Books

Quaker Process for Friends on the Benches is the most thorough survey to date of the nuances of Quaker process and practice.
This book provides historical context to how Quaker process has evolved, shares common practices and variations used by contemporary Friends, and gives real-life examples of model Quaker process in action. Readers will find answers to such questions as “What does it mean to serve on a committee?” and “How should new technologies be used in our Quaker business?” Readers will learn best practices from a range of perspectives on topics like discernment, leadings, and the mechanics of interrelated Quaker bodies.
Both accessible and comprehensive, this richly researched handbook deserves a place in the library of every Friends meeting and every Quaker member or attender who seeks to find joy in the spiritual practice of Quaker process. A glossary, index, and annotated bibliography will give readers years of practical service and well-lit paths into a deeper study of the Quaker faith.

“Mathilda Navias has written a remarkable book that is tender toward all varieties of Friends. Every page reflects not just wide study, but also deep experience and clear wisdom.” – Tom Hamm, Quaker Historian and author of The Quakers in America

Drawn from the rich archives of Friends Journal and edited by Sharon Hoover, this book illuminates the many aspects of Friends’ most central and most public spiritual testimony: a search for peace.

The search for peace among Quakers began and continues as a spiritual search, not a political one—with such texts as the Sermon on the Mount, not with political schemes.

Friends today seek spiritual peace within, then in their actions toward others and the world itself. From a well-tended spiritual center, Friends seek to sow peace wherever they go. Many have found themselves called to witness for peace in specific ways in their families, their meetings and churches, their communities, their nations and their world.

-From the Foreword

This book is an invaluable resource for those who wish to explore the Quaker peace experience and to better understand and develop their own personal calling for peace. With a careful selection of material approaching peace from many philosophical and practical angles, Quakers and the Search for Peace will serve as a guide not only for Quakers and their meetings and churches, but for readers of all faith traditions who yearn for a more peaceful world. Students and newcomers to Quakerism will find a diverse and compelling introduction to the Quaker religion in modern practice.

The 9/11/01 terrorist attacks prompted both an outpouring of feeling and a serious examination of the Quaker peace testimony. This searching anthology of Friends’ responses to this crisis and its repercussions reveals a profound diversity of Quaker thought. Quaker theologian Walter Wink writes of Answering Terror: “Every doubt, vacillation, conviction, and act of courage that Quakers have ever entertained rises to the surface.” Sociologist and peace activist Elise Boulding writes, “What a wonderful and inspiring read this book will be for the Quaker community!”.

• View the Table of Contents (PDF)
• Download the Introduction (PDF)

Praise for Answering Terror

Answering Terror is not an easy read. It stirs memories both external (the collapse of the towers) and internal (the sense of horror, shock, and powerlessness that followed). Rereading the words of Friends in the days, weeks, and months that followed is a heart-opener. Answering Terror implies something terribly important is happening among Friends as we seek to discern a way forward that is Spirit-led and serious. It invites readers to join an ongoing conversation to face hard issues with intelligence, wit, and passion-and to do so with honesty, courage, and respect for diversity. This book has the potential to shake you up pretty righteously-so be prepared, but don’t shirk the journey.”

—Jack Patterson (former Quaker United Nations Representative)

On the surface there is a debate on nonviolence pro and con. But under the surface, every doubt, vacillation, conviction, and act of courage that Quakers have ever entertained rises to the surface. Rather than abandoning nonviolence because we have not yet learned how to use it effectively, we might test it by trial and error. We have massive corroboration that nonviolence has worked in cases of national liberation. The world has been lurching toward democracy of late, and democracy is the institutionalization of nonviolence. For those with eyes to see, the proliferation of nonviolence can be regarded as the work of the Holy Spirit in history.

—Walter Wink (Professor Emeritus of Biblical Interpretation, Auburn Theological Seminary)

This collection of responses to the September 11 onslaught of violence gives us all a very special opportunity to rethink our lives and our testimonies. The diversity of responses lets us know that the Friends Testimonies are still in process of development, and offers a multiplicity of ways to witness to those testimonies. What a wonderful and inspiring read this book will be for the Quaker community in all its diversity!

—Elise Boulding (Professor Emerita of Sociology, Dartmouth College)

If the heart-felt suggestions in this volume had been followed after September 11, the world could have taken a giant step toward brother- and sisterhood, and the people of the U.S. would be more secure than all the weapons on the planet could provide. I encourage everyone who wants to rid the world of terrorism and live in peace to read this book.

—David Hartsough (Founder and Capacity Building Director, Nonviolent Peaceforce)

For generations we have been fighting wars to end all wars, only to breed more wars, more terrorists. Yet more people are rejecting violence and applying nonviolent ways to resolve conflicts. We recommend Answering Terror to young and old wrestling today with the challenge of state violence, terrorism, and violence in the family.

—George and Lillian Willoughby (lifelong peace activists)

By Benjamin As Told To Clifford Pfiel

Illustrated by John D. Gummere

Benjamin is a little mouse who lives in a Meeting House. He learns about Quakers and eventually ministers in Meeting asking Friends to leave him more crumbs. These stories were originally serialized in Friends Journal. It is a very nice gift and great fun for children and adults.

Friends Journal 1996 32 pp. Paper