Summary: Although Howard Brinton was one of the major theologians and educators of 20th century Quakerism, his contributions to Quaker thought have not been critically evaluated in part because of Quaker aversion to theologizing. This paper surveys the development of Brinton’s life as a Quaker educator/theologian, focusing particularly on his classic work Friends for 300 Years. I argue that Brinton was influenced by Barclay’s Apology and was writing a defense of what he considered “real Quakerism”—unprogrammed worship, and what he saw as the authentic theology of Fox and Barclay, updated in modern language for modern times. Brinton’s concern for theology was broadened and deepened by his participation in the World Council of Churches, which made him (and other Friends) keenly aware of the contemporary theological thought, particularly that of Karl Barth and Reinhold Neibuhr. Finally, Brinton was interested in and supportive of the revival of interest in Quaker theology that took place in the 1950s, particularly the formation the Quaker Theological Discussion Group, which was started in 1957 to raise awareness of theology among Quakers and to help foster constructive dialogue among different branches of Quakerism. Finally, I conclude that while most liberal Quakers are “theologically illiterate” as well as averse to theologizing, Brinton himself was keenly interested in a theological approach that was grounded in spiritual experience and provided a cogent intellectual framework for the modern liberal Quaker faith and practice.
A critical understanding of 20th century Quaker theology would be incomplete without assessing the contribution of Howard Brinton, whose works helped create the theological framework for modern liberal Quakerism. Given the importance and stature of the Brintons, I felt some trepidation about undertaking the daunting task of writing the first book-length biography about them. Fortunately, I had access to Howard Brinton's unpublished autobigraphy, dictated to Yuki Brinton a year before his death in 1973, as well as to the Brinton archives at Haverford College and to his family and friends, who have been very supportive. But the lack of secondary material about the Brintons has made my scholarly efforts extremely challenging. As Ben Pink Dandelion, director of Woodbrooke, has observed, Quakerism, and particular 20th century Quaker theology, is “vastly under-researched.”[1]
Ironically, Brinton, one of the most important Quaker theologians of the 20th century, was never trained as a theologian. When he did his undergraduate work at Haverford College, he majored in mathematics and physics. But he did feel drawn to religion and philosophy. The teacher at Haverford who exerted the most influence on his young impressionable mind was Rufus Jones. It was Jones who led Brinton to pursue his interest in philosophy and to study the works of the German mystic Jacob Boehme (the subject of Brinton's doctoral dissertation). With Jones' encouragement, Brinton went on to earn a degree in philosophy at Harvard University, where he studied with such giants as William James, George Santayana and Josiah Royce. But during the first twenty years of his teaching career, Brinton taught math and physics, albeit with many references to religion and philosophy. As one of his students at Earlham noted, Brinton had a unique approach to teaching physics: “Howard enriched his discussion of Newton’s laws, Faraday’s discoveries, and the predictions of Einstein by making cross references to philosophers and theologians and their concepts.”[2]
It wasn't until Brinton married Anna Cox and earned his Ph. D. in philosophy from Berkeley that he was given the opportunity to teach philosophy and religion at Earlham College. He began this new phase of teaching in 1925, when he was 41 years old.
It wasn't until 1933, when he became director of Pendle Hill, that Brinton had the opportunity to devote himself full-time to teaching Quaker theology. By then he was nearly fifty.
During the next fifteen years, Howard devoted himself full-time to teaching Quakerism as it had never been taught before. Pendle Hill was an experimental school that attempted to apply Quaker principles to education. During this intense period with its very sharp learning curve, Brinton created a whole new approach to Quaker pedagogy as well as well as a framework for Quaker theology.
Brinton's training as a scientist and philosopher shaped the way he thought about theology as well as the way he taught this subject. He saw Quakerism as an “experimental” religion in almost scientific sense; and this approach had a strong appeal to liberal Friends, many of whom shared his scientific background.
Brinton was also influenced by the theological conflicts that were taking place between evangelical/fundamentalist and liberal Friends, which he experienced on a personal level. He came from a “mixed” background—his mother was a Hicksite Friend and his father Orthodox. His wife Anna descended from Joel and Hannah Bean, who were disowned from Iowa Yearly Meeting after it was taken over by evangelicals. Until Brinton became director of Pendle Hill, he taught mainly at schools run by pastoral Friends, whose approach to Quakerism was radically different from his own.
Brinton's theological writings can be divided in three phases. His first important theological writings—Vocal Ministry and Quaker Worship (1928) and Creative Worship (1931)—were written while Brinton was in his forties. As their titles imply, they focus on what Howard considered to be the distinctive core of Quakerism: unprogrammed worship and its philosophical implications. These works also lay the foundation for Howard’s theological perspective, his effort to reconcile Quakerism and science, and to address the urgent spiritual needs of 20th century society.
In his second phase (1943-1952), Brinton took on a more ambitious aim: to educate modern Friends (especially newcomers to Quakerism) in the theory and practice of Quakerism. During this period, he wrote two classic works that are essentially didactic: Guide to Quaker Practice (1943) and Friends for 300 Years (1952). These works arose out of Brinton’s experience as a teacher of Quakerism at Pendle Hill and are intended to help Friends understand the theological basis for unprogrammed worship and to practice their faith based on such worship. These works were written when Howard was in his sixties and at the peak of his powers as a writer and thinker.
In the final phase of Howard’s theological journey, he wrote Friends for 75 Years (1960), Quaker Journals: Varieties of Religious Experiences Among Friends (1972) and The Religious Philosophy of Quakerism (1973).
By far the most important work that Brinton ever wrote was Friends For 300 Years. The time has come—indeed, it is long overdue—for a critical assessment of this enormously influential book. Sales figures confirm this work's enduring popularity, if not Chuck Fager’s observation that “Howard Brinton’s stature as a preeminent Quaker scholar and religious thinker of the twentieth century continues to grow, and rightly so, while other once-prominent names slip further into obscurity.”[3] Thomas Hamm called Brinton “one of the most influential Friends of the twentieth century.”[4] Yet even though Friends for 300 Years has become a classic, and has sold around 30,000 thousand copies since 1965, and probably nearly that many from 1953-65, there has never been a serious study of this classic work. This lack of a critical assessment is truly astounding, given the fact that most Quakers are highly educated people who are quite critical in matters other than theology. If one were writing a biography of Karl Barth, or Reinhold Niebuhr, or just about any other major figure of Catholic or Protestant theology in the 20th century, one would have to sift through a mountain of articles, studies, doctoral dissertations, and books analyzing and assessing their place in the history of Christian theology.
The only critical assessment of Friends for 300 Years is a book review written in 1953 by L. Hugh Doncaster, who agreed with F.B. Tolles’s laudatory assessment that Brinton’s work is “the closest thing this Quaker generation has produced—or is likely to produce—to Robert Barclay’s great Apology.”[5]
Comparing Friends for 300 Years to Barclay’s Apology is the highest praise that a Quaker could bestow since Barclay’s work, written in the 17th century, could be considered the summa theologica of Quakerdom. While many contemporary Quaker theologians would dispute whether Brinton's work deserves such an accolade, Brinton himself makes it clear that Friends for Three Hundred Years was intended to be an “apology,” or a formal defense, of what he viewed as “real Quakerism”--unprogrammed worship grounded in a mix of modernist and Conservative/Wilburite theology. Brinton cites as the two most important sources for his work George Fox's pastoral epistles and Barclay's Apology.
Published in Latin in 1676, and in English in 1678, Barclay's Apology was a systematic defense of Quakerism against its various opponents, from the Calvinists to the Socinians. Unlike many Quaker polemicists, Barclay provided a learned and well-reasoned treatment of key theological issues such the Inward Light, scripture, Man's fallen condition, justification, perfection, ministry, worship, baptism, communion and Quakerism's relationship to society and government. In his introduction to Friends for 300 Years, Brinton says that Barclay's Apology “affords the most complete interpretation we have of Quakerism as thought about.”[6]
Friends for 300 Years defends unprogrammed Quakerism against contemporary non-Quaker opponents, such as Neo-Calvinism and fundamentalism, and also against forms of Quakerism (such as evangelicalism) that Brinton felt had distorted George Fox's original message and mission. Brinton deals with many of the same issues as Barclay: the authority of scripture, conscience vs. the Light Within, the role of reason, the universality of the Light, Christology (the Eternal Christ and the historic Jesus), Man's Responsibility for Good and Evil, Perfectionism, the Fall of Man, and the Relation between the Divine and Human. Unike Barclay, Brinton addresses the contentious issue of the Atonement, which had been one cause of the division between American Friends in the nineteenth century. Brinton, like Barclay, both defends and explains Quaker doctrines logically and clearly so that Friends could understand the rational basis of their faith and enter into a theological discussion/debate with other Christians.
Brinton understood perhaps better than any of his contemporaries the need to educate Friends about theology. The paucity of critical reflection about Quaker religious thought on the part of many modern Friends can partly be explained by Quakerism’s long-standing aversion to theologizing. For this reason, explained Brinton with more than a trace of irony, he used the word “Christian thought” rather than “Christian theology” in the title of an essay published in 1959 because “while many Friends shy away from theology, we do not, or least we do not profess to, shy away from thought.”
Brinton cites as a positive development the establishment of the Quaker Theological Discussion Group, which began in 1957. The first issue of Quaker Religious Thought (Spring, 1959) contains an essay by Brinton entitled “The Quaker Doctrine of the Holy Spirit.” This essay is followed by responses from three leading Quaker thinkers of this period: Lewis Benson, Thomas S. Brown, and Charles F. Thomas. Brinton is given the chance to respond to his critics and have the last word. More will be said about this exchange later.
The aversion to theology among unprogrammed Friends stems in part from the pain caused by the Hicksite-Orthodox separation and by the other schisms of the 19th century, but its persistence to the present day is puzzling. As Brinton makes clear on numerous occasions, Robert Barclay and William Penn were deeply involved in the theological and philosophical debates of their times, while George Fox had a passionate concern for theological matters despite a lack of formal training.
But these Friends and their successors were suspicious of theologizing not based upon a direct, immediate and felt experience of Spirit. Today many unprogrammed Friends confuse theology with a creed (the former are religious reflections by individuals within a religious group, while the latter is a requirement for membership in the group). Creeds help to bring cohesion to a religious group, but they can also create an “us” vs. “them” attitude that liberal Friends find repellent. Theological debate may be divisive, but it may also foster understanding and respect if those who disagree agree to disagree agreeably.
Friends often lacked the training to engage in meaningful theological dialogue. Because seminary training was not a requirement for Quaker ministry during its first hundred and fifty years, and was indeed seen as suspect, many early Friends were ignorant of the theological trends of their day. Even Brinton confessed that because his training was in science and philosophy, he sometimes felt disadvantaged when discussing theology at ecumenical gatherings.
Quaker aversion toward theology shifted somewhat in the latter part of the nineteenth century when Friends adopted the system of paid pastors, who required some form of training in theology and the Bible. Quaker schools like Earlham, Guilford, Haverford, Bryn Mawr and Swarthmore offered courses in religion and some outstanding Quaker scholars emerged, like Rufus Jones and Henry Cadbury. But for the most part, recorded ministers in unprogrammed Meetings had little or no formal training in religion or systematic theology. It wasn’t until 1960 that Earlham School of Religion opened its doors.
Brinton’s work at Pendle Hill in the 1930s and 1940s was a ground-breaking attempt to help educate unprogrammed Friends who felt called to ministry, or to live their Quaker faith authentically. During this period Brinton became aware of how important it was to provide guidance for these eager but inexperienced newcomers to Quakerism. With this group in mind, Brinton wrote a Guide to Quaker Practice (1945), which ended up having a broad appeal. As he explained in his introduction, “This Guide [was] originally written largely with new Friends’ meetings in mind, but also met a considerable need in older meetings. It has been found to be useful not only as an aid to the instruction of new members but also as a reminder to older members of the character and significance of certain practices which at first sight may seem based only on tradition and custom.”[7] Brinton’s purpose was to encourage Friends to reflect more deeply about the theological underpinnings of Quaker practices and procedures.
Brinton along with other Friends were obliged to think more deeply about theology after the formation of the World Council of Churches in 1948. To take part meaningfully in this ecumenical dialogue, Friends were obliged to articulate and defend their beliefs within the context of Christian theology. When Howard Brinton went to this gathering as a representative of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, he become keenly aware of the importance of theologians like Karl Barth and Reinhold Neibuhr. This awakening to contemporary theology had a profound influence on Friends for 300 Years.[8]
Following the World Council, occasional articles about contemporary theological trends began appearing in the Friend Intelligencer—most notably, by William H. Marwick, a Scottish Friend,[9] and by William Hordern, a professor of philosophy and religion at Swarthmore College.[10]
But the aversion to theology among unprogrammed Friends continued and articles analyzing contemporary theological ideas (Quaker or otherwise) rarely appeared in the successor to the Friends Intelligencer, Friends Journal. Even though Friends Journal calls itself a magazine of Quaker life and thought, it probably should be called a magazine of Quaker life and experience since it seldom, if ever, addresses theological issues. Quaker theological discussion has been mainly confined to specialized publications with limited readership, such as QRT and Quaker Theology (founded by Chuck Fager in 1999 as a progressive alternative to QRT).
With this Quaker aversion to theologizing in mind, Brinton tried to make Friends for 300 Years seem like an historical study rather than what it actually was—a defense of what he considered “real Quakerism.” (In his autobiography, Brinton confessed that he took copies of Friend for 300 Years to the Third World Friends Conference in Oxford so that Friends would know what “real Quakerism” was.) Many Friends, when exposed to Friends for 300 Years for the first time, imagine they are reading an objective account of Quaker history and thought. This was never Brinton’s intention. He had a very clear theological agenda in mind—to defend the principles of unprogrammed worship and “traditional” Quakerism, as he understood it.
Brinton’s major contribution to Quaker thought was to present Quakerism not as a system of beliefs, but as a methodology. “The endeavor of this book is not to produce a history of Quakerism,” wrote Brinton in his introduction, “but, by means of historical illustrations, to examine a method.” For this reason, Friends for 300 Years is not organized chronologically, but thematically, beginning with what Brinton regarded as the most important practice of Quakerism: the experience of worship. The first chapter, entitled “To Wait Upon the Lord,” describes the how Quakerism arose from silent, unprogrammed worship leading to a direct, mystical encounter with the Divine. Subsequent chapters deal with aspects of that experience (“The Light Within as Experienced” and “The Light Within as Thought About”). Four chapters are devoted to how Quakers practice their faith—meeting for worship, decision-making, vocal ministry, and witness in the world. There is a chapter on Quaker history (including the various separations), followed by a final chapter: “Quaker Thought and the Present.”
It is notable that Brinton focuses on what Quakers experience and do, rather than on what they believe. In contrast, Wilmer Cooper’s introduction to Quakerism, A Living Faith, is divided into chapters concerned with doctrines, e.g. Quaker View of God, Quaker Understanding of Christ, etc. Patricia Williams uses a framework similar to Brinton’s but begins with theology rather than with religious experience. John Punshon adopts a chronological approach, as does Ben Pink Dandelion.
Brinton’s decision to focus on methodology rather than on doctrine was in keeping with his scientific outlook and training. Throughout the book, Brinton uses metaphors from science that make it appealing to those trained in this discipline.
At the same time, Brinton quotes liberally from early Quaker writers whose rich biblical language conveys the passion and power of their religious experiences. In this way, theology (theory) and history (practice) are combined.
Although Brinton focused on the practice of Quakerism, he also dealt with crucial issues of Christian doctrine in the chapter called “The Light Within as Thought About.” Brinton made it clear at the beginning of this chapter that what unified early Friends was not a common set of beliefs, but a common religious experience that sprung from unprogrammed worship. Even though Brinton privileged this experience over theory, he also saw the importance of “consistent system of ideas.” With this in mind, Brinton was the first to present a systematic Quaker theology for the 20th century. He addressed many of the controversial questions that divided Friends from other Christians, and often divided Friends from each other.
·Is the Bible the ultimate source of authority, or the Inward Light, or both?
·What is the difference between conscience and the Inward Light?
·What role does reason play in Quakerism?
·Is the Light universal? Is there a Christian basis for universalism?
·How do Friends feel about the historical Jesus? What is the Universal Christ?
·What is the Quaker view of the atonement? How has this shaped Quaker attitudes and actions?
·What did Quakers believe about Good and Evil and human responsibility? What about the Fall of Man? Original sin?
·What did Quakers believe about human perfectibility? How do Friends feel about the relation between the Divine and the human?
In addressing these questions, Brinton explored historical precedents and explained their relevance to today's world.
Another important innovation in Brinton’s book was his attempt to address the key theological issues of his day, particularly the neo-Calvinist theology of Karl Barth. Like Barth and the Neo-Calvinists, Brinton recognized the limitations of liberal optimism and saw some validity in Calvin’s dark view of human nature, but he felt that the Neo-Calvinists had gone too far. As L. Hugh Doncaster noted, Brintons suggested that “Quaker historians of this century were influenced, perhaps overinfluenced, by Hegelian idealism; and that now we are facing the challenge of neo-Calvinism. Between these two stands Barclay, ‘pessimistic regarding… ‘natural’ man’s present condition, but optimistic in regard to man’s capacity for regeneration and union with God even in this life.”
Brinton staunchly defended Rufus Jones’s view that Quakerism is essentially a mystical religion which differed dramatically from the Puritanism of its day. This view has been challenged by Hugh Barbour and other Quaker historians, who Brinton felt went too far in their assertions. Brinton also saw the evangelical and holiness movement as fundamentally at odds with “real Quakerism.” This view has also been challenged by evangelical Friends, most recently by Carole Spenser in her book Holiness: the Soul of Quakerism. Certainly, one of the weaknesses of Brinton's argument was his reluctance to acknowledge that his view of Quakerism is a minority position. Pastoral and Evangelical Friends were at the forefront of missionary efforts to spread Quakerism in the 19th and 20th century, and today only 25% of the world's Quakers are unprogrammed Friends.. As Margaret Bacon pointed out, “it is no longer acceptable, as it perhaps was fifty years ago, to write the history of the Society of Friends from the point of view of one's own affiliation.”[11]
Even though Brinton espoused a liberal, modernist viewpoint, he was open to dialogue with those from other branches of Quakerism. He was part of the modern revival of theological discussion among Quaker academics and became involved with the Quaker Theological Discussion Group at its very inception. In the very first issue of Quaker Religious Thought, Brinton's essay on the “Holy Spirit” was published, along with responses from notable Quaker theologians. This exchange among Friends is worth summarizing to give a flavor of the theological views of this period.
Lewis Benson, a Friend who was passionately Christocentric and later founded the New Foundation movement, argued that Brinton overemphasized the “Hellenic” as opposed to Hebrew-Christian side of Quakerism (the Universal Christ Spirit rather than the historic, incarnate Jesus) and did not acknowledge the Trinitarian views of early Friends. Benson, an expert on Fox’s writings, cited passages from Fox’s work acknowledging the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Brinton responds that while Fox occasionally used this traditional formula, most early Friends did not. Penn and Barclay often referred to the Spirit and to Christ in universalist terms. Brinton saw a need for both the universal/impersonal and the particular/personal, and denied that the universal is necessarily “abstract.” According to Brinton, experiencing Spirit as a universal, ineffable presence can be as deeply felt as experiencing Spirit as “I-thou.”
Thomas Brown pointed out “the dangers inherent in religion based only on the Spirit within.” According to Brown, those who rely only on the “Spirit within” run the risk of pride and “idolatry.” Brown also argued for a Trinitarian viewpoint, citing Tillich that the “unity between ultimacy and the concreteness in the living God.” Brinton responded that early Friends had safeguards against spiritual pride: they relied on group discernment and scripture as a way to test the leadings of the Inward Light. In this respect, they were unlike the Ranters and anarchists of today. Finally, Brinton agreed that the Trinity is a “time-honored and suggestive symbol,” but argued that God should not be limited to only three ways of presenting himself to human beings. Why not two, or four, or an infinite number?
Speaking on behalf of pastoral Friends, Charles Thomas argued that there is no reason why the Holy Spirit cannot communicate through pre-arranged worship, as in a sermon. Brinton responded that while it is possible for the Holy Spirit to communicate through this means, prepared talks on religious matters are best presented before or after a Quaker meeting for worship. The distinctive characteristic of Quaker worship is that it offers a unique opportunity for the Holy Spirit to manifest itself spontaneously and without human contrivance. As Brinton noted, “A Quaker meeting is a group search for Truth and seedbed in which individual insights may mature and develop. Such a group exercise of worship is a peculiar and difficult undertaking which may fail more often than it succeeds but three centuries of Quaker practice have proved its power and worth.”[12]
The first issue of Quaker Religious Thought offered a fascinating theological exchange—unlike anything recorded before in a Friends’ publication. It was the beginning of what would prove a lively ongoing dialogue among Friends of different theological perspectives.
Brinton and QRT went in divergent directions, however. Brinton went on to publish articles about theology in Friends Journal, a popular Quaker publication with a wide readership among unprogrammed Friends. QRL became a journal read mainly by academics, although in its early years its circulation climbed to nearly 1,000 readers (a large number for the Religious Society of Friends). Despite the best efforts of this group, most liberal Friends remain theologically illiterate. Chuck Fager has claimed, with some justification, that contemporary Quakers live in an age of theological amnesia. Certainly Brinton tried his best to cure, or at least alleviate, this condition.
[1] Introduction to Quakerism, Cambridge University Press, 2009.
[2] J. Theodore Peters, “Remembering Howard Brinton,” Quaker Life, Dec. 1973, p. 30.
[3] Quaker Theology, Issue 7, 2002. http://quest.quaker.org/issue7-5-fager.htm.
[4] The Quakers in America. New York: Columbia University Press, 2003, p. 67.
[5] The Bulletin of the Friends Historical Association, Vol. 41. Autumn, 1952, #2, p. 138.
[6] Friends for 350 Years, p. xv.
[7] Guide to Quaker Practice, p. 5.
[8] See my article “Howard Brinton and the World Council of Churches,” being considered for publication by Quaker Theology.
[9] “Some Current Trends in Theology” by William H. Marwick, Friends Intelligencer, Tenth Month, 11, 1952, p. 583.
[10] “Modern Trends in Theology,” Friends Intelligencer, Fifth Month, 2, 1952, p. 249.
[11] Friends for 350 Years, p. viii.
[12] Quaker Religious Thought, ibid, p. 24.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Monday, April 19, 2010
"The Most Remarkable Couple Since George Fox Married Margaret Fell...."
This is the first chapter of my book about Howard and Anna Brinton, described by Quaker historian Thomas Hamm as "the most remarkable couple since George Fox married Margaret Fell."
During their nearly fifty years of marriage, Howard and Anna Brinton exemplified what it meant to be a committed Quaker couple—teaching, writing, traveling and working for peace while raising a family of four children. For sixteen years, they were directors and teachers at Pendle Hill, a Quaker center for study and contemplation near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. There they wrote numerous articles, pamphlets, and books about the Quaker faith and practice that “reinvented” Quakerism for the twentieth century. Howard Brinton’s book Friends for 300 Years became a classic and was reissued in 2002 with commentary by the Quaker historian Margaret Bacon. Many of Howard’s pamphlets are still used to teach the basics of Quakerism in First Day and Quakerism 101 classes. With his solid grounding in science and philosophy, Howard created a theological framework for modern liberal Quakerism that has been challenged by scholars, but has never been replaced by anything of comparable stature or usefulness. 1
Book-length biographical studies have been written about most of the other “giants” of early and mid twentieth century American Quakerism—Rufus Jones, Henry Cadbury, Douglas Steere, Thomas Kelly, and Clarence Pickett2. A biography of this extraordinary couple is long overdue and will, I hope, help to illuminate not only their lives but also the development of Quaker life and thought in the twentieth century.
The Brintons were “bi-coastal Friends” who helped form the Pacific Coast Association, which later became Pacific Yearly Meeting. Anna Cox Brinton (1887-1969) was born and raised in San Jose, California. Her grandfather, Joel Bean, started the College Park Association of Friends, an independent Quaker organization that was the precursor of Pacific Yearly Meeting. (For this reason, Pacific Yearly Meeting Friends are sometimes called “Beanites.”) Howard Haines Brinton (1884-1973) came from a well-established Quaker family in West Chester, Pennsylvania, and became deeply involved in Western Quakerism through his marriage to Anna.
Throughout their lives, they nurtured and supported the expansion of the “independent” Quaker movement in the Western USA.3 Phillip Wells, a physician who became active with Friends in the 1920s and served as an editor of Friends Bulletin, wrote: “Howard Brinton has often been spoken of affectionately as the father of Pacific Yearly Meeting…the presence and writings of Howard Brinton have been a unifying and inspiring presence for Friends everywhere, but particularly for the Pacific Coast region.”
Unlike most of the major 20th century Quaker scholars, who tended to stay put at one or two institutions, like Haverford or Harvard, the Brintons ranged widely and experienced the full spectrum of Quakerism theologically and geographically.4 Howard taught at Friends Select School in Philadelphia, Olney Friends School in Ohio, Pickering College in Canada, and Guilford College in North Carolina. Together Howard and Anna taught at Mills College in California, Earlham College in Indiana, Woodbrooke in England, and finally settled at Pendle Hill, where they lived from 1936 until they died. In the course of their careers, the Brintons had first-hand experience with the amazing diversity of Quakerism. Both were ecumenical in outlook: Howard attended the first meeting of the World Council of Churches in Amsterdam, and Anna took part in the first session of the National Council of Churches. As Henry Cadbury noted, “This scholarly couple has exercised profound influence on the education and outreach, including ecumenical contacts, of Quakerism.”5
In the course of their careers, Anna and Howard traveled around the world, visiting Asia as well as Europe, and spent a year leading Quaker educational institutes in Japan for the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC). They both deeply appreciated Asian culture and saw affinities between Buddhism and Quakerism.
Howard and Anna had a passionate concern not only for Quaker theology, but also for Quaker history. These two subjects were not separate in their minds, as Edwin B. Bronner makes clear: “In 1961, [Howard] was named president of the Friends Historical Association, and, after three years in that office, he was succeeded by his wife Anna….Howard used history to explain Quakerism, he selected historical facts from the past to support the interpretation of Quakerism that he accepted for himself, namely as a mystical religious movement….” To help explain and defend their views of Quaker history and thought, Howard and Anna collaborated on many historical studies, including a work on Quaker journals.
After their retirement, they continued to live at Pendle Hill in a modest cottage called Matsudo. As Dan Wilson, former Pendle Hill director, noted, “During his nearly forty years at Pendle Hill, Howard Brinton came to be known by seekers from around the world as a teacher of the religion he lived.” Wilson added significantly: “I believe Pendle Hill has been his living autobiography.”
They were actively involved in the AFSC from its early years after WW I through the 1960s. While they are best known as Quaker educatorsor as Dan Wilson called them somewhat grandiloquently, “translucent teachers and ministers of the Light”6peace activism was a key element in their lives. Howard Brinton’s writing on the historical basis of the Quaker Peace Testimony has become a classic. His views on the theological and spiritual underpinnings of Quaker social activism have also been profoundly influential. Through their work at Pendle Hill and the American Friends Service Committee, the Brintons did a great deal to nurture the peace movement and helped to educate a generation of activists.7
The fact of their being a couple—a pair of gifted Friends with distinct personalities and a common mission—was an important aspect of their ministry. Horace Alexander (a British Quaker best known for supporting the independence movement in India) observed that when Alfred Neave Brayshaw returned to England from a visit to Friends in North America in the 1920s, he told his Friends at Woodbrooke: “I have found a wonderful couple of Friends in America. It is a real case of ‘William-and-Mary.’ You must get them to Woodbrooke for a year.” Alexander adds: “Even though they sometimes travelled separately, the names Howard and Anna are for their friends still inseparably linked.”8 As this biography of the Brintons reveals, Howard and Anna were in many ways (as Quaker historian Thomas Hamm noted) “the most remarkable Quaker couple since George Fox married Margaret Fell.”9
The analogy is apt and striking, but needs some clarification. George Fox, the founder of the Religious Society of Friends, was a charismatic visionary. Howard was also a visionary, an exponent of what he saw as “real Quakerism.” Margaret Fell was the wife of a prominent judge who became Fox’s follower, and then his wife, after her husband died. Margaret was not only a supportive wife, but also an outspoken defender of her faith. She wrote an aptly titled “manifesto of women’s liberation” called Women’s Speaking Justified.10 Anna Brinton needed no justification for speaking out, nor was she ever any man’s follower. But like Margaret, she felt called to Quaker ministry and had organizational skills that helped her husband to succeed in his calling. George and Margaret, like Howard and Anna, were an impressive team.
The Brintons were a “marriage of East and West” not only geographically, but temperamentally. The granddaughter of Joel Bean, Anna embodied the independent, inventive, and creative spirit of Western Quakers. Howard, on the other hand, came from an Eastern Quaker family with roots dating back to William Penn. Grounded in the deep traditions of East Coast Quakerism, and inspired by Anna and West Coast Friends, Howard sought to move Friends beyond traditionalism into a vital connection with the living Spirit and with modern ideas.
I was drawn to write this book about the Brintons in part because for twelve years I edited Friends Bulletin, the official magazine of Western unprogrammed Quakers. (“Unprogrammed” refers to Quakers who worship without a pre-arranged liturgy or paid pastor.) This magazine was started in 1929 when Anna Brinton “first had the happy idea” of producing a quarterly newsletter for the College Park Association of Friends (which later evolved into the Pacific Coast Association and Pacific Yearly Meeting). When I finished editing a book to commemorate the 70th anniversary of this publication, and to chronicle the history of Friends in the Western United States, I discovered that Howard Brinton had dictated his Autobiography to Yuki Takahashi Brinton (his second wife) during the last year of his life when he was blind and therefore unable to read or write. As I perused Brinton’s Autobiography, which no historian had researched, I realized it was a trove of information about a major figure of twentieth century Quakerism whose personal life is not widely known.
“Though Howard Brinton wrote about mysticism with the authority of direct knowledge, there are in his books no accounts of his own experience,” observed Elizabeth Gray Vining. “He was reticent about himself. But in his later years he did say to Dan Wilson that he should have revealed himself more.”
Howard understood that sharing one’s personal experiences as a Friend is a crucial aspect of Quaker practice. “Because Quakerism is primarily a religion based on inner personal experience rather than on creed or ritual,” wrote Howard, “the religious autobiography, usually called a ‘Journal,’ has been the most characteristic form of Quaker writing.”11 For this reason, Howard took an intense interest in Quaker journals, a form of autobiographical writing that he saw as an essential feature of Quaker life and thought.
When Howard turned seventy five in 1959, he was asked to share his lifetime of experience among Friends at a Philadelphia Yearly Meeting gathering. His talk, called Seventy-Five Years of Friends, was autobiographical, but it focused on his religious experiences, not his personal life.
Howard’s personal life is described in his unpublished Autobiography, which I have used as a basis for this study. I tell the story of his marriage to Yuki, and of how Howard’s Autobiography came to be written. I also recount Yuki’s life story, which she shared with me during her final years.
Anna never wrote a journal or memoir but a few years before her death in 1969, she allowed herself to be interviewed by Eleanor Price Mather, who wrote Anna Brinton: A Study in Quaker Character (Pendle Hill Pamphlet # 176: 1971). This anecdotal account of Anna’s life is entertaining and insightful, but somewhat limited and does not attempt to place Anna’s contributions into an historical context, as I try to do.
The Brintons were intensely serious about their religious faith, but they did not take themselves seriously. One of the most appealing features of their lives was their keen sense of humor and fun, which does not always appear in their writings. As Dan Wilson wrote, Howard “could laugh and play heartily, as evidenced particularly at Hallowe’en parties, Pendle Hill log nights, and with his grandchildren.” Anna was also famous for her wit and humor. No biography of the Brintons could omit this quality, which helped to make them effective teachers as well as beloved Friends. Even during the most solemn moments, Howard could see the absurd, as is made clear by this story told by Douglas Steere:
Anna had the reputation of being a no-nonsense administrator (“The Spirit of Organization that kills” is how Gerald Heard once described her, somewhat unkindly), but she also had a whimsical and humorous side, especially when it came to children. One of my favorite Anna Brinton stories involves an incident that took place when a group of Pendle Hill students met for outdoor worship. One of the students, Frances McAllister, had a young child who kept disturbing the group by chasing butterflies. Frances was embarrassed by her child’s behavior and went to Anna afterwards to apologize. Anna smiled and reassured Frances with an unforgettable line: “Does thee not know, Friend, that chasing butterflies is a form of worship?”
I have been preparing to write this book for nearly nine years. I began my research in 2001 when I was given a copy of Howard’ unpublished Autobiography by his daughter, Cathy Cary, and was told that no historian had researched it. In 2003 I received a Gest fellowship to do research in the Brinton archives at Haverford College. I spent many pleasant hours interviewing the Brinton family and am grateful for their assistance. I have also interviewed many people who knew the Brintons personally and were happy to share stories about this remarkable couple. This led to my publishing a Pendle Hill pamphlet entitled Living the Peace Testimony: The Legacy of Howard and Anna Brinton (2004). In 2008 I received a Cadbury fellowship so that I could spend a year at Pendle Hill writing a biography of the Brintons. As my wife and I prepared to make our cross-country trek from California to Pendle Hill—we had even quit our jobs and sold our home—we learned that my wife had cancer. This devastating news forced us to forgo our plans and spend the year in Santa Monica while she underwent chemotherapy. Because I didn’t have access to many of the resources I needed, and much of my time had to be devoted to care giving, I almost gave up my hope of completing this project. But in the spring of 2009, I decided to re-read some of Howard’s writings in order to prepare for a short course about the Brintons I was supposed to teach at Pendle Hill, and my enthusiasm returned. Supported by my wife, who read the manuscript while awaiting her admittance to the City of Hope, I felt inspired once more to write about a couple who in many ways epitomize what 20th century Quakerism was all about. When Kathleen died suddenly of cancer in May 2009, I was determined to complete this book and dedicate it to her memory. She was (and still is) my inspiration.
Writing about the Brintons has been a way for me to explore my relationship to a faith that has enriched my life and deepened my spiritual awareness beyond what words can tell. Writing this book has truly been what Quakers call a “leading of the Spirit.”
As I wrote this book, I was aware that even though I have been a Quaker for nearly twenty-five years, I am still an outsider in many ways. I was not raised a Quaker, nor did I attend Quaker schools. I had to learn about Quaker history and culture through a slow process of trial-and-error (mostly error). What comforts me is the knowledge that the Brintons were very supportive of convinced Friends like me. They nurtured fledging Friends in Pacific Yearly Meeting and they did their best to clarify the “secrets” of Quakerism with their students at Pendle Hill, many of whom were newcomers to the Religious Society of Friends. The Brintons had little patience with “birthright Friends who thought they knew [what Quakerism is all about] but did not.”12
I have quoted extensively from Howard’s Autobiography and other writings to give a flavor of what the man and his conversation were like; and I have also tried to do the same for Anna, although fewer records remain of her oral reminiscences. Howard frequently admitted his shortcomings in his Autobiography, and Anna could also be self-critical. I believe that no biography can be useful unless its subject is presented warts and all. Howard and Anna would have appreciated honesty more than hagiography. As Howard observed in his study of Quaker Journals,
When a manuscript [of a Friend’s autobiography/journal] was found by the family, it was usually turned over to a committee of the meeting for editing. This was often disastrous. Sometimes the editors, from too much caution, would eliminate references to persons then living, or other interesting parts of the Journal.13
To avoid such a “disaster,” I have preserved as much as I could of what Howard and Anna said in their own words, while correcting errors of fact owing to lapses of memory. I have also provided a critical context so their comments and views can be evaluated from perspectives other than their own. My hope is that readers will come to appreciate how these two Friends lived their faith, and how their efforts to be authentic Quakers in the twentieth century can help us to deepen our connection with the Spirit in our era.
1 In 2002 Howard Brinton’s Friends for 300 Years (written to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the founding of Quakerism) was the third best-selling book in the Pendle Hill bookstore, a major Quaker book distributor. Over 1,000 copies of this Quaker classic were sold yearly. Two other Brinton works are among Pendle Hill’s top twenty best-selling publications. No other 20th century Quaker author circulates so widely, at least in Quaker circles. Friends For 300 Years has recently been reprinted, with an historical update and notes by Margaret Hope Bacon, under the title Friends for 350 Years (Pendle Hill: Wallingford, 2002).
2 Elizabeth Gray Vining, Friend of Life: A Biography of Rufus M. Jones (1959); Margaret Hope Bacon, Let This Life Speak: The Legacy of Henry Joel Cadbury (1987); Lawrence McK. Miller, Witness for Humanity: A Biography of Clarence E. Pickett (1999); Richard Kelly, Thomas Kelly, a Biography, Harper and Row, 1966; and E. Glen Hinson, Love at the Heart of Things: A Biography of Douglas V. Steere (1998).
3 See A Western Quaker Reader, edited by Anthony Manousos. Friends Bulletin: Whittier, CA. 2000.
4 Rufus Jones spent most of his career teaching at Haverford. Henry Cadbury taught at Haverford Bryn Mawr, and Harvard.. Douglas Steere taught at Haverford for most of his career, with a one-year stint at Union Seminary. In his all too short career, Thomas Kelly, like Howard Brinton, taught at a variety of schools and places, including Wilmington College, Pickering College, the University of Hawaii, Hartford Theological Seminary and Haverford.
5 Friends Journal, December 15, 1969, p. 708.
6 Living in the Light: Some Quaker Pioneers of the 20th Century, Volume 1, in the U.S.A. Leonard S. Kenworthy, Editor. FGC, Kennett Square, PA, 1984, p. 41.
7 See Living the Peace Testimony: The Legacy of Howard and Anna Brinton by Anthony Manousos. Pendle Hill Pamphlet 372. Wallingford, PA: 2004.
8 Horace Alexander, The Friend, November 14, 1969, p 1397.
9 Thomas Hamm, Earlham College: A History 1847-1997. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1997, p. 139.
10 Robert J. Leach, Women Ministers: A Quaker Contribution. Pendle Hill Pamphlet #227, 1979, p. 8.
11 Brinton, Quaker Journals: Varieties of Religious Experience Among Friends. Pendle Hill, 1972, p. ix.
12 Manousos, A Western Quaker Reader, Friends Bulletin: Whittier, CA, 2000, p. 90.
13 Brinton, Quaker Journals: Varieties of Religious Experiences Among Friends. Pendle Hill: 1972, p. xi.
During their nearly fifty years of marriage, Howard and Anna Brinton exemplified what it meant to be a committed Quaker couple—teaching, writing, traveling and working for peace while raising a family of four children. For sixteen years, they were directors and teachers at Pendle Hill, a Quaker center for study and contemplation near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. There they wrote numerous articles, pamphlets, and books about the Quaker faith and practice that “reinvented” Quakerism for the twentieth century. Howard Brinton’s book Friends for 300 Years became a classic and was reissued in 2002 with commentary by the Quaker historian Margaret Bacon. Many of Howard’s pamphlets are still used to teach the basics of Quakerism in First Day and Quakerism 101 classes. With his solid grounding in science and philosophy, Howard created a theological framework for modern liberal Quakerism that has been challenged by scholars, but has never been replaced by anything of comparable stature or usefulness. 1
Book-length biographical studies have been written about most of the other “giants” of early and mid twentieth century American Quakerism—Rufus Jones, Henry Cadbury, Douglas Steere, Thomas Kelly, and Clarence Pickett2. A biography of this extraordinary couple is long overdue and will, I hope, help to illuminate not only their lives but also the development of Quaker life and thought in the twentieth century.
The Brintons were “bi-coastal Friends” who helped form the Pacific Coast Association, which later became Pacific Yearly Meeting. Anna Cox Brinton (1887-1969) was born and raised in San Jose, California. Her grandfather, Joel Bean, started the College Park Association of Friends, an independent Quaker organization that was the precursor of Pacific Yearly Meeting. (For this reason, Pacific Yearly Meeting Friends are sometimes called “Beanites.”) Howard Haines Brinton (1884-1973) came from a well-established Quaker family in West Chester, Pennsylvania, and became deeply involved in Western Quakerism through his marriage to Anna.
Throughout their lives, they nurtured and supported the expansion of the “independent” Quaker movement in the Western USA.3 Phillip Wells, a physician who became active with Friends in the 1920s and served as an editor of Friends Bulletin, wrote: “Howard Brinton has often been spoken of affectionately as the father of Pacific Yearly Meeting…the presence and writings of Howard Brinton have been a unifying and inspiring presence for Friends everywhere, but particularly for the Pacific Coast region.”
Unlike most of the major 20th century Quaker scholars, who tended to stay put at one or two institutions, like Haverford or Harvard, the Brintons ranged widely and experienced the full spectrum of Quakerism theologically and geographically.4 Howard taught at Friends Select School in Philadelphia, Olney Friends School in Ohio, Pickering College in Canada, and Guilford College in North Carolina. Together Howard and Anna taught at Mills College in California, Earlham College in Indiana, Woodbrooke in England, and finally settled at Pendle Hill, where they lived from 1936 until they died. In the course of their careers, the Brintons had first-hand experience with the amazing diversity of Quakerism. Both were ecumenical in outlook: Howard attended the first meeting of the World Council of Churches in Amsterdam, and Anna took part in the first session of the National Council of Churches. As Henry Cadbury noted, “This scholarly couple has exercised profound influence on the education and outreach, including ecumenical contacts, of Quakerism.”5
In the course of their careers, Anna and Howard traveled around the world, visiting Asia as well as Europe, and spent a year leading Quaker educational institutes in Japan for the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC). They both deeply appreciated Asian culture and saw affinities between Buddhism and Quakerism.
Howard and Anna had a passionate concern not only for Quaker theology, but also for Quaker history. These two subjects were not separate in their minds, as Edwin B. Bronner makes clear: “In 1961, [Howard] was named president of the Friends Historical Association, and, after three years in that office, he was succeeded by his wife Anna….Howard used history to explain Quakerism, he selected historical facts from the past to support the interpretation of Quakerism that he accepted for himself, namely as a mystical religious movement….” To help explain and defend their views of Quaker history and thought, Howard and Anna collaborated on many historical studies, including a work on Quaker journals.
After their retirement, they continued to live at Pendle Hill in a modest cottage called Matsudo. As Dan Wilson, former Pendle Hill director, noted, “During his nearly forty years at Pendle Hill, Howard Brinton came to be known by seekers from around the world as a teacher of the religion he lived.” Wilson added significantly: “I believe Pendle Hill has been his living autobiography.”
They were actively involved in the AFSC from its early years after WW I through the 1960s. While they are best known as Quaker educatorsor as Dan Wilson called them somewhat grandiloquently, “translucent teachers and ministers of the Light”6peace activism was a key element in their lives. Howard Brinton’s writing on the historical basis of the Quaker Peace Testimony has become a classic. His views on the theological and spiritual underpinnings of Quaker social activism have also been profoundly influential. Through their work at Pendle Hill and the American Friends Service Committee, the Brintons did a great deal to nurture the peace movement and helped to educate a generation of activists.7
The fact of their being a couple—a pair of gifted Friends with distinct personalities and a common mission—was an important aspect of their ministry. Horace Alexander (a British Quaker best known for supporting the independence movement in India) observed that when Alfred Neave Brayshaw returned to England from a visit to Friends in North America in the 1920s, he told his Friends at Woodbrooke: “I have found a wonderful couple of Friends in America. It is a real case of ‘William-and-Mary.’ You must get them to Woodbrooke for a year.” Alexander adds: “Even though they sometimes travelled separately, the names Howard and Anna are for their friends still inseparably linked.”8 As this biography of the Brintons reveals, Howard and Anna were in many ways (as Quaker historian Thomas Hamm noted) “the most remarkable Quaker couple since George Fox married Margaret Fell.”9
The analogy is apt and striking, but needs some clarification. George Fox, the founder of the Religious Society of Friends, was a charismatic visionary. Howard was also a visionary, an exponent of what he saw as “real Quakerism.” Margaret Fell was the wife of a prominent judge who became Fox’s follower, and then his wife, after her husband died. Margaret was not only a supportive wife, but also an outspoken defender of her faith. She wrote an aptly titled “manifesto of women’s liberation” called Women’s Speaking Justified.10 Anna Brinton needed no justification for speaking out, nor was she ever any man’s follower. But like Margaret, she felt called to Quaker ministry and had organizational skills that helped her husband to succeed in his calling. George and Margaret, like Howard and Anna, were an impressive team.
The Brintons were a “marriage of East and West” not only geographically, but temperamentally. The granddaughter of Joel Bean, Anna embodied the independent, inventive, and creative spirit of Western Quakers. Howard, on the other hand, came from an Eastern Quaker family with roots dating back to William Penn. Grounded in the deep traditions of East Coast Quakerism, and inspired by Anna and West Coast Friends, Howard sought to move Friends beyond traditionalism into a vital connection with the living Spirit and with modern ideas.
I was drawn to write this book about the Brintons in part because for twelve years I edited Friends Bulletin, the official magazine of Western unprogrammed Quakers. (“Unprogrammed” refers to Quakers who worship without a pre-arranged liturgy or paid pastor.) This magazine was started in 1929 when Anna Brinton “first had the happy idea” of producing a quarterly newsletter for the College Park Association of Friends (which later evolved into the Pacific Coast Association and Pacific Yearly Meeting). When I finished editing a book to commemorate the 70th anniversary of this publication, and to chronicle the history of Friends in the Western United States, I discovered that Howard Brinton had dictated his Autobiography to Yuki Takahashi Brinton (his second wife) during the last year of his life when he was blind and therefore unable to read or write. As I perused Brinton’s Autobiography, which no historian had researched, I realized it was a trove of information about a major figure of twentieth century Quakerism whose personal life is not widely known.
“Though Howard Brinton wrote about mysticism with the authority of direct knowledge, there are in his books no accounts of his own experience,” observed Elizabeth Gray Vining. “He was reticent about himself. But in his later years he did say to Dan Wilson that he should have revealed himself more.”
Howard understood that sharing one’s personal experiences as a Friend is a crucial aspect of Quaker practice. “Because Quakerism is primarily a religion based on inner personal experience rather than on creed or ritual,” wrote Howard, “the religious autobiography, usually called a ‘Journal,’ has been the most characteristic form of Quaker writing.”11 For this reason, Howard took an intense interest in Quaker journals, a form of autobiographical writing that he saw as an essential feature of Quaker life and thought.
When Howard turned seventy five in 1959, he was asked to share his lifetime of experience among Friends at a Philadelphia Yearly Meeting gathering. His talk, called Seventy-Five Years of Friends, was autobiographical, but it focused on his religious experiences, not his personal life.
Howard’s personal life is described in his unpublished Autobiography, which I have used as a basis for this study. I tell the story of his marriage to Yuki, and of how Howard’s Autobiography came to be written. I also recount Yuki’s life story, which she shared with me during her final years.
Anna never wrote a journal or memoir but a few years before her death in 1969, she allowed herself to be interviewed by Eleanor Price Mather, who wrote Anna Brinton: A Study in Quaker Character (Pendle Hill Pamphlet # 176: 1971). This anecdotal account of Anna’s life is entertaining and insightful, but somewhat limited and does not attempt to place Anna’s contributions into an historical context, as I try to do.
The Brintons were intensely serious about their religious faith, but they did not take themselves seriously. One of the most appealing features of their lives was their keen sense of humor and fun, which does not always appear in their writings. As Dan Wilson wrote, Howard “could laugh and play heartily, as evidenced particularly at Hallowe’en parties, Pendle Hill log nights, and with his grandchildren.” Anna was also famous for her wit and humor. No biography of the Brintons could omit this quality, which helped to make them effective teachers as well as beloved Friends. Even during the most solemn moments, Howard could see the absurd, as is made clear by this story told by Douglas Steere:
Howard and Anna Brinton entertained many distinguished people in their
Upmeads residence with its fireplace framed with panels of old Chinese and
Japanese Zen patriarchs who looked down searchingly upon the guests. I once
confronted those patriarch in Upmeads when I brought over Daisetz Suzuki, the
great Zen writer, to see Howard. There, before those fierce beetle-browed
figures on the panels, Howard, whose own eyebrows came out like shelves of
thatch over his eyes, asked Dr. Suzuki (whose brows quite matched Howard’s and
those on the panels), “Dr. Suzuki, is it true that Zen Buddhists believe that
there is some connection between sanctity and the size of a man’s eyebrows?”
Daizetz Suzuki took in the situation and with a faint curl of a smile coming
over his face, replied courteously, “So they say,” after which we all roared
with laughter.
Anna had the reputation of being a no-nonsense administrator (“The Spirit of Organization that kills” is how Gerald Heard once described her, somewhat unkindly), but she also had a whimsical and humorous side, especially when it came to children. One of my favorite Anna Brinton stories involves an incident that took place when a group of Pendle Hill students met for outdoor worship. One of the students, Frances McAllister, had a young child who kept disturbing the group by chasing butterflies. Frances was embarrassed by her child’s behavior and went to Anna afterwards to apologize. Anna smiled and reassured Frances with an unforgettable line: “Does thee not know, Friend, that chasing butterflies is a form of worship?”
I have been preparing to write this book for nearly nine years. I began my research in 2001 when I was given a copy of Howard’ unpublished Autobiography by his daughter, Cathy Cary, and was told that no historian had researched it. In 2003 I received a Gest fellowship to do research in the Brinton archives at Haverford College. I spent many pleasant hours interviewing the Brinton family and am grateful for their assistance. I have also interviewed many people who knew the Brintons personally and were happy to share stories about this remarkable couple. This led to my publishing a Pendle Hill pamphlet entitled Living the Peace Testimony: The Legacy of Howard and Anna Brinton (2004). In 2008 I received a Cadbury fellowship so that I could spend a year at Pendle Hill writing a biography of the Brintons. As my wife and I prepared to make our cross-country trek from California to Pendle Hill—we had even quit our jobs and sold our home—we learned that my wife had cancer. This devastating news forced us to forgo our plans and spend the year in Santa Monica while she underwent chemotherapy. Because I didn’t have access to many of the resources I needed, and much of my time had to be devoted to care giving, I almost gave up my hope of completing this project. But in the spring of 2009, I decided to re-read some of Howard’s writings in order to prepare for a short course about the Brintons I was supposed to teach at Pendle Hill, and my enthusiasm returned. Supported by my wife, who read the manuscript while awaiting her admittance to the City of Hope, I felt inspired once more to write about a couple who in many ways epitomize what 20th century Quakerism was all about. When Kathleen died suddenly of cancer in May 2009, I was determined to complete this book and dedicate it to her memory. She was (and still is) my inspiration.
Writing about the Brintons has been a way for me to explore my relationship to a faith that has enriched my life and deepened my spiritual awareness beyond what words can tell. Writing this book has truly been what Quakers call a “leading of the Spirit.”
As I wrote this book, I was aware that even though I have been a Quaker for nearly twenty-five years, I am still an outsider in many ways. I was not raised a Quaker, nor did I attend Quaker schools. I had to learn about Quaker history and culture through a slow process of trial-and-error (mostly error). What comforts me is the knowledge that the Brintons were very supportive of convinced Friends like me. They nurtured fledging Friends in Pacific Yearly Meeting and they did their best to clarify the “secrets” of Quakerism with their students at Pendle Hill, many of whom were newcomers to the Religious Society of Friends. The Brintons had little patience with “birthright Friends who thought they knew [what Quakerism is all about] but did not.”12
I have quoted extensively from Howard’s Autobiography and other writings to give a flavor of what the man and his conversation were like; and I have also tried to do the same for Anna, although fewer records remain of her oral reminiscences. Howard frequently admitted his shortcomings in his Autobiography, and Anna could also be self-critical. I believe that no biography can be useful unless its subject is presented warts and all. Howard and Anna would have appreciated honesty more than hagiography. As Howard observed in his study of Quaker Journals,
When a manuscript [of a Friend’s autobiography/journal] was found by the family, it was usually turned over to a committee of the meeting for editing. This was often disastrous. Sometimes the editors, from too much caution, would eliminate references to persons then living, or other interesting parts of the Journal.13
To avoid such a “disaster,” I have preserved as much as I could of what Howard and Anna said in their own words, while correcting errors of fact owing to lapses of memory. I have also provided a critical context so their comments and views can be evaluated from perspectives other than their own. My hope is that readers will come to appreciate how these two Friends lived their faith, and how their efforts to be authentic Quakers in the twentieth century can help us to deepen our connection with the Spirit in our era.
1 In 2002 Howard Brinton’s Friends for 300 Years (written to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the founding of Quakerism) was the third best-selling book in the Pendle Hill bookstore, a major Quaker book distributor. Over 1,000 copies of this Quaker classic were sold yearly. Two other Brinton works are among Pendle Hill’s top twenty best-selling publications. No other 20th century Quaker author circulates so widely, at least in Quaker circles. Friends For 300 Years has recently been reprinted, with an historical update and notes by Margaret Hope Bacon, under the title Friends for 350 Years (Pendle Hill: Wallingford, 2002).
2 Elizabeth Gray Vining, Friend of Life: A Biography of Rufus M. Jones (1959); Margaret Hope Bacon, Let This Life Speak: The Legacy of Henry Joel Cadbury (1987); Lawrence McK. Miller, Witness for Humanity: A Biography of Clarence E. Pickett (1999); Richard Kelly, Thomas Kelly, a Biography, Harper and Row, 1966; and E. Glen Hinson, Love at the Heart of Things: A Biography of Douglas V. Steere (1998).
3 See A Western Quaker Reader, edited by Anthony Manousos. Friends Bulletin: Whittier, CA. 2000.
4 Rufus Jones spent most of his career teaching at Haverford. Henry Cadbury taught at Haverford Bryn Mawr, and Harvard.. Douglas Steere taught at Haverford for most of his career, with a one-year stint at Union Seminary. In his all too short career, Thomas Kelly, like Howard Brinton, taught at a variety of schools and places, including Wilmington College, Pickering College, the University of Hawaii, Hartford Theological Seminary and Haverford.
5 Friends Journal, December 15, 1969, p. 708.
6 Living in the Light: Some Quaker Pioneers of the 20th Century, Volume 1, in the U.S.A. Leonard S. Kenworthy, Editor. FGC, Kennett Square, PA, 1984, p. 41.
7 See Living the Peace Testimony: The Legacy of Howard and Anna Brinton by Anthony Manousos. Pendle Hill Pamphlet 372. Wallingford, PA: 2004.
8 Horace Alexander, The Friend, November 14, 1969, p 1397.
9 Thomas Hamm, Earlham College: A History 1847-1997. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1997, p. 139.
10 Robert J. Leach, Women Ministers: A Quaker Contribution. Pendle Hill Pamphlet #227, 1979, p. 8.
11 Brinton, Quaker Journals: Varieties of Religious Experience Among Friends. Pendle Hill, 1972, p. ix.
12 Manousos, A Western Quaker Reader, Friends Bulletin: Whittier, CA, 2000, p. 90.
13 Brinton, Quaker Journals: Varieties of Religious Experiences Among Friends. Pendle Hill: 1972, p. xi.
Thursday, April 15, 2010
What does it mean to be a person of peace?
We are having a discussion about peace at the Culver City Interfaith Alliance and several people expressed the concern: what do I do if I am attacked? Don't I have the right to defend myself? I shared the following thoughts about self-defense and the martial arts from a little book called That Art of Peace by Morihei Ueshiba, trans. by John Stevens. According to the intro,
As this little book of wisdom makes clear, there are many ways to defend
oneself and one's loved ones without killing or maiming one's opponent, if we
are open to the inner light and to the Way. If we spent as much time training in
these nonviolent techniques as we spend watching movies that make us fearful, or
practicing how to shoot guns that usually end up killing the wrong person by
accident or getting stolen by criminals, we would feel and be a lot safer. True
security doesn't come from a weapon; it comes from being truly centered in the
Way that shows us how to respond to threats appropriately and nonviolently.
Guns and violence give us only illusory security. The only way to achieve peace is to be at peace with oneself
My friend Doris sent me this quotation in response (I would prefer inclusive language, i.e. "person of peace"):
Morihei Ueshiba (1883-1969) was history's greatest martial artist. Even as an old man of eighty, Morihei could disarm any foe, down any number of attackers, and pin down an opponent with a single finger. Although invincible as a warrior, Morihei was above all a man of peace who detested fighting, war, and any kind of violence. His was was Aikido, which can be translated as "The Art of Peace."
There is much in this book that I can resonate with as a Quaker. He writes:
Foster and polish
The warrior spirit
While serving in the world;
Illuminate the path
According to your inner light.
Your spirit
is the true shield.
Opponents confront us continually,
but actually
there is no opponent there.Enter deeply into an attack and neutralize it as you
draw that misdirected force into your own sphere.
The Art of Peace is a
form of prayer that generates light and heat. Forget about your little self,
detach yourself from objects, and you radiate light and warmth. Light is wisdom;
warmth is compassion.
As this little book of wisdom makes clear, there are many ways to defend
oneself and one's loved ones without killing or maiming one's opponent, if we
are open to the inner light and to the Way. If we spent as much time training in
these nonviolent techniques as we spend watching movies that make us fearful, or
practicing how to shoot guns that usually end up killing the wrong person by
accident or getting stolen by criminals, we would feel and be a lot safer. True
security doesn't come from a weapon; it comes from being truly centered in the
Way that shows us how to respond to threats appropriately and nonviolently.
Guns and violence give us only illusory security. The only way to achieve peace is to be at peace with oneself
My friend Doris sent me this quotation in response (I would prefer inclusive language, i.e. "person of peace"):
A man of peace is not a pacifist, a man of peace is simply a pool of silence.
He pulsates a new kind of energy into the world, he sings a new song. He lives
in a totally new way his very way oflife is that of grace, that of prayer, that
of compassion. Whomsoever he touches, he creates more love-energy.
The man of peace is creative. He is not against war, because to be
against anything is to be at war. He is not against war, he simply understands
why war exists. And out of that understanding he becomes peaceful. Only when
there are many people who are pools of peace, silence, understanding, will the
war disappear.--OSHO. Zen: The Path of Paradox, Vol II"
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Parable of the Talents Revisited
I don't much care for the Parable of the Talents. It may be a helpful teaching story for those who are lazy, but it presents an image of God as a harsh task master that I find repellent. It also shows God as not only condoning, but encouraging usury (which was considered a sin by Jews as well as by Christians). I found this parable especially troubling after having a conversation with a super-bright friend of mine who had great expectations for her life, but felt she hadn't used her great talents as fully as she should have. She felt that her talents had been buried and never really used as they should have been. She reminded me of George Bailey, the banker in "It's a Wonderful Life." Everyone saw how wonderful George Bailey was, but he saw himself as a failure. In our success-obsessed society, this is a common affliction.
Another version of this Parable came to me that seemed more in keeping with my experience of God as a loving parent who appreciates us just as we are, and encourages us to do better.
A week ago I was having coffee wth Pastor Diane (the pastor of Walteria United Methodist Church, where my wife used to be the pastor) and I shared with her a revision of the Parable of the Talents that came to me while I was driving along the Coast Highway after Easter break. She in turn told me a true story about a pastor re-enacted the Parable of the Talents in a church where grandfather served as chair of the property committee. In this church the pastor passed around a collection plate full of 10-dollar bills and told everyone to take one and use it to earn more money for the church.
Delighted and amazed by this turn of events, everyone took the money and began thinking of creative ways to increase its value. Some used the money to buy incredients to bake cookies. Some bought wool to make hats and socks and mittens. Others bought arts and crafts supplies.
Pastor Diane's grandfather bought a shovel.
"Why did you buy a shovel?" she asked.
"I don't know," her grandfather replied. "I just felt that's what God wanted me to do."
"But grandpa, it doesn't make any sense," Diane told him. "You don't have time to use it for gardening, and no one will buy it from you for more than you paid for it."
She was wrong, however. When the day of reckoning came and everyone went to the social hall to peddle their wares, someone paid $250 for her grandfather's shovel. That's because her grandfather was one of the pillars of the church, and beloved of everyone. The purchaser of the shovel had it silver-plated and engraved with the names of those who had served as chair of the property committee--an office her grandfather had held for many years. The silver shovel became a symbol of service of the church and was given to every new chair of the property committee.
I was reminded of the words of Mother Theresa: "God doesn't call usto do great things, God calls us to do small things with great love."
Another version of this Parable came to me that seemed more in keeping with my experience of God as a loving parent who appreciates us just as we are, and encourages us to do better.
A week ago I was having coffee wth Pastor Diane (the pastor of Walteria United Methodist Church, where my wife used to be the pastor) and I shared with her a revision of the Parable of the Talents that came to me while I was driving along the Coast Highway after Easter break. She in turn told me a true story about a pastor re-enacted the Parable of the Talents in a church where grandfather served as chair of the property committee. In this church the pastor passed around a collection plate full of 10-dollar bills and told everyone to take one and use it to earn more money for the church.
Delighted and amazed by this turn of events, everyone took the money and began thinking of creative ways to increase its value. Some used the money to buy incredients to bake cookies. Some bought wool to make hats and socks and mittens. Others bought arts and crafts supplies.
Pastor Diane's grandfather bought a shovel.
"Why did you buy a shovel?" she asked.
"I don't know," her grandfather replied. "I just felt that's what God wanted me to do."
"But grandpa, it doesn't make any sense," Diane told him. "You don't have time to use it for gardening, and no one will buy it from you for more than you paid for it."
She was wrong, however. When the day of reckoning came and everyone went to the social hall to peddle their wares, someone paid $250 for her grandfather's shovel. That's because her grandfather was one of the pillars of the church, and beloved of everyone. The purchaser of the shovel had it silver-plated and engraved with the names of those who had served as chair of the property committee--an office her grandfather had held for many years. The silver shovel became a symbol of service of the church and was given to every new chair of the property committee.
I was reminded of the words of Mother Theresa: "God doesn't call usto do great things, God calls us to do small things with great love."
The Parable of the Talents Revisited
“Those to whom much has been given, much will be forgiven.”
The CEO of the world’s largest corporation decided to go on an extended business trip and gave two of his top employees some capital to invest while he was away. He gave one employee one talent and another ten talents.
“There are no strings attached,” he told his employees. “Just use these talents the way you see fit to make some money for the firm.”
The first employee didn’t know what to do. He fretted for several days, and finally decided to go for a walk down by the beach to see if any inspiration would come to him. While he was walking, he watched the sunset and it came to him that what he had always wanted to do was to set up an art studio and work on his art.
“What the heck!” he thought. “It may be a crazy idea, and I may get fired, but I’ll never have another chance like this again.”
So he bought art supplies, set up a small studio, and spent all his free time painting. His work wasn’t very good at first, but after a year of diligent practice, he finally produced a painting that someone was willing to buy for two talents.
The employee was pleased that his art sold, but he was also worried that his boss might not think this was a big enough return on his investment.
When the boss returned from his year abroad, the first employee explained that he had used his talents to hone his skills as an artist.
“Did you sell any paintings?” the boss asked.
“Well, yes, one painting sold,” the employee explained nervously. “The buyer was very impressed and he paid me two talents.”
“That’s wonderful,” the boss replied. “You doubled my investment, and you created a lovely painting that someone was willing to buy. I will give you four talents so you can set up a proper studio and devote more of your time to your art. And I will put you in charge of our art department so you can work full time on your new career. ”
The first employee was so overwhelmed with gratitude he almost burst into tears.
Then the CEO called to his office the second employee, the one who had received 10 talents. This employee was even more nervous.
“What did you do with your ten talents?” the CEO asked.
“I, uh, made a lot of plans,” the employee replied. He explained that he felt overwhelmed by the responsibility of having so many talents to invest, so he devised different strategies for realizing a sizeable return on his investment.
“I know you have very high standards,” explained the employee. “So I came up with various projects that all have a great deal of promise.”
The employee spent nearly half an hour outlining the complicated plans he had made, and the preliminary steps he had taken to actualize these plans. Finally, the CEO asked the question that the employee had been dreading.
“So what did you accomplish, and how much of a return on the investment did you realize, in the year that I was away?”
“Nothing, Sir. I mean, I have lots of ideas and leads but I haven’t actually completed anything yet.”“Nothing has been completed, and nothing was earned?”
“I have a dozen very promising projects, Sir.”
“A dozen projects?”
“At least, a dozen….Maybe more.”
The CEO smiled, and then sighed.
“Did you take any time off to reflect on what you really wanted to do?”
“No, Sir, I was too busy making plans.”
“Did you ask your Inward Guide for help?”
“I am not sure what you mean, Sir. I did a lot of praying.”“But did you listen?”
“I tried to, but I was afraid.”
“Afraid?”
“Afraid you might be angry with me.”“Angry?”
“If I failed. I mean, you had so much confidence in me you gave me ten talents. I figured you wanted me to accomplish ten times as much as the first employee, and I knew I had to work ten times as hard to succeed.”
“You thought that? What did you expect me to do if you failed?”
“Something really terrible, like fire me or worse, put me in jail. I heard you were a hard boss.”“Where did you hear that?”“In the book they gave us when they hired us, it had this story about the Parable of the Talents.”“Oh, yes, that part was made up by some people in HR who thought it would motivate employees who were lazy. I never much liked that story, but it helped a few employees who needed a fire lit under them so I let the story be included. Never liked what it had to say about me, though. I don’t allow interest and I have never sent anyone to prison. Did you read the rest of the book? Did you read the part about the Prodigal Son?”
“Yes, but I don’t see how that applies.”“I guess you have forgotten who you are,” said the CEO.
“What do you mean?”
“Don’t you remember that you’re my son?”
“Your son?”
“All my employees are my children,” said the CEO. “That’s what is says on page one of the employee manual.”
“I thought that was just a metaphor.”“Silly boy! That’s not a metaphor. That’s God’s truth. This is a family business. And I would never fire you. I love you.”
“You love me?”
“I totally love you, silly boy! No matter what you accomplish, or don’t accomplish, I’ll always love you.”
“You will? You mean you don’t care what I do?”
“Of course, I care what you do. I want you to do what will make you feel fulfilled and happy, what will make you feel useful. But even if you fail, I will still love you.”
“I don’t want to fail,” said the employee, on the verge of tears. “I want to succeed. I want to please you.”“Then don’t try too hard,” replied the CEO smiling. “Take some time off and find out what you really want to do. And then do it. Put all your heart into one thing, something you really care about. Then it won’t matter whether you make money or not.”
The employee had to fight back tears. This news was too good to be true. How could a boss be this kind?
“I know what you’re thinking,” the CEO said. “I’m a softie. No doubt about it. But I have found that a lot more work gets accomplished, and everyone is far happier, when you are motivated by love rather than by fear. So do the work you love with people you love, and you’ll be happy, and so will I. That’s my assignment. Make it so!”
“Those to whom much has been given, much will be forgiven.”
The CEO of the world’s largest corporation decided to go on an extended business trip and gave two of his top employees some capital to invest while he was away. He gave one employee one talent and another ten talents.
“There are no strings attached,” he told his employees. “Just use these talents the way you see fit to make some money for the firm.”
The first employee didn’t know what to do. He fretted for several days, and finally decided to go for a walk down by the beach to see if any inspiration would come to him. While he was walking, he watched the sunset and it came to him that what he had always wanted to do was to set up an art studio and work on his art.
“What the heck!” he thought. “It may be a crazy idea, and I may get fired, but I’ll never have another chance like this again.”
So he bought art supplies, set up a small studio, and spent all his free time painting. His work wasn’t very good at first, but after a year of diligent practice, he finally produced a painting that someone was willing to buy for two talents.
The employee was pleased that his art sold, but he was also worried that his boss might not think this was a big enough return on his investment.
When the boss returned from his year abroad, the first employee explained that he had used his talents to hone his skills as an artist.
“Did you sell any paintings?” the boss asked.
“Well, yes, one painting sold,” the employee explained nervously. “The buyer was very impressed and he paid me two talents.”
“That’s wonderful,” the boss replied. “You doubled my investment, and you created a lovely painting that someone was willing to buy. I will give you four talents so you can set up a proper studio and devote more of your time to your art. And I will put you in charge of our art department so you can work full time on your new career. ”
The first employee was so overwhelmed with gratitude he almost burst into tears.
Then the CEO called to his office the second employee, the one who had received 10 talents. This employee was even more nervous.
“What did you do with your ten talents?” the CEO asked.
“I, uh, made a lot of plans,” the employee replied. He explained that he felt overwhelmed by the responsibility of having so many talents to invest, so he devised different strategies for realizing a sizeable return on his investment.
“I know you have very high standards,” explained the employee. “So I came up with various projects that all have a great deal of promise.”
The employee spent nearly half an hour outlining the complicated plans he had made, and the preliminary steps he had taken to actualize these plans. Finally, the CEO asked the question that the employee had been dreading.
“So what did you accomplish, and how much of a return on the investment did you realize, in the year that I was away?”
“Nothing, Sir. I mean, I have lots of ideas and leads but I haven’t actually completed anything yet.”“Nothing has been completed, and nothing was earned?”
“I have a dozen very promising projects, Sir.”
“A dozen projects?”
“At least, a dozen….Maybe more.”
The CEO smiled, and then sighed.
“Did you take any time off to reflect on what you really wanted to do?”
“No, Sir, I was too busy making plans.”
“Did you ask your Inward Guide for help?”
“I am not sure what you mean, Sir. I did a lot of praying.”“But did you listen?”
“I tried to, but I was afraid.”
“Afraid?”
“Afraid you might be angry with me.”“Angry?”
“If I failed. I mean, you had so much confidence in me you gave me ten talents. I figured you wanted me to accomplish ten times as much as the first employee, and I knew I had to work ten times as hard to succeed.”
“You thought that? What did you expect me to do if you failed?”
“Something really terrible, like fire me or worse, put me in jail. I heard you were a hard boss.”“Where did you hear that?”“In the book they gave us when they hired us, it had this story about the Parable of the Talents.”“Oh, yes, that part was made up by some people in HR who thought it would motivate employees who were lazy. I never much liked that story, but it helped a few employees who needed a fire lit under them so I let the story be included. Never liked what it had to say about me, though. I don’t allow interest and I have never sent anyone to prison. Did you read the rest of the book? Did you read the part about the Prodigal Son?”
“Yes, but I don’t see how that applies.”“I guess you have forgotten who you are,” said the CEO.
“What do you mean?”
“Don’t you remember that you’re my son?”
“Your son?”
“All my employees are my children,” said the CEO. “That’s what is says on page one of the employee manual.”
“I thought that was just a metaphor.”“Silly boy! That’s not a metaphor. That’s God’s truth. This is a family business. And I would never fire you. I love you.”
“You love me?”
“I totally love you, silly boy! No matter what you accomplish, or don’t accomplish, I’ll always love you.”
“You will? You mean you don’t care what I do?”
“Of course, I care what you do. I want you to do what will make you feel fulfilled and happy, what will make you feel useful. But even if you fail, I will still love you.”
“I don’t want to fail,” said the employee, on the verge of tears. “I want to succeed. I want to please you.”“Then don’t try too hard,” replied the CEO smiling. “Take some time off and find out what you really want to do. And then do it. Put all your heart into one thing, something you really care about. Then it won’t matter whether you make money or not.”
The employee had to fight back tears. This news was too good to be true. How could a boss be this kind?
“I know what you’re thinking,” the CEO said. “I’m a softie. No doubt about it. But I have found that a lot more work gets accomplished, and everyone is far happier, when you are motivated by love rather than by fear. So do the work you love with people you love, and you’ll be happy, and so will I. That’s my assignment. Make it so!”
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
The Spiritual Journey of Pastor Kathleen Ross
Dear Friends and Family,As Easter approaches, I can't help thinking of the person who had the greatest influence on my spiritual life--the one who taught me how to live as a Christian, how to love as a Christian, and how to face life-threatening illness and death as a Christian. I mean, of course, my beloved wife Kathleen of blessed memory.
This year, as I sorted through our "memorabilia," as she liked to call it, I found an audio-cassette with one of Kathleen's most moving and memorable sermons--her spiritual journey, which she shared at the Orange United Methodist Church twenty years ago. This is the church in which she grew up and which always held a special place in her heart. She gave this sermon in 1989, not long after we were married, when she was 37 years old. She had already served five churches by this time and had found her voice as well as her vocation as a preacher as well as a practitioner of the Word. She speaks from the heart about how the church helped her to grow and mature in her faith, enabling her to become all that God intended her to be. For Kathleen, the church--the community of believers bound to each other and to God through unselfish love--is what our Christian faith is all about.
Kathleen’s Life in Her Own Words
[Kathleen wrote the following account of her life in the year before she died, with the intention that it be read at her memorial.]
I was born July 20, 1953, in Santa Monica, California, the first child of Gwendolyn Irene Fenwick and James Arthur Ross. From the beginning my two brothers, Jim and David, and I learned to “travel light”, moving to from Hollywood to Sherman Oaks, San Fernando, and Orange before settling in our parents’ custom-built dream home in Villa Park in Orange County.
My parents Jim and Gwen put a high value on education: I was given lessons in ballet, flute, piano, sewing, raising rabbits and cooking and sang weekly in the children’s choir at First United Methodist Church in Orange, where I was confirmed at age 13. I learned to dance The Lord’s Prayer in one of the first liturgical choirs in the United Methodist Church. My soul was nurtured by the experience of God in nature, church family camp at Wrightwood and powerful experiences of the personal presence of Christ.
My family experienced a major crisis in 1967 when our home burned to fine ash in a major brush fire, which burned 20 miles from Corona. Only family pictures were saved along with my silver flute and 3rd grade Bible and a few other precious belongings. But this was a powerful lesson in Christian love, for the members of Orange First Methodist Church held a housewarming to restock a rental home they helped my family to find so that we could start again.
My family moved to La Jolla where my brothers could find relief from severe asthma. My flute and piccolo got a good workout when I was accepted by the San Diego Youth Symphony which traveled throughout Europe as part of the first International Youth Festival, held in Saint Moritz, Switzerland. I was President of the youth group at La Jolla United Methodist Church.
I graduated from the Bishop’s School in 1971, and attended the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington for one year and spent the summer in Provence in southern France to become more fluent in French. My dream was to become an English teacher in France. I transferred to Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, where I changed my major to comparative religion and graduated in 1975.
Jobs for religion majors were hard to find that year when I moved to Philadelphia, but after nine months searching for work, I garnered a job for two years as secretary to the Chief of Hematology-Oncology at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.
At this point the pull toward seminary could no longer be resisted. However, I firmly told the admission director at Duke Divinity School in Durham, North Carolina that I had no intention of being ordained. It wasn’t until my last year of seminary, spent at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, that I finally gave in to God’s call to full time ministry.
But where to serve? Clergywomen in the South in the 1980s were sent to serve 4-point charges –one pastor for four rural churches. So I headed back West. I had an intern “learning experience” at First United Methodist church in Phoenix, holding three full-time associate pastoral positions at the same time for one year, and then was delighted to be hired by Community United Methodist Church in Huntington Beach to be mentored by Revs. Dick Burdine and Virginia Fifield.
Finally I was given a church of my own at Pomona Westmont United Methodist Church, which took a step in faith to host a new Chinese Methodist Fellowship. I lured Rev. Kathleen Puntar to join me for six years as co-dean of the Riverside District Elementary Camp at, of course, Wrightwood. My experience with the Walk to Emmaus Weekends resulted in an outpouring of the Holy Spirit, transformed my prayer life and focus of ministry.
Then a call came from God to explore retreat center ministry. My parents sacrificially traveled with me for one month across the US and Canada visiting 35 retreat centers. Then I began a nine month program as a student at Pendle Hill Retreat Center, a Quaker community outside of Philadelphia. I had thought God’s call was to help the California-Pacific Annual Conference to build a retreat center, but it seemed that what God really had in mind was for me to meet fellow student Anthony Manousos.
When the program was completed, Anthony followed me back to California, and on December 31, 1988, we were married at Claremont Quaker Meeting with a reception at Torrance First United Methodist Church, where I was serving as associate pastor.
That was a year of other great changes. My mother Gwen died of cancer at age 57, and my dream for a Conference Retreat Center had to be abandoned. On the plus side, my fascinating new husband’s peace work resulted in a breakfast at Norman Cousin’s home, and a dinner at a conference in Washington, DC where I conversed with notable Soviet writers, “Superman’s” father, Frank Reeves, and Garrison Keilor! The day the Berlin Wall fell, a delegation of Soviet young adults were hosted for dinner in the Social hall of Torrance First United Methodist Church!
Rich years of ministry followed at Del Rosa United Methodist Church in San Bernardino, during which time I accompanied Anthony to the former Soviet Union as part of a Quaker youth project. We returned to the US just a few days before the revolution in Moscow which ended the Soviet Union.
Del Rosa was a nurturing place for ministry to youth and children. In addition to my pastoral duties of worship and visitation, I began another Kid’s Club and started weekly chapel for the church’s preschool children, as well as helping to plan the excellent annual Church Family Camp (again at Wrightwood!). A strong fellowship of clergy had began the first Interfaith Clergy Association, of which I became the first woman President. Interfaith work became my passion ever since. On days off Anthony and I enjoyed many hikes and kayaking afternoon at Lake Silverwood, and Lake Gregory, and began to make frequent trips to visit our nieces, Adriana and Capri daughters of brother David and his wife Katherine.
Over the next few years I served a variety of churches as I sought to discern God’s will for my next focus in ministry. Bellflower UMC, Whittier First UMC and Montclair UMC helped clarify the changing ministry in the 1990s. Each appointment brought new challenges, blessings and learning opportunities as I worked to establish children’s chapels and Kids Clubs. My ability to serve low income families expanded as I wrote grants and dug out new financial resources for those in need as a member of the Foundation of the California-Pacific Annual Conference. I enjoyed serving as a mentor for several candidates for ordained ministry, including Alena Uhamaka and Lee Carlile.
At home, Anthony and I became American “parents” for 17 Asian students over a period of five years. They came to Whittier College to learn English, and often asked me how to find a good husband, as they were impressed by the strong marriage Anthony and I enjoyed. Two of these students, Anna Kee and Hye-Jeong Ahn, became “honorary daughters”, and after their marriages produced “honorary grandsons”, Brandon Wong and Max Lee. My family expanded with the birth of my nephew to brother Jim and his wife in 2000.
When I was appointed to Walteria United Methodist Church in Torrance in 2002 the church experienced a spiritual revival and growth, thanks to a restarted Vacation Bible School, a new Kids club, the Alpha program and an expanded volunteer base for the monthly Community Hot Meal. The church formed a partnership with Presbyterian, Antiochan Orthodox, and non-denominational churches, as well as local high school service clubs to feed low income and homeless individuals who became good friends. Torrance Korean United Methodist Church started sharing the facilities for its brand new ministry in 2003 to become an important partner in a multicultural outreach to the community. Walteria UMC also won the award three times for the highest per capita mission giving in the Long Beach District.
When I was called by God to a sabbatical in June 2008 I was surprised when the “sabbatical” became a “disability leave” after being diagnosed with lymphoma cancer in July. I was grateful that my loving husband graciously abandoned our previous sabbatical plans to spend a 20th anniversary year at Pendle Hill in order to nurse me back to health. We were supported beautifully in prayer by family and friends, by Santa Monica Quaker Meeting and countless Methodist churches and interfaith congregations, as well as by Dr. Eric McGary and the excellent and caring oncology teams at Kaiser West LA, Kaiser Sunset, and the City of Hope in Duarte.
God is so good – all the time!
[These were the last words that Kathleen wrote. She died at the City of Hope in Duarte, CA, on May 24, 2009, after complications from her chemotherapy and bone marrow transplant. Her "spiritual journey" sermon is in three parts, in the video clips below.]
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Brahms' Requiem and a New Life in Christ
Ten months have passed since Kathleen transitioned to her new life with God, and I am still trying to learn how to live a single life here on earth that is faithful to her memory, and inspired by her spirit. Mostly I am enjoying my new life, and the freedom I’ve been given to work full-time for peace and justice and the interfaith movement.
I now serve on the board of four local interfaith organizations: the South Coast Interfaith Council, the Parliament of the World’s Religions, Interfaith Communities for Justice and Peace, and the Unity and Diversity Council. I also serve on the board of a national Quaker organization, Quaker Universalist Fellowship (QUF), a group that publishes books and pamphlets. (You'll never guess who their new publication coordinator is!)
Here are some of the upcoming activities I am helping to organize:
• A peace booth at the EarthDay celebration at the Santa Monica promenade (Sat. April 17). This booth is being sponsored by the LA Coalition for Nuclear Disarmament. My contribution was to design a poster for this event, showing a large sunflower with a kid’s face in the center, and the caption: “Smile if you want nuclear disarmament.”
• “Peace Jam,” an intergenerational peace fair at USC, with music, crafts, speakers and a march calling for the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan (Sat. April 24, from noon to 5:00). Our main speakers will be Mike Farrell (the actor from MASH), Jake Diliberto (a former Marine corporal turned peace activist), and Eisha Mason (AFSC assoc. regional director and KPFK commentator).
• An Interfaith Awards Banquet on behalf of the Parliament of the World’s Religions (May 16, 2010). Our keynote speaker will be Rosemary Radford Ruether, professor of Feminist Theology at Claremont and author of Gaia and God: An Eco-feminist Theology of Earth Healing.
You can read details about these events at sccpwr.org.
I am also making progress on the Brinton book and have contacted major Quaker scholars about taking part in a symposium on the Brinton legacy. The scholars are eager to participate. I now need to convince Pendle Hill to let me write the grant proposal on their behalf.
I continue to clerk the Pastoral Care as well as Peace Committee of my Meeting and am enjoying my new role as a “pastor.” When people have problems or conflicts, I am the go-to person—needless to say, it’s not always easy! One reason I enjoy this role so much is that I feel I am carrying on Kathleen’s mission. For twenty years, she was my teacher and now I am putting what I have learned into practice. Thanks be to God!
Finally, I am looking forward to spending Easter with my dear nephew Edward and my brother and sister-in-law in Palo Alto.
Despite this abundantly full life, I still sorely Kathleen. There is a Kathleen-shaped hole in my life that nothing can fill.
This week I celebrated the 10th month of Kathleen’s passing by going to hear Brahm’s Requiem, performed magnificently by the choir and orchestra at the Westwood Presbyterian Church. Nine months ago I went to hear this same group perform Mozart’s Requiem, just before Kathleen’s memorial service at Santa Monica Friends Meeting. The first time I went with Friends who gave me comfort and support. This time I went alone, though not entirely. My dear friend Ruth (who was also married to a minister) was singing in the choir.
I was deeply moved by Brahm’s Requiem, which conveys a feeling of peace and acceptance that is hard earned. It was written in 1866, not long after the death of his beloved mother, and also of his best friend and colleague, Robert Schumann, who died tragically in a mental institution after a suicide attempt. Braham wrote this Requiem in German, rather than in the more customary Latin, so that it could speak directly to the heart. It begins with the beautiful words from the Beatitudes and Psalm 126:
Blessed are they that mourn
For they shall be comforted….
They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.
They that go forth and weep, bearing precious seed,
Shall come again with rejoicing,
Bringing their sheaves with them.
These comforting words begin a deeply personal reflection on the meaning of life and of death, drawn from passages that Brahms selected himself from his well-worn German Bible. In the haunting second part, we are reminded that “all flesh is as grass” and the works or man are mostly “vain show,” yet the Word of the Lord endures and those that work in the ways of the Lord will find eternal peace.
The climax of the piece is the section entitled “How lovely are thy tabernacles, O Lord…” The choir sings these moving lines with heart-breaking beauty:
My soul longs, yea, even faints
for the courts of the Lord:
my heart and my flesh cries out
for the living God.
Blessed are they that dwell in thy house:
they will always be praising thee. Psalm 84:1,2,4
The Requiem ends with words from the Book of Revelation:
Blessed are the dead, which die in the Lord, from henceforth,
yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors,
and their works follow them.
You can hear the entire Requiem, with commentary, and the text in English and German, at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_German_Requiem_(Brahms). You will be definitely be blessed by listening to it!
Dear friends and family, I feel so grateful to be alive, and to be able to experience the mystery of Jesus’ life and resurrection. Losing Kathleen was like dying, but now I know that those who die in the Lord are blessed, and so are those who live in the Lord. We are all united in one body that will never die.
As Easter approaches, my prayer is that each of you will experience the joy of Christ’s resurrection, feel the power of God’s infinite love, be guided by your Inward Light, and find peace as you work for justice!
I now serve on the board of four local interfaith organizations: the South Coast Interfaith Council, the Parliament of the World’s Religions, Interfaith Communities for Justice and Peace, and the Unity and Diversity Council. I also serve on the board of a national Quaker organization, Quaker Universalist Fellowship (QUF), a group that publishes books and pamphlets. (You'll never guess who their new publication coordinator is!)
Here are some of the upcoming activities I am helping to organize:
• A peace booth at the EarthDay celebration at the Santa Monica promenade (Sat. April 17). This booth is being sponsored by the LA Coalition for Nuclear Disarmament. My contribution was to design a poster for this event, showing a large sunflower with a kid’s face in the center, and the caption: “Smile if you want nuclear disarmament.”
• “Peace Jam,” an intergenerational peace fair at USC, with music, crafts, speakers and a march calling for the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan (Sat. April 24, from noon to 5:00). Our main speakers will be Mike Farrell (the actor from MASH), Jake Diliberto (a former Marine corporal turned peace activist), and Eisha Mason (AFSC assoc. regional director and KPFK commentator).
• An Interfaith Awards Banquet on behalf of the Parliament of the World’s Religions (May 16, 2010). Our keynote speaker will be Rosemary Radford Ruether, professor of Feminist Theology at Claremont and author of Gaia and God: An Eco-feminist Theology of Earth Healing.
You can read details about these events at sccpwr.org.
I am also making progress on the Brinton book and have contacted major Quaker scholars about taking part in a symposium on the Brinton legacy. The scholars are eager to participate. I now need to convince Pendle Hill to let me write the grant proposal on their behalf.
I continue to clerk the Pastoral Care as well as Peace Committee of my Meeting and am enjoying my new role as a “pastor.” When people have problems or conflicts, I am the go-to person—needless to say, it’s not always easy! One reason I enjoy this role so much is that I feel I am carrying on Kathleen’s mission. For twenty years, she was my teacher and now I am putting what I have learned into practice. Thanks be to God!
Finally, I am looking forward to spending Easter with my dear nephew Edward and my brother and sister-in-law in Palo Alto.
Despite this abundantly full life, I still sorely Kathleen. There is a Kathleen-shaped hole in my life that nothing can fill.
This week I celebrated the 10th month of Kathleen’s passing by going to hear Brahm’s Requiem, performed magnificently by the choir and orchestra at the Westwood Presbyterian Church. Nine months ago I went to hear this same group perform Mozart’s Requiem, just before Kathleen’s memorial service at Santa Monica Friends Meeting. The first time I went with Friends who gave me comfort and support. This time I went alone, though not entirely. My dear friend Ruth (who was also married to a minister) was singing in the choir.
I was deeply moved by Brahm’s Requiem, which conveys a feeling of peace and acceptance that is hard earned. It was written in 1866, not long after the death of his beloved mother, and also of his best friend and colleague, Robert Schumann, who died tragically in a mental institution after a suicide attempt. Braham wrote this Requiem in German, rather than in the more customary Latin, so that it could speak directly to the heart. It begins with the beautiful words from the Beatitudes and Psalm 126:
Blessed are they that mourn
For they shall be comforted….
They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.
They that go forth and weep, bearing precious seed,
Shall come again with rejoicing,
Bringing their sheaves with them.
These comforting words begin a deeply personal reflection on the meaning of life and of death, drawn from passages that Brahms selected himself from his well-worn German Bible. In the haunting second part, we are reminded that “all flesh is as grass” and the works or man are mostly “vain show,” yet the Word of the Lord endures and those that work in the ways of the Lord will find eternal peace.
The climax of the piece is the section entitled “How lovely are thy tabernacles, O Lord…” The choir sings these moving lines with heart-breaking beauty:
My soul longs, yea, even faints
for the courts of the Lord:
my heart and my flesh cries out
for the living God.
Blessed are they that dwell in thy house:
they will always be praising thee. Psalm 84:1,2,4
The Requiem ends with words from the Book of Revelation:
Blessed are the dead, which die in the Lord, from henceforth,
yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors,
and their works follow them.
You can hear the entire Requiem, with commentary, and the text in English and German, at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_German_Requiem_(Brahms). You will be definitely be blessed by listening to it!
Dear friends and family, I feel so grateful to be alive, and to be able to experience the mystery of Jesus’ life and resurrection. Losing Kathleen was like dying, but now I know that those who die in the Lord are blessed, and so are those who live in the Lord. We are all united in one body that will never die.
As Easter approaches, my prayer is that each of you will experience the joy of Christ’s resurrection, feel the power of God’s infinite love, be guided by your Inward Light, and find peace as you work for justice!
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Travels in the Ministry in the Spirit of John Woolman
I hope to travel extensively in the ministry this summer in order to attend Intermountain Yearly Meeting in June, the FGC Gathering in July, and then Pacific Yearly Meeting in late July and early August. At each of these gatherings I will be speaking about the interfaith movement and the Parliament of the World's Religions. I expect to travel for around six or seven weeks, visiting Friends along the way. This is an old Quaker practice which I describe in this article, "Travels in the Ministry in the Spirit of John Woolman."
“Having been some time under a religious concern to prepare for crossing the seas in order to visit Friends in the northern parts of England, and more particularly in Yorkshire, after weighty consideration I thought it expedient to inform Friends at our monthly meeting at Burlington of it, who, having unity with me therein, gave me a certificate. And I afterwards communicated the same to our quarterly meeting, and they likewise certified their concurrence. Some time after, at the General Spring Meeting of Ministers and Elders, I thought it my duty to acquaint them with the religious exercise which attended my mind, with which they likewise signified their unity by a certificate, dated the 24th of third month, 1772, directed to Friends in Great Britain.”—John Woolman.
According to Friends General Conference’s traveling ministries website, “Traveling ministry was an intrinsic part of the Religious Society of Friends from early times until recent history.” It has long been a custom of Friends to seek a travel minute (what Woolman calls a “certificate”) from their Meeting when they feel a leading to travel in the ministry under the weight of a religious concern.
I followed this custom when I felt led to go to Australia to attend the Parliament of the World’s Religions and Australia Yearly Meeting in December, 2009. I first went to my monthly meeting to seek their discernment. After prayerful discussion, Santa Monica Friends united with my concern, and our clerk wrote a travel minute affirming my call to this ministry. I then brought my concern to Southern California Quarterly Meeting (SCQM) where it was considered and another traveling minute approved. SCQM’s minute read: “We support Anthony’s effort to encourage Quaker involvement in the interfaith movement to promote peace, justice, and deeper spiritual understanding—what Douglas Steere called ‘mutual irradiation.’”
It’s nice to have such certification, but it also takes a lot of time and trouble. So the question arises: why bother? Why seek the support of Meeting when you have a concern?
As I understand it, the goal of our work and our life together as Friends is twofold: first, to empower each of us to follow the way or the will of the Divine (as we understand it, to the best of our limited ability); and second, to build a community of faith based on mutual love and respect. By going to our Meeting for its discernment, we show respect by seeking its advice and wisdom. By sharing out concern with our Meeting, we also give it an opportunity to provide its loving support and to be part of this Divine leading. This can be a great blessing for all concerned.
Sometimes it becomes clear, however, that our concern is not shared by the Meeting, at least not at first. This can be a painful experience, but it can also be very helpful. It may mean we need to reconsider (or as we Friends say, “season”) our concern, or pursue it as an individual matter, apart from our Meeting. It might also mean we need to reflect more deeply on what is motivating us, and what is causing others to feel a reluctance to offer support. Are we too pushy, too self-righteous? Is there an element of ego or insensitivity in our pursuit of this concern? Is the time not yet ripe for moving forward? Resistance can be very instructive and can help us to see our concern in a new light, from another’s viewpoint.
On the other hand, Meetings can be enthusiastic about a leading and can offer support either in the form of prayer or of funding. My Meeting has a fund for sojourning Friends that has been enormously helpful when members of our Meeting have felt led to travel in the ministry.
When Friends travel with a minute of support, the nature of the travel changes. We can’t help being aware that we are representing not only ourselves, but also those who have blessed us with their support. In my case, I had the blessing not only of my Monthly and Quarterly Meeting, but also of the Christian Interfaith Relations Committee of Friends General Conference and Quaker Earthcare Witness, the Quaker environmental organization. All of these groups had minuted their support for my travels, so I felt obliged to do my best to represent them as best as I could. This was not as burdensome as it might seem. Their support reminded me that I was not alone, that I was surrounded by a “cloud of witnesses” who cared about me and the concern I was carrying. Remembering this helped me in difficult times when I felt lonely or just plain tired.
It was customary for Friends traveling in the ministry to have a companion or elder travel with them. I can appreciate the wisdom and value of this custom after traveling for six weeks in a country with a culture and history quite different from what I am accustomed to. Not having a travel companion, I am grateful to Skype (the internet equivalent of the Holy Spirit) and to Friends in the United States who served as my elders and helped me through some challenging times.
While traveling in Australia, I gave presentations at monthly meetings in Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne, and Adelaide, where I attended Australia Yearly Meeting. Everywhere I went, I presented my travel minute and it was signed by a clerk. When I returned to the States, I shared these letters with Friends so that they could feel connected with Friends in Australia.
Those who would like to learn more about my travels to Australia and the Parliament of the World’s Religions can read my article “Hearing Each Other, Healing the Earth” at the Quaker Universalist website: http://www.universalistfriends.org/uf051.html#Manousos. Suffice to say, it was a profound and life-changing experience to go to the Parliament and spend a week among 6,500 spiritual leaders from every religion imaginable, and from around the world, many of whom share our Quaker values and concerns about peace, justice, and the environment. It was energizing to see that the interfaith movement is a global phenomenon with the potential for changing the religious culture of the world in significant ways.
One of the crucial lessons of the 21st century is that if we don’t want the world to be dominated by religious fanatics and militarists, we must stand in solidarity with other people of faith concerned with justice and peace. That’s why I was pleased by FCNL’s recent epistle “Encouraging Quaker Engagement with American Muslims” (Nov. 2009, published in the Jan/Feb 2010 Newsletter). I would urge Friends to go further than this epistle recommends, however. We need to “stand together to practice equality and justice” not only with Muslims, but also with Bahais, Jews, Buddhists, Sihks, and others. This is what the interfaith movement is all about!
I continue to feel led to travel in the ministry to share my concern about the interfaith movement. This summer I plan to go to various Yearly Meetings and to the Friends General Conference Gathering to give presentations. Because this concern is ongoing, I am bringing this concern to Pacific Yearly Meeting and asking for its support.
Traveling in the ministry can be a deeply enriching experience for all concerned. I am indebted to Australian Friends for sharing their wisdom and insight with me as I did my best to share my concern with them. I resonate with the words of John Woolman who understood that when we travel in the ministry, we learn as well as teach:
“A concern arose. that I might feel and understand their life and the Spirit they live in, if haply I might receive some instruction from them, or they be in any degree helped forward by my following the leadings of Truth amongst them.”
It is my hope that I will continue to travel in the spirit of John Wooman, and that other Friends will feel led to do likewise.
Friends General Conference has a traveling ministry program. Those who would like to learn more should check out: http://www.fgcquaker.org/traveling/home
“Having been some time under a religious concern to prepare for crossing the seas in order to visit Friends in the northern parts of England, and more particularly in Yorkshire, after weighty consideration I thought it expedient to inform Friends at our monthly meeting at Burlington of it, who, having unity with me therein, gave me a certificate. And I afterwards communicated the same to our quarterly meeting, and they likewise certified their concurrence. Some time after, at the General Spring Meeting of Ministers and Elders, I thought it my duty to acquaint them with the religious exercise which attended my mind, with which they likewise signified their unity by a certificate, dated the 24th of third month, 1772, directed to Friends in Great Britain.”—John Woolman.
According to Friends General Conference’s traveling ministries website, “Traveling ministry was an intrinsic part of the Religious Society of Friends from early times until recent history.” It has long been a custom of Friends to seek a travel minute (what Woolman calls a “certificate”) from their Meeting when they feel a leading to travel in the ministry under the weight of a religious concern.
I followed this custom when I felt led to go to Australia to attend the Parliament of the World’s Religions and Australia Yearly Meeting in December, 2009. I first went to my monthly meeting to seek their discernment. After prayerful discussion, Santa Monica Friends united with my concern, and our clerk wrote a travel minute affirming my call to this ministry. I then brought my concern to Southern California Quarterly Meeting (SCQM) where it was considered and another traveling minute approved. SCQM’s minute read: “We support Anthony’s effort to encourage Quaker involvement in the interfaith movement to promote peace, justice, and deeper spiritual understanding—what Douglas Steere called ‘mutual irradiation.’”
It’s nice to have such certification, but it also takes a lot of time and trouble. So the question arises: why bother? Why seek the support of Meeting when you have a concern?
As I understand it, the goal of our work and our life together as Friends is twofold: first, to empower each of us to follow the way or the will of the Divine (as we understand it, to the best of our limited ability); and second, to build a community of faith based on mutual love and respect. By going to our Meeting for its discernment, we show respect by seeking its advice and wisdom. By sharing out concern with our Meeting, we also give it an opportunity to provide its loving support and to be part of this Divine leading. This can be a great blessing for all concerned.
Sometimes it becomes clear, however, that our concern is not shared by the Meeting, at least not at first. This can be a painful experience, but it can also be very helpful. It may mean we need to reconsider (or as we Friends say, “season”) our concern, or pursue it as an individual matter, apart from our Meeting. It might also mean we need to reflect more deeply on what is motivating us, and what is causing others to feel a reluctance to offer support. Are we too pushy, too self-righteous? Is there an element of ego or insensitivity in our pursuit of this concern? Is the time not yet ripe for moving forward? Resistance can be very instructive and can help us to see our concern in a new light, from another’s viewpoint.
On the other hand, Meetings can be enthusiastic about a leading and can offer support either in the form of prayer or of funding. My Meeting has a fund for sojourning Friends that has been enormously helpful when members of our Meeting have felt led to travel in the ministry.
When Friends travel with a minute of support, the nature of the travel changes. We can’t help being aware that we are representing not only ourselves, but also those who have blessed us with their support. In my case, I had the blessing not only of my Monthly and Quarterly Meeting, but also of the Christian Interfaith Relations Committee of Friends General Conference and Quaker Earthcare Witness, the Quaker environmental organization. All of these groups had minuted their support for my travels, so I felt obliged to do my best to represent them as best as I could. This was not as burdensome as it might seem. Their support reminded me that I was not alone, that I was surrounded by a “cloud of witnesses” who cared about me and the concern I was carrying. Remembering this helped me in difficult times when I felt lonely or just plain tired.
It was customary for Friends traveling in the ministry to have a companion or elder travel with them. I can appreciate the wisdom and value of this custom after traveling for six weeks in a country with a culture and history quite different from what I am accustomed to. Not having a travel companion, I am grateful to Skype (the internet equivalent of the Holy Spirit) and to Friends in the United States who served as my elders and helped me through some challenging times.
While traveling in Australia, I gave presentations at monthly meetings in Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne, and Adelaide, where I attended Australia Yearly Meeting. Everywhere I went, I presented my travel minute and it was signed by a clerk. When I returned to the States, I shared these letters with Friends so that they could feel connected with Friends in Australia.
Those who would like to learn more about my travels to Australia and the Parliament of the World’s Religions can read my article “Hearing Each Other, Healing the Earth” at the Quaker Universalist website: http://www.universalistfriends.org/uf051.html#Manousos. Suffice to say, it was a profound and life-changing experience to go to the Parliament and spend a week among 6,500 spiritual leaders from every religion imaginable, and from around the world, many of whom share our Quaker values and concerns about peace, justice, and the environment. It was energizing to see that the interfaith movement is a global phenomenon with the potential for changing the religious culture of the world in significant ways.
One of the crucial lessons of the 21st century is that if we don’t want the world to be dominated by religious fanatics and militarists, we must stand in solidarity with other people of faith concerned with justice and peace. That’s why I was pleased by FCNL’s recent epistle “Encouraging Quaker Engagement with American Muslims” (Nov. 2009, published in the Jan/Feb 2010 Newsletter). I would urge Friends to go further than this epistle recommends, however. We need to “stand together to practice equality and justice” not only with Muslims, but also with Bahais, Jews, Buddhists, Sihks, and others. This is what the interfaith movement is all about!
I continue to feel led to travel in the ministry to share my concern about the interfaith movement. This summer I plan to go to various Yearly Meetings and to the Friends General Conference Gathering to give presentations. Because this concern is ongoing, I am bringing this concern to Pacific Yearly Meeting and asking for its support.
Traveling in the ministry can be a deeply enriching experience for all concerned. I am indebted to Australian Friends for sharing their wisdom and insight with me as I did my best to share my concern with them. I resonate with the words of John Woolman who understood that when we travel in the ministry, we learn as well as teach:
“A concern arose. that I might feel and understand their life and the Spirit they live in, if haply I might receive some instruction from them, or they be in any degree helped forward by my following the leadings of Truth amongst them.”
It is my hope that I will continue to travel in the spirit of John Wooman, and that other Friends will feel led to do likewise.
Friends General Conference has a traveling ministry program. Those who would like to learn more should check out: http://www.fgcquaker.org/traveling/home
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)