Types & Shadowsis the quarterly journal of the Fellowship of Quakers in the Arts.(FQA) It first appeared in 1996, and has been produced ever since by dedicated and creative volunteers.
The Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) were strongly against the arts for their first two centuries, regarding them as “vain” and hazardous distractions from plainness and more serious and “spiritual” things.
Their evolution away from this prohibition is traced in an FQA Booklet, Beyond Uneasy Tolerance, which is also available free on the FQA website.
Can art help us get through (and bear witness in) hard times?
The Fellowship of Quakers in the Arts (aka FQA) thinks so. A new example is the just-published issue of FQA’s journal, Types & Shadows, (aka T&S) online right now, right here.
T&S was launched in 1996, the new issue is #101, for Autumn 2024. In its pages you’ll find stunning color photography, striking poetry, a historical Quaker novel excerpt and arts reporting.
For a long time, Friends shunned the arts (more on this here, in FQA‘s free online pamphlet Beyond Uneasy Tolerance ).
But today the arts seem to be thriving among us.
A year ago last Saturday, the Friends Meeting I’m part of took a big step, for us: we rented a booth at the Alamance Pride Festival, held in a large park in downtown Burlington NC.
The Spring booth, with a blogger on duty at the table.
Outwardly, our booth was not particularly eye-catching. Amid the fluttering of a thousand floating rainbows, the yellow table banner we made for it is about as gaudy as we get. Spring Friends Meeting has been what many call an “affirming” congregation for more than a dozen years, and we’ve paid our share of dues for that. But we didn’t do it for publicity, and we haven’t done much of what many others call evangelism, which we’d rather name “outreach.” We have lots of opinions about things, but are mostly quiet about them.
Maybe too quiet. Spring has been gathering for Quaker worship in southern Alamance County for 251 years, but we soon found out in the booth that hardly anyone we talked to knew we were there. Which meant that Pride was a great opportunity for our outreach aspirations, but it also brought home the suspicion that maybe we had been a bit too ready to “hide our lamp under a bushel,” for much of those two-and-a-half centuries, which is something the gospel says not to do. There’s a false modesty which at bottom is mostly a mix of snobbery and pride. Continue reading The Shadow at the Pride Festival→
NOTE: There were many fine speeches on Tuesday night, the second day of the DNC. Watching the full evening video would be a good investment of spare time.
Below I will excerpt only two, which stood out for me: that of Senator Bernie Sanders, here almost in full, and some especially pertinent points by Michelle Obama.
Rather than bask in the high spirits and enthusiasm of the DNC (which was very real and welcome, but well-covered elsewhere), they spoke of some of the hard times which preceded this upsurge, and which may well return if the Harris-Walz ticket is not successful.
Obama was the more eloquent, and brought emotion and soul to the hall; Bernie was his gruff, indomitable and determined self, summarizing many major policy tasks and tough fights which will face Kamala Harris and her team if they are elected. I believe both are useful reminders as the convention proceeds.
There will be more outstanding oratory on Wednesday evening. Before it gets fully underway, readers are invited to take a few minutes to go over these cautions and challenges laid down from Tuesday.Continue reading Two DNC Truth-Tellers: Michelle & Bernie→
Here are a few of what I felt were highlights of the first day and night at the DNC (seen from my recliner at home, but a marathon even so).
As I predicted, the Chicago cops were out on their bikes for the DNC, big time.
Most in short sleeves, some in short pants . . .
But while numerous permits for protests were issued, not many showed up on Monday; these pro-Palestine posters beamed their messages mainly at the sky. The bike cops were spotted escorting a small group of pro-Israeli protesters which walked around one of the parks, keeping them separated from the more numerous Palestine-supporters. Later about 30 activists were arrested.
Screenshot
Inside, the speeches went on and on, to many thunderous cheers and loud, almost continuous applause. Rep. Jim Clyburn of South Carolina struck a biblical note of encouragement.
Among a parade of union leaders, UAW president Shawn Fain went the GOP’s Hulk Hogan one better, by stripping off his jacket to expose a vivid red tee-shirt that called out Trump’s anti-union attitudes with a 4-letter epithet that’s one of the worst profanities than can be hurled by a union member.
We also heard from legal eagle Rep. Jamie Raskin, one of the survivors of the January 6 attack, and a tenacious attack dog himself in the second impeachment the insurrection produced.
Raskin drew on that experience to voice an ominous warning to one JD Vance (and of several other names), in his perilous quest to become Trump’s next Veep: “Remember what the mob chanted as they stormed the Capitol?”Raskin asked. “Hang Mike Pence.”
“J.D. Vance, do you understand why there was a sudden job opening for running mate on the GOP ticket?
They tried to kill your predecessor!” Raskin continued.
“They tried to kill him because he would not follow Trump’s plan to destroy and nullify the votes of millions of Americans.”
And while The Squad has been somewhat reduced by primary losses this year, two of the group’s veterans showed they were not only survivors but becoming stars:
Texas Rep. Jasmine Crockett, is a young but fast-rising House member, and a riveting, witty and eloquent speaker. She jumped right in, noting that on On Nov 5, the USA was going to hire a president. So, she said, let’s compare the two applicants’ résumes:
“[Kamala Harris] became a career prosecutor, while he became a career criminal. . . . She’s lived the American dream while he’s been Americas nightmare.”
Crockett then pivoted from keen barbs into a tender retelling of the comfort and encouragement she received from her very first meeting with Harris, when Crockett was an uncertain political newbie.” This is a speech worth hunting up on computer video.
And as a followup, straight from the Bronx and Queens New York came Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, known to all as AOC, another must-see video (only seven minutes, but power-packed and eloquent). Last night, AOC showed she was ready for prime time.
Of course there was much more; but the climax was Joe Biden’s speech, which included, for my money, the best, most unforgettable line of the night:
Best line of the night . . . .The way Joe will remember it in his dreams . . .
It was close to 2 AM EDT when I tumbled into bed. And after I catch a bite and take care of a bit of other business, I’ll be at it for the next night: after all, there’s not one but two Obamas to look forward to, among other riches. And what was it that guy fro Minnesota, the coach said: “We’ll sleep when we’re dead.”