12-15-24 - A Season for Turning Toward Our Best

A Season for Turning Toward Our Best 

Indianapolis First Friends Quaker Meeting

Pastor Bob Henry

December 15, 2024

Good morning, friends and welcome to Light Reflections.  Last week we took a look at Mary and Elizabeth and this week we explore John the Baptist as we continue to prepare ourselves for the holidays. Our supporting text is from Matthew 3:1-12 from the New Revised Standard Version.   

In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he said,

“The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; make his paths straight.’”

Now John wore clothing of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region around the Jordan were going out to him, and they were baptized by him in the River Jordan, confessing their sins.

But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for his baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Therefore, bear fruit worthy of repentance, and do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; therefore, every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.

“I baptize you with water for repentance, but the one who is coming after me is more powerful than I, and I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and will gather his wheat into the granary, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”

Last week we talked about this season leading up to Christmas being a time of Statio – finding holy pauses in our day to listen for the Spirit’s nudging.  This week, we look at how this time is also a Season of Turning Toward our Best and making some needed changes in how we see our neighbors.  I have borrowed several thoughts this morning from Rev. Andy Acton who really spoke to my condition this week. 

In my Facebook memories from a couple of years ago, I was reminded of  several of my clergy friends sharing on their profile pages the following: 

“The appropriate greeting is not ‘Merry Christmas’ but ‘Penitent Advent You Miserable Sinner.’”

I chuckled reading it as that was how it often felt in the church I grew up in. Love, Joy, Peace, Hope, oh and lots of Sin...Sin…Sin. 

But this funny saying is actually referring to John the Baptist, the wilderness preacher, who arrives on the scene in today’s reading from the book of Matthew to make a grand proclamation that is both compelling and prophetic:

“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he said, “The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; make his paths straight.’”

Much like I talked about in my sermon series on the prophets, in biblical terms, “prophetic” is about being witnesses to truth and speaking out against injustices in a present time and context.

The Old Testament prophets, whom John the Baptist emulates, were not predictors of the future or doomsayers. Rather as Quaker Howard Macy said, they were

“…a visible sign and enduring witness that God is here, that God cares, and that God is actively working to renew wholeness (shalom) in all creation.” 

In this moment, it might help to see John kind of like a loving parent coming alongside newbie followers of the way, saying, 

“Children, you better get it together and stop being mean or you’re going to have a hard time when you grow up.” 

John knew that if the people kept acting in their own self-interests—ignoring both God and neighbor—they would continue to cause great harm to others and would ultimately bring about their own misery, and NOT work to renew their wholeness, and ultimately NOT find peace or shalom in their lives.

Like the prophets of old, John was inspired by God to speak on God’s behalf for the purpose of naming the injustices that were a result of people refusing to keep covenant, obey the commandments, and create the beloved community.

This same ancient tradition of prophetic speaking and preaching has been carried throughout time by the likes of Sojourner Truth, Martin Luther King Jr., Dorothy Day and Desmond Tutu (and then there are all those Quakers we just looked at in our Speak Truth to Power Series) — all of whom were inspired by God in their particular times and context to proclaim God’s love for the marginalized, the poor and oppressed, and seek the renewal of wholeness and shalom.

And let’s be honest, the messages of the prophets both then and now are not easy to hear. They were exhilarating, challenging, even at times harsh, because they contain truth that we are reluctant to acknowledge—the truth of our failure as human beings to show kindness and compassion to all of God’s creatures.

John the Baptist, who wore clothing made from camel’s hair (likely covered with the stains of locusts and wild honey), didn’t hold back when the arrogant Pharisees and Sadducees, who had been dismissing the cries of the suffering, showed up at the Jordan River:

“You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? Therefore, bear fruit worthy of repentance…He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and will gather his wheat into the granary, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”

“Penitent Advent You Miserable Sinner” the social media description of John the Baptist’s message is harsh and rather disruptive, not the joyful greeting we expect during the season in which we prepare for the birth of a baby known as the Prince of Peace.

This reminds me of one of our family’s favorite Christmas movies, Elf.  When Will Ferrell’s character, Buddy the Elf realizes the store Santa is not the real Santa and chooses to expose him by saying, 

“You sit on a throne of lies!”

Even though these well written phrases makes us laugh, it is very similar to what John the Baptist did when he caught the attention of the Pharisees and Sadducees with the words “You brood of vipers.” 

He wanted to grab the attention of his audience, but in a way that pushed them to change their lives for the better. John the Baptist, while vehement with his words, isn’t trying to guilt trip the crowds and violently condemn the religious leaders. Actually, he is inviting them to make a change. 

We must see that, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near,” is a radically open and thrilling invitation.

The Greek word for “repentance” is metanoia—from meta, “change” and noia, “mind.” Literally, a change of mind.

Today, we would say “change of heart” or “change of life.” For the ancients, metanoia was known as an ongoing process of transformation.

Author and pastor, Frederick Buechner beautifully observes:

Biblically speaking, to repent doesn’t mean to feel sorry about, to regret. It means to turn, to turn around 180 degrees. It means to undergo a complete change of mind, heart, direction. Turn away from madness, cruelty, shallowness, blindness. Turn toward the tolerance, compassion, sanity, hope, justice that we all have in us at our best. 

John’s call to repentance—to change, to turn away from hate and turn instead toward love and joy, I believe, is the perfect message for our current season and situation in our country and world.

As I said last week, we need to be about taking a holy pause and waiting for the nudging of the Spirit.  We should be about slowing down in the midst of the busyness of finishing the year, decorating the house, shopping for presents, and hosting and attending Christmas parties, so we can then take a moment to turn toward opportunities for tolerance, compassion, sanity, hope, and justice!  

Dietrich Bonhoeffer conveyed the meaning of this season so beautifully when he wrote:

If we want to be part of these events…we cannot just sit like a theatre audience and enjoy all the lovely pictures. Instead, we ourselves must be caught up in the action, the reversal of all things; we must become actors on this stage, for this is a play in which each spectator has a part to play, and we cannot hold back. … We cannot come to this manger in the same way that we would approach the cradle of any other child. Something will happen to each of us who decides to come to Christ’s manger. 

This is where we move into part two of last week’s message. Actively taking a  holy pause and slowing down to ponder the significance of the season doesn’t mean that we become complacent and simply relax in the glow of all the festivities. This is not a free pass or permission to take a break from doing the kingdom work of God. That’s not an option.

John the Baptist is inviting the people, including the religious leaders, to change. He’s inviting all of them to change by bearing fruit, doing good, being better.

It may not seem that way, considering that John’s metaphor about the separation of the wheat and chaff sounds simply horrifying upon an initial reading. However, the prophet isn’t suggesting that Jesus is coming to earth to send sinners to a fiery eternity as many have interpreted. 

Rev. Andy Acton had me contemplating this metaphor. He says,

“Every grain of wheat has a husk. Farmers use wind to separate the husk, referred to as the “chaff,” from the grain. The goal is to save every grain, not to separate the good grain from the bad grain. Thus, the metaphor is about preservation and purification instead of division and destruction. According to a commentary on the scripture reading: 

“What the wind and fire remove are the impurities: the anxieties, self-absorption, apathy, or greed that make us less generous, less just, or less respectful of others. …What each of us requires is restoration, liberation from whatever ‘husks’ are holding us back.”

So, John is inviting humanity to prepare for the joy that is Christ coming into our lives to bring restoration and liberation.

John is inviting all of us to turn toward God’s vision and the Quaker’s hope for the peaceable kingdom as proclaimed by the prophet Isaiah:

The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them… They will not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain.

Folks, you and I are called to change, and the more we choose to approach and pause at the manger this Christmas, we will be changed. We will begin to “turn toward the tolerance, compassion, sanity, hope, and justice that we all have in us at our best.” And hopefully, we will turn toward our calling to be harbingers of joy in the lives of those in our midst who have it stripped away far too often.

As we enter waiting worship this morning, take a moment to ponder the following queries:

·        In my holy pauses during this season, what is the Spirit nudging me to turn toward?

·        Who is the Divine putting on my heart that I need to reach out to during this season?

·        What change is the Spirit working in me?

12-8-24 - A Season for Statio

A Season for Statio

Indianapolis First Friends Quaker Meeting

Pastor Bob Henry

December 8, 2024

Good morning, Friends and welcome to Light Reflections.  As we are now in the holiday season, we will be hearing some of the stories from the Christmas story.  We start today with the story of Mary visiting Elizabeth in Luke 1:39-56 from the New Revised Standard Version:

In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.  And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.”

 And Mary said (or sang),

“My soul magnifies the Lord,
    and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
    for he has looked with favor on the lowly state of his servant.
Surely from now on all generations will call me blessed,
    for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
    and holy is his name;
    indeed, his mercy is for those who fear him
    from generation to generation.

He has shown strength with his arm;
    he has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
He has brought down the powerful from their thrones
    and lifted up the lowly;
    he has filled the hungry with good things
    and sent the rich away empty.

He has come to the aid of his child Israel,
    in remembrance of his mercy,
    according to the promise he made to our ancestors,
    to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”

And Mary remained with her about three months and then returned to her home.

This week, I found myself taking a moment to pause. Some may say it was the calm before the storm. As I described in my “As Way Opens” article in our Friend to Friend newsletter this week, we are all in the process of passing the seasonal baton of gratitude to hope.  Thanksgiving is over and now we are in the time leading up to Christmas – when we are to prepare our hearts for all that Christ brings into our world. 

Yet, I don’t know about you, but it seems that there is little transition anymore – that Christmas comes on like water coming from a fire hose - Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday…Christmas parties, special music and performances, family coming and going…and that is on top of the daily buzz of ordinary life. 

We almost don’t have space for Christmas to arrive, so we relegate it to a day and then miss the journey, the process, all that goes into preparing our hearts and lives for this beautiful season.

Folks, our daily lives are made up of moments to be enjoyed — moments of relating with people, working, doing ordinary activities, playing, and fellowshipping. Yet it’s easy to miss the blessings in the moments of our daily lives. Especially at Christmas, when we’re trying to do too much, rushing through the day, worried, distracted, hoping we have everything we need, and all while absorbing the everyday conflict and stress.

In fact, a research study found that at normal times 77% of us are regularly over-stressed and suffering physically as a result (stress.org). Another study found that 31% of us experience an anxiety disorder at some point in our lives (NIMH study).  And these numbers all rise during the holidays – specifically the time between Thanksgiving day and Christmas day. 

So, this morning, I want to ask us to take a moment to stop, pause, and prepare our hearts and minds for this time.  To do that, I would like to introduce you to the spiritual discipline of statio, which I believe enables us to enjoy God’s loving presence during our daily activities and especially during this busy Christmas season. I found the writing of Bill Gaultiere helpful in understanding the practice of statio.  

So, what is statio?

Statio is a Latin word for “station,” “position,” or “watch.” It is often described as a holy pause. A simple definition of statio is pausing to be more aware of the Divine.

In contemporary language, statio would be considered a type of mindfulness technique. It’s an unhurried moment to appreciate God’s presence through silence or meditation.

Joan Chittister, a Benedictine nun I enjoy reading, explained, “Statio is a monastic custom… of stopping one thing before we begin another. It is the time between the times” (from Wisdom Distilled From the Daily). 

I sense that is not only a wonderful descriptor of this time of year we are in, but also a good reminder for us to stop and pause before we get too wrapped up in all that Christmas entails. 

Early Christian disciples developed statio as a practice of pausing to be prayerful during a spiritual pilgrimage, celebration, or meditation.

In the 4th Century, Jerome reported that people from around the world were going on pilgrimage to Jerusalem to walk in Jesus’ steps from his condemnation to the cross. 

These pilgrims developed what many Christians (especially Roman Catholics) call the Statio or Stations of the Cross. Where at each station, the pilgrims pause to remember Jesus’ journey and to pray. After this pilgrimage, the powerful practice of statio in the Stations of the Cross was brought back to churches and monasteries. 

Statio was also applied to other situations, like arriving early to services in a church or chapel to prepare one’s hearts in devotion. As a child, I was taught the importance of getting to a place early to be prepared for what I was going to experience.  Some of you enjoy coming to worship and sitting in silence before worship to prepare yourselves for worship and what the Divine is going to speak to your condition.

This is a very Quaker in nature.   

Statio can actually be traced all the way back to the Psalms in our scriptures. I have spoken of this before – this was when the writers who arranged and edited the Psalms just prior to the time of Jesus inserted the word selah 71 times into the text. These selahs are found between verses or even in the middle of sentences. This may have been a time to change instruments, but for the gathered community, selah was an invitation to pause for quiet reflection. 

Joan Chittister applies the monastic discipline of statio’s holy pause as an invitation for us to be consciously present to God in the everyday activities of life.  

She says, “The practice of statio is meant to center us and make us conscious of what we’re about to do and make us present to the God who is present to us. Statio is the desire to do consciously what I might otherwise do mechanically. Statio is the virtue of presence.” (also from Joan Chittister’s Wisdom Distilled From the Daily.)

For Quakers, I consider one of our forms of statio to be waiting worship or unprogrammed worship. It’s a holy pause in our worship or our week. It allows us to be present to God.  And it helps us seek what we are to do. 

Pausing and silencing our hearts to be emotionally present to the God who loves and cares for us facilitates our experience of God’s peace and joy. It’s soul medicine for when you are…

• Over-stressed

• Too busy

• Overloaded with information 

• Missing human touch

• Worried or frustrated

• Distracted by many things

• Pulled into pleasing people

• Not being your true self

• Disconnected from God’s love

• In a hurry

• Distracted by the Christmas bustle.

Anyone struggle with anything on that list, especially at this time of year? 

The reality is that if you’re in a hurry or too busy, you begin to lose margin (as we say).  Work, events, errands, expectations from people, and add that holiday bustle, all get stacked on top of each other until you’re running breathlessly from one thing to the next and missing all that this season or life in general can offer you. 

As Dallas Willard famously taught, “You have to ruthlessly eliminate hurry” to grow spiritually and grow in your experience of God’s joy.

I would take that another step, “You have to ruthlessly eliminate hurry in the Christmas season” to experience all that the Divine wants to offer you.   

Statio slows you down. It puts spaces for holy pauses in your schedule. It helps you learn to be emotionally present to the God who is always available to love you and guide you. 

Waiting worship should not only happen on Sunday mornings or at Monday Meditation, or Unprogrammed Worship on Wednesday nights.  We should be pausing in our work, in our families, in times of play whenever the opportunity arises. 

Statio is the ongoing and daily discipline we need to stay aware and connected.  

By using the holy pause of statio to breathe, meditate, or hold something in the light, you can unclutter the nooks and crannies of your daily life. Statio fills this space with an appreciation of the Divine’s presence and a readiness to join with what the Spirit is doing. 

Let me give you some suggestions where I have found statio very helpful. 

·        (I already noted) Arriving a little early to meetings and events

• Walking outside slowly to appreciate the beauty of nature

• Saying thank you when someone blesses you

• Turning car travel time into a moment with the Divine.

• Immediately stopping to hold someone in the Light when you hear they have a need. Instead of saying you will and then forgetting.

• Holding someone in the Light while you’re waiting in a line. (Take a moment and hold that check out person in the light, or that mother with the screaming child, or that man stopping for another bottle of booze.

• Meditating on a quote, a scripture, a verse while you brush your teeth (maybe even post it to your mirror to remind yourself.)

• Singing for joy in the shower or in your car, or some other place where you might be alone.   

For us Quakers who love acronyms, I am going to make this even easier.  The acronym is STOP (S.T.O.P.) which identifies four mindfulness techniques to help you practice statio during your daily activities:

1.     S: Stop what you are doing for a minute or more.

2.     T: Take a deep breath to be emotionally present in the moment.

3.     O: Observe your thoughts and feelings.

4.     P: Pray for and Hold in the Light yours (or someone else’s) needs.

I believe that is exactly what Mary does in our text for today.  After hearing the news that she is pregnant, she stops everything she is doing and travels to Elizabeth’s home. She goes in a rush, but then it says she stays for three months. There she spends her time taking deep breaths, observing her thoughts and feelings, and when she finally sings her Magnificat it is prophetic. 

I wonder what would happen if we would take a moment to S.T.O.P. in this season and prepare for the Christ-child to be born again in our lives? What if we took a deep breath and were emotionally present in the moment for family and friends?  What might we observe or feel that we never have before?  And what or whose needs might we hold in the Light this Christmas?

Let’s take some time this morning and S.T.O.P. as we enter waiting worship and ponder those things. 

·        What would happen if I took a moment to S.T.O.P. in this season and prepare for the Christ-child to be born again in my life?

·        What if I took a deep breath and were emotionally present in the moment for family and friends? 

·        What might I observe or feel that I never have before? 

·        And what or who might I hold in the Light this Christmas?

11-24-24 - The Power of Compassion — Shelly Pruitt Johnson

The Power of Compassion — Shelly Pruitt Johnson

Indianapolis First Friends Quaker Meeting

Pastor Bob Henry

November 24, 2024

Good morning, Friends, and welcome to Light Reflections. The scripture I have chosen to support my message today is from Colossians 3:12-17 from The Message version.  

 So, chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It’s your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it.

Let the peace of Christ keep you in tune with each other, in step with each other. None of this going off and doing your own thing. And cultivate thankfulness. Let the Word of Christ—the Message—have the run of the house. Give it plenty of room in your lives. Instruct and direct one another using good common sense. And sing, sing your hearts out to God! Let every detail in your lives—words, actions, whatever—be done in the name of the Master, Jesus, thanking God the Father every step of the way.

Today, we come to the end of this series, “Speak Truth to Power: The Legacy of the Quakers.” I want to express that I have thoroughly enjoyed taking this great adventure since Kick-Off Sunday back on September 8th. Since then, we have looked at a variety of Quakers: Lucretia Mott, Paul Cuffe, Rachel Robinson Elmer, George Fox, The Grimke Sisters, Cyrus Bustill, Alice Paul, Benjamin Lay, Bayard Rustin, and last week, Jim Corbett. As well, we have highlighted some of you – but the reality is that each Friend in this room brings something very special to the table and is crucial for this community to thrive. I am inspired by you and realize each day the gifts you each bring, especially in these challenging times.

This week, after being asked to Speak Truth To Power against the death penalty in Indiana on our Capital steps, I was thinking I would end with Elizabeth Fry and her great work on prison reform, yet the Spirit nudged me in a differ direction. 

Over the last several months, I have had numerous people ask me, “What is the Quaker’s response to Christian Nationalism?” People from outside of Indiana (Quakers and others), and several of you, have been contacting me and referencing that I and our meeting are on the front lines, so what am I saying to our Meeting? How am I addressing this growing concern in our state and country?

Now, I am going to be honest; I have often kept the conversation behind closed doors and in one-on-one conversations.  Anything that is said could have people offended, people angry, people asking for my job. Yet, in the tradition of that great list of Quakers we have already heard from, this is a subject that needs our attention, some education, and ultimately a lot of open dialogue together.  As I said a couple weeks ago, First Friends needs to be a safe place for everyone and a place for us to have these important conversations.   

I sensed this final message should address this subject, as we soon will turn our attention to the coming hope, peace, love, and joy of Christmas, which may afford us an opportunity during this season to ask ourselves some difficult queries, do some soul searching, come together, and open our ears to listen to what the Divine may be saying to us – as Friends and citizens of this country.

As I heard the Spirit’s nudging, I was led to the writing of Shelly Pruitt Johnson. Shelly has a beautiful website called, “Love is Stronger” with a subtitle that reads, “Understanding we are Worthy, Capable, Connected, and Called to Adventure for a more Joyful and Resilient Life.” Sounds pretty inviting, doesn’t it?  Well, it has been just what I needed in the last couple of weeks.

As she describes on her site, Shelly is a philosopher, an educator, an author, an artist – and as you will soon hear, she is also a Quaker. 

What I found surprising when returning to her site while researching this message was an article she wrote titled, “Why I am a Christian but Not A Christian Nationalist.” I was a bit surprised that she was addressing this subject and read it through several times. Her words were not what I expected to read, rather it was very personal and relatable. I realized rather quickly it was how I wanted to broach this difficult subject with you, my Friends.  I know some of you are probably already concerned and maybe wanting to walk out – but I encourage you to stay and listen.

Early in the week I reached out to Shelly on a whim that she might give me permission to read her story, and graciously she responded and granted me permission. In our correspondence, Shelly said, “I really did try to express the personal side of it (the struggle with Christian Nationalism that is) with my own story, so I am glad that came out.”  

Now, just as I have done throughout this series, I want to share with you, Friend Shelley Pruitt Johnson’s story. Please remember these are her words:

So, let me tell you first why I am a Christian. 

I am a Christian because when I was about eight, I realized that I was fighting with my brother all the time. Weirdly enough, I didn’t want to fight with him anymore. But I felt like I couldn’t stop.

In fact, I felt full of anger at my brother for the silliest of reasons. Namely, I was older than him. And I thought I knew a lot more. But he wouldn’t admit I was right most of the time. And that made me mad. So, I was mean to him. A lot.

This was typical sibling rivalry. But I didn’t like my anger. I wanted to be a kinder, more loving person. My family attended church regularly, and my Grandpa Clark was a pastor. Both my church teachers and Grandpa said that if you gave your life to Jesus, He would change your heart.

So, I dedicated my life to Jesus. And I can’t say the change was immediate, but I did change. I started praying a lot and asking God for help. And slowly but surely over the years, I became a kinder, more loving person.

(Update: By the way, my brother and I get along great and have for decades.)

My faith in God became a steady anchor for me. It still is. I am a person who regularly has what some folks call peak religious experiences. By this, I mean that I regularly have vivid encounters with God’s love.

I don’t ever hear voices or see visions in these experiences. Rather, I feel a strong sense of goodness, peace, and love that feels as deep and wide as the Universe. And it always helps me be kinder, compassionate, and more respectful of myself and others. It helps me live a good and joyful life.

So, if I had to say in a nutshell why I am a Christian, it is because becoming a Christian helped me connect to the love in the Universe. This love is the light of God.

And that light is also inside of me and you, which I will explain shortly.

Now, you might think that because I am a Christian that I support Christian nationalism. That is, you might think that I believe we should try to rule the United States (where I live) according to Christian laws or rules.

But that is not the case.

So, now let me tell you why I am NOT a Christian nationalist, even though I am a Christian. I first remember learning about ideas associated with Christian nationalism when I was a teenager in the 80s.

My history teacher at the Christian school I attended assigned us to read a book called The Light and the Glory: Did God have a plan for America? (by Peter Marshall and David Manuel) 

The basic gist of this book is that God led Columbus, as well as the early Puritans and pilgrims, to sail to North America and create a city on a hill. It would, in essence, be a Christian nation.

I vividly remember reading this book and thinking that the stories in it were interesting. But I also remember feeling concerned about some of its content. My concerns might make more sense if I tell you a little bit about my family heritage.

I was raised in the Quaker Christian tradition. And I learned when I was little that both sides of my family are Quaker going back many generations. In fact, my great grandmas were recorded Quaker pastors.

If you know me personally, you probably already know I am Quaker because I TELL EVERYONE I AM QUAKER, usually within the first couple of months I know someone.

Let me tell you a brief Quaker history that is important for this post. [Please note this may be review for some of us, but I want to leave it in here to help shape her story.]

The Quaker faith developed in England in the 1500s and 1600s. At this time, the Anglican Church taught that only priests and clerics had direct contact with God. And only men could be priests and clerics. Everyone else had to go through them to gain God’s forgiveness and blessings.

England at this time was also hierarchical, and the aristocracy did all they could to maintain their power and status. For instance, the aristocracy expected that people from lower classes would bow to their betters in the streets.

However, Quakers rebelled against all this. For example, Quakers insisted that every human being equally shared the light of God—they called it the inner light.

And they also believed that everyone could communicate with God directly. As such, Quakers promoted equality between sexes, races, and people of every class. This is why they recorded female Quaker ministers and protected freedom of speech and religion.

And it is also why they became some of the biggest champions of what some folks today might call social justice initiatives. For example, one famous Quaker in England, William Penn, was a friend of the king of England.

Being Quaker, he refused to bow to the king, a rebellious act which could have spelled his doom. Luckily for Penn, the king found Penn charming. And, recognizing that Penn would not last long in the England of his day, the king granted him a tract of land in North America.

Penn gladly traveled to the New World and established Pennsylvania. It became a haven for people persecuted for their religious and political beliefs. Penn was also well-known for establishing peaceful relationships with the native-American tribes around him. He did this while many of his other fellow colonists considered indigenous natives their enemies and routinely battled with them.

Quakers in both the United States and England took this notion of the light of God in everyone seriously. Therefore, they were some of the strongest advocates for Native-American rights, the abolition of slavery, women’s suffrage, prison reform, and the Civil Rights movement.

Hannah Whithall Smith was a Quaker speaker and writer in the 1800s. She was active in the women’s suffrage movement and wrote a book called The Christian’s Secret to a Good and Happy Life. I read it in high school around the same time I read The Light and the Glory. 

I tell you all this because it is my Quaker heritage that made me concerned about what I read in the Light and the Glory. 

For instance, the book portrayed Columbus as coming to the Americas to spread God’s word especially to native-Americans. And I am sure Columbus did have these intentions, at least sometimes. But growing up, I also knew that Columbus and his men enslaved many indigenous Americans and treated them cruelly.

So, as I read the book, I thought, “Why didn’t Columbus treat native-Americans respectfully like Penn and protect their rights?”

The book also had a lurid chapter on Anne Hutchinson. Hutchinson was a Puritan woman who held somewhat unorthodox views according to the Puritan leaders of her day.

Her beliefs sounded awfully Quaker to me. For instance, she believed that anyone could connect with God through personal experience. She offended many Puritan leaders of her day for preaching and teaching her theology in her community.

That also sounded very Quaker to me.

But the authors of the Light and the Glory portrayed Anne Hutchinson as an evil and rebellious woman. In some passages, that I remember sounding a lot like something out of Rosemary’s Baby, they suggested (and I am not making this up) that Anne Hutchinson eventually gave birth to demon spawn.

(You can read this account in the chapter titled “The Pruning of the Lord’s Vineyard.” I double checked to make sure I was remembering this correctly.)

To be fair, the demon-spawn rumor was going around a lot in Anne Hutchinson’s day. But as I read the Light and the Glory, the authors reported these rumors as though they were probably true. And further (as I read it) the authors suggested that such demonic goings-on were likely the natural consequence of this terrible woman disagreeing with the God-ordained leaders of the day.

And this is when I first realized vividly that there were Christians in the world who interpreted Christianity very differently from me.

I also realized that they had a very different view of what creating a Christian nation meant. For me, creating a Christian nation meant that we love people, respect their conscience, treat them equally, and help folks in need.

For instance, this was in the 80s, and the AIDS crisis was a major cultural concern. I remember wanting to go and visit AIDS patients at the hospital. That felt to me like the very thing a Christian, especially a Quaker Christian, would and should do.

At this time, I was also especially concerned about poverty and homelessness. I thought, “Okay, look. Solving this problem is easy. There is a lot of food and money around. You just make sure everyone has enough food and a home to live in.”

There were also a lot of Mexican immigrants living in a nearby city. And I often heard people speak derogatorily of them.

This greatly troubled me because growing up, one of my neighbors and my best friends was a boy from Mexico. My friendship with him made me especially concerned about these prejudiced remarks. Such experiences made me feel like white Christians had to learn to reach out to the Mexican community and work to decrease their own prejudice.

All these concerns seemed, in my thinking, to flow logically from what it meant to be a Christian. But these weren’t the ideas I read in books like The Light and the Glory. And as I got older and read more about Christian nationalism, I was often perplexed.

It seemed to me that folks in the Christian Nationalist movement promoted beliefs and practices that were the opposite of those Christ exemplified.

For instance, people in the Christian nationalist movement tend to focus on things like forcing people to pray in public schools and putting up Christian monuments in public spaces. In addition, they advocate laws that punish people for violating certain scriptural commands the way they interpret these commands.

Such goals struck me as odd because they seem to focus on forcing people to do or say things, rather than loving them. But it always seemed to me that the heart of Christianity is love, not force.

There is another history lesson from my teens that helps to explain this discrepancy between different Christian religious beliefs.  I loved studying history in high school.

One of the most interesting periods of history we studied was the Protestant Reformation. I loved learning about how Martin Luther got fed up with the abuses and greed of the Catholic Church of his day (like selling indulgences).

So, he decided to call them on it. As a result, he wrote 95 points of disagreement with the church (The 95 Theses), and he nailed the theses to the cathedral door of his hometown. And this sparked a massive reformation in which people argued that everyone had direct access to God.

As such, reformers argued that people didn’t need priests to talk to God for them. Furthermore, reformers believed that everyone could read the Bible and interpret it for themselves.

The Quaker in me loved this story.

But sadly, I also learned that the Protestant Reformation descended into years of religious wars. During these wars, people fought bloody battles over doctrine and theology. Ironically, many champions of the Protestant Reformation often became intolerant of religious dissent themselves.

For example, many Christians including Puritans in the early American colonies labeled Quakers religious heretics. Some Quaker women were even accused of being witches and were executed. And this illustrates one of the primary reasons I am concerned about Christian nationalism. 

If we were to make the United States a Christian nation, what kind of Christian beliefs would we try to establish?

After all, Christian nationalists don’t appear to promote historical Quaker Christian beliefs. Nor do they promote the beliefs of the Quaker churches and colleges of my youth. In addition, they don’t appear to promote the beliefs of the Baptist church I attend on Sunday. Nor do they reflect the beliefs of the Baptist college at which I teach.

And they don’t reflect the spiritual community I attend during the week, among whose members are Catholics and Christians from several other denominations. And Christian nationalists don’t reflect the beliefs of the Methodist churches or the New Monastic community I have attended in the past. Nor do they reflect the Presbyterian graduate education program I attended.

This list represents a wide variety of Christian people that Christian nationalists do not represent. As best as I understand it, Christian nationalists are a small group of Christians in the U.S. And they want to shape the country according to a narrow theology that a small group of Christians hold.

As such, it seems like they want to set up a kind of priesthood of Christian leaders. And they want these leaders to interpret the Bible the way they see fit. Then they want to force other people to follow such interpretations and judge them accordingly.

That doesn’t sound very Christian to me. It sounds much more like the pharisees that Jesus often criticized in the Bible. Or it sounds like the way Jesus’ disciples sometimes behaved when they got too big for their britches. That was just before Jesus rebuked them.

I understand why Christians would want the United States to be a Christian nation.

However, the power of Christianity lies not in forcing people to behave or believe a certain way. It lies in the compassion of Christ who fed the poor and healed the sick. And it lies in the radical creativity of Christ who loved the world so much that He laid down his life that the world might be saved.

When I think of First Friends, I think of the power of compassion in this room. The poor and sick are both outside our walls, and sitting right next to us. We are first feeding one another and healing each other in this place, so that the message we share with the world can both be heard and felt.  

I probably don’t say it enough, but each week I see us calling one another to not only Speak Truth to Power but to also reach out with a hand, a hug, or even our entire selves – whatever we can muster in this moment.   

Together, we ARE the radical creativity of Christ with flesh on to our world.

Let me repeat that: First Friends is the radical creativity of Christ with flesh on to our world.  Just let that sink into your hearts.

I know many of you in this room are ready to love the world, some may be ready to lay down your lives for this world, and even in the most profound way some of you are already being called to step up and “save” those around you. And I know you will answer that call – because you are good people.

And I am thankful that I am surrounded by each of you in this moment in history, and that you are in this world, right now. Because we need people like you around when things get difficult. We need people like you who will reach out, check in, and really care when life hits hard.  The world needs you and me ready, willing, and able to truly love a world who may not remember how. That may be the most important way we can Speak Truth to Power – to simply love one another.  

And whether salvation comes in a simple cup of water for a thirsty friend, financial help for someone struggling, or literally picking someone up from the bottom of the pit and walking with them into safety, that is who we are called to be – and I believe many of us are ready for that.

I know this was a lot to process this morning, but I believe in you.  I believe you can make a difference. That awareness, dialogue, listening, and action, but most of all compassion and love will win the day.

Since we all have a lot running through our minds right now, I want to simply offer us a time to enter waiting worship and give ourselves some space for the Spirit to speak to us and maybe more importantly comfort us.  I ask that in the silence of waiting worship you consider Shelly’s words deeply. If you need some queries to help you process, consider these:

1.     Where am I sharing the compassion of Christ with my world this week?

2.     How am I connecting to the Love in the Universe – the Light of Christ?

3.     Is my embracing the Quaker Way helping me to positively change my world? How about for us at First Friends?  

11-17-24 - Utilizing the Earth for Good – Jim Corbett

Utilizing the Earth for Good – Jim Corbett

Indianapolis First Friends Quaker Meeting

Pastor Bob Henry

November 17, 2024

Good morning Friends, and welcome to Light Reflections. This morning we continue our Speak Truth to Power series by looking at Quaker Jim Corbett.  The scripture I have chosen to support this message is from Job 12:7-10 from the New Revised Standard Version.

“But ask the animals, and they will teach you,
    the birds of the air, and they will tell you;
ask the plants of the earth,  and they will teach you,
    and the fish of the sea will declare to you.
Who among all these does not know
    that the hand of the Lord has done this?
In his hand is the life of every living thing
    and the breath of every human being.

Remember in the beginning of the Bible, Genesis 1:28, where it says, 

“And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion [be stewards] over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

Many scholars call Genesis 1:28 the “Cultural Mandate.” It’s the original call to stewardship. It’s where God first calls humanity to cultivate and care for her creation using the unique gifts and talents she has endowed to every person.  As Friends, we uphold this mandate by stating,  

“The earth we share is limited in its capacity to support life and to provide resources for our survival.  The environment that has provided sustenance for generations must be protected for generations to come.  We have an obligation, therefore, to be responsible stewards of the earth, to restore its natural habitat where it has been damaged, and to maintain its vitality.  Friends’ historic testimonies on simplicity have long stressed that the quality of life does not depend upon immodest consumption.  The urgency of the threat to the environment cannot be overstated.”

This statement comes from Friends Committee on National Legislation policy statement (from 1987), it is also cited in the Friends Committee on Unity with Nature statement. 

We are mandated to be good stewards, people responsible for the care of the Earth. I sense this is going to be a hotly contested topic, and front and center, in the coming months and years.  We are going to be called to Speak Truth to Power as it relates to creation care and our environment.

 I remember one of my first times hearing Quaker Richard Foster speak at a Renovaré Conference he shared with us the three great “books” that guide our lives: 

• the book of scripture,

• the book of experience, 

• and the book of nature. 

I personally have found my faith deepened by spending time in the stewardship of the earth. It is as Robin Wall Kimmerer says in the important book, Braiding Sweetgrass, “In some Native Languages the term for plants translates to “those who take care of us.”  

Learning to read the book of nature has not only been therapy for me, but it has also given me insights to my own spiritual path – from doing the hard work of tending to the weeds in my life, to learning about parenting from watching birds, to sensing hope in a sunrise or being thankful when the day is done by watching a beautiful sun set. The list could go on and on. 

But if there is one thing I have learned it is that to be a citizen of this Earth means we have a responsibility to take care of it as it takes care of us, to learn from it, and allow it to be a bearer of peace in our lives. I don’t know about you, but lately, nature has brought peace to the chaos of the world around me.  Watching the seasons change, the leaves fall, and the winter arrive – is a sign of both death and also new life.    

A book that I quote from often and has had a profound voice in my life is Quaker Catherine Whitmire’s book, Practicing Peace.  It was in her book that I was first introduced to Jim Corbett our Quaker for this morning.  Some of you may remember me talking about Jim several years ago or the painting I created that I often have us interpret in our affirmation classes.

Some consider Jim a philosopher, spiritual warrior, and even some consider him a modern Quaker prophet. 

Catherin Whitmire introduced me to Jim in her chapter on Practicing Peace in our Everyday Lives with the Earth.  As I have further explored Jim and his life, I have been amazed not only by his story, but the role that nature, the animals and the earth play in helping him see his higher calling.  I can imagine Jim reading our scripture for this morning in this way,

But ask the animals, and they will teach you,
    the goats of the land and the bees of the air, and they will tell you;
ask the plants of the earth, and they will teach you…

Arden Buck shared some of Jim’s story in Friends Journal and I want to highlight some of his life for you this morning. 

Jim Corbett who lived from 1933-2001, was a brilliant and original thinker and writer; he was a fearless activist, who insisted on putting his Quaker principles into action rather than just talking about them. He was also a rancher, a goat herder, and an expert at living simply and close to the Earth. 

Corbett grew up in Wyoming, a descendent of Blackfoot Native Americans, Kentucky pioneers, and Ozark Mountain mule traders. As a child he taught himself to be comfortable with discomfort – at ease with hunger, cold, pain – and to detach himself from social expectations. A convinced Quaker, Corbett was a quiet, soft-spoken, unassuming person. For much of their life he and his wife Pat lived very simply in an old, salvaged house trailer. 

As a student, Corbett breezed through Colgate University in three years and then went on to earn a master’s in philosophy at Harvard in only one year.  Throughout his life, he held a variety of jobs including philosophy professor, librarian, park ranger, cowboy, anti-war organizer, and Quaker activist. But he was always a rancher at heart. For a while, he lived with a group of semi-nomadic goatherders in Mexico.  

Cathrine Whitmire pointed out that “Corbett spent years listening to the earth and its innumerable creatures as he rambled through the arid but beautiful Sonoran desert in Arizona, herding goats. Of his time following the flock through barren wilderness he wrote: 

“Leisure, solitude, dependence on uncontrolled natural rhythms, alert, concentration on present events, long nights devoted to quiet watching – little wonder that so many religions originated among herders and so many religious metaphors are pastoral.” 

Jim Corbett was known for what he called, “Goatwalking.” Arden Buck says he developed it into an art. 

He would wander the desert with goats for weeks at a time.  The goats would forage as they went, and Jim would drink their milk and forage as well. It was a way for him to go on solitary meditative retreats without having to carry any food or water.  He pointed out that this living was pastoral nomadism. It is how the Plains Indians lived, and it’s how we are told that Moses led his people in the desert for 40 years. Many Bedouin and Mongolian herders still live this way today. 

Corbett saw goatwalking as a form of errantry, which he defined as “going outside of society to live according to one’s inner leadings.”

Corbett even invited people to join him on his goatwalking journeys utilizing the same rules.  No food or water, except the occasional oats and raisins. He taught people how to live off the earth, to understand goats, and become companions with both. Even though people were drawn to this extreme experience, Corbett knew that it was almost impossible for most modern urban humans (like you and me) to understand the idea of living in communion with our natural world. 

One thing that I found interesting is that Jim said not to bring reading or writing materials when experiencing nature. He said, “Just be there and soak in your experience of the wilderness.  

I don’t know about you, but I think one of the biggest reasons we cannot connect to the earth and nature anymore is because of technology.  Jim didn’t mention that, but if reading and writing were out, I am sure technology was, too.  

Back in Oregon, our oldest child, Alex, was sent as the youth representative for the Northwest Yearly Meeting on a spiritual formation retreat with another Yearly Meeting. He flew to Colorado, and then joined a llama pack and several other youth and adults on a journey into the Medicine Bow Range and up to the top of Medicine Bow Peak. 

Much like Corbett’s goat walking, Alex became the friend of a herd of llama.  They ate very simply, did some scavenging, and slept out in the wild. Listening to them explain the conversations they had with the participants was amazing.  As someone who is a professional animator and spends their life behind a screen, this really had a profound impact on Alex. They learned things about themself, about others, about nature, about struggle, accomplishment, and about the Divine. 

Similarly, Jim Corbett also learned a lot about himself and others in nature.  He also found a new calling.  After moving to Tucson, Arizona he developed his beehive and goat husbandry techniques for use in poor countries.

At the edge of his property was built a fence to deter illegal border crossings.  This was the early 80’s and sadly we were backing violent governments in Central America who were killing and torturing labor leaders, students, church activists, and their relatives.  Individuals and even entire families were fleeing across Jim’s property.  

It wasn’t long until Jim heard of a Salvadoran refugee being caught by Border Patrol on his property.  This led Jim to inquire about the refugee and follow him to an immigration detention center in California. Jim’s eyes were opened when he found hundreds of detained Central Americans there who had fled war and persecution in their home countries. 

Soon Jim teamed up with John M. Fife III, a Presbyterian Pastor in Tucson who helped him begin to harbor refugees.  They organized a system for passing illegal immigrants from church to church across the country. This ended up being what we now know as the Sanctuary Movement in America.

Corbett mailed 500 Quaker Meetings and groups seeking their help in the creation of an underground railroad to Canada. Hundreds of Quaker meetings and other churches participated. During the 1980’s Corbett and his sanctuary helped free thousands of Central American refugees.  

Corbett experienced life on this planet at a much different level than most people.  Arden Buck speaking of his writing said, Corbett… 

“developed a philosophy that embraced not only humans, but all life on Earth. He extended Quaker principles to apply to all of Earth’s creatures and ultimately to all of creation – there is that of God in all nature.  Regarding environmental preservation, he followed a third way between the two extremes of exploiter and environmentalist by advocating that humans and nature can coexist respectfully.”

Every time, I think about Jim Corbett or read something about him, our own Dan Mitchell comes to mind.  Many of you probably couldn’t identify Dan Mitchell if you had to pick him out of a room of people. He usually sits in the balcony and out of the center of attention by choice. 

I had the honor of working with Dan for several years and becoming his friend as he was our maintenance person at First Friends when I arrived.  I have known him to always speak truth to power regarding caring for the earth. He has been adamant about First Friends refraining from using chemicals to kill the weeds on our grass, as well as finding alternative and safe ways to eliminate them.  He is dedicated to our grounds and to our meditational woods and you will often see him working in them without being asked.

It also struck me when we would find mice in our pantry or kitchen that he would find a way to capture them, and then release them into the wild instead of killing them.

And I know Dan’s heart is always in helping others. Last Sunday, as our Latino Friends found that their keys were locked in their car after worship, it was Dan who was calling his own AAA club to get the door open – even though as he phoned, they successfully opened it.  And If you haven’t seen him interact with his grandchildren or join us for VBS and see the amazing backdrops he and Rebecca create out of almost all recycled items for our kids, then you are missing what I and many others have come to value and appreciate about Dan.  I even heard that every day during Covid, Dan would go to his grandkid’s house and draw a picture and place it on their window, since they could not interact.  Every day during Covid – that is dedication. If you have not met Dan, take time get to know him and glean some of his wisdom.  

For now, I turn these thoughts on us and have some queries for us to ponder as we enter waiting worship:

1.     How am I letting the “book of nature” read to me in my daily life? What are the animals around me teaching and telling me? 

2.     In the chaos of our world, how might spending time in nature help me?

3.     How am I being called to Speak Truth to Power regarding environmental issues? How is First Friends? 

11-10-24 - Engaging Angelic Troublemaking – Baynard Rustin

Engaging Angelic Troublemaking – Baynard Rustin

Indianapolis First Friends Quaker Meeting

Pastor Bob Henry

November 10, 2024

Welcome to Light Reflections. Since we record our messages on Wednesday, this recording took place within hours of the election results coming in.  I will be honest, it is not easy for a Quaker pastor with strong convictions to give a message at this juncture, but I clearly sensed the Spirit’s leading of what to say after having conversations will fellow pastors and Friends. 

The scripture I have chosen for this day is 2 Corinthians 4:8-12 from The Message version.

If you only look at us, you might well miss the brightness. We carry this precious Message around in the unadorned clay pots of our ordinary lives. That’s to prevent anyone from confusing God’s incomparable power with us. As it is, there’s not much chance of that. You know for yourselves that we’re not much to look at. We’ve been surrounded and battered by troubles, but we’re not demoralized; we’re not sure what to do, but we know that God knows what to do; we’ve been spiritually terrorized, but God hasn’t left our side; we’ve been thrown down, but we haven’t broken. What they did to Jesus, they do to us—trial and torture, mockery and murder; what Jesus did among them, he does in us—he lives! Our lives are at constant risk for Jesus’ sake, which makes Jesus’ life all the more evident in us. While we’re going through the worst, you’re getting in on the best!

Last Sunday, we had a wonderful time of worship, but clearly there was something weighing heavily on all our minds and hearts. I know many of us are now in fear, scared for family and friends, and stunned or shocked by how this week played out. I know much of what I am going to say this morning will go unheard because of all that weighs on our hearts. So, I give you the permission to turn this off and go be with trusted friends and loved ones who support and love you.  We must take care of ourselves so we can stay strong and work for change.

Also, I know many of you realize that there is a new urgency.  So, I hope that what I am going to say this morning is both helpful and inspiring for those ready to act.  

I sat down on Monday morning knowing that I had chosen Bayard Rustin as the historic Quaker that I wanted to share about this morning. I think I picked Bayard as he is a favorite character of mine in Quaker history, and someone I thought might have something to say to us on the Sunday after the election. 

If you have been at First Friends for some time, you have heard me tell different parts of Bayard Rustin’s story in several of my messages, or maybe you joined us for our viewing of the Netflix movie, Rustin, which specifically highlighted his masterful, behind the scenes, organizing of the March on Washington where Dr. King shared his dream. 

No movie or sermon could encompass the life and legacy of the man who coined the term “Speak Truth to Power” for which this sermon series is titled. 

Early this week as I started to sense my anxiety growing about the election, I began wondering what it must have been like for Bayard Rustin when elections came around. A gay black man in the 60’s, whose sexual orientation was forced into the closet so as not to affect the impact of the Civil Rights Movement that he was masterminding with his friend Martin.  Any wrong move had Bayard jailed, silenced, working on a chain gang, and his life threatened at every moment – and sadly that was first for being black and then for being gay – two things he could not change about himself. 

But every election, every politician chosen, every decision those politicians made, and the authority they and their police enforced, literally changed the course of Bayard’s life in a moment and most of the time for the worse, not the better.

As a white, privileged,  cisgender male I am challenged, but always seeking to better understand all that Bayard had at stake, or for that matter what the black communities and LGBTQ+ folks in our country have at stake, today. 

I do not act as if I can relate or understand, but as a Quaker who believes in equality, I must learn from Bayard Rustin and his legacy and work to not make the mistakes of my ancestors.  To uphold his legacy in which he said, “the primary social function of a religious society is to 'speak truth to power” which I believe is also my call as a pastor of this Meeting of Friends.  

On Monday and Tuesday, I tried hard to channel what Bayard would have been thinking if he would have been alive this week and during this election cycle.  I am sure he would not have been watching TV and just hoping for the best. Rather he would have been hard at work, organizing and gathering others to continue the fight. As well, he would be reminding us once again that he is not safe as a black man, as a gay man, and even as a Quaker who testifies to the SPICES of Simplicity, Peace, Integrity, Community, Equality, and Stewardship in our country. 

I believe if Bayard was here this morning, he would be calling for what he described as, “Angelic Troublemakers” to rise up – something that his friend John Lewis called making “Good Trouble” or what some historians have categorized as simply “Holy Trouble.”   Meaning that every community should have people who are actively working to disrupt the status quo to create change.  It’s not bad trouble, but rather righteous trouble and done by holy, good, even angelic (divine) people – or as Bayard and Friends believe, people with that of God within them.   

Please understand this call to “angelic troublemaking” often involves making some trouble by actually breaking unjust laws.  And clearly, we are going to be facing some unjust laws in the coming years that are going to affect our neighbors, our loved ones, and fellow Friends - especially women, people of color, minorities, immigrants, and the queer and LGBTQ+ communities.

If you have not already figured this out in this sermon series, Quaker history is brimming full with “Angelic Troublemakers” who have risen to make good trouble, to speak truth to power, and break the oppressive and unjust systems in our country and our world.

Now, once again, it is our time to answer that call.

Let me go back for a moment and share one such story from Bayard Rustin’s life where he exemplified the “Angelic Troublemaker” he would later call us all to become.

In 1942 Bayard Rustin wrote:

“Recently, I was planning to go from Louisville to Nashville by bus. I bought my ticket, boarded the bus, and instead of going to the back, sat down in the second seat. The driver saw me, got up, and came toward me.

‘Hey, you. You’re supposed to sit in the back seat.’

‘Why?’

‘Because that’s the law. Niggers ride in the back.’

I said, “My friend, I believe that is an unjust law. If I were to sit in the back, I would be condoning injustice.’”

This scene repeated at every stop until the driver called the police.

 When the police officers confronted him and demanded that he move, Bayard said:

“I believe that I have a right to sit here. If I sit in the back of the bus I am depriving that child” – I pointed to a little white child of five or six—“of the knowledge that there is an injustice here, which I believe it is his right to know. It is my sincere conviction that the power of love in the world is the greatest power existing. If you have a greater power, my friend, you may move me.’”

This was one of many times Bayard was beaten and arrested for resisting injustice. It took great self-discipline and training for him to intentionally and nonviolently break an unjust law. He went on to train many others in the Civil Rights movement how to break unjust laws in this highly intentional way…

Folks, Bayard is showing us that to be an “Angelic Troublemaker,” often means being called to

·        stand up against tyranny.

·        strive towards equality.

·        face a wrong in the world and fight to make it right, even in the face of a society that swears everything is fine.

Sadly, I can see some of us in this room facing these same conditions and atrocities, very soon. The rhetoric and actions are already in place and people are already fearful, including myself and members of my own family.

But again, I return to the wisdom of Bayard Rustin to help us find a way to begin our response and movement foreword. Bayard would say now is not the time to wait and see or just hope and pray for change, but it is time to act and do something.  

We must begin somewhere in preparing ourselves to Speak Truth to Power as Angelic Troublemakers in our world – and I believe a place for that to begin is right here at First Friends.

Let me share some basic thoughts for where we can begin. By no means is this a formula or all we can do. Please understand, it does NOT have to start by making a public stand or by getting arrested, it can start much smaller, yet must be intentional.

For example, you and I are going to be called in the coming days to take some risks. We may be called to step out of our comfort zones, and be a bit bolder - first within ourselves and then beyond with our friends and neighbors. We will need to dare to reach a bit beyond our usual reach, and step out on a limb that may not feel so secure.  

This will start with “Baby Steps.”  Maybe for you it will start by asking a question or seeking clarification. Speaking up for a friend or colleague. Or it may take a moment to listen to a different perspective, have a difficult conversation, or read a book or article that is outside your comfort zone.    

Whatever you do to take these risks, always remember to bring your values, your skills, your talents, and your voice to a challenge that draws you and your better nature. Bayard Rustin brought his whole self to every effort and that in itself was risky.  

One of the greatest assets you and I have is remembering WHO WE ARE and what we believe, and how that affects our risk taking. 

Please hear me on this: Don’t change who you are for others, but rather fully embrace who you are and live into it.  That, in itself, maybe risky for you with friends and family or just living in this country.

And First Friends, now, more than ever, we must be clear that we are a safe place for people who are taking risks. We must be a place to support and protect risk takers. If a Quaker Meeting cannot be that place, then we should not be calling ourselves Friends. 

As well, in our personal lives, we need to work to identify opportunities where our efforts –– let’s say in our work life, our volunteer life, our engaged life – can make a difference, move the ball forward, tip a scale, move a needle (whatever image of critical change–making works for you.)

And within this opportunity to make a difference, we must constantly be asking ourselves, “What’s wrong with current practice, with the way things are done, that I,  even now,  know about, and can name and question?” 

In the coming days and years this will need to be our ongoing question.  Our eyes will need to be open for any and all opportunities where we can effect change - no matter how small.

It has to start somewhere.

I sense First Friends will need to become a place where we organize our efforts, where we support and encourage one another, and even work together to seek and advance solutions to address these identified opportunities right in our communities, neighborhoods and state. This will mean together we will need to ask and engage some queries:

·        What is wrong, and what might a change look like and entail? 

·        How can we explore and try out these ideas for change further? 

·        What is needed to make them successful?  What is the next move? Who is with us in this effort?

Lastly, a key to making change and becoming “Angelic Troublemakers” is learning to build relationships based on trust with allies, fellow F/friends, potential partners, people with leadership or influence or access to resources, and people like yourselves eager to grow in your understanding and create opportunities for others to participate and proceed together toward building a righteous force for change in all the ways suggested above.

Folks, You and I must take up the mantle of being “Angelic Troublemakers” not just for the sake of preserving our legacy, but for the growing inequalities, threats, and injustices that we, our loved ones, and our siblings in faith are, and will be facing, in the coming days.

Now is our time to truly be FRIENDS, to seek in silence the nudging and leading of the Spirit, to seek together ways to respond to the injustices of the world, and most importantly, to grow in our love for our neighbor and our God. Our scripture for this morning is an important reminder of this, as well as the hope we have.

We’ve been surrounded and battered by troubles, but we’re not demoralized; we’re not sure what to do, but we know that God knows what to do; we’ve been spiritually terrorized, but God hasn’t left our side; we’ve been thrown down, but we haven’t broken.   

As I was trying to summarize my thoughts and close out this message, I returned to Bayard Rustin words – prophetic in his time and in ours.   

“We are indeed a house divided. But the division between race and race, class and class, will not be dissolved by massive infusions of brotherly sentiment. The division is not the result of bad sentiment, and therefore will not be healed by rhetoric. Rather the division and the bad sentiments are both reflections of vast and growing inequalities in our socioeconomic system--inequalities of wealth, of status, of education, of access to political power. Talk of brotherhood and "tolerance" (are we merely to "tolerate" one another?) might once have had a cooling effect, but increasingly it grates on the nerves. It evokes contempt not because the values of brotherhood are wrong--they are more important than ever--but because it just does not correspond to the reality we see around us. And such talk does nothing to eliminate the inequalities that breed resentment and deep discontent.”

As we enter into waiting worship this morning, I would like us to give some time in our silence for lament, to hold our country and our leaders in the Light, to remember our friends and relatives who will be affected by this election, and for our Meeting, as we seek to be a place of safety and encouragement for ALL people.   If you need some queries to consider, I encourage you to return to the ones I shared earlier:

·        What’s wrong with current practices, with the way things are done, that I, even now, know about, and can name and question?

·        What might a change look like and entail? 

·        How can we explore and try out these ideas for change further? 

·        What is needed to make them successful?  What is the next move? Who is with us in this effort?

11-3-24 - Delivering the Needed Message: Benjamin Lay

Delivering the Needed Message: Benjamin Lay

Indianapolis First Friends Quaker Meeting

Pastor Bob Henry

November 3, 2024

Good morning, Friends and welcome to Light Reflections.  This morning we continue our series, “Speak Truth to Power: The Legacy of the Quakers.  The supportive scripture I have chosen is from James 1:12  from The Message.

Anyone who meets a testing challenge head-on and manages to stick it out is mighty fortunate. For such persons loyally in love with God, the reward is life and more life.

In July of 2007, I traveled to Grand Rapids, Michigan to attend a unique conference for pastors called, “Poets, Prophets, and Preachers” put on by Rob Bell and his church, Mars Hill.  Today, 17 years later, I see that conference as a pivotal moment in my ministry.  This is because for the first time in my life, Rob Bell merged art and writing sermons. 

Part one, of the three day conference was titled, “The Original Guerilla Theater.” Surprisingly, this was how Rob was defining the sermon. For those unfamiliar with the idea of Guerrilla Theater, it is a type of political protest that involves performing short, unannounced plays or skits in public spaces to raise awareness of social or political issues.  The term “guerrilla” comes from the Spanish word for “little war” and refers to the surprise nature of these performances.  Please note: it has nothing to do with the monkey-like animals. 

Guerrilla theater originated in the 1960s with the San Francisco Mime Troupe, a radical theater group that preformed against the Vietnam War and capitalism. The group’s performances included nudity, profanity, and taboo subjects.

In this conference, Rob Bell did not take such a radical approach as the San Francisco Mime Troupe, but he did clarify the degree to which a sermon is, as he states,

·        performance art – which encourages people not to miss the human part.

·        guerilla theater – actually showing up with a boom, and then leaving the people thinking they’ve got to wrestle with that human part.

·        And finally, actions that evoke a response. 

Rob took us back to scripture and gave us the example of John the Baptist – a character in the Bible who used all these aspects in his ministry.  Everything from the way he dressed and chose to live, to the challenging messages and experiences he presented to his audience.  John the Baptist exemplified the Guerilla Theater in all he did. 

Over the years, I have participated in and shared a variety of different Guerilla Theater presentations and sermons.  One time, I helped organize a group of people from my church to serve free coffee at the train station in Chicago at rush hour.  It could have been considered a random act of kindness, but when people asked why we were doing this, we said we were simply sharing the love of God with them through a good and free cup of coffee. The irony, was that morning the coffee house by the train station that the passengers used was closed, unexpectantly.  You can’ t make this stuff up, but the impact was huge, and the conversations were wonderful.

A few years ago, several of you had a chance to experience an art display I created to engage people’s struggle with the church. Art as well as theater can be used in a guerilla-like manner.  The experience opened with a painting titled with a quote from St. Augustine that read, “The Church is a whore but she’s my mother.”  Followed by other paintings with challenging subjects.  After a brief set-up, I would simply let people experience the paintings and dialogue about their responses. Ironically, that set of paintings and experience was one of the first guerilla art messages I created after the Poets, Prophets, and Preachers Conference.  Hard to believe those paintings are almost 20 years old. 

A couple years after I was introduced to guerilla theater and started my path toward Quakerism, I was doing some research for my doctoral dissertation and came across an unusual story about a “little person” or dwarf named Benjamin Lay.  Not only was Benjamin Lay considered the “Quaker Comet” for his fiery and surprisingly quick presentations, he also utilized guerilla theater to make his point. As well, he was a great annoyance among Friends, but it was often to get them out of their complacency and to act upon their beliefs. 

Let me take a moment to introduce you to Benjamin Lay by sharing his story from the Quakers in the World website:

[Benjamin] Lay was born in Colchester, England, to Quaker parents William Lay and Mary Dennis.  After a basic education he was apprenticed to a glove maker.  Later he worked on his brother’s farm before going to sea at the age of about twenty. 

He was a man of small stature being about 4 foot 7 inches tall and he also had a hunch back.  After returning home he married and went to live in London. Lay lived the life of a hermit, was a committed vegetarian, did not drink tea or coffee, or wear anything made from leather and preferred to make his own clothes.  

Throughout his life he was given to eccentric behavior and committed acts that startled others. His fellow Quakers were annoyed by his vociferous opposition to the practice of allowing ministers to speak when they had not been directly prompted by God.  Devonshire House monthly meeting disowned him in 1720.  He then moved to Colchester where he continued to disrupt Quaker meetings and was given what amounted to a second disownment.

In 1731 he went to Barbados where he was appalled to see the conditions under which slaves were kept.  He took up their cause and soon started to berate Quaker slaveholders.  He went to live near Philadelphia and continued his protests against slave owning.  Lay wrote a tract about the evils of slavery entitled ‘All Slave-Keepers that Keep the Innocent in Bondage, Apostates’.  His friend Benjamin Franklin had this published in 1737.  In this publication he made many accusations against individual Friends and the Society as a whole. 

Quaker institutions were angered by what he had written, and, more seriously, by the fact that the book had been published as a Quaker document without Quaker approval.

The 'Overseers of the Press' were supposed to authorize all publications that put forward Quaker views.  To publicly voice an opinion and present it as evolving from Quaker principles, without such approval, was a serious matter at that time.  Philadelphia Yearly Meeting took out advertisements in various newspapers to distance themselves from Lay’s views.  This disapproval did not deter him and whenever the occasion arose he would speak out against slavery.  

One of his most memorable exploits took place in Burlington, New Jersey in 1738.  After entering the Meeting House he removed his outer clothing to reveal a military uniform including a sword.  After a lengthy tirade he thrust the sword into a bladder of red liquid that he had hidden between the covers of a Bible, spattering the Quakers sitting nearby.   He told them that owning slaves was akin to stabbing a man to death and that the red liquid was a symbol of the blood of slaves on Quaker slave owner’s hands. 

This outburst caused him to be disowned once more. Lay’s tactics were in contrast to other abolitionists such as John Woolman, who was always careful not to publicly criticize Friends or to cause offence.  Woolman’s writings all went through the accepted Quaker approval channels.

Lay continued to consider himself a Quaker throughout his life despite being disowned by the Society.  He also continued to make dramatic gestures.  He stood outside a meeting house in the snow without a coat and in bare feet to remind Friends of the hardship experienced by slaves. 

On another occasion he kidnapped a child and only returned him to his father when the authorities came to his dwelling place.  He said that this was an attempt to make people realize how African parents felt when their children were captured and sold into slavery.

Although Lay is usually remembered for his influential role in persuading the Society of Friends to renounce slavery, he was also ahead of his time in supporting other causes that he supported such as temperance.  Criminal reform also interested him and he produced a pamphlet that advocated the abolition of capital punishment.

In 1758 Philadelphia Monthly Meeting decided that slave holders should be excluded from all business meetings.  It is said that when this news reached Lay he rose from his chair and exclaimed “I can now die in peace”.  He died in the following year and is buried in the Quaker burial ground in Abington, near Philadelphia.

As I reflected upon Benjamin Lay’s ministry and life, I could not help but be reminded of a more modern example, that being author, preacher, former-Evangelical, and one of my professors, Tony Campolo. Tony has been a vocal activist and preacher and has on occasion used guerilla theater to get his point across. We have come to realize that Tony Campolo has a reputation for shaking things up and causing a bit of stir.  In a sermon at  Spring Harvest in 1982 Tony shocked his audience by saying,

“While you were sleeping last night 45,000 kids died of starvation and malnutrition, and what’s worse is that you don’t give a shit! And what’s even worse is that you are more concerned that I said ‘shit’ than the 45,000 kids that died last night!”

Still today, 42 years later, the impact of this one quote is discussed and debated in theology and pastoral classes.

Sometimes we need people in our lives that will ask the tough questions of us.  That will go out of their way to get our attention, to literally shock us into seeing our bad behaviors, indecisions, or poor theology. 

Especially us, Quakers, who can easily get caught up in routine or tradition, and totally miss the people being affected by our decisions or indecisions we make.  Sometimes our slow responses or even our love of silence can betray our own testimonies.

This is something Quaker Bayard Rustin (who we are going to talk about next week) spoke about often with Martin Luther King Jr.  And just listen to what King says about silence:

·        “A time comes when silence is betrayal.”

·        “Our love begins to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”

·        “In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.”

·         “The ultimate tragedy is not the oppression and cruelty by the bad people but the silence over that by the good people.”

Sometimes it takes being annoying, stubborn, theatrical, or using different or unusual means to get our attention, to knock us out of our complacency, and to move us to respond, to process, and especially to act upon our beliefs. 

In a slightly different manner, I will never forget the last yearly meeting sessions that our family attended in the Northwest Yearly Meeting before moving to Indiana.  The yearly meeting was going through a bitter division over same sex marriage and biblical authority. 

Our youth contingency had dwindled from 300 some youth to about 40 youth in our 6 years in the Northwest due to this battle among friends taking place. Those 40 youth made a decision that shocked the Yearly Meeting Sessions. They decided to forgo their annual trip to the beach (a huge tradition and memory maker for the youth) all to be present in Yearly Meeting Sessions for the heated discussion that was going to take place.  As we gathered, the youth arrived in silence and had reserved seats front and center in the auditorium on George Fox University’s campus.

Because of the topic of discussion, there was standing room only – over 800 people in attendance.  The youth stood for most of the time, to be a visible reminder that they were present, that they cared about the conversation taking place, and that as Quaker’s their voice would be heard as equals. 

As the tensions rose, they just kept making their stand.  Even a couple approached the microphone and spoke from their hearts.  Though no conclusion or decision was made in that session, their presence was important and validated. 

A couple years earlier the youth had boldly presented in Yearly Meeting Sessions a Query on Conflict and Differences for us all to consider.  It was presented by a young woman from our Meeting in Silverton, Oregon.  Here are the words of that query (understand they could not have fully realized where the yearly meeting in the northwest would be just a couple years later).

Recognizing human imperfection, how do I strive to follow Christ’s example in the way I love and respect others? When confronted with a conflict, how do I actively show Christ with a compassionate and grace-filled heart? Am I leaving space for change? How do I value other persons when charged with their reputations, remembering that they, too, are children of God?  How do I build up the individual in the light of God? 

The youth clearly had a prophetic voice in our midst, but many were simply not paying attention.  Same sex marriage had become no different than slavery in Benjamin Lay’s day.

That evening at Yearly Meeting Sessions the youth were scheduled to lead us in worship. Sensing our division had led us to be unable to move forward, they chose to offer a time of mourning and lament for our divisions. They lowered the lights in the auditorium and offered spaces for people to come together and pray for and with each other and for their local meetings. We lit hundreds of candles which illumined the space to symbolize our mourning and our hope in the Light of Christ.

Through tears many of us put our arms around each other and joined the youth in singing these words,

Peace before us, peace behind us, peace under our feet.

Peace within us, peace over us, let all around us be peace.

Light before us, light behind us, light under our feet.

Light within us, light over us, let all around us be light.

Alleluia.

I cannot help but think that many of us are currently in this space right now with the election this week.  Like slavery, or same sex marriage, politics are dividing us as Friends and as a country. 

And I know of some Benjamin Lays who have been trying to get our attention so we will not make the same mistakes we have made in the past. 

But the outcomes after Tuesday will be out of our hands, and the trauma and the pain will be evident because this race is so close. No matter the outcome, I pray we can be people of integrity and seek to answer those queries our youth in the northwest presented us with. 

And if things don’t go in the way we like, we will need to be like Benjamin Lay and those youth, who did not give up, who did not just go party at the beach, but stood up, spoke up, and led in this time of division. 

So, this morning, as we prepare our hearts for this upcoming Election Day, let us enter a time of waiting worship and ponder those queries of the youth:

·        Recognizing human imperfection, how do I strive to follow Christ’s example in the way I love and respect others?

·        When confronted with a conflict, how do I actively show Christ with a compassionate and grace-filled heart?

·        Am I leaving space for change?

·        How do I value other persons when charged with their reputations, remembering that they, too, are children of God? 

·        How do I build up the individual in the light of God? 

10-27-24 - Seeking Equal Rights – Alice Paul

Seeking Equal Rights – Alice Paul 

Indianapolis First Friends Quaker Meeting

Pastor Bob Henry

October 27, 2024

Good morning, Friends and welcome to Light Reflections. This Sunday at the Meetinghouse is the day we invite the children (and the children at heart) to wear costumes to Meeting. As well, the last several years people have worn witch hats as we have dedicated the Sunday to “Advocating for Witches” as the early Quakers did during the Salem Witch Trials. The reality was that women were being abused by both the religious and political figures of the day. So, this morning, after I read our scripture, I want to take a serious look at women’s rights today and the role Alice Paul played in our Quaker history.  The scripture I have chosen for this morning is Galatians 3:28 from the New Revised Standard Version.  

There is no longer Jew or Greek; there is no longer slave or free; there is no longer male and female, for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.

This morning, I am starting my message with some bad news. I know some people like to give their listeners the opportunity to choose what they want first – the good or the bad.  But by giving you the bad news, I want to highlight the work that still needs to be done in seeking equal rights for woman in our nation and world, today. 

To talk about Alice Paul and her passion for women’s rights, without also talking about what work still needs to be done would not be respectful of the work she did.  And to leave this conversation at women getting the right to vote alone, would continue to perpetuate a world much different than the one Alice Paul was envisioning for all women of her time. I sense if Alice Paul was still alive, she would be fighting just as hard for the inequalities and injustices that women face around the world in 2024.

Also, before I even start, I want to acknowledge a couple of things:

1.     I am male. I apologize upfront for any lack of awareness. I try hard to research before stating any of my comments as to support women and defend their rights. I am not an authority on women’s issues but feel education is critical at this juncture. I know at times my implicit bias will rear its ugly head – but I admit that I am willing to learn, be corrected, and find solutions to make the world better for women.

2.     Also, this is probably going to get political – and there is no way around that.  Our history as Quakers if you have not already noticed in the first several sermons in this series, is inundated with women and men getting political, standing against political oppressions, meeting with politicians and presidents, and even fighting the system. So, I apologize if any of this upsets you in light of our current political environment.  I hope if anything it will shed some light on what work we still need to do, and what we may not want to vote for in the near future.

Now, back to the bad news.  Emmaline Soken-Huberty on the Human Rights Careers page has put together the Top 20 issues Women are Facing Today. She admits that,

“Women’s rights have improved over the years, but continued progress is not guaranteed. In a time of escalating conflicts, rising authoritarianism and devastating climate change impacts, women face many issues related to education, work, healthcare, legal rights, violence and much more. By understanding these issues, the world can work together to achieve gender equality, stronger human rights protections and safety for all people.”

As Quakers who believe robustly in affirming a testimony of equality, I want to remind us what stating that actually means.

 As Friends we hold that all people are equal in the eyes of God and have equal access to the “inner Light.” This profound sense of equality leads Friends to treat each person with respect, looking for “that of God” in everyone.  It also means we reject all forms of discrimination whether based on race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, immigration status, class, gender, age, ability, or sexual orientation. We work to change the beliefs, practices and institutions that perpetuate prejudice, and we support affected communities in seeking their own liberation and equality. We continually examine our own biases and privileges and strive to achieve greater equality in our Meeting, in our communities, and in our society.  (I adapted that from American Friends Service Committee’s list of Quaker Testimonies)

So now, in light of all I have said already, let me finally address those 20 Issues Women are Facing Today. I am just going to highlight them briefly and I hope you will take the time to research them further on your own.   

1.    Unequal pay: For centuries, society has undervalued the work women perform. Women are even paid less than men for the same work. We saw this first-hand this year with the WNBA and specifically with our own Caitlin Clark.

2.    Racial injustice: All women face discrimination, but women belonging to ethnic minorities face compounded inequalities. Just take a moment and ask a woman of color and they will tell you.

3.    Gender-based violence: refers to acts that cause (or are likely to cause) physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women. According to experts, over 1/3 of women and girls experience some kind of violence during their lifetimes.

4.     Inadequate healthcare: Healthcare access is a human right, but women face unique stigmas and discrimination. 

5.    Threats to reproductive rights:  According to the Center for Reproductive Rights, 40% of women live under restrictive laws, which represents over 750 million women of reproductive age. 6% of women live in countries where abortions are prohibited completely. Access to contraception increased from 900 million in 2000 to almost 1.1 billion in 2021, but barriers like misinformation about contraception, fear of side effects and access remain. According to the UN Populations Fund, around 257 million women who don’t want to become pregnant still aren’t using safe and modern contraception.

6.    Lack of education: All children deserve access to education, but girls have historically faced more discrimination. Progress has been made, but according to UNICEF, 129 million girls are still not in school. Reasons include poverty, gender-based violence, early marriage and a lack of safety, hygiene and sanitation resources. 

7.    Food insecurity: Women face more food insecurity than men, Research from the World Food Programme identifies a few reasons why.  The first is that women are more likely to live in extreme poverty. Globally, women earn just 77 cents for every dollar earned by men. Women also face unequal treatment during times of crisis and are more vulnerable to malnutrition during pregnancy.

8.    Climate change: Research consistently shows that women are more vulnerable to the effects of climate change. One reason is that women depend on natural resources, so during times of famine or other disasters, women face the added burden of trying to obtain food. In lower-income countries, women also make up a large percentage of the agriculture industry, which is hardest hit by climate change. Women also face increased risks of violence and sexual exploitation during climate-related emergencies. (just think about that as we have just had several recent climate-related emergencies).

9.    Unequal political representation: Society can’t achieve gender equality until there’s equal political representation. According to a survey conducted by Plan International, women still feel “consistently excluded” from politics. Half of the survey participants lived in communities where they felt like it wasn’t okay for girls and young women to be involved in politics. 19% said they had been actively discouraged from getting involved.

10.           Discriminatory social institutions: Social institutions are the laws (formal and informal), norms and standards that determine how society functions. Unfortunately, gender inequality is embedded into just about every country’s social institutions in one way or another.

11.           Human trafficking: All genders can be victims of human trafficking, but women and girls are especially vulnerable. According to research from 2017, girls and women made up 71% of all victims of trafficking. They also make up 96% of the victims trafficked for sexual exploitation. (And trafficking happens the most during major sporting events like the Super Bowl, NCAA Tournament, Final Four, etc…which all have happened right in our city.)

12.           Limited freedom of movement: Freedom of movement is an individual’s right to live, travel and move within a country or between different countries.  

13.           Threats during migration:  Migration – forced and voluntary – can be risky. According to the International Organization for Migration, more women are migrating independently, especially from the Caribbean and Central America.

14.           Discrimination based on disability: Human Rights Watch estimates there are around 300 million women with mental and physical disabilities. In low and middle-income countries, women represent 75% of people with disabilities. Women are more likely than men to become disabled and face increased discrimination due to the intersection of their gender and disability.

15.           Poor mental health: The state of mental health can be difficult to measure, but according to data, more women are diagnosed with mental health conditions.

16.           The digital divide: Access to technology increases a person’s opportunities for employment, education, public resources, and more. Women don’t get equal access. According to UNICEF, up to 90% of girls and young women in low-income countries can’t access the internet, compared to 78% of boys and young men.

17.           Online harassment: is hard to measure, but there’s little doubt it disproportionately affects women and girls. Online harassment has a terrorizing effect which damages a person’s mental health, discourages them from spending time online and frightens them away from other public spaces. Online harassment can also translate into real-life violence.

18.           Unpaid labor: Women aren’t only paid less than men in most places; they also take on more unpaid labor. According to research, the added burden of unpaid labor is associated with worse mental health in women.

19.           Inadequate maternal healthcare: Pregnancy and childbirth are inherently risky, but maternal healthcare is inadequate for many people. According to the WHO, almost 800 women died in 2020 from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth. A striking 95% of these maternal deaths occurred in low and middle-income countries. 

20.           Period poverty: Periods are a fact of life for many people, but about 500 million women and girls don’t have the supplies they need, according to the OHCHR. “Period poverty” is defined as a lack of access to products, hygienic spaces, education and other resources.

So that may seem overwhelming, but that was just a taste of the issues facing women of the world, today in 2024. Obviously, some of those issues were not realized yet in Alice Paul’s day.  But clearly, she recognized that there were still many inequalities and challenges looming even after women received the right to vote.

So, in light of the challenges for today, let me now take you back and tell you Alice Paul’s story so you understand the often-extreme lengths in which she had to go to have her voice heard as a women of her day.  I am reading her story from History.com. 

Alice Paul was born to suffragist Tracie Parry and successful Quaker businessman William Paul on January 11, 1885, in Mount Laurel, New Jersey. The oldest of four siblings, she lived with her family on a 265-acre farm, and as Hicksite Quakers, was raised to value living simply along with a high importance placed on gender equality and advocacy. In fact, as a girl, she attended suffragist meetings with her mother. 

“When the Quakers were founded…one of their principles was, and is, equality of the sexes, Paul said. “So I never had any other idea…the principle was always there.” 

Paul, who graduated first in her class in 1901 from a Quaker school, attended the Quaker Swarthmore College, co-founded by her grandfather, Judge William Parry, graduating in 1905 with a biology degree. She then moved to New York, and, in 1907, earned a master’s degree in sociology from the New York School of Philanthropy (today’s Columbia University). 

Paul soon moved to England, where she studied social work and joined the British suffrage movement where she learned militant protest strategies, including breaking windows, hunger strikes, forming picket lines and other tactics and forms of civil disobedience. There, she was arrested on seven occasions and jailed three times. While imprisoned, she carried out hunger strikes and was painfully force-fed for weeks through a nasal tube. 

Returning to the states in late 1909, she graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1912 with a Ph.D. in economics, and in 1922, received a law degree from the Washington College of Law at American University.

Along with fellow suffragist Lucy Burns, whom she had met at a London police station, Paul joined the National American Woman Suffrage Association and was tapped as the group’s Washington, D.C., chapter. But while the organization worked at a state level to fight for a woman’s right to vote, Paul was set on amending the U.S. Constitution.

She and Burns organized a protest parade in Washington, D.C., on March 3, 1913—the day before the inauguration of President-elect Woodrow Wilson.  An estimated 8,000 women turned out to march from the U.S. Capitol to the White House along Pennsylvania Avenue, with a reported half-million bystanders responding with both cheers and jeers that included verbal and physical attacks ignored by police. 

But the protest spurred Wilson to agree to meet with Paul and fellow suffragists, although he told them he would not push for the amendment. 

Undeterred, and disagreeing with tactics followed by the National American Woman Suffrage Association, Paul and Burns formed the Congressional Union for Woman Suffrage in 1913, which then founded the National Woman’s Party in 1916 (the groups merged in 1917).

In January 1917, the groups held the first political protest at the White House, with approximately 2,000 women picketing the president’s home and executive offices for the right to vote. Six days a week for 18 months and clad in white dresses, they were called “Silent Sentinels,” as they protested without speaking and carried signs with messages such as “Mr. President, how long must women wait for liberty?” and “An autocrat at home is a poor champion of democracy abroad.” Over the campaign, more than 150 suffragists were arrested on obstruction of traffic charges, harassed, beaten and jailed.

Among those arrested was Paul, who was sentenced to seven months in the Occoquan Workhouse jail. There, she and the other suffragists were beaten, chained and held in deplorable conditions. In protest, Paul began a hunger strike, and was transferred to a psychiatric ward where she was forcibly fed. 

Reports of her hunger strike and the prison condition made national headlines and drew sympathy from the public. Coupled with increasing support for the suffragist movement along with women filling roles on the home front following the U.S.’s entry into World War I, Wilson eventually declared support for the 19th Amendment, calling it a “war measure.” In 1919, Congress passed the amendment and, on August 18, 1920, it was ratified. 

With the 19th Amendment passed, Paul began work on guaranteeing women the Constitutional right to protection from discrimination. In 1923, she authored the Equal Rights Amendment, debuting it in Seneca Falls, New York, where the first women’s rights convention was held in 1848. It read:

“Men and women shall have equal rights throughout the United States and every place subject to its jurisdiction.”

(Paul revised the amendment in 1943 to read, “Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.”)

Paul founded the World Woman’s Party in 1938, and successfully lobbied the League of Nations to include gender equality in the U.N. Charter and to include sex discrimination in the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

On July 9, 1977, Paul died at the age of 92 in Moorestown, New Jersey.  The farm she grew up on is a National Historic Landmark and the headquarters of the Alice Paul Institute. The Equal Rights Amendment nearly passed in 1982, but was not ratified when votes fell three states short. 

Clearly Alice Paul was one bad-ass Quaker and she went to great lengths to have hear voice heard. Every person, but especially every women in this room,  should be grateful for what she did for each of us and the legacy she left us.

In this series, I have usually highlighted a current person or family within our meeting. This morning, my focus is solely on the woman of this world.  I believe we have strong women in our meeting and I am grateful for each of your unique gifts, talents, and abilities. You are our Friends, our relatives, our spouses, and I believe you are integral to our growth as a community and a nation. 

Yet, there is something that Alice Paul would ask of us this morning if she were here. She would ask us to do everything in our power to continue securing the rights and equality of women in our country and world, today.  

That is why I am standing here sharing this message with you all, because as a Quaker, as a husband, father, and friend, I want women to have an equal part in this world. Some may say that makes me a feminist, but I believe it just makes me human.    

So, the greatest way we can respond to this message is by making our vote count in just over a week -- which clearly Alice Paul fought hard to secure. Now, I know we each have the right to vote as we see fit, but if you want to help secure the rights of women in our country, we need to listen very carefully and research soundly the candidates and their positions on these issues.

The best way you and I can respond to this message and speak our truth to power is when we cast our votes to be educated and informed, mindful of the consequences, and how they could affect the rights of the women in our lives, community, and our world. 

I hope this has helped educate you on the issues facing women, and I hope most of all it will continue the legacy of Alice Paul. 

As you center down to ponder all that has been said, please take a moment to consider the following queries:

·        What issues facing women seem the hardest for me? How might I become more educated on the issues?

·        Out of the 20 issues facing women today, is there one in which I can start making a difference, now?

·        How am I planning to make my vote count for women in the upcoming election?

10-20-24 - Becoming the Leaven in the Dough - Cyrus Bustill

Becoming the Leaven in the Dough - Cyrus Bustill 

Indianapolis First Friends Quaker Meeting

Pastor Bob Henry

October 20, 2024

Good morning, Friends and welcome to Light Reflections.  This morning, we continue our Speak Truth to Power: The Legacy of Quakers series.  Our scripture is from Matthew 13:33 from the English Standard Version.

He told them another parable. “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened.”

One January Term while I was at Huntington University, a professor decided to offer a special class on the 30,000-year history of bread making.  Since the class was two and half weeks long for several hours each day, the class would attempt to make a different bread each class period. They started with very rudimentary recipes, ingredients, and processes and ended with very complicated and sometimes failed attempts. 

The campus ministry department where I worked was blessed to be a tasting stop for the group to get feedback.  This may have been the best two weeks of my time at Huntington.  What we often heard about from the students was not so much about the product they made, but the history and importance of the type of bread and its impact on our world.  More than just a baking class this was a history lesson for our students. 

Not that long ago, bakeries were a staple of our society and still are in many other countries.  I have fond memories of going with my grandma to pick up items at the New Haven Bakery on Saturday mornings after the milk man delivered the milk to her back porch. (Wow, am I that old? Good Grief!)  Today, in America we are seeing bakeries in local grocery stores being replaced by mass produced bakery items. Costco, Sam’s Club, and BJ’s are sadly replacing the cakes we used to get in our neighborhoods at the locally owned bakeries like Taylor’s or Long’s here in Indy. 

When I was serving a church in Rochester Hills, MI, a member of our church, had a dream to open a local bakery where people would again come each week for local bread.  He based it on his family’s bakery back in Germany.  He fought the big businesses and literally changed the minds of the locals that his bread was better than what was offered at the grocery stores. To this day, the bakery he started provides local artisan breads to the community of Rochester Hills. 

I say all of this, because the Quaker we are looking at today is Cyrus Bustill, who went from being a slave to owning his own bakery, which he utilized as a means to speak his truth to power.  Let me share a little of his story from Quaker Stories: Now and Then, Here and There:

Cyrus Bustill was born in Burlington, New Jersey on February 2, 1732. His father, Samuel Bustill, was a white lawyer, and his mother, Parthenia, was one of Samuel’s slaves. Samuel’s wife, Grace, was an active part of his life. Cyrus had four sisters. He described them as being two darker, two lighter, with him in the middle. His early childhood was a happy one at school and at home. He accompanied the family to meeting for worship each Sunday. Though encouraged to free his slaves by his fellow Quakers, Samuel Bustill, did not. 

Samuel Bustill died suddenly when Cyrus was ten years old. Cyrus and his mother’s ownership was passed to Grace Bustill. Although circumstances did not change too much, Cyrus recognized that he had to take charge of his future. He asked to be apprenticed to a tradesman so he could gain skills, earn money, and purchase his freedom. His request was granted, and he was sold to a Quaker friend of his father’s, Thomas Pryor, a baker. Cyrus was freed in 1769, one of a hundred slaves freed between 1763-1769 in the Burlington Quarterly Meeting.

He opened a bakery and gained a reputation for honest practices and good bread. During the Revolutionary War, he was one of the bakers recruited by Thomas Ludwick to supply bread to the troops at Valley Forge. Cyrus saw this as a patriotic duty, not a distraction from his Quaker beliefs. The family tradition describes a personal appreciation from Thomas Falconer, head of supplies for the troops, and a gold coin reward from George Washington.

Following the war, he moved his family to Philadelphia, where he and his wife Elizabeth set up their household and his bakery. Elizabeth had also been attending Quaker meeting since her childhood. Her mother was a Native American woman, Satterthwait, and her father, Richard Morey, the son of the Quaker appointed by William Penn as the first mayor of Philadelphia.

Cyrus built up a successful business and became a leader in the African American community. He and his family regularly attended the Arch Street Meeting.

Cyrus’s clientele included both white and black families, all of whom he treated with dignity and respect. He was concerned about the treatment of blacks in the city and joined with other members of his community to found the Free African Society. This group promoted education for the children of their families, care for the poor, and protection from capture of runaway slaves. He participated in the underground railroad and helped found the St. Thomas African Episcopal Church even though he continued to attend Arch Street Meeting.

A favorite story about Cyrus Bustill says that one day he was driving his wagon along a country road to make a delivery. He encountered a buggy that was moving along the same road, rather slowly but fast enough to kick up dust in his face and on his goods. Soon he recognized the driver as a local judge, accustomed to tarry as he chose feeling certain in his social position. Cyrus decided he had eaten enough dust, encouraged his horses, and passed the judge, leaving him to “eat dust.” He knew this was as good a man as any other.

The judge recognized Cyrus and shouted to him that he would buy no more bread at his shop. Cyrus shouted, “So be it, Judge,” in return. Later, the Judge, missing his tasty bread, returned to Cyrus’ shop, purchased bread, and became his friend. Both men understood each other and the situation, but showed dignity and respect.

Cyrus Bustill’s legacy and influence in the African American community was large. His abolition activities were carried on by his daughter Grace and her daughter Sarah Mapps Douglass and by his grandson David Bustill Bowser, who was also a portrait painter of Abraham Lincoln and John Brown. Another grandson Robert became a portrait painter and was asked to come to England to do a portrait of Queen Victoria. Unfortunately, the Secretary of State refused him a passport, saying he was not a “citizen.” There were many of the family who followed in his footsteps as an educator, teaching and founding schools for African American children. Perhaps the most famous of his ancestors was Paul Roberson, actor, musician, and civil rights activist.

As we look at the takeaways from Cyrus’ life, I want to take a moment and return to our scripture for today – Jesus’ parable about the leaven.  Here a woman mixes a small amount of leaven into a large quantity of flour. The leaven, which contains yeast and other living organisms, grows overnight and causes the entire batch of dough to rise. 

I believe this parable exemplifies the life and legacy of Cyrus Bustill. The parable teaches that the kingdom of God will start in the lives of ordinary yet faithful people and has the potential to grow to impact the whole world.  In many ways, all of the Friends we have talked about so far in this series could be considered the leaven in the dough of our world. 

Early Quakers, including Cyrus believed the present kingdom of God could have a comprehensive effect, but it would start small and work from within.  First within the heart of the individual and then from that individual to the community, and finally from that community to the world. 

And just like the leaven quietly working its way through the dough, Cyrus had a profound impact on many of the sectors of society in his day and for that matter even still today.  To think that Cyrus Bustill’s family would continue his legacy all the way down to most recently the life of Paul Robeson the Civil Rights Activist, singer and actor, and football player, who in the manner of his family spoke truth to power, saying,

 “I shall take my voice wherever there are those who want to hear the melody of freedom or the words that might inspire hope and courage in the face of fear”.

Before I left for Fall Break, I attended the Service Appreciation Dinner put on by our Witness and Service Committee. Nancy Scott was one of the people recognized for her service that night. When we opened the mic for others to share about Nancy, one thing I noticed was the number of people who spoke about Nancy’s work and commitment to the Afghan Project and specifically to the Afghan families. I was moved by their words and the impact Nancy’s commitment had on them.

I remember being at a party at Tim and Barb Decker’s home last year, and one of our Afghan families was invited and sat at our table. They seemed out of place, and it was a bit awkward trying to communicate - that is until Nancy arrived.  Immediately, they came alive.  The dough began to rise because the leaven was mixed in.  The smiles and stories and immediate comfort the family expressed told the greater story of dignity and respect granted to them. They had a friend, an advocate, a person willing to go out of their way to make them feel welcome.

Like Cyrus Bustill, Nancy has used her gifts, been an advocate, created opportunities for the oppressed, and spoke her truth to power.  She is one of many in our meeting that I believe are the leaven needed in our society, today.  Thank you, Nancy for continuing that legacy.

So, now it is time to turn the table on ourselves.  And like usual, I have some queries for us to ponder in light of Cyrus Bustill’s story and this message.

1.     How am I the “leaven in the dough of society?  How is First Friends?

2.     No matter my occupation (baker, singer, portrait painter…) how am I using it to further the Kingdom of God?

3.     In my business and life do I try to treat all people with dignity and respect? Who are the hardest to treat in this manner? Why?

10-13-24 - The Grimke Sisters – Claiming Equality with Courage - Beth

The Grimke Sisters – Claiming Equality with Courage

Indianapolis First Friends Quaker Meeting

Pastor Beth Henricks

October 13, 2024

Our Scripture reading today is Scripture – Ephesians 4:14-16

14 We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine by people’s trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming; 15 but speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body’s growth in building itself up in love.

Friends, Bob is on vacation this week with Sue on her fall break, so I am sharing the message with you today.  I am following Bob’s outline for his fall series on Quaker leaders, influencers and important men and women in our Quaker history.  Today we will reflect on the Grimke sisters, Sarah and Angelina, two women born into privilege in a prominent Charleston SC family  in 1792 and 1805 respectively.  Their father was a respected judge, their mother from a wealthy  established Southern family and they had a large plantation in Beaufort as well as a large house in Charleston with plenty of slaves to do the work. 

Theirs was a large family with Sarah being the 5th child and Angelina being the 14th and last child.  There was a 13-year difference in age between the sisters and yet they became the closest of all siblings and Sarah became a “mother” to Angelina at age 13.  They both had 2 black servants each, a nursemaid and a companion.  When Sarah misbehaved as a child, she was sent out in the fields to work and saw firsthand the cruelty and brutality of slavery and she grew to hate it.  Sarah saw a slave being whipped and it broke her down into tears.  When her slave companion died, she refused to have another slave companion. 

Sarah likely imparted her views on slavery to Angelina as she was growing up and they both saw slavery as a sin.  They were also very religious and studied the Bible.  They were intelligent and curious and read books from their father’s library.  Both girls wished they could do something about slavery  but were living in a period of time where the goal of southern women was to keep a good home, raise the children and be a good companion to their husband.  Sarah in particular wanted to become a lawyer like her older brother that she much admired but her father didn’t believe that women needed that much education. 

When Sarah and Angelina’s father became quite ill, Sarah took him to Philadelphia for treatment and stayed with him until his death there.  She found the Quakers while in Philadelphia and joined the 4th and Arch St Meeting.  Angelina  later joined her in Philadelphia  and also joined the Quaker Meeting where they found an openness and embrace of their female voices. 

Over the next few decades, they became very involved in the abolitionist movement and worked with some of the significant and well-known names in the movement.  They had a strong voice and moral clarity against slavery, and they had a Southern female perspective having been a part of the ruling class that owned slaves.  Their passion also grew out of their religious and spiritual connection and believed strongly that slavery was not Christian, was not a practice and belief that should be associated with Christianity in any way. 

As they became more and more vocal in the movement, their Quaker Meeting began to feel that they were pushing too hard and too quickly for radical change.  Some of the Meeting felt particularly that Angelina was running ahead of her guide and that she had not seasoned her leading sufficiently.  When she used strong and cutting words to describe the situation and was critical of slaveholders and those that tolerated and just looked away at the practice, the Quaker Meeting started distancing themselves from her.    Sarah supported and participated in this work though her tone and approach was a bit softer.  But she supported her sister, so  the Quaker Meeting also began to distance themselves from Sarah.  This was painful for both of the sisters as this had been their faith community that had supported their participation in their stance against slavery, they had participated in some of the work of the Meeting, they had recognized and embraced their vocal ministry as women, and they had developed some deep friendships. within the Meeting 

In 1836, Angelina wrote an important and influential letter “An Appeal to the Christian Women of the Southern States” that was published as a pamphlet by the  American Anti- Slavery Society (AAS).  It was widely distributed and immediately recognized as a profound antislavery document.  It bluntly called women and particularly Southern women “to political action, stating plainly and persuasively that their voices, when raised, would have a much more profound moral impact than the voices of men, whether slaveholders or abolitionists.”  (pg 131-132)  She spoke to the women through the pamphlet in a conversational way, and her reasoning was intelligent for she knew many southern women  of slaveholders were educated.  And she utilized the Bible effectively  describing slavery as a sin which stained the sinner.   Angelina encouraged these Southern women highlighting their special place in history and unique influence to participate in the work of erasing this sin.  The idea that women could actually change society was revolutionary and even scandalous at the time.  After this pamphlet Angelina became well known throughout the South and the North. 

The same year Sarah wrote “An Epistle to the Clergy of the Southern States” and it was also published  by the American Anti-slavery Society (AAS) and was immediately banned in every major Southern city.  She based the appeal on her credentials as a reader of the Biblical text in its original language to argue that the Bible did not bless slavery. 

The irony of their story is that in 1868 they discovered their brother Henry, a lawyer and the one that took over the family plantation, had fathered three children with his slave Nancy Westin.  Henry had been married and had three children when his wife died fairly young.  He entrusted Nancy, his head slave, with managing the home and raising the children.  They had three children of their own and when Henry died, he gave Nancy and his three sons his Grimke name.  When Sarah and Angelina learned of these boys when they were teenagers, they embraced them in their home and supported them in their educational endeavors and developed an important relationship with them.  Two of the three sons continued in their pursuit of justice, ending slavery and the degradation of men and women throughout their lives.  The Grimke sisters Angelina and Sarah who lived on a plantation with slaves and their two black nephews, Frank and Archie Grimke who became enslaved and brutalized (after their father died) only freed when the Union troops came into Charleston stand as a testament to the lasting power of pursuing justice and equality through courageous action of individuals.

Sarah and Angelina also actively pursued women’s rights and were part of the early suffrage movement that included Lucretia Mott, Lucy Stone, Maria Stewart, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B Anthony.  Sarah wrote another important and influential letter, “Letters on the Equality of the Sexes” declaring the equality of women with men under God and promoted by Jesus.  She defended a woman’s right to speak, their intellectual equality and their equality as spouses and not subservient or less than men in the relationship.   Sarah wrote some famous words from that letter “I make no claim for favors for women but claim only equality and for men to take their feet from off our neck and permit us to stand upright on ground which God destined us to occupy. “

It has been fascinating for me to read quite a bit about these extraordinary women.  I am drawn to their story that was unknown to me before the past couple of weeks in the way they were courageous in what they believed even when it turned their family of origin against them, their faith community in the Quakers against them and even some in the abolitionist movement against them as they connected the pursuit of freedom for enslaved blacks and the equal status as citizens for women.  They walked away from a very comfortable life of privilege because of who they were born to and yet the moral compass that was developed in them growing up could not bring them to just accept what  was and hope and pray for change in the future.  They knew they had to take this stand and were willing to live with the consequences.  They never had much money the rest of their lives and they were asked to never come back to Charleston as they brought shame on the Grimke name for the family that remained in the city.  The twist of their story became personal for them when they discovered they had black nephews with the Grimke name.  What a story of God at work through the decades.

I also find it interesting that the Quakers eventually shunned and disowned the Grimke sisters.  Quakers do have a complex and complicated history with slavery.   There were many Quakers that supported abolition and pursued this goal throughout their lives while there were also many Quakers that owned slaves or just looked the other way when their brethren owned slaves.  These sisters were so courageous to follow their calling even when their faith community said they were moving too fast and asking for too much change too quickly.  I am thankful these women stood in their truth willing to face the consequences because of how strongly they believed in the cause and in the morality of equality.   These sisters are a part of the arc of the universe that keeps moving towards justice and equality and stand on shoulders upon shoulders of progress.

Sarah and Angelina were deeply spiritual women.  They were moved to their courageous actions from a spiritual transformation within.  Sarah particularly knew the Bible well and they were followers of Jesus.  I believe they embraced our Scripture today where the author of Ephesians says we speak the truth in love, and we grow in every way to reflect Christ. 

The first part of the Scripture  references our youth and immaturity in our spiritual journey and how we often will allow our families and faith communities of origin to have great influence on us and we follow them sometimes without thought and reflection as young folks in our spiritual journeys.  I know that was my path as I grew up in a fundamentalist tradition.  I started to question many things in my teen years and  sought a different path to God than my spiritual background taught.  I’m sure my parents were skeptical about my questioning, but I knew they questioned some of the same things.  Some of us get stuck in the early stages of our faith development and it feels too scary to question doctrine that we were given.  This is what I admire and want to embrace  about these Grimke sisters.  They moved beyond their faith as children and  joined with so many others to understand the concept of continuing revelation  and showing the love of Christ with every member of the community offering solidarity with our Quaker testimonies.    As the writer of Galatians said in chapter 3, verse 28, 28 There is no longer Jew or Greek; there is no longer slave or free; there is no longer male and female, for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.

As we enter our time of waiting worship I offer the following queries –

Where in my life do I need to stand more courageously in the Truth?

Am I willing to face the consequences of seeking justice and equality for all?

How do I discern what God is speaking into my heart to do?

10-6-24 "World Quaker Day – George Fox 400"

World Quaker Day – George Fox 400

Indianapolis First Friends Quaker Meeting

Pastor Bob Henry

October 6, 2024

Good morning, Friends and welcome to Light Reflections. The supportive scripture I have chosen for this Sunday is John 16:12-15 from The Message version.  

“I still have many things to tell you, but you can’t handle them now. But when the Friend comes, the Spirit of the Truth, he will take you by the hand and guide you into all the truth there is. He won’t draw attention to himself, but will make sense out of what is about to happen and, indeed, out of all that I have done and said. He will honor me; he will take from me and deliver it to you. Everything the Father has is also mine. That is why I’ve said, ‘He takes from me and delivers to you.’

Today is our day – it is world Quaker Day!  Friends World Committee on Consultation is responsible for us having a day to celebrate. If you are unfamiliar with FWCC, they represent Quakers around the world. They formed to answer the call from God for universal love by bringing together Friends of varying traditions and cultural experiences through worship, communications, and consultation – all to express our common heritage and Quaker message to the world. 

This past August, FWCC helped 500 Quakers from 53 countries come together for a World Plenary Meeting in South Africa.  At this gathering, they met to reaffirm that, 

“God has no hands but ours, no feet but ours, no lips but ours, so we keep imagining a better world. I am because you are. I am because we are. I see you.  We belong to each other.  We are still here. We are one!”

I encourage you to go to the FWCC website and watch some of the gathering because it beautifully represents global Quakerism and shows that Friends are still here, alive and well. 

Part of the World Plenary Meeting was also a celebration of the 400th birthday of our founder George Fox.  Since, I was on Sabbatical when the celebration began in July, I decided to move our celebration to World Quaker Day, as it seemed appropriate with our current “Speak Truth to Power” series.  As you might remember before I left, I had a part in kicking off the celebration over the summer by designing the cover of the special 2-edition, George Fox 400, Friends Journal.

As we have in each of the sermons in this series, I want to share a little of George Fox’s story, so that we can not only remember our roots and who we are celebrating, but also what we still can glean from the legacy of George Fox, today.  I will be sharing his story from the Quakers in the World website.   

George Fox was born and grew up in Fenny Drayton in Leicestershire in the turbulent times leading up to the [English] Civil War. At 12, he was apprenticed to a local tradesman, but he left home in 1643 to seek ‘the truth’, through listening to preachers and others, and developing his own ideas. He knew the Bible intimately, and it was central to his life, but he looked for other sources of inspiration too.

He came to believe that everyone, men and women alike, could encounter God themselves, through Jesus, so that priests were not needed. This experience need not be in a church: these ‘steeple houses’, and the tithes that supported them, were therefore unnecessary. Those who believed this became known as ‘Friends of Truth’.

He began talking to everyone he met about his ideas. He was soon in trouble with the authorities, and was imprisoned for the first time in Nottingham in 1649. According to Fox, the term ‘Quaker’ originated from a sarcastic remark by the judge in Fox’s second trial, in Derby, in 1650. in 1651, he was offered a commission in the army, but refused saying that 'he lived in the virtue of that life and power that took away the occasion for all wars'.

In 1652, he climbed Pendle Hill in Lancashire, where he had a vision of a “great people to be gathered” waiting for him. The beginning of the Society of Friends is usually dated from the day, soon afterwards, when Fox preached to large crowds on Firbank Fell, near Sedbergh, in Cumbria. Some days later, he was at Swarthmoor Hall, near Ulverston, home of Judge Fell, Margaret Fell and their family. His ideas were warmly received, and Swarthmoor became a vital hub for the Society of Friends, in Margaret’s capable hands.

Soon he and other Friends, the ‘Valiant Sixty’ or ‘Publishers of Truth’, were travelling all over the country, reporting back to Margaret Fell. Fox went to Cornwall, Wales and Scotland. There was a constant threat of persecution, but Judge Fell, though never a Friend himself, did a lot to protect them until he died in 1658. It was easy to find a Quaker guilty if you wanted to, as they wouldn’t swear oaths (explaining they always told the truth) they refused to pay tithes, and didn’t show proper respect to their ‘betters’ by bowing and doffing their hats (because people are all equal).

In 1660 Quakers and other dissidents were suspected of plotting against the new king. Fox responded with the first formulation of the Peace Testimony, stressing the commitment to nonviolence. Nevertheless, in 1664, Fox was imprisoned for over two years.  He wrote a journal, covering his life so far, and kept it up until he died. He also made plans to organize the growing Society of Friends, devising a framework of local, monthly and yearly meetings that persists, more or less, to the present day.

In May 1669, Fox visited meetings in Ireland. On October 27th, he and Margaret Fell were married, after a round of “clearness” meetings to check whether they should. More than ninety Friends witnessed the marriage certificate. Their close partnership continued, but they could rarely spend much time together during their 20 years of marriage, due to Fox’s continued travels, much persecution, and periods of imprisonment for them both.

By now, there were many Friends in the Caribbean and in the colonies along the Atlantic coast of North America. In August 1671, after attending the first Yearly Meeting, in London, Fox and 12 companions set sail for Barbados, arriving in October. The Barbadian economy was slave-based, and some Friends were slave-owners. Fox protested at the poor treatment of slaves, and said they should be released after thirty years service.

In January 1672, they sailed to North America, via Jamaica.  After seven weeks, they landed at Patuxent, in Chesapeake Bay, south of what is now Baltimore.  Here there was a large Meeting – the forerunner of Baltimore Yearly Meeting. George and some others then went to a large Meeting on Long Island, before sailing to Rhode Island, where the Governor was a Friend. In June some of the party went north to Boston, while Fox and others went south, first to New Jersey, and then back to Chesapeake Bay before going on to Virginia and Carolina.  In January 1673 they were back in Patuxent, where Fox spent the next four months meeting the local “Indian” tribes, an experience he found very productive.  They returned home, to Bristol, in May.

After the 1675 Yearly Meeting, unwell, and tired, he made a slow coach journey north to Swarthmoor Hall.  He spent the next two years there, the longest time he was ever at home.  He rested some of the time but was also very busy with his journal and other writing. He never went north again, but Margaret came south when she could.

In 1677, Fox went with Robert Barclay, William Penn and others to Holland and Germany, where they saw the effects of the religious wars in other parts of Europe.  In the 1680s he spent much time lobbying Parliament against persecution and went again to Holland in 1684.  He lived to see the fruit of his labors, when the 1687 Declaration of Indulgence, confirmed by the 1689 Act of Toleration, finally enabled dissenters to worship freely.

Several meetinghouses were built before he died, in London, in January 1691. He was buried at Bunhill Fields, a non-conformist burial ground on the edge of the City of London.

Clearly, we would not be here today if there were not take-aways from the life of George Fox and his vision. Yet, I believe it is worth noting that Quakerism has never been about one man. Many Friends enjoy reading the works of George Fox, but Quakers are not “Foxists.”

Fox did not claim to be a theologian in the traditional sense, but rather alongside Margaret Fell, Elizabeth Hooten, James Naylor, and many others, was a preacher and organizer, who encouraged all to share the experience of the divine as revealed to them.

The Society of Friends was born of the coming together of people who were questioning conventional Christianity, as they gathered and journeyed on their spiritual paths. I find this fascinating because while being interviewed for Thee Quaker Podcast a couple of weeks ago, I mentioned that First Friends has become a gathering of people, who many found themselves questioning the faith they grew up within or had been traveling with and seeking a new journey or spiritual path.

I remember when Megan Alderman and Andrew Hoff wrote their letter to Ministry and Counsel to seek membership. They wrote these words that were read at Monthly Meeting:

[Megan says,] I couldn't reconcile myself with much of the fundamental tenets of Catholicism--the patriarchy, the hierarchical power structure, the anti-abortion and anti-LGBTQ+ foundation. During COVID we floundered a bit spiritually and it wasn't until we came out of COVID that we decided we wanted to try to find a spiritual community that felt more like home. In all honesty, I was bracing myself for the energy required for church-hopping, meeting new people, and trying to get the kids excited about a new church. Andrew, eager to return to his Quaker roots, suggested we start off at First Friends to see if Quakerism at this community felt like the right fit…

[A little later she goes on to explain feeling led to speak out of the silence on her first Sunday with us saying,] It was beautiful. I didn't even know the history of quaking or feeling called to speak out of the silence, but I was physically shaking and tearfully shared what was on my heart and it was such an affirmation and release…The decision to stay at FF was (almost embarrassingly) seamless!

I am so glad, Megan, Andrew and their kids Maeve and Abram found us and are now members, because I believe we at First Friends are continuing this very important Quaker legacy of being a gathering place for spiritual wanderers and seekers. And like George Fox and Margaret Fell, and the Valiant Sixty, we are providing a space for people to come together and explore their faith, ask questions, worship, and serve alongside one another.  

It is the way of Quakers, as spiritual people in community, to exist in dialogue with one another and our forebears. And this also means, there is no need to always agree with every word that George Fox – or any other early Friend – spoke.

We have to remember his context and the breadth of his understanding and theology at the time. This is part of our evolution as Quakers and part of the fluidity of our Faith and Practice.

I will be the first to admit that we have veered away from some of the original beliefs of George Fox and even early Quakers, but that is probably for the best. Yet on occasion we may want to use it to help “reign us in” so we do not get too far away from our original vision and intent.  

Take for example what I spoke of last week. We at First friends have embraced music and the arts and they play a much larger part in our Meeting than the first generation of Quakers and many Quaker meetings, still today.  I don’t know how many Quakers I have met that are surprised we have an organ or even a large choir.

Early Quakers rejected music as a part of worship because they believed it was non-spontaneous and not in line with their values of simplicity and integrity. They also believed that singing together was often just parroting words, rather than expressing true beliefs. And not only is an organ, not a simple instrument, it can be very loud.  

As well, Early Quakers also rejected art, including having one's portrait painted, because they believed it was an act of vanity that put the focus on oneself above God. The irony that I painted a modern art portrait of George Fox for the cover of Friends Journal.

Or take for example our celebration of religious holidays, especially Christmas for us at First Friends. George Fox would not have celebrated any special day; holidays, birthdays, Hallmark holidays, all on the basis that he believed every day to be the Lord’s Day, thus none were set apart or special but all equal. Again, I find it extremely ironic that I am saying this as we are celebrating World Quaker Day and George Fox’s 400th birthday!

Clearly, as you heard in Fox’s story, he dealt with mostly religious persecution and slavery, yet today we have expanded that and the top two things modern Quakers focus on are racial justice and environmental sustainability.

Probably one of the biggest ways we have evolved is in technology. And it has been fax machine-&-pager-slow coming… Yet thanks to the Pandemic, we jumped up to the late 90’s and now offer hybrid committee meetings and worship experiences, we offer Light Reflections of our worship in video, podcast, and email form each week.  We connect through three social media sites on a daily basis with hundreds of people.  Most of our correspondence is done through email. You probably even have a phone in your pocket that allows you to do all the above.  This was unthinkable in George Fox’s day.

And I am quite fond of this one…Many Quakers today employ pastors and music directors, and children’s ministry directors. As well, I know many Unprogrammed or Silent Meetings who also have paid administrators or program directors, this probably has George Fox rolling in his grave because he believed there was no need for pastors, that we all had direct access to God – and we do, but we also believe in pastoral care and education that George Fox often fulfilled for the gathering communities.    

Due to First Friends seeing our Faith and Practice as fluid, and always open for question and debate, we have gone to some major lengths to expand our view of marriage and sexuality to include our LGBTQ+ Friends because we believe in equality of all people.  Other than equality, I am pretty sure George Fox did not address LGBTQ+ issues of his day.

And probably the most controversial issue for First Friends would have to be that we have a steeple. Yes, George Fox would have called our building a “steeple house” and said it was  unnecessary.

But besides all of these changes, probably the most important legacy that George Fox left us and that we are still working to uphold are these words offered by George Fox in the mid-17th century.

 “…be patterns, be examples in all countries, places, islands, nations, wherever you come, that your carriage and life may preach among all sorts of people, and to them; then you will come to walk cheerfully over the world, answering that of God in everyone.”

I believe that sums up well our takeaway of George Fox.  He was a pattern, an example, his carriage and life preached to an oppressed religious world, and yet he found a way to walk cheerfully and truly answer that of God in everyone he met.  That is what we need again today in our world. 

And since then, many generations have answered that call – we would not be meeting currently if this was not the case.  

Now, it is First Friends’ turn to pick up the mantle and Speak our Truth to Power as George Fox did to his world, cheerfully, and with passion, utilizing our gifts as I said last week, among all sorts of people. And may First Friends be a place where spiritual wanderers and seekers, together hear the call that may change our world.  

As we contemplate how we will answer this call, take a moment to consider the following queries:

1.      Which aspects of early Quaker tradition still speak to me, today?

2.      What aspects of Quaker tradition are most important to pass on to the next generation?

3.      If early Friend’s actions were seen as radical and even cutting edge in their time, how am I responding to the challenges I face in the 21st century in a way that builds on Quaker insights?