Johan Maurer explores the “salt and light” of Quaker identity and shares stories from Quaker relief work in Russia.

Photo: AFSC

Johan Maurer, our guest from Sierra-Cascades YM of Friends, speaks about early Quakers Katharine Evans and Sarah Cheevers.

Have you heard or felt a leading to represent Quaker testimonies in a place of bondage? What does “bondage” mean to you today, in spiritual, social, political, or economic terms, and what is God’s word in response?

Mica Coffin uses the image of the cross to contrast the turmoil of ego and fear (the horizontal bar) with the grounding presence of God (the vertical pole), calling for a stillness that reconnects them to divine peace.

Johan Maurer reflects on George Fox’s bold claim that “Christ has come to teach his people himself,” urging us not to box Fox in as just “our fascinating and eccentric founder,” but to ask what his message still calls us to today.

Johan Maurer, our guest from Camas Friends and Sierra-Cascades YM of Friends, spoke about why we call ourselves Friends and Quakers.

Faith Marsalli shared a message about how God has been with West Hills Friends from the beginning and is already doing something new. She encouraged us to be open to change, to let go of old ways that no longer work, and to trust that we already have what we need to move forward as a healing and welcoming community. Queries were: What new thing has God already begun at WHF that you need to see and name? What are some ways of “doing church” that need to be laid down so something new can rise? What makes change difficult for you whether in your personal life or as you discern the next steps for WHF?

Gíl George shares a message about how when we start looking at the world through the lens of self-importance rather than through the lens of self-compassion we lose the script like so many before us.

Mica Coffin shares a message about seeing a little girl reach out to a houseless man on the boardwalk after Mica offered a prayer to him. “Doesn't seeing the God in each other make us angels to one another.”

Stephen Deatherage shares a message on how, in the midst of life’s hardships and uncertainties, we can choose to find sweetness, meaning, and resilience. He used the symbols of apples to speak about how we turn our experiences into nourishment for ourselves and others.

Kay Ellison shares a message about how small acts of love toward her mother, her neighbor, and strangers brought unexpected joy and connection, showing that loving others also nurtures ourselves.