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• Authored by:
• Larry Spears

Dear Friends: Advertisers in Western Friend need your reader support. They pay for ads to support Western Friend and to bring opportunities to your attention.

On Limits (May 2016)

Pandemic Bonds

• Authored by:
• Larry Spears

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. I think Quaker leadership could be important here, and Western Friends might help provide it. Friends could advocate for the extension of Pandemic Bonds to the market for small investors, nonprofit organizations, pension funds, and foundations. To learn more, see: https://universalistfriends.org/weblog/quaker-bonds

On Music (March 2018)

FY2023 Annual Report

Reflections on Presence

• Authored by:
• Larry Newton

I've shared my reflections on the meaning of “presence” for Friends today.

On Tech (July 2024)

Vocation – Life Experience, Research, and Opportunities

• Authored by:
• Larry Newton

I almost missed the call. If I had, I would not have been the first. If I had, I cannot conceive that my life would be better – but more likely, neither as nourished nor as fulfilling.

Vocation (April 2025)

The “Why” of What We Do

• Authored by:
• Larry Newton

I had an occasion recently to hear some young Friends talk about ministry services they are performing on behalf of Quakers. I have nothing but heartfelt compliments for their generous spirits and their hard work in pursuit of making the world a more humane, just, and merciful place. In light of the significant proportion of their cohort who are NOT volunteering in such efforts, I feel special appreciation that these young people are rising well above what seems to be the present norm of disengagement. For their good and faithful work, I am grateful.

On Loss (May 2023)

Rationales for Guidelines

• Authored by:
• Eric Sabelman

On Compassion (November 2024)

Unspectacular Solutions

• Authored by:
• Mke Clarke

Dear Friends: Two articles in the Nov/Dec 2020 issue express concerns about policing and both would benefit from tempering in their respective meeting communities. “Get Out of the Way” alleges unfair discrimination by the author’s meeting, in part based on its reticence to display a “Black Lives Matter” poster and a “defund the police” banner while giving support to other social justice causes. Similarly, the author of “Abolish the Police” states, “As Friends, our Society has a long history of participating in social movements to challenge oppression; but in our recent experience, Friends have seemed very hesitant and resistant to embracing police and prison abolition.”

On Vision (January 2021)

Correction for Nov/Dec 2020

• Authored by:
• Karie Firoozmand

Dear Editor: In the Community Forum [“letters” section] of your Nov/Dec 2020 issue, the book White Like Me is mentioned. That book is by White author Tim Wise. White author Debby Irving’s book is called Waking Up White.

On Vision (January 2021)

Surrendering into Silence (review)

• Authored by:
• Jean Triol

In this small book (55 pages) of informative essays, David Johnson begins by defining what he means by Quaker prayer. He says it is a contemplative practice of surrendering into silence, seeking the presence of God, or the Light, which is hidden within our beings. The author further describes Friends’ worship tradition as a practice where life and religion are not based on accepted belief or ritual, but on firsthand knowledge of God’s presence. The main focus of the book is how one finds access to that sacred inner knowledge.

On Words (November 2021)