Recap on Session 1 and the readings for Session 2

The first session on Quaker History met today.  One thought we had during the session is that there is a tension between the charismatic, dynamic activism of the first generation of Friends and the quiet, well organized nature of Friends who founded successful institutions and businesses.  I believe that the tension between responsive activists who follow spiritual […]

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Reading Quaker History

I will be posting information about our Quaker History Reading Group in the blog.  We will be reading the first eight chapters of The Oxford Handbook of Quaker Studies.  I propose that we break the readings into three parts: Session 1:  Introduction, Chapter 1: Seventeenth-century Context and Quaker Beginnings, Chapter 2: Restoration Quakerism. This session will […]

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Advices for Meeting for Business

While reading the minutes from the March 2016 Meeting for Business at 15th Street Meeting, I came upon the following advices.  I think members of our school community may find them helpful. Quaker Decision-Making Practices from The Quaker Way by Rex Ambler This comes from a document that was presented to the 15th Street Meeting for […]

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Outline of Quaker History

Brooklyn Meeting asked me to make a presentation to newcomers about Quaker history.  I will upload the notes with some discussion questions in the next series of blog posts.  In my outline of Quaker history ( I am following the examples of Howard Brinton in Friends for 300 Years and Leonard Kenworthy in Quakerism) I delineate six […]

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Companion Text?

Do you have any text or poetry that you bring in memory to Meeting?  Some of mine include the poem by Emily Dickinson “I dwell in Possibility”, the Talking Heads song “Once in a lifetime”, the Lord’s Prayer and the 23rd Psalm.  I use companion texts to focus on while settling into the quiet of […]

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Afterthoughts

Was there something you wanted to say in Meeting for Worship but you didn’t have the time or feel comfortable enough to rise and speak?  In Brooklyn Meeting, we usually spend a few minutes after Meeting to share any afterthoughts.  Reply to this post if you have an afterthought to share with others.

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Let’s settle…

Bo Lauder, the principal at Friends Seminary sent around an endorsement of an upcoming workshop at Friends Council on clerking by Art Larrabee.  He does a great workshop and I recommend it to all Friends who might someday clerk a committee, a Friends Meeting or any Friends organization.  I attended one a number of years […]

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Centering

(Upper School Meeting for Worship) Many Friends consider the early phase of Meeting for Worship as “centering.”  I usually close my eyes and begin to be more aware of my breathing.  I usually tend to slouch and I try to sit more upright without allowing my muscles to tense up.  Sometimes when I exhale, I […]

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Welcome!

I have long wanted to write about my encounters with Quakerism as a teacher at a Friends school.  I am also eager to answer questions about Quakerism and how it can be applied to education in the 21st century. I welcome contributions, queries, and responses from Friends Seminary students, staff, parents, alums and the general […]

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