something's Quakerliness.
I
envisage a Friends' Society experimenting
with new forms of com- munity living and discipleship.
I
envisage a Friends' Society
of
spiritual nurturing & healing, where spiritual journeys are seen as
not just a movement away from past hurts, but a path towards a
positive commitment.
I
envisage a Friends' Society that
will find ways of rejoicing in and not fearing diversity.
I
envisage a Friends' Society that
bears witness to full [universal] participation and ministry of
women.
I
envisage a Friends' Society that
learns from and fully respects children's and young people's
ministry.
I
envisage a Friends' Society
that celebrates all loving relationships irrespective of sexual
orientation.
I
envisage a Friends' Society whose
meetings are their community's focus of care.
I
envisage a Friends' Society that
respects cultural and language diversities and listens
to unfamiliar expressions of God's voice.
I
envisage a Friends' Society with
new ways of witnessing to peace, shalom, respecting life, justice,
dignity.
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315 Answering that of God in Children (by Harriet Heath; 1994)
About
the Author/Foreword—Harriet Heath is the mother of 3 and grandmother of 8;
she became a Quaker after graduating from college. Imple- menting Quaker values while living and
working with children became part of her spiritual journey, As a psychologist,
she works with parents and families through the counseling service of the
Family Relations Committee and the Religious Education Committee. The recognition of the need for this pamphlet
and its writing has evolved over several years.
The author hopes that it will give insights as to how Quaker values can
guide their daily lives with children, [and find that of God in them].
I wonder as I wander with a child by my side;/His seeking, her sear- ching, how can I be their guide?/ So much I don’t know; their questions spur mine/ To wonder as I wander with a child by my side. Harriet Heath.
In What ways are our Quaker beliefs
relevant to our lives with children? The Quaker belief in the Inner Light has given me
values by which I wish to live and guide my children. [Psychology has] given me the “nitty gritty”
information I need to be a parent.
The
Query/ Answering to that of God in Every Person —As a Qua- ker,
To what [of God] do I answer, that is in every person? At what age does the Light appear in children? How does its Presence in my chil- dren affect
my task of guiding them? Parents see the Inner when their chil- dren are: asleep;
intent on a creative project; dancing. Can we see the Inner Light when they
[“being difficult”]? The Puritans
believed in “spare the rod, spoil the child.”
Is the child inherently good and
can do no wrong? Harold Loukes
wrote: “We friends start from an
affirmation of the child’s humanity; not a naïve belief that he is born good,
but a belief that he[/she] can grow into goodness.”
“Growing
into” speaks of searching for truth, listening to the inner voice, the inner
belief about what is right. The process
of seeking and testing truth & choosing and doing good actions lie at the
heart of Quaker belief. Quakers are
wonderers. We wonder at: the beauty of
nature and friendship; the reasons for the world’s condition; what we should be
doing in life. Wonderings are an
inte- gral part of Quakerism. Marveling
keeps us aware of the beauty and complex- ity of all that is around us and keeps
us seeking; it provides a means for us to “grow into goodness.” “I wonder as I wander out under the sky/ the
beauty & grandeur that around me doth lie;/ Will my soul find its calling/
[with the univer- sal eye]?/ I wonder as I wander out under the sky.”
Believing
that people can grow into goodness led me to be able to arti- culate what is the
Inner Light, that of God, to which I can and do answer. [To discover the beauty and rightness in
nature, in understanding a situation or person, in solving a problem], is that
not also to grow into goodness? I
che- rish the freedom to search that Quakerism provides and its deep belief in
con- tinuing revelation. Part of wondering
is seeking as when we ask “What can I do?
What should my role be? Though my
child’s perceptions differ dra- stically from mine, the insights broaden my
perspective. When I succeed in
responding openly to another’s wonder, life gains more meaning & richness for
us both.
Answering
that of God in Our Children—Wondering
can be found in the youngest children. Even newborn infants can be involved in
the wonder, the marvel, of this new world around them. Infants, seeking their
role, learn it quickly if the people in their environment are cooperative. It
is easy to miss in- fants’ wondering because their wondering content is
elementary, simple, and basic. Their explorations are of their immediate
physical world; our search is of the abstract spiritual one. Seeing my child as
a wonderer with the potential of growing into goodness expands my understanding
of that child & defines my role as parent or caregiver.
8-month
old Lennen [learns the different properties of a banana peel and a wooden
spoon: floppy vs. stiff; soft vs. hard; slippery vs. not slippery]. 10- month- old Sara is taught how to touch a
younger baby. She is allowed to ex- plore
and a 10-minute walk to the mailbox takes 30 minutes. Susy and Mary, both 4 years old, were busy
building a castle. Susy tells Mary to
build the wall; Mary wants to build a tower.
The teacher comes over and helps them explore their choices in building
the castle; they agree on one.
8-year-old
Tom is angry at black kids for wrecking a baseball game. His mother walks him through the events, &
shows him that the black kids were not the sole cause when it was someone else
who interrupted the game. Pat & her father discussed the “Give us this day
our daily bread” phrase. Pat asked: “Why should God give us bread & not
people in Somalia
12-year-old
Pam asked her Mom: “What would you say if I told you I was on crack?” Mom mentioned some of the consequences of
using crack, for the user and those around the user. She had to think through
what her re- sponse would be. They started talking about why people use drugs,
& what some possible responses to situations involving drugs would be. Mom shared the discussions her parents and
grandparents had with her about alcohol.
Dan
overheard his 14-year-old son think about “peeking at the girls” through a
wall. Dan asked himself: When should boys begin to recognize the women’s rights?
Dan thought about it & shared the conversation with a camp counselor, who
said: It is good to have such information. It can be woven in meaningfully into
our discussions.” Ken, a junior in college, shared his interest in joining the
Peace Corp rather than going right into graduate school. He de- monstrated
careful thought in how spending time in a developing nation would enhance his
chosen field of environmentalist.
Lennen
and Ben were about 2 years old and looked forward to seeing one another. [At the family-get-together, the wonder and
awe each of us was radiating, I recognize now was an outward expression of the
inner Light. Within an hour, the little
guys were fighting over a red dump truck.
[My 2 daughters realized that their sons’] understanding of ownership is
to have the item in their hands. We
started talking about the steps children need to go through to under stand
“sharing” and “ownership.”
Answering
so that Children may Continue Wondering—Children from infancy onward grow into goodness by wondering. Viewing
children as wonde- rers gives a different perspective, a different
challenge. Seeing children as searching
redirects our efforts from either ignoring a situation or imposing order to one
of searching for ways of guiding them.
[Child-raising queries include: What is my child trying to accom- plish? What does my child understand? What does
he/she need to know? How much can she
understand now? What is my child able to
do? What does she need to learn? What do I want my child to learn?
[All the
parents given as examples] functioned as guides to their chil- dren as their
children searched to learn about their world & how it works. The parents
become searchers themselves as they sought for ways of guiding their children into goodness. A challenge to create the right conditions for growth leaves
much to the imagination and is somewhat daunting in its magnitude.
Creating
an Environment that Nurtures Wonder involves
10 factors: 1. Believing there's order in universe; 2. Working from a value system; 3. Re- cognizing the Thou; 4. Considering the child's developmental level; 5. Loving them unconditionally; 6. Trusting our
children; 7. Providing them with the ac- curate information and relevant skills; 8.
Listening; 9. Giving them time; 10. Encouraging the searching and the seeking.
1 & 2.) Parents, as they conduct their own search, model for
their chil- dren Quakers’ basic belief in the existence of a Way, that there is
Truth to be found, at least in part. [I call the value system demonstrated in the examples given] “caring,” which
means being concerned about the welfare of another, about the effects of
behavior on others, concern about the outcome, wanting the outcome to be
beneficial for whoever and whatever is involved.
3.) Viewing my child as one who is
searching for answers and seeking her way leads me to see the “Thou” in my
child, to accept my child as he or she is.
The parents in each of the examples recognized the “Thou” in their
child. They affirmed the seeking that
their children were going through. In
the on- going living with children it is easy to lose this perspective. Trying to see the situation through the eyes
of the child [is a lot of work]. Responding to children as seekers, recognizing the Thou in them, leads parents to view a situation from their children’s point-of-view.
It guides parents to [form queries like the child-raising queries
mentioned earlier].
4.)
[Level of development] affects the level of the child’s searching. The infant &
young child’s exploration is concrete dealing with how objects & people
function. As they grow toward toddler-hood
they add words to their explora- tions, putting names to everything and every
action. Elementary school-aged children are still exploring, but their ability to understand complex relationships is
limited. A 12-year-old can start the process of thinking about what role drugs would take in her life. To do so she
needed factual accurate information. They are all seekers, each at her or his own level. Recognizing the level of their search is important as we guide our children.
5
& 6. Accepting their actions as their efforts to understand, attempts to
learn, frees me to go on loving unconditionally as I deal with the situation. Our
trust in our children cannot be “blind.”
Parents need to recognize the limits of the child’s understanding &
control. I can teach infants to be careful with hot food, by using uncomfortably
warm peas & saying, “hot, hot.” Parents must thoughtfully use the trust
they have in their children to guide their behavior.
Trusting that the child
will make good decisions is scary when the deci- sion involves drugs, becoming
sexually active, & all those other issues our young people face today. My
trust in my children is built partially from experi- ences with the child,
knowing how the child thinks & the processes he or she uses to make
decisions. Guiding children through age-appropriate experiences of making
decisions has deepened my trust.
7-10.
Children need skills like conflict resolution, and accurate informa- tion on
things like sex and drugs. Part of the
challenge is recognizing the infor- mation and skills needed; [if we don’t have
the information, it is time for outside help].
Some call it profound listening; it may involve watching behavior as
well as taking in their words, and it gives children a sense of being
heard. It takes time to marvel at the
beauty of the world or to reflect on the kindness of ano- ther. It is so hard to give our children this
time.
Encourage
taking time, and the searching and seeking by allowing it, modeling it, &
teaching it in age-appropriate ways.
[The parents used here as examples], recognized all 3 components of
wondering: marveling; searching for understanding; and seeking to find the path
for them They set up right con- ditions
in the children’s environments for children growing into goodness. Qua- ker discipline emphasizes helping the
child understand rather than just pas- sively accepting the whys of a situation.
And
the Wondering
Comes Full Circle
And
now I see my daughters. They do not nurture their children as I did. They
nurture them as I would were I to start over. When a child develops a problem
behavior in daycare, my daughter & I began to think about what the child
had been trying to accomplish & what behavioral alternatives he had.
Together we were searching to understand & seeking to find a way. And I
feel certain that this searching to understand & seeking to find our way
while daring to marvel that it is so is the Inner Light visible within us all,
young and old alike. By responding and
relating to the Inner Light in the other as best we can we are answering to
that of God in every person.
Queries
How do you see that of God in people of
any age?
How could young children’s exploration
of their environment encourage them to question and help them to develop the
skills to search for answers to spiritual questions?
How do you view children? How does your view of children define your
role as a parent?
How do your Quaker beliefs influence how
you live with & nurture your children?
How has your parental role changed as
your children have grown older?
How have your Quaker beliefs and
understanding changed as you have parented and as your children have grown
older?
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316 For that Solitary Individual: An Octogenarian’s Counsel on
Living & Dying (by John R. Yungblut; 1994)
About the Author—John Yunglut was
born & raised in Dayton , Ken- tucky Divinity School Cambridge , Massachusetts Atlanta Washington , D.C. Wallingford , PA Rye , NY Lincoln , VA.
“Throughout
my life, by means of my life, the world has little by little caught fire in my
sight until, aflame all around, it has become almost com- pletely luminous from
within … the transparency of the Divine at the heart of the universe on fire.” Teilhard de Chardin
[Introduction]—Sǿren Kierkegaard
addressed a book to “that solitary individual.” I address that solitary individual
in you, to whose condition this message might speak. Life is lived within a
great mystery. We fear [to ask the deep questions, because] to do so might make
us feel queasy & doubtful of our own sanity. We don’t have a clue as to their
answers. I want to share with you some convictions I have come to by way of the
fragile & fallible discernment process.
My only authority is that bestowed if the seeker in you resonates to
what I have to say.
On Being a
Contemplative—You should become contemplative where you are, in
the circumstances that beset you, the responsibilities that burden you, the relationships
that frustrate or encourage you. I mean learning the art of living mindfully,
reflectively, watching for the connections between thoughts & events as
they reveal their hidden synchronicity. I mean a practice of the Holy's presence, a sense of the spiritual in everything, at all times, in response to the transparency of the divine [in the universe]. How does one cultivate awareness of the transparency of the divine? [I]
propose reading poetry & the mystics, & engaging in contemplative
prayer.
As a youth, I was troubled to realize that my
religious education was limited by the [history of the Episcopal Church, whose
teachings were limited by its history].
Rufus Jones, my favorite preacher, recommended that I “turn to the
mystics of all the living religions.” Reading
The 1 thing that all living religions have in common
is an “apostolic suc- cession” of mystics. What Eastern religions call
meditation, we call contempla- tion. You may not be called to practice this form
of prayer [in your current jour- ney]. But be receptive to the invitation from
within to embark on this boundless sea. To enter into this altered state of
consciousness is to open the door of ac- cess to the unconscious. You may not be
ready for this.
It is my conviction that we never outgrow the need for
[the different forms of meditative prayer] in establishing the health of our relationship
to the Holy One. You will discover that
there is an inescapable connection be- tween contemplative prayer and motivation
to engage in social reform. It is here
we discover that we are not only our brother’s and sister’s keeper, but in some
profound sense we are our brother and
sister. We are called to be a contemplative for the sake of the world even for
the sake of the survival of the species.
On Seeing
Everything from the Perspective of Evolution—Teilhard de Chardin
said of evolution: “It is a general
condition to which all theories, all hypotheses, all systems must bow &
which they must satisfy if they are to be thinkable & true.” Life evolved
toward complexity. When reflective conscious- ness was attained in man &
woman, the direction was that of “complexity con- sciousness.” Teilhard sees
spirit & matter as 2 sides of the same coin. He perceived spirit as the
transparency of the divine at the heart of matter.
He said: “Throughout my
life, by means of my life, the world has little by little caught fire in my
sight until, aflame all around, it has become almost com- pletely luminous from
within … the transparency of the Divine at the heart of the universe on fire.” The
slow pace of evolution which achieved higher con- sciousness in us against
enormous odds & potential abortions in the unfolding process justifies hope
that the species will find a way to move [toward] ever higher consciousness.
On Aspiring
to Higher Consciousness—Thomas Berry identifies 3 values that appear to
characterize evolution: differentiation, interiority, & com- munion. The source of continuing creation through
evolution has clearly in- vested heavily in the process of differentiation. Carl Jung wrote: “If the indi- vidual follows through his intention
of self-examination and self-knowledge, he will have gained a psychological
advantage of deeming himself worthy of serious attention and sympathetic interest.” If you were to identify yourself as [such an individual] you would be aligning the little straw of your inner journey with
the whole axis of evolution.
[Evolution is the divine gradually becoming clearer to
us], an unfurling from within, a progressive revelation of what had been hidden
potential. If the individual were highly differentiated, individuated, if that
individual possessed profound interiority, & evolution has moved in the
direction of ever higher con- sciousness, it has also made possible deeper,
conscious communion. Have you experienced times of profound communion with
others?
The new concern for ecological balance in the past few decades has made
it essential that we experience a deeper unity with nature & consequently
a more profound communion with all other creatures in nature. It means ac- cepting the violence found in nature, from the individual struggles for
survival in animals to nature's violent forces. One of the things evolution has achieved as consciousness was raised is the advent of the phenomenon of forgiveness, which
makes sustained communion possible; it makes possible the restoration of relationship. Never stop forgiving. Only so may communion be maintained, both
within and between oneself and the other.
On Discerning
a New Sex Ethic—Biblical injunctions [on sexual be- havior] are no
longer operative. Where can we turn for
authority and a new sex ethic that will command respect and successfully invite
obedience. I be- lieve that new authority
can be found in evolution and deep psychology.
What is evolution saying to us
about a new authoritative sex ethic?
What has deep psychology to offer to a new sex ethic?
Evolution appears to have invented sexuality for 2
purposes: ongoing- ness of the species (reproduction) & the up-reachingness
of higher conscious- ness through mutation of genes (spirituality). It stands to
reason that children who grow up in a stable home which is pervaded by an
atmosphere of conti- nuity of may be better conduits for the evolutionary
movement toward higher consciousness. [The 3 main instincts are: for food and drink; religious (i.e. rea- lize integration); & sexual]. Sexuality has a way
of pulling into its orbit as much of one’s being as it can. But it cannot serve
as the center of integration. It is part of the whole of life, affecting &
in turn affected by all the rest.
In sexuality from a depth psychology point of view,
the health and inte- grity of the psyche are at stake. If one engages in sexual expression with more
than one person contemporaneously, none of the relationships is what it could
be if it were the only one. Both love
& religious conviction demand an uncon- ditional attitude of complete
surrender. Depth psychology suggests
that those individuals who postpone mating until some degree of individuation
is attained have a greater chance of duration in their marriages. It seems to me that these proposals pass the
test of compatibility with the values of evolution: differentia- tion, interiority,
and communion. And they accord well with
the insights of depth psychology regarding individuation and the integrity and
wholeness of the self; the same principles apply to homosexual
relationships.
On
Cultivating One’s Gifts—Neglecting the cultivation of one’s gifts robs us of
the opportunity for greater fulfillment and deprives the community of one more
important resource. Answering that of
God in everyone can be discerned in responding to the gifts in one
another. One might have some- one close
who will gently call our attention to a budding gift. But one must also search the depths of his or
her own psyche for signs of hidden gifts. This means being attentive to one’s dreams and fantasies and awaiting evidence of a spontaneous resonance. Frank
Nelson said: “no one should go into the ministry who can possibly stay out.”
The Religious Society of Friends will bring together a
small group of persons chosen by the seeker which is called a Clearness
Committee. Its purpose is not to make a
decision for the individual but to raise relevant ques- tions for her to ponder
in the course of her search. Questions
seem to well up out of the unconscious, unlikely connections are made,
intimations arise out of the silence, intuitions occur that would not otherwise
come to the fore. Qua- kers also have a
phrase, “as way opens,” implying a trust that a certain inhe- rent rightness will
be revealed in the synchronicity of outward events & inward readiness.
If you have retired you will want to look for
a new occupation in those areas of interest and talent which you have long
neglected or suppressed of necessity. If
you are in mid-life it would be well not to wait for retirement to make this
decision. You could explore your “other”
vocation and enjoy it when the opportunity comes. The greatest gift of the later years is what
Words- worth called “the philosophic mind,” what I call the “contemplative
mind.” You do not need to wait for old
age to cultivate the contemplative mind and to imbue your work with its ethos. I encourage you to begin now.
On Making a
Good End—Teilhard de Chardin had an aspiration to “make a good
end.” He died on Easter Day as he
wished, after spending a full day worshiping and listening to music with
friends. For my own death, I should like
to remain sound of mind and conscious as close to the end as possible, and to
be unafraid.
No matter how much we would like to believe it today,
for many of us there is no assurance of personal survival [after death] in any
recognizable form. [None of the “proofs”
of life beyond death can] not be accounted for in terms of spontaneous
uprisings from the collective unconscious.
I cannot ac- cept belief in reincarnation for the same reason. How
can any conscious- ness survive the disintegration and decay of the body? There
is no way to prove that the soul is eternal.
The mystical experience in which one feels a part of the whole,
inseparable from “the all,” may be an intimation that there is that in us which
is immortal. But this does not prove
that the individual sur- vives death in any recognizable form.
[In our fear of nothingness and non-being] how do we make a good end? What shall be my approach to encountering
death? We must learn to say: “Though God consign me to oblivion at death,
yet will I trust God.” I must recollect
my own mystical experiences of being loved [unconditionally] by God. “All shall be well, and all shall be well,
and all manner of things shall be well.”
The only way we
can effectively cope with the instinctive fear of death and oblivion, is to
place our trust in the intimations of something or someone at the core of the
universe who genuinely cares for us. We
can practice letting go of the demand of the ego for survival. To practice contemplation is to rob death of
its sting by reason of accepting in advance the worst death can do us, to
embrace life’s great diminishment. In
this way we may learn how to die into God.
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317. The Kingdom and the Way: Meditations on the Kingdom
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317. The Kingdom and the Way: Meditations on the Kingdom
(by Carol R. Urner; 1994)
About the Author—Carol R. Urner has spent most of the past 30 years traveling the world with her husband, Jack, a development consultant in Libya, Philippines, Egypt, Bangladesh, Bhutan, & Lesotho; [she served the underpri- vileged in those places], in particular as a school teacher in Bhutan & currently in Lesotho. They participated in worship groups in Rome, Manila, Cairo, Bhu- tan, & now in Lesotho Allowed Meeting in Maseru.
INTRODUCTION—These are meditations I wrote for myself during 1986-87 in Bhutan, where I taught in a primitive, impoverished elementary school. I worshiped with evangelical Christians, but I couldn't accept that gentle Buddhists around me were condemned to eternal torture by not affirming "Jesus Christ as their personal savior." I turned to Jesus' words, & they became a bridge between the fundamental truths in their Buddhist experience & in my own.
I sojourned briefly in the US in 1991, and found evangelical Friends in agonizing tension with those mistrusting evangelical theology. Why must there be so much division of belief among Friends? How are more liberal, intellectual, and "modern" Friends in danger of losing touch with the holy ground on which early Friends once stood? How is there a Christ Jesus that's a window to God, and a tie that binds us, and draws us into the eternal Spirit of truth?
PART 1: THE KINGDOM. What is this Kingdom which we Seek?— [King James Version (KJV), New Revised Standard Version (NRSV), and Jerusalem Bible (JB) of Matthew 6:33 cited] How did you first find the king- dom? I found it as a child, a precious special place at my being's center where I was loved, led, held, chastised, and taught by an active something other than myself. Eventually I prayed and was prayed through with a powerful love that held and searched me. My mother brought me into the presence of God and left me there.
PART 1: THE KINGDOM. What is this Kingdom which we Seek?— [King James Version (KJV), New Revised Standard Version (NRSV), and Jerusalem Bible (JB) of Matthew 6:33 cited] How did you first find the king- dom? I found it as a child, a precious special place at my being's center where I was loved, led, held, chastised, and taught by an active something other than myself. Eventually I prayed and was prayed through with a powerful love that held and searched me. My mother brought me into the presence of God and left me there.
[JB, Matthew 13:45-6 cited] In the terrible time of my adolescence and young adulthood, I lived with postwar literature of emptiness and despair, and being told God is a fabrication. My church's beliefs were battered into [ruins]. Nothing else had meaning or value if I didn't answer to that something still there at the center.
[NRSV of Matthew 12:31 cited] Jesus used seed, bread, well of living waters, treasure, light, salt, yeast, pearl as images for the kingdom of heaven. I discovered that early and present Quakers are my people. Isaac Penington wrote: "Sink down to the seed which God sows in thy heart and let that be in thee, and grow in thee, and breathe in thee, and act in thee."
Where is this kingdom that we seek?—[NRSV and KJV of Matthew 4:17 cited] I have little experience of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven that people go to when they die. But the kingdom of which Jesus speaks is more than real to me. It is immediate, ever-present, an eternal now.
[NRSV and KJV of Luke 17:21 cited] The kingdom doesn't come by ex- amination & analysis. It isn't something that can be understood or known with- out entering into. The kingdom of heaven is within, deep within where we meet God, and know we are held and loved, we are seared and hammered into a good and useful shape for service. [I have sensed that kingdom in the dark forgotten places] in Manila, Cairo, Dhaka, and Rome.
[NRSV of Matthew 12:31 cited] Jesus used seed, bread, well of living waters, treasure, light, salt, yeast, pearl as images for the kingdom of heaven. I discovered that early and present Quakers are my people. Isaac Penington wrote: "Sink down to the seed which God sows in thy heart and let that be in thee, and grow in thee, and breathe in thee, and act in thee."
Where is this kingdom that we seek?—[NRSV and KJV of Matthew 4:17 cited] I have little experience of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven that people go to when they die. But the kingdom of which Jesus speaks is more than real to me. It is immediate, ever-present, an eternal now.
[NRSV and KJV of Luke 17:21 cited] The kingdom doesn't come by ex- amination & analysis. It isn't something that can be understood or known with- out entering into. The kingdom of heaven is within, deep within where we meet God, and know we are held and loved, we are seared and hammered into a good and useful shape for service. [I have sensed that kingdom in the dark forgotten places] in Manila, Cairo, Dhaka, and Rome.
What is this God, whose Kingdom we Seek?—[JB version of John 4:24 cited] Temples, steeple houses, sacrifices, liturgies—these aren't what's wanted from us. We may use them to protect ourselves from God.
[JB version of Mark 10:18 & Matthew 5:48 cited] God is good & perfect. Yet God yearns after, and we yearn after all that is fallen, imperfect, scattered; even Jesus does not claim to be perfect.
[JB version of John 12:44 cited] Jesus never says directly: "God is love, God is light, God is truth." These definitions are implied in his life. Jesus gives God his own life with which to make a definition, & calls us into an experience, a relationship, a way.
[JB version of John 14:6 cited] It was many years before I could see God clearly through Jesus. [I had to learn to see past the Northern European mira- cle-worker in white robes from Sunday School]. I sought for lives to grow on, & people who weren't hollow or shadows. I found: Francis of Assisi, Gandhi, Ta- gore, George Fox, John Woolman, Penington, Mother Theresa, Dorothy Day & others. I found in slums around the world living souls who let God shine through. [In & through them] I could see another Christ Jesus, [one I could relate to].
[JB version of Mark 10:18 & Matthew 5:48 cited] God is good & perfect. Yet God yearns after, and we yearn after all that is fallen, imperfect, scattered; even Jesus does not claim to be perfect.
[JB version of John 12:44 cited] Jesus never says directly: "God is love, God is light, God is truth." These definitions are implied in his life. Jesus gives God his own life with which to make a definition, & calls us into an experience, a relationship, a way.
[JB version of John 14:6 cited] It was many years before I could see God clearly through Jesus. [I had to learn to see past the Northern European mira- cle-worker in white robes from Sunday School]. I sought for lives to grow on, & people who weren't hollow or shadows. I found: Francis of Assisi, Gandhi, Ta- gore, George Fox, John Woolman, Penington, Mother Theresa, Dorothy Day & others. I found in slums around the world living souls who let God shine through. [In & through them] I could see another Christ Jesus, [one I could relate to].
[JB version of John 7:16 cited] Jesus preached & lived the truth, life & love we call God. For me, worshiping Jesus Christ would be to make an idol before God of what is meant to be a clear window. How can Christ Jesus become a bridge between us, in spite of our difference experiences of [Jesus Christ or] Christ Jesus?
What is God's Righteousness?—[JB version of Matthew 25: 35-36 cited] What counts [toward us expressing] God's righteousness [in our lives]? What counts is how much I myself have done to bring food, clothes, healing, and love to those in need.
[JB version of Matthew 6:10 cited] Jesus' prayer is that we do God's will, help bring the kingdom of righteousness to this world, and dwell in the eternal now.
Who will Enter this Kingdom we Seek?—[JB version of Matthew 7:21 cited] When, inside ourselves, we stay still and close to the center, we find both direction and an opening way, [i.e. God's will]. When we "mind the Light," and act on it, we find our strength, empowerment, [God's love], joy, even ecstasy, [i.e. the kingdom].
[NRSV of Matthew 7:24 cited] Through the years of adolescence I strug- gled with the Sermon on the Mount; it was threatening & demanded everything. Shortly after I gave up on the Sermon, I was led to Sabatier's Life of Francis of Assisi. For 17 years Francis lived the Sermon, and became like a Christ in his own time. His life shook the foundations of the church and the world around it. I found a whole progression of people who lived the Sermon. The more I test those lives, some of which were Christ-like but not Christian, the more I find its teachings; there is a rock on which we can build. Jesus the teacher shows us clearly the kingdom and the way.
What is God's Righteousness?—[JB version of Matthew 25: 35-36 cited] What counts [toward us expressing] God's righteousness [in our lives]? What counts is how much I myself have done to bring food, clothes, healing, and love to those in need.
[JB version of Matthew 6:10 cited] Jesus' prayer is that we do God's will, help bring the kingdom of righteousness to this world, and dwell in the eternal now.
Who will Enter this Kingdom we Seek?—[JB version of Matthew 7:21 cited] When, inside ourselves, we stay still and close to the center, we find both direction and an opening way, [i.e. God's will]. When we "mind the Light," and act on it, we find our strength, empowerment, [God's love], joy, even ecstasy, [i.e. the kingdom].
[NRSV of Matthew 7:24 cited] Through the years of adolescence I strug- gled with the Sermon on the Mount; it was threatening & demanded everything. Shortly after I gave up on the Sermon, I was led to Sabatier's Life of Francis of Assisi. For 17 years Francis lived the Sermon, and became like a Christ in his own time. His life shook the foundations of the church and the world around it. I found a whole progression of people who lived the Sermon. The more I test those lives, some of which were Christ-like but not Christian, the more I find its teachings; there is a rock on which we can build. Jesus the teacher shows us clearly the kingdom and the way.
Who can Help Bring this Kingdom to Birth Among Us?—[KJV of Matthew 13:38 cited] My experience of focusing on personal rewards, like "the kingdom of heaven after death," is that we cut ourselves off from the kingdom at our being's center. What the Beatitudes ask of us is asked so that we may be clear instruments and a healing presence, that we may experience joy from God's Love and being truly blessed, and that we may dwell in God's kingdom and bring it to birth in the world.
PART 2: THE WAY. What are the Requirements of the Way?—[NRSV of Mark 12:30 cited] I have encountered deep God-hunger in Muslims, beg- garwomen, scavengers, black Christians, Filipino Catholics, Buddhists, Hindu student friends. Rabindranath Tagoree wrote love poems to God in Gitanjali. For me, at least, this inward hunger is the starting point.
[NRSV of Mark 12:31 cited] We can't love God without loving our neigh- bor with that same love pouring into and loving us. The love we feel loving us is as much for those who wound and betray us, for enemies, as it is for ourselves. We must love them [all], for the hidden Seed that would live and grow in them. How are love of God and love of neighbor opening ways to one another?
What is the Way to the Kingdom?—[NRSV of Matthew 7:14 cited] We can't fully love God or neighbor, or [have anything to do with the kingdom] un- less we walk in the way of God's righteousness. It took lives like Francis of As- sisi, George Fox, Gandhi, Theresa of Calcutta to make the life & teachings of Jesus "the Jew from Nazareth" real to me. Only when I concentrate on his own sayings, & not on the many teachings about him am I able to discern the way of God's righteousness [by living in: love; truth; purity; service to the [lowliest]; chosen poverty; powerlessness and humility; nonviolence. His sayings are not easy sayings, poking, pricking, cutting, and the way he shows is indeed a nar- row one, and difficult. This is the only way worth traveling.
[NRSV of Mark 12:31 cited] We can't love God without loving our neigh- bor with that same love pouring into and loving us. The love we feel loving us is as much for those who wound and betray us, for enemies, as it is for ourselves. We must love them [all], for the hidden Seed that would live and grow in them. How are love of God and love of neighbor opening ways to one another?
What is the Way to the Kingdom?—[NRSV of Matthew 7:14 cited] We can't fully love God or neighbor, or [have anything to do with the kingdom] un- less we walk in the way of God's righteousness. It took lives like Francis of As- sisi, George Fox, Gandhi, Theresa of Calcutta to make the life & teachings of Jesus "the Jew from Nazareth" real to me. Only when I concentrate on his own sayings, & not on the many teachings about him am I able to discern the way of God's righteousness [by living in: love; truth; purity; service to the [lowliest]; chosen poverty; powerlessness and humility; nonviolence. His sayings are not easy sayings, poking, pricking, cutting, and the way he shows is indeed a nar- row one, and difficult. This is the only way worth traveling.
The Way is Love—[NRSV of Matthew 5:45 cited] Friends convinced as adults were convinced because since childhood we've experienced the reality & the universality of God's love that was irreconcilable with the traditional church's doctrines. I knew as a child that all were loved as I was loved, & to be loved by me. Because I grew up surrounded by love and loving others, it was impossible for me to identify that Love [with the God of others who loved selectively only those who professed certain narrow beliefs and not "his" errant creatures].
[NRSV of Luke 6:32; Matthew 5:44; 7:3; 5:39-40; John 15:12 citied]— Jesus is clearly speaking of a love that isn't rooted in self. It's not a love that requires return. We can't even love those closest to us unless our love has a deeper root. George Fox says, The love of God is love past knowledge ... & is the ground of all true love in your hearts." // How do we love those who are actively doing evil? Even Jesus seems to have trouble loving priests & Pha- risees in [all] their self-righteousness, coming between their people & God.
[NRSV of Luke 6:32; Matthew 5:44; 7:3; 5:39-40; John 15:12 citied]— Jesus is clearly speaking of a love that isn't rooted in self. It's not a love that requires return. We can't even love those closest to us unless our love has a deeper root. George Fox says, The love of God is love past knowledge ... & is the ground of all true love in your hearts." // How do we love those who are actively doing evil? Even Jesus seems to have trouble loving priests & Pha- risees in [all] their self-righteousness, coming between their people & God.
We are to seek the holy seed in those who see us as enemies, answer to it, & love it into life. // [Jesus calls for a radical recognition and correction of our errors, much like John Woolman's ruthless seeking and radical integrity, which helped and still helps] other Friends see and remove the evil hidden in their lives. // We're to find the holy seed, somewhere buried in even the worst, the most abusive and brutal of humans. [as did Francis, Gandhi, Elizabeth Frye, John Woolman]. // You will find [the way of love] through others, but you will also discover it deep within yourself.
The Way is Truth—[KJV of John 3:21; JB version of John 18:37; Mat- thew 5:37; Luke 8:17; NRSV of John 17:17; 3:21; 8:31-2; 16:13 cited] Some priests and theologians see The Way's Truth as separate from every day truth, or scientific truth, or our personally experienced truth. How are those who seek [the various kinds of] truth also seeking what we call God? How does every day truth, scientific truth, our personally experienced truth, or sacred truth lead step upon step to the truth which God? // Truth is not something we write, read, think or meditate about. We test it out in our lives. Only when we do truth can we come to the light. [The more we do with light, the] more light is given; Jesus did the truth which he found. //
Jesus tried to make his people see the truth beneath all their falsities. He cut through to the root truth beneath the doctrines and teachings of his time to the foundation stone; he witnessed to it with his own life. Jesus wanted his peo ple to recognize the lies in their own lives, and the hypocrisies that stood be- tween themselves and pursuit of truth.
Jesus tried to make his people see the truth beneath all their falsities. He cut through to the root truth beneath the doctrines and teachings of his time to the foundation stone; he witnessed to it with his own life. Jesus wanted his peo ple to recognize the lies in their own lives, and the hypocrisies that stood be- tween themselves and pursuit of truth.
// All truth is inter-related. To lie, or to manipulate truth, in even [non- religious, "unimportant"] matters is to deny God, and to cut ourselves off from the light that would guide us. // If we seek to protect our actions by lying or hiding them, we're departing from God's way. Only those sturdy in the truth can stand in God's power and walk in God 's way. // God's word and law was made manifest in Jesus' life. When we look at him we see the kingdom and way of God. We look through his life as through a clear window to God. It is the Spirit of Truth, the holy Spirit, the Seed, the Light, the inner Christ, which holds us, guides us, shapes us, loves us, commands us, owns us as we wit- ness and grow from truth to ever greater truth.
The Way is Purity—[JB version of Luke 11:35-6; NRSV of Matthew 19:4-6 cited]. The strong yearning to live in God's heart, to be open channels for God's love & to stay in the light, leads to the purity quest. [How do I live in purity in the midst of all of life's distractions & temptations?] // How do Friends listen to, & answer each other across the widening gulf [formed by differing views on sexual love & faithfulness] that divides us? In my experience, husbands & wives can go into the world as a compassionate team, doing in pairs the work to which God calls both & each; committed pairs like Quakers have historically had have been our strength.
The Way is Purity—[JB version of Luke 11:35-6; NRSV of Matthew 19:4-6 cited]. The strong yearning to live in God's heart, to be open channels for God's love & to stay in the light, leads to the purity quest. [How do I live in purity in the midst of all of life's distractions & temptations?] // How do Friends listen to, & answer each other across the widening gulf [formed by differing views on sexual love & faithfulness] that divides us? In my experience, husbands & wives can go into the world as a compassionate team, doing in pairs the work to which God calls both & each; committed pairs like Quakers have historically had have been our strength.
[NRSV Matthew 19:11-12 cited] Jesus seems to ask for chaste celi- bacy of those who would be most fully his followers. Perhaps marriage for Je- sus was the true disciple's complete marriage to God, God's way & will. Mar- ried Friends have endured long periods of celibacy when separated from their mates by imprisonment or travels in ministry. How do we give enough support now for those couples who find themselves separated by impri- sonment, ministry, or illness?
Lifetime celibacy is not easy. It might bring liberation for loving service; it might bring lovelessness and self-righteousness, failure and being trapped in a life of hypocrisy and lies. How can Friends require celibacy of all those who, for one reason or another are not led into heterosexual marriage? What about those who physically and psychologically can't share sexual love with someone of the opposite sex? We must each be true to what we have found thus far on our own inner journeys.
The Way is Love for the Poor/ ... Voluntary Poverty/ ... Powerless- ness and Humility—[NRSV of Luke 4:18; 16: 19-20; 14:13/ 18:25; 9:3/ 14:11; 17:33 cited] A love that does not go first to one of the least of these, helpless victims of injustice, is not a healing love that can serve God's righteousness. Living in Manila, in a guarded, American-style, middle-class community, sur- rounded by thousands of shanty-dwellers, I was forced to see the seeds of the injustice in my life style. In Dhaka, Bangladesh, 40 poor women sewed, cooked, and educated their children at our home. To share in this way was not pain but sheer joy; those were kingdom days.
After
spending a day among the [dispossessed],
I come home to every comfort. How am I called to live as a
bridge between rich & poor?
Or am I a failed disciple?
// Among the "valiant 60" there were many poor &
near-poor who published truth with little to sustain them.
Imprisoned, they became
poorer still. I suppose we are still "good people"; most of
us no longer stand in that power which shakes the countryside 10
miles around.
It
is my experience that those in power can be opened to love &
truth's
way; their very position will be a hindrance. Their web of power
prevents them from acting as they should. It is the same with people
who aren't
powerful, but who live
comfortably
&
well fed. We may help others
do the work, or do some ourselves; [those without wealth and power are the leaven of change. // We Friends are called to be
God-centered, rather than self-centered, knowing that whatever good
is done through us is done by the power of God, not
by our own.
Friends
have recognized from their beginning nonviolence as a basic
requirement of the way. // I now read Jesus' "It isn't peace
I have come to bring, but a sword" differently. This is the
sword that makes clear our error, and would separate us from it; the
sword cuts away our hatreds and falsities. // Jesus asks us to be
as he was; barefoot as the
poorest, at the mercy of all, offering obei- sance to none, beholden to
none but God. Friends
suffered much to "Publish the truth," to strip away all the
"notions," rituals, outward show, & priestly
inter- cessors standing between Christians then and the inward,
teaching Christ. This inward Christ "enables
them to live better in the world, & excites their endeavors to mend
it" [Wm. Penn]. The weapons of the lamb are love, truth, purity,
poverty, humility and a life lived in God's power, light and way.
In
our time, I think Gandhi and his satyagrahi, devotees of Truth have
shown us the fearfulness
in the face of death required
to serve God's righ- teousness and way. // I am easily intimidated
by those in authority. When con- cerns lead me before someone in high
authority, not knowing what to say, I think always the right words
have come, and a strength
and Spirit have been in me that were not my own. Our battle is one
for souls and spirits,
for in- ward change, love, truth, righteousness, justice [for poor and
oppressed],
for God's kingdom on earth.
The Way Leads to the
Salvation of All—[JB versions
of John 3:17; Mark 2:17; Matthew 20:28] I
think the barbaric vision of hell lurking for centuries at the heart
of Christian teaching would have cut me off from Jesus if I hadn't
found [in John's gospel that God's
Son was sent not to condemn, but to save the world]. In many ways the
world is already in hell. Jesus longed to draw this world into the
Light. This Jesus I can know, listen to, love &
seek to follow. // Jesus
labors hard with the self
righteous. For him, they
too, are lost. To those who have suffered much at the hands of others
&
been crippled in their suffe- ring, he brings comfort &
healing, hope and direction for their lives. [To those causing harm to others &
themselves], he brings the call to repentance.
I
don't know if Jesus is God, the divine son of God, the only mediator,
or a saint among other saints. I don't claim to understand those
things which only God can know, but I sense the reality of this
Christian mystery that makes God's promise and requirements more than
words. We, in our error and hard- heartedness, our selfishness and self-willing, have put [all
those we have failed, broken, beaten, and wounded] on the cross; God
is there with them. Only we can let them down off it. Each
must respond in our own way to the vision we are given. We must
strive for the salvation of all.
EPILOGUE—For
those like myself, Christ Jesus is a clear window to the God who owns
our lives. For others, wounded by earlier encounters with more
traditional churches and theologies, he has actually become a
stumbling block. How
do we bring Jesus to others as a bridge of love, an opening door?
I think Friends of different traditions need each other, to hold each
other to the way. I think we need to test ourselves against the life
and teachings of Jesus, and the experiences of early Friends, like
Isaac Penington, who wrote: " “Our life is love & peace, &
tenderness, & bearing one with another, & forgiving one
another—& helping one another up with a tender hand, if there
has been a slip or fall; and waiting, till the Lord gives sense and
repentance, if sense and repentance in any be wanting."
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318. Silence: Our Eye on Eternity (by Daniel A. Seeger; 1994)
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318. Silence: Our Eye on Eternity (by Daniel A. Seeger; 1994)
About the Author—Daniel A. Seeger is currently Director of Pendle Hill & has a long-standing interest in fostering communication among the Re- ligious Society of Friends' branches & traditions. He has supported pastoral ministry in Jamaica (1984), and participated in the International Conference on Friends & Evangelism (1988). This pamphlet grows out of experiences in dis- cussing & experimenting with silence in ecumenical contexts.
[Introduction/ Limitations of Language and Logical Reasoning]—A peaceful silence will characterize our expectant listening for [Divine Wisdom], most often to be found in worship. The present reflection considers the practice of inner silence in everyday life, which can provide a window to the Divine & be supportive of corporate worship. When Jesus said we could not live by bread alone, he was speaking of a great question carried within us and a hunger for the answer. [When] it arrives, there comes upon us a great experience of ab- solute Spirit and a leading to transform our lives, through new ways of being and acting.
We experience an event, internal state, or impulse, then we put it into words. All language deals with things "posthumously." Language is a great gift & a miracle. We can scarcely imagine being human without it; we must also recognize its limitations—its posthumous character, & its tendency to reduce all things & experience to a generalization. [As such, it does not deal well] with our incomparable, [unique] experiences of the Divine.
The landscape of humankind's spiritual world is one of intellectually un- resolvable dichotomies, in particular human nature's simultaneous fallenness & exaltedness. The logical mind is offended by these dichotomies & seeks to come down on one side. People of great sanctity somehow transcend these dichotomies without abandoning the truth on either side. Humankind's [role in creation] is a precarious balancing act that can be carried out successfully only with wisdom & love, not with dogmatic assertions. Jesus [was neither] a philo- sopher or an analyst. Several times he simply said, "I am the Truth." [Pilate responded with a Socratic] "What is Truth?"
[External & Internal Silence]—Quaker meditative silence does not in- clude "watching" private mental movies, while merely maintaining an external hush in the physical realm. Circling thoughts, inner conversations, & imagi- nings are laid aside. Caroline Stephens writes: "The silence we value is ... a deep quietness of heart & mind, a laying aside of preoccupation with passing things, even the workings of our own minds ..." Through inner silence we be- come poor in spirit, & becoming poor in spirit brings us closer to the "King- dom" of Heaven.
Even theological thoughts should be laid aside while practicing silence, because there is a difference between thinking about theological concepts & actually experiencing Divine presence. Our thoughts about God are at best misleading, & at worst a form of idolatry, a worship of our own notions. Simone Weil writes: "I know that God exists because I feel the love in my heart that can have no other source; yet I also know that anything which my mind con- ceives of as God couldn't possibly exist." Inner silence is known by the quality of "presence," & by our mind being in the present moment & place, [& no other time or place]. One needs to avoid judging their own success or lack of it, & to give attention to the senses without analysis, for the senses operate only in the present.
[Simple Manual Tasks & Inner Silence]—Manual tasks are actually opportunities to strengthen our capacity for inner silence, by [intently] resting awareness on the interaction of cleaning tool with surface cleaned. This slowly weakens the hold upon us of hectic imaginings & inner conversations. [In the crafts realm], calligraphy, pottery, woodworking, weaving, & flower arranging are typical inner-silence inducing activities.
Gandhi began a weaving program during the Indian independence movement. Besides being an attempt at economic independence from the British textile industry, it was also meant to provide a devotional practice for members of a movement based on nonviolence. The present-centeredness, inner silence, which the practice of weaving strengthened was essential to non-violence, as was being attentive to the truth. Violence meant doing some- thing ugly in the here and now in the illusory hope of producing a good result in the future.
In calligraphy, the letter's evenness & uniformity & [regulating] the ink's flow produced by nib & parchment requires full attention. In producing pottery, inner silence & obedience is required. The obedience is to the users' needs & to the [properties] of the materials at hand. Out of inner silence even beginners can produce objects the lines of which are pleasing to the eye & the forms of which are admirably suited to comfortable & efficient service.
Crafts provide an excellent way of experiencing the "letting go" which is characteristic of inner silence. Thich Nhat Hanh observes: "If while washing the dishes we think only of the tea that awaits us, thus hurrying to get the dishes out of the way ... we aren't alive during the time we are washing the dishes ... & while drinking the tea, we will only be thinking of other things, barely aware of the cup in our hands. We are sucked away to the future & are incapable of living 1 minute of life." Blaise Pascal writes: "We wander about in times that don't belong to us, & don't think of the only one that does. We never actually live but only hope to live."
[Inner
Silence: Healing &
Distractions]—Silence
is important to hea- ling. [If
one is focused on ones sad inner] tale of disappointment, anger &
be- trayal, all
the healing glories of nature
will be eclipsed by things one carries around in ones mind &
heart; no inner silence
deprives
one of healing. [Or
young
people might carry distraction in the form of cassette tapes in
their back pockets, &
even though surrounded by bird
sanctuary, hiking trails, country lanes, and
a magnificent view of a farm valley, spend their free time within
20 feet of a hi-fi], much as they might have done back in the
Brooklyn church basement where they had worked all summer.
Most of us carry our own
sounds around with us in our heads & hearts. These sounds may never
be precisely articulated in our thoughts, but they nevertheless
color our world, and structure the quality of our experience. We are
bombarded with the idea that our nature is innately violent, that our
chief preoccupation is with our sexuality, and that our main purpose
in life is acqui- ring more nifty possessions. It's only through the
practice of inner silence that we can begin to disentangle ourselves
from our culture and its illusions.
People practicing
inner silence become aware of literal and emotional sounds they
carry about within themselves, & also become aware of the
lan- guage of physical gestures. [A mindful person can as easily
arrange objects on a table] in a way that expresses Creation's
poise, balance, harmony, peace, [as one can] toss them down
helter-skelter. Inner silence makes us aware that our bodies aren't
sealed off from each other, & that what goes on in one affects
the other.
[Inner Silence
and Awareness of Body and Attitudes]—In practicing inner
silence in daily life, I noticed how I treated my body. I would
barrel down steps, fling myself through the turnstile, plop myself on
a bench, tear open my book & devour some sublime philosophy. I
eventually realized that to the extent I practiced a presence where
my swiftness was poised & balanced, I avoided institutionalizing
within a sense that life treated me like a dishrag. Taking a va- cation
from an office problem can enable us to return with a new approach.
How do we take a vacation, get a rest from the sounds we carry
around in our heads, & thus gain refreshment &
new perspective? If the mind is troubled, sleep will usually not
suffice, because an active & troubled sleeping mind will have us
waking up feeling more tired than ever. Wakeful in- ner silence
provides refreshment to the consciousness; William Penn knew this
over 3½
centuries ago.
[When
faced with the unfamiliar in a normal, automatic process, we are]
often forced to lay down
preoccupations &
enter into the present &
inner silence attentively, [thus
becoming aware of
self-absorbed attitudes],
&
getting a little bit
of enlarged
vision, which is the only true source of life's
true joy, i.e.
spiritual joy. With
inner silence, we begin to take our limited egos off center stage as
the factor defining how we experience creation's glories. [Imagine]
how much more advanced &
valuable it is as a spiritual exercise if this practice of presence
is a devotional effort [of
opening one's self to inner silence], rather than an acciden- tal result of circumstances.
[Inner
Silence: Truth &
Authentic Service]—2
groups were given a different background story to a
film &
asked to analyze the subject's behavior. Very little true observation
took place, as each group superimposed their minds' agitation based
on the different background stories. Inner silence is the key to
accurate perception of reality. Without
mindfulness, our ability to respond pre- cisely &
compassionately in everyday affairs is crippled.
Inner
silence can be achieved in the midst of noise. It
supports authentic
service &
enables us to transcend words' &
formal logic's limitations without betraying intellect. The calming
of our hearts' &
minds' agitations of all that is stubborn &
grasping, is essentially
an expression of loving
Truth. It helps esta- blish an inner peace &
harmony which will allow us authentically to contribute to outer
peace & harmony. Even
though we can't fully
articulate the Truth, we can enact it in an exemplary life. We can
perceive it in the one great, exemplary Life [&
Death] presented to us in the New Testament. We, too must fashion a
way to be
a visible Truth in our lives.
[Inner Silence and Eternal
Wisdom]—(Wisdom speaks:) In the begin- ning,/ he
created me; for eternity I shall remain .../ Whoever acts as
I dictate will never sin./ See, my conduit has grown into a river,/
& my river has grown into a sea .../ Now I shall
make discipline shine out,/ I shall send its light far &
wide./ I shall pour out teaching like prophecy,/ as a legacy to all
future generations./ Observe that I haven't toiled for myself
alone,/ But for all who are seeking wis- dom. ECCLESIASTICUS
24: 14, 22, 32-43 (Jerusalem Bible)
There is a wisdom which is from the Lord, created from eternity in the beginning, and remaining until eternity at the end. We can't contain what con- tains us nor comprehend what comprehends us. Those who have a grasp of this are wary of debates about spiritual matters; Truth is to be lived, not just talked about.
There is a wisdom which is from the Lord, created from eternity in the beginning, and remaining until eternity at the end. We can't contain what con- tains us nor comprehend what comprehends us. Those who have a grasp of this are wary of debates about spiritual matters; Truth is to be lived, not just talked about.
I once stood at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. One can gaze up from the bottom, past all the rock strata from different
ages and eons, up [thousands of feet] to the very rim. The time humans have walked upon this earth is
repre- sented only by the top 2 or 3 inches of all these layers,
so one is awestruck at the long creative process which has raised us
up to where we are. A true simplicity and stillness of heart allows
us to know in any given moment if we are acting so as to be at one
with this great Creative Principle, or if we aren't.
The Word that was at the
beginning, the Mother of all things, a Word of grace and truth,
abides within each of us, [all who have ever been, from all times and
all places]. This primordial saving Word was uttered out of silence,
and to silence we must return if we hope to hear it again. [Only]
then God speaks to us, expressing herself fully. The Truth awaits [in
silence] eyes un- clouded by longing.
Our hearts are touched by
something deeper than all our reasonings, something more
comprehensive than all contradictions, something that can support all
problems without the need for humanly devised solutions. When we drop
our questions, paradoxically we find the answers, almost as if the
answers had been waiting for us to discover them but had been drowned
out by our questions; we find ourselves seized with meaning. We come
alive to humankind's and our own possibilities; we come alive and
alert as well to the needs and possibilities of others. We discover
a way of life worthy of our pro- foundest enthusiasm. So to live is to
let our lives pour out teaching like pro- phecy; so to live is to
prepare a place worthy of all people—so to live is to pre- pare a
place where future generations can make their homes.
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319 Stories from Kenya (by Tom and Liz Gates; 1995)
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319 Stories from Kenya (by Tom and Liz Gates; 1995)
About
the Authors—Tom and Liz Gates
were in western Kenya Friends Lugulu Hospital Kenya
Preface—The stories here were 1st presented as a
plenary address to New England YM. We alternated stories of our experiences; that
mimics the way we work. Tom was a physician & had a clear role at the
hospital. Liz home-schooled our sons, held the household together, assisted in
administra- tive tasks, taught computer skills, & responded to emergencies
[outside the hospital]. Kenya US
The Rich Young Man (Mark 10: 17-22): Go, sell everything you have and give to the
poor … then come and follow me—We
considered applying to Lugulu Hospital in 1983, but with an infant son & a 2nd
one coming [we de- cided to wait and] remain open to any future leadings. In 1989, we wondered if we [were close to a
time] when such an undertaking would be possible. [Around the same time] Isaiah Bikokwa, a
Kenyan Friend and missionary whom we had met wrote to tell us he felt that God
was calling us to work in Kenya
We
felt like the rich young man, whose “things” prevented him from fol- lowing God’s
leading. What was hardest to give up was
our security, our illu- sions of being in charge & in control. William Kriedler said: “Protection is from God; safety comes from the devil.” When
we were ready to surrender some of our obsessive quest for security, only then
could we experience the true pro- tection that comes from God.
All
of this sounds so noble, but of course it was not like that. [We didn’t sell everything, we put it in
storage], as a kind of backup security.
[We applied tentatively, found clearness to go, and then had the
opportunity postponed for a year and then were offered it again]. [Only after 18 months of the process] were we
prepared to answer unequivocally with the prophet Isaiah “Here we are Lord. Send us.”
Who Am I, that I should
go to Pharaoh, and bring the Israelites out of Egypt Elizabeth Kenya
Lugulu
came as a violent shock to me. Nothing
in all my previous ex- perience had prepared me for the reality of living in the
3rd World. Everything was
different: the food, the people, the language, even the trees and birds. I was coming down with a severe case of
culture shock. I felt lost and vulnerable; I survived by clinging to the very
clear leading I had once felt, that God had a purpose in calling both of us to work in Kenya. After 3 weeks [in this state], Tom thought we
might be forced to return home.
Edith
Ratcliff, a living legend in Kenya Lugulu Hospital Kenya
A Heart of Flesh I will remove from your body the heart of stone and
give you a heart of flesh. (Ezekiel
36:26)—Tom: Practicing medicine in
Lugulu required major adjustments on my part.
There were few medicines and lab tests, no specialists to consult, &
little opportunity to refer to a larger hospital. I treated diseases new to me: malaria,
typhoid fever, tuberculosis, AIDS, teta- nus, and rabies.
The
most difficult adjustment for me was the terrible toll of the children
dying. In the 1st quarter of
1994, 67 children under age 10 died, 1 out of every 8 child admissions. I was never very good at dealing with all
this. [I was told that all I could do was move on to the next bed, and all I could
say was “Pole sana
Equanimity
was absolutely necessary, but it is not the same as not caring. It is not aspiring to a heart of stone, but
learning that the heart of flesh which God has given us comes with a
price. The constant danger for me was
that in persevering I would become numb and callous. Invariably something happened to wake me up
and turn my heart back to flesh. [As 1
child died and a mother grieved, I could] look around the ward, & see her
pain reflected back in the faces of the other mothers. [Something always shook] me out of my sense of complacency.
Give me Water If only you
knew … who it is that is asking you for a drink, you would have asked him &
he would have given you living water.” (John
4: 7-15)—Drawing water was something I had not anticipated doing in Kenya
It
was easier to carry water on my head than to persuade others that I should not
be treated preferentially. No matter how
long we stayed, the watch- men would always consider me a guest and serve me
first. The physical drud- gery of carrying water 2 or 3 times a day, and the
preoccupation with having enough, were a constant part of my life in Lugulu;
slowly that water came to be living water for me, [and connected me to the
community]. [I sometimes drew my own water, &] the most precious times
were when I was allowed to draw for other women, serving them as they served
me. [The most meaning ful tribute I received was] “You are one of us—you carry
water.”
Instruct
those who are rich … Tell them to do good and to grow rich in noble
actions, to be ready to give away and to share, and to acquire a treasure which
will form a good foundation for the future (I Timothy 6:17-18)
For I have learned to be content
whatever the circumstances. I know what
it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in
any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, in plenty or in want. I
can do everything through him who gives me strength. (Philippians 4:11-13)
The Lord is Your Keeper (Psalm 121)—Dr. Lugaria read Psalm 121 to us when we arrived, &
again when we left. The words are familiar & comforting. The Kenyans took
the sentiments of this Psalm quite literally.
[They would say prayers for protection or “traveling mercies” for
journeys. They would pray for food & money]. For Kenyans, getting money to
pay fees or buy seeds was as much out of their control as whether not or the
rains would come; praying was a natural response. Kenya
Kapkateny—Elizabeth Mt. Eglon, [2 of the many place people found refuge were
Namwele Friends Church & Kapkateny, east of Namwele]. Ann Lipson brought the sick from Kapkateny to
the hospital & promised to pay their bills.
Between Ann in Britain US
People from Britain
Is Not This to Know Me? (Jeremiah 22: 15-16)—Tom: Always in the back of our
minds, we pictured Kenya
Some days it seemed that the interruptions, the
constant flow of visitors with such overwhelming needs, would drive us crazy. Responding
in love to “one of the least of these my brothers” was not an abstract
principle in Lugulu; they were on our porch every day. The emergencies, the people on the porch, all
the things that were the bane of our existence in Lugulu were not just
unavoidable nuisances. They were opportunities given by God to allow us to show
that it is not just me, but Christ who lives in me. Love “is not just a matter
of words & talk … but must show itself in action (I John 3:18 ).
The Poor Widow (Luke 21: 1-4)—Elizabeth Kenya
My
Kenyan friends persuaded me to have a “porch sale”; it netted over 9,000
shillings. I decided the best use for the money was to pay Japeth’s bill &
send him home. Japeth’s mother entered our house, embraced me, shook my hand
several dozen times. She then proceeded to pray loudly & fervently for
several minutes in Swahili, thanking God that her child had been released
& asking for blessing on both our families. She presented me with a
battered cardboard box containing a large, angry duck, who proceeded to flap
and quack all around our house, and finally out the door. She gave all that she had, her “2 tiny
coins”; I paid Japeth’s bill out of the extra that I had.
Instruct those Who are Rich Tell them to
do good and to grow rich in noble action; be ready to give away & to
share, & to acquire a treasure which will form a good foundation for the
future (I Timothy 6:17-18)—Tom: It took the experience of living in a
different culture to teach us how Christianity, especially the Quaker variety,
can be a challenge to the dominant culture.
In Kenya Kenya
An
important effect [of our 2½ years was that we found in the US
A couple
who served nine years in Liberia
Epilogue—To many readers, the stories we have told may seem
ama- zing, And yet, we do not feel like
amazing people. We responded by doing
the best we could, what most Friends would have done in the same
circumstan- ces. If we were to sum up our
lessons, it would be in these words:
“Those who try to make their life secure will lose it, but those who
lose their life will find it” (Luke 17:33 ). We close
with an excerpt from our final newsletter, written just a few days before we
left Lugulu:
Looking back, we are aware that so much of what we
have written about in these newsletters has been negative; [the negatives] are
part of the reality of life there. But the other reality in Africa
that is missed by mass media is that despite all the hardships & suffering,
Africa isn't a joyless place. The people, sustained by the traditional
family, commu- nity, & God, have kept their capacity to find joy and meaning
where [Americans] may see only deprivation; we have felt somehow closer to the
heart of life.
For I've
learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know
what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any &
every situation, whether well fed or hungry, in plenty or in want. I can do
everything through him who gives me strength.
(Philippians
4:11-13)
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320. Leadership Among Friends (by Ron McDonald; 1995)
About
the Author—Ron
McDonald became a Quaker in 1979 as a member of Housatonic Friends
Meeting in New Milford, CT. In
1985, he moved to Memphis, [where he eventually became part of a new
Memphis Friends Meeting]. The genesis of this essay came from
his
work as Junior Yearly Coordinator for Southern
Appalachian YM and Association (SAYMA) and in leadership training and
coaching.
[Introduction—There
is a leadership crisis in Quakerism today. We send forth persons with
uncommon vision and courage. Within
our society we hold back vision
and courage. [Our cherished] waiting has become that which bogs down
meetings and inhibits leadership. Also, hierarchical &
authoritarian styles of leadership don't work anymore. By hanging on
to a serene and cere- bral, European-American style of worship
and of calming conflict, we haven't kept up with the ferment our
culture is producing in new ideas about leadership.
[Here is some of
what occurred to
me around
the issue of Quaker youth and leadership]: "There
are a few kids who are virtually unmanageable and who seem to have
the tacit support of Quaker adults. There is
a
[non-interference] attitude among Friends that enables kids to roam
free & get away with de- structive behavior. Rebelling and becoming
conscious of self without develo- ping skills of leadership is my
concern. We
need to be training our kids in lea- dership.
We need to be willing to rein in the spirit when its expression is
detri- mental to community.
LEADERSHIP:
[PROBLEMS AND STYLES]—I
believe we have a lea- dership problem within Quakerism, and
the children's behavior is a symptom of this problem. On a continuum
of leadership styles, there is charismatic on one end and consensus
on the other. Charismatic leaders deal with conflict autho- ritatively
and easily, but run the risk of [becoming] like
David
Koresh, Adolf Hitler, Jim Jones. For
consensus leaders, community building comes first and
making decisions comes second; efficiency is also secondary. The
most dis- turbed spokespeople dominate attention, while [potential]
leaders spend more energy with conflict resolution than with
developing ideas and a new vision. A leader finding middle ground
between charismatic and consensus would be a great respecter of tradition, community, vision,
conflict, and decision- making.
Leadership
among Quakers typically is consensus. Decision-making based on
finding the "sense of the meeting" occurs out of the
community in ways that create uncommon community strength.
Leadership also includes having vision. The sense of the meeting
normally follows an articulation of a new vision. Without vision,
there is only struggle and law-enforcement. Thus, if our children are
breaking the rules and people are wanting better enforce- ment of rules
and discipline, perhaps we are suffering from a lack of vision.
Tradition, "in the
manner of Friends," might be revered to the point where we are
afraid of [charismatic] visionary change within our own commu- nity. I
sense a dire need for charismatic leadership, which emerges out of the community in response to a vision that captures the people and moves them forward. Quakers tend to call people into a deeper sense
of community. What we are doing now is allowing individuality [from
kids onward] to be expressed without it being rooted in the vision of
the community, [because] the vision of the community is lacking.
We need a new vision.
THE
VISIONING PROCESS/A Church that Revisioned Itself — When a person or community has a common moving experience and articu- lates
what
happened, they are creating the ground for a new vision. Doug
interviewed for the minister's position of the downtown Memphis
Calvary Epi- scopal Church, which was a church with older members in
severe decline. There was no vision. Doug [had strong feelings about
what a downtown church could be, and
some people resigned as a result of changes resulting from hiring
him].
Today, Cavalry is a beacon of light in downtown Memphis, [with
several community programs], & many internal ministries. It is a
voice for several libe- ral causes in the city.
Doug
said: "I challenged people to take the name seriously, to be
willing to risk Cavalry [suffering]
&
provide ministries that would stretch our means &
challenge our courage &
comfort. [In considering our] Episcopal name, we af- firmed our roots,
taking how we worshipped seriously. We looked at what it meant to be
a church, worshipping
as a community, reaching inward &
outward to deal with pain &
suffering. Rather than wishing we weren't 'stuck'
with a downtown location, we sought ways to root ourselves in
downtown Memphis, [to minister to the downtown people]. We laid claim to being a
liberal church
while many other churches were avoiding the 'L' word." Doug
helped Cavalry create & articulate an attractive vision that people flocked
to. The
visioning process needs a personal vision, & it must have others
who are
open
to that vision, desiring a similar experience.
A
Meeting that Began with a Vision/ Clear Vision in Teaching—Like
many other Friends, I knew after that 1st
meeting at Housatonic Friends Mee- ting in CT, that I had found my
spiritual home. I became enamored with the consensus process,
Ministry &
Oversight, the Clerk's role, the method of ma- naging money. In
Memphis, I found a worship group. I suggested that we or- ganize like Quakers, which we did in 1985. In 1986, we connected with a Yearly
Meeting, followed
their process, and became a monthly meeting in 1987. By 1991, we had rented a space we
could call our own. We
had begun with a
vision of establishing a Friends Meeting in Memphis and
have accomplished that vision. Clear, shared visions come together to
become a community vision.
At
SAYMA, [there were 2 groups creating short plays on Quaker history,
one led by a drama teacher. I was in the other group, &
while we had fun, the children weren't fully involved, &
the play wasn't very good. In
the professionally led group, kids & adults were mesmerized,
committed, & sold on their teacher's vision of good drama. They
presented a wonderful play & example of what leadership with
clear vision can accomplish].
VISION
AND CONFLICT/ SEEKING A NEW VISION—Vision
develops out of conflict.
Larry
Engle pointed out that a major failing of Quakerism in dealing with Revolutionary War issues is that they couldn't embrace the needs of the American people for radical change and so provided
little leadership in making change, and none of their ideals of
nonviolence.
Leaders must be willing to be involved in conflict.
Where
and what is our Quaker vision? How
can we discern an emerging vision from growing concerns about
1st-Day School and the yearning for spiritual depth that convinced
Friends have brought with them in joining the Meeting? Meetings
are now predominately made up of convinced Friends. We
can discern a vision—if we are willing to let meeting for worship
change. [Inward
conflict is a part of the process of sharing an emerging vision; that
is where quaking comes from].
What
happens to us in meeting for worship?
SHARING
VISION IN MEETING FOR WORSHIP—Our
worship reflects diversity only in content, not in its process.
Like it or, we function in a sedate- ly European-American style, which
quells enthusiasm
and stifles leadership. We
err on the side of carefulness. We so carefully avoid conflict that
it goes underground & pops up
in symptoms like the "Quaker kids."
How do we look intentionally at new ways of expressing ourselves? Leadership
that draws us towards a new vision will have to risk something that
might not be true Spirit, might be a challenging Truth, or might
risk a schism. The
vision must be dyna- mic and must inspire a person of courage and
initiative to smile and say, "Yeah, I'll try that."
I
am sometimes asked to preach and lead worship in a Protestant church,
where I mix up their order of worship, and am required to speak
whe- ther I am moved by the Spirit or not. Each time I preach I am
surprised that the Spirit moves also out of something
other than silence—out of my vocal attempts at a prepared message.
We have made silence into an idol. Silence is not God, but merely a
medium for inspiration like preaching, dancing, and other modes of
expression. The
plague of idolatrous silence is discouraging Friends from preparing
for speaking and taking the risk that their prepared speaking will
become spirit-led.
I
advocate
preparation for ministry in worship without programming the meeting
itself. We need to encourage Friends to share ministry in meeting
for worship, [&
to speak more than once in
meeting if so moved]. "Popcorn" or "too much"
vocal ministry happens all too often in meetings where inwardness &
the power of silence is exalted, &
little vision is conveyed. [A
lot
of] messages in meeting about how great we &
our worship is are symptoms of circling the wa- gons, going nowhere,
excluding the conflicts of the world, keeping the spirit in.
VISIONARY/ LEADERSHIP QUESTIONS—What are we to be? What are we to do? What vision do you have regarding Quakerism? How will you share your vision? [How will you deal with the conse- quences of shattering treasured idols]? Inherent in the disciplined search for answers to these questions is the assertion that we no longer know what good we are for. We think we are God's gift to the world.
VISIONARY/ LEADERSHIP QUESTIONS—What are we to be? What are we to do? What vision do you have regarding Quakerism? How will you share your vision? [How will you deal with the conse- quences of shattering treasured idols]? Inherent in the disciplined search for answers to these questions is the assertion that we no longer know what good we are for. We think we are God's gift to the world.
If we do embrace that idea now, we are arrogant and off on tangents where leadership remains bankrupt. We are stuck in worship that is too strict in its method, thereby not inviting diversity. Worship experience [has become] a sacred cow, & our meetings have been unable to embrace necessary cultural changes needed to bring diversity to meetings. I am advocating that we prepare ourselves rigorously for spoken ministry, & encourage uninhibited messages full of feeling. We are a lost Society, [without a vision]. Admitting this is a place for a humble beginning.
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