Dear Editor: I just re-read “Beyond Enemy Thinking” by Meagan Fischer in the May/June 2018 edition. As I did so, I realized that her message about relations between LGBTI people in Latin America and non-local advocate organizations has much wider implications. My mind continually turned to how we view “others” in our country today.
Dear Editor: Seeking is woven tightly, Lightly, into our original vocation as Friends. One does not seek what one already knows, but rather, the unknown. Someplace new. The Light within us is brightened by that in others and way becomes clearer. I believe the journey is as sacred as the destination and asking directions is akin to seeking cairns. Together.
To the editor: Thank you for sharing excerpts from Lee and Asia Bennett’s presentation at Horizon House in the May/June issue. What a meaning-filled, interesting and spiritually rich journey these two “socially inexperienced young people” have shared for more than sixty years, since marrying halfway through their sophomore year in college!
Epistle on Immigration from Amigas del Señor Monastary, May 22, 2018
[The following text was abridged from the original epistle, published at: westernfriend.org/media/epistle-immigration-unabridged]
Dear Friends: I believe that the Society of Friends is going through a transition in our relationship with Earthcare. In the mid-1980’s, many Friends felt a strong leading to live their lives in harmony with nature and to work for policies and programs that supported these lifestyles.
Dear Friends: Do I have a deal for you!
I know how to take $1,800 and, in seven months, turn it into more than $115,000, and build twelve safe and secure apartments for domestic violence survivors and their children. Want to know my secret?
Dear Editor: The other day I was driving home from dropping my children off at school, my toddler humming in his car-seat behind me. I was listening to a discussion on NPR about the 156 women who testified against Larry Nassar, a doctor who gained the trust of children and their families, and then used that trust to sexually abuse countless children.
Dear Friends: The introduction to the Western Friend issue “On Captivity” reminds us that Friends practice a method for discerning Truth that we believe can transcend secular notions. At best, we measure ourselves against eternal values, transmitted and purified by a fierce and searching inward Light, rather than by personal standards, contemporary norms, or social movements.
Dear Friends: I encourage you to become familiar with the emergence of Pandemic Bonds. Similar to government bonds for state and local infrastructure development, Pandemic Bonds are vehicles for investing in structures of global preparation for outbreaks of diseases like ebola or SARS. These bonds are not yet offered publicly to small investors, but they could be.
Dear Editor: I am so delighted that Western Friend published the 2017 IMYM keynote talk on finances (September/October 2017). Financial management is a spiritual practice, at least as taught by my teacher, Jesus of Nazareth. Citizens of the United States are profligate wasters of world resources. One of the reasons for this is rank ignorance.
