Articles

More than once, I have been humbled by being called racist. My first reaction, however, was not humility. My first reaction was to feel offended and misunderstood. Surely my accuser didn’t know me or my motives or my history. Surely, they were using the term “racist” too broadly – sloppy, really. A more precise definition would be more strategic for The Struggle (You’re welcome!), and would provide the added benefit of keeping me on the right side of history.

Open any dictionary and... Read more.

Once there were three women, each in her own kitchen.

The first woman reached for her favorite mixing bowl – and dropped it. She looked at the broken pieces on the stone floor and let herself go with cursing as she collected the pieces and found some glue. She was angry enough at having extra work to do that she forced the broken edges and splintered them even more, so that they could no longer fit together. In the end, she threw all the broken pieces onto the floor again and kicked... Read more.

The attitude of the Society of Friends towards education has been determined by their belief in the Inner Light. Holding as they do that there is something of the divine in every [person], they have regarded education (in the broadest sense) as the developing of the Divine Seed, or the fanning into a flame of that Divine Spark . . . To Friends, therefore, education is an intensely religious thing; it means the training and development of the spiritual life, the liberating of the Divine that... Read more.

Much to my surprise, back in the late 1980s, my body taught me that running for exercise is fun.

Three years earlier, I took up running because it would be “good for me” and because I wanted to be in shape as I approached middle-age. I am not a “good” runner; I am not fast. I am something called a “mid-pack” runner. I would run relay races so other people would be counting on me, so I had to be out there running, whether I wanted to or not.

I began reading the literature of... Read more.

The Lord is my Prodder
I want way more than I need.
E pushes me down to lie in the mud.
E drags me beside still waters and dunks my head.
E drags me down the paths of righteousness griping and complaining for E’s sake.
I cower and whimper as I walk near death.
I remember with fear the evil I have done.
Eu prod me with your pointy stick.
Eu prepare a table where I watch my enemies eat the food I crave.
Eu pour oil on me, ruining my shoes.... Read more.

As part of her Senior Project last spring, my granddaughter Bailey asked me to tell her my reasons for working on behalf of immigrants, migrants, and refugees. My reasons are probably similar to those of many other Friends.

I began by telling her that we often open our meetings for immigrant justice and migrant accompaniment by taking turns answering the question, “Why do you do this work?” My response generally goes like this:

All four of my grandparents came to this country... Read more.