Aug 1, 2020 | 2020, Art & Poetry, BeFriending Creation, July-August-September, Number 3, Soil, Volume 33
By Pamela Haines Leaning into the plow— an enduring symbol of virtuous work Pioneers breaking virgin ground, bent on mastering the prairie whatever the cost. The harder the work the more noble the cause. And subdue the prairie they did— along with all...
Aug 1, 2020 | 2020, Art & Poetry, BeFriending Creation, July-August-September, Number 3, Volume 33
By Cai Quirk. I am a tree, rooted in the bedrock of divine love. I am no longer trying to be a stone wall or surround myself with one. Walls are strong but they divide, are inflexible, less connected to the earth and the divine. A tree is rooted, grounded, yet...
Aug 1, 2020 | 2020, BeFriending Creation, Environmental Justice, July-August-September, Number 3, Theology, Volume 33
By Sara Jolena Wolcott. ONE OF THE MOST important lessons I learned when working in sustainable development overseas is to listen to the people most impacted by the problems to appropriately co-create viable solutions. Sometimes they would prioritize things that...
Aug 1, 2020 | 2020, Advocacy, BeFriending Creation, Climate Change, July-August-September, Number 3, Volume 33
By Alicia Cannon. WE ARE LIVING IN A TIME of concurrent global crises. There is the COVID-19 pandemic at the forefront of our minds. It is forcing us to stay home, constantly wash our hands, and wonder when this time of uncertainty will end. Despite this immediate...
Aug 1, 2020 | 2020, BeFriending Creation, July-August-September, Number 3, Quaker Testimonies, Quaker-Specific, Racial Justice, Soil, Volume 33
By Katie Breslin. THIS YEAR, I started a garden at a local farm. I didn’t know what I was doing when I signed up, just the basic principles like make sure the plants have water and to pull weeds, but that was about it. Thankfully friends and my plot neighbors gave me...
May 1, 2020 | 2020, April-May-June, BeFriending Creation, Number 2, Population, Quaker-Specific, Volume 33
By Stan Becker. Here Stan Becker shares his spiritual and professional journey initiated by his early concern for the growth of human population on Earth. It is a story of his initial “vivid visual experience” in Mexico, which led him to search for an academic program...
May 1, 2020 | BeFriending Creation, Number 2, Spiritual, Spirituality, Theology, Volume 33
By Mey Hasbrook. LOVE SPEAKS OUT to me from the Biblical account of Exodus as a way to face climate breakdown. I hear this as someone of Cherokee Celtic-Irish descent and a Quaker carrying a ministry about Right Relationship, connecting care of the Earth and human...
May 1, 2020 | 2020, April-May-June, BeFriending Creation, Meetings Taking Action, Number 2, Practical, Sustainability, Volume 33
By Bob McGahey. South Toe Mutual Aid is an organization of people in the South Toe/Celo, North Carolina area who are collaborating in a variety of activities with intent to strengthen our community’s capacity to meet our resource needs for overall well-being. As a hub...
May 1, 2020 | 2020, April-May-June, Art & Poetry, BeFriending Creation, Number 2, Volume 33
By Allen J. McGrew, for Heidi S. McGrew. If I were a poet,
I would summon for you the cold creak of the board walk beneath your booted feet, And the gentle caress of the cool breeze on the back of your neck. My words would paint for you the glint of the just-rising...
May 1, 2020 | 2020, April-May-June, BeFriending Creation, Economics, Number 2, Practical, Uncategorized, Volume 33
By Hayley Hathaway. MY BANK ACCOUNT looked good after I received my Economic Impact Payment of $1200 this spring. I felt grateful for the money Yet, I still have a job, unlike the 25 million people who have applied for unemployment in the US since the pandemic...
