*This story was pulled from Newark Monthly Meeting’s October Newsletter
After a personal crisis of confidence, Ben Pink Dandelion considered the spiritual meaning of “confidence” (literally, to live and act “with faith”). His reflection led him to delve deeply into early Friends’ understandings about spiritual growth and religious development and how to apply those principles to our community of Friends today. His insights are especially meaningful as we look toward the future. He writes: “If we are to take our Quakerism seriously, if for us, for now, the Quaker way is the vehicle for our spiritual authenticity, then it seems to me we need to know our tradition well and let it feed our present day lives without imprisoning them.” (Now, there’s a statement to reflect upon!) “We need our faith vehicle to be in good shape (more than even), but it is what we do that matters most…”
Ben Pink Dandelion is Professor of Quaker Studies at the University of Birmingham (UK) and he is among the Academic staff at the Woodbrooke Quaker Studies Center in Birmingham where he leads the Center for Postgraduate Quaker Studies (CPQS).
Comments are closed.