Bowing to intense pressure from Republican members of Congress, the United States Park Police agreed to begin enforcing park regulations that prohibit Occupy DC demonstrators from sleeping on park grounds. Park Police announced that they would begin enforcing the no-sleeping statutes at noon on Monday, January 30th. Tents would still be allowed as acts of …
I believe that God created the universe out of sheer creativity and love, as an expression of God’s very nature. I believe that God loves the Creation like a parent loves a child. I do not believe that God created the universe in order to get some sort of utilitarian benefit out of us. God …
Just before Christmas, I wrote a post about what the second phase of the Occupy movement might look like. Moving beyond camping, I suggested that we focus our energy and resources on developing local assemblies – in neighborhoods, workplaces and other pre-existing communities. I encouraged occupiers to redouble our efforts to find ways to collaborate …
Reality, in fact, is usually something you could not have guessed. That is one of the reasons I believe Christianity. It is a religion you could not have guessed. If it offered us just the kind of universe we had always expected, I should feel we were making it up. But, in fact, it is …
Over time, I have become aware of certain characteristic signs of God’s presence. There are familiar ways that God touches and leads me. I find the Lord in an unexpected sense of awe and wonder. He is present in love for others, even enemies; a love that flows through me, but which is not mine. …
One peculiar feature of the Quaker tradition is our insistence on the role that each individual has in the discernment of the Holy Spirit’s will for the community. The entire membership of the church is called upon to exercise the authority that in many Christian traditions is held by a small group of ordained leaders. Quakers …
I first became a Quaker because of my own personal experience of God. I knew many people who talked about God, but I was always a doubting Thomas – I needed to see and touch for myself before I could believe. And God, with great mercy, granted me this. God showed up in my life, …