Western Friend

Aging Is An Adventure…. So Prepare!

by Claire Gorfinkel

We are all aging, inexorably, at the same rate: one day at a time. The experience will be different for each of us, although the ultimate end will be the same.

Aging can be a wonderful adventure; we can experience it with enthusiasm, joy and curiosity. Aging can also be burdened with dread and denial. Anticipating our needs means that we, our loved ones and our communities will face fewer crucial decisions in stressful emergency situations. Planning ahead can minimize family disruptions, bring comfort and security, and enhance ...

Finding Peace and Facing the Inevitable: Stories from a Quaker Chaplain

by Mary Ann Percy

It was in 2003 that I first felt the unmistakable call to work at hospice. As I pursued that leading, I likened my experience to the exhilaration of riding a magic carpet— I felt so uplifted and swept along! It wasn’t until months later that I realized that magic carpets have neither headlights, steering wheels nor brakes.

I have chosen two stories out of dozens from my years of work as a hospice chaplain. I am privileged to accompany people through some of the most difficult days of their ...

A Condition Beyond Membership: The Quaker Gifts of Experience, Discipline and Discernment

by Robert Griswold

Being a Quaker has only a little bit to do with becoming a member of a Friends meeting. If we stop growing after being accepted into membership, we have missed the message. Being a Quaker means being on a lifetime-long path. It’s a long road and requires us to commit our whole lives.

George Fox said just before his death, “I’m clear, I’m finally clear” — which didn’t mean that he had finally figured something out. It meant that he had not been called to take up ...