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Better than a Club

• Authored by:
• Wendy Davenport

When I was a kid, I told my little sister that we were forming a club. The two of us held a meeting to discuss possible club names and what kinds of things we would do as members of this club. We decided we would call it “The Do-Gooders Club,” and we would do good things. Creative, right? I’m not sure where things went after that.

On Mediation (January 2020)

Dismantling Borders Book Club (news item)

Online Book Club – Wendell Berry (news item)

Beautiful Article about Minding the Earth

• Authored by:
• Kathleen Shadell

Dear Editor: “A New Story for Earth” by Mary Ann Percy, in the November/December issue, is one of the best articles that I have ever read. I happened to read it right after our meeting held our second-hour discussion one First Day, concerning what each of us can do to be more mindful of the earth (and promised to try). I think we might discuss this article in another second hour soon. It ties a lot of big questions and big concepts together really well, and it is beautifully written.

On Mediation (January 2020)

Giving Up Something Good for Something Better (book)

Giving Up Something Good for Something Better - Review

• Authored by:
• Diane Pasta

Beth Blodgett and Prairie Naoma Cutting have chosen a simple life in rural Honduras, one of the three poorest countries in this hemisphere. Over several years, they became Hermana Alegría and Hermana Confianza, sisters of their newly founded monastic order, Amigas del Señor, which serves medical needs in the local community. They use their Methodist faith and Quaker practices to guide them in this new, but better, life. Giving Up Something Good for Something Better is based on emails the sisters sent home from computers costing $1.40 an hour. It consists of narratives of their daily life, their worship, and their work, which together chronicle their spiritual growth and the creation of this new religious order. The book includes a “geographic orientation,” a glossary, and worship-sharing guidelines.

On Balance (May 2017)

The New-Old Quaker Women’s Club (news item)

Creating Community while Protecting Privacy (article) (library item)

Making Something of Myself

• Authored by:
• Gary Miller

Gary Miller helped found the Alice B. Toklas Democratic Club in 1971 and served as its president in 1975. He was the first openly gay person to serve as the chair of the Sacramento Democratic Party and was Sacramento’s first openly gay human rights commissioner. As a staff person in the 1970s with Friends Committee on Legislation in California, Miller worked to defeat Proposition 6, the Briggs Initiative, which would have banned gays, lesbians, and their supporters from working in California public schools. Miller is a member of Sacramento Friends Meeting (PYM). He spoke to Western Friend by phone on June 18, 2014. Following are edited excerpts from a transcript of that interview.

On Pride (July 2014)

Elizabeth Gurney Fry: A Quaker Mess

• Authored by:
• Barbara Birch

Friends are doing a lot of reevaluation these days, reexamining our past and our venerable Quaker ancestors. In some cases, when moral inconsistencies emerge into the open, reexamination means that some iconic Friends are losing their luster. In other cases, stories of early Friends’ messy lives help us to see their humanity, which can lend greater depth and nuance to their spiritual writings. This happened for me when I read Chad Thralls’ May 2011 article in Friends Journal on the “embodied” life of Thomas Kelly. Learning how Kelly confronted his inner demons through surrender to Spirit increased my appreciation of his lyrical testimony.

On Conflict (January 2023)