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Recap of 2001 at the Quakerism Topic

© Bill Samuel

Sandy McCollum, Contributing Editor of Slices of Northern Life, issued a challenge to other Editors to write recap articles. The challenge is to write an article incorporating the titles of our 2001 articles into the text. This is my response to this challenge.

2001 was a unique year, and presented real challenges for Friends (Quakers). We can not adequately respond to these challenges if we are Depending on Our Own Power and Strength. Rather, we must look to the Power of the Lord, found in part through the use of Spiritual Silence.

Some look to the past for guidance. They may study Barclay's Catechism and Confession of Faith or read Books on Early Quakers. They may look to the example of prominent Quakers of the past and present, such as Elizabeth Gurney Fry (1780-1845), Quaker Prison Reformer, or Richard Foster - Quaker Writer on Christian Spirituality.

Will study of the Organization of the Society of Friends help? We may need to consider a number of Quaker Questions and Answers. Just what is our identity? Are Quakers Protestants?

In recent months, we have focused on the Quaker Response to Events Since September 11, 2001. In these troubling times, what is the Future of the Friends Church? Using the Internet in Ministry, I hope I can help Friends, and those interested in Quakerism, help answer these questions.

Nuggets from 2001

For this recap, I have assembled the following brief excerpts from 2001 articles and quotes used in 2001 articles:

The Internet, I discovered, was a means by which people in disparate geographical locations could connect for many purposes. Initially, it seems like an impersonal medium, as one frequently has never met the people with whom one is communicating. But I soon found out that many people would really open up over the Internet, often in ways they would find very difficult in a physical meeting with others. Friendships developed, much like pen pals who never met each other for those not on electronic media.

I found this was a medium in which I could use the gifts developed in the Spiritual Nurturer program. People who felt isolated where they lived would share their spiritual questions and issues with me, and I could encourage them and nurture the gifts and leadings I sensed through what they wrote me. While I often felt I was doing very little, sometimes those with whom I corresponded seemed to feel they had been greatly helped in the process. Actually, in my own understanding, I should be doing very little, since it is Christ who is the true Teacher and Guide. My role is to point people to Christ, and help them find ways to nurture their own relationship with Christ.