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Resistance, Resilience, and Restoration

• Authored by:
• Bill Durland

The following article was excerpted from the text of a presentation that Bill Durland made to the Colorado Regional Society of Friends, April 23, 2017. To read the full text of this presentation, see: westernfriend.org/media/resistance-resilience-and-restoration-unabridged.

On Politics (July 2017)

Sanctuary in Mancos

• Authored by:
• Sandy Feutz,
• Tom Vaughan

How peaceful it is to take an evening walk along Grand Avenue in Mancos, a little community of fourteen hundred people, nestled in the Mancos Valley of southwest Colorado! The sunset’s glow is reflected off the La Plata Mountains to the east, and shadows begin to shroud Mesa Verde in the west.

On Captivity (January 2018)

Women Doing Life

• Authored by:
• Lora Lempert

An interview with Lora Lempert

On Captivity (January 2018)

On Expansion

• Authored by:
• Mary Klein

Dear Friends: To be poor in spirit is not the same as to be poor materially or socially. Even so, material wealth and social authority tend to obstruct our view of the long arc of history that bends towards a world of justice and kindness. Although anyone is capable of recognizing justice and kindness as fundamental purposes of humanity – even persons with wealth and authority –  all too often, wealth and authority masquerade as justice and kindness themselves, a tricky sort of bait-and-switch that distracts us from keeping our eyes on the road.

On Expansion (May 2018)

On Weapons

• Authored by:
• Mary Klein

Dear Friends: Almost anything can serve as a weapon, even life-giving water. All living creatures on earth have evolved (are evolving) fortifications against attack. Cellular life is fortified by membranes, and human societies are fortified by lines in the sand. Nutrients and attractive ideas gain access through those fortifications. Poisons and slander are rebuffed. Inside our fortifications, ideally, scarcity and excess are minimized as we “give us this day our daily bread;” but in actuality, scarcity and excess are the pumping pistons of empire, trampling our planet today.

On Weapons (January 2019)

Minute on Immigration

• Authored by:
• Santa Fe Monthly Meeting

Equality, community and integrity are foundations of Quaker belief. Therefore, as immigrants and refugees in our community encounter trials such as family separation, incarceration, internment and deportation, Santa Fe Monthly Meeting is called to put these beliefs into action. We will support these neighbors in their daily lives, providing aid, companionship, friendship and safety in whatever ways we are able.

On Weapons (January 2019)

Friends-of-Color Epistle, June 17, 2019

• Authored by:
• Amanda Beattie,
• Zae Asa Illo,
• Kat Northrup

Dear Friends Everywhere,

On Control (July 2019)

Faith, Fear, and Our Future (abridged)

• Authored by:
• Bridget Moix

So. Faith, fear, and our future. You guys don’t mess around with topics for keynote speakers!

On Neighbors (September 2019)

On Secrets

• Authored by:
• Mary Klein

Humans cannot actually view reality from a god’s-eye perspective, despite all the scriptures that have been written by some to help direct others in the name of God. At most, humans can intuit glimmers of insights that might align with a god’s-eye view. Consider the lilies of the field. The god’s-eye view continuously perceives and cherishes the individual agency of each and every creature in the cosmos, animate and inanimate. The god’s-eye view honors the spider in the corner and says, “There You are,” and traps it and releases it, rather than just squishing it. The spider has its own honor and agency, as much as it has its own role in the order of our planet.

On Secrets (July 2020)

Staying Connected with Our Children

• Authored by:
• Barbara Babin

The school year is about to begin. Parents and school districts are making decisions about what is best for children in the midst of a pandemic, anxiously weighing health risks against social and mental health benefits, deciding between distance learning and in-person, socially distanced learning. We are facing these same kinds of decisions in our Quaker meetings, as we yearn for social connection and consider our options. As we consider our adult needs and capacities, let’s also remember to ask ourselves: What are we doing to stay connected with our Quaker children and families? How are we attentive to their spiritual needs?

On Teachers (September 2020)