Fast Facts: Features run 1200-2500 words (General information) Submissions close June 17, 2024. (Ready? Submit here) Questions? Email martink@friendsjournal.org The Quaker way is something that can be explored in isolation through books or correspondence, but it attains deeper context with the ongoing relationships, either in-person or online. I’ve attended memorial services for a few dear Friends and mentors this spring, and I’ve found something humbling about being around people who knew me decades ago. September’s issue of Friends Journal will be all about Relationships—intimat ..read more

Quaker author John Andrew Gallery is interviewed about his April 2023 article, “The Gospel Model of Fatherly Love.” John Andrew Gallery discusses his article “The Gospel Model of Fatherly Love,” published in Friends Journal. He explains how seeing the figure of Joseph at Christmas prompted his reflections on Joseph’s role as a loving father in the Gospel of Matthew. Gallery draws insights about fatherly love from the stories of Joseph and the Parable of the Prodigal Son, emphasizing the importance of letting go and giving unconditional acceptance as a parent. He also mentions his book “Living ..read more

Quaker author Peter Blood-Patterson was interviewed about his March 2024 article, We Are All Held in Love: Reflections on the Practice of Holding in the Light. Peter Blood-Patterson discusses the Quaker practice of “holding in the light”, which involves sharing prayer concerns during meetings. The phrase originated in the late 1960s but became more commonly used among Friends in the 1990s. It allows communities to care for those experiencing difficulties through entrusting them to God’s love. Peter explores what “the light” represents for Quakers historically and today. He also reflects ..read more

Quaker author John Calvi was interviewed about his March 2024 article, Carrying Light to Need. John Calvi is a Quaker healer who has long worked with trauma victims and those suffering from AIDS. However, he recently experienced a heart attack that diminished his healing abilities. For a time he no longer received spiritual guidance about people’s pain or how to help them. It has been difficult for Calvi to adjust to this change in his gifts as a healer. He is now focused on writing a memoir about his experiences while regaining some of his capacity for energy work and hands-on healing over t ..read more

Quaker authors Koresch and Miller’s wrote “Welcoming Joy and Spirit through Accessibility” in the February 2024 issue of Friends Journal. Brittany Koresch and Angie Miller discuss their efforts to make their Quaker meeting more accessible and welcoming to neurodivergent individuals and others. Brittany originally felt unable to fully participate in the traditional silent meeting. Angie and Brittany worked with their meeting to introduce alternative worship formats, such as an afternoon meeting with accommodations like fidget toys and written materials. Their article has sparked discussion aro ..read more

Quaker author Marcelle Martin’s “Quaker Dreams” appears in the February 2024 issue of Friends Journal. Marcel Martin discusses her article in the February issue of Friends Journal about Quaker dreams. She explains that dreams have long held spiritual significance for Quakers and were an important way that guidance was received. Martin provides examples like Robert Pyle’s influential anti-slavery dream from 1698. She also discusses learning from dream teacher Jeremy Taylor and ways dreams can be incorporated into contemporary Quaker spirituality. Martin believes paying attention to dreams, bot ..read more

Quaker author Deborah B. Ramsey’s “Dream Protectors” appears in the December 2023 issue of Friends Journal. Deborah Ramsey discusses stewarding dreams in an interview with Martin Kelley for Friends Journal. As the director of a nonprofit serving underprivileged youth, she believes adults should protect children’s dreams by honoring their aspirations. Ramsey shares an experience where she comforted a concerned father by reminding him that his son had wanted to be a police officer since age three. She emphasizes the importance of speaking to children and each other out of love rather than fear ..read more

Quaker author Brent Bill’s short story, “A Trip to Amity,” appears in the November 2023 fiction issue of Friends Journal. Brent Bill discusses his new collection of short stories titled “Amity: Stories from the Heartland.” The stories take place in rural Iowa and explore themes of redemption. The first story discussed is “A Trip to Amity”, which appears in Friends Journal and follows a minister running late to fill in at a church. It captures tense internal dialogue in a humorous yet relatable way. The new collection contains 11 stories featuring various characters and settings. Bill draws fr ..read more

Fast Facts: Features run 1200-2500 words (General information) Submissions close March 18 , 2024 (Ready? Submit here) Questions? Email martink@friendsjournal.org or message on Facebook or Twitter. We’re breaking two of our rules for the June/July 2024 issue. The first is our aversion to running issues focused on particular individuals. Perhaps it’s a remnant of the kind of old-school Quaker humility that gave the world plain speech, plain dress, and plain meetinghouse architecture, but we’re also a bit allergic to the “Great Man” histories that ignore the conte ..read more

Fast Facts: Features run 1200-2500 words (General information) Submissions close February 19, 2024 (Ready? Submit here) Questions? Email martink@friendsjournal.org or message on Facebook or Twitter. One of the perennial topics for Friends is membership in our society. Friends Journal has devoted special issues to it before, most recently in 2020. It’s perhaps the other end of a funnel that starts with outreach: we let people know we exist, bring them in, and slowly build relationships until they become part of us. It sounds simple but as the idiom warns, the de ..read more