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Martha and Mary

• Authored by:
• Matt Boswell

There is a short story in Luke’s gospel about two sisters, Martha and Mary. One way people have often found meaning in this story is to see Martha and Mary as representative of two “ways” of spirituality – the contemplative way (Mary) and the active way (Martha). The idea being not that one is more important than the other but that they are both essential, each “way” to be held in balance, enriching the other.

On Separation (November 2019)

Finally

• Authored by:
• Andrea English

Dear Editor: In the November/December issue of Western Friend, I found several articles of particular importance, beginning with “Learning and Living a New Story for Earth” and continuing with “More Powerful than the Grave” and “The Light: Then and Now.” Each of these intrigued me in ways I have wished for in Western Friend for a long time. I felt compelled to read, and rewarded. Thank you for publishing them.

On Mediation (January 2020)

On Mediation

• Authored by:
• Mary Klein

Love and truth spring forth in all times and all places – even in the hearts of chaos and corruption. We strive to follow the Good Way, but only in vain can we define it. Dust devils of DNA whirl down the generations, rampaging, making things new, making things fit, breaking eggs to make omelettes. To our surprise, we arrive in this life. Then we do our best to do the right thing, never really knowing all the good and all the damage we are causing.

On Mediation (January 2020)

Ravenna

• Authored by:
• David Ray

 

On Art (March 2020)

Ink

• Authored by:
• Judy Ray

 

On Art (March 2020)

Sky, Sky

• Authored by:
• Satori Asmatey-Stoll

 

On Art (March 2020)

Guatemala Scholarship Fund

• Authored by:
• Pat Habicht

Dear Editor:

On Art (March 2020)

“That of God” Within

• Authored by:
• Claire Gorfinkel

As a practicing Jew who has worshipped with Quakers for the past thirty years, I have deeply appreciated the fundamental belief that every person has “that of God” within. Both Judaism and Quakerism assert that all persons are made in the divine image. Quakers try to see God, or godliness, or goodness, in others, even in the most difficult human interactions. But my most recent reading of the Hebrew Bible has challenged me to discover a new formulation, which I want to explore here.

On Secrets (July 2020)

A Worship Poem

• Authored by:
• Tina Visscher

Listening

On Secrets (July 2020)

Engaged Mysticism

• Authored by:
• john heid

Dear Editor: Thich Nhat Hahn’s Engaged Buddhism offers a worthy moment of reflection on the notion that Buddhist practice is “merely to be” (“From the Editor’s Desk,” May/June 2020). There are innumerable stories of Buddhist “responsiveness” from Maha Ghosananda’s engagement of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia to the enduring presence of Japanese Buddhist monks and nuns at the School of the America’s vigils at Ft. Benning, Georgia; from the epic nonviolent resistance to Chinese occupation in Tibet to anti-nuclear and anti-war vigils around the world. The list goes on. . . One of the Bodhisattva vows is to end suffering, even as suffering is never ending.

On Secrets (July 2020)