A narrative imagining the inward life of Quaker artist Edward Hicks, of Peaceable Kingdom fame. A glimpse into how a dystopian surveillance state might inspire newly distinctive Quaker accessories. Friends as deathless cosmic nomads setting down roots for habitation and worship. A story of Quakers compiling a cookbook that may just inspire readers to take to their own kitchens. A dramatization of William Penn presiding over a fishy witchcraft trial. All this and more you will find within this, Friends Journal’s fourth annual Fiction issue. And don’t forget to go online, where you’ll find four more brand-new Quaker short stories on Friendsjournal.org. We hope you find these pieces as fun to read as we did.
What inspires Quaker creative writers? Our staff writer Sharlee DiMenichi spoke to several authors and poets about their work and spiritual lives and shares their answers in “Deep Enough for a Lifetime of Exploration,” which is a title-worthy quote from one of the Friends interviewed.
Where I live, November is autumn: harvest season, with deciduous trees having shed their colorful leaves, temperatures dropping, and woolen sweaters coming out of storage and onto our backs. It’s the perfect time to curl up with a magazine or book. To aid fellow cozy readers, this issue includes our annual expanded book review section. Which of the 15 titles reviewed will make its way to your to-be-read pile this month? Check back next month for our Young Friends Bookshelf, just in time for holiday gifting.
I returned from the World Plenary Meeting in South Africa this past August more convinced than ever of the fundamental commonality among Friends worldwide. What meeting attenders experienced there was nothing less than the communion of a Quakerism spanning global geographies and diverse palettes of culture, practice, and belief. I emerged from this communion charged with a new sense of duty and possibility for the mission of Friends Publishing Corporation.
This month, we’re launching a new recurring “Bible Study” department in the magazine. Friends Publishing’s own Ron Hogan weaves a reflection on culture and the Quaker prophetic tradition anchored to the story of Moses and the Elders from the Book of Numbers. Not all Friends Journal readers come to us with a familiarity or strong relationship with Scripture, yet the holy texts are a lingua franca for many, many Quakers worldwide. This much was abundantly clear to me in the context of a global Quaker gathering, where we explored our fundamental unity and interconnectedness and learned more about our approaches and relationships with Spirit and tradition. Our hope is that many of these Friends as well as fellow Christians on a quest for the right spiritual fellowship may find the Friends Journal Bible Study department a compelling point of entry into the body of work we share and into the community our content fosters.
As ever, our mission is to communicate Quaker experience in order to connect and deepen spiritual lives. It is a blessing to be so connected with you.
Comments on Friendsjournal.org may be used in the Forum of the print magazine and may be edited for length and clarity.