In this episode of Quakers Today, we ask, How do you process memories, experiences, and feelings?

In this special episode of Quakers Today, you will learn about what we have in store for you in Season Three. We also look back to share highlights from Season Two. These include:

• An episode featuring actress and environmental activist Darryl Hannah as she discusses a bold campaign against the use of plastics in toys—a campaign that turned out to be an elaborate hoax designed to provoke real change. Hannah and the mischief-making group The Yes Men organized the elaborate hoax on the Mattel Corporation. One of the hoaxsters grew up Quaker and shares how his group uses lies to get corporations to admit that they mislead the public. 
• Timothy Tarkelli, a Kansas-based Quaker who finds spiritual resonance in the silence of nature and the practice of hunting—raising questions about the intersection of faith and lifestyle.
• Linda Seger discusses “Circle Thinking, a Quaker Model of Leadership.”  With her insights on circle thinking, Linda Sager challenges the traditional corporate hierarchy, proposing a more inclusive and collaborative approach to leadership that resonates with Quaker values.
• A conversation between two Quakers who draw on unexpected sources for inspiration. Sara Wolcott talks about paganism, witchcraft, and Quakers. Andy Stanton-Henry considers how Charismatic worship gets him to think deeply about his faith and practice. 
• One of the season’s gems is an original short story, “Sabbatical,” by Vicki Winslow, who brings her narrative to life with a reading accompanied by sound effects and music, creating an immersive experience for the listener. Hear the entire episode, Quakers, Fiction, and Virginia Woolf. 

After the show notes, you will find a complete transcript of this episode below.

Question for next month

How do you process memories, experiences, and feelings? 

For some people, they chat with a friend, or they write in a journal. What about you?

Leave a voice memo with your name and the town where you live. The number to call is 317-QUAKERS, that’s 317-782-5377. +1 if calling from outside the U.S.

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Transcript Announcing Season Three of Quakers Today

Tuesday, February 13, 2025

SPEAKERS

Andy Staton-Henry, Vicki Winslow, Linda Seger, Daryl Hannah, Sara Wolcott, Peterson Toscano, Timothy Tarkelly

Peterson Toscano  00:00

In this episode of Quakers Today, we ask, How do you process memories, experiences and feelings? I am Peterson Toscano. This is a special episode of Quakers Today podcast, a project of Friends Publishing Corporation. This season of Quakers Today is sponsored by the American Friends Service Committee. 

Peterson Toscano  00:24

Think of this as a prequel to Season Three, which is going to launch next month. And I’m super excited about Season Three. Some themes we will address this season are prayer and healing, membership, and the 400th Birthday of George Fox. Who was George Fox? Well, he was someone with a revolutionary spirit who was one of the founders of the Religious Society of Friends, aka Quakers. Fox and early Quakers emphasized inner light and direct spiritual experience. Rejecting elaborate religious ceremonies, George Fox championed simplicity and equality. His legacy is a movement grounded in peace, integrity, and social justice. 

Peterson Toscano  01:16

And before we move on to Season Three though, I want to share with you highlights from Season Two, including an excerpt from our all-time most downloaded episode. I chatted with American actress and environmental activist Daryl Hannah. She collaborated with the mischief-making group called The Yes Men. Together, they pulled off an elaborate campaign to get the Mattel corporation to ditch their plastic products.

Daryl Hannah  01:54

Mattel intends to go 100% plastic-free by 2030 in all of their toys.

Peterson Toscano  02:03

The only problem is the whole thing is a hoax. I spoke with some of the folks at my Quaker meeting who expressed concern over the trickery. Turns out they know one of the hoaxster activists. As a boy, he came to the meeting house and attended the Nearby Friends School, so I tracked him down.

Sara Wolcott  02:26

My fictional name is Jeff Walborn. I work with a group of artists and activists called the Yes Men. We do mischief performances that find us becoming our opponent, companies we’re trying to move in order to dramatically pretend that they’re going to do the right thing for once. It’s a kind of roundabout way to make them actually tell the truth. We think of our work as fitting in a lineage of trickster ism. Usually later, years later, after certain a series of actions or campaigns, you will see news about a company behaving really similarly to how we posited. They would no weird way sometimes these lies are just premature truths.

Peterson Toscano  03:15

I also spoke with Timothy Tarkelly, a Quaker living in Kansas. Timothy finds that time in Quaker worship is similar to the time he spends in nature.

Timothy Tarkelly  03:28

There is something powerful about silence, but I don’t think that it’s just silence. I think that it’s anticipation in the silence. In a meeting, you’re not just sitting there silently. You were sitting there, collectively, you’re waiting, and maybe something comes and maybe something doesn’t. That’s also not the point either. Regardless of if you went through an hour in silence or if you went through an hour aware people had things to share, you got to the end of that hour together. The nature it’s the same way. It is silence. It is seclusion, but you’re alert, you’re focused. You’re waiting for this interaction to happen.

Peterson Toscano  04:13

I imagine lots of people listening relate to those experiences. What made the story interesting was the controversy about what Timothy does in nature. He hunts wild game,

Timothy Tarkelly  04:26

just like anything else in Quakerism. It’s hard to find two Quakers that agree on everything. And I got a lot of like, oh, you know, I could see why you hunt. That’s fine. Whatever you feel like you need to do, this is, you know, who am I to say? And the other reaction I got was absolutely not. There’s no way that you could hunt and be a Quaker.

Peterson Toscano  04:47

If you want to know how Quakers make decisions, you will enjoy my conversation with Linda Seger.

Linda Seger  04:54

Quakers are one of the few religious groups that were not formed around the hierarchical Old patriarchal model, which is sometimes called linear thinking. 

Peterson Toscano  05:06

That’s Linda Seger, reading from her article “Circle Thinking a Quaker Model of Leadership.” 

Linda Seger  05:12

I got an MA in feminist theology, and one of the things that I looked at in my career as a business owner and a script consultant was this whole hierarchy way of thinking, the patriarchy, the corporate ladder, who’s on top, who’s on the bottom, which we sometimes call linear thinking. So I got to thinking about the circle, what I call circle thinking, which is about teamwork and people being acknowledged for different gifts within the circle. Quakerism is built on that model. 

Peterson Toscano  05:48

And what do Quakers, witches and Pentecostals have in common? I’m not sure if this question has ever been asked before. But an evangelical friend and a progressive Quaker talked about shared experiences. Sarah Walcott and Andy Stanton-Henry discuss their unique spiritual influences. And he encountered a connection to charismatic worship. Sara has wondered about paganism. They were surprised to learn they both had experiences in Pentecostal worship.

Andy Staton-Henry  06:25

In the spirit of full disclosure, I’ll let you know that I went through a quote charismatic phase as a team.

Sara Wolcott  06:31

When I was in seminary at Union, and I ended up not going to my local Quaker meeting, I didn’t find much spirit there,

Like Quaker worship, charismatic worship is a mix of divine presence and human personality. And sometimes visitors have no idea what’s going on. 

I attended First Corinthians Baptist Church with  Pastor Michael A. Walrond in Harlem, which is very much in that kind of Pentecost, not Pentecostal, but in that kind of charismatic tradition.

Over the years, I have experienced a mix of beautiful and troubling things in charismatic worship environments. Quakerism is my spiritual path. But I still appreciate some things about charismatic worship, and I wonder if friends can benefit from some light experimentation with Pentecostalism.

Like honestly, that’s where I learned to preach. I had my coming to the altar moment, and I experienced the movement of the Holy Spirit. That church was the closest thing to Quakerism that wasn’t Quakerism that I may have experienced.

Peterson Toscano  07:30

One of my favorite episodes in season two features an original short story by Vicki Winslow. Vicki talks about her writing process and reads an excerpt from a short story. We also have a bonus episode in which she reads the entire story. I added sound effects and music. It will plunge you into another world.

Vicki Winslow  07:55

The sky was gray as newsprint with sponge-dabbed clouds. The bats emerged at first, and such gentle art, she felt underwhelmed. Then, a dark mass of bats flowed across the sky in a mighty swarm, appearing like jumbled letters and punctuation marks against the newsprint sky. Selena craned her neck to read the messages of the letters scattered until the growing darkness erase them completely.

Peterson Toscano  08:47

And there’s much more in Season Two, including the bonus episode, you will hear a reunion of Quaker leaders from the US and the UK. They discuss how Quaker organizations work towards a just world they met at American Friends Service Committee’s annual Corporation meeting last year. So, if you have not done so yet, check out some of these episodes from Season Two. 

Peterson Toscano  09:12

Please feel free to share this podcast and any episode with your friends. That’s how it grows. Please consider connecting with me. If you have a comment or suggestion or just want to say hi, you can email me podcast @ friendsjournal.org. We also have a listener phone line where you can leave a voice memo, and we have a monthly question that you can answer if you like. I love sharing these voice messages with listeners, and I encourage you, if you’ve thought of doing this, take a moment and do it. Don’t be nervous. It’s okay if you are not happy with the first try. Try it again. So, if you’ve been thinking of leaving a message or the idea now seems appealing, this might be the perfect question for you to answer. “How do you process memories, experiences, and feelings?” For some people, they chat with a friend, or they write in a journal. What about you? How do you process memories, experiences, and feelings? Leave a voice memo with your name and the town where you live. The number to call is 317-Quakers. That’s 317.782.5377. 317-Quakers, plus one if calling from outside the USA. You can also send an email to podcast @ friends journal.org

Peterson Toscano  10:44

I am pleased to announce that Season Three of Quakers Today podcast is sponsored by the American Friends Service Committee. Do you want to challenge unjust systems and promote lasting peace? The American Friends Service Committee, or AFSC, works with communities worldwide to drive social change. Their website features meaningful steps you can take to make a difference. Find out how you can become part of AFSC’s global community of changemakers. Visit afsc.org.

Thank you for joining me for this special prequel episode of Quakers Today. If you like what you hear on our show and you listen on Apple podcast, please rate and review our show, and many thanks to everyone who’s been sharing Quakers Today with their friends and on social media. Quakers Today is written and produced by me, Peterson Toscano. The music on today’s show comes from Epidemic Sound. Thank you, Friend. I look forward to connecting with you very soon.