‘It was that prolonged, flat, cheerless week that follows Christmas …’ One of the great passages on the interval between Christmas and New Year from Anthony Powell … #ADTTMOT

Christ was anointed and sent of God, a Saviour, to destroy the works of the Devil, to break down all rule and authority contrary to God in man; for his work is in the heart. Isaac Penington

In the discernment process, the aim is to allow God to direct one’s decision-making, rather than it being driven by self-centered or socially conditioned human responses and emotions. The Quaker Faith: Friends of Love and Truth, p.95.

God is against you, you covetous cruel oppressors who grind the faces of the poor and needy... James Nayler – A Discovery of the First Wisdom (1653)

“See each individual person as a gift from God” Quaker Rhiannon Grant shares a reflection on ‘the greatest gift’. www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

People interested in this overlap may want to know that the Quaker Disability Equality Group has a Neurodivergent Friends meeting: quakerdisabilitygroup.org.uk

The greatest gift my wife gives me is accepting me as I am. I hope you too know you are loved and accepted, whether or not you are giving physical gifts today. www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

A word from a Christmas sermon by Meister Eckhart, on our need to give birth to God ourselves.

I heard there was a secret chord That David played and it pleased the Lord ⚓️

If you’re up late wrapping presents you can hear me and others from @uniofaberdeen.bsky.social on the Radio Scotland Christmas Service at 11.30pm tonight (repeated at 6.30am tomorrow, or catch it on BBC Sounds afterwards!) www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...

The language being used for people seeking refuge abroad is unacceptable. Asylum seekers must be allowed to work, not demonised. Starmer’s decision to move people in need to military sites in the new year is unacceptable.

This course offers a Quaker friendly accessible introduction to Christian mysticism through the ages. Friends will be introduced to key figures including Dionysus the Areopagite, Simone Weil, Julian of Norwich and Howard Thurman. For more information visit https://ow.ly/U5o150XGTZ9

Thank you @ericanela.bsky.social for this fantastic review of Voices of Thunder in Quaker Studies! 🤩✨🌟 quakerstudies.openlibhums.org/article/id/2...

Who will celebrate Christmas correctly? Whoever finally lays down all power, all honor, all reputation, all vanity, all arrogance, all individualism beside the manger. Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Rebellious or Respectable? At the beginning, Friends were regarded as a highly disruptive presence... However, within a short period of time, they became a peaceable people who, while appearing peculiar, were increasingly wealthy and respectable. The Quaker Faith: Friends of Love & Truth, p.157.

There's still progress to be made in articulating a corporate Quaker theology of trans inclusion, such as Friends engaging with the work of trans theologians, but this is a good start.

The new guidance asks Quakers to invite the ​sharing​​ ​of pronouns ​​​and ​gender self-identification, listen deeply to one another, avoid asking trans people to constantly justify their own lived reality, and avoid letting buildings to groups who intend to hurt or exclude. 2/4

Quakers in Britain are continuing to work to ensure that all Quaker communities are inclusive of gender diversity, following a decision in 2021. A new document provides both theological background for this, rooted in the commandment to love one another, and practical guidance. 1/4

“This is a lovely, historically pluriform and aware book, offering a gentle critique of much ecclesiastical nonsense. A great read.” Alan Storkey, economist, sociologist and author of, 'Jesus and Politics: Confronting the Powers'

📣 New Video! Right, so who ACTUALLY founded Quakerism? Lots of potential contenders and, no, it is not as simple as George Fox! I feel the pro-Foxite crowd will be on me again for this one! 😝 #quakers #quakerism #britishquakers youtu.be/iehjy7XBECU

Drawing on the image of an ecosystem, Randazzo invites readers into the beauty and variety of Quaker theology while honoring the many different ways Friends encounter the sacred. Shop Now: bit.ly/4hZPxkM

The language of refusal used here resonates with the Quaker understanding of "negative testimony." To refuse that which crushes life makes more space for Love and Truth to flourish amongst us.

I am a former Evangelical. For this episode, I spoke with Jasson Arevelo, an Evangelical Quaker from El Salvador. We explore the differences between Unprogrammed Quaker Meetings in North America and Evangelical Friends Churches in Central America. #Quakerbeliefs

Quaker Rhiannon Grant shares how a power cut prompted reflections on inner light, for BBC Radio 2’s Pause for Thought.

I'm getting so many tasty @woodbrooke.bsky.social courses lined up to teach in 2026. First on the list is 'Journeys in Christian Mysticism' with the wonderful @cosmichope.bsky.social. So excited! www.woodbrooke.org.uk/courses/jour... #Quaker #spirituality

Today, Jesus’ gospel does not align with Christian nationalism or white supremacy, but with liberation for refugees and those on the margins. His ministry centered on the excluded, not on rulers or empires. My piece for @goodfaithmedia.bsky.social goodfaithmedia.org/reclaiming-t...

Just sent the first drafted chapter of my next book - "Unapologetic: A Queer, Quaker Approach to the Bible" - to my editor. 🥳 Going to celebrate by eating a huge mince pie. #Writing #theology #Authors #WritingCommunity #Christian #theology @broadleafbooks.bsky.social

"Quaker spirituality is focused on nurturing an intimate and transformative inward relationship with God in Spirit. Friends have therefore adopted spiritual practices that help them to cultivate a deepening sense of the divine presence..."

This is obscene. Why can't other politicians say that? The 25 richest families are collectively $358.7 billion richer than a year ago, with a combined fortune totaling $2.9 trillion.

Day 18 of #Mystic #Advent Thomas Merton (1915 –1968): American monk & contemplative: #Quote: 'Instead of hating...war-makers, hate the appetites...in your own soul, which are the causes of war. If you love peace, then...hate tyranny, hate greed - but hate these things in yourself, not in another'

I was given the theme 'lighting the darkness' which has some pretty obvious Quaker resonances. www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

Currently reading Pseudo-Dionysius, and then this morning I read Malcolm Guite's "O Sapientia": "Come, hidden Wisdom, come with all you bring, Come to me now, disguised as everything." Gorgeous. I'm so glad God is beyond all things, because then we get to meet God in all things! #advent #theology

Day 17 of #Mystic #Advent Howard Washington Thurman (1899–1981): American Theologian, writer, mystic. #Quote: 'Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive and then go do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive'.

I heard a confused noise in the town, hooting, yelling, and swearing about a bull-baiting; whereat being much troubled in spirit I waited to know the will of God, what he would have me to do; whether I should go and declare against their ungodly practice. James Nayler (1655)

Religious studies/theology folks: Please share word of this 3-year postdoc (junior research fellowship) at Trinity College, Oxford. Application deadline January 21. Full details available here: www.trinity.ox.ac.uk/sites/defaul...

O God, you have bound us together in a common life. Help us, in the midst of our struggles for justice and truth, to confront one another without hatred or bitterness, and to work together with mutual forbearance and respect; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Need some #Quaker theology to pass the dark winter nights? Might I suggest my book The Living Fountain? 📖🕯

2/2...in the Marriage Declaration, we are in danger of implying that we don't know why we made this decision (and others), or at the very least, the deep meaning/source of the minute doesn't really matter: "Whether it was Divine prompting or vibes, its cool with us". But it *does* matter.

1/2 The difficulty for me is that it introduces a fundamental contradiction into our Quaker Way. In 2009, we said we affirmed the marriages of same-sex couples because God had led us there. We explained the decision to others in explicitly theological terms. By making God-language optional...

Well said. People don't seem to understand that saying things like "God doesn't matter" is like saying "your husband doesn't matter". It's never not going to be experienced as painful to those who love God.

I stumbled on this blog post from @martinkelley.com just as I heard about what Friends have settled on re. the continuing use of God-language in the Marriage Declaration. I very much sit in the Conservative Liberal space the blog partially describes. Certainly Liberal-Liberal Quakerism troubles me.

🎓 Congratulations to Oscar Lugusa Malande! We’re delighted to celebrate Oscar’s graduation yesterday from the University of Birmingham, after completing his PhD with Woodbrooke's Centre for Research in Quaker Studies. Oscar’s thesis explored the history of postcolonial Kenyan Quakerism.

The crucified God is sacrilegious and divisive

📣 New Video! I share how I became a Christian on the Quaker Way… #quaker #quakerism #britishquaker #agnostictochristian youtu.be/a46tGPBuPV0

i *love* Julian of Norwich, love her. a gift.

"God never expects more from us than we are capable of doing. Each word of comfort, each act of compassion, is a small bonfire in the thundering nights. But these tiny flickering flames, the simple gestures of loving hearts, will add up and will eventually save the world." Imre Gellérd

With the blasphemy that’s occurring in Westminster today, I'm thinking about Howard Thurman’s separation of Christianity from the religion of Jesus. 1/ #Christian #theology

Day 12 of #Mystic #Advent Johannes Tauler (1300-1361): German mystic, Catholic priest and theologian. #Quote: 'So you must be silent. Then God will be born in you, utter his word in you and you shall hear it; but be very sure that if you speak the word will have to be silent'

Day 11 of #Mystic #Advent Simone Weil (1909-1943): Mystic, writer, philosopher, political activist. #Quotes: 'If we go down into ourselves, we find that we possess exactly what we desire'

New issue of Quaker Studies! This is a special issue on the theme 'Spiritual Witness: The Ground of Quaker Social Action'. Many thanks to my guest editors, Cherice Bock and Welling Hall, and our books reviews editor Erica Canela. quakerstudies.openlibhums.org/issue/1331/i...