From Worship and Ministry

An Essay on Salvation

By Marshall Massey

Q: Could you please explain what the Quaker doctrine of Salvation is? Does Quaker doctrine teach Salvation only through Christ, accepting Him as Lord and believing that God raised him from the dead, destroying the power of sin and death?

A: You ask an important question, and I will try to answer as helpfully as I can.

Your own understanding of salvation — "only through Christ, accepting Him as Lord and believing that God raised him from the dead, destroying the power of sin and death" — is a way of understanding the Gospel message that is specific to modern Protestantism. It is not the only way that Christians have understood the Gospel message down through the ages.

Paul tells us in Romans 2:13 that salvation requires a good deal more than just hearing and believing: “For it is not the hearers of the law whom God considers righteous, but the doers of the law who [by their deeds] will be found righteous.” There he echoes Christ himself, who said, “My mother and my brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it,” (Luke 8:21) and — very pointedly — “Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.” (Matthew 7:21) George Fox, the principal human co-founder of Quakerism, said of that last verse: “So all people may see by Christ's own words, that their saying and speaking of God and Christ, and his prophets and apostles, signifies nothing, except they do his will; that is, practice it, and be obedient to what he commands and requires.”

Paul, in Romans 2, goes on to say, “When pagans who lack the law do intuitively what the law requires, then, although they lack the law, they take the role of the law [in their own lives]. They show [that] the law's prescription[s] are written in their hearts, [that] their consciences go with them bearing witness [to right and wrong], and [that] their reasonings [keep them honest by] accusing or excusing one another — [all of which will be remembered] on that day when God judges people's secret deeds according to my gospel through Christ Jesus.”

This would seem to me to be a sort of universalist teaching — that those who do what is righteous will be justified in God's eyes (and so saved), whether or not they have heard the traditional Gospel message. Paul's phrasing in this passage is confusing, though, so you may want to read it over several times, and maybe in more than one translation, before you decide for yourself whether you think I've got it right.

Now, our Quaker gospel, which we have been preaching in the marketplaces and on the roadsides of the world for more than 350 years, is that Christ has already returned to his followers in the form of a Presence in our Midst and a Voice in our hearts and consciences, teaching us how to live our lives in imitation of him, as he himself would live in our place. If we listen carefully in our hearts and consciences, and in our gathered meetings for worship, we can feel his urgings; and by staying close to those urgings, we can find him, Christ himself, whom our hearts ache and yearn so much for.

By embracing that Presence and yielding, moment by moment, to the urgings of that Voice, we may fulfill what Christ asks of us in Matthew 7:21 and Luke 8:21, and be justified not by faith alone but by the living fusion of faith and good works. And this is what the apostle James calls us to in the second chapter of his epistle: "Faith by itself, if it has not works, is dead. ....I will show you my faith by my works!"

That's the historical Quaker doctrine. I'd be glad to hear what you make of it.

Marshall Massey is a member of Omaha Monthly Meeting who often writes on Quaker and environmental issues. This essay was taken from his website, the Quaker Magpie Journal.

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Upcoming Events

Starting Jan. 11-13 - Pendle Hill series of weekend retreats, short courses and workshops. The first, a weekend with Mario Cavallini, focuses on Recording: Spiritual Discipline and Communal Gift.

Feb. 1-3 - Praying with Francis of Assisi and George Fox, a retreat with Marcelle Martin.

Feb. 8-10 - Building and Holding Safe Spaces for Quaker Youth, a weekend with Kri Burkander, Cookie Caldwell, and others.

Feb. 18-22 - John's Gospel: A New Translation for Quakers and Other Contemplatives, a short course with Chris Ravndal.

Feb. 25-29 - Befriending Paul, a short course with Beckey Phipps.

March 7-9 - Spirit-Led Eldering, a weekend with Margery Mears Larrabee.

For additional information about these retreats, visit www.pendlehill.org or call (800)742-3150, ext. 3.

Starting Jan. 15 - Pendle Hill's winter lecture series, "Growing into Wholeness: Spiritual Practice for the Journey," every Tuesday evening until March 4, at 7:30 in the Barn at Pendle Hill, Wallingford PA. The first speaker will be Elisabeth Dearborn on “Sinking Down to the Seed: One Quaker woman’s 30 years of spiritual practice in and for the body.” The full series schedule will be posted at www.pendlehill.org. The series is free and open to the public. For more information contact Walter Hjelt Sullivan, ext 160 at (610)566-4507 or (800)742-3150, or wsullivan@pendlehill.org

Jan- 16-18 – Workshop on “Mindfulness: Skills for Powerful Learning & Inner Peace,” offered by Friends Council on Education at Pendle Hill in Wallingford, PA. This workshop, led by Irene McHenry and Richard Brady, has drawn hundreds at regional education conferences in recent years. Workshop participants practice a series of skills that cultivate inner awareness, concentration power, relaxation for stress reduction, and physical and emotional well-being. Participants will have the opportunity to practice techniques throughout the workshop and to explore how they might use these tools and practices in their daily lives. How better to mark the arrival of a new year! The January workshop is open to everyone. To register, visit http://www.friendscouncil.org

March 1 - Winter Gathering for Extended Worship Friends will gather at Chestnut Hill Meeting (PA) for a whole morning of worship, followed by fellowship over bag lunches and worship sharing. The extended period of worship is a refreshing opportunity to settle deeply into the Center and open up to divine ministry. It's also a blessed time to connect with other Friends seeking to be faithful. All are welcome.

Bring a bag lunch. Donations are welcome. Contact us two weeks in advance to arrange child care. That’s Saturday, March 1, 9:30 am to 4 pm, at Chestnut Hill Meeting, 100 East Mermaid Lane, Philadelphia, PA 19118.

Contacts: Jorge Arauz and Ruth Pauly, 215-423-7465, AmigoJorge@aol.com and namaste_eros@yahoo.com

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Haddonfield Monthly Meeting

Meeting for Worship for Business

Dec. 9

37 Friends were in attendance.

The meeting began with a period of worship. The clerk read extract #130 from Discernment and Guidance pp. 123 in Faith & Practice.

After holding the recommendation of membership over from last month (as is customary), the Meeting accepted Francie Pagell into membership. Friends joyously welcomed Francie, who’s been an active participant of our community for many years.

Ceil McFadden reported on the request for membership from Linda Lotz. Members of Care Committee, Mary Nolan and Ruth Podolin, have visited Linda. Their recommendation is to accept Linda as a member of Haddonfield Monthly Meeting. Friends approved with the standard one month hold-over for final acceptance.

Peter Maas, the business manager of HFS, and Foster Doan, Clerk of School Committee presented a proposal to sell Boxwood Hall. The building, purchased several years ago has never worked for the school as anticipated at the time the Meeting bought the property. To make Boxwood Hall usable the school would have to undertake significant renovation. Since the rooms are too small to use as classrooms, extensive renovation would not be cost-effective. There is a buyer in place who has made an offer that would allow the School to retire the existing mortgage on the property. The School would retain ownership of the carriage house and the field behind it to use for possible expansion. The Finance Committee approves of and recommends the sale as does School Committee. The Meeting approved the sale of the property with gratitude for the work the school has done.

Bill Patterson asked to be noted as standing aside.

Last month, Kitty Mizuno asked the meeting for a grant of $300.00 to help with an upcoming first day school program. At the time it was unclear if the Meeting had sufficient funds to meet this request. The Treasurer was asked to review the Meeting’s commitments and funds and make a recommendation.

Today, the Meeting Treasurer, John Donch, presented a brief account of the Meeting’s financial status. At the time John researched his report, the funds on hand were not enough to cover all of our commitments. Since then, more donations have been received. More are needed. Based on expected end of year donations, Friends approved Kitty’s request. Gary Smith, Clerk of Religious Education Committee, suggested that $50.00 from the committee’s annual budget be put towards the amount.

Ruth Podolin presented the Meeting with a check for $6000.00 from Lyle and Flo Tatum’s six children. The Meeting engaged in a brief discussion of how the funds might be used to honor Lyle and Flo whose memories we cherish. Friends approved using the gift for payment to Haddonfield Friends School, in the name of the Tatum children, for tuition for Meeting children in the school. .

Deedy Roberts presented the annual report of the Memorial & Graveyard Committee. There were five deaths in the Meeting in 2007 – Albert Wallace, Morton Bregman, Florence Tatum, Alice Cope Wills, and Eric Snyder.

Friends accepted the report with gratitude for all the caring good work the committee has done this past year.

Kevin Heizer offered his research into the ownership of the Friends burial ground in Camden. There was some question as to who actually owns this property. Kevin’s research has discovered that Haddonfield Meeting does, indeed, own it. A suggestion to transfer ownership of the property to Newton Meeting was dropped at the request of Newton Meeting. Kevin will report again in March. (Due to time constraints, this is an incomplete Minute.)

Lou Tomasetti spoke on behalf of the Property Committee to update Friends on property maintenance needs for the near future. Two exterior classroom doors need to be repaired. Since this is a safety issue, Property Committee will take prompt action. Also, the pillars that support the roof overhang on the Lake Street side of the building will need to be replaced or repaired as soon as possible. This will likely be scheduled for spring. The Meeting has purchased a leaf blower.

Connie Brookes brought to the business meeting a request from PYM and Quarterly Meeting to increase the annual covenants for fiscal 2009. The Meeting has budgeted $17,000 for PYM and $7,000 for the Quarter for fiscal 2008. PYM is asking for a 4-5% increase in giving for 2009 and the Quarter is requesting a 4% increase. The Meeting approved a 4% increase.

The meeting concluded with a period of silent worship.

Respectfully submitted,

Joanne R. Heizer, Recording Clerk

Friends and regular Attenders may request copies of the complete minutes from the Recording Clerk at Joanne@synchcorp.com or (856) 429-9186.

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Religious Education

The Religious Education Committee hopes that you enjoyed the joyful play put on by the children of the meeting, written by Ty Drago and directed by Rob McDevitt with the assistance of Helene Drago, Inspira Williams, Tanya Hogan, Julie and Michael Lyons, Sue McDevitt and many others.

The schedule for upcoming classes is:

Jan. 6:  Laura Smoot will speak about her experiences this past summer when she attended the Triennial Conference of Friends in Ireland.

Jan. 20:  Maureen Brookes will share her experiences as a two-year intern at Friends Committee on National Legislation  in Washington, DC.  

Jan. 27:  Haddonfield Monthly Meeting's response to issues of racial justice and equality through its history: Part I. The Ad Hoc Group on Racial Justice and Equality, a subcommittee of Peace and Social Concerns is plannng this series of programs.

Feb. 3:  Dr. Amanda Kemp, of Lancaster Monthly Meeting, will produce and direct for folks of all ages her performance/lecture, entitled “Show me the Franklins:  African Americans, Slavery and Benjamin Franklin.”

Feb. 17:  Haddonfield Monthly Meeting's response to issues of racial justice and equality through its history: Part II.

Feb. 24:  Quarterly Meeting, hosted by Haddonfield Monthly Meeting

March 9:  Meeting for Worship for Business

March 16:  Haddonfield Monthly Meeting's  response to issues of racial justice and equality through its history. Part III.

March 23:  Program planned by Worship and Ministry

March 28-29:  Annual Sessions of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting at the meeting house at 4th and Arch Streets, Philadelphia.

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Peace and Social Concerns Committee

The committee is seeking individuals who personally experienced the events depicted in the film "Camden 28" to share their
recollections after a screening of the film on Feb. 22.  If you are willing to share your story or know someone who might be, please
contact  David Gallivan via e-mail at dwgallivan@gmail.com.

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Books

“Practicing Discernment Together: Finding God's Way Forward in Decision Making,” by Lon Fendall, Jan Wood, and Bruce Bishop (2007).

 This short book is a practical guide for groups rather than individuals within a Meeting or other denomination. The authors use case studies to illustrate processes of discernment when serious community decisions need to be made. Language is clear and simple and the text is divided into short sections. Note that there is a Christocentric focus throughout the book; the authors are associated with programmed Friends churches.

The following is excerpted from a review by Anne Bartlett, published in the December 2007 Bookpage.

When Dutch native Jan de Hartog died in 2002, he had finished a short memoir, now published as “A View of the Ocean,” (Pantheon Press). In describing his mother's death of cancer, the author comes to an unexpected and incomprehensible spiritual epiphany. He begins to understand as he gets to know his mother's Quaker friends and makes a midlife decision to join the Society of Friends. (This book is not currently in the HMM library).

-- Judy Kruger

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Friendship Committee

If you have any table cloths or dish towels that belong to the Meeting, would you please return them? We also have dishes that need to find homes.


Job Opening with PYM

Director of Development for Philadelphia Yearly Meeting. The Director of Development plans, organizes, and implements a comprehensive program of fund raising and development. An aspect of this position is educating and encouraging Friends regarding stewardship and charitable giving, mindful of the spiritual dimension of this work. This person works in close collaboration with the General Secretary, the Development Services Working Group, and the Deferred Giving Governance Group.

Please provide a letter of interest (including salary history and salary expectations), resume and three references to the attention of:

Ginny Connolly, Human Resources Coordinator Philadelphia Yearly Meeting 1515 Cherry Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102 humanresources@pym.org

RE: “Director of Development Position” Application deadline: January 15, 2008

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