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Friends United
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Quaker Life
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| Between Friends | Contents |
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By Katie Terrell, Interim Editor In January of 2006 I traveled to India to witness first-hand the relief work response following the tsunami that hit on December 26, 2004. The outpouring of generosity, through monetary donations and laboring hands, was undoubtedly God-inspired. Entire villages were rebuilt, feeding programs initiated and the love of God known experientially. And in the midst of the devastation and poverty I visited the Taj Mahal. If you have never visited India I can assure you that the Taj Mahal is every bit as spectacular as it looks in pictures: white marble floors and walls inlaid with semiprecious stones, Eden-like garden walkways, pools of blessing and tombs of honor. Two to three million people visit the Taj Mahal every year. Visitors are required to park at a distance and walk or ride an electric bus to the entrance in order to reduce pollutants, and slippers must be worn over shoes in order to walk on the marble floors. My visit to the Taj Mahal was tainted by my heartbreak over the poverty in India. How many millions of dollars must it have cost to build this landmark? How many distended bellies could have been fed with that money? How many homes built for those huddled for warmth under blue tarps on city sidewalks? How many patients treated who could not afford medicine? I am reminded of my visit to India during this time of civil unrest in Kenya. Like India, the disparity in Kenya between the rich and the poor, the haves and the have-nots, is immense. As I witness the outpouring of compassion for our Friends in Kenya, so similar to the compassion I experienced in India, I am once again reminded of what it means to be a Friend. The theme for this issue of Quaker Life is “Ecology and Simple Living.” Rufus Jones said, “The simple life does not begin outside, with the house or the spoons. It begins inside, with the quality of the soul” (from The Faith and Practice of the Quakers). Friends came to understand this in the 18th century as the testimony of simplicity evolved from plainness (see “Ask Tom,” Page 24) into care for the earth, future generations and the havenots. In this issue, James Tipton gets inside our affinity for John Woolman, a man who not only preached simplicity but lived it. David Yount reminds us that Jesus and Henry David Thoreau both retreated from the world into silence, and Jackie Speicher expands on this by exploring simplicity as a spiritual discipline; clearing the clutter of our lives and our minds allows us to better hear Truth. Jim and Kathy Kessler and Michele Graham provide first-person experiences of God’s call on their lives to care for creation. Howard Macy looks at care for the earth from a biblical perspective, and Mark Fraser describes what one conference center is doing to lessen its footprint. Each of these articles looks at simplicity from a slightly different perspective, but at the heart of each is an awareness that simplicity is not a selfish act, nor does it require self- imposed poverty. At some point I think every parent has probably said, “Eat your peas (insert lima beans or other vegetable that your child despises); there are starving children in Africa.” But perhaps it is time for parents to start listening to children who respond, “Can we send the peas to them?” For other ways to help our Friends in Africa, see Page 8. Caring for others, caring for the earth and caring for our spiritual lives will make the world a better place. |
12 Settled Upon the
Heart: The Goodness of John Woolman 15 What Jesus Learned in the Desert and Thoreau
Learned in the Woods 16 Simplicity as a Spiritual Discipline 20 Earth's Gladness 22 Woolman Hill and Gently Living
_______________________________ 7 News from Friends United Meeting 18 Scripture for Living 19 Inspirations 23 Resources 24 Ask Tom 25 News 28 News Briefs 30 Reviews 32 Passages 36 Classifieds 41 Friends United Meeting Member Yearly Meetings 42 Perspectives
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