Eleven years ago, I was nearing the end of my time as Director of Quaker House, the Friends peace project in Fayetteville NC, near Fort Bragg. Our newsletter for that summer devoted most of its front page to Afghanistan, and the seemingly “invisible/forever” war there. That war is no longer invisible, and at least the … Continue reading Deja Vu All Over Again: A Glimpse of Afghanistan in 2010
It was the headline that caught me: “Shocking and Ominous Talk,” it blared. Really? Such language was rare in the Selma Times Journal (STJ), but I found it there, on the editorial page of the New Year’s Day edition, for January 1, 1965. The Alabama headline shone up at me from a cloudy gray background, … Continue reading Back to my Future: Vietnam, Afghanistan, Wherever, Forever . . .
What’s the billboard below got to do with Friday the 13th in August 2021? Let’s take a glance back, to ten years ago: then Harold Camping was a radio preacher from Oakland, California, who figured IT out. “IT” was the date of Judgment Day, when Jesus would return, sinners tumble into hell, the elect fly … Continue reading Friday the 13th, Judgment Day? — A Harold Camping Memorial
Jim Corbett was a fascinating guy, but like all of us he had his faults. In his amazing first book, he way overdid the self-deprecation: ”Goatwalking is a book for saddlebag or backpack —to live with a while, casually. It is compact and multifaceted, but for unhurried reflection rather than study. It is woven from … Continue reading Let’s Go Goatwalking, Friends
Eight years ago today, Eighth Month 5, 2017, some Friends in North Carolina Yearly Meeting (FUM) got their wish: They got rid of the “liberals” in the body. Out went New Garden Meeting in Greensboro; Jamestown just south of there; Greensboro First Friends; and even tiny Spring Meeting, in the pastures and woods of south … Continue reading Un-Happy Anniversary, Friends