Search

Radical Vulnerability

• Authored by:
• Elena Anderson-Williams,
• Kylin Navarro

There is an instant when the truth of your soul sears through your every fiber and the indescribable is revealed. It is the fierce light that splits you whole and reveals the poet Rilke’s words, “You must change your life.” It is an opportunity to bring one’s life into alignment, but there is sheer, holy terror that accompanies this process. When the Light cuts through your pretense and pride, you are vulnerable, the most vulnerable. The Light illuminates and clarifies our shadows and our love. To come closer to God we must be bold in our vulnerability. We must learn to dance on the edge of our unknowingness. This is when we give ourselves over to God. We are exposed.

On Knowing (March 2015)

A Call to Radical Vulnerability and Love (abridged), One

• Authored by:
• Elena Anderson-Williams

As a child of this meeting, I grew up with a myth about the faithful life. It wasn’t a myth in the sense of a falsehood, but it was a story I told myself about the noble call and the noble answer. And I desperately wanted this story for myself. And part of what I wanted was certainty.

On Children (September 2018)

Radical Vulnerability Revisited

• Authored by:
• Allison Kirkegaard

In moving from Claremont to Los Angeles this year, one of the hardest transitions has been to try to get used to the little signs that my new neighbors post in front of their houses: PROTECTED BY XXX SECURITY SYSTEM – ARMED RESPONSE. After ten months, I still flinch each time I see these signs. They weigh on my heart as constant reminders that we don’t quite trust each other, that we’re not quite ready to be in community.

On Secrets (July 2020)

A Call to Radical Vulnerability and Love (abridged), Two

• Authored by:
• Carin Anderson

When I was twenty-seven, I went through a life-changing transition catalyzed by Archbishop Oscar Romero, John Woolman, Thomas Kelly, Dorothy Day, and the people of El Salvador. I was lead to many parts of the world, working with children and families suffering from war, from poverty, from U.S. imperialism. Then over the years, I began to find that the message that was continually coming to me during worship as ministry was one that I felt would make Friends too uncomfortable, perhaps even angry. So I began to withdraw from the Quaker community.

On Children (September 2018)

Truth and Truth and Truth

• Authored by:
• Trudy Myrrh Reagan

I straddle two worlds. My scientific family and studies have given me a close-up view of the scientific endeavor. Its work, driven by curiosity and belief in logical methods, and conducted with an obedience to truthfulness, have inspired me to incorporate science ideas and images into my art since 1967. My other world is that of a practicing Quaker. Through my engagement with Quaker service work and through a stunning experience of the Inner Light that I had half a lifetime ago, I am moving toward an amplified view of how to be in the world.

On Knowing (March 2015)

Laugh and Laugh and Laugh

• Authored by:
• Hannah Mackinney

I kneel down in front of Anna and stroke her hand. Then I say to her, “Mi amor. ¿Puedo recibir una sonrisa? ¿Por favor?”

On Pride (July 2014)

Love and Justice (Jitonilro, abridged)

• Authored by:
• Avotcja Jitonilro

Excperts from keynote presentation made by Avotcja Jitonilro to Pacific Yearly Meeting on July 24, 2021.

On Cliques (September 2021)

Love and Justice (Alvarado, abridged)

• Authored by:
• Gabriela Portillo Alvarado

Excperts from keynote presentation made by Gabriela Portillo Alvarado to Pacific Yearly Meeting on July 24, 2021.

On Cliques (September 2021)

On Love

• Authored by:
• Mary Klein

Dear Friends: Love, the bumper sticker, is simple and sweet. Love that moves through the real world can knock people down. Affection, friendship, romance, and unconditional loving-kindness – each seeks its place in our lives, and these forces can sometimes rush in and overwhelm us. Opening our hearts to love – both to its uncertainty and to its certainty – can be frightening. And we live in a finite world, in finite time, with finite choices to make.

On Love (September 2013)

Love & Truth and Israel/Palestine (news item)