Pamphlet Queries III (451-500)

           I invite you to revisit these Queries, the vast majority of which are still relevant, whether we are talking about 10 years or over 90 years ago.

Pendle Hill Pamphlet

Queries

451. Humanity in the face of Inhumanity (by Sue Williams; 2018)
           What do I mean by humanity?
           How do You Know What Your Priorities Are?
           If someone broke into my house, what would I do if I was visiting them in 

                prison?

           How do we have enough to give something to others? 
           What can a child do with 1 building block?
           What if it looks like you support one side?
           When did you experience a moment of everyday humanity that moved 

                you?
           How have you navigated the paradox of "doing something human,"  
                which sometimes brings out the humanity in the other, & sometimes  

                has the opposite effect?

           How have you experienced a clash between your values and the values  

                of the society you live in, and how have you dealt with it?

           How do you bring humanity to situations in which you feel no hope of 

                long term success?
           What role does standing in our humanity, in our grief and vulnerability, 

                play in creating a safe space for ourselves and others to heal?
           How could we transform conflict by centering on human needs?
           How do we look at a conflict situation through a humanitarian lens?
           How can we grow in our capacity to recognize human moments & appre-

                ciate the every day humanity [in our neighbors]?
           How can Quakers work to create a wider culture that focuses on human 

                kindness & connection, even in the face of inhuman circumstances?
      
452. Art as Soul's Sanctuary: Meditations on Arts and Spirituality 

        among Quakers and Beyond (by Jennifer Elam; 2018)        

         How could my art as a product of prayer be compatible with selling the     

              product, with both seller and buyer valuing them monetarily?

         Who am I to judge or disregard the work of God that I do?
         Where does the music or art come from? 
         Who do I want to send prayers and good thoughts to in my painting?
         What is my hope and prayer for my friends, family, community, or world?
         What does love look like in response to the hate when it is in your face?
      
453. A Practical Mysticism: How Quaker Process Opens Us to the 

        Promptings of the Divine (by Elizabeth Meyer; 2018)       
         How would plans for a necessary committee be derailed by a side issue?   
         How does a worshipful business meeting happen? 
         What draws the group closer to, or away from the Divine?
         Why is the proposed business action Spirit-led? 
         How will a proposed action: bring us closer to God; deepen our worship;

              strengthen our  spiritual community; witness to our faith?
         How important is a particular, possible agenda item? 
         How can an item be put on the agenda without disenfranchising the 

              committee responsible? 
         What should the committee clerk do on behalf of the committee and what

             should be brought to the whole committee? 
         How can a committee clerk keep all members of it informed & engaged? 
         How does the body have all the information needed for discernment? 
         How has the committee responsible reached unity on its 

              recommendation? 
         What exactly is the business meeting proposal? 
         What practices draw us closer to the Divine mystery as we attend to 

              business?
      
454. The Healing Power of Stories (by Michael Bischoff; 2018)
         How can storytelling be a spiritual or healing practice for you? 
         How can or has deep listening for and naming how we are being broken 

              and pulled toward wholeness been part of your Quaker practice?
         How have you felt healing from telling your story?
         On looking back on the stories you have told [to yourself or about your-

              self], how have some of them outlasted their usefulness? 
         How might you tell a new story?
         What dimensions of health do you draw on in your life for nourishment 

              and healing?                        

         How are there new practices that you'd like to bring in? 
         How have you tried, and perhaps succeeded in finding your unique role, 

              or in surrendering to the larger force carrying all of us? 
         What role does prayer have in healing for you? 
         How have you experienced the power of stories? 
         What role has relationships with others played in your healing journey?  
         What is your story of healing? 

455. Trying to be Truthful (by Chel Avery; 2019)        
           How will we carry on the work of living truth from a place of integrity? 
           What is truth?         What tempts us to distortion? 
           How are there exceptions where truth must be compromised?
           How is speaking truth an expression of faithfulness or a spiritual 

              discipline? 
           How does being attentive to speaking truth affect my relationship to the

               Divine? 
           What is a the price of deception? Of honesty? 
           How do we navigate the passage between Quaker truth and biological 

               hard-wiring to deceive? 
           What am I protecting or avoiding knowing? What limits my angle of 

               vision? 
           What is the best way to persuade me? 
           How is it true?         How is it necessary?         How is it kind? 
           How does it improve upon the silence?        How do we know how to 

               navigate media? 
           Who gets credit, blame, or the benefit of the doubt in the "newly told 

               story?"
           How do we tell stories faithful to the truth that accesses a deeper truth 

               through imagination? 
           How is it truthful to the context & meaning we use it for? 
           How do I decide between collaborating with the deception of someone 

               lying to me or being open with my skepticism? 
           What disservice do I do to my subordinates & those socially less power-

               ful, when I hold them to a lower standard as they lie about their 
               needs?      Wait, is this true? 

           What will society look like if trust in the words of others continues to 

               erode? 
           How do we distinguish real news from fake news? 
           How do we stay on top of manipulation of labeling food ingredients, of 

               statistics and graphs, and of the wording of terms and conditions? 
           What could be wrong, incomplete, or biased about the statements of our 

               allies? 
           What could be informative or true about the opposition's statements? 
           What do I believe because the ideas appealed to me? 
           What was the indelible knowledge I couldn't erase? 
           How much of what I believe to be true is essential? 
           How much [belief] is held for sound reasons? 
           How much [belief] is just comforting, appealing, self-justifying, [confor-    

               ming stuff]?
           How do I know when my thoughts have run away from the encounter's 

               [truth] and substituted something else?
           What is the relationship between the words we use and the integrity we 

               aspire to?
           How do we ensure that truth is constructive rather than destructive?
           When are there times that truth shouldn't be spoken?
           What effect does accepting white lies and expedient mistruths have on  

               us and our culture?

           What temptations draw us away from faithfulness to the truth?
           How does our work for peace and justice in the world come into conflict 

               with our testimony of integrity and truthtelling? 
           How do we respond to that conflict?
           What are some of the beliefs that you have held that you needed to give 

               up in order to become more whole?
      
456. On the Spirituality of Lightheartedness (by Helen Steere Horn; 

        2019)           
         How is helping those in dire, desperate need of help an "easy yoke" or 

             a "light burden?" 
         How can we  find heartease & laughter in a world full of pain? 

         How can we care & yet be carefree?

         How does my Inner Light help me accept my limits [without guilt]?
         What is being childlike?

457. A Natural Unfolding (by Donna Eder; 2019)          
           How much more powerful might a mother’s final illness be to a daughter  

               than to a complete stranger? 

          How have you had a experience of being immersed in Divine love? 
          How have dreams played a part in spiritual your journey? 
          What methods have you found to tap into your "inner source of knowing? 
          How have you had a bitter or opening experience stemming from grief? 
          What are your dreams for the future? 
          How have you had a leading and then discerned what to do? 
          What does wholeness mean to you? 
          How will you seek to live in both the Divine and the world "as a single 

              continuous gesture?"

458. Building Bridges: 4 Stories from the Bible (by Elizabeth               

        O'Sullivan; 2019)

          How many of us stumble in important relationships because of unhealed 

              wounds?
           How many of us don't love with Christ's passion, because we are afraid 

               of being vulnerable?

           How many of us struggle with addictions meant to manage anxiety or 

               pain?
           How many of us have felt too beaten down to pursue God's gift that 

               was entrusted to us?
           How do we act in the wake of this old and ongoing injustice?
           Where do we find the courage to act?
           What would happen to others if we do nothing?
           Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?
           How does a peak experience play out for one throughout one's life?
           How have you experienced the key of love & been drawn more deeply

               into the love of  God when reading the Bible?
           What particular story spoke to you on this theme of transcending 

               barriers?
           When have you had to cross emotional & spiritual bridges that separa-

               ted you from the Promised Land or wander in the desert sustained 

               only by God?
           How did God's forgiveness play a role?
           What is your understanding or experience of the refiner's fire and trans-

               formation?
           How have you, like Jonah, fled from a calling or leading?
           How is emotional healing more difficult than bodily healing?
           How have you and/ or your faith community lived the work of building 

               connection and transcending barriers?

459. The Workings of the Spirit of God Within: The Offices of 

         Christ (by David Johnson; 2019)

           What Does the Word "Christ" Mean?
           How have you felt God's Spirit move within you to pick up a book & 

                then were drawn to a passage that speaks instantly to your condition?
           [How] may I keep in the way of Truth of the Lord & yet do this ... thing 

                that my heart desireth? ...

           What role does Christ, or the Spirit of God within, play in your spiritual 

                life?
           In what ways does divine presence in every one, Spirit showing Truth, 

                Spirit manifested in Jesus of Nazareth, Spirit increasing our measure  

                of light, resonate with your own experience?

           Which of Christ's offices do feel drawn or recognize from you spiritual 

                experiences?
           What responsibility do we bare to be faithful to the Spirit in us?
           How does God/Christ and the Inward Light fulfill all the offices 

                described?
           How have you been changed by following the leadings of the Spirit?
           How might all Christ's offices shape our collective worship, our Quaker 

                community, and our outward ministry in the world?

460. On Vocal Ministry: Nurturing the Community through Listen-

        ing and Faithfulness (by Barry Crossno & J. Brent Bill; 2019)
          How are you called to share a message during worship?
          How is this message from the Holy Spirit and not from Intellect or Ego?
          How is this message intended for the community?
          How does the message contain: love; caring; beauty; persistence; 

                rightness; harmony with knowledge of God; [calling others] to the 

                Divine's heart?

          How is this message consistent with your own life and witness?
          How does it fit rightly with where the hearers are—or need to be?
          How is your personal story part or not part of the message you have 

                been given to deliver?

          How are you being called to be faithful?
          How harmonious is the message with your understanding of God's nature 

                & way?
          How is your body responding to the nudge to speak (e.g. quaking, heart 

                pounding; palms sweating)?

           How is this message more than a response to an earlier speaker?
           How is this message prophetic and grounded and not partisan or a 

                lecture?
           How is it the Spirit reaching in & through you to others & not you thin- 

                king others need to hear?

           What effect will it have on listeners?
           How will that effect be similar to the work it did in you?
           How might someone mistake this message for a personal announce-

                ment, partisan statement, or a lecture?

           How clearly is this message worded; how compelled are you to speak?
           How much Quaker jargon are you using?
           How clear are you about how to say the words you're called to speak?
           What is the spiritual basis for what you feel led to say?
           How is it rooted in an understanding of how we are to be the Religious 

                Society of Friends in this place and time?

           How can we faithfully find common ground that guides us & helps our 

                broader community find responsible solutions for the earth's & fel-

                low citizens' problems with the dignity that creation & every God-

                child deserves?"

           What made one message for reflection, & another one you couldn't hear?
           What do meetings need to do when faced with speaking in worship that 

                doesn't rise to the level of vocal ministry; when something racist, 

                homophobic, factually wrong, or injurious is said?

           What do we do if someone says something that is simply factually wrong 

                during vocal ministry?

           What if you are the person who offended, and you still feel you were  

                being faithful?

           What constitutes authentic ministry for you?
           How do you discern whether to speak in vocal ministry?
           [Has it ever taken some time and persuasion for you] to share vocal 

                ministry you've been given by the Spirit?

           When you look over queries regarding discerning vocal ministry, which

                 seem the most relevant to you and your meeting?

           What are your ways of recognizing what comes from beyond your self?
           How is ministry that invites listeners closer to the heart of God a regular  

                part of your meeting?

           What qualities make you listen to a challenging message more deeply?

461. Spiritual Gifts, the Beloved Community, and Covenant (by Emily

        Provance; 2020)

            What are the "great wings" God has given us to show others in service?

            How have you experienced being Named?
            How do we build the kingdom of God on Earth in the larger sense, with 

                the entire Society of Friends?
            How do you & your meeting react to a meeting-for-business crisis & its                        resolution?
           How do we get from crisis bonding to [good feeling together], to the 

                kingdom of God on Earth?
           How do we claim our gifts like David, like Jeremiah, or a little of both?
           What will it cost to be transformed?      Who are we going to be asked 

                to be?
           How will we recognize ourselves?
           Where are we trying to shut down God's Light?
           How do we engage with our behavioral norms with an understanding of 

                how behavioral norms are not uniform across racial, age and econo-

                mic groups?
           What are our expectations that we or someone in our communities 

                might be led to travel, teach or engage in radical witness?
           [Which of the imposter "covenants"] have we settled for?
           How are we ready to Name, Claim, Consecrate, Develop, and Exercise 

                our gifts as a covenant people?

           How will we receive the fruits and pray for all of creation to receive 

                those fruits?
           What is your understanding of covenant community?
           What gifts do you bring to the community?
           What gifts are found among members of your meeting?
           How are gifts recognized/ Named, nurtured & grown into?
           How can we build covenant across communities & the whole Society?
           How might a community block or deny a member's spiritual gifts?
           How do we hold our selves accountable to our covenant relationship?
           What do we need to change to better support people's leadings & mini-

                stry & allow true faithfulness to the Spirit's movement?
           How do you envision the kingdom of God on Earth, among us?
           Which pieces of the vision & reality do you carry?      What pieces do 

                you see in others?

462. A Culture of Faithfulness (by Marcelle Martin; 2020)

How is this a message from Spirit? How is this something to be kept in 

    or spoken aloud?

When is it to be shared? 

How did you feel while speaking & afterwards? 

How did you add [worldly words] to the Spiritual words? 

How were you faithful?

What forms of recognition or support are needed from a meeting sup

    porting someone who has reached clarity on their call to service?

What does faithfulness mean to you?

How can we nurture faithfulness in our Self and our communities?

What faithfulness story do you have to share?

What spiritual practices help you become aware of Divine Presence and 

    Calling?

How can we help each other distinguish Spirit-leadings from wishes, 

    ego, and social pressure?

What ministry have you been called to?

How does your meeting recognize and support members' leadings and 

    ministries?

How have you struggled to be aware of self-deception, fears, or resisting 

    God?

463. Mind the Oneness: The Mystic Way of the Quakers (by Rex 

                Ambler; 2020)
            With so much uncertainty and danger, what can we ultimately rely on?  
            What meaning or purpose can we find in our suffering in life?
            How do we recall and share moments of insight when words are 

                inadequate?
            What kind of mysticism did early Quakerism offer?
            What kind of mysticism does it offer now?
            How does it compare to other forms of mysticism?
            How did the Quaker Way Arise & Take Shape?
            What could 17th century religious people trust in light of doubts about 

                the Bible, & differences between interpreters of it?
            What reality can a young person trust & find hope in?
            How could they expect to build a [spiritual] life on their own 

                experience?
            How does one build an understanding of the mysterious source of life?
            How did early Quaker vision survive a lack of support from Church & 

                State?
            How was early Quaker vision translated into people's lives & the world?
            How did it become a viable way of life?
            What does it mean to "obey the truth?
            How do we make a difference?
            How Does the Quaker Way Compare with Other Forms of Mysticism?
            How is the Quaker way mystical? 

            Why are Quakers hesitant to describe our way as mystical?

464. Pendle Hill (PH), A Place to Be and Become: Reflections on the
         1st 90 Years (by  Doug Gwyn; 2020)

465. Race, Systemic Violence, and Retrospective Justice: African-

        American Quaker Scholar-Activist Challenges Conventional 

        Narratives (by Harold D. Weaver;  2020)
           How can I acceptably say what weighs heavily on my mind & heart?
           What does "race" and "racism" mean?      What should they mean?
           How can we individually & collectively rectify slavery's legacy & its 

                impact on descendants of enslaved & enslaver?
           How do we use Quaker space as alternative information centers to 

                counteract "politics of erasure," & disinformation?
           How can Quakers provide retrospective justice for our involvement 

                in this crime against humanity?
           How might a Justice testimony help Friends in spiritual & temporal 

                practices?
           How does our meeting respond to the need for justice?
           How does not seeking justice affect our spiritual lives?
           If compassion is love in action, what is justice in action?
           How does oppression dehumanize & dim the Light in all?
           How are you open to new light, [in this case, the light from a fuller 

                sense of justice]?
           
466. Cultivating Sanctuary: Hallowed Places and Inner States (by 

        Gunilla Norris; 2020)
           What makes a sanctuary alive & thriving?
           How is waiting both physical & metaphysical sanctuary?
           How can involuntary limitation have a positive effect on our lives?
           How can involuntary limitation have a negative effect on our lives?
           Why not find 100 ways that we belong & can serve?
           Where is a place of steadiness & peace?
           What is sanctuary for us & home for our souls?
           Which words describing sanctuary resonate most for you & your 

                experience of sanctuary?
           Where do you find & experience sanctuary?
           What methods or practices do you use to create sanctuary within 

                yourself?
           How have you found limitation to be sanctuary or transformation?
           What is the role of community in cultivating sanctuary?
           How have you found that providing sanctuary for others provides 

                it for yourself?
           How might you provide sanctuary for a person, place or cause?

467. Sir Arthur Stanley Eddington: Scientific Genius, Philosopher, 

        and Quaker Mystic (by Donald Vesey; 2021)

468. God's Invitation to Creative Play (by Jesse White; 2021)
           How are you creative?
           Where does creativity come from?      

           Are some people born with it or is it learned?
           Or does it come from our experience?
           When was the last time you played?      

           When did you last make something; what was it?
           What will you make now?      What are you curious about?
           What fascinates you?      

           Where does your mind go when you daydream?
           In what ways are you creative?       

           When have you experienced a flow state?
           How can you best practice intuitive listening and discernment?
           What spiritual metaphors resonate with you?       

           What helps you practice mindfulness?
           How is your heart open and what does it yearn for?
           Where in your body do you most readily listen?
           What do you need to feel spiritually nourished by your creativity?
           What feelings come up for you as you create?       

           What are your creative fears?
           What would your inner creator say to soften or refute those fears?      

           What helps you to feel brave?
           What kinds of experiences ground you?       

           What experiences soothe you?
           What are you learning about creativity?      What are you grateful for?  
           How does your body feel right now?      How does play help your 

                vocation or ministry?
           Whom can you share with?      What will you teach?

469. Reflections from a Solitary Meeting for Worship (By John 

         Andrew Gallery; 2021) 
            What might Buddha [or Thoreau say in meeting]?
            How will the current situation enable us to realize community and 
                continue this approach to life together?
            If I invited him to sit next to me,      Where would Jesus like to sit?
            Where would I like him to sit?
             What is the difference between my relationship with Jesus and my
                  relationship with God?
             What do I mean by being a "follower" of Jesus?
             How do I live the spiritually centered life in the Kingdom of God 
                  Jesus teaches about?
             How do I be prepared to surrender control over my life & follow where
                  I am led?
            How do I behave as someone living in God's Kingdom?
            How much of our accepted beliefs are other Friends' experiences that
                  we don't actually follow?
            How often have we had our own Christ experience?
            How have I put on or not put on some other Friends "suit" of experi-
                  ence, because it fit fairly well, but not perfectly?
            How important is a solitary search, as opposed to being part of a
                spiritual community?
            "What remains except to enjoy life, joining 1 good thing after another,
                so as to leave not even the smallest interval unfulfilled?"
            How do you know, discern that it is God speaking and not Satan?
            How can I hold myself in the Light? What does that mean?
            Why did they go off alone into a natural environment away from the
                world of other people?
            How has sitting silently alone these past few weeks been turning to
                the Inner Light?
            What did 6 Black people need to hear from me?
            What spiritual metaphors have worked for you with your spiritual
                journey?
            What is your experience of trusting in the Divine & letting the Spirit or
                Jesus guide you or lead you?

470. Friending Rosie on Death Row (by Judith Favor with Rosie Alfaro; 2021)

           What does Love require of me right now?
           What makes people commit impulsive acts of violence?
           How can one awful choice disrupt so many lives?
           How can we mend past mistakes? Where is love in all this?
           What one thing did you do that you found the most exciting?
           What does snow feel and taste like?
           Will you tell me your testimony on how you became a Reverend & the 

                story of your salmon tattoo [at age 73]?
           What do you think about the death penalty this year?
           If you could bring back someone from your past life, who would it be?
           "How do we listen to and stay in conversation with that is beyond our 

                awareness?
           What was it like to be Rosie on the day your whole life was ripped out 

                from under you?

           [Were you terrified your 1st time in jail? How did you approach prayer?
           How did you act in court?
           How did you imagine making the best of [maximum security prison]?
           What was your hardest struggle getting along with tough women here?

           Who made your life miserable and brought out the worst in you?
           What thou speakest, is it inwardly from God?'
           Where did the tears come from? "Where is God in your tears?
           Why does weeping make us feel better?
           What makes me a true Friend?
           What does God require from those whose spirituality involves develo-

                ping relationship in adversity?
           How would inmates notice a "feeling of light" or a "sense of love" rising 

                among them?
           How would they be affected by corporately seeking guidance from a 

                power greater than themselves? 

           How would conditions change if they spoke loving truth to one another?
           How can I express Inner Guide and guidance?
           What did you find yourself thinking and feeling during the long hours at 

                home during the Coronavirus?
           What might we learn from befriending incarcerated persons?
           What might they learn from us?
           What truth or new light did you find in reading this pamphlet?
           How does your life testify to divine guidance or the Light's power?
           What leading have you had that changed you profoundly?
           How is Friending part of your life?
           How might Friending be part of Quaker efforts to create global peace 

                with justice?
           What do you feel led to do with Friending?

471. Living Fellowship Needs Fresh Forms (by Daphne Clement; 
        2021)
            How can we heal the many divisions among us?
            How can we create communities that love one another?
            How can we learn to nurture Spirit, really care for each other, & build a
                wide and meaningful community in our country and the world?
            How does Zoom morning worship affect your day?
            What “rules” do we tend to abide by in the group?
            What will become of online worship when the world returns to normal?
            How can a Beloved [Zoom] Community, created in crisis, be sustained
                when things change?
            How will technology shape our communities going forward?
            What are the future possibilities for this sort of community among
                Friends?
            How might small groups of spiritually alive people make a difference in
                the world?
            Why is living in witness to the Light, the Living Christ's Light, so
                difficult?
            Why were New Lights unable to sustain cohesive community?
            What were the Old Lights afraid of?
            What is the right degree of discipline, and who is responsible for it?
            How can we balance tradition & continuing revelation in our meetings
                and institutions?
            What is keeping the Society of Friends divided?
            How can we better understand ourselves and each other?
            How can we grow together through conflict instead of splintering?
            What Divides Us?
            Why have people & cultures tended to defend against all differences?
            How can we heal the divisions among us, especially the divisions that
                refuse to welcome the “other,” and God’s creative diversity?
            How do we avoid “outrunning the Guide,” or being too attached to a
                personal point of view to be available to understand others?
            What might Narcissus’ experience have been had he been sitting at
                the pool’s edge regularly with a community of wise and weighty 
                Friends?
            How can we meet each other, soul to soul, when we can’t keep from
                having an agenda of our own for change?
            How will our everyday Zoom worship endure [after the pandemic]?


472. The Atheist’s Guide to Quaker Process: Spirit-Led Decisions   

        for the Secular (By Selden W. Smith; 2021)

        How can there be a non-theist theology?

        How can nonbelievers participate, without pretense or hypocrisy, in reli-

            gious exercises within Quaker groups?

        How can a faith-based practice be adapted for use by non-theist without

            being rendered meaningless? 

        How can a non-theist participant reap the benefits of surrender when 

            there is no higher authority to surrender to? 

        How can the ethical path be revealed without divine assistance? 

473. Be Patterns: reflections on the words of George Fox (by John

        Andrew Gallery; 2022)  

         How are our lives “speaking” or merely whispering in the world?

         How do I recognize you as a fellow human being, or am I indifferent? 

         How will I be respectful, helpful, & offer assistance despite differences? 

         How do I become such a pattern?      How do I turn to the Inward Light? 

         What makes you uncomfortable?       

         Why is this situation the way that it is?

         What new truth did you find in reading this pamphlet? 

         What about Fox’s “Letter from Launceton Gaol” speaks profoundly to you?            

         What phrases in it resonate with your spiritual life and understanding?

         How has Self-transformation been or not been part of your spiritual 

            journey?      

         In what ways do you feel led  to be a pattern and example in the world?      

         What have you seen of others successfully being patterns & examples?

         What does “that of God in everyone” mean to you?      

         In what specific way and time have you been a blessing to others, or felt

            the witness of God in others as a blessing to you?

474. Walking with the Bible (by Carl Magruder, Adria Gulizia, Colin 

        Saxton; 2022)

        Can Friends be a people of faith, germinating with spiritual fire seeds that

            bring vitality to creation’s inter-connectedness?		

        Do we believe God is available as we read, listen, or reflect on words from 

            a distant past? 

        How can we learn to engage with each other and these texts with open 

            hearts and "ears that hear? 

        How will this approach work for Friends of different theology, forms of wor-

            ship, and structures of leadership? 

        My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? 

        Why are you so far from helping me?       What is your lament at this time?

        How can this lament bring you closer to the Divine? 

        What is the Spirit saying to you as you read the words of the Psalmist and 

            Black Elk?

        What concern/ work/ witness does your lamentation fit and free you for?

        What does it mean to confront Christ as Lord over life and death?

        What power comes from knowing that life can be taken away, but Christ 

            can give it back, or that we're following a power greater than life and 

         death?

        What would it mean if what you were reading were actually true?

        What does it mean to follow Christ in hostile territory, in a world that encou-

            rages us to: excess; divisiveness; sharing our best moments & censoring 

            out the worst; toxic individualism, instead of: simplicity; peace; integrity; 

            community?      

        What does it mean to follow the call of the Spirit into love, hope and faith 

            when the world offers the opposite?

        What does all the change we've seen mean, when it makes the familiar 

            seem unfamiliar?       

        What will the future bring?      What is your experience of living in exile?      

        How are we called to live in this time as we prepare for God to gather us 

            from exile and captivity?

        How do we live in difficult circumstances and be faithful?

        How can we operate out of the Life & Power that is available to guide our

            steps and empower our efforts?

        How do we live into that spaciousness so it helps others experience it? 

        Have you ever felt like life was about to swallow you completely?     

        When you find yourself feeling hemmed in by anxiety or fear, what helps 

            you re-center in a spacious place?      

        What rises within as you consider the words from the psalms?

476. Radical Transformation: Long Overdue for the Religious Society of    
        Friends (by Vanessa Julye; 2022)     What are the elements from Europe that have contributed to Turtle

               Island's colonization, & which helped establish White supremacy here?

        Why is addressing White supremacy and privilege important? 

        Why has the number of colored persons with the Society always been 

                 so small? 

        How are they kept at a distance by our neglect or repulsive conduct?

        What are the patterns of White Supremacy among Friends?

        When is somebody going to adapt to me? 

         Why do I have to be the one to make changes?  

         Why do people never try to understand me?

        How do our intentions unintentionally or intentionally affect others? 

        How might our good intentions further support our own implicit bias? 

        How might we look deeper at our intentions and align them with our 

                values?

    477. One Caregiver's Journey with Dementia (by Anne Felton; 2022) 

            How would family respond to dementia and inevitable changes? 

            How could I support them? 

            How strong is the glue that holds together relationships with friends and 

                family? 

            How will I feel when Keith forgot who I was? 

            Who was this "someone else" to them? 

            How is the person with dementia still a person? 

            How could the terms "living vegetable" and "non-person" ever apply to a 

                person with dementia? 

            Why should the rational mind be the centrality of what it means to be a 

                person? 

            What of the spiritual?      

            What was happening to me [in caring] for dementia? 

            What was happening to us? 

            Was Keith experiencing his own "dark night of the soul? 

            What did other caregivers do to take of themselves? Where is Spirit? 

            How can the caregiver of someone with dementia lead a Spirit-filled life? 

            What might that life be like? 

            How is the biomedical model, the popular image of dementia as a purely 

                medical condition, & models of dementia care flawed or incomplete?                How can we experience authenticity in this new kind of life? 

            How can I combine the demands of caregiving with a course of even 

                part-time study? 

            What about our relationship, now that we would live separately for the  

                rest of Keith’s life? 

            [What was my most basic fear?] What do I need to do about my fear? 

            How does someone praying for me filling my own prayer blanks? 

            How did Light protect me from utter darkness? 

            How did Keith’s love protect me from complete darkness? 

            What role has caregiving played in your life? 

            How has dementia touched your life? 

            How have you experienced a Dark Night of the Soul?   What was it like?

            What sustained you?     What lay on the other side? 

            What sustained you? What did you learn of Self and Spirit? 

            How might we as individuals and communities support the spiritual 

                paths of the caregivers among us?

    

478. Abraham, Sarah, Hagar, and Us: Using Family Systems Therapy to 40
        Understand and Dismantle Oppression (Janaki Spickard Keeler; 2022)
            How can I worship a God who can ask Abraham to murder his son;

            How do I find that of God there?
            How do I come to terms with a religion and a country rooted in violence 

                and abuse of power? 

            How can our addicted world “change the prevailing narrative of trauma 

                and abuse?” 

            How do we redeem the stories our society tells? 

            How do we decide whether to leave out this Abraham story or seek 

                a [deeper] truth in a deeper reading of it?

            What does it mean to sacrifice my Isaac?
            What are we being called to surrender so that we can be more fully     

                embraced by God?
            Do you trust me enough to let go of everything in this world that con-

                nects us? 

            Do you love me more than my gifts, more than my promises, more than 

                my presence in your l life? 

            What do I cling tightly to, afraid I’d be undone by the losing thereof? 

            How could these things be blocking me from embracing the Divine? 

            What keeps me separate and isolated from God and others? 

            How is the Abraham story a call to radical faithfulness that reconnects 

                us?

            What would it be like knowing your father would willingly murder you 

                because his God told him to? 

            What power did Sarah have and did she use it? 

            What trauma did Sarah create? 

            If I am not willing to worship Abraham's God, how can I worship Sarah’s 

                God? 

            What does this story tell me about my own life and society? 

            How am I ready to fight my city’s school system, seeking better educa-

                tion for all? 

            Is a willingness to escape city schools a choice to sacrifice another’s 

                child? 

            If I prioritize my comfort and my child’s safety, am I not moving my self 

                away from Divine Guidance & the Beloved Community, not toward it?

            How do we resist systems in which we are complicit? 

            How do we contribute to dismantling them and the premises they are 

                built on? 

            What Can Abraham, Sarah, and Hagar Teach Us? 

            When have we allowed injustice in the name of keeping and maintaining 

                order? 

            When have we prioritized our own children or side, over others? 

            When have we done something wrong, when we thought it was right 

                and Spirit-led ? 

            How do we discern when obedience is the Spirit-led path and when we 

                are ready for the more mature path of partnership? 

            Do I follow Abraham's God or Sarah’s? 

            How do we repeat the same traumatic compulsions over and over again 

                throughout our history without escaping from the trauma cycle? 

            How are we complicit in oppressive systems? 

            How does that complicity set us up to be victimized ourselves? 

            How do we interrupt systems of oppression we are embedded in?

            How has God called and how is God calling us this work? 

            How do we ensure we use our power in ways that serve the greater 

                good? 

            How are we led to be in relationship with the Other? 

            What roles do education and the Spirit have in this process? 

            How do we root ourselves in our own Truth while being open to being 

                changed by the Truth others carry? 

            What does living in the Cross look like for you personally and for the 

                Religious Society of Friends? 

479. Plain Talk about Dying: The Spiritual effects of Taking my Father off 

        Life Support (by Shulamith Clearbridge: 2023) 

           Should we leave him on the respirator & move him to a nursing home?

            Should we turn off the machine and let nature take its course? 

            What choices should I make when all choices are things I don’t want?

            How much worse would he get in 3 months? 

            Would we be letting him or forcing him to live until then? 

            Who would talk to my father about these unacceptable options? 

            How do you tell someone they won’t recover, that they must choose life 

                tied to a bed or death? 

            What kind of life is it if every time you wake up you don’t know where 

                you are and your hands are tied to the bedrails? 

            What would watching him live like that do to my mother? 

            What would her life be as she spent every day with him, in hospital 

                and rehab?       Could we stand it? 

            Did my father know it was his last night?       How could he not know? 

            How important is death? 

            How can I embrace death as the natural end of the gift of being alive, 

                as rejoining God? 

            Why don’t we all look forward to it?      How can I accept suffering? 

            How important is suffering? 

            Who am I not to expect to suffer or for my loved ones to suffer? 

            What is the meaning of life?      What’s the use of life? 

            [What will I do if] I end up in a body that can’t communicate? 

            What would I require of friends or family if they were deciding life or 

                death for me? 

            What will my end be like: a soaring end; enfolded in joy; surrounded in 

                healing energies; healed out of this life into [new] creation, transfor-

                mation and love? 

            If you have made life-and-death decision for another person, what 

                helped you discern the best way forward? 

            How was the Spirit a part of your decision-making? 

            If not, how would you approach such a decision? 

            Do your spiritual and secular communities have resources available? 

            How have you discussed your end-of-life wishes? 

            What questions were raised? 

            How can we best support people making these difficult decisions, as an

                individual, or as part of a community? 

            How do we support people in healing without imposing ideas of the 

                Divine different from their own?

            What spiritual lessons have you learned from grieving?    33