Catching Up on Gandhi's Birthday

As Gandhi's birthday approaches (Friday, Oct 2), I feel in the mood to celebrate peace and also to catch up on my daily blog. The book about Howard and Anna Brinton is now 80% complete: the biography part is finished, but the hardest part is still to be written: assessing the theological writings of these seminal Quaker thinkers/educators.

Last week I spent two days at the library of Whittier College doing research, and spent the night at the home of Bill Miller, a retired Methodist pastor who is a dear friend. It was fun to spend time in a city where Kathleen and I spent many wonderful years. I even had time to have lunch with Lynda Ladwig and Susan, who are members of First Friends Church, which I attended when I lived in Whittier.


This past weekend I took a break from my writing to attend a workshop led by John Calvi, one of the most beloved spiritual healers in Quakerdom. John was trained as a masseuse and originally wanted to work on cruise ship, but God had other plans. He ended up working with victims of torture, rape, and other forms of trauma abuse. He is a gentle, deeply intuitive spirit who can "read" the body the way others read braille. Around 18 people took part in his workshop, which took place in a beautiful setting: the redwoods near Santa Cruz.

It was a very healing weekend, and I learned a lot. At one point, John rubbed his hand up and down my back and it was like a warm fire lighting up every muscle and nerve. As he "listened" to his hands, he said, "Hmmm. You've been doing your homework. Everything seems very clear." That was a very reassuring reading, one I could concur with. I do feel very clear, thanks be to God. Later he did another "reading" of my back and made a prediction: "You've been working for 25 years and you will have a big voice." I don't know exactly what it means to have a "big voice" but I know I am being called to travel in the ministry. I hope my voice is gentle and loving and clear.

I have received such a warm response from Australian Friends I've decided to stay an extra month in Australia so that I can attend Australia Yearly Meeting as well as the Parliament of World Religions. I plan to visit Friends in Canberra, Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide. I am eager to learn more about Australian Friends and share what I learn with American Friends upon my return.

I am also scheduled to give two talks this week: one at ICUJP (Interfaith Communities United for Justice and Peace) and another at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Los Angeles.

My first talk will be at ICUJP on Gandhi's birthday (Friday, Oct 2). It's titled: “Let Peace Begin with Us”: Reflections on Gandhi, Quakerism, and My Spiritual Journey Towards Peace" and contains passages on Quaker peacemaking from the Brinton book. Here's what I plan to say to my friends in the interfaith peace community:


I feel honored to be sharing my spiritual journey and my Quaker faith with you on Gandhi’s birthday. It seems fitting for a Quaker to honor Gandhi on this special day since Quakers and Gandhi share many things in common. Quakers supported Gandhi’s efforts to bring about Indian independence through nonviolent means, and many Friends resonate with Gandhi’s experimental approach to religion, and vice versa. So I’d like to begin with a story about Gandhi and the Quakers told by William Sessions, a British Friend.

Back in the 1920s, when a British Cabinet Mission went out to India to try to settle the Indian question, they took part in several Quaker Meetings which were attended by prominent Indian leaders, both Muslim and Hindu. Mahatma Gandhi attended one of these meetings.
Afterwards Gandhi spoke highly of the calm atmosphere which prevailed at this Quaker meeting for worship. "I greatly admire the silent prayers," he said, "We must devote part of our time to such prayers. They afford peace of mind."

Gandhi also said: "In the attitude of silence the soul finds the path in a clearer light, and what is elusive and deceptive resolves itself into crystal clearness." He also saw a connection between prayer and activism: "Prayer is not ...idle amusement,” Gandhi said. “Properly understood and applied, it is the most potent instrument of action."

Silent worship is what drew me to the Quakers back in 1984. At the time, I had completed my Ph.D. in British literature at Rutgers University and was finishing up a stint teaching at Carleton College in Minnesota, but my life was in crisis. I had just gone through a painful divorce and my widowed mother was dying of emphysema. I went back to Princeton—my hometown—to help my mother and my kid sister during this difficult time.

My family situation was so complicated, so fraught with emotional turmoil, I felt helpless, so I asked God for assistance. Not long afterwards, an old friend of mine from graduate school days showed up at my house and seemed to radiate calmness. He had changed drastically from the hyper person I knew from grad school so I asked him what had caused this change in his life. He told me about Quakerism and how it had helped him to find inner peace. Since I needed some peacefulness in my life, I decided to give Quakers a try.

Princeton Quakers meet in an old 18th century meetinghouse located in a beautiful, peaceful wooded area near Stony Brook where I used to go fishing as a kid. I entered this ancient meetinghouse and sat down on a bench in front of a stone fireplace with forty or so others. We soon settled into deep silence. It was the most profound spiritual experience I had ever had, and it was just what I needed. I realized I didn’t need a preacher, or music, or words of any kind to have a relationship with the Divine. It was enough to sit in silence and experience the calm, peaceful Presence that lies deep within us. Quakers call this by many names: the Inner Light, the Inward Christ, the Seed. But there is really no word that can begin to describe what this experience is like. Paul perhaps said it best when he called it “the peace that passeth understanding.”

After worship, I discovered that the Quakers, or Friends as they like to be called, were extremely friendly folk who loved to talk and socialize. They were a close-knit community that practiced their faith not only on Sunday, but during the rest of the week as well. I was pleased to have such a community in Princeton, which can be a highly competitive, class-conscious place. The Quakers did not seem to care about status and prestige. They gave me the support and unconditional love I needed to help me cope with my personal issues.

I was also extremely impressed by how Quakers were committed to hands-on peace and justice work. Princeton Meeting was part of the sanctuary movement and took under its care two Salvadoran refugees whom I came to know and who practically became part of my family. I later came to know Jim Corbett, a Quaker from Arizona who helped start the sanctuary movement.
Along with Quakerism, I also practiced Buddhism at this time and lived for nine months in a Zen center in Providence, RI. To earn a living I co-edited a magazine called Fellowship in Prayer with the Friend who had introduced me to Quakerism. Fellowship in Prayer, which is now called Sacred Journey, was started in 1949 to promote peace by showing that all religions have a practice of prayer or meditation that leads to inner peace and ultimately, to peace in the world.
I was pleased to discover that Quakers are a non-exclusive branch of Christians who embrace a Universalist approach to religion. Quakers believe there is “that of God” in everyone, and there is Truth in every religious tradition. William Penn expressed our interfaith ideal beautifully over three hundred years ago:

"The humble, meek, merciful, just, pious, and devout souls are everywhere of one religion; and when death has taken off the mask, they will know one another, though the liveries they wear here make them strangers."

George Fox, the founder of Quakerism, told Friends to “walk cheerfully over the earth, answering that of God in everyone.”

Quakers interpreted this to mean that there “that of God” even in one’s enemy. This is a belief that Gandhi shared and which helped him in his struggles to gain India’s independence from the Brits. Gandhi befriended General Smuts and others whose racist policies he opposed.
Similarly, Quakers don’t demonize our enemies, we try to humanize them by reaching out in friendship. Throughout the Cold War, from the McCarthy to the Reagan era, Quakers reached out to the Russians in the spirit of friendship, even though it made them suspect and unpopular with some Americans. In fact, Quaker have been reaching out to the Russians ever since the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917. As you may remember, Claire Gorfinkel published a book about Quaker outreach to Russians called The Constructive Spirit.

This spirit of friendship and outreach is what made it possible for me and other Quakers to work with Russians during the 1980s when Reagan was calling the Soviet Union an “evil empire” and threatening them with a nuclear arms buildup. At that time I became involved in a Quaker-inspired Soviet-American joint book project whose purpose was to dispel stereotypes and to promote peace. We went to the Soviet Union and found a Russian publisher willing to work with us on a collection of fiction and poetry about everyday life in our two countries. This book was to be jointly edited and published in the US and USSR. No literary project like this had ever been done before, but our Russian publisher felt confident we could do it because he trusted the Quakers. Later we gained the support of Norman Cousins and the book called The Human Experience was finally published in the Soviet Union and the United States in 1989, just as the Berlin Wall was coming down. Projects such as these played a small, but significant role in building the trust needed for the Cold War to end.

One of the things I appreciate about Quakerism is that it has given me the opportunity to use my gifts and talents as a writer in the cause of peace and justice. Over the years I’ve written numerous articles and edited books that deal with various concerns, from Compassionate Listening to Spiritual Ecology. I’ve brought some of these books to share with you.

My most recent work-in-progress is a biographical study of two Quakers educators named Anna and Howard Brinton. They were two of the most influential Quakers of the 20th century. They met during an AFSC relief project in Europe after World War I and they were active in the AFSC all their lives. In 1936 they became directors of Pendle Hill, the Quaker think tank and educational center near Philadelphia. During the nearly forty years that the Brintons worked and lived at Pendle Hill, they wrote about and modeled what Quakerism is all about. The Quaker historian Thomas Hamm said that Howard and Anna Brinton were “the most remarkable Quaker couple since Goerge Fox married Margaret Fell.” (George and Margaret are considered the founders of Quakerism.)

Pendle Hill is where I met my wife, and where I had planned to spend a year writing a book about the Brintons. Even though we had to make other plans because of Kathleen’s illness, this book is almost complete, thanks be to God. So I’d like to conclude by sharing with you some of Howard Brinton’s ideas about peacemaking and showing how they are similar to Gandhi’s.
As World War II broke out in Europe, Howard began writing essays on pacifism which were collected into a Pendle Hill booklet called Critique by Eternity (1943). In this booklet, which was widely used in Quaker First Day Schools, Howard lays out what have become the seminal ideas of Quaker peacemaking.

First, Howard argues that isolationism and pacifism are polar opposites. The true pacifist is engaged with the world, and seeks to bring about a peaceful society by eliminating injustice. A pacifist is someone who has experienced inner peace, usually within the context of a supportive religious community, and then seeks to bring out peace in the world through the elimination of selfishness. The root cause of war is a sense of isolation that leads to barriers between people—borders, tariffs, armies, etc.

In “Why Are Quakers Pacifists?” Howard uses an historical approach. He discusses the faith and practice of early Friends and observes that they did not write a lot about pacifism or the Peace Testimony because they were primarily concerned not with “right action in itself but a right inward state out of which right action will arise.”[1]

In “Blitzkrieg and Pacifism” Howard takes an approach rooted in biology (Howard was trained as a scientist and frequently described Quaker process as “organic” as opposed to the “mechanical” approach to religion).[2] According to Howard, violence depends on quickness because its very nature is mechanical and self-destructive. Pacifism, on the other hand, works slowly because it is an organic process.

“The pacifist therefore cannot depend on blitzkrieg methods,” concludes Howard. “He must abide the slowness of the organic. An inanimate bomb reaches its goal swiftly, annihilating whatever is in its way. A living object is soft and pliant, slowly adjusting its environment to itself. It must always depend on small beginnings, germ cells which are perhaps invisible. The pacifist is not afraid of minute beginnings, aimed at the distant future. Violence works quickly, but in the realm of life results are never swift.”[3]

These observations seemed especially relevant during the Bush years when proponents of American imperialism used blitzkrieg methods, otherwise known as “shock and awe,” to try to enforce their agenda upon the world. We know now that such methods don’t work in the long run. In Howard’s view, curing the unhealthy tendencies in a violence-addicted society like ours will not be accomplished quickly through some kind of pacifist “wonder drug,” but will require a slow, organic healing process.

Howard was convinced that pacifism cannot succeed if it is based merely on facts, theories and intellectual concepts. Many professed pacifists (like Reinhold Nieburh) adopted a pro-war stance (sometimes called “Christian realism”) because their pacifism was an intellectual construct.
True pacifism must be grounded in spiritual experience, and in a community where peace and reconciliation are practiced as a way of life.

Howard’s ideas about peacemaking have permeated Quaker thinking and still have relevance today. When the United States invaded Afghanistan in 2001, Friends General Conference reprinted a pamphlet based on Howard’s writing about the Peace Testimony. Gandhi would agree with many of Brinton’s ideas. For Gandhi believed, like the Quakers, that peace begins within us, and that we cannot achieve peace in the world unless we have attained some measure of peace within ourselves. Gandhi also believed that peace is a way of life, a spiritual discipline.For Howard Brinton, the examplary approach to peacemaking is best summed up in a rejoinder by Joseph Hoag, a nineteenth century peace advocate. When Hoag advocated the Quaker peace testimony in 1812, a member of the audience said, “Well, stranger, if all the world was of your mind I would turn and follow after.”Hoag replied, “So then thou hast a mind to be the last man to be good. I have a mind to be one of the first and set the rest an example.”[4]

Gandhi expressed the same idea in a memorable phrase, “We must become the change we want to see in the world.”

This is my hope and prayer for us at ICUJP on this day celebrating the birth of Gandhi. Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with us.







[1] Critique by Eternity, Wallingford, PA: Pendle Hill, 1943, p. 21.
[2] Brinton’s ideas here may also have been influenced by Taoism and by the mystical works of Jacob Boehme, who was the subject of Brinton’s doctoral dissertation.
[3] Op. cit., p. 19.
[4] Ibid,pp. 196-7.

Post-traumatic growth syndrome....

If you want to watch an inspiring film about 9/11, I highly recommend "Beyond Belief," a documentary by Beth Murphy. The film follows Susan Retik and Patti Quigley, two women who lost their husbands on September 11, 2001. Susan and Patti were "ordinary" housewives from Boston, who were pregnant and had kids when their husbands were killed. Grief-stricken and devastated by what happened, they became friends and found comfort in each other's company. Later they decided to reach out to war widows in Afghanistan, and even went to Kabul to meet the women they were helping (and being helped by). It's a powerful and moving story of how these women overcame the horrors of 9/11 through love and commitment to something bigger than themselves.

During this film, Patti talked about "post traumatic growth syndrome." By this term she meant that sometimes trauma can help us to grow emotionally and spiritually, if we channel our grief and pain into the path of love and compassion.

I guess I have been experiencing "post traumatic growth syndrome" since the death of my wife.

This is what I talked about in a podcast interview about our cancer journey for a podcast weblog called "Methodistdisciple". You can find it at ://methodistdisciple.podbean.com/

Don Leiffer asked me to do this interview after I gave a presentation about my cancer journey with Kathleen in San Bernardino at Del Rosa United Methodist Church, which we served for six years in the early 1990s. Betty Finn, a member of this church, invited me to speak at the United Methodist Women's monthly circle. A few good men showed up, including Don from St Pauls' UMC.

Don was the program director for KVCR-TV, Ch. 24 (PBS) for forty years and is a deeply committed Christian. Now that he is retired, he works with Tom Pilkington on a weekly podcast featuring Methodists who exemplify "discipleship," i.e. faithfulness to the teachings of Jesus. Don felt that I would make a good interviewee, even though I am a Quaker, not a Methodist. I was honored to be chosen for this interview.

I appreciated having the opportunity to share my story of "post traumatic growth" with a sympathetic group of Methodist women.

I must say they were extremely tolerant of my Quaker eccentricities The potluck began at 6:30 and I was supposed to speak at 7:15. However, I am observing the fast for Ramadan and the sunset didn't set till 7:17. So after I was introduced at 7:15, I told the group that in two minutes, the electronic muezzin on my computer would chant the call to prayer in Arabic and that would be the opening devotion. At precisely 7:17, the call to prayer resounded, I'm sure, for the first time in this Methodist social hall. After it subsided, I told them the story about how Shakeel Syed, the executive director of the Islamic Shura Council of So Cal, came with his wife to the bedside of Kathleen to pray on Mother's Day, and how moved I was by this act of kindness on the part of my Muslim friend.

The Methodist women were moved, too.

"We truly are one family, God's family," I said. "Can I get an amen?"

And I did!

I am very grateful that I married a Methodist and am now part of this loving and inclusive Methodist family as well as my Quaker family. But most of all, I'm glad to be part of God's family.

One final story. As you may know, Kathleen was very close to a homeless couple named Melissa and Shawn who live on the streets of Torrance. Melissa is a thirty-two year old mother who is legally blind and crippled with a degenerative joint disease and must use a wheelchair. She lives on the street because the $900 she receives in SSI isn't enough to pay for rent and food. She and her boyfriend live for a week each month in motels and the rest of the month on the street. Recently her wheelchair began to break down and she needed a new one. Because of budget cutbacks, she couldn't see a medical doctor for six months.

I told my Quaker meeting about her plight and Friends donated $350. Melissa was thrilled. This was enough for a wheelchair, plus $60 left over for food and a gift for her 10-year-old daughter Crystal, who lives in a foster home and whom Melissa adores.

Kathleen's last words were about Melissa. When Kathleen regained consciousness in ICU, and the doctors were still hopeful they might be able to take her off the respirator, I told her various stories about how her friends and family members had come to see her over Mother's Day weekend. The last story I told her was about Melissa.

Kathleen was still on the respirator and couldn't speak but she could respond by nodding her head and squeezing my finger.

I told her that Melissa had called dozen of times to find out how Kathleen was doing, and sent her love. I also told Kathleen that Melissa was very sad because she had wanted to see her daughter on Mother's Day, but her aunt wouldn't let her come and visit. (The daughter was staying with the aunt at the time.) Melissa was heart-broken, so I told Kathleen I sent her a card and some money.

"That's what you would have done, isn't it, darling?" I said.

She nodded and squeezed my fingers, real hard.

That was the last story I shared with her because she was tired. She went to sleep and never woke up.

I know that buying Melissa a wheelcar is something that Kathleen would definitely have done.

On Wednesday, I went with Melissa and Shawn to buy the wheelchair. Afterwards, we had lunch at Buffy's with Sara Dickens, one of the pillars of Walteria UMC. (Sara sprang for lunch, bless her heart! I knew she would.)

Melissa is such a sweet, Christian soul. During our lunch she told one of her typical stories. "There's this guy named Mickey at Starbucks. He is autistic or something, and he was cleaning the bathroom. And this guy came up, all impatient like, and said, real angry, Hurry up or I'll pee on you. And I go, you better be nice to Mickey or you'll have to step outside and answer to me."

Ordinarily as a Quaker I don't approve of such threats, but the idea of Melissa, half blind and crippled, standing up for the rights of an autistic man made me smile. She then went on:

"Mickey does a real good job of cleaning up things. He's real slow and careful like. And we always can tell when he's cleaned the windows cause they shine. And we tell him he's doing a great job. You know, he needs a lot of encouragement."

I think you know why Kathleen and I love Melissa. She has such a good heart.

Please hold Melissa in the Light. This week she goes to find out if she will qualify for Section 8 housing. She has been waiting for five years. Without Section 8, it is almost impossible for her to get housing because her former husband was evicted from an apartment and that's on Melissa's record. I offered to cover Melissa's deposit but landlords won't let her sign a lease with her "record." And being homeless and poor, she can't get legal recourse. So pray for Melissa. Pray hard, please!

Signs of hope in Meetinghouse and mosque...

This week has been divine, thanks be to God.

On Sunday, I got up at the rise of Meeting and told Friends about my friends Melissa and Shawn, a homeless couple in Torrance that Kathleen and I have known, and loved, for several years. I reminded them that Melissa is living on the street because the $900 per month she receives from SSI isn't enough to pay for food and lodging, and because she has been waiting for Section 8 housing for 5 years. I told them I wrote a glowing recommendation of Melissa for her social worker. Melissa is a truly good person who doesn't use drugs or alcohol and often helps out her homeless friends. She loves her 10-year-old daughter dearly and Melissa's big dream is to have an apartment so she can take her daughter out of a foster home and live with her. A deeply believing Christian, Melissa often calls me and we pray together over the phone. But Melissa needs help. Her wheelchair is breaking down and because of Medicare cuts, she can't see a doctor for six months. I asked people to make a contribution and sign a card for her.

To my surprise and delight, Friends donated over $350, enough not only to pay for a wheelchair but also to cover a night's lodging in a motel and a meal! Melissa was thrilled by this news, and so was I. In facebook, I wrote: "I love Santa Monica Friends!" A friend I hardly know responded on my wall: "I love Santa Monica Friends too, and I don't know them!"

I love Santa Monica Friends not only because of they are generous and kind, but also because they stand up for justice. Last week seven members of our Meeting went to Senator Feinstein's office to urge her to take a stand in favor of the House health care plan, especially the public option. I know that many Santa Monica Friends have been calling up their elected officials and letting them know the time has come to provide health care for all Americans!

On Sunday I went to an "Interfaith Celebration of Hope" at the Islamic Center of So Cal, where I saw many old friends and was pleased to learn that Dr. Jerry Campbell, the President of the Claremont School of Theology, was being honored because his school has decided to become an interfaith seminary. They plan to hire at least one Muslim scholar and a Jewish scholar to teach in this new program. This is certainly a sign of hope!

Also honored was Steve Gilliland, a Mormon interfaith activist, who is just back from a trip to Israel/Palestine and spoke with great feeling about the oppression of the Palestinians.

While in Israel, he went to the village of Bil'in, where Palestinians, Jews and internatonals are nonviolently protesting the confiscation of Palestinian lands and the erection of a wall separating them from their livelihood. He told us that last month over 200 masked and camouflaged Israeli soldiers swarmed into the West Bank village of Bil’in at 3 a.m. and raided five homes. Eight people were arrested, including Mohammad Khatib a leader of the Bil’in Popular Committee Against the Wall and Settlements. I applaud Steve's courage and passion for speaking out against these injustices.

Most of the talks were not political, however. They dealt with the theme of hope from a variety of religious perspectives--Muslim, Catholic, and Jewish. Among the speakers were Father Alexei Smith, Betty Cooney (a 7th day adventitst), Randolph Dobbs (a Bahai), and Jonathan Freund (Board of Rabbis). We also heard about humanitarian efforts that are being undertaken by different religious groups, including homeless feeding and micro-loans to people in developing nations. It was very inspiring.

After the talks, we had a time of prayer and then broke fast with dates and water. The non-Muslims were ushered upstairs for a magnificent feast. I got to sit next to my dear friend Gwynne Guibord, interfaith rep for the Episcopalian church. I had a nice chat with my Episcopalian friends.

In addition, I had an iftar potluck at my home on Satuday. Four Friends showed up and we had a good time. On Friday I went to Darlene's for a meditation session and we also had a potluck iftar. (Since Ramadan began, we have included a potluck with our meditation so that I would be able to attend.) I am grateful to Friends for supporting me during my Ramadan fast since I don't have Kathleen around any more to be my support.

This has also been a good week for writing. I am finally back in the swing of writing my Brinton book and have written nearly 10,000 words since Ramadan began--bringing the total to around 60,000 words. At this rate, the book may be almost complete by the time I go to Pendle Hill next month, inshallah.

Loving God, words cannot express the gratitude I feel for you bestowed upon me, especially Your presence in my life, the greatest gift of all being You!

More iftars, and thoughts on Quaker worship

I have attended two iftars this weekend, and they were both wonderful, thanks be to Allah!

The first iftar I attended was held by the Palestinian American Women's Association (PAWA), This group holds an annual fundraising banquet during Ramadan. I went because I wanted to support the Palestinian people and because the main speaker was my dear friend Shakeel Syed. He is just back from his second visit to Israel/Palestine and gave a powerful speech describing the deplorable conditions that he witnessed. His prophetic call to action was irresistible: like apartheid in South Africa, or the Jim Crow world of the South before the Civil Rights Movement, the situation in Israel/Palestine is morally indefensible. Palestinians are being brutalized and treated as second-class citizens. They are being surrounded by wall, ghettoized, and deprived of their dignity. Just as people of conscience rose up to oppose the racist apartheid regime in South Africa, we must do the same to oppose the racist apartheid policies of Israel. Another speaker, a woman lawyer, showed us a powerpoint about the horrific conditions left in the wake of Israel's brutal massacre in Gaza. The ongoing seige of Gaza is a blot on the conscience of humanity.

There were also some upbeat notes. PAWA raises money to send 35 young Palestinian-American women to study at Birzeit University in Ramallah. A young nurse testified about how meaningful this experience had been to her. We also heard songs by Palestinian children, and some traditional Palestinian music. I was also impressed by the vibrant visionary art of Ibrahim Al Nashahibi, a Palestinian artist living in San Diego.

I sat at the table of a Palestinian woman named Nazreem whom I know from Whittier. A self-appointed good will ambassador, she goes about giving talks (nonpolitical) about Palestinian culture and Islam. I met her husband Dalal (a physician), her son Noor (studying to be an engineer), and her teenage daughter. I enjoyed their company very much.

The next day (Sunday) I went to an iftar that the Islamic Shura Council of So Cal presents each year. This is an interfaith event which has become like a family reunion for me since I have been going for many years and know many of the attendees. I was touched when I saw Hassam Ayloush (exec dir of CAIR) and he told me he used to read my cancer blog and was inspired an moved. "You are like family," he said, and I felt the truth of his words. We have moved beyond tolerance, beyond even appreciation, to realizing that we are all one family, created by one God.

I sat at a table with Quakers from the AFSC and a Mormon couple, the daughter of my friend Judy Gilliland. Her husband Steve has worked tirelessly to create interfaith understanding and he received an award for his efforts. Steve is a professor and he and his wife taught for a year in a Mormon college in Jerusalem. They have gone back many times and are knowledgeable about the situation there.

Besides going to iftars, I went to a healing meditation at the home of a homebound Friend. In order to support my fast during Ramadan. this group of Frends decided to move the time of the meditation to 6:30 so that we could eat together at 7:30, the time of sunset when Muslims break their fast.

We did the same thing last night at the home of my Jewish friend Ruth Sharone. We were having a mailing party for the Parliament and decided to meet at 7:30 for dinner in order to be supportive of my fast. Before eating, we said prayers in Arabic, Hebrew and Sanskrit. (Several of the volunteers belonged to the Vedanta Society.) Our group also included a Catholic, Thomas, who came later.

As Ramadan progresses, so does my book about Howard and Anna Brinton, two of the major Quaker educators/theologians of the 20th century. I was finally able to do some significant writing after a week of preparation. Here's a sample:

*****

For Howard Brinton, the core of Quakerism was its unique approach to worship. One of his earliest writings on this subject was a talk about worship which he gave at Pickering College in 1914. He began by observing:

Of all our Quaker heritage, the most important part is the highest and holiest act of which mankind is capable—the worship of his God. Our theory is so simple that it
hardly deserves the name of a theory. Worship, we believe, is a personal
communion with God Himself, and the form it may take, or its place or time, or
any outward circumstance whatever are far less in importance to the sincerity
and reality of the act itself.[1]

Howard’s tone switches from the lofty to the scientific as he compares meeting for worship to a laboratory—an image he often uses in later writings.

This Quaker method, if method it can be called, might be described as the
laboratory method. The modern teacher of science does not require his class to
blindly accept the authority of a book. Experiments are done which prove the
facts. Similarly the Quaker worship is not a worship by proxy, but a worship of
actual personal experience.[2]

Equating worship with the experimental method of science was one of the characteristics of modernist Quakerism. Modernists saw Quakerism as differing from traditional Christianity because it relied not on the authority of scripture or of dogma promulgated by a priestly elite, but rather on the Inward Light present in every human being. Quakerism was therefore an experiential religion, like Buddhism; it validity was based on inward states of consciousness that each person could verify in his or her own heart.

Because of his scientific training and background, Howard was able to make this case for modern Quakerism most convincingly in his talk “Vocal Ministry and Quaker Worship.”[3]
Howard’s arguments are as follows:

1) Quakerism is a methodology, not a “fixed doctrine.” It is therefore possible for someone to practice Quakerism and be a non-Christian.

2) Quakerism is compatible with science because it is an experiential, not a dogmatic or creedal religion.

3) The faith and practice of Quakerism are congenial to the evolutionary and holistic world view of modern science.

I go on to talk about the relationship between Quakerism and the scientific worldview of Darwin and Einstein.

[1] Brinton, “Worship: A Resume of an Address Given at Newmarket, Feb 8th.” The Canadian Friend, vol. IX/No. 9, Newmarket, Ontario, March 1914, p. 8.
[2] Ibid, p. 8.
[3] “Vocal Ministry and Quaker Worship,” a Paper read at the Conference on Ministry at Friends’ Meeting House, Coulter Street, Germantown, Third Month, 1928.

Writing and Reflecting During the First Week of Ramadan

The first week of Ramadan is drawing to a close, and it's been a time of reflection. Monday, August 23, marked the third month since my wife passed on, and I found it more difficult than I had thought. For the first time in many weeks, the pain of her loss returned, and tears flowed.

My plan for this month had been to spend time writing, so I looked over our cancer notebooks, which I hope to turn into a book. Re-reading this journal proved to be too much for me to handle. I became quite sad, and finally called up my dear friend Bill Miller, a retired pastor who lost his wife to cancer many years ago and has since remarried. We got to know Bill, an dedicated peace activist, when we lived in Whittier. I often stayed with Bill and his wife in their Whittier home while Kathleen was at the City of Hope, and he always has a very sympathetic ear. I realized that it would probably be best for me to work on the Brinton book rather than the Cancer Journey book during this still sensitive period.


The Brinton book concerns Howard and Anna Brinton, a Quaker couple who were directors of Pendle Hill from 1936-1950. Howard authored some of the major Quaker writings of the 20th century and is probably the most important exponent of liberal Quakerism of this era. I started researching this book nince years ago, and was planning to complete it at Pendle Hill during our sabbatical leave. God had other plans, we were obliged to stay in Santa Monica, and I nearly gave up this project because I thought I needed the resources of East Coast libraries at Haverford, Swarthmore and Pendle Hill to complete the work. But in March I decided to try writing up something in preparation for a workshop I was supposed to teach at Pendle Hill in May. As soon as I began, my old enthusiasm for the project returned, and words came pouring out. Within two months, I had written nearly 50,000 words.


The Brinton book also brings back memories since much of it was written in the two months prior to Kathleen's final hospitalization. During that period, I wrote nearly 1000 words per day and read my daily output to Kathleen, often while walking through Palisade Park. She was my inspiration. (She always has been!)


It has taken me much of the week just to gather together the pieces of this project and set up my office so that I can begin writing again. I am finally ready. It helped to receive an encouraging email from Peter Bien, a retired professor of Greek from Dartmore College, who has served on the board of Pendle Hill for many years, focusing mainly on publications. Peter is a kindly as well as extremely intelligent man--he translated Kazantsakis's "Zorba the Greek" and is one of the leading experts on modern Greek literature. I feel blessed to have his friendship and support.


Along with writing, I've also been working on Parliament business and getting ready for Melbourne. A Quaker from Berkeley named Ketih Barton informed me about an obscure gnostic sect called the Mandaeans who are followers of John the Baptist. They lived more or less peacefully in Iraq until the Americans invaded and sectarian violence broke out. Then this pacifist group was persecuted and forced to leave the country. 5,000 of them settled in Sydney. It's a fascinating story, which is told on Australian radio:

http://www.abc.net.au/rn/encounter/stories/2008/2378162.htm

The story of the Mandaeans reminded me of the Doukhabors, the Russian pacifist sect that attracted the attention of Tolstoy and the Quakers, who helped them to escape persecution by fleeing to Canada. The Doukhabors became somewhat infamous because of their habit of going naked as a witness to their faith and the Quakers were called in to mediate. But therein hangs a tale, as they say.


Keith has informed me that the Mandaeans are in touch with the Parliament and will be present at this gathering. Meanwhile, I have been in touch with Friends in Sydney and hope to meet the Mandaeans when I visit that city.


Last night I went to the Activist Support Group, led by Jerry Rubin (not the famous racical from the 1960s, but a local peace activist of the same name). Shown in this picture are Jerry and his wife Melissa, Maricela Guzman (AFSC), and yrs truly.

Jerry the local activist likes to tell the story of a radio interview he had with the famous anti-war radical. This icon of 60s radicalism and founder of the Yippies went into business and became a millionaire, and the radio interviewer asked him if he regretted his radical days. "Hell, no," responded Jerry, "Opposing the immoral war in Vietnam was the best thing I ever did in my life!"

A few days later he was struck and killed by a car and died. Jerry (the local) went to his funeral, along with Abbie Hoffman and Dave Dellinger.


During last night's Activist Support the focus was on Quakers and the theme: "Avoiding Burnout." The speakers were Laurel Gord (a member of Santa Monica Meeting who spoke about Friends Committee on Legislation), Maricela Guzman (a young peace education staff person from the American Friends Service Committtee), and myself (a freelance Quaker peace activist). We each shared our stories and concerns.

My cure for burnout consisted of three bits of advice: 1) Focus on friendship rather than achievement. Friendships nourish the soul. As a Muslim peace activist once said, "Peace is created one friendship at a time." 2) Avoid judgmentalism and self-righteousness. Negative feelings sap your energy. 3) Take time for medication and silent reflection. Gandhi said: "In the attitude of silence the soul finds the path in a clearer light, and what is elusive and deceptive resolves itself into crystal clearness." He also said: "Prayer is not ...idle amusement. Properly understood and applied, it is the most potent instrument of action." The more active you are, the more you need to spend time in silence and in prayer.

On this note, let me close so that I can go to my meditation session at the Self-Realization Fellowship!

The gift of Muslim hospitality

When I began fasting during Ramadan nine years ago, I had my first experience of Muslim hospitality. It was unforgettable. I was invited to an iftar (fast-breaking meal) by Asima Butt (far left, next to my wife Kathleen). Asima was a beautiful young woman who worked as a cultural affairs director for the city of Whittier, CA (named after the great Quaker poet). Her father, Dr. Hassan Butt, was a well-to-do physician from Kashmir who lived in a huge house, a kind of compound, with his extended family (some of whom are shown here). He and his family welcomed Kathleen and me into their home with such generosity and kindness that I was moved to say, "God is so good. He asks me merely to give up lunch, and in return gives me a feast and a wonderful family to share it with!"

Over the years I came to know and appreciate this gracious Muslim family who gave me my first taste of the Muslim way of life. We had many fascinating conversations about theology and politics and shared many personal stories.

This year I have been apprehensive about observing the Ramadan fast since each year the days grow longer. (Mulsims use a lunar calendar, so the month of Ramadan moves ten days forward each year.) When I began fasting nine years ago, Ramadan started in early December and I had to fast for only 10 hours or so. Now the fasting time is 14 hours!

I became so stressed about this that I developed a severe back ache

and had to take a muscle relaxant on Thursday, when I was working on my talk about health care reform for ICUJP. By Friday I was feeling better, but woozy. How would I feel on the first day of Ramadan?

To my surprise, when I woke up at 5:00 AM on Saturday, I felt great! My mind was clear, and my back ache gone, and I felt intense gratitude. I knew that God will give me strength to observe this fast, as He had in previous years.

I was also pleased that I was going to an iftar at the home of my dearest Muslim friend, Shakeel Syed. Shakeel is the executive director of the Islamic Shura Council of Southern California. "I am like a bishop," he sometimes jokes, "but without any power." The Shura Council is an umbrella organization for all the mosques in Southern California. Shakeel visits the mosques, helps them in their work, and is their voice in the public arena.

He is one of the most compassionate and spiritual people I know, and from the very first time I met him, I felt a heart-connection with him. He serves on the boards of various organizations that I am also connected with, such as Interfaith Communities United for Justice and Peace and the American Friends Service Committee. Two years ago he went to Israel-Palestine with a group sponsored by the AFSC and came back profoundly moved by what he saw. He has spoken out passionately about the plight of the Palestinian people. I honor him for his courage in speaking out since many Muslims have paid a heavy price for doing so.

Shakeel is also an incredibly warm and generous person. In April of this year, several weeks before my wife went to the hospital, we went to the AFSC to chat with Eisha Mason, the associate regional director. She told us that Shakeel was coming over for lunch. I thought she meant that she and Shakeel were going out to lunch together. It turned out that Shakeel had purchased a Middle Eastern meal for the entire office staff of the office. He brought his family with him and we had a wonderful feast together!

When my wife was in ICU, Shakeel and his wife came to visit and to pray for her on Mother's Day. I was incredibly moved that he would take the time to honor my wife in this way.

A week ago, when Shakeel came to visit me at my home, I asked him if the mosque in Culver City had iftars open to the public, like the mosque in South Bay. He told me it didn't, and then proceeded to invite me to his home for an iftar.

"I am very busy during Ramadan because of my position," he explained. "But I have the first night of Ramadan free. It is my family night."

When I realized that he considered me part of his family, I was touched. I knew this was a sign from Allah that I was indeed supposed to fast for Ramadan!

Last night I went to Shakeel's home, which is located not far from the King Fahd mosque in Culver City. He lives on the second floor and you can see the beautiful blue minaret from the porch.

Shakeel has three daughters (Khadija and two others whose Arabic names escape me) and a son Mujahid. They range in age from 11-16. His wife Sarai is a school teacher. They live in a modest apartment in which the most prominent feature is a book case well supplied with books on Islam and current affairs.

He is a man after my own heart!

Shakeel referred to me as "Uncle Anthony" and made me feel like part of the family.

I chatted with the children and learned that Mujahid (who is twelve or so) played basketball that day in spite of his fast. I commended the children and told them that when I felt that fasting was too difficult for me, I remembered that Muslim teens fast.

"You are my inspiration," I told them.

I learned that Khadija has been studying Arabic at Cal State San Bernardino. Most Muslims learn enough Arabic to be able to recite Qur'an. Khadija is studying colloquial as well as classical Arabic.

I am always impressed with how Muslims make such an effort to learn Arabic, the language of their scripture. Very few Christians--even pastors--bother to learn Greek. Even more impressive to me is the fact that many Muslim teens memorized the entire Qur'an in Arabic. It was struggle for us to get Christians kids just to memorize a few Bible verses in English!

When the sun set, we had a light fast-breaking snack (which was preceded by a prayer said by one of the children). Then the family had formal prayers, which I joined.

I always feel so uplifted when I pray with Muslims, and this time of prayer was particularly moving since I was part of the family. After the formal prayers, there was a time of "dua"--personal prayers, spoken from the heart. Shakeel's prayers for "Aunt Kathleen" and "Uncle Anthony" touched the depths of my soul.

After the prayers, we had a delicious meal of spicy Indian food prepared by Sarai. We had such good conversation about everything from family affairs to politics and religion that the time flew by. It was 10:30 when I finally left.

I learned that Shakeel and his family usually goes to the mosque after iftar and prayers for two hours! They go to bed at 11 PM and get up at 4 AM for morning prayers (called fajr) and breakfast.

I feel so blessed to have come to know Muslims and Islam in this intimate and personal way. If only other Americans could come to know Muslims and Islam as I do, I am convinced our country would be deeply enriched spiritually and we would have a much saner view of the world.

I am grateful that President Obama gets this. His Ramadan message showed remarkable understanding of Muslim theology and impressed Shakeel as well as me. I hope that Obama show respect for Muslim not only in words, but also in deeds.

President Obama's Ramdan message: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1R4KfYuDrvU

Why do I fast during Ramadan?

I wrote this essay in 2009 after fasting during Ramadan for eight years as a way of expressing my Quaker commitment to peace. I continued to "fast for peace" until 2019 when I turned 75. But I am so appalled by the horrific violence in Gaza and Palestine that I feel led to fast for peace once again. This essay provides background about why I fast and why fasting for peace is a discipline worth practicing. If you want to learn more about Ramadan from a Quaker perspective, including a chapter from my book Quakers from an Interfaith Perspective,  click here. 

Ramadan is celebrated by Muslims because it was during this month that the Holy Qur'an was first revealed to the Prophet Mohammad.

During Ramadan Muslims refrain from eating or drinking from sunrise to sunset. Most get up before dawn to pray and to eat a light breakfast. When the sun goes down, Muslims break fast and pray. The fast-breaking meal, called an iftar, is often a time for celebration since Ramadan is the month when God revelead the Qur'an to humanity.

I have been observing the fast during Ramadan ever since 9/11 [until I turned 70 five years ago). At first, I fasted as a way to purge myself of the despair and other negative emotions I felt after 9/11 and our invasion of Afghanistan. I also found that fasting opened me up to the Muslim community and to interfaith work in a profound way.

Over the years I have come to appreciate fasting as a spiritual practice. Fasting has deepened my relationship with God as well as with my Muslim brothers and sisters. Fasting has also deepened my empathy with those who are poor and hungry.

I have looked forward to Ramadan each year as a time for spiritual renewal (just as I look forward to Lent, Christmas, and Yom Kippur).

Quakers don't believe that it is necessary to observe holy days since every day is holy, but I find that observing these seasonal holidays can be a helpful spiritual practice.

Because many people wonder why I fast during Ramadan, I wrote the following explanation a year or two ago.

“Why do you fast for Ramadan if you are not a Muslim?”

I was asked this question while having dinner with Prof. Mohammed Abu-Nimer, a well-known Palestinian professor of peace studies who has taught at Hebrew University and now teaches at the American University in Washington, DC. The author of numerous books and articles relating to conflicts in the Middle East, Prof. Abu-Nimer had come to a Quaker center called Pendle Hill near Philadelphia to give a lecture about the situation in Israel/Palestine. As editor of a Quaker magazine, I was there to hear what he had to say about this topic.

It was my first encounter with Prof. Abu-Nimer, and Pendle Hill is a Quaker Center for Study and Contemplation, so I paused in silence to reflect before answering his question. My response surprised even me.

“I have been fasting during Ramadan since 9/11 to reach out and express my solidarity with the Muslim community,” I replied. “And I also find fasting to be an excellent spiritual practice that helps me to empathize with the poor.”
So far, the words were ones that I had given many times before when asked about fasting. But then came the unexpected part:

“I plan to keep fasting during Ramadan until there is peace in Israel/Palestine.”
Where these words came from, I don’t know, but they felt like what Quakers call a “leading of the Spirit.”

Hearing my words, Prof. Abu-Nimer smiled. He obviously appreciated this response, but I didn’t realize how much until later.

That evening, Prof. Abu-Nimer lectured about the heart-breaking situation in Israel/Palestine. He spoke about the deteriorating political conditions, and how every effort to promote a non-violent solution or approach had met with resistance and ultimately failure.

Finally, someone asked, “Do you have any good news to tell us about what can be done to promote peace?”

Prof. Abu-Nimer paused and reflected, and then he smiled.

“Yes, I have good news,” he said, “I met a Quaker during dinner this evening and he told me that he was fasting during Ramadan until there is peace in Israel/Palestine. This gave me goosebumps…”

At that moment, I had goosebumps, too. I felt as if God had confirmed my leading, and that from now on I really am committed to fasting during Ramadan until there is peace in the Holy Land.

A few months later, I found myself attending a peace event in Tel Aviv on the first day of Ramadan. For two weeks, I had been traveling with an interfaith delegation of Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, and Quakers visiting and listening to Muslims, Christians, and Jews of all backgrounds and political persuasions at refugee camps, settlements, kibbutzim, and cafes. It was a powerful experience that help me connect with the people of this region at a heart level.

On this first day of Ramadan, Muslims and Jews were scheduled to go on a silent peace walk through the streets of Tel Aviv. This event was sponsored by Middle Way.
It was 9:00 AM in the morning, and already 80 degrees. I had had nothing to eat or drink before dawn, as I usually do when I fast during Ramadan, and was wondering if I would have the strength to make it through this four-hour walk in the heat of the day.

Just then an Arab in white robes began addressing us. He welcomed us to this event and spoke glowingly about peace and cooperation and then told us that he had purchased bottles of water and snacks for all participants. No mention was made of the fact that he and other Muslims would not be eating or drinking anything.
I was impressed, and humbled. Clearly this was another sign that God wanted me to fast during Ramadan until these wonderful children of God—these peace-loving Muslims and Jews—know real peace.

Our silent walk through the streets of Tel Aviv is one of the spiritual high points of my life. We didn’t solve all the problems of Israel and Palestine, but for one day we all knew what peace feels like. This was a blessing for which I will always be grateful to God.

I encourage everyone, regardless of religious persuasion, to “fast for peace.” Fasting can teach us feel in our gut (and not only in our heads) what Jesus meant when he said, “Blessed are those who HUNGER and THIRST after justice.” Jesus understood from personal experience what hunger and thirst were all about, and why we need to work for justice. Jesus fasted for forty days in the wilderness. He lived in poverty, in solidarity with the poor. All his life lived in complete and humble submission to the will of God. This is the way to true peace.

Fasting for peace may seem like a small thing, but if we do with a pure intention, only God knows where it will lead and how it will change your life, or even the world.