Quakers Today

Quakers and Decision Makers

In this episode of Quakers Today we ask, What Do You Desire?
Linda Seger speaks about Circle Thinking. It is counter-cultural, highly effective, and something Quakers have been doing for a very long time. Her article, “Circle Thinking, A Quaker Model of Leadership” appears in the June/July 2023 issues of Friends Journal. Linda is the author of 34 books, including Beyond Linear Thinking: Changing the Way We Live and Work. Read Carl Blumthal’s review of Linda’s book online FriendsJournal.org. Linda has been a Quaker for over 50 years. She has a ThD in Religion and the Arts and MA degrees in Feminist Theology, Religion and the Arts, Drama and Theology, and Drama. She has given seminars on writing in 33 countries around the world. She lives in Cascade, Colorado. 
Christopher Cuthrell is the new Video Producer of the QuakerSpeak Project. He tells us a little about himself and why he is excited about Season 10 of QuakerSpeak videos. Learn more about Christopher through Gail Whiffen’s Friends Journal interview with him. In it he talks about his film and animation work including the beautiful animated short film, The Boy and the Moon. 
Learn about the new book Susanna and Alice, Quaker Rebels: The Story of Susanna Parry and Her Cousin Alice Paul By Leslie Mulford Denis. This true story set 100 years ago brings to life the struggles, victories, and important relationships these two cousins experienced. Read Claire Salkowski’s review in the August 2023 issues of Friends Journal. 
You will find a complete transcript of this episode at QuakersToday.org.
After the episode concludes we share voicemails from listeners who answered the question, What do you desire?
Question for next month
For the August episode of Quakers Today we ask the question, What was a time in your life when you rebelled and why? 
Rebelling against society norms and breaking the rules may have gotten you in trouble. In the end you may have decided that it was totally worth it. Or you may have regretted the rebellion even if the cause seemed right. 
What was a time in your life when you rebelled and why?
Leave a voice memo with your name and the town where you live. The number to call is 317-QUAKERS, that's 317-782-5377. +1 if calling from outside the U.S.
Quakers Today is the companion podcast to Friends Journal and other Friends Publishing Corporation (FPC) content online.
Season Two of Quakers Today is sponsored by American Friends Service Committee. 
Do you want to challenge unjust systems and promote lasting peace? The American Friends Service Committee, or AFSC works with communities worldwide to drive social change. Their website features meaningful steps you can take to make a difference. Through their Friends Liaison Program, you can connect your meeting or church with AFSC and their justice campaigns. To learn more, visit AFSC.org 
Feel free to send comments, questions, and requests for our new show. Email us at podcast@friendsjournal.org.
Music from this episode comes from Epidemic Sound. You heard Strapt and Alone in Swan Lake by Pandaraps, My Lifeline by Hector Gabriel, Stillness Within by Roots and Recognition, Morning Hike by Linsey Abraham, Morning Mist by Staffan Carlen,and  El Que La Hace La Paga by Wendy Mancini.

Quakers and Leadership

In this episode of Quakers Today we ask, What do you expect and need from a leader?
Kat Griffith steps out of her comfort zone and runs for local office. The lessons she has learned about herself and her community will encourage, inspire, and challenge you. Learn more about her experience through her article,  “One Quaker’s Excellent Adventure in Politics.”Kat is a former high school teacher, homeschooler, and yearly meeting co-clerk. She describes her current circumstances as “cheerfully unemployed but awfully busy! Interesting times and no lack of meaningful work!” She is primary caregiver to her 91-year-old mother-in-law, is active in Northern Yearly Meeting, clerks the vibrant Winnebago Worship Group in east-central Wisconsin, writes regularly for Friends Journal, interprets (Spanish/English) for FWCC, and is editing an antiracist clerking manual—a work in progress. She is also busy with county board work and a range of local social justice, community building, and environmental initiatives. Personal joys include kayaking, snowshoeing, writing, cooking, tending a ridiculous profusion of houseplants, being a news junkie, and most recently, learning ASL.
Windy Cooler shares a review and a reflection about the award winner film, Women Talking. See Windy’s longer written review of the film, “A Thought Experiment in Sympathy and Love.” Windy Cooler, is currently the convener of Life and Power, a discernment project on abuse in Quaker community.Windy Cooler (she/her) is an embraced public Friend and the assistant clerk of Sandy Spring (Md.) Meeting of Baltimore Yearly Meeting. Her ministry has long centered on Quaker caregiving in times of crisis and in group discernment: finding the wisdom in communities to address sticky issues. A regular guest of Quaker communities in the United States, and more recently in the United Kingdom, she is also Pendle Hill’s 2020 Cadbury Scholar and a 2022-23 fellow of Odyssey Impact, a change-making organization that centers story-telling as a strategy for building social justice.
Jean Parvin Bordewich tells us about Bayard Rustin and other Pacifists who revolutionized resistance. She reviewed the book War By Other Means: The Pacifists of the Greatest Generation Who Revolutionized Resistance by Daniel Akst.Jean Parvin Bordewich is a member of San Francisco (Calif.) Meeting, now attending Friends Meeting of Washington, D.C. She is a trustee of Guilford College in Greensboro, N.C. A former senior staff member in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives and local elected official in New York's Hudson Valley, she now writes plays about politics and history.
 
You will find a complete transcript of this episode and more show notes on the Quakers Today page at Friends Journal. 
Question for next month
In the July episode of Quakers Today we ask, What do you desire?
The question comes from listener Glen Retief. Glen asks us to consider this question, What do you desire? It is a broad question that you can answer in lots of ways. What do you desire for yourself? Your future? Your relationships? It could also be connected to the wider world around you. What do you desire for your community? The place where you worship? Or for other earthlings? What do you desire?
Here is our question for you to consider. What do you desire? 
Leave a voice memo with your name and the town where you live. The number to call is 317-QUAKERS, that's 317-782-5377. +1 if calling from outside the U.S.
Quakers Today is the companion podcast to Friends Journal and other Friends Publishing Corporation (FPC) content online. It is hosted by Peterson Toscano, and  it is produced for Friends Journal through Peterson Toscano Studios. 
Season Two of Quakers Today is sponsored by American Friends Service Committee.
Do you want to challenge unjust systems and promote lasting peace? The American Friends Service Committee, or AFSC works with communities worldwide to drive social change. Their website features meaningful steps you can take to make a difference. Through their Friends Liaison Program, you can connect your meeting or church with AFSC and their justice campaigns. Find out how you can become part of AFSC’s global community of changemakers. Visit AFSC dot ORG. That’s AFSC dot ORG
Send comments, questions, and requests regarding our podcast.. Email us at podcast@friendsjournal.org.
 
Music from this episode comes from Epidemic Sound. You heard In Love with Myself (Instrumental Version) by Katnip, Hidden Fields by Clarence Reed, Shinjuku by Leimoti, Rising Hope by Reynard Seidel, Work Together by Isola JamesGuuter Gator by Benjamin King

Quakers and Revival

In this episode of Quakers Today we ask, What is a daily practice that clears your head and steadies you for the day?
The host of Quakers Today, Peterson Toscano, speaks with Karla Jay, the global ministries coordinator for Friends United Meeting. Her husband, Michael Jay, is the pastor of Raysville Friends Church. Karla has been on the pastoral team at Iglesia Amigos de Indianapolis, where her father, Carlos Moran, is pastor. Karla was an eye-witness to a modern revival in Wilmore, Kentucky, a spiritual event that made national news. Was it a hoax? Group hysteria? Or was this a genuine spiritual encounter? Karla Jay tells us what she heard and saw on her visit to Asbury University.The Aftershocks of the Asbury Revival (Inside Higher Ed) 
A Quaker Experience at the Asbury Revival by Karla Jay
Anthony Kirk, a transgender pastor at a Friends Church, shares a Bible passage that has been central to his spiritual and gender journey. Hear more in the QuakerSpeak.com video Made in the Image of God: A Transgender Pastor Shares Psalm 139
Kathleen B. Wilson dusted off and reformatted the writings of an early twentieth-century mystic and created the free on-line pamphlet Quaker Thomas Kelly: Life from the Center. We share readings of excerpts by Alissa Vanderbark, a Quaker Voluntary Service fellow, and Jonah Sutton-Morse, a member of Concord (N.H.) Meeting and a member of the Society of Friends Discord group. 
You will find a complete transcript of this episode below after the show notes.
After the episode concludes we share voicemails from listeners who answered the question, What is a daily practice that clears your head and steadies you for the day?
Question for next month
In the June episode of Quakers Today and the June issue of Friends Journal we consider the topic leadership. 
The world is changing rapidly and these include changes in how we view our leaders in the political realm and in religious spaces. With so many people working remotely, even the relationships between managers and workers have changed. 
Here is our question for you to consider. What do you expect and need in a leader? This could be a leader on the job, in a religious space, in your community or in the political world. 
Leave a voice memo with your name and the town where you live. The number to call is 317-QUAKERS, that's 317-782-5377. +1 if calling from outside the U.S.
Quakers Today is the companion podcast to Friends Journal and other Friends Publishing Corporation (FPC) content online.
Season One of Quakers Today has been sponsored by Quaker Voluntary Service (QVS).
QVS is the only organization in the United States dedicated solely to the spiritual and vocational needs of young adult Friends and seekers. Learn about the year-long fellowship program for young adults. Visit quakervoluntaryservice.org. And Follow QVS on Instagram @quakervoluntaryservice.
Feel free to send comments, questions, and requests for our new show. Email us at podcast@friendsjournal.org.
Music from this episode comes from Epidemic Sound. You heard Get a Hold on Me by Martin Klem, Revive Us by JOYSPRING, Toward Success by From Now On, Dear Friends and Gentle Hearts (Instrumental Version) by Roy Williams, Be This Way by Hallman, Got Nothing to Worry About by Garden Friend
 
Transcript for Quakers and Revival
SPEAKERS
Karla Jay, Alissa Vanderbark, Sunny, Jonah Sutton-Morse, Anthony Kirk, Peterson Toscano
Peterson Toscano  00:00
In this episode of Quakers Today we ask, What is a daily practice that clears your head and steadies you for the day?" I speak with an eyewitness to a modern revival in Wilmore, Kentucky, a spiritual event that made national news. Was it a hoax? Group hysteria? Or was this a genuine spiritual encounter? Karla Jay tells us what she heard and saw on her visit to Asbury University. Anthony Kirk, a transgender pastor at a Friend's Church shares a Bible passage that has been central to his spiritual and gender journey. And Kathleen B Wilson dusted off and reformatted the writings of an early 20th century mystic. You will hear readings from the new pamphlet, Quaker Thomas Kelly, Life from the Center. 
Peterson Toscano  00:49
I am Peterson Toscano. This is the sixth episode of Quakers Today, a project of Friends Publishing Corporation. This first season of Quakers Today has been sponsored by Quaker Voluntary Service. 
Peterson Toscano  01:05
Karla Jay serves as the global ministries coordinator for Friends United Meeting or fu M. Her husband, Michael Jay,is the pastor of Rayville Friends Church. Karla has been on the pastoral team at Iglesia Amigos de Indianapolis, where her father Carlos Moran is pastor. Like many people, it was online that she first learned about the Asbury revival.
Karla Jay  01:30
I just thought, oh, you know, these are people that probably want attention or just want to say that you know, the spirit is being poured over them.
Peterson Toscano  01:40
On February 8 2023, after an on campus chapel service, a group of Asbury students decided to stay in the chapel to pray and sing. For the next two weeks students, community members and visitors from around the USA attended impromptu worship services. During that time classes were suspended online and in the media, people called it an outpouring of the Holy Spirit or the Asbury revival. According to Inside Higher Ed, "Asbury is part of the Wesleyan theological tradition, which emphasizes transformational encounters with the Holy Spirit." This year during the two weeks of nearly constant prayer and worship, over 50,000 visitors joined the students. Karla Jay was not interested in traveling the three hours to the Asbury campus. But her sister, who Karla doesn't get to see often, proposed they meet up and visit together. Karla shared with me what she saw and heard. And she reflects on what revival means to her.
Karla Jay  02:47
It wasn't hard to find; the campus is not that big. We found it, and we saw that it will be a while before we got in. There was maybe 2000 people outside at the time we went there. Being already suspicious of what was happening, I was looking for like, are there any other Latinos? Are there other Black people here, you know, people that are different from regular white people? Or is this just like a white people movement? There was some other Latinos maybe not as many as I would have liked there to be. But there were some other Latinos in the crowd. The majority of the crowd was white. 
Karla Jay  03:28
We waited about 45 minutes to get in. And in the meantime, an usher came in. He asked us, What did we need? And what were we doing there? Like, did we come for anything in particular? And we said, we just came to feel the presence and to be here. He said, Are there any needs that you have that you would like me to pray for you? And we said just that we feel the presence that he prayed for us, that we may feel the presence and that we may be blessed?  
Karla Jay  04:03
It was just very quiet, even though there was music being played in the background. The worship leaders weren't not really leading people into worship. They were there. There was background music, people were praying, some people were singing to the music that was being played. Some people, if they felt like it, they went up and gave testimony. People were allowed to go in and out as they felt led. It almost felt like in a programed Meeting for Worship with background music. It wasn't organized. It was spontaneous. 
Karla Jay  04:44
We were there for about an hour and a half. And I felt like we had only been there for 15 minutes. I didn't feel bored or anxious then. I usually feel that in a lot of church meetings, I'm bored. I'm anxious that I want to leave. I believe I've already sang these hymns before. I probably already heard that sermon before, whether the person that I'm listening to is new, but I probably already heard the sermon in some way or another. I did not feel that at Asbury. I just felt like there was peace there. And that whatever was happening, a genuine experience for most of the people there. 
Karla Jay  05:26
Growing up Evangelical and Holiness, I did see adults making a plea for a revival to happen. But I'd never seen them asking for repentance or turning around. The church has been asking for revival to happen. But at the same time, I don't see many leaders of the church recognizing the sins that the church has been a part of . And some of that sin has to do with issues of justice. What I saw in Asbury is that this movement, or it might be too soon to call it revival, but this outpouring happen in very young people. I mean, these are college kids, they're not older than I don't know, twenty-three. They don't have any influence. They don't have any positions of power. This spontaneous worship happened among them. It didn't happen and an older generation that is not recognizing the sins and you know, like, the younger generation, it's been more honest about the injustice that is happening in this country. That might have something to do with you know, recognizing that not everyone in this country has the same justice and being able to recognize that and be able to say we are going to make a difference. I think that in itself is the movement of the Holy Spirit. God is not going to do an outpouring, and people that are not repenting and calling for justice in this country. If they're not calling against racism, if they're not calling against misogyny, the Holy Spirit is not going to move  in that. Our relationship with God also has to do with a relationship with others around us and how we seek justice for our brothers and sisters.
Anthony Kirk  07:48
My journey with religion and spirituality has been completely intertwined. In my relationship with my gender identity and coming out as transgender. My name is Anthony Kirk, I use he/him pronouns. I live in Klamath Falls, Oregon, and I am currently the pastor of Klamath Falls friends church.
Anthony Kirk  08:18
There's actually a Psalm that has really helped me. I reflect on it a lot. I use it for Transgender Day of Visibility events, and I share it with those who are exploring their identity, exploring their gender, their sexuality, and wondering, Well, where do I fit? The scripture that I use comes from Psalm 139, verses 13 through 16, from the New Revised Standard Version
Anthony Kirk  08:52
For It was you who formed my inward parts, you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I'm fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works, that I know very well. My frame was not hidden from you. When I was being made in secret. Intricately woven in the depths of the earth, your eyes beheld my unformed substance. In your books were written all the days that were formed for me when none of them as yet existed. And it's the beautiful reminder that God knew us since our conception, as we were formed, God knew us and loved us and created us long before society put labels on us and made assumptions. And that's brought so much comfort to me and so many people in my life.
Peterson Toscano  09:55
That was Anthony Kirk, in an excerpt from the QuakerSpeak Video Made in the Image of God, a Transgender Pastor shares Psalm 139. You will find the full video and other QuakerSpeak videos at the QuakerSpeak channel on YouTube, or visit Quakerspeak.com.
Peterson Toscano  10:12
Quaker Thomas Kelly Life from the Center is a free online pamphlet that includes excerpts from two of Kelly's books, Testament of Devotion, and The Eternal Promise. While reading Kelly's writing, Kathleen B. Wilson started copying excerpts verbatim and arranging sentences and phrases. The format helped her savor each word and phrase Alissa Vanderbark, a Quaker Voluntary Service fellow, and Jonah Sutton-Morse, a member of Concord Monthly Meeting in New Hampshire. Join us to read passages from the pamphlet.
Alissa Vanderbark  10:56
I have no interest in silence as a form. But I know that devotion and dedication arise in the deep communing of the heart, in dwelling with a silence in the center of our being in periods of relaxed listening and expectancy. The silence within us seems to merge with a creative silence within the heart of God. And we hear eternity's whispers, and we become miracles of eternity, breaking into time, live a listening life. Order your outward life, so that nothing drowns out the listening.
Jonah Sutton-Morse  11:39
The second spring of hope, business, we simple humble people can bear the seed of hope. No religious dictator will save the world, no giant figure of heroic size, will stalk across the stage of history today as a new messiah. But in simple, humble, imperfect person, like you and me, wells up the spring of hope. We have this treasure of the seed in the earthen vessels, very earthen vessels, yield yourselves to the growth of the seed within you. In these our days of suffering. Sow yourselves into the furrows of the world's pain and hope will grow and rise. Be not overcome by the imposing forces of evil and of might. Be of good cheer as Jesus I have overcome the world.
Peterson Toscano  12:59
That was Alissa Vanderbark and Jonah Sutton Morse reading excerpts from the free online pamphlet Quaker Thomas Kelly Life from the Center. You can read the full version and the introduction written by Kathleen B. Wilson at the website QuakerThomasKelly.org.  And you can connect with Quakers like Jonah at the Society of Friends Discord group. I will have links for you in our show notes. 
Peterson Toscano  13:29
Thank you for listening to Quakers Today. This podcast is written and produced by me Peterson Toscano. I receive a lot of assistance and input from the Friends Journal staff Gabe, Gail, Martin, and Ron Thank you Friends. 
Peterson Toscano  13:42
For articles and blog posts related to this episode visit FriendsJournal.org. Music on today's show comes from Epidemic Sound. This is the end of season one. But fear not Friends Publishing Corporation has renewed this show for another season. I will continue to produce it with the possibility of a co-host. We will premiere Season Two on June 13th 2023. 
Peterson Toscano  14:10
Season One of Quakers Today was sponsored by Quaker Voluntary Service. Thank you so much. QVS is the only organization in the United States dedicated solely to the spiritual and vocational needs of young adult friends and seekers. Learn about the year long fellowship program for young adults, visit QuakerVoluntaryService.org and follow QVS on Instagram at QuakerVoluntaryService. If you have a comment or suggestion for this podcast or just want to say hi, you can email me podcast@friendsjournal.org. Stick around after the closing to hear voicemails from listeners who share their daily spiritual practices. Thank you Friend. I look forward to spending more time with you soon
Peterson Toscano  15:15
In a moment, you will hear voicemails from listeners about their daily spiritual practices. But first, I want to share with you the question for our June episode, and it is a question about leaders and leadership. The world is changing rapidly. And these include changes to how we view our leaders in the political realm and religious spaces. With so many people working remotely, even the relationships between managers and workers have changed. So here's our question for you to consider. What do you expect and need in a leader? This could be a leader on the job, in a religious space, in your community, or in the political world? What do you expect and need in a leader? I would love to hear and share your thoughts. Leave a voice memo with your name and the town where you live. The number to call is 317 Quakers. That's 317.7825377. 317 Plus one if you're calling from outside the USA. You can also send an email. I have these contact details in our show notes over at QuakersToday.org. Now we hear answers to the question what is a daily practice that clears your head and studies you for the day
Sunny  16:36
I'm Sunny in Virginia. I attend Richmond Friends Meeting. And thank you for the query. It helped me think through what it is that starts my day. After reading today books in the luxury of my bed without hot coffee and a dog, I go for movement in the fresh air. This morning I swept the desk with a sturdy broom while the pollen was still damp so the mask wasn't needed. Some mornings I'd like to scoop leaves or rake or follow the dog around the meadow. But breathing and moving awakens my body and pulls things together. I add a little yoga, maybe a hot shower, but the thing is the motion of leaving my body with the breath that gathers my mind, body and spirit into the center. And there I can face today. Thank you for that query again. I'm gonna watch myself with more consciousness but not obsession.
17:33
Sharlee from Allentown Pennsylvania, I worship at the Lehigh Valley Friends Meeting. So the daily practice that clears my head and steady for the day is praying a prayer a member of my meeting shared with me. She was the convener of a group that met to walk with me during a time of aa upsetting spiritual doubt. And the prayer is God most high and glorious, come into the shadows of my heart. Give me a generous spirit and let me always live in the light of your love. Thank you goodbye.
 

Quakers and Virtual Communities

In this episode of Quakers Today we ask, What are your thoughts and feelings about virtual online worship communities? 
Writer Linda Seger talks about the essential work of centering into quiet as part of her regular writing process. In her QuakerSpeak interview, “Quakerism, Creativity, and the Artistic Process,” Linda shares about her approach to creativity and spirituality and how it is shaped by her Quaker faith.“Being able to center allows you to go to the computer to start that process without being in a frenetic desperate state.”
Linda also wrote the article “Nothing Can Separate Us from the Light” for the March issue of Friends Journal, in which she asks the question, “How isolated are we?”
Ann Jerome shares with us the success of creating and maintaining a sacred online gathering. She wrote the Friends Journal article, “We Listen as God Listens: Cultivating Sacred Space Online.”“The format is similar to worship sharing. What distinguishes it as unique is a handful of elements. One is the nature of the queries, which are written to be especially deeply searching and broadly welcoming.” Ann agreed to share some of the queries with us.What is silence, in addition to the absence of sound?
When have you experienced rebirth?
How do you know when you’ve entered sacred space, or when sacred space has entered you?
How has God surprised you lately?
Click here to listen to Ann Jerome read her entire article.
And Anita Bushell talks about the many ways she believes Zoom fails to provide the connections Quakers need. You can read her article, Zoom Spells Doom and Gloom: The False Promise of Virtual Meetings.“When we are present, fully 100% present with each other in person, we are not doing anything else. I think that social skills and social interactions always excite me.”
You will find a complete transcript of this episode at Friends Journal
After the episode concludes we share voicemails from listeners who answered the question, What are your thoughts and feelings about virtual online worship communities?
Question for next month
In the April issue of Friends Journal we will consider revival and personal spiritual growth. 
What about you? What is a daily practice that clears your head and steadies you for the day?
Leave a voice memo with your name and the town where you live. The number to call is 317-QUAKERS, that's 317-782-5377. +1 if calling from outside the USA.
Quakers Today is the companion podcast to Friends Journal and other Friends Publishing Corporation (FPC) content online.
Season One of Quakers Today is sponsored by Quaker Voluntary Service (QVS).
Are you a young adult between 21 and 30 years old? Do you know a young adult who is looking for community and purpose-driven work? QVS is a year-long fellowship for young adults. Fellows work at nonprofits while building community and exploring Quakerism. Visit quakervoluntaryservice.org or find QVS on Instagram @quakervoluntaryservice.
Feel free to send comments, questions, and requests for our new show. Email us at podcast@friendsjournal.org.
Music from this episode comes from Epidemic Sound. You heard “Tell It Later'” by Kikoru, “A Thousand Moons Ago” by Johannes Bornlog, “Company Keeper” by Frank Johnson, “School Days” by John Runefelt, “Breeze U” (instrumental version) by Collin Lilm, “Water Mirrors” by More Sugar, “The Big Let Down” by Curiosity, and “Stoked” by FElix Johansson Carne.

Faith Transformations

In this episode of Quakers Today we ask, How has your view of Jesus God or religion changed since you were young? 
Hayden Hobby was raised in an evangelical church. He reflects on leaving an abusive God and finding a new way of expressing faith. For Quakers today Hayden talks about the experience that led him to write the essay "Surviving Religious Trauma, How I left an Abusive God." Today he studies in a program taught jointly by Bethany Theological Seminary, and Earlham School of Religion.
Calliope George, a young adult and lifelong Quaker, continues to find her place in Quaker meetings. She talks about community within her age group and beyond.  You will find the full video and other QuakerSpeak videos at the QuakerSpeak YouTube channel, or visit Quakerspeak.com
You will also hear about a new book that explores forests around the world. In The Tree Line, The Last Forest and the Future of Life on Earth, Ben Rawlence connects with indigenous leaders who have been guardians of threatened wild spaces. He hopes his readers will learn how to think like a forest. 
You will find a complete transcript of this episode over at QuakersToday.org.
After this episode concludes we share voicemails from listeners who answered the question, How has your view of Jesus God or religion changed since you were young?
Question for next month
In the March 2023 issue of Friends Journal various writers will share their experiences, insights, and opinions about the many ways people found or failed to find community on-line during the COVID-19 Lockdown. They raise questions about the merits and limitations to virtual Quaker meetings for worship, and they highlight best practices that worked for some. 
What about you? What are your thoughts and feelings about virtual on-line communities or worship? Leave a voice memo with your name and the town where you live. The number to call is 317-QUAKERS, that's 317-782-5377. 317 Quakers. +1 if calling from outside the USA.
Quakers Today is the companion podcast to Friends Journal and other Friends Publishing Corporation (FPC) content online. 
Season One of Quakers Today is sponsored by Quaker Voluntary Service (QVS.) 
Are you a young adult between 21 and 30 years old? Do you know a young adult who is looking for community and purpose-driven work? QVS is a year-long fellowship for young adults. Fellows work at nonprofits while building community and exploring Quakerism. Visit quakervoluntaryservice.org or find QVS on Instagram @quakervoluntaryservice. 
Feel free to send comments, questions, and requests for our new show. Email us at podcast@friendsjournal.org.
Music from this episode comes from Epidemic Sound. You heard Timelapse by Phello, Sweeping Grounds by Major Tweaks, Pray by Gamma Skies, Final Wish by Dreem, and Smoky Smoky by John Runefelt.

Quakers and Reparations

Lucy Duncan and Rob Peagler from Reparation.Works discuss the questions that help guide their work. Lucy has been involved with groundbreaking reparations efforts in Philadelphia's Green Street Friends Meeting. Later this month Lucy and Rob will co-lead an online workshop called Exploring a Quaker Commitment to Reparative Justice. It is sponsored by Pendle Hill Quaker Center in collaboration with the Woodbrooke Centre in Birmingham, England.
We share an edited excerpt of the conversation. Click Here to listen to the complete conversation.
Links
(video) Rob and Lucy chatting with Quaker Earth Witness' Beverly Ward 
A Quaker Call to Abolition and Creation By Lucy Duncan (Friends Journal)
Dr. David Ragland, Reparations Are a Peace Treaty (Yes Magazine)
Germantown Quakers plan to give $500,000 as reparations to Black neighbors over the next decade. (Billy Penn) Green Street Friends is starting with a series of legal clinics to help preserve the wealth of Black homeowners.
Reparations leaders demand Biden act on H.R. 40 (Evanston Roundtable)
A Quaker Take Podcast: What Are Reparations?
Rethinking William Penn By Trudy Bayer (Friends Journal)
Bruce’s Beach heirs to sell land back to Los Angeles county for $20m. (The Guardian) California had returned land seized from Willa and Charles Bruce in 1920 to their heirs last year as part of its reparations policy
(video) Rise up for Reparations: a Juneteenth Revival
Avis Wanda McClinton talks about Manumissions and her mission to identify the Africans enslaved by Quakers in Philadelphia. The Quaker and Special Collections archive at Haverford College contains documents for 339 enslaved Africans who were freed between 1765 and 1790 by slaveholding families in Philadelphia Yearly Meeting. Avis Wanda McClinton explains that “The goal of the project is to be a restorative, healing force that connects modern descendants with their enslaved ancestors, and to understand the lives of these first generations of ‘freemen.’”
Last year Avis Wanda McClinton had a conversation with Martin Kelley, the senior editor of Friends Journal. You can see the entire conversation at the Friends Journal YouTube page.
Links
Confronting the Legacy of Quaker Slavery by Avis Wanda McClinton. (Friends Journal)
Inside Haverford’s Manumission Archives: An Interview with Mary Crauderueff and David Satten-López by Martin Kelley (Friends Journal)
Review: Overground Railroad: The Green Book and the Roots of Black Travel in America By Candacy Taylor. 
This book is about the Green Book, one annual traveler’s guidebook but so much more. It is the story of a lost civilization: one that deserves to be lost but never forgotten. It tells the story of Black resistance to White repression, harassment, and tyranny. It tells about a subversive project: one that was designed to subvert Jim Crow but also contributed to the subversion of legal segregation and the denial of basic civil rights. 
-Paul Buckley, Friends Journal book review
Click Here to read a transcript of this episode.
After this episode concludes we share voicemails from listeners who answered the question, What are your thoughts, feelings, and understandings about reparations?
Question for next month
How has your view of Jesus, God, or religion changed since you were young? This question is raised in Margaret Kelso's article about Lent, which will appear in the February 2023 issue of Friends Journal.
Quakers Today is the companion podcast to Friends Journal and other Friends Publishing Corporation (FPC) content online. 
Season One of Quakers Today is sponsored by Quaker Voluntary Service (QVS) 
Are you a young adult between 21 and 30 years old? Do you know a young adult who is looking for community and purpose-driven work? QVS is a year-long fellowship for young adults. Fellows work at nonprofits while building community and exploring Quakerism. Visit quakervoluntaryservice.org or find QVS on Instagram @quakervoluntaryservice. 
Feel free to send comments, questions, and requests for our new show. Email us at podcast@friendsjournal.org.
Music from this episode comes from Epidemic Sound. Tracks include: Soakin up the Sun (Instrumental Version) by Ludlów, Humbot by Wave Saver, A Dark Road to Nowhere by DEX 1200, Brand New Beginning by Öman, 

Quakers and Redemption

In this episode of Quakers Today we ask, “What does redemption mean to you?” 
Attorney, coach, mediator, and Quaker thought leader, Adria Gulizia, speaks with Peterson Toscano about evil. Adria’s article “Facing Evil, Finding Freedom: How Christ's Victory Over Sin Is Ours to Share Today” appears in the December 2022 issue of Friends Journal. To read more of Adria Gulizia’s writing visit Shadow of Babylon. 
Click here to hear a longer version of this conversation
We hear from a group of Quakers in New England who decided to meet regularly on-line to talk about White supremacy and the sin of separation. With the support of Beacon Hill Friends Meeting they created a  community where they could be honest with each other. Lisa Graustein, Aiham Korbage, Emma Turcotte, Jennifer Higgins-Newman, and Briana Halliwell talk about this experiment in community conversations. To learn more watch “Healing From the Sin of Separation” on YouTube. For more QuakerSpeak videos visit Quakerspeak.com. The series is produced by Rebecca Hamilton-Levi. New videos come out every other Thursday
We also look at reviews for the new memoir by longtime peace activist George Lakey. Dancing with History: A Life for Peace and Justice is published by Seven Stories Press and is available at FGC QuakerBooks or wherever you get books. Read Doug Gwyn’s review in Friends Journal.  
Click Here to read a transcript of this episode.
After this episode concludes we share voicemails from listeners who answered the question, What does redemption mean to you?
Question for next month
Our question is inspired by Jeff Hitchock’s essay Quakers and Reparations for Slavery and Jim Crow. It appeared in the June 2008 issue of Friends Journal. Hitchcock opens his article, “Out of the silence a woman asked, ‘Why don’t Friends take reparations more seriously? It’s the kind of issue Quakers take on.’”  In his piece Hitchock asks more questions about reparations. What are Reparations? Why are Reparations a Quaker Issue? How Does Reparations Work Benefit Quakers? What can Quakers do? 
What about you? What are your thoughts, feelings, and questions about reparations? Leave a voice memo with your name and the town where you live. The number to call is 317-QUAKERS, that's 317-782-5377. 317 Quakers. +1 if calling from outside the USA.
Quakers Today is the companion podcast to Friends Journal and other Friends Publishing Corporation (FPC) content online. 
Season One of Quakers Today is sponsored by Quaker Voluntary Service (QVS.) 
Are you a young adult between 21 and 30 years old? Do you know a young adult who is looking for community and purpose-driven work? QVS is a year-long fellowship for young adults. Fellows work at nonprofits while building community and exploring Quakerism. Visit quakervoluntaryservice.org or find QVS on Instagram @quakervoluntaryservice. 
Feel free to send comments, questions, and requests for our new show. Email us at podcast@friendsjournal.org.
Music from this episode comes from Epidemic Sound. You heard Getting Frisky by John Runefelt, Sneaky Sam by Jerry Lacey, Magnified by From Now On, Crab Boys by Auxjack and JOBII, Those Things You Do by Grip City Cronies, Soul on Fire by Nightcap, Through to You by Aluvio, and Excursions by Justnormal. 

Quakers and Fiction

In this episode of Quakers Today we ask, “What is a fictional story that has inspired you or challenged your world view?” 
Writer Anne E.G. Nydam reads an excerpt from her short story, “The Conduits.” You can read the entire story in the November 2022 Fiction edition of Friends Journal. Click here to hear Anne reading the whole story. Visit nydamprints.com to learn about Anne E.G. Nydam’s block prints and books. 
Cai Quirk, a trans and genderqueer photographer, focuses on the intersections of gender diversity and spirituality throughout history. Through the QuakerSpeak video, The Spirituality of Storytelling, they talk about the power of stories we can experience through words and images. In the September 2022 issue of Friends Journal you can see some of Cai’s photos from their book Transcendence. The book is now available for pre-orders. You can hear an extended interview with them on a brand new podcast, The Seed. In the episode Cai considers the question, What can the natural world teach us about ourselves? The Seed is an excellent show hosted by Dwight Dunston. It is a project of Pendle Hill Study Center.
We also look at a new graphic novel about a radical, eccentric prophet against slavery. Marcus Rediker told the story in his 2017 book, The Fearless Benjamin Lay: The Quaker Dwarf Who Became the First Revolutionary Abolitionist. And now there is the graphic novel, Prophet Against Slavery. It is authored by Rediker along with Paul Buhle. David Lester drew the dynamic and moving images. Read Gwen Gosney Erickson’s review of the graphic novel in Friends Journal. You will also find an interview with David Lester, the illustrator of the graphic novel. 
Click Here to read a transcript of this episode.
After this episode concludes we share listener voicemails in answer to the question, What is a fictional story that has inspired you or challenged your world view?
Question for next month: Today in the twenty-first century, what does redemption mean to you? We would love to hear and share what you have to say. Leave a voice memo with your name and the town where you live. The number to call is 317-QUAKERS, that's 317-782-5377 (+1 if calling from outside the United States or Canada). Please have your answers in by December 5, 2022. 
Quakers Today is the companion podcast to Friends Journal and other Friends Publishing Corporation (FPC) content online. 
Season One of Quakers Today is sponsored by Quaker Voluntary Service (QVS.) 
Are you a young adult between 21 and 30 years old? Do you know a young adult who is looking for community and purpose-driven work? QVS is a year-long fellowship for young adults. Fellows work at nonprofits while building community and exploring Quakerism. Visit quakervoluntaryservice.org or find QVS on Instagram @quakervoluntaryservice. 
Feel free to send comments, questions, and requests for our new show. Email us at podcast@friendsjournal.org.