The Wider Quaker Fellowship

1506 Race Street · Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19102 · 215.241.7293
wqf@fwccamericas.org · www.widerquakerfellowship.org

June 2010

There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord.
There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all people

Dear Friends and Fellows,

This springtime brings a good variety of Quaker Voices to your mailboxes and computer screens. Just as there are many fragrances and colors in the garden at this time, there are delightful ways of viewing and experiencing the majesty and grace of God as understood by those folks known as Friends.

Have you experienced the gentle hand of our internal Guide telling you over and over to do something until the message is finally clear? In her selection, Tina Coffin reminds us of a time in her life when she was admonished to be generous. She gently reminds all of us that this Inward Teacher is often active for as long as it takes for us to hear the message and follow the direction. There is much wisdom and a bit of humor in her offering.

Conservative Friends are, perhaps, the quietest branch of the Quaker Family Tree. It can be difficult to get words from a Conservative Friend, because they prefer a quiet life well-lived, and the quintessential response to "What do you Conservative Friends believe?" is, "Come live with us, and you'll see by our actions what our faith is like." In this mailing we've included an article by Bill and Fran Taber, wherein you'll get a glimpse of the witness of Conservative Friends. It won't be as complete as spending a few months among them, but the vivid descriptions of times and places make the explanation of their faith come alive.

In her piece, Julie Peyton tells us about a time in her life when she had lost her faith in a God who would guide her life. In the depth of a spiritual depression, the Divine Spirit, whose existence she had doubted, brought her to her feet to speak during the silent portion of an evangelical Quaker church service. She realized she did have faith, faith in a loving heart at the center of the universe, a faith not based on notions of dogma but on the experience of the Presence of God.

The loving relationship between the various ‘flavors” of Quakerism is fostered by Friends World Committee for Consultation. Liberal unprogrammed, Conservative and Evangelical Friends are able to share their common faith in the direct guidance of the Divine Spirit, and how that Spirit gently directs their lives. Through Wider Quaker Fellowship they are able to share these insights in print and electronically with a wider community, with you. We hope these articles may give you joy and something to ponder. And please support the work of Wider Quaker Fellowship with a financial contribution: it is vital to the continuation of our program.

For the Wider Quaker Fellowship,

Faye Chapman, Julie Peyton & Judith Inskeep, clerk

 

A B O U T  T H E   W I D E R   Q U A K E R   F E L L O W S H I P

The Wider Quaker Fellowship is a program of Friends World Committee for Consultation Section of the Americas. Through our mailings we seek to lift up voices< of Friends of different countries, languages, cultures and Quaker traditions, and invite all to enter into spiritual community with Friends. The Fellowship was founded in 1936 by Rufus M. Jones, a North American Quaker teacher, activist and mystic, as a way for like-minded people who were interested in Quaker beliefs and practices to stay in contact with the Religious Society of Friends, while maintaining their own religious affiliation, if any. Today, WQF Fellows live in over 90 countries, and include non-Friends, inquirers, Quakers living in isolated circumstances and active members and attenders of Friends meetings and churches. Wider Quaker Fellowship depends on the financial support of its readers to provide this service.

 

The Wider Quaker Fellowship
Friends Center, 1506 Race Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102 USA
tel: 215. 241. 7250, email: wqf@fwccamericas.org