Faithful Meetings

By Mary Linda McKinney Who I am can be answered through many lenses. I could give you facts about my life or about work I’ve done or roles I carry. In this instance, because I am sharing who I am as the person who created and will be facilitating Faithful Meetings, I will share stories […]

by Mary Linda McKinney When I have introduced Friends to Faithful Meetings through the public information sessions, the question of “Who are you?” has been asked once but otherwise has hung unspoken in the air. Behind this, I think, is the question, “What qualifies you for this work?” These are both important questions that deserve

By Mary Linda McKinney I sometimes hear Friends bemoan Quaker process. The complaints are legitimate, based on the experiences these Friends–and likely all of us at one time or another–have had. What people call “Quaker process” can be misused. It can be wielded to silence marginalized folks, to uphold systems of power, to manipulate and

by Mary Linda McKinney All of the hard, heartbreaking things of this catastrophic pandemic aside, the shift online has been really good for me as a minister and doer-of-things. I’ve been able to attend, create, facilitate, learn, clerk, host, nurture, hold space, tech, and experience many, many events that I would never be able to

By Mary Linda McKinney Coddiwomple: “To travel purposefully in a yet unknown destination.” When using a map, you know where you’re heading and you can plan your route. Although the purpose is the same – to get from where you are to where you’re going – a GPS is a very different tool. With a

By Mary Linda McKinney   Some Friends shy away from the word “elder”. They associate it with finger-wagging rule enforcers who perform what is humorously called “drive-by eldering” which equates often to upholding out-dated cultural norms. If you’ve seen the movie “Friendly Persuasion”, you’ll recognize this kind of false eldering from the scene where members

By Mary Linda McKinney Faithful Meetings program is grounded in the belief that spiritual deepening should, and can, begin at home. Through Faithful Meetings, Friends meetings and churches will be provided opportunities to build spiritual and emotional bonds between members, learn about and engage in corporate and individual Quaker spiritual practices, and explore how to