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A Sacred Space

Dear Editor: I write regarding the article “Place of Privilege” by Ann Clendenin in the May/June 2022 issue of Western Friend.

On Normality (July 2022)

A Scientist’s View on Space and Spirituality

The earliest moment I remember struggling with the overlap of outer space and religion was when I was watching a Space Shuttle launch. I noticed that the shuttle didn’t go through a part of the atmosphere that was called “Heaven.” In that moment, I had a very difficult internal argument – I couldn’t decide which to believe in, space travel or God. Years later, I’m now a college student studying Aerospace Engineering, and I’m still struggling with that decision.

On Expansion (May 2018)

The Great Polarization: How to hold space for disagreement?

The Spiritual Power of Art

“Does my life reflect my values and beliefs?” This query is often on my mind, and probably yours too. As a child in Mountain View Friends Meeting (Denver), I learned the Quaker belief that there is “that of God in everyone,” sometimes called “the Light within.” The Light is our best and most holy potential, our goodness, our groundedness, our Truth. That Inner Light remains a core element of my belief system. It’s an axiom: Light=God.

On Power (March 2013)

Hella Undocumented

An interview with Pablo Paredes

On Superiority (July 2013)

Time Crystals

Recent research at the University of College Park, Maryland, has resulted in the observation of a form of matter that was previously only theorized. This discovery may open up a new basis for understanding the universe, while echoing ancient knowledge. This newly observed form of matter has been called “time crystals” to connote structured patterns of atoms that repeat in both space and time.

On Insight (March 2017)

Olive Rush and Her Legacy

In 1966, the small Quaker meeting in Santa Fe, New Mexico, was bequeathed its current home, the historic house and garden of the painter Olive Rush. It is already an unlikely occurrence for a Quaker meeting to have a patron, and even more so, for the benefactor to be an artist, given Friends’ long history of disparaging the arts as frivolous and vain. Thus, Santa Fe Meeting’s relationship with our “patron” is unique and has been a source of pride, as well as of controversy.

On Art (March 2020)

Cassandra 2020

Part faux Republican presidential campaign, part art project, with its candidate drawn from Greek mythology, Cassandra 2020 resists categorization. It has taken the form of community conversations, performance protest, video art, and guerilla sign-drops. It has been supported by a constant flux of contributors and co-creators, many of whom are also Quaker. It has sparked amusement, concern, scorn, joy, connection, and most importantly, curiosity.

On Vision (January 2021)

Adam’s Mushrooms: an interview with Adam DeLeo

It took a couple of years, obviously, to build it up to something substantial, which was a terrifying time because I was all in. Suddenly, I had to make something happen of it. There wasn't a plan B per se, neither of us have college degrees.

Vocation (April 2025)

Hearing the Call: Mountain Friends Camp

“I wanted to create a space where more people could find that support ... to find what connects them to their own sense of their self, their goals, their values, and their spirits...Camp has been the biggest vocational project of my life so far."

On Epiphany (February 2025)

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