Western Friend is excited to announce what we hope will be the first in a series of books exploring themes and concepts integral to the lives of Friends through creative expression. This series, tentatively titled Giving Form to Faith, seeks to engage Friends from all walks of life in lifting up their spiritual experiences through the arts.

For the first book in the series, we are beginning at the beginning. Tentatively titled By Any Name, it will be a collection of Friends’ expressions of God, Jesus, Light, the Divine, Creator.
We are interested in submissions of poetry, song, fiction and creative nonfiction, photos, paintings, sketches, collage, and photographic representation of three-dimensional work such as sculpture, quilting, etc. We welcome submissions from Friends everywhere, though preference will be given to pieces with some connection to the West, be it through the topic or the artist’s home place. This collection seeks to include many different voices, from children to elders, those who know God as Christ and those who know Spirit as the Eternal Mother.

The fundamental question we hope Friends will explore is, “How have you experienced God or the Divine?” We want your stories about these experiences, in whichever form speaks to you.

Some of the following queries may spark additional inspiration for you.
Who—or what—comes to you in the silence of Meeting or in the joyousness of song?
How does it feel when you experience the Light?
What does it look and feel like to be moved by the Spirit? Do you feel Her breath on your skin,
hear His voice? Describe those experiences.
What does God look like to you? How about “that of God”?
How do you know “the one who speaks to your condition”?

Submission Guidelines
Friends are invited to submit up to four pieces of writing or visual art. Titles, particularly for visual work, are appreciated. Digital submissions are preferred but not required. All submissions should be emailed or postmarked by Wednesday, April 15th.

Please include your name, address, phone number, email, and meeting, church or worship group affiliation. A brief biography of two to three sentences is welcome but not required. Fiction and creative nonfiction pieces should be 250 to 2500 words in length. Poems and songs should be no more than 100 lines long.
Visual art may be submitted as either color or black and white. All works should be submitted as a digital scan or photograph. Please do not send your one and only original piece of art! Submissions will not be returned. Digital submissions should be a minimum of 300 dpi at an image size of at least four inches wide.

Please send submissions to:

book at westernfriend dot org or

Western Friend, 833 SE Main St.,
Mailbox #138 Portland, OR 97214.