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The Wrong Kind of Silence

• Authored by:
• Joyce Zerwekh

We simply can’t always speak out. But there are critical times within Friends’ communities when failing to speak truth can cause great damage. Trying not to offend, trying to maintain a surface calm, can cause a disastrous loss of trust and can betray our commitment to answering the Light in everyone. Often it enables cruel behavior to continue. When problems remain unnamed, it can threaten our ability to address them. This kind of silence can undermine integrity, cause profound personal hurt, and splinter community. Much is lost when we fail to say what we think and when we fail to help each other speak up when serious interpersonal issues develop. Therefore I want to name self-silencing of truth as a significant threat to the ability of Friends to live our testimonies and a threat to the Religious Society of Friends.

On Deception (November 2013)

Silence Kills (news item)

Silence Composes

• Authored by:
• Jane Yett

On Words (November 2021)

Holy Silence (review)

• Authored by:
• Iris Graville

Brent Bill – a writer, photographer, and Quaker minister – considers silence to be “the Quaker sacrament.” In the first chapter of this small volume, Bill makes clear that holy silence “. . . is something we do, not something done to us. It is a participatory act. It engages our heart, mind, soul, and body in listening for the voice of the Beloved. Quaker silence is not passive.”

On Bosses (July 2018)

Wittgenstein and Silence

• Authored by:
• Stanford Searl

(for Newton Garver)

On Competition (January 2017)

Quaker Culture: Silence

• Authored by:
• Joel Bean

 

On Loss (May 2023)

Needed Words, Needed Silence

• Authored by:
• Julie Peyton

 

On Words (November 2021)

Listening to the Silence

• Authored by:
• Sasha Bley-Vroman

I heard a message in our meeting once about learning to listen to the silence. I could not make any sense of it. I left it alone.

On Tricks (May 2021)

The Show Goes Wrong

• Authored by:
• Anthony Kirk

The show goes wrong. This is my mantra as a pastor. My congregants hear me say it a lot, and it’s usually followed by a laugh. It’s not something I came up with myself. I give credit to Andy Dwyer, a character from the sitcom Parks and Rec. His “incorrect” version of “the show must go on” is actually far better than the original. His version is one to live by. I do not think there could be a more fitting maxim for a new pastor in the throes of a pandemic.

On Tricks (May 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)