George Fox, the founder of the Religious Society of Friends, noted that, in addition to worship, one of the functions of the meeting was to “admonish and exhort such as walked disorderly or carelessly, and not according to Truth.” Quakers approached this task according to the guidelines laid out in
A Voice from the Past: The Sermons of Murray Shipley
I first “met” Murray Shipley when I began researching my book Friends Past and Present: The Bicentennial History of Cincinnati Friends Meeting (1815–2015). I was immediately intrigued by his character and accomplishments. A deeply devout man, Shipley was very active in Cincinnati Friends Meeting, and was recorded as a minister
CFM Roots: Marriage Among Friends
Since its beginnings in the 17th century, the Religious Society of Friends had dispensed with an official priesthood. This raised an important question within the community: how were marriages to be conducted? Our Society’s founder, George Fox, prescribed an orderly process: I was moved to exhort them to bring all
CFM Roots: Matters of Membership
Historically, membership in a Quaker meeting was traditionally established in one of three ways: birth, transfer, or request. According to the 1819 edition of the Discipline of the Society of Friends of Ohio Yearly Meeting, any child “whose parents have accomplished their marriage according to our Discipline” would automatically be considered
UN-blurring the Only Vision One Has
Love in action is a harsh and dreadful thing compared to love in dreams. Dostoevsky If you see it another way, God will clarify the difficulty for you. It is important that we continue on our course, no matter what stage we have reached. A Letter of Paul to the