Someone at Brooklyn Quaker Meeting this morning told me that I should really be collecting my spoken messages and putting them in a book. I suppose this is my way of honoring that sweet sentiment. This is the message I shared this morning at Brooklyn Meeting (more or less): I spent this Thanksgiving with a…
Category: The Spirit
Fall cleanup at the Brooklyn Quaker Cemetery
I spent a couple of hours today in the lovely Quaker Cemetery in the middle of Prospect Park, helping rake leaves and fix the gravestones. Lots of kids from the Brooklyn Friends School were there, which was really sweet. What kid doesn't like jumping onto a pile of fall leaves? It was a drizzly, chilly…
Thoughts on balance and the Spirit
I had a lot of really interesting conversations with Quakers this weekend on the subject of "Balance," which was the theme of the retreat I was attending. I wanted to capture some of the best bits of insight here so I can come back to it later. Imbalance and Fear We talked about what makes…
Finding balance with the Brooklyn Quakers at the Powell House Retreat Center
I just got back from the Powell House retreat center in upstate New York, joining 40-some Quakers from the Brooklyn Friends Meeting. It was a relaxing and spiritually recharging weekend among some very deep souls. I'm fairly new to Brooklyn Meeting, having only started attending a couple of years ago. So going on a weekend…
Quaking and Swinging: Teaching Quakers how to social dance
This weekend I am up in Old Chatham, New York at the Powell House retreat center for the annual retreat of my spiritual community, the Friends Meeting of Brooklyn. Tonight I taught a small group of Quakers the basics of social dance both as a fun activity and to deepen their understanding about the concept…
Dancing from your Center: a spiritual leading
This video is my first attempt at explaining publicly something Quakers call a spiritual "Leading" that was first shared at Brooklyn Meeting last Sunday. I consider it a Leading because it's still working itself out inside of me, and feels like there's a lot more there to be revealed over time. One of the things…
Quaker artist James Turrell’s new hologram show opens September 10
I've been a big fan of the work of Quaker artist James Turrell after seeing him lecture in 2007, and then visiting his "Meeting" installation in 2008. Mr. Turrell has a new show opening on September 10 featuring his large holographic work that looks amazing. From the press release: In this new work James Turrell…
Perpetual Worship in the Ether
How does a Quaker stay centered, living in the Light, as he lives his daily life in this complex and noisy world? It’s a question I struggle with often. During Meeting for Worship, I feel such a strong connection to the Divine, to my fellow Quakers, and to life in general. And yet it only…
Quaker Service erupts into dance party! (video)
Here's a really cute music video that has been flying around the Quaker online community, directed by Ben Schiller featuring Quaker musician Jon Watts. Who says Quakers don't dance? I want to go to THAT Meeting for Worship. That said, I wish the content were a bit more accessible to non-Quakers. Rapping about our internal…
The Digital Quaker: What it means to be a Friend in the Information Society
This morning at Meeting for Worship at the Friends Meeting of Brooklyn, I was thinking about how analog our worship services are. There's almost no modern technology involved at all except for electric lights and maybe an oscillating fan in the summer. There's no amplifier, microphones, television or computer monitors, or other digital technology found…