Western Friend

Being Practically Spiritual: Margaret Fell and John Woolman on Integrating the Inward and Outward Life

By Michael Birkel

Michael Birkel is a professor of religion at Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana. The crowd of Earlhamites greeting Michael over the course of North Pacific Yearly Meeting’s sessions attests to the popularity of his Quakerism 101 class, often taken by freshman at Earlham. Michael began his address with a slew of wildly funny Quaker jokes- which, sadly, are not captured here, but his delight in sharing the life still found in the writings of our Quaker ancestors shines through quite clearly.

It was a delight to communicate with ...

Pacific Yearly Meeting, Part II

Thursday morning began far too early for a number of Friendly Adult Presences and members of the Junior Yearly Meeting, who stayed up well into the night to participate in a “Respectful Relationships” talk- this after an afternoon well-spent volunteering at the Prison Book Project. (JYM raised over $400 to pay for postage to mail out books requested by prisoners!) Other Friends filled the cafeteria with chatter, some of it continued conversations from the Bible study and Transformative Quakers groups. These themes also spilled over into the morning Meeting for Worship.

Following worship, Friends dove into a busy ...

Pacific Yearly Meeting 2011 Annual Sessions, Part I

Friends began arriving in sunny Claremont, California, on Monday afternoon for Pacific Yearly Meeting’s 65^th Annual Session; some of those gathering arrived as early as Sunday to attend a workshop/social gathering for Friends of Color led by Vanessa Julye at Orange Grove Meetinghouse in Pasadena. Monday evening was given over to getting settled into dorms rooms, parent orientation, and a welcoming plenary. Visitors were introduced, as was PYM’s new Youth Program Coordinator, Alyssa Nelson (Davis.) Friends gave thanks to Sarah Beutel (Mountain View) for her ground-breaking year of service in this role.

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