Leaving Church

A Memoir Of Faith

BY BARBARA BROWN TAYLOR
A former Episcopal priest writes of finding, losing, then keeping her faith. But to do so she has to leave the church she has served and be true to her own individual faith. An eloquent description of her spiritual journey to date. "When I think of my first cathedral, I am back in a field behind my parents' house in Kansas, with every stalk of prairie grass lit up from within." - Barbara Brown Taylor

HarperSanFrancisco 2007 256 PP. Paper

$14.95 (in stock)

Living In Godless Times (994)

EDITED BY ALISON LEONARD
Alison Leonard, a writer and popular radiobroadcaster on issues of spirituality, interviews a group of modern, independent thinkers on their paths to a more spiritual life. Drawn from a variety of spiritual and religious backgrounds, these contributors offer insights into their search for a deeper meaning through personal experience in the face of a seemingly godless modern culture. Contributors include Jocelyn Bell Burnell, Adam Curle, and Raficq Abdullah. SECONDHAND COPY- a little careworn around the edges.

Floris 2001 256 PP. Paper

$12.00 USED - availability checked May 23rd 3:40am EDT

Love Is The Hardest Lesson

A Memoir By Margaret Hope Bacon

BY MARGARET HOPE BACON
"[The author] gives us a vivid account of her experience working in a state psychiatric institution as the young wife of a conscientious objector during World War II. She portrays the insulated and dehumanizing world of Sykesville where patients lost their individuality and caregivers behaved abusively from their own fear. Margaret's personal story movingly illustrates the transformative power of love which casts out fear and restores to others their sense of humanity." - Lee Junker

Pendle Hill 1999 143 PP. Paper

$10.00 (in stock)

The Love Of Impermanent Things - Paperback

BY MARY ROSE O'REILLY
At midlife, Mary Rose O'Reilley reflects on her past and her hard-won sense of self. She tries to see the world through the eyes of the deer that stop outside her window and look in at her. As a wildlife rehabilitator, she feels a closer connection to this natural world as experienced by animals. As an apprentice potter, she sees in a Japanese tea bowl the ultimate balance of action and contemplation. As a Quaker, she can both sit still and sing. And as a writer, O'Reilley can speak clearly to readers at midlife who are expected to know it all, but don't.

Milkweed Editions 2008 320 PP. Paper

$16.00 (in stock)

The O Of Home

BY JENNIFER KAVANAGH
What does the word "home" mean to you? From a wide range of answers and her own experience, British Friend Jennifer Kavanagh explores our outer and inner identities. Home is not just four walls or the country we were born in. It is not a locked door, an investment, a legal address, or a nation with rigid borders. Home is where the heart is: a yearning for a precious past, a dream of something that has never been, or a present reality. In relationship - with our families, in community, and with the whole of creation. The qualities of home are reflected in the circle (O), an ancient symbol for safety, equality, inclusiveness, and eternity.

O Books 2010 198 PP. Paper

$24.95 (in stock)

On Stepping Out Of The Boat

BY TRAYCE PETERSON
Walking on water. That's not an image most of us think about often. Trayce Peterson opens up the challenges and possibilities of responding to the Light's invitation to walk away from our safe, comfortable boat using art and experience to illustrate her ideas.

Beacon Hill Friends House 2009 17 PP. Paper

$4.00 (in stock)

The Plain Language Of Love And Loss

BY BETH TAYLOR
On November 16, 1965, Beth Taylor's idyllic childhood was shattered at age twelve by the suicide of her older brother Geoff. This memoir reflects on the meaning of death and loss for three generations of Taylor's family and their friends. Touching on the timely issues of bullying, child rearing, and non-conformity, she offers a rare look at growing up Quaker in the tumultuous 1960s that shows the more sober side of the decade's counterculture. This tender narrative is, on the surface, about Quakers and Quakerism in modern America. It is about one family's struggle to align its spiritual strivings with the realities of human limitations and the uncontrollability of circumstance.

Univ of Missouri 2009 160 PP. Paper

$19.95 (in stock)

Plan B

Further Thoughts On Faith

BY ANNE LAMOTT
"I consider reading Anne Lamott a guilty pleasure. Maybe it's because she's so irreverent or because she's so funny or maybe because she is so unabashedly human in her writing. Her most recent book, a collection of essays which originally appeared on Salon.com is just as scatterbrained and heartwarming as her earlier Traveling Mercies. In this book, though, a constant theme is waking up each day with Bush in the White House and how she deals with that, how she maintains faith in this dark political time. She tells stories of her daily waking time: going to protest rallies, celebrating Thanksgiving with her son, all the while struggling to hear God in midst of the craziness." - Lucy Duncan

Penguin 2006 336 PP. Paper

$14.00 (out of stock but can be backordered)

A Private History Of Awe

BY SCOTT RUSSELL SANDERS
When Quaker Scott Russell Sanders was four, his father held him in his arms during a thunderstorm, and he felt awe-"the tingle of a power that surges through bone and rain and everything." He writes, "The search for communion with this power has run like a bright thread through all my days." A Private History of Awe is an account of his search, told as a series of dramatic, spiritually charged episodes: his early memory of watching a fire with his father; his attraction to the solemn cadences of the Bible despite his frustration with Sunday-school religion; his discovery of books and the body; his mounting opposition to the Vietnam War and all forms of violence.

North Point Press 2006 322 PP. Cloth

$7.50 (in stock)

A Private History Of Awe

BY SCOTT RUSSELL SANDERS
When Quaker Scott Russell Sanders was four, his father held him in his arms during a thunderstorm, and he felt awe-"the tingle of a power that surges through bone and rain and everything." He writes, "The search for communion with this power has run like a bright thread through all my days." A Private History of Awe is an account of his search, told as a series of dramatic, spiritually charged episodes: his early memory of watching a fire with his father; his attraction to the solemn cadences of the Bible despite his frustration with Sunday-school religion; his discovery of books and the body; his mounting opposition to the Vietnam War and all forms of violence.

North Point Press 2007 322 PP. Paper

$15.00 (in stock)

Quaker Journals

Varieties Of Religious Experience Among Friends

BY HOWARD BRINTON
For over three centuries Quakers have used the spiritual journal to record their spiritual life and journeys. Some, especially those of famous Friends, were published; others lay in attics or on the shelves of libraries. Here Brinton looks on them as a whole class for the first time, stressing the importance of examining the original unedited texts. He shows the reality of Quaker ideals and testimonies as actually lived by Friends through the ages.

Pendle Hill 1972 130 PP. Paper

$7.00 (in stock)

Reflections From Silence

BY RICHARD HATHAWAY
We come into this quiet place to worship. We tap into the water that runs deep. What happens when we enter a Quaker meeting? There is silence, certainly, and sometimes from that, spoken ministry; a moment of reflection, inspiration; a movement of the spirit. Collected here is some of the ministry of Richard Hathaway, a member of New York Yearly Meeting. Each segment is unique, an anecdote, a memory, a line of poetry that suddenly comes to mind, a response to the surroundings. And yet each reveals something of the underlying current of a Quaker meeting, to be open to feeling, light and expression.

Britain Yearly Meeting 2011 71 PP. Paper

$13.00 (in stock)

Resistance And Obedience To God

Memoirs Of David Ferris 1707-1779

EDITED BY MARTHA PAXSON-GRUNDY
Resistance and Obedience to God is a rich example of a life lived in the struggle to find and live God's will. Anyone interested in American religious history, Quaker history, spiritual development, religious education and ministry will find this chronicle of Ferris's life a fascinating documentation of life in the 18th century and the moral and ethical development of a Quaker minister. A contemporary of JohnWoolman, Ferris was a member of Wilmington Monthly Meeting who traveled extensively in the ministry. The introductory essay grounds the reader in religious and social developments leading up to the Great Awakening and what followed.

Quaker Press of FGC 2001 176 PP. Paper

$10.00 (in stock)

Sacred Ordinary

Sermons And Addresses

BY ARTHUR O. ROBERTS
A celebration of nearly forty years of public ministry, bringing together pulpit and pen, to offer the eyes what was previously presented to the ears. Throughout the fifty sermons and addresses you will find idealistic reflections alongside down-to-earth, practical advice, followed by plain-speaking poetic verse.

Barclay Press 2006 313 PP. Paper

$19.00 (in stock)

Sacred Rhythms

Arranging Our Lives For Spiritual Transformation

BY RUTH HALEY BARTON
Picking up on the monastic tradition of creating a "rule of life" that allows for regular space for the practice of the spiritual disciplines, this book takes you more deeply into understanding seven key disciplines along with practical ideas for weaving them into everyday life. Each chapter includes exercises to help you begin the practices--individually and in a group context.

IVP 2006 189 PP. Cloth

$16.00 (in stock)

Sacred Trust

A Quaker Family Since 1816

BY THEODORA ELKINTON WARING
"Theodora Waring's memoir is punctuated by nourishing spirit-led experiences, educational and professional accomplishments, and her participation in the lives of her five children and their families. Anyone reading this book will be drawn into a remarkable life story" Larry Miller former General secretary of FGC

Barvel Pond Press 2007 319 PP. Paper

$25.00 (out of stock but can be backordered)

Secrets In The Dark

A Life In Sermons

BY FREDERICK BUECHNER; FOREWORD BY BRIAN MCLAREN
Buechner's words, both written and spoken, have the power to revolutionize and revitalize belief and faith. He reveals the presence of God in the midst of daily life. He faces and embraces difficult questions and doubt as essential components of our lives, rather than as enemies that destroy us. "Listen to you life!" is his clarion call. Reflecting Buechner's exquisite gift for storytelling, Secrets in the Dark may inspire laughter, hope, and bring great solace. "An elegant and life-giving memoir." - Publishers Weekly

HarperSanFrancisco 2007 320 PP. Paper

$13.95 (in stock)

Seeing, Hearing, Knowing

Reflections On The Experiment With Light

EDITED BY JOHN LAMPEN
Written for those studying, or contemplating studying, the "Experiment with Light". It has chapters on the message of George Fox, the origins of the Quaker movement, the experiences of some Light Groups, answers to questions and difficulties that these groups have found. There are also chapters linking the practice to worship, prayer, discernment, and political action. The psychology of "Focusing", also possible future developments of the practice are discussed. It details several different versions of the practice that have been developed. Contributors come from Britain, New Zealand, Sweden and different Quaker traditions within the USA.

Sessions of York 2008 105 PP. Paper

$18.00 (in stock)

She Got Up Off The Couch

And Other Heroic Acts From Mooreland, Indiana

BY HAVEN KIMMEL
Sequel to the best-seller "A Girl Named Zippy". Zippy heads towards being 13, and many things happen, described in her usual accurate amusing yet penetrating style. Her mother goes to college, she becomes a devoted aunt twice. She survives (just) a fractured arm, a very cross cow, Quaker Haven Camp and the worst blizzard in living memory. Sustained by her friends and her lack of faith as her father moves towards a silent epiphany that has hung over her childhood and signals its end.

Free Press 2007 336 PP. Paper

$14.00 (in stock)

So There I Was ...

BY PEGGY SENGER PARSONS
Sixty columns in five sections on God, freedom., motorcycles, invincibility, love, lies, Quakers and a female preacher. Spiritual disciplines for the 21st century; Christ and the lure of the open road; Quakers - not just for breakfast; Where I came from, POMO theology. "The kick in the teeth that Quaker spirituality is asking for" Mike Espana-McGeehon; "Peggy makes radically thought provoking points with personal stories that sing" Nate Swift.

Peggy Senger Parsons 2009 267 PP. Paper

$20.00 (in stock)

So There I Was...in Africa

BY PEGGY SENGER PARSONS
This book chronicles Freedom Friends Church's pastor Peggy Senger Parson's first two trips to Burundi, Rwanda and the Congo in twenty eight stories. This volume is the second in her "So there I was" seriess. There is comedy, tragedy and adventure related here, many from blog posts from the field, some written as UPI columns and some have been written up just for this book. Peggy was working with THARS (Trauma Healing and Reconciliation Services).

Peggy Senger Parsons 2009 134 PP. Paper

$15.00 (in stock)

Special Education As A Spiritual Journey

Php #390

BY MICHAEL RESMAN
How are we to understand God in a world where children suffer from devastating disabilities? And how are we to live meaningfully in such a world? Michael Resman, who works in special education as an occupational therapist, has had much occasion to grapple with such questions. The answers he found for himself come not from church teachings, nor from his own reasonings, but from mystical insight, or as early Friends would say, from spiritual "openings." Many early Friends wrote accounts of "God's dealings" with them, in the hope that their journals would prove useful to others. This is such an account.

Pendle Hill Pamphlet 2007 35 PP. Paper

$6.50 (in stock)

The Spiral Staircase

My Climb Out Of Darkness

BY KAREN ARMSTRONG
"If it were simply a narrative of a life resolving itself into extraordinary achievement, The Spiral Staircase would be enough. But it also portrays lyrically the tender relationship with her young autistic friend, Jacob; her adventures in the Holy Land; and her discovery at last, while writing A History of God, that theology could speak to her, as poetry does, in silence.. Armstrong's own understanding of God, with which she concludes, may not be for everyone. But those who believe the world needs `not belief, not certainty, but compassionate action,' will find here words to live by."-The United Church Observer

Anchor Books 2005 336 PP. Paper

$14.95 (out of stock but can be backordered)

Standing In The Light (paper)

My Life As A Pantheist

BY SHARMAN APT RUSSELL
"What IS, is divine; there is no God apart from the universe itself." In Standing in the Light, Russell explores the history of Pantheism from the Stoic philosophers to the Transcendentalists while reflecting on her own life during a year spent in the mountains and desert of southwestern New Mexico. She became a Quaker in 1996 after attending meeting for the previous 12 years, and Quakerism and its relation to her pantheism is the major part of her spiritual journey. A wonderful mix of nature, Quakerism and spiritual awareness of our numinous universe.

Basic Books 2009 306 PP. Paper

$18.00 (in stock)

There Is A Fountain

A Quaker Life In Process - Php 329

BY HELEN STEERE-HORN
A life story about renewal, commitment, faith, doubt, success, defeat and a balance of activism and contemplation.

Pendle Hill Pamphlet 1999 60 PP Paper

$6.50 (in stock)

An Undivided Life

Seeking Wholeness In Ourselves, Our Work And Our World

BY PARKER PALMER
What does it mean to live "an undivided life"? For Quaker Parker Palmer, it means living a life of authenticity in which "soul and role" are fully aligned. Here he offers heartwarming stories, insightful reflections, and poetic wisdom from his lifetime of work. He explores: How we can choose an undivided life in a world riddled with divisions; Why we need to "act in every situation in ways that honor the soul"; How authenticity, connectedness, and the "inner teacher" are critical for living more deeply and finding fulfillment; Why we need true community, a "circle of trust", to take an inner journey toward wholeness.Nearly 6 hours of audio.

Sounds True 2009 5.5 HOURS Disk

$34.95 (in stock)

A View Of The Ocean

BY JAN DE HARTOG
Friend Hartog writes here of his mother. She devoted herself to her egocentric husband's religious calling. During their marriage this woman's only concern was to enable her husband to hearken to "the voice of God." After his death she continued his work and her courage became evident during her World War II internment in a Japanese camp in the Dutch East Indies, when she managed to arrange a cease-fire between the Dutch Army and Indonesian guerillas. Finally, she was faced with the ultimate test of her spirit: a diagnosis of a cancer too far advanced for treatment. De Hartog tells us how his mother's blazing courage through it all inspired his own spiritual awakening.

Pantheon 2007 112 PP. Cloth

$17.95 (in stock)

Way Of Friendship (94)

Meditations On Love And Friendship

BY PERRY TREADWELL
81 meditations in poetic form on Love and Friendship from Quaker and former pub owner. As new condition but has price sticker (for $11.95) on cover.SECONDHAND.

Iuniverse 2004 80 PP. Paper

$3.50 USED - availability checked May 23rd 3:40am EDT

The World In My Heart

BY JO FARROW
This is a reprint of Jo Farrow's highly enjoyable 1990 book. The author, a latecomer to Friends, examines journeys, explorations and homecomings. She reflects on the experiences which have shaped her life and led her to value Quaker spirituality and feminism, and to integrate them with what has been important for her in the Christian tradition and the insights of humanistic psychology as a way of coming home to herself. She says, "I wanted to be human, not holy."

Britain Yearly Meeting 2004 180 PP. Paper

$16.00 (in stock)