Issue #22 – Winter/Spring 2013
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The Still Small Voice in the Wilderness: The Treatment of Silence in Two Abolitionist Quaker Narratives—Tracy Chevalier’s The Last Runaway and Linda Spalding’s The Purchase
This post reviews Tracy Chevalier’s *The Last Runaway* and Linda Spalding’s *The Purchase*, exploring how both novels challenge prevailing myths about Quaker abolitionism by portraying complex Quaker characters grappling with slavery, silence, and spirituality. It examines the theological foundations of Quaker silence and Inner Light, showing how the characters’ struggles reflect human flaws and theological…
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Introduction to Issue #22
This issue is the largest we have ever published. It wasn’t planned that way: good stuff just kept coming in. And it covers a wide range of topics and concerns, from Quaker peace work in Kenya, to the theological character of a recent award-winning novel about a Quaker who becomes a slaveowner. There is also…
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Indiana Yearly Meeting Update & Documents
This article details the schism within Indiana Yearly Meeting (IYM) caused by theological and social conflicts, particularly over LGBTQ inclusion, leading to a formal “reconfiguration” process that divided meetings into two groups: one with more conservative, centralized authority, and a newly forming, more progressive New Association of Friends. It includes perspectives from participants, official statements,…
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Studying Music and Violence
The article explores the complex relationship between music and violence through the author’s personal journey and academic research. It discusses how music has intersected with historical and political violence, from wartime propaganda to protest movements, and the author’s evolving understanding of music as a medium deeply entwined with cultural and political meaning. The piece also…
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“An Excerpt from Howard and Anna Brinton: Re-inventors of Quakerism In the Twentieth Century, An Interpretive Biography”*
By Anthony Manousos Growing Up in “Brinton Country” To tell the story of the Brintons or of the Beans and the Coxes, Anna’s family, is to tell the story of Quakerism as it developed in America. Anna and Howard both took pride in the fact that they could trace their ancestry to the early days…
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Questions for Howard: Being a Kind of Review of the New Biography of Howard & Anna Brinton
By Chuck Fager “The time has come–indeed, it is long overdue–for a critical assessment of Howard’s major works: Friends for Three Hundred Years (1952) and Guide to Quaker Practice (1943), which continue to be best sellers among liberal Friends.” –Anthony Manousos in Howard and Anna Brinton: …
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“Three Hundred Fifty Years of the Society of Friends in North America: 1661-2011″*
This post reviews Geoffrey Kaiser’s comprehensive chart depicting 350 years of Quaker history in North America, highlighting the complex schisms primarily between evangelical and liberal Friends. Kaiser, influenced by Robert Barclay’s theology, emphasizes the universality of the Inner Light and explores ongoing theological and social tensions within Quakerism, including acceptance of LGBTQ+ individuals. The chart…
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About the Contributors
Stephen Angell is the Leatherock Professor of Quaker Studies at Earlham School of Religion, Richmond Indiana, and Associate Editor of Quaker Theology. Stephanie Crumley-Effinger is a member of the faculty of Earlham School of Religion. Since 2000 she has taught one of ESR’s core ministry formation courses, Discernment of Calling and Gifts for Ministry, and…