I’ll share something that happened at a Quaker, mostly youth’ish, workshop in upstate New York a few years ago. We were reading passages about ministry from Samuel Bownas. Things were getting fired up, and one Friend look across the room at another and said “you have something to say!” It was the quietest person there but he agreed to talk. And it changed everything. Suddenly it was clear that the spirit of Christ was in the room and we all circled up. The messages that tumbled out felt more clear than just about anything I’ve heard before and they all converged into the same message: that it wasn’t enough for us to find some sort of individual salvation. We’re in this together and we have to link arms and pull all of us through into God’s kingdom.

There’s all sorts of ways to apply this. Here’s a safe one: we can’t be satisfied being happy co-housing suburbanites who buy organic food at clean markets: we need to make sure everyone has good, healthy food options. Maybe that means supporting local farm-to-city programs and maybe that means we’ll be eating non-organic but local food but building up a structure that’s lifting all of us up. Maybe Beecher knew that it wasn’t enough that he knew the enlightened truth; maybe he knew that as a shepherd he needed to get through with his flock. That requires bravery but also the wisdom of know when Jesus is calling us to step up, because sometimes stepping up is just the tempter telling us to show off. One of my favorite Quaker aphorisms is that “the right message at the wrong time is the wrong message.” So just keep praying for guidance and wisdom. I’ll add my prayers to Peggy’s.

Thank you for the prayers.