Quaker Ministry II

 QUAKER MINISTRY II

54. Prophetic Ministry (Text of Dudleian Lecture at Harvard, April 26, 1949; by Howard Brinton; 1950)
           About the Author—Howard & Anna Brinton arrived at Pendle Hill in the summer of 1936 with a solid background of academic achievement at the colleges of Mills & Earlham, & became co-directors of a new sort of education enterprise, a Quaker fusion of school and community. They retired in the 1950s & lived on campus as Directors Emeriti. Anna died in 1969; Howard continues to serve by lecturing, writing, and simply being.
           Foreword—The term prophetic indicates in a single word the basic theory of Quaker ministry. One who appears in the ministry in a Quaker meeting is at least theoretically a prophet. The most satisfactory ministry in the Quaker meeting of today arises out of a flash of insight, felt in the silence and delivered with brevity and a deep sense of concern. We are not called to imitate our forefathers. We are called to seek with consecration humility and patience the same Source of inspiration that was manifest in them.
           In the Christian Church [worship] there is ritual ministry, teaching ministry, & vocal ministry, expression of the Divine Word spoken in one’s heart. The ministry of priest, seer, and prophet occur in some degree in every Christian group. [Priesthood is emphasized in Catholic worship; preaching is emphasized in Protestant worship]. Prophetic ministry, to which the Society of Friends aspires, not always or generally with success, isn't validated by priestly consecration, but solely by inward requirement, “the mighty ordination of the pierced hands.”
           Demonstration, lecture, laboratory—[Teaching science may involve the lecture-demonstration, the lecture, and the laboratory. These methods correspond to ritual, preaching, and Quaker meeting, respectively]. To say that prophetic ministry is characteristic of the Society of Friends speaks of the goal, of making it possible and encouraging this ministry, not necessarily of achievement. Out of the depths of the worshiper’s soul arise thoughts, and feelings of widely varying value; some may be recognized as having divine origin. Some of those divinely sent may be intended for others. [Guilt comes if one does not share; God’s peace comes if one speaks].
           Primitive Christianity Revived—Quakerism, like most other Christian movements, initially claimed to be a revival of primitive Christianity. They extend from conservative to radical, proceeding from Catholic, to Anglican, to Presbyterian, to Independent, to Baptist, and finally to Quakers, who introduced the new element of prophetic ministry. [Despite strong Puritan objection to the claim], the Society of Friends [held that] no true revival [of Primitive Christianity] could be without prophets and apostles.
           These Quakers didn't claim to be as good as or as great instruments of the Spirit as Isaiah or Paul, but there was no difference in kind. There were Seekers who arrived at the conclusion that a church was impossible without prophets. When Quaker prophets appeared & spoke, they accepted the man or woman as ordained of God. [Even with direct enlightenment], Quakers were powerfully influenced by the Bible. Early Quakers also had teaching, “public friends,” men and women whose [spiritual gifts] enabled them to expound the faith to multitudes and convince some of them. But convincement was not conversion; that happened gradually from within.
           Early Quakerism—The Society of Friends has not always held the same view of prophecy’s nature and of the prophetic call. The 1st age (1650-1700) was characterized by a fiery zeal to spread the message. Preachers left behind themselves cell-like groups which met together to wait upon the Lord and to experience the Spirit. In the 2nd age (1700-1800) there was no change in theory regarding the nature of inspiration and ministry; there was more waiting in the silence for the moving of the Spirit. Gradually the priestly type took precedence over the prophetic; the creator gave way to the conservator. The “priest” performs an essential function [by] transforming the prophet’s oracles into a cultural pattern. The priest becomes dangerous when he suppresses the voice of prophecy. The prophetic type lasted longer in Quakerism than in the primitive Church.
           Priest and Prophet—Early Christian documents indicate the waning power of the prophet and the growing ascendancy of the priest. Someone in full charge of the 2nd century church was needed to control prophets and their unpredictable and sometimes upsetting utterances. By the end of the century the prophetic office had ceased to exist. The Quakers [dispensed with visible sacraments and] held to the primacy of inspired utterance over Scripture, which led to the persistence of Quaker prophecy.
           The Quakers took seriously Paul’s injunction to make the prophets subject to the prophets. Friends who were more accustomed than others to speak in meeting where called ministers. Permission to attend minister’s meetings was a form of recognition of ministry. These meetings frequently issued written advices, frank counsel, but little or no stress on doctrine. The Philadelphia Yearly Meeting agreed to have “two or more Friends out of each Monthly Meeting to sit with the ministers.” These Friends came to be called elders. On the whole our records show that more repression was exerted by the elders than encouragement. Most inner calls to the ministry were resisted, sometimes for many years. This phase of the development of Quaker ministry gradually came to an end in the latter part of the 19th century. When growing business interfered with religious duties it was the business which was curtailed.
           Later Quakerism—The 3rd age in Quaker history (1800-1900) was a time of conflict. The elders’ attempt to regulate the ministers’ belief led to a breakdown of the mystical-evangelical synthesis which had lasted nearly 200 years. It resulted in 3 bodies of Friends: 1.) liberal, non-authoritarian, nondoctrinal; 2.) evangelical, authoritarian, doctrinal; & 3.) “moderates,” conservators of early Friends’ traditions and called Conservatives between the first 2 groups. The first group joined in the evangelical revival in the latter part of the 19th century; its services became a pre-arranged form of preaching, prayer, and singing; there is little room for prophetic utterance beyond the professional minsters. Two-thirds of Friends in America have now programmed their meetings.
           The 4th age (1900- ) has seen the rise of higher education & social gospel influencing the character of earlier prophetic ministry. Early Quakers’ fears that ideas about religion might take the place of religious experience were overcome. A new philosophy of divine-human relationship has developed which is more akin to the Hellenic ancestor of Christianity than to the Hebraic ancestor [early Quakers used as a model]. Spirit has given place to intellect, prophecy to teaching. Prophecy's authentic voice is occasionally heard. The change is one of degree.
           The social gospel’s predominance [has affected how a particular social service is chosen]. The older social activity resulted from individual concerns which generally originated in periods of worship, when some quite unexpected sense of responsibility might arise. The process at present is less conducive to originality, [and is likely to arise out of meeting for business as a result of a concern brought to and processed by a committee, which presents it to the whole meeting]. Rather than directing the worshipper to the divine Source of all solutions, modern ministry tends to be set in a secular, pragmatic frame of reference.
           Prophecy and secularism—This secularization is a product of modern life and has affected all forms of ministry throughout the Christian world. Urbanization, science, and general busyness have contributed to the elimination of a truly prophetic ministry either in the Quaker meeting or the pulpit. A new philosophy was needed to bridge the chasm between flesh and spirit so as to render religion acceptable to modern minds; but such a philosophy can go too far. What then can we learn from these 3 centuries of experiment with an unordained ministry exercised by self-trained men and women?
           Prophecy & Christianity—Prophetic ministry serves a different purpose than pulpit ministry. Spiritual direction in a Quaker meeting tends to [result from] a brief message which seems to grow out of the life of the meeting & which harmonizes with the silence. Wandering thoughts may then become focused on the Way, the Truth, & the Life. Fox said: “. . . it is not a customary preaching but to bring people to the end of all preaching.” There are Seekers today as there were in the 17th century. Souls need help which will go beyond the mind to reach the springs of the will, [where] the meaning & purpose of life can be realized when [the Spirit is present and] the deep in one soul calls to the deep in another. For such service there is no training save that of the Spirit.
           The experience of the Society of Friends would indicate that there are spiritual gifts in the laity which are lost through neglect. The fear of weak, uninspired ministry, is denying us the freedom and opportunity to develop a powerful lay ministry. A truly inspired prophet delivering his message speaks with freedom and self-surrender, aware only of the truth welling up from within. It is on intuition rather than on deliberation that the prophet depends, on feeling rather than on thought. Higher education may save the prophet from fanaticism, from errors of fact, from isolation from the currents of thought of his time. But modern education does not develop religious insight and intuition. There is no reason why prophet and scholar could not be integrated so that each would strengthen and supplement the other.
           Inward and Outward authority—Optimum conditions for prophetic ministry are realized when there an appropriate balance between outward authority and inward inspiration; too much regulation quenches the spirit and too little leaves open the door for unedifying utterance. But outward and inward are not of equal value in religion; the Spirit is primary. I think it can be shown that prophetic ministry has had the greatest driving power when it has been of a Christ-centered type. Jesus called himself a prophet and prophetic religion is the religion of Jesus rather rather than the religion about Jesus. Christianity was itself a revival of prophetic religion after a long period of priestly domination in Israel. In the cultural barrenness of declining Greco-Roman culture it was a creative outburst of spiritual power among ordinary men and women engaged in humble tasks. The present age presents many resemblances to that epoch in the declining Greco-Roman world when Christianity began. Can we look for a similar outpouring of the Spirit?
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256. The Prophetic Stream (by William Taber; 1984)
           About the Author—William Taber’s roots & life-long membership are with the Conservative Friends of Eastern Ohio. He has been nurtured by Friends General Conference in the Pittsburgh Meeting & Friends United Meeting through the Earlham School of Religion. He taught at Moses Brown School & spent 20 years at Olney Friends School. He has taught Quakerism for 4 years at Pendle Hill. This pamphlet is an expression of his concern to revive the prophetic element in Quaker worship & ministry as well as in the wider Christian community.
           Preface—The term prophetic indicates in a single word the basic theory of Quaker ministry. This pamphlet is an edited version of the 1983 New England YM talks on OT & NT prophets, Jesus & Quakerism. The references to George Fox & Quaker religious experience are intended to show how Fox & the early Quaker experience were related to the experience of earlier prophets & to explain how Fox felt about the prophetic tradition.
           MOSES AND THE ROCK WHERE JOY BEGINS—All the early Friends ministers, starting with George Fox, believed that they were in the living stream of the prophets which stretched from Abraham and Moses through Jesus and the apostles. Modern Friends can deepen our understanding of the Quaker faith by going back, reading and “talking” with the prophets, Jesus, and George Fox. In the prophets and in other parts of the OT we can see an evolutionary movement toward the shift in consciousness that continues into the New Covenant. Through the eyes of George Fox, we can find traces and hints of the pre-existent Christ in the OT.
           Moses began by seeming a complete failure as an upper-class, educated “radical activist.” His passion for justice was still with him when he helped 7 daughters against burly shepherds. His Sinai years were like a Pendle Hill experience in that they gave him plenty of space and time to change the busy rhythms into a quiet and receptive pace. [Through this time which climaxed with the burning bush] Moses evolved a higher level of consciousness]. The most important meaning of the “I am” passage that follows the burning bush is that God is livingly present everywhere and everywhen. It is terrifying, transforming, and mind-shaking to experience the living presence of the living God, [as Moses and much later George Fox did].
           If the Gospel of John is right, the preexistent Christ, the Word, the feminine Wisdom was present with and in Moses as he stood barefoot at the flaming bush. Moses had become a man of vision, and would become the archetype of all the Biblical prophets who followed him. [There are] 3 major tasks of a prophet: [discover the law; practice the law; make spirit available]. As we look at prophets, we see that their warnings, advice, visions, are based on a clear seeing of the law. The unreality of key OT laws began to change when I read the Bible meditatively, with the intellect at rest, and with pauses for reflection. I then realized that most of the Laws of Moses were designed for a specific culture of long ago. Even with this recognition, there is still a small living core of the Law which remains as vital as it ever was.
           Moses, like Newton and Einstein with their Laws, saw or felt the law as a vital force, not merely as a string of words. The 10 Commandments, used the way I just described can be used as a set of queries for personal examination. The 1st 4 commandments as a unit can be described as focus commandments. The 1st of these is nothing else than a powerful call to be powerfully focused around one supreme loyalty, one absolute and unshakable trust. The query is: Where is your loyalty; where is your rock-solid unshakable trust? Has the salt lost its savor so that it is therefore unfocused, useless? The 2nd focus commandment [has to do with graven images]. We are being warned about scattering our forces by focusing on one or more other aspects of reality. The query is: What are your graven images; career; acceptance; fear?
            “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain. The 3rd commandment goes beyond banning profanity. To utter God’s name, to open the conduit of the Power lightly or with lazy attention is to court disaster for the spiritually developed soul. Frivolous speech numbs us to beauty, anguish, & divine tasks of Eternal Now. [Am I] present where & when I am? Am I really understanding & meaning what I say? The 4th focus commandment to “remember sabbath day, to keep it holy” is a reminder of the importance of periodically stopping outward activity to give the intuitive mode of being a chance to operate. Do I take time periodically for calm receptive focusing inward? Since we aren’t where George Fox was constantly we probably need this commandment’s reminder that a truly focused life must have periodic times of the Sabbath state of consciousness.
           When Moses came down the mountain with the 10 Commandments, he began to perform the 2nd task of the prophet; he began to walk in the new law & show others how to walk in it. Moses’ Old Covenant & Jesus’ New Covenant imply a deep connectedness with life itself. The Old Covenant was sealed with sacrifice, because the people of that time believed the essential & indissoluble life force of an animal was in its blood. Sharing blood with God & then with the people joined the people with each other & with God with a holy glue & bond.
           In showing the way to live the Law or to walk with God, Moses also performed the 3rd task of the prophet by helping make spirit available, particularly through prayer and intercession. Jeremiah fulfilled this role, and it is beautifully described in 2nd Isaiah. The early Christians saw Jesus as perfectly fulfilling this prophetic role of interceding on behalf of others and making the Holy Spirit available. By using blood, the physical metaphor or symbol available in his time, Moses like other prophets made spirit available to the people.
           The Apostle Paul knew the rabbinic tradition of a supernatural rock that followed Moses, so that whenever there was a great need for water, Moses could strike the rock. Paul believed that the ever-present rock and the supernatural, life-giving water was actually the pre-existent or eternal Christ. George Fox would probably say that the rock which followed Moses still follows us today. [If we are not aware of it], it may be because we have forgotten the timeless focus of the 4 focus Commandments.
           IS CATCHING PROPHECY LIKE CATCHING THE MEASLES?—Many of the prophets act as if the willingness and the ability to be a prophet can at least be caught, and perhaps even taught, so long as we remember that the fact of prophecy remains with God alone. An early example is when Moses gathered 70 elders at the tabernacle, and the spirit of the Lord came down to Moses, and some of that spirit was put into the 70 elders, and they prophesied. 2 elders not at the meeting of the 70, began to prophesy in the camp, [as a sort of “Quaker maverick.”] Moses said: “Would that all the Lord’s people were prophets, that the Lord would put his spirit in them.” As elders, they would have had experience and some training; they went through rituals; they were together in a holy place, in the presence of a prophet of great power. Even this early in the OT we have the example of the prophets Eldad and Medad operating as a pair.
           The boy Samuel is another good example of catching prophecy. [He started as a child]. He lived continually in the presence of the holy, with rituals & chants & prayers. God spoke to the prepared youth while he slept in that sacred place. He is a good example of how a solitary individual relaxes so that the aperture of the intuitive mind is consciously or unconsciously open to the divine. I know an example of someone, who after months of daily devotional reading & worship sat down one morning and looked into his heart and knew “that Someone had been there.” In time he became empowered with a gift of gentle, discerning and prophetic ministry.
           When Samuel was old, & Israel was in need of a new, different leader, [the Holy Spirit led Samuel to recognize that Saul was that leader. Saul was given the place of honor at what was essentially a communion with God & a fellowship feast. Samuel also performed the prophetic act of preparing Saul to enter the prophetic stream]. He anointed Saul & told him he would meet prophets, be filled with the Spirit & prophecy]. Sometimes prophetic infection is an ecstatic experience [as with Saul], or it can be a great trouble & a true disease, as with Jeremiah.
           The rest of the OT gives us tantalizing glimpses of groups of prophets who practiced a kind of group worship is which consciousness was altered and opened to ecstatic or prophetic states. Some of the great prophets may have had disciples who stayed together after the prophet’s death, preserving the tradition, and perhaps providing a nurturing ground for new prophets.
           Jesus’ prophetic opening had been prepared by other prophets from his infancy & even before his birth. When the fullness of the Spirit came to Jesus, he was with other prophetic persons, his cousin John & John’s disciples. Jesus performed miracles in which he made spirit available to affect the spiritual, & the physical plane. 50 days after his martyrdom, a power possessed the tiny band of disciples & followers which he had left behind him. [The Holy Spirit which Jesus had made available in a new way to the world was released at Penecost].
           From the early Quaker point of view the Book of Acts is really the story of how that Spirit became more & more available in the ancient world. In 2 instances, “catching the spirit” wasn’t dependent on water baptism. One group needed to receive the Holy Spirit from Peter & John [after they had been baptized], & another received the Holy Spirit from Peter and his companions [before they were baptized]. The term Holy Spirit appears 17 more times in Acts, so it is clear that each Christian was expected to have “caught” the Holy Spirit, usually from someone else who had it; many important decisions were the result of direct guidance by the Holy Spirit.
           In I Corinthians 12 & 14, Paul makes it sound as if prophecy were very common. George Fox believed that because the Corinthians obviously need so much advice and direction to keep their worship services from getting out of hand, they had not yet come into the full maturity of the Holy Spirit; he believed that if they were fully into the New Covenant and the Holy Spirit, there would be no need for human direction of worship.
           [Out of their experience] early friends believed that they had entered the same living prophetic stream which flowed from far back in the OT and which had been expanded in the New Covenant given by Jesus. Careful reading of Quaker writing shows that in every generation it was the traveling Quaker ministers who were often the most important forces in discerning and encouraging the next generation of ministers and prophets.
           On the other hand, there also evidence that some of Quaker leaders discovered or “caught” the Quakerism in the power of a gathered meeting. Paul says that when we are caught up in the prophetic stream of the Holy Spirit, we do not all become speaking prophets. Rather we become prophets in the way we live our lives, how we spend our money, what we support, where we work and live. [We need dramatic, conspicuous, sometimes martyred people]. Sometimes even the most unassuming Quaker must take such a stand. However, the Society of Friends would soon die out if we could not depend on the silent and inconspicuous prophets, [those] resting quietly in the prophetic stream, who are necessary for each gathered meeting so that others can catch the spirit.
           OPENING SOME KEY WORDS FROM THE PROPHETS—4 key words or ideas from the great prophets still speak powerfully to us: [tsedaqah (justice),da’ath (knowledge), Chesed (faithful covenant love), hatsenay leket ‘im Elohim (humbly walk with your God).] The 1st of these key words is one we often translate as justice. [Even with the OT’s violent nature], we find a strong, continuing demand for justice, [especially for the powerless]. When King David broke at least 4 of the 10 Commandments with Bathsheba, even his absolute power as an oriental monarch couldn’t save him being denounced by the prophet Nathan. This prophet gives us the tradition that neither kings nor American presidents are above the law. What Elijah said to Ahab after a man was executed to get his land indicated that Elijah knew the law of justice for the less powerful & was willing to run great risks in proclaiming it. Later, the great prophets or writing prophets as they are sometimes called believed themselves called to be signposts at a traumatic crossroads of history.
           1st, there was Amos of Tekoa. God gave Amos, & the following prophets a deep & foreboding sense that something had gone wrong with the Holy Experiment of the Covenant of Moses. Unless the people observed the Law it would work itself out to a terrible end. Amos 1st condemned by complaining that “the righteous [are being] sold for silver, & the needy for a pair of shoes . . . O you who turn justice to wormwood, & cast down righteousness to the earth!” After condemning empty ritual, he writes: “But let justice roll down like waters, & righteousness like an everflowing stream.” “Behold the days are coming,” says the Lord, “when I shall send a famine on the land of hearing the Lord’s word.”
           Gentle Hosea actually lived in the northern kingdom, which was totally wiped out just a few years after he had prophesied. He writes: “There is no faithfulness or kindness, and no knowledge of God in the land.” He implies that the inward fact of knowledge of the Lord is the central inward reality from which flows the outward behavior of fulfilling the specific laws of the Covenant. To know the Lord is to return to the Covenant relationship, just as citizens of old knew the comfort and security of being under the king’s protection. To recognize the king is another way of allowing the solitary ego and our individualism to fall away in the face of a higher loyalty. On another level, knowing the Lord would certainly have meant knowing the Law literally and being able to act out of the law from a deep, instinctive level. Finally, knowing the Lord is a matter of heart and the will and the mind and the spirit; it means giving the entire attention, the whole focus to the Divine center.
           Another key word from Hosea is Chesid (faithful covenant love), which can be shown by God to an errant people. Hosea’s 1st 3 chapters give us a model for returning that faithful covenant love to God. The message from God that Hosea writes is: “For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.” Several decades later, Micah took up God’s demand for human justice in the Southern Kingdom of Judah. [His question is still with us in Micah 6:8]: What does the Lord require of you, but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly (hatsenay leket) with your God? The modern-day queries might be: How can I justify my existence in a world where so many are miserable? What is the right-sharing of my resources in this wealthy and privileged land?
           The rough but very practical prophet Micah saw that the way to please God is not in a giving or sacrificing which leaves the heart untouched, but in doing [justice], and being [just]. The phrase “walk humbly with your God” could include our Quaker attempt to follow the moment-by-moment and day-by-day leading of the Holy Spirit. With Justice, knowledge of God, faithful covenant love, and walking humbly with God, we are called to both a powerful inwardness and to a powerful outwardness at the same time. We follow Christ in placing much emphasis on outward behavior and service; we follow Christ in placing much emphasis on the reality of inward experience which makes the outward behavior possible.
           Isaiah’s experience of a vision described in Isaiah 6:1-8 still happens in our own time. There still comes the same shaking awareness of the awesome power at the universe’s center [which trivializes great civilizations]. Yet this Power cares about us & yearns to guide evolution into the New Age. Most of us won’t be called to the prominence of an Isaiah’s work; we are called to be prophets, each according to the grace given us. How do we prepare for prophecy?      Do we devote ourselves to daily spiritual discipline appropriate to our stage of the spiritual journey?      Do we cultivate a personal or group worship which can open us to the prophetic stream?
           THE STUBBORN JOY, THE CROSS OF JOY—When we pass through the dark times of our own lives or the discouraging moments of history, it is good to know the prophet Habakkuk. This man probably lived and prophesied 100 years after Micah and Isaiah, i.e. after the death of good King Josiah (609 B.C.) and before Jerusalem fell (587). While other prophets had been God’s mouthpieces, Habbakuk and Jeremiah passionately questioned Divine justice. Habbakuk asks: Why dost thou look on faithless men, and art silent when the wicked swallows the man more righteous than he?
           [Answers seldom come quickly]. The prophets of old and our 30 decades of Quaker prophets often had to stand for hours in what seemed like the darkness of God before the answer came. Prophets who know the law upon which all creation turns and who continually re-enter the stream of the Living Presence are able to avoid panic in the hurly-burly of the present because of instinctive knowledge of the inevitability of the working out of Divine law. God answers: “Behold he whose soul is not upright in him shall fail, but the righteous shall live by faith.” [Some Quakers will turn off at this point, while others will start to nod approvingly]. What then is faith, as the Quakers have understood it? Even though words are important, the Quaker understanding of faith and of belief is that they are primarily nonverbal. From Moses up through the Holy Spirit’s coming again and again in Acts, we see that the full faith usually resulted from an experience which transformed the old self.
           [Instead of “faith,” let us use the word “trust.”] If I know God on a real & nonverbal level, & a communion with Divine reality, I have trust so profound that its effects can be measured in my physical body & emotions. The traditional Quaker experience is that faith is largely a result of being in God’s presence. A living faith requires a trusting our Divine Friend will support us as we move forward in a dangerous but exciting stream.
           If, like Habakkuk, we stand for hours on the watchtower in God’s presence, the shape of reality begins to change, new laws of spiritual cause and effect begin to emerge, and we come to know more and more about the Law which holds the universe together. At the heart of the Christian experience as exemplified by George Fox and the Quaker tradition, there is a deep and irrepressible joy, even when on the surface of our life we may be embroiled in troubles and confusion. That quiet inward place is where the cross comes in. If we stay with that cross of joy with the faithfulness of Habakkuk, our own spiritual journey will get on much more rapidly.
           Jeremiah & Ezekiel, prophets of the same time help us look forward to new life which would be possible in the New Covenant. Being in prophetic stream means being open to God & to human suffering while being thick-skinned & strong enough to bear criticism & run risks. With prophetic fire burning within him at that point in history, Jeremiah was sure to have a dramatic life. He narrowly escaped death on several occasions, for a time he was imprisoned, & for a time he had to go into hiding; he was finally carried away from his land by his people.
           Jeremiah has some beautiful passages which look beyond the limitation of the old Law and the Old Covenant which most of the people had not been able to uphold. “I will put my law within them, and I will write in their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people . . . I will forgive them their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” Ezekiel said: “A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you . . . and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to observe my ordinances.”
           It is no accident that the Society of Friends has had a radically different pattern of ministry, because of early Friends’ living experience of the reality of God’s presence in all who had truly opened to the Spirit, as Jeremiah predicted. Faith means more than trust; in some mysterious way it means empowerment. It means the ability to walk with God even in dark and difficult places as we follow the otherwise impossible law of the prophet Jesus, remembering Habakkuk’s answer: “The righteous shall live by faith.”
           TAKING JESUS DOWN FROM THE WALL—[By George Fox’s time,] Jesus Christ had been stuck up on the wall in an impressive and magnificent way, but he was completely out of reach to the ordinary person. Jesus was stuck back across 1600 years of history, or far off into the future when he would be the final judge; [Jesus has not been available in our time, either]. One cause may be that the modern mind has been out of touch with our intuitive ability to feel nonverbal religious reality. Sensitive people have been turned away from Jesus because of [the rigidity, intolerance, and masculine] nature of the Christianity they are familiar with.
           I believe that Christ is available in our time because George Fox and others have rediscovered a living Christ different from the conventional image on the wall. Thanks to Isaiah’s disciples and Ezekiel, [those in exile in Babylon] did not lose religion when they left the turf of their old god; [they discovered a God that could be worshiped anywhere]. One inspired reader of the old scrolls and the recent prophets, and familiar with Isaiah’s work began to feel the prophetic call. Isaiah 40-55 were spoken bit by bit or burst by burst 150 years after the original Isaiah. Modern scholarship recognizes these chapters as II Isaiah.
           The God who speaks in II Isaiah seems a far vaster God than we met before in the OT; he is the God of the entire planet & all its peoples & all of history. This God invites all people to that watch tower or worship, of altered consciousness. II Isaiah’s Suffering Servant songs have intrigued & inspired Jew & Christians alike; they also inspired the young Jesus. The 1st & shortest of these songs (Is. 42:1-4) about the coming servant of the Lord mentions justice 3 times in 4 verses. True justice, the justice we all seek, is more akin to healing than to punishment, to a renewed & higher harmony than to rigid organization. The 4th verse tells us that the Suffering Servant is like a wedge which is slowly, imperceptibly opening the heart of humanity so that true justice may grow.
           Because he has been so deeply taught, because he has listened so obediently, the Servant is able to live out that law of gentleness, that awareness that the means do beget the ends. Time after time these verses have helped me take down the distant picture of Jesus Christ and brought me closer to the historic Jesus of Galilee and the cosmic and gentle presence which I have felt in my own heart. It is wonderful to find that clear inward awareness, not only as we waken into each new day, but even during the night. Quaker nonviolence grows out of faith as inward experience and inward empowerment.
           [When I read Isaiah 53:3-5, about how Jesus was “stricken, smitten by God, wounded for our transgressions” as a youth], I was offended to think that my salvation depended upon substitutionary magic & such physical violence. [My] many hours on that watchtower of a consciousness turned toward God, have revealed a deeper meaning of the Christ event in history. [It is important] to understand how Jesus was able to identify with all humanity. The fact that he died painfully upon a Roman torture device is but a parochial detail in comparison to his cosmic work of dying to the self on behalf of humanity. 

           Jesus as Suffering Servant & prophet knew God so totally that his dying to the self performed what seemed like magic, even though it was the working out of law. When near an individual great soul I have sometimes known things inwardly that I would not ordinarily know, or received inward answers to questions. [I can easily] believe that Jesus knew God so totally & so obediently that his energy field merged with the Divine Life & encompassed all creation, changing, through his knowledge & his self-giving the psychic climate for all of us, making the Holy Spirit available to all as it had never been before.
           George Fox often used conventional Christian language and Bible quotations, but he always used them with a difference because his experience had made Christ a present, living reality rather than a theological statement. Fox and early Friends accepted the outward work of Christ, but they insisted that it is the inward work which transforms us and guides us into new ways of service, new ways of fellowship.
           George Fox [used many words as a kind of] many-sided prism to break up the dazzling white light at the center into its many colors or functions. Fox most frequently mentioned the office of Christ the prophet, the living inward presence which discerns, admonishes, teaches and leads. Fox’s terms can become more than words only as we ponder them and step gingerly or boldly into the prophetic stream:
        teacher . . .
             governor [of a steam engine] . . .
                    redeemer . . .
                          minister . . .
                                the rock . . .the foundation . . .
                                      sanctifier . . . your sanctuary . . .
                                             your way . . . your life . . .
                                                    heavenly seasoner . . .
                                                          orderer (of justice, harmony) . . .
                                                                wisdom of God . . . treasure of wisdom . . .
                                                                      truth . . .
                                                                           the door . . .
                                                                                light power . . . a covenant of light . . .
                                                                                      maker of prophets . . .
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279. The Apocalyptic Witness: A Radical Calling for our own Times (by William R. Durland; 1988)
           About the Author—Bill Durland is a resident teacher of religion and social concerns at Pendle Hill; he is the author of several publications. He will move to Burlington MM (VT), where they will join with others to begin a Quaker intentional community called to practice the witness described in this pamphlet. He grew up a Catholic. During the late 60’s he had a religious experience which resulted in his commitment to Christian pacifism, simplicity, community and equality; these values led him to Quakerism. It is hoped that this pamphlet will help those seeking ways to act on their leadings as part of a Quaker witnessing community.
       The Apocalyptic Background—In these urgent and fearful times, I suggest that there is a dynamic and ever-present power to be found in Quakerism’s roots and in its forerunners capable of transforming lives and nations with spiritual activism; I call it apocalyptic witness. The apocalyptic seer of the Bible’s last book finds the “end times” present in every moment. We cannot equivocate about lesser evils and greater goods. We must act urgently, foolishly, precipitously in recognition of the immediate presence of the Kingdom of God.
           How can the apocalyptic vision be recovered? [This pamphlet] seeks the relationship of the life & message of George Fox & Quakers to the radical call to live a life of faith & witness. The Book of Revelation was a marginal book in the early church, reluctantly accepted into the Canon; it remains suspect. Only sectarian splinter groups in our times, fundamentalists & radical revolutionaries, use it for their own purposes. “Apocalyptic” is from a Greek word meaning revelation, & is “a divine message of the imminent end of the world’s present form.” Prophets received a specific message; mystics entered a singular & intimate union with God through contemplation, without receiving a specific message. The apocalyptic contains elements of the prophetic & mystical.
           Apocalyptic historical sense has profound pessimism about temporal structures, but is optimistic in good’s triumph over evil & death. It calls for steadfast endurance in times of trial & persecution while providing strength for testimony & witness. [Rather than examining & rejecting] existing economic, political, religious, & social structures, [most reject the message]. There abides hope of final joy in understanding the revelation is true.
           The church buried the apocalyptic thought deeply away very early on. A natural tension existed between institutional church & apocalyptic vision, which was counter-cultural & anti-institutional. The truth repressed simply emerges in a different form. The so-called “heretical” sects of the early centuries gave apocalyptic vision its 1st rebirth. The 2nd century Montanists were a charismatic, apocalyptic sect who encouraged women to preach, moved peacefully to collective decisions, & witnessed to the Holy Spirit’s independent role. Releasing themselves from society’s attachments was a response to their understanding of moral radicalism & apocalyptic vision. 

           Another group were the 4th century Donatists, who saw the world as hostile & themselves as an alternative model to society. [Their Christianity was to] transform, absorb, & perfect all existing facets of human activities & institutions. Augustine smote them with the [Holy Roman Empire’s] law & retribution. The Donatist church rejected political & economic convenience. They glorified the martyr’s call, & agreed with Cyprian that the Holy Spirit wasn’t present in the church where the Bishop was guilty of apostasy. They were subdued by the world.
            From the fall of Roman Empire to medieval times, the history of Europe was characterized by a continuous struggle for power. The apostolic life of early Christianity was hidden within the monastic cloisters. [The official] church merely duplicated and imitated the secular values and practices of the political institutions. Some refused to allow the early church’s spirit to be quenched and became itinerant preachers, with lives of poverty and simplicity in opposition to [society’s values]. The explosive power of the apocalyptic life was lived in the 12th century by men like Peter Bruys, Henry of Lausanne, and Joachim of Fiore.
           Peter taught people to be responsible for their own salvation. [All of the churches functions and functionaries were superfluous. Life was to be lived in a radical sense of the presence of the end times. Henry was a Benedictine monk and wandering preacher. The true church is spiritual where one lives in apostolic simplicity; only poor itinerant preachers were needed to proclaim the Word. Joachim influenced apocalyptic witness in later centuries, especially Francis of Assisi. The apocalyptic/ethical mix was the seed for all future generations.
           The charismatic Cathari, the “pure ones,” believed in spiritual baptism. They believed that redemption was by admission to Christ’s teaching; they later used violence & gnosticism. The Waldensians were applauded by Pope Alexander III for their devotion to poverty, but weren’t allowed to preach. They were excommunicated because they refused oaths, the shedding of blood, marriage & earthly goods. Women preached, laity celebrated the Lord’s Supper & held all things in common. Ecclesiastical authorities, fearing a takeover, drove them out. Their revelation of an alternative gospel re-entered the institutional church by way of early Franciscans. The original rule of his order was deemed too harsh by ecclesiastical authority. In the 3rd order, lay people refused court oaths, taking up of arms, & accumulation of wealth. Peter John Olivi pointed out a conflict between the “carnal” & the spiritual church. The apocalyptic Dominican Savaronola was condemned & burned at the stake in 1497.
           Out of this great dualism of worldly pessimism & heavenly optimism, came the Reformation. The sects arising in England were Levellers, Diggers, Ranters, Seekers, & 5th Monarchists; a group for every discontent. Christ would come as a prophetic voice revealing God’s word through his messengers. Baptists were talking about the Light within. The Seekers denied hireling ministry; they began their gatherings in silence, & prayed aloud, or witnessed as the Spirit moved them. Jesus Christ’s revelation through George Fox was being revealed. God’s revelation was a continuing process; the Holy Spirit was necessary to illuminate Scripture. The Quakers held the balance between the 5th Monarchists’ outer kingdom & the Seekers’ inner kingdom, [embracing both].
           Revelations of Jesus in George Fox—George Fox wrote: “The priests and professors would say [Revelation] was a sealed-up book, would have kept me out of it, but I told them Christ could open the seals ... and teach his people himself.” During the early days of revelation, Fox spent time in solitary wanderings. He would write: “Though I had great openings, yet trouble and temptation came many times upon me ...” Eventually, Fox heard a voice from within which said, “There is one, even Christ Jesus that can speak to thy condition.” Fox’s vision was truly unique, but was not without some influence from the charismatics and spirituals mentioned earlier, whether consciously or unconsciously assimilated. Fox preached in taverns, prisons, marketplaces, on hilltops.
           The places Fox preached have become special for Quakers as places which embody the memory of his understanding of his revelations and his actions. [At Mansfield and Nottingham, Fox spoke of the Holy Spirit as teacher and as the instrument “by which the holy people of God gave forth the scriptures. When Fox spoke, officers came and took him away and put him in prison. There 16 arrests and 9 imprisonments over the next 25 years. Fox poured the food of Jesus who spoke to his condition as well as to that of those who were gathered. God had indeed come again to be the Lord of history. At Sedbergh and Firbank Chapel, he spoke to large crowds. Like Jesus, Fox too, was run out of town. And likewise, his relations thought him shameful.
           Swarthmoor Hall became a place of gathering for his followers to listen to his sermons, which were taken out by the community. He admonished rich folk of the nations not to exalt themselves above their fellow creatures. [He certainly would not exalt them]. His failure to do so, or to take an oath caused him many imprisonments. George Fox said: “I told them our allegiance does not be in oaths but in truth and faithfulness.” Fox was convinced that to take an oath guaranteed neither truthfulness nor evidence. Fox said: “I receive not the honor of men, Christ saith, and all true Christians should be of this mind.”
           Fox revealed that Jesus’ call to “resist not the evildoer but to love one’s enemies” was a special call to witness to the nations. He lived in the virtue of that life and power that took away the occasion of all wars; he said he knew from whence all wars did issue, from the lusts according to James’ doctrine. From the beginning he had seen his mission “to bring people off from all the world’s religions which are vain that they might know the true religion and might visit the [helpless]. Fox had been commanded to turn people to that inward light, spirit and grace by which all might know their salvation and their way to God and Christ, and from their churches gathered to the church of God, the general assembly written in heaven which Christ is the head of.
           Both Fox, Jesus, and many of the medieval visionaries recognized that a fundamental and painful hostility attends the activation of spiritual truth in the midst of established structures. This hostility must be embraced and transformed rather than avoided and denied. George Fox wrote: “So the peace of all religions ... all worship ... all ways must be broken that men and people are in, before they come into the way of Christ Jesus.” And “Spare no place, spare not tongue nor pen; but be obedient to the Lord God and go through the work and be valiant for the Truth upon earth ... then you will come to walk cheerfully over the world answering that of God in everyone; whereby in them you may be a blessing and make the witness of God in them to bless you.”
           Religious discipline had been a concern from his ministry’s beginning in the 1650’s. The Quaker movement was becoming individuals living together as a people in a new order of community. [A time-tested query is, “Is your meeting a loving community of which Christ is center?” Fox’s vision was of a communitarian order, belonging to all the people by virtue of inclusion in the New Covenant. He called this Gospel Order, & understood New Covenant community to have form, structure, order & government. Fox’s belief was Jesus came to teach [& govern us] himself. [In the apocalyptic framework], discipline & organization is derived solely from a radical sense of accountability to the inward Christ, his values & requirements, as perceived by community. Fox said: “All who receive this Gospel, God’s power unto salvation, in their hearts, receive Christ ... & his government & order in the power. & Christ reigns in their hearts in his power, & such come into Gospel order ...”
           Early Friends saw the prophetic and apocalyptic side of the revelations of Jesus and so were thrown into prison for meeting illegally. Fox’s blasphemy was that the worship set up Christ 1600 years before was lost by the end of the 1st century. Silent worship had been suggested by Paul at least 3 times (I Corinthians 28, 30, & 34), Psalms and prophets (Zechariah 2; Habakkuk 2; Zephaniah 1). Fox was easily misunderstood [in his denial of outward sacraments, for the scriptures are ambiguous about the perpetuation of water baptism.
           The “eucharist” used as a basis for sacramental communion, is described in John’s Gospel as the light of Jesus’s own life & witness. Faithfulness requires us to take on his flesh & blood as our own, to follow radically in his footsteps. Those who feed on Jesus’ life, his example, his spirit, his inner light practiced in an outward witness, will live forever because they become part of that [body] which inspires & continues Christ’s Body in the world. The baptism & eucharist are received when one encounters Christ spiritually & expresses that encounter outwardly in witness. Fox said to the king, “Christ dwelleth in us by his Spirit & by Christ’s Spirit we are led out of unrighteousness & ungodliness.” Fox also said: “[We] aren’t a sect but are in God’s power before sects were & ... come to live in the life as the prophets & apostles did that gave forth scriptures. Therefore are we hated by envious, wrathful, wicked & persecuting men. But God upholds us all by mighty power from the wicked’s wrath.”
           The Apocalyptic Witness—Indeed Fox was at war, an apocalyptic war, which he waged in a prophetic manner; he & other early Quakers would call it the Lamb’s War. Friends followed a path of holy vocal judgment & spiritual bodily witness. Doug Gwyn writes: “Fox’s confrontations in steeplehouses inspired a sense of crisis & decision which demanded action. [The reaction to those 1st Quakers varied from violence to individual & wholesale conversion]. The Quaker phenomenon was born of apocalyptic moments ... The inward experience of the risen Christ engages with history & the world, & gathers a community around the gospel’s preaching. Fox’s tone & style is that of apocalyptic preaching of the gospel.” Theirs was a rebirth of apocalyptic Christian community.
           “Quakers” [received the additional] label of “enthusiasts.” In the sense of the Greek root’s meaning of “Di-vine Indwelling,” the early Friends were unashamed enthusiasts. Quakers broke the religious laws of the carnal nation as a witness to a greater & more spiritually grounded order. The apocalyptic call is to recognize that God is the Lord of history, & to wage the Lamb’s War in behalf of that reality. Jacques Ellul writes of the Book of Revelation: “[It is a report of] all that has been successively revealed in Old and New Testament history about the Lord God.” It is the idea that the end times are now as well as later that makes our time urgent and immediate.
           Doug Gwyn writes: “When Fox spoke, apparently there was little middle ground where a listener could stand. One was forced to be either with Fox or against him. It was probably this phenomenon more than any other that accounted for both the great vitality of the 1st generation Quaker movement and the tremendous hostility it engendered.” It had been revealed to George Fox that, as we gather in Meeting, waiting on the Lord, we begin to live as if the end of the world has come. It was out of this revelation that the Society of Friends was corporately taken up in the spirit to venture forth in witness to a revealed morality and community.
           It was self-evident to them that wars, slavery, prisons, all oppressive & violent structures, weren’t part of God’s kingdom. They were ready to witness to that revelation & endure tribulation. Even more people will have to endure persecution & suffering before the final in-breaking of God’s kingdom comes, replacing the kingdoms of earth. They did this for half a century, after which a reaction took place within Quakerism. [It’s not clear why], but a fallback position prevailed and Quakers gained a respectability. Ben Franklin and his followers took over Pennsylvania. A radical, apocalyptic movement became a reform movement with liberal terminology. Howard Brinton said: “The Society of Friends exists today because its more moderate elements prevailed without altogether extinguishing the flame of the Spirit.” I have a feeling that the Quakers so internalized this Spirit that its outward flame became barely distinguishable. Waging the Lamb’s War was lost in the swing to moderation.
           It’s my vision that Quakers perpetually seat themselves on a tinder box, primed by centuries to ignite corporately. [We don’t ignite it], perhaps for fear of past or future persecutions. What is witness’ form today? It isn’t “hippyish,” utopian, or politically anarchic. The basis for such a force is gathered community, & a Gospel Order spiritually centered inwardly, with outward manifestations of corporate witness. Some security is essential in the face of impending world catastrophe. That [new] security is discovered only by those who live on the edge [of a new world & age]. Our call is to be faithful in the witness, & trust that God & Holy Spirit will do the rest [for the rest of the people]. Faith leads us to the conclusion that God’s effectiveness will be historical reality.
           A model of apocalyptic community finds its focus in the early Christian attributes of simplicity, community, pacifism and equality. Elias Hicks said: “[There] were grave spiritual dangers involved in getting and holding great wealth ... We should hold all things in common and call nothing our own.” At the end of his life, he would not be covered with a cotton sheet, [steeped] in slave labor, but was only content with a wool blanket. The communal life among the 1st generations of Quakers brought suffering after suffering upon them simply by living out the light of Christ which dwelt within them. Necessity formed a community, to care for Friends in prison, and their stranded children, and to share resources left after the rest was confiscated.
           Apocalyptic witness is characterized by a corporate identity, which for Quakers in part was a church where every member was a minister in direct contact with God. This witness calls for a witness of not paying for war without equivocation as an essential corollary to the original peace testimony. Early Quakers acted to replace outward cult and ceremony in religious worship with inward spiritual relationships and the baptism and spirit of fire. An outward, spiritual activation of the inward Light was imperative. Without it we would simply be left with a passive, inward spirit with no function but to nourish our own individual idiosyncracies. The loss of outward spiritual witness in turn reduces the flame which kindles the inward spirit as well. Inward revelation cries out for the outward spiritual witness of pacifism and nonviolence, and for corporate, radical community. Today it is not primarily the “steeplehouses” which incarnate the apostasy which brings forth witness. It is rather secular centers of the worship of violent power at the Pentagon and sites of nuclear weapons manufacturing which receive obeisance from churches as well as individual and civil organizations.
           A community is no community at all, if its light is hidden from the world. But as the light is revealed in witness, the community shines forth as fire. Where that flame will take us, how witness will empower us, and what changes there will be must be left to the continuous revelation of our times. The message of Jesus Christ revealed in the person of George Fox is a message of a life of spirit and truth. The very function and nature of light is not to be hidden nor darkened in an enclosure, but to be revealed to shine forth outwardly and to overcome the darkness. Our calling is to release the light and be ready to suffer the consequences of the conflict created by the release. The Street of Lichfeld [with its martyrs] are still before us; the prisons of Scarborough Castle still hold our own in prisons around the world whether we recognize their faces or not. Religion can be practiced as a public and political undertaking in a light not hidden under a basket but as a fire revealed to all the nations in our actions. God has called upon us to be his apocalyptic witnesses.
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342. Beyond the Bars: A Quaker Primer for Prison Visitors (by Keith R. Maddock; 1999)
            About the Author—Keith R. Maddock is a member by convincement of Toronto MM (Canadian YM). He wrote: "It has been an important aspect of my witness to share the high points and the challenges of passing through the bars with others. My written reflections are testimonies to spiritual growth ... openings motivating us to act out of concern." Selections from this pamphlet have been adapted from articles published in other magazines and journals (The Canadian Friend; The Anglican Journal; Companion).

           Much depends on the spirit in which the visitor enters upon her work. It must be in the spirit, not of judgment, but of mercy. She must not say "I am holier than thou" [but remember] that "all have sinned and come short of the glory of God."      Elizabeth Fry (Visiting female prisoners in 1827)
           INTRODUCTION: A Quakerly Vocation/ The Volunteer Principle (A Spirituality of Service)—About 4 years ago an older Quaker woman shared her experience and wished for more volunteers to visit the local jail. Her plea settled quietly in my mind and worked its way into a profound sense of vocation. Now I am deeply committed to a volunteer prison ministry. Quakers were religiously oppressed in 17th century England, and imprisoned in some of the most inhumane jails of their time. A Meeting for Sufferings was established to tend to their needs. Visiting and counseling prisoners became a necessity. This concern continues today. The Alternatives to Violence Project, is now a world-wide movement involving people from many religious and secular organizations. Alternatives to traditional modes of punishment and help for discharged prisoners are long-term goals and commitments for social action and service. Visitors show inmates they have not been abandoned, and testify to the need for change and compassion in public attitudes toward perpetrators and victims of crime.
           We are living in a time of increasing volunteerism, especially in the social service sector of our communities. Me may find our own lifestyles and values challenged when we encounter the marginalized. I 1st responded to a friend's call to serve coffee in a drop-in shelter for homeless men. I had a sense of guilt because I avoided homeless people. I gradually opened to them, and realized, through empathy, that my sense of God's presence and purpose was becoming more powerful and vibrant. The advantage I have over the homeless was a gift and an opportunity to serve those who were less fortunate; it "became the business of my life."
           We encounter many of the same people from drop-in shelters in prisons and detention centers. Many of their crimes are the off-shoots of poverty—addiction and theft. We need to be aware of the complexity of reasons for people being arrested and held under such demeaning conditions. We are called to offer a bridge to help them return to safe, stable lives and relationships. There are safety concerns, but to experience the love transcending all our prejudices and fears opens our lives to new hope.
           PROGRAMS/ Reflections on the Quaker Program—Group sessions are the best settings for new volunteers to get the feel of prison life. The Quaker program is supervised by the institutional Chaplain, who often refers specific individuals who might benefit from an informal approach. [Avoiding Bible Study & prayer might help some, but it was a problem for others who benefited from structure]. The rule of thumb in city jail is to be flexible. One can expect obstacles & unexpected interruptions. Our program centers on discussion of issues that are important to the men present on any particular evening; it may be debriefing after a stressful day. It helps to have other resources, like guest musicians, musical instruments, videos, photo books, & paintings. We start & end with silence, inviting prayers & inspirational words. We hope to leave them with a feeling of unity & peace.
           Peter has been an inmate in the Don Jail several times, as well as federal and provincial institutions. Much of his experience consisted of waiting: for friends and relatives; opportunities to beg, borrow, or steal; to be arrested; at many stages of the legal process. This reduced him to a passive spectator of his own life-drama. He never had to wait for loneliness, frustration, and anger. After attending our program, he began to engage his creative faculties, particularly drawing and painting. He often works in solitude, especially when others are acting out. Yet he doesn't hesitate to show his pictures to anyone with genuine interest in what he is doing. 

           The Quaker program provides opportunities for men to express their concerns openly, while seeking strength and comfort in a casual religious setting. We do silence, check-ins, the topics that surface, and perhaps dialog. Peter often has a lot to say, and his pictures are sometimes the topic of dialog. He is one of many who have asked to speak to me in confidence in my role as a volunteer chaplain. Men like Peter appreciate the opportunity to express their concerns to someone other than the usual stream of more "official" and routine prison visitors. The Spirit of God speaks through the prisoners, because of the life issues that bring them into conflict with the law. We encourage them to express their struggles and to celebrate the vibrant colors of their inner lives.
           Remember My Name/ A Christmas Gift—I once was a substitute in a Roman Catholic worship program in "super protective custody." There were no chairs; we sat on a cold granite floor. They chose a few songs & sang them with gusto. A few were articulate about issues & struggles they were grappling with. We sang 1 last hymn, & named people we wished to pray for; we recited the Lord's Prayer. A young man said: "Remember my name, won't you? If you see me around, just call out my name." That young man's loneliness, expressed with such candor, touched my need for affirmation & unconditional love, & for my name to be known to another.
           Ray was an old-timer at the jail; in his mid-60's, he looked 10 years older. He was trying to pray for a friend; I slowly realized the friend was his cat. The Christmas is worst time for the lonely, in or out of prison. Ray didn't ask for anything special this Christmas. He just wanted to pray for his cat, even though he wasn't sure it would make any difference. [Other inmates supported him in this for the rest of meeting]. Other volunteers and I were acknowledged and thanked. I responded that when I leave the prison, especially at this time of year, I often feel I have taken away much more than I have given.
           LISTENING FOR BEGINNERS: Listening in the Dark—One of the insights I have gained from prison ministry is that people who have lost their freedom often acquire wisdom through experience with the shadow side of life. The 1st & sometimes most difficult skill I have had to acquire is listening. [With all the deep pain there is to hear in prison], the temptation to retreat behind words is very strong. Listening is a matter of developing a sensitive inner ear. To be sensitive to those who are living every day of their lives in darkness, it is important to recognize the common ground of our humanity.
           Douglas Steere wrote: "To listen another’s soul into disclosure and discovery [is a great service] ... and in listening we disclose the thinness of the filament that separates people listening ... & God listening to each soul. Whatever we call our ultimate power, it needs to respond to our need for connection and dialog. One of the most unhelpful things to tell a person in jail is not to worry. The best I can say to someone who is worrying about lost faith in God is not to lose faith in one's self.
           You won't Forget me, Will You?/ Building Bridges—I try not to comment on what people say to me in confidence. They just want to know that someone is listening. It is difficult to express sympathy for a man who admits to having committed a violent crime. In prison, the survival instinct, reinforced by conditioned behavior, teaches one to mask vulnerability with aggressive acts or posturing. Some days I find myself analyzing behavior instead of just listening, a kind of survival technique developed by volunteers & possibly professionals in this kind of setting. [Psychological terms need to be reframed as simple questions]. The inmate I used them with told me later he couldn't cope with the big words. He spoke of his condition in much simpler words. He was teaching me a new language, one that spoke to my experience as well. He asked: "You won't forget me will you?"
           Visits to individual inmates may need to wait until one has participated in group programs for a while. It takes time to get one's bearings. Personal visits involve a longer and more stable commitment, & aren't to be taken casually. In detention centers it may take weeks; in penitentiary, it may involve regular conversations over several years. There will be issues of dependence, projection & transference that will challenge the wisdom & perseverance of volunteers & inmates alike. There needs to be balance between trust & discretion, intimacy & personal security. Things may be shared with increasing openness. There are also unspoken issues like loneliness, low self-esteem, and manipulation. We should not neglect our own emotional and physical well-being as listeners. A mature volunteer will make opportunities to reflect on the relationship on their own or with another.
           The Spirit in Gaol—A young man from the West Indies asking for a visit, walked into my office, glared at me and asked: "What's this all about?" I reminded him of his request and he sat down. His eyes wandered as he spoke of violent nightmares. He said he knew his eyes wandered; he picked up the habit as a child when his father beat him. It was defensive, though other inmates might easily take it as a sign of hostility. A fragile trust began to develop between us. My 1st impression was of a man not to be pushed around. He had acquired his knowledge of religion from a very devout mother. He was reading of Paul's shipwreck off Crete. The gradual opening in our relationship seemed to result from a divine presence rather than through our own efforts.
           Through being open to the positive energy experienced in other people we may continually encounter a spiritual presence that permeates our world. "Then you will come to walk cheerfully over the world, answering to that of God in every one" (George Fox). [I thought of the apostle Paul in prison]. The life of prayer which he shared with his cellmates had already released him from the prison of his life, from the bars and walls which isolated him from the world. As the Spirit successfully challenges me to leave behind outside perceptions and apprehension that I carry into jail, the walls of prison are constantly dissolving as relationships of 2 coming together who are open to the mediation of an Eternal Listener develop. In prisons, which stand among the darkest shadows of our human society, the sense of divine presence is particularly wonderful when it breaks through.
           LISTENING FROM EXPERIENCE: Pools of Anger, Mirrors of Light—I occasionally meet inmates who are difficult to look at. Their faces betray the agony of struggle in a cruel and unforgiving world as a sort of unfinished portrait. Mark's face was as cracked and immobile as granite. His eyes however, were like clear brown reflecting, returning my inquisitive stare with a subtle invitation [to come in]. After he lost his job and family, he was hell-bent on self-destruction; he wound up shooting holes in a convenience store ceiling. An undertone of remorse began to rise to the surface. His eyes seemed to be in full flood, as they overflowed and coursed through the cracks of his parched flesh. He was once married, but a mutual weakness for alcohol drove her away; he still hoped for reconciliation. Mark's eyes were pools of fire and mirrors of light. I dared not look too long into their depths, lest they reveal the ugliest man in my soul—and ultimately be confronted by the painful light that guides us through our passion to our deepest hope.
           Through a Glass Darkly, but then Face-to-Face—After visiting about a year, I was making a positive connection. He was a warm creative individual, expressed what seemed like genuine remorse for his crimes. We prayed together, & sometimes embraced. He asked me to come to court sentencing. When the clerk read charges, they were serious. When the prosecutor shared details, I thought they were referring to a different person.
           There are those who see only the inmate's criminality; others, only redeemable qualities. Both need to be taken into account to have a balanced perspective. Does one have a right to judge a person any differently after discovering a side to their history darker than expected? I wrote a letter to Jesus as though from solitary confinement: You said you were my friend & now I'm calling on you to keep your word. You haven't come back [yet] ... we keep on doing to others like you wouldn't want to know. I want to believe [every word you said]. [The charges they read at sentencing], I thought they were talking about another guy ... If you heard what they said I did—you said, forgive them for they know not what they do... Don't give up on me, or leave me in this hole alone.
           What About the Sexual Offender?—Within prison systems, & the sensational media, sexual offenders are the most vulnerable to vigilante justice. As a chaplaincy volunteer, my role isn't to ask questions about charges faced by inmates. It is unhelpful, & unfair, to generalize. A young man was linked with charges of domestic violence by a local tabloid, complete with photograph. He said: "Just listen to me. [No one else wants to listen]." Every violent act in this world is formed out a violent history, often beginning at an early age. Abusers, knowing where they come from & what they have become, fear they can't change. Are sexual offenders unredeemable?
           Ministry with sex-offenders is essentially no different from ministry with inmates accused of other crimes. I assume their willingness to share their stories means that they are taking the 1st step toward being honest with themselves. Occasionally they are very articulate and express genuine desire to atone for their actions. Others may begin with blaming others. Only when tears begin to appear, do I feel they are beginning to reflect responsibly on their own lives. As to those who never ask for a chaplain, no one can ever force another into self-revelation. When crime causes apprehensions within us, we can only hope that by examining apprehensions we can begin to create a climate in which others may come to terms with the truth and lead others to God.
           CONTINUING ACCOUNTABILITY AND SERVICE: Guidelines for Visitors—My primer is limited to visiting men in the protective custody unit of a short-term detention center, and is written in hopes of encouraging others to serve in this difficult but enriching ministry. There are specific cautions for women visiting men, taking into account the risks of sexual attraction and physical contact; discuss it with an experienced person. Many women may prefer visiting in women's institutions. I recommend consulting the Friends Service Committees or the prison chaplains in your community. Some general principles are:
        1. Reflection on personal fears and prejudices is an important element in being open to others.
        2. Be respectful of inmates. Don't interrogate them for details. They will disclose as much as they need to.
        3. Be respectful of the guards and prison officials. Don't be hasty to judge individuals & reports you hear.
        4. In group discussions, avoid naming absent inmates or prison officials. Assure inmates of confidentiality.
        5. The more you know about resources available to released inmates the more helpful you can be to them.
        6. Relationships may develop that seem worth continuing. If no restrictions exist, helping them find support                               groups, or locating a safe place for them to live on their own may be the wisest course.
        7. Explore your limits. You may find yourself too uncomfortable with inmates to continue; that's okay. If you                               continue, I have found that a "committee of care," is a useful source of accountability.
           The Cost of Freedom/ Moments of Grace—One Thursday afternoon, a man I had been seeing earlier came in. He had just been released, & had come for his possessions. The official responsible for returning them was at lunch. Rather than wait, the freed inmate shouted, "Hey, Keith, I'm a free man again," bounded down the steps & into traffic, still wearing his Toronto Jail overalls. Although he had been enrolled in a series of drug & alcohol rehabilitation programs, & had supervision, his behavior was the same. Discretion needs to be used in offering help. Being able to refer released inmates to aftercare organizations is an essential responsibility of the visitor.
           I met someone familiar on Queen street. It took a few minutes to ask the awkward question: "Have you ever been to jail?" I had visited him there at least 2 years before. Men look different when they are free, and out of uniform blue overalls. They are more cheerful, but there is also a hint of fear in their eyes. Another inmate confided, "I'm pretty messed up, but I do have moments of grace." "Me too," I responded. Grace, mediated through the empathy of 2 people is reciprocal. I met [the Queen Street man again on a streetcar]. I was so intent on conversation with him I almost missed my stop. He reminded me and I got off and walked away in the direction of the Toronto Jail. That day my conversations with inmates seemed to be brimming with grace.
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408. An Art of Small Resurrections: Surviving the Texas Death Chamber (by Walter Long; 2010)
           About the Author—Walter Long is a member of the Friends Meeting of Austin. The meeting has a long history of advocating for matters of conscience and human rights, and it has a very active death penalty committee. Walter has represented death row inmates in state and federal habeas corpus appeals. He founded the Texas After Violence Project, [which listens to and documents the story of] people directly touched by serious violence and makes them available to the public, to foster deep listening and exchange among all Texans.
           A Compassionate Strategy—I am a criminal defense attorney working on death penalty appeals in Texas. There are no respites [from death penalties], except the state doesn’t kill on weekends or around Christmas. My mind boggles at the widespread severe trauma & anticipatory, complicated grief among those who care about defendants. [At times] I doubted that I could emotionally survive another client’s execution. I find it upsetting to be a part of a legal system designed to kill. The death penalty is indistinguishable from torture. The prospective orientation of death penalty law always will undermine fairness. The law is warped, & it corrupts & impoverishes the rest of the state’s justice system.
           The hardest place to be a death penalty opponent is in a Texas church, liberal or conservative, Roman Catholic or Protestant. How can those from the Christian tradition primarily think of our faith as a strategy for compassionate living? I don’t find it much of an overstatement that some have portrayed Jesus’ principal task in life as to die in order to appease a punishing God & restore a fallen humanity. [The focus has been] more on correct doctrine than compassionate living. Jesus advocated a compassionate strategy. Jesus taught [in order to] prevent rigidity & alienation from others that precede or follow violence. I have clung to [the Lord’s Prayer] in my struggle to remain emotionally regulated in the face of my state’s frequent acts of homicide. I hope my essay [will lead] Christians to be inspired by Jesus’ compassionate strategy—his art of small resurrections.
           A Compassionate Wager—Simply put, those who assent to particular beliefs about Jesus are allowed into the Christian community [and get a good afterlife]; non-believers do not. I think that the narrow gate was the hard-to-find aperture of peacemaking. Blaise Pascal asserted that we should blindly bet that God exists. [At most] we gain heaven and prevent divine punishment. [At worst], we gain a virtuous life.
           Pascal’s wager [implies that] God is jealous and punitive, meting out judgment based upon belief or lack of it. Belief’s purpose is nothing more than self-survival. But Jesus describes God as indiscriminately nurturing. Jesus tells his disciples what to do, not what to believe. Jesus instructs his disciples to reject earthly treasure and instead to invest themselves in this hidden compassionate God. Protected by their inwardness in God, Jesus’ followers are grounded; they do not fade from being present and vital. Jesus prescribes counterintuitive risk-taking. What if our fears cause us to fail to show up [for our own life]?
           The Loss of Compassion—[Jesus has] a strategy of “perfect love” that “drives out” the fear manifest in violence. The New Testament writers themselves use judgment & fear as motivators, even coming from Jesus directly. [He blesses those who cared for “the least of these,” and then damns those] who fail to perceive Jesus in these representatives of “the least.” I think these vindictive passages show the New Testament authors’ & editors’ failure to comprehend & accurately transmit Jesus’ message of love of enemy. If we are to follow Jesus, we have to choose between his pragmatic advice & the fundamentally violent sacred story about him. The church’s attempt to keep both has blurred Jesus’ message & frustrated humanity’s growth [in the way of nonviolence].
           Nowhere in the Torah is there an explicit command to “hate the enemy.” For Jesus, love of enemy means that there no one who is not our neighbor. Jesus explained that the “neighbor” is not defined by such qualities as same or other, near or far, friend or foe, beloved or despised; the neighbor shows mercy to all others. The hold of tribalism has continued to be strong, despite Jesus’ clear new commandment. [Today], those who share scripture and beliefs are distinguished from the heterodox “others.”
           The death penalty sheds light on the effect that congealing of beliefs had on the compassionate practice of Christians. [Early Christians understood] oppression & suffering & expressed a visceral reaction against the death penalty. They seemed guided by compassion in their treatment of all persons. Then Rome adopted Christianity as its official religion. Christians’ capacity to stand by and endure the suffering of others grew in proportion to their political power. [Instead of following Jesus], they worshipped him, venerating Jesus as earlier Romans had venerated the emperor. Atonement doctrines became entrenched, and human violence was accommodated.
           These doctrines instruct the faithful to embrace the executioner’s point of view for the sake of their own salvation. They present God as an agent of Jesus’ death and describe the death itself as a benefit of ultimate value for the believer. These beliefs allegedly promote spiritual and emotional health, but they also retard our compassionate response to real suffering, and our comprehending our active and passive responsibilities in the world’s wars, pogroms, crusades, inquisitions, and executions. Jesus’ “love your enemies” is a teaching irreconcilable with any theology that would excuse or justify their harm of their deaths in “spiritual” or real terms.
           Recoveries of Compassion—The flower of compassion planted by Jesus seems to require painstaking cultivation and has made overt appearances in the Franciscans, the Mennonites, the Friends, the Catholic Workers. The bloom also has taken firm root in the Enlightenment’s ongoing discoveries of human empathy & bodily integrity. Benjamin Rush referred to empathy as “the vice-regent of the divine benevolence in our world.”
           The Enlightenment’s newfound awareness of the shared inner emotional lives of all became the foundation of the French Declaration of Man & Citizen & the American Bill of Rights, which inspired & grounded the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Only within the most recent century, the term dignity has been given new meaning in society & law; it is now applied as an inviolable attribute of every human being. [Canada], nations of Europe & South Africa have abandoned the death penalty as contrary to dignity. [Even though his own rights & dignity were denied], Jesus asked his followers to recognize those who oppressed them as possessing dignity, [& assured] his followers that authorities could kill them, but could never make them nobodies.
           An Art of Small Resurrections—Fearless compassion prevents us from averting our gazing from realities, including acts of cruelty & inhumanity in which we are implicated. Jesus discovered that his compassion delivered him to a place where he felt the stark indifference of the universe, where he [felt forsakened even by God]. If we may have a vital inward relationship with God, it is urgent that we seek that relationship. [If we remain fully aware, & feel overwhelmed], how do we pass beyond the same despair that Jesus expressed when he cried out? Jesus, in teaching the Lord’s Prayer to his disciples, taught an art of small resurrections.
           Jesus gave his disciples tools to remain in touch with the hidden God. He sent them in 2’s, recognizing that dyads reinforce each other emotionally, morally, & spiritually. Jesus counseled his disciples that they should bring forth the kingdom each day, laying aside concerns for tomorrow. The prayer Jesus taught his followers is revolutionary. [They are required to] work toward forgiveness of each other & their enemies, even in the darkest human conditions. Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who have trespassed against us is at the heart of an art of small resurrections. Presencing the kingdom in the darkest places, pirouetting, the art of small resurrections never leaves conditions it finds, no matter how dark, the same. [Each place they brought the kingdom into] would be a chance to move brutality of their time in the direction of meaning-filled, loving community.
           Being Wary of Predators—Jesus warned his followers that the human world was predatory. Jesus warned against false prophets because they were secretly violent, and because they justified violence by a “righteousness standing behind the suffering.” Dorothee Soelle writes: “That explanation of suffering that looks away from the victim and identifies itself with a righteousness, [a good and noble reason] that is supposed to stand behind the suffering has already taken a step in the direction of theological sadism.”
           Throughout the history of America’s use of the death penalty, clergy have rationalized violence. In Texas, the public believes a repentant Christian defendant will survive killing & have another chance with God. A governor saying that “judgments … of an individual on death row are best left to a higher authority,” is appealing to a “righteousness standing behind suffering.” State prison chaplains taking part in executions today continue to send these messages. The death penalty would end if chaplains followed Jesus out of the execution chamber.
           Origins of a Predatory Story—Jesus deeply engaged himself in a profoundly human person's story, an everyman locked within history. Christian dogma has evolved the story of a god who allows himself to be crucified on Golgotha. Jesus promoted fearlessness, dialogue, movement, & the use of one’s wits to destabilize human violence. Christian dogma domesticated violence by giving it sanctuary in a timeless divine perspective.
           Joanna McGrath observes that the powerlessness & [isolation] of Jesus’ followers in the face of the overwhelming threat to Jesus precipitated post-traumatic stress disorder. Luke’s “stranger on the road to Emmaus” is seen as a “sophisticated microcosmic account” of the disciples’ paradigm shift that promoted their growth out of trauma. The stranger produced the “radical idea” that “it was necessary that Jesus suffer as God’s Messiah.”
           What was subsequently understood as the benevolent & sacred sacrifice of Jesus the Christ was deemed real. The execution of Jesus the man and the gross messiness of the human legal system became a more tolerable shadow. This “sense-making” of the execution gave solace, [hope and resiliency], but it also began to nourish the theme of inevitable divine violence. It became a predatory story.
           Atonement theology inoculates Jesus’ execution from moral criticism. Jesus’ state murder becomes a divine mold for human events & promotes repetition. A fundamentalist would say that “capital punishment [represents] the principle of retributive justice demonstrated by God in the cross of Jesus Christ.” What if God isn’t retributive? If the Sermon on the Mount & Jesus’ other instructions are how his followers are to act toward all others, God can’t be retributive, & setting the universe’s moral scales aright through violence is unthinkable.
           Going Beyond Predation—Jesus’ words “… and lead us not into temptation, deliver us from evil,” sought to reinforce his followers’ vigilant dance to avoid the cycles of violence created by predatory stories. Forgive us as we forgive, and lead us away from failure to forgive. Jesus’ prayer undermines aloneness by always summoning a community: Our father; give us; lead us. One who prays the prayer is never alone, because of the relationship with God, [and] the implied relationship with others.
           [As to knowing what happens after death], Martin Buber replies: “We are God’s … To wish to extend our conception beyond death, to wish to anticipate in the soul what death alone can reveal to us in existence, seems to me to be lack of faith clothed as faith.” Risking everything in compassion would mean: always bringing oneself into the constant presence of the world’s violence; encouraging dialogue & reconciliation rather than acceptance or rationalization; doing our best to realize the peaceable kingdom within our single, wonderful life.
           Present-day homicidal cultures manifest compromises of faith in statements of their public officials. Jesus can be interpreted as giving us some practical suggestions for enduring & transforming violence, & things to be aware of: remain in supportive community; worldly political & spiritual powers are potentially violent; constant temptation to join the pack; risk everything while being aware of possible outcomes; bring our home (kingdom) with us; summon forgiveness and reconciliation in every moment and encounter; [accept] limited success.
           Being Compassionate Animals—Biology and culture have hardwired us for both revenge and forgiveness. Key to human survival is training ourselves to recognize that gross insults to dignity can be answered in caring communities with adequate laws, enforcement of those laws, and means to restore those suffering indignities and those who have committed them. As vulnerable mammals, we are in profound need of verbal communication, emotional contact, touch, and warmth from others in our species. Science is confirming that, no matter our social station, we are all bound up inextricably in each other’s neuro-biology. What deeply affects you affects me (or us), and vice versa. Recognizing our interconnectedness and mutual vulnerability as a species, we should create and sustain social systems that provide the greatest potential for the respect of human dignity.
           My home state Texas has done the opposite up to now. When the Texas legislature reinstated the death penalty in 1973, supporting lawmakers quoted from Mosaic law. Texas government tends to be reactive, addressing traumatic situations with trauma-inducing solutions. Texas is at the bottom of the list of states in providing for the necessities of children. They fail to solve its huge problems with school dropout rates.
           We need to listen deeply to human needs, & mindfully endeavor to prevent the natural retributive urge from becoming violent policy. In part that means aggressively pursuing the elimination of other outrages against dignity [e.g. poverty, inadequate care]. I have the impression that my religion is a cause of deep suffering, as [it still supports] capital punishment. I haven’t become lost in anger or despair. I can report some resiliency in trying to follow Jesus’ strategy, but also some fear. With Texas’ executions, I am triggered almost daily to recall past execution traumas. Fearless compassion speaks to a bestial tendency within all of us on dignity’s behalf. Refuge in Jesus is doing, caring movement among others, undergirded by pursuit of forgiveness daily. Each act of self-forgiveness & forgiveness of others is a small resurrection & a source of hope for a less violent, more just future.
           Queries—What does it mean to you to “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you?”      Who is the true “neighbor?”      What impact can acceptance of atonement theories have on a person’s response to suffering and sense of responsibility for violence in the world?      What relation do you think Christian belief in afterlife has to tolerance of the death penalty?      What does “dignity” mean to you?      How would you describe “an art of small resurrections?”      How do you feel about being “either with the victim or the executioner?      What are the differences between “the pack” and “community” for humans?
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470. Friending Rosie on Death Row (by Judith Favor with Rosie Alfaro; 2021)
            About the Authors—Judith Wright Favor is a listener, teacher, author, and great-grandmother. She accompanies others by witnessing to Spirit in person and vocational relationships, offering presence, spiritual insights, and practical resources. She lives in a multi-faith retirement community in Southern CA. She writes creative nonfiction; A book-length version of this pamphlet is forth-coming. Mario del Rosio Alfaro is calligrapher, artist, mother, and grandmother. She has lived behind bars since she was 18.
           [Introduction]—This is the story of a 20-year friendship between Rosie and Judith, which spans geography, age, race, religion, education, language, and the criminal justice system. Rosio was born to Mexican Catholic immigrants in CA; she was locked up for murder at the age of 18. Judith was born to working-class white parents in OR. This story focuses on "the Mercy" at work in a contemplative activist & an artistic prisoner brought together by Love. It took Judith too long to appreciate Rosie's gifts & the worth she offered family, fellow-Death Row inmates, & Judith in Central CA Women's Facility. This story exemplifies Friending. Friendship helped me to listen, bridge cultural and economic differences, and to realize and practice carrying heart-feelings, with their transformative power. Friending heals hearts and raced-based political and economic inequities. This pamphlet is a shared testimony to the power of love strong enough to cross legal barriers and prison walls. 
           Testimony—5 or 6 years after our 1st meeting, Rosie shared the awful truth what she saw and heard and felt on June 15th, 1990. I became an empathetic participant; I held my friend in Light. Rosie said, "I felt so afraid ... so ashamed, so wrong." [Author defines testimony.] Rosie's truthful words and my supportive stillness gave testimony to the redemptive power of Friending. Testimonies dominated her life and led to her conviction and death sentence in the murder of Autumn Wallace. Testimonies undergird my formation as a convinced Friend.
           Yearning to experience God's presence brought me to a Friends Meeting at age 58. Later that year I began friending Rosie. Through Friendly eyes I saw the worth of Rosie's soul, and moved out of my comfort zone to meet her where she is. What does Love require of me right now? Friending Rosie was a true leading. I make my spiritual home among Quakers who respect "that of God" in all sorts of people, and who contribute to a living testimony in which thoughts, words and deeds may become unified.
           Unlikely Friends—Rosie was a cradle Catholic; I was raised Protestant & became a convinced Quaker. I experienced unity with nature, but not [spiritual] with a human community until immersed in a "gathered" meeting for worship for the first time at the age of 60; it took 10 years to find the language to describe a gathered meeting. I learned about prison reformer Elizabeth Fry. Her work & witness inspired me to reach out to a stranger. Rosie & I want to help our grandkids—& you & yours—move respectfully into risky forms of life-changing Friending. What makes people commit impulsive acts of violence?      How can one awful choice disrupt so many lives?      How can we mend past mistakes?      Where is love in all this? In 2019, the CA governor put a moratorium on executions; Rosie remains on Death Row. [When dialog is used Rosie's is in italics]
           Rosie wrote for the 1st time on 11/5/2000, after 9 years on "d. row ... I must continue to keep going till my time comes". To pass the time she "finds something to and I keep doing it. She looks forward to meeting face to face. "I see and hear from my oldest son, Danny often; [I have 4 sons, the youngest being twins at 10]. I get pictures and letters so I'm very happy with that ... [July 2001]: Drugs, they're everywhere in here ... I had to lock myself in my room so I wouldn't be tempted ... I kept a mouse in a wastebasket until he escaped. I guess he's still in [my locker] nibbling food."
           Curious questions—I stayed with a Friend from Palo Alto for a short time while homeless; she posted monthly queries on the fridge with magnets. I pondered them over breakfast and long after. Rosie asks countless questions, including very practical ones when she found out I was getting divorced. Other questions included: What one thing did you do that you found the most exciting?      What does snow feel and taste like?      Will you tell me your testimony on how you became a Reverend and the story of your salmon tattoo [at age 73]?      What do you think about the death penalty this year? I prefer to stay neutral. If you could bring back someone from your past life, who would it be? Me, it would of course be my grandpa.

"How do we listen to and stay in conversation with that is beyond our awareness? [Mark Nepo]
           Hard Questions—It was 19 years before I was brave enough to ask Rosie about the shadowed underside of her story. What was it like to be Rosie on the day your whole life was ripped out from under you?      [Were you terrified your 1st time in jail?      How did you approach prayer?      How did you act in court?
           I was arrested near the apartment where I was born. My life began ... and ended there. I was kind of scare in county jail [until]... I was told I was pregnant with twins. I never really prayed in county jail. I never agreed much with [the Catholic religion] ... I put no label on my beliefs. I never got crazy in court ... Me and my attorney didn't get along. [He] made me wear [little girl] flowered dresses and shoes with big bows. [One dress I refused to wear] ... The judge ordered that a blazer be given to me to put over my jumpsuit.
           How did you imagine making the best of [maximum security prison]?      What was your hardest struggle getting along with tough women here?      Who made your life miserable and brought out the worst in you? I deal with whatever happens, with whatever high or low wave hits me. I do wrong, I do my time. I read a lot; I think of my family ...that's my strength ... my backbone & power. I don't take crap from no one. I've had many fights whether for good or bad reason ... I used to fight my father when he'd hit on my Mom & me. [I remember what he did to her sexually. He left when I was 15 when he found out I was] pregnant. I do not ... blame him for my screwed up life ... I chose my own ways, the wrong friends and the wrong life ... I think about and dream about [the murder] every night. It haunts me and always will.
           Weeping—Margaret Fell described her 1st encounter with George Fox [and the resulting tears]:  "George Fox asked me, 'What thou speakest, is it inwardly from God?' ... it cut me to the heart ... I sat down ... and cried bitterly [&] cried in Spirit to the Lord: ... We are thieves ...We have taken the Scripture in words and know nothing of them in ourselves.
           I know how she felt; tears rose during my 1st meeting for worship. I had recently retired from parish ministry in a San Francisco United Church of Christ. In meeting for worship I was free from responsibility. I relaxed & my heart rejoiced. Where did the tears come from? I need great security to come to God in silence, & Friends give me security. My spiritual guide asked: "Where is God in your tears? Unbidden tears rose whenever I stayed still in the Light long enough to be touched by Love. We named them tears of truth; I accept the tears as sacred. Walter Brueggemann writes: "Tears belong to the lament ... the lament is our most vigorous form of prayer ... an expression of truth that sets things in motion. Soul-awakening is sparked by truth-telling tears."
           Rosie writes: ... I cry things out a lot at night on my pillow just to get it out, all my anger & frustration. At time it feels good to do so. I've learned ... to do that ... well. [She thanks Judith the author profusely.] Why does weeping make us feel better? The U. of MN identified Leucine-enkephalin in emotional and spiritual tears. It cleanses the body of substances accumulated under stress. It is the most human and universal of relief measures.
           Friending—I began Friending decades before I discovered Quakers. I invented the word to describe what I did with my time. I learn from my self-effacing, [deep-listening] mother. I now use Friending as a shorthand term for nurturing interpersonal relationship across societal divides. It amends racist, sexist, judgmental attitudes and opens possibilities for life-changing connection. What makes me a true Friend? Early on, I accepted her appreciation as my due, because of my beneficence; Rosie was more appreciative than I was 
           Appreciative, respectful Friending lubricated my change of heart. Friending helped me shed stereotypes about incarcerated persons. Dr. Linda Tropp writes: "The more contact we have, the less anxious we feel about being with people different from us, the more we can empathize with ... what they are going through." True Friending is a matter of the heart. What does God require from those whose spirituality involves developing relationship in adversity?  Love required Rosie and I to face shame, tell our faults truth and offer forgiveness.
           En Christo—A vision startled me awake; I saw the words en Christo, and heard, WRITE ABOUT FRIENDING ROSIE. I said, "Not me ... Ask someone who isn't fractured." Through a friend's counsel I was eased, but it still took me a while to find the gumption to say yes to the Sacred Presence. Rosie objected angrily to co-writing a book with me. I withdrew the book proposal but not my goodwill. I assured Rosie she would determine which stories we tell and which we keep private.
           Respect is the underlying bone structure of testimonies by Friends; it goes far beyond politeness. Friends are meant to employ it at all times with all people. [When I see the oppressive, demeaning atmosphere in maximum security, I see that] disrespect is an equal opportunity detractor. Attitudes of superiority and inferiority infect the atmosphere, because racism and punishment are embedded in our nation's prison system. Respect, however shines between the lines in countless letters from a woman who once committed a violent act and will spend the rest of her days and nights in disrespectful custody. I treat her kindly and do what I can to ease the pain imposed by systemic disrespect. This is one way to live en Christo.
           Listening—I learned to listen from my mother, and practiced listening in the family I started, as a counselor, pastor, and spiritual companion. Listening is critical in transcending the barrier of a lonely space in solitary confinement on society' edge. Rosie writes: I am charged with Battery on an Inmate w/Injury ... I got her more than she got me, so yes, I am guilty [and may get 7 to 9 months in "Special Housing Unit" (solitary confinement). All my personal property was taken away ... the only book they left me was the Bible ... It could always be worse ... I did this to my self and there's nothing to deny. For now I need to find my self and get my head together.
           I decided to just let her stew in her cell. Michael Birkel's "Listen" came to my attention: "... When a writer is using as much self-honesty as can be gathered, I am enriched—even if, ultimately, we do not agree with one another ... I seek to engage a text from another tradition with integrity, without projecting my values on it." I had to admit to projecting my values on Rosie's letter, and sit in receptive stillness for quite a while before I could hear the clear voice of Mercy [and compassion].
           Waiting—Prisoners & Quakers have one thing in common: waiting. [I am waiting] at worship for God to appear & change me through the mystery of metanoia, a transformative change of heart. Rosie & I have experienced many such changes of heart in our 20-year friendship. Prison-waiting & Quaker-waiting are opposite ends of the physical-emotional spectrum. Prison is rough with conflict; meeting for worship is calm & peaceful. Systemic disrespect hardens hearts; waiting worship soften hearts, so that Friends can respond to that of God in all.
            Rosie's day starts at 4:45 am. Inmates greet one another; supply trucks and inmate buses come to a building nearby. At 6:10 am, there is breakfast, after which the "loudmouths" start arguing with and cussing at one another. At 7:10 on 9/2/19, there won't be the usual program on the row at the usual 7:30 time or any time soon. We've been pepper-sprayed. The smell of pepper spray is everywhere, clings to hair and skin, makes you cough, and causes overwhelming pain in any cuts. She has been pepper-sprayed many, many times. At 8:20 am there was still no program. She had to wait until clean-up and incident reports were done. The 2 fighters were shouting back and forth at one another for hours. She calls her row a "fricken mental museum." She takes a nap.
           12:15 pm: Rosie oversleeps, but it doesn't matter, because there is still no program. She cleans her cell twice a day & dusts every other day. She craves & eats her dirt, after cleaning out rocks, grass, bugs & other foreign objects. The alarm goes off again, this time for a medical emergency, some woman having a seizure. 2:00 pm is shift change & women start taking showers, one of the few times they are let out of their cells. 3:25 pm, there is another alarm, a fight in the rec yard. Guards use wooden bullets to break it up & the inmates pay for them. Showers are stopped, so many will not get showers today. 4:30 pm is supper time & lockdown for 4:30 inmate count. 7:40: Rosie has a headache, and is ready to "make a cup of coffee, watch a good movie and tune everyone out!"
           Envisioning Mercy—I sense Rosie's and each Death Row woman's suffering and hold them in sunlight, moonlight, and rainbow prism light. Something true and precious abides in each of the 22 convicted women sitting in a circle with me. In the circle, how would they notice a "feeling of light" or a "sense of love" rising among them?      How would they be affected by corporately seeking guidance from a power greater than themselves?      How would conditions change if they spoke loving truth to one another? When I give the Inner Guide a voice of its own, it meets me more than ½-way. How can I express Inner Guide and guidance? I draw and color an abstract version of the 22 women in a circle. It feels like a benediction.
            Coronavirus Behind Bars—What did you find yourself thinking and feeling during the long hours at home during the Coronavirus? The average person had complaints of: short fuses, emotional outbursts, memory problems, fractured peace, despair and depression; free citizens felt confused, ashamed and exhausted. Primal body responses of free persons now cooped up echo the daily mind-body experiences of those in prison. When threatened, the human body's neurotransmitters & hormones surge into "flight or fight" mode. The corona-virus threat will ease for free people.
           Death & danger never cease for Death Row prisoners. Rosie & her companions rarely get to "rest & digest." The entire prison system is stressed. Incarcerated persons' nervous systems are always in overdrive; solitary confinement is the only "respite." Rosie finds it restful to be locked up alone. Rosie has banished "death" from her vocabulary as a survival tactic. Friends can convey care, respect, and empathy, and tend the hearts, minds, & souls of incarcerated persons. We can ease stressors for brief moments. What might we learn from befriending incarcerated persons?  What might they learn from us?
           Rosie's Serenity Prayer—God grant me forgiveness for committing murder ... strength to one day forgive myself before I go insane or die ... And the wisdom ... to realize and accept that I am and can be a better woman ... Amen. I love you Judy.
           Queries—What truth or new light did you find in reading this pamphlet?      How does your life testify to divine guidance or the Light's power?      What leading have you had that changed you profoundly?      How is Friending part of your life?      How might Friending be part of Quaker efforts to create global peace with justice?      What do you feel led to do with Friending?
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345. More than Equals: Spiritual Friendships (by Trish Roberts; 1999)
           About the Author—Trish Roberts is an Australian Friend who has increasingly been called to deepen her spirituality in ways which also deepen the faith life of others, such as spiritual friendship. She has done continued study & practice of spiritual nurture. In December 1997 in meeting for worship, God "nudged" her to set a priority of writing for a 1½ hours a day. She has almost completed her studies at the Earlham School of Religion.
           What is Spiritual Friendship?—Spiritual friendships are meetings with another person to talk about one's faith life, insights, & spiritual discoveries. They are about knowing one another in the Eternal things. Hearing others' experience helps provide a language & opens possibilities for each of us. Listening encourages us to tackle the difficult, painful inner work of clearing away thoughts & habits which separate us from God. Spiritual friends is a sharing of equals; we have equal access to God's unconditional love. [With God's Presence], I understand us to be more than equals.
           Perhaps something has been bothering you. [It takes a while, but] at last your chance comes, & you speak to the right person at the right time. The inspired answer speaks to your condition. A chance encounter might not be enough. Why can't I meet & talk with someone more regularly? Some people wish for a conversation on their spiritual life, which allows the difficult questions. I wanted to have someone I could trust, a companion with whom I could reflect on the spiritual dimensions of life. I was physically isolated from others, & met my needs through regional and yearly meeting gatherings, and through correspondence. I eventually met a writing Friend, and a firm friendship was cemented. In my ongoing exploration of spiritual friendships I meet many Friends with similar needs for connection in the life of the Spirit, who see no easy way to fulfilling that need. I traveled to be with Friends I could be myself with. I wrote letters and contributed to the "Seekers' Open Letter," an Australian newsletter that was a "meeting for worship by letter"; these were spiritual friendships.
           Why are Quakers engaging in Spiritual Friendships?—Having a spiritual friend means that there's someone you meet with regularly who is willing to talk about a particular question, a vocal ministry, yours or someone else's, [help getting or seeing a little deeper]. It also gives a chance to be fully present for someone else. We are called to treat each person equally in a commitment based on mutual respect and an openness to the Spirit. In corporate worship, we "be with" each other in a mutual seeking and finding of God's word and God's will. We risk being open to the transforming power of the Spirit.
           Despite our best efforts, vocalizing our individual relationship with the Divine can never be completely imparted to another person; it remains beyond words. The spiritual friendship provides a place where it is understood and accepted that seeking to find words for what is beyond words is a valid exercise. Being in a spiritual friendship gives me the same sense as [I get in] meetings for worship; clearness committees; business. Quaker meetings can incorporate spiritual friendships in their programs of spiritual nurture and care. Marty Grundy suggests "it would be good if one person who is recognized as trustworthy, loving, wise, and tactful could be named as overseer. She (or he) could check in with each spiritual friend once a month to see how things are going, and allow time for processing anything troubling."
           Theology—A spiritual companion is important to me in providing an opportunity to wrestle with the big theological questions: sin; forgiveness; grace; image of God. Whether I articulate them or not, I hold theological views. I hold beliefs about God's activity in the world, and the efficacy of prayer. I sense God's call to action. I have understandings about Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. Rejecting any of these concepts is not a part of my belief system. As I explore these, a friend can gently lead me, support me, remind me of what I hope to achieve, show inconsistencies. The Spirit can inform me directly as my friends listens, questions, prays and encourages.
           Personal Experience of Spiritual Friendships—At a silent retreat in a Pendle Hill hermitage, I realized I needed to talk to someone about my spiritual life. I prayed about it, and the name of one of the students came to me. I was called to find someone trustworthy who would meet with me on a regular basis, and who knew I was trying to make decisions in faith. My mother died. [Questions at the time of a loved-ones death]: Does life have any meaning? Is God responsible?      If God is responsible for the good things that happen, who/what is responsible for the bad things?      How can I survive this time?
           Each of us had enough listening skills simply to stand beside the other in pain and difficulty, and to continue to express faith in God's presence. Most likely we used the term covenant partners, if any. We met once a week for about an hour, taking about half the time each. We practiced gentle, reflective listening, with occasional deeper, clarifying questioning. We made a covenant to try some prayer practices and to report back at the following meeting. Sometimes, I would have to pray at times when I was hurt, angry, or sad. It opened me up to be more tolerant and accepting of all the emotions. 

           God now seems much more infused through human activity and fully incarnate in human life. We would "check in" with each other about how God was working in our lives. It was here that I 1st experienced the Spirit's movement, flowing through me toward the other person as a physical sensation, surrounding them, or creating a vibrant space which invites the other to speak. One of the functions of friendship can be that someone hears our doubts and fears and what we think of as the horrible parts of ourselves. Their listening demonstrates that we are all right; we are merely human.
           Affirmation of God's Presence—It has been at times when I am not certain of God's presence, and struggle to understand God's nature [and name], that a friend's presence can be the face of God for me. I began a different friendship at Earlham School of Religion, in Richmond, IN. We decided to talk about our images of God. I realized that I didn't have a clear image or perception of God. I traveled to Woodbrooke, a Quaker study center in Birmingham, England. The further I went, geographically and internally, the more strongly I felt God's absence. If I don't know who God is, then who am I praying to? Is there any point in praying? Each morning, I would struggle to find an image of God which I could use for that day's prayer. Weeks turned into months. I noticed after some months that I wasn't struggling as much with morning prayer. I had a few familiar images which were dependable. The urgency for an answer lessened; the dark night had eased. My friend did not try to solve this problem for me. His presence was shown in giving totally focused attention to the other. It is the ability to reflect what you hear, clarify if you need it, and to challenge gently if the need is felt.
           Roles Spiritual Friendship Can Play: Listening to the Spirit and Your Friend/ Random Thoughts and Experiential Learnings—Often I feel prompted by the Spirit to ask the right questions which can call forth something from the deepest part of the speaker. It is a gift from God, and I try to use it worshipfully and respectfully. I mentioned visualizing the Spirit flowing through me. Flora Slosson Wuellner warns against always imagining a flow and suggests a healing pool of Light be sometimes used instead.
           I sometimes ask my friend to hold me accountable for something, prayer or a new spiritual discipline. It is not weakness, but wisdom to be with others and worship in faith. The disciples of Jesus and early Friends travelled in pairs. Friends can be challenging and rewarding. The friendship will not necessarily solve problems. Counseling or spiritual direction may go on at the same time. Friendship is simply more attainable.
           Leadership & Eldership—As the friend listens to you talk about where the Spirit is working in your life, you may see new ways out of difficulty, or become more accepting of "what is." You may invite the divine Presence, to ask the Spirit for new light or for clarity. Being accountable brings your concern out of the purely personal, and takes the 1st tentative step toward sharing it with your community. One of Greenpeace's founding members said: "Even when they think it's not going to change anything, [Quakers] have to bear witness." We can aid one another in witnessing. My faith connections put my day-to-day actions in a hostile work situation into a larger faith context. My action was based on faithfulness to a Divine leading. Spiritual friendship can help discern a balance between ["just witnessing" and "possible effectiveness"].
           Friends can resent leadership, so we are disinclined to bring up new ideas, or to stand up in leadership, if we expect the reaction to be negative. Even one friend can be helpful in testing your call to action, & in supporting your action, through tracking progress, & seeing that the one called isn't outrunning their guide. Sometimes a speaker or retreat leader has been assisted in preparation [& during the speaking or retreat] by people acting as "elders." I see this as one example of a spiritual friend; it acknowledges that the task involves a spiritual leading.
           How to be a Spiritual Friend: How to Begin—Am I qualified/suitable to be a spiritual friend?       Is spiritual friendship something that might be a helpful aspect of my faith life?       How often am I willing to meet with a friend?       [What is the best form of meeting]? Exposure to good Quaker practice will give basics of spiritual friendship. This isn't any form of counseling. We don't have to be specially trained; good listening is enough. A good listener, [with practice], will reflect essence of what is said, is non-judgmental & does not give advice. Allow time for interior reflection; wait for inner answers or questions. Waiting to speak in friendship is similar to waiting [for Spirit's prompting] to speak in meeting for worship. Allow time. Allow pauses.
           A rightly ordered friendship will parallel the deeply gathered sense of a good clearness meeting. A sense of humor, rightly used, can lighten the load & cause friends to share joyfully in each other's presence & show how deeply they can trust each other. [What spiritual concern is on your mind]?      What image do you have of God?      What speaks to you in meeting for worship?      How do you center?      Is God present & active in your life?      What are some of your "holy moments"?      Are any devotional readings helpful to you right now?      What do you want; what hurts?      What are you thankful for?      Where is your sorrow? At times, what we hear can seem overwhelming to both of us, but the saving grace is that the Spirit is there with us. If the idea of friendship appeals to you, but no name emerges for a friend, bring that to prayer. Begin with a time of discernment; allow the person you ask a time of discernment. Together, we can call on the Divine to show the way forward, both in the questions we ask and in discerning God's will for us.
           Difficulties—No friendship is perfect. It's wise to check out your friend's expectations and say what yours are. If either person is dissatisfied, the pair needs to talk in order to negotiate, or lay the friendship down. Something is gained from every friendship, even one which lasts only a brief time. Any learning may be a clearer sense of what you hope for in a future friendship. [It is important] to make a commitment to that friendship. If dissatisfactions arise, promise to stick with the friend for a reasonable length of time. Enlarge your awareness of any problem to include its spiritual aspect, [and be open to spiritual influences]. Accountability begins with a covenant to be reliable and confidential; full accountability comes in sticking with it.
           One friendship began as a class requirement, with problems arising when the friend wanted more than I could give. I shared at only a superficial level. We struggled to keep this one-sided friendship going; I shrank from plain speaking. It ended badly, in a bitter argument. The regret at my actions has taught me about clarity, about negotiation. Lack of depth cannot long sustain any real relationship, and a spiritual friendship in particular.
           Gender and Sexuality—Friends should consider gender as one aspect of what they seek in a spiritual friend, waiting to be guided by the Spirit. [I am not compartmented] into spirituality and sexuality. It is no surprise that sexuality can surface in some spiritual friendships. A person experiencing sexual attraction will have his or her own task of working out why this is happening. If this is a concern, it may be wiser to choose a friend of the gender to which you are not usually attracted. Please know that many people have experienced this level of attraction and have dealt with it successfully. The likelihood of having inappropriate sexual feelings may occur in direct proportion to trying to ignore sexuality. Ministers in other denominations are aware that sexual feelings arise, and are best dealt with by having a supervisor to tell it to.
           Sexual attraction between 2 friends is going to cloud a spiritual friendship if they think that genuine intimacy must lead to a physical expression. If both are attracted, and free to begin a relationship, then it is important to pause and reflect on the spiritual friendship. Uncomfortable feelings should be addressed by using confidentiality, rather than secrecy. If one person continues to experience strong attraction in several friendships, then there may be some work to do regarding sexuality.
           Fruits of Spiritual Friendship—It is worth finding ways of overcoming difficulties in order have the undoubted benefits. [It is an opportunity] to see them as part of the whole picture, to be looked at with God's assistance & the Light's guidance. I must speak of any strong feelings from my own experience, not blaming or hurting that other person. I can make my own changes, but I can't force change on my friend. Spiritual friendship has the power to affirm, strengthen, and empower. It's enormously rewarding to know that I'm capable of giving the same attention, good listening, and affirmation to my spiritual friend. I trust that in our spiritual friendships we do our part and leave the rest to God. Having a spiritual friendship will increase our sense of the work of the Spirit in our lives, and help us release our desperate clutching for control. The friendship can bring the reality of an undercurrent of Living Water flowing at a deep level into awareness, and open us up to radical change.
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363. Profession and Practice: Quaker Perspectives on Healing as Ministry (by Maureen Flannery; 2002)
               About the Author—Maureen Flannery has been an active member of Berea Friends Meeting in KY since 1979. She is in a weekly Friends faith-sharing group & an ecumenical women's spirituality group. Maureen has provided primary care in rural communities in IL & KY & the Berea College community. She is working as part of medical school faculty in order to integrate spirituality, complementary, & alternative modalities into health care. Through School of the Spirit she remains involved in contemplation & spiritual nurture among Friends.

           "Friends could well make better use of healing as part of our modern ministry to the world. Early Christians and Early Quakers made it part of their ministry"      (David Hodges).
           [Introduction]—17th century Friends considered healing & preaching as ministry. It was a spiritual gift rather than an occupation; Friends practiced faith through healing. 19th century women "pioneered the professions." In recent years Public health, reform movements, & integrative approaches in health have seen Friends' participation. Early on, recorded healings include physical illness, physical injury, & mental, psychological, & spiritual problems. Many US MMs now hold Meetings for Worship for Healing. The time is right for exploring healing's role within Quakerism. Professionalism is a set of behaviors & qualities the public expects of individuals in particular occupations, especially healing ones. This essay offers several alternative models of professionalism in the hope that Friends will find a practice consistent with a Quaker understanding of a healing ministry.
           

           "It is not always easy to find a professional who [is] ... a person grounded in a profession of faith ... in the matrix of mercy in which our lives are embedded"      (Parker Palmer).
           Contemporary Attitude toward Professionalism—Profession is an occupation requiring specialized knowledge and specific preparation. The traditional professions were characterized by knowing, doing, and helping. Professionals are recognized by the community around as qualitatively different from "nonprofessionals." Professionals practice, they perform a vocation that is integral to one's being. Over the past decade, as changes in the health care system began to curtail doctors' autonomy and control, organized medicine sought to define and encourage professionalism. The instilling of values and behaviors identified with professionalism is understood to benefit both health workers and society. I have been led to question whether the current understanding of professionalism is consistent with my Quaker beliefs. Quaker history has much to teach us about professionalism.
           Attitudes toward Professionalism among Early Quakers—The 1st generation of Friends included several doctors. Accounts suggest that these early Quaker physicians sought to understand the special bearing of faith upon their work & may have held "trade meetings" to support each other. Exclusion of Quakers from English universities limited their participation in medicine. In 1700s, modern-day professionalism emerged. By the mid-19th century, the professions represented a new meritocracy based on education rather than inheritance and lineage.
           Friends' concern with professionalism derived from theological concerns. Quakers believed in direct living relationships with God without mediation. There was concern that professional ministers might usurp the place of God's Spirit, the Inward Christ. They refused to limit "divine service" to a few occupations or situations, & sought to raise the tasks of daily work & business to a spiritual level & into a ministry. A critique of a designated and professional clergy became skepticism about experts and professionals of all sorts. Friends claimed that trustworthiness was as essential for a farmer as for a physician. It was of great concern to early Friends that a professional's loyalty was likely to be to the values of a profession and the wider society than (or at least in addition) to the values of one's faith. Busy schedules that were an integral part of work, and would interfere with a daily pattern of life that provides time for worship and reflection is another reason to avoid professionalism.
           Some Characteristics of Professionalism: Quaker Perspectives on Power/ Detachment—What does the early Quaker professionalism critique mean for contemporary Friends? How can Friends support & challenge professionalism? Power is closely connected with professionalism. [There is temptation &] tendency to shift from "being of use" to domination. Friends developed in a world in which Church & State frequently abused power. Power imbalance & inequality are indeed inherent in many professional relationships. Many assume that the unequal power between professionals & patients is critical to the healing process. Both individual & community discernment are necessary if Friends are to avoid secular ways of viewing & using power like it is in professional culture. George Fox said, "Take heed of blending yourself with outward powers of the earth."
           The idea that professionals must "keep their feelings out of their work" in order to be effective is deeply embedded in professional training and culture. Quaker meetings, on the other hand are covenant communities in which individuals meet each other directly and openly as whole people. Equality and intimacy are essential characteristics of a vital meeting. [Friends in professional positions may find it too difficult to reconcile the Quaker process of openness and intimacy with the detachment their profession demands]. Can professional Friends be full participants in this beloved community?
           Specialization/ Authority/ Service—In today's complex society, professionals undergo extensive & rigorous preparation in a relatively narrow field in order to become "experts" there. In contrast, Howard Brinton notes: "The non-professional character of the Society of Friends' religion is carried over ... into its humanitarian work." Lloyd Lee Wilson says: "Everywhere around us God demonstrates a love of making each creature unique, yet we prefer to act as if each Quaker's spiritual gifts were precisely like those of other Quakers." Some Quakers may be misinterpreting the equality testimony. Friends may support individuals who pursue specialized training, but they need to remind those individuals that no human may usurp the place of God's Spirit as true healing's source. Should Friends be asked to fill roles in meeting that utilize their professional training, or should Friends be offered opportunities to develop gifts not acknowledged in their life in the world?
          While power can be exercised without the consent of the powerless, authority implies an acceptance and affirmation of the basis for the exercise of power. So far as ministry goes Friends assert that "the authority for ministry is given to a person only by ... the Holy Spirit, or the living Christ working in or through that person." Friends must discern whether the authority that an individual exercises is indeed derived from commitment to abide in the life and power of God, from which any authority for and leading to a living ministry must come.
    `       The commitment to place the goals of others above self-interest is generally considered a particular obligation of professionals. Service is also vital to Quakerism. Recognizing & answering that of God in everyone has as a natural consequence a life of service. George Fox said, "Be patterns, be examples in all countries, places, islands, nations, wherever you come; that your carriage & life may preach among & to all sorts of people." Friends & professionals may work as a way of letting their lives speak & putting their values into practical use.
           Quaker Perspectives on Empathy—Particularly within the helping professions, empathy is considered essential if service provided by the professional is to be authentic & effective. The Quaker view is that all people can access the Inner Light, the Seed, Christ Within. Friends expect to become involved & grow close to one another as the search for God's way draws them together. The health of the meeting community is determined by how Friends relate to one another. Friends can support a professionalism that affirms the importance of empathy.
           Alternative Models of Professionalism—Are there approaches to professionalism that value authority, service, & empathy while addressing Friends concerns about power, detachment & specialization? [Where Friends use queries to explore an issue], bioethicists will use metaphors & models. Robert Veatch considers engineering, priestly, collegial, & contractual models. Ezekiel & Linda Emmanuel present guardian, technical expert, counselor, teacher models. William May's central & favored image is one that sees the physician/patient relationship as covenantal. I offer 3 models for professionalism: feminist therapy; rural family medicine; & midwife. [All have community-based healing]. I hope considering these approaches will provide openings for Quaker healing professionals to reflect on their practices & find ways to integrate their work & their faith.
           Women's Health Movement and Feminist Therapy—The women's health movement stresses empowerment, self-help, mutuality. Mutuality, [authentic sharing by both people] in helping relationships is often beneficial for both. Feminist therapy substitutes "openness to relational movement & change...Helper & client become companions who can together reconceive & reconfigure their relationship without fear" (Beverly Harrison).
           [This mutual relationship is similar to the Quaker's "Gospel Order]." Rightly ordered relationship with God & others was what allowed early Friends to integrate their inward lives and social witness. It is important to be mindful of the potential for misunderstanding and abuse in this [model]. How much self-disclosure [by the healer] is appropriate in a professional encounter? What boundaries are healthy? With support and oversight, the feminist therapy approach can strengthen both the healing professional and the meeting community.
           Rural Family Medicine—Foundational to the new specialty of family medicine was an approach to healing that emphasized service and empathy over power and detachment, and family physicians were particularly qualified to provide care to underserved and neglected communities. Lucy Candib writes: "Rural life itself may have a leveling effect ... Choosing to live in a small community where his or her personal life is inevitably quite public reflects a doctor's willingness to be 'known' to patients." Attending to relationship is essential rather than optional for country doctors. David Hilfiker writes: "I hoped they saw in me the honest desire to be of service... I found that people would present their needs to me at any time ... [and become] part of a much larger pattern that resulted in my feeling constantly besieged." How does one find time for solitude and "retirement" in the face of overwhelming need? Where does one draw the line between being of service and being taken advantage of? [Here a healing professional can] integrate work with her or his personal and spiritual life.
           Midwifery as Metaphor—I have long been interested in midwifery [through ancestry (a grandmother), & personal experience]. Although individual midwives might be invisible in records, the role of attendants present at birth was recognized as special, even sacred. It isn't surprising to find midwifery widely used as a metaphor in spirituality. "She does things with, not to, the person giving birth ... While the authority of the mid-wife is a welcome support to the one giving birth, she is engaged & emotionally involved, even in detachment" (M. Guenther). Doris Klein depicts them as "soul-companions who stand with us in sacred places of change." The midwife model has the potential for bridging 2 important forms of Quaker ministry: healing & nurturing. While wielding no especial power, nurturer/healer [fully engages &] practices with authority [& empathy] that is affirmed & recognized by the person being served & by the community. When a professional understands her or his role as "being with" whole persons, care of mind, body & spirit are integrated, as they were with early Friends.
           Toward a New Way of Practicing Professionalism—[Deep] understanding comes with an openness to understanding paired with a willingness to go without understanding until you have become ready to receive it. I struggle daily with concerns about power and authority, with the tension between detachment and empathy with patients. Professionalism raises many questions for Friends. Is it more important to use the status of one's occupation to benefit others than to reject it on principle?      Is it time to give up our "romanticized egalitarianism" and to accept the value of advanced training and credentialing?      How can Friends best be of use in a society in which the trappings of professionalism are valued and sometimes required?
           I had a dream that affirmed for me the wisdom inherent in the midwifery metaphor for healing and nurturing. As I reflect on the gift of this dream, some resolutions to the problems and paradoxes of professionalism begin to emerge. The profession of midwifery values authority, empathy and service over power, detachment, and specialization. Utilizing midwifery [and its support of the marginalized] as a model for professionalism suggests the same "turning upside down" of cultural norms that Jesus asks of us in so many other ways. The midwifery model provides hope for those of us who wish to integrate physical, psychological, and spiritual insights into our nurturing and healing work. Mary Howell wrote: "My vision of how I like to work and relate to the people I serve does not correspond to the usual understanding ... I have found [the role] ... of the wise old woman of the village, the witch healer ... who can convey what she knows to others so that they can use that wisdom."
           Queries—Can we open ourselves to a different manner of working and sharing what we know, to a new way of practicing professionalism?      Can we reclaim the Quaker tradition's wisdom and affirm the valuable parts of professionalism?      Can we and our meetings encourage, support and challenge professionals in their midst to integrate their work and their spirituality?      Can we ask ourselves, our colleagues, and our companions, "What canst thou say" [about professionalism]?     Do you consider your work connected with your life as a Quaker?      How do you handle accepting members & attenders of your meeting as clients/patients? 

           How do you handle relationships with former clients/patients who have become involved in your meeting?      Does your profession affect your participation or speaking in the meeting?      How does your work either provide gifts for nurturing activities, or exclude you from involvement?      Are you comfortable seeking guidance from your meeting about professional concerns?      How do you use professional titles?      Does your profession allow you time for individual spiritual disciplines or for participation in meeting life?      Have your Quaker values been in conflict with the ethics of etiquette of your profession?      How have you dealt with inappropriate Friendly requests of professional services or advice?      How could you be better supported in your work by Friends?
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