In this episode, we talk about George Fox’s letter to Lady Claypole (Oliver Cromwell’s daughter), found in section 3I in Traditional Quaker Christianity. He tells her to “be still and cool in thine own mind and spirit,” because she was “very sick and troubled in mind.” Consequently, content warning: discussion of mental illness. Be still […]
Mackenzie
Mackenzie is a web developer, writer, and a textile nerd. She's also serving on communications and outreach committees at both the local and yearly meeting levels.
What canst thou say?
Today we look at Margaret Fell’s introduction to George Fox, when she became convinced and became a Friend. Fox was preaching in Ulverston Chapel, and he asked “Christ saith this, and the Apostles say this, but what canst thou say?” And so he went on, and said, “That Christ was the Light of the world, […]
Discerning leadings
Today, we’re talking about discerning leadings. This is section 3G in Traditional Quaker Christianity, if you’re following along in the book. Which, on that note: just looked at the iBook store for the first time ever last week (yes, really), and hey! It turns out TQC is available for purchase as an ebook in iBooks. So, […]
Why don’t Quakers do communion?
It’s really common for Christians to ask “why don’t Quakers do communion?” This relates to last week’s episode about spiritual baptism. In that episode, we talked about how these sacraments that the government-run church said you needed to get heaven were only accessible through the government priests. Looking at Scripture, one mark against the idea […]
Should I get baptized?
Sometimes you’ll see someone ask, “I was baptized as a baby, but I stopped believing, and now I’m back. Should I get baptized again?” Or maybe they were never dunked in or sprinkled with water. The common Quaker answer is: No, you don’t need to be water baptized. But what is the Quaker reasoning for this? […]
I heard a voice
This time, we’re talking about George Fox’s moment of revelation, when he heard a voice. In his journal he wrote: When all my hopes in them and in all men were gone, so that I had nothing outwardly to help me, nor could I tell what to do, then, oh, then, I heard a voice […]
Who is Christ?
In this episode we look at answers to the question “who is Christ?” This is section 3C in Traditional Quaker Christianity, a book we’ve been following along. Our very first episode, Jesus Christ is the Word of God, laid the foundation for where Quakerism comes from, but let’s go into what other roles Christ (or Light) […]
Inward states, dryness, and the daily cross
In this episode we continue our series on the spiritual search. This time, we’re looking at inward states, dryness, and the daily cross. This is section 3B in Traditional Quaker Christianity, which I’ve just noticed now has a Kindle version available. Inward States First, we look at a George Fox quote about how people tend […]
The Spiritual Search
Today’s reading from Traditional Quaker Christianity is from Barclay’s Apology (Freiday’s 20th century version), on how a spiritual search begins. Barclay says a person goes looking for God when “his conscience brings about a sense of his own unworthiness.” Beginning the spiritual search For both Micah and Mackenzie, a need for community (if you do outreach […]
Convergent Friends
For the first time, we’re having a special guest on the show. Mackenzie went to the Friends Association for Higher Education annual conference and had a chance to sit down with Wess Daniels to talk about Convergent Friends. Wess the Director of Friends Center at Guilford College and author of “A Convergent Model of Renewal: Remixing the […]