by Christopher Sammond More than thirty years ago, a member of my meeting asked me to serve as his elder while he did some ministry with another meeting nearby. I had never done anything like that in the six or so years I had been attending, but it seemed right, so I said yes. And […]
by Christopher Sammond A couple of weeks ago, a friend of mine from another yearly meeting contacted me. His meeting’s Ministry and Counsel was going to have a retreat, and a large part of their focus was going to be how to support the meeting in deepening spiritually. As part of M&C, he was tasked
So, Just What is Spiritual Deepening? Read More »
by Christopher Sammond These are heartrending, harrowing times. The recent horrific escalation in the cycle of violence between Israelis and Palestinians has hit all of us very hard. Added to the war in Ukraine, the unraveling of our climate, and the rise of fascism in our country, it seems at times too much to bear,
Living the Quaker Path In Heartbreaking Times Read More »
by Christopher Sammond Two weeks ago I had the real pleasure of facilitating a workshop on Opening to the Heart of Worship with Friends from Milwaukee Monthly Meeting. It was a wonderful time of exploring some of the nuts and bolts of our practice of worship- the “spiritual mechanics” of how to engage deeply in
If Worship Is A Potluck, What Do You Bring? Read More »
Why do Quakers sing hymns so slowly? Because we’re reading ahead to the next line to see if we agree with it or not. When I tell that joke in workshops, I get a lot of laughs of knowing recognition. Yes, we are that way. Our quest for spiritual independence and autonomy has been
by Christopher Sammond Because we cannot reasonably expect to erect a constantly expanding structure of social activism upon a constantly diminishing foundation of faith, attention to the cultivation of the inner life is our first order of business, even in a period of radical social change.
Integrating our Mysticism and Our Witness Read More »
by Christopher Sammond As Quakers, we often bandy about the phrase “there is that of God in each of us.” We often remind ourselves of this when someone in our midst is acting out in ways that are particularly challenging to that assertion. But do we let it in, I mean really take it in,
Tending to the Divine Within During Times of Crisis Read More »
By Christopher Sammond In 2004, when I came to New York Yearly Meeting to serve as General Secretary, some Friends shared with me that yearly meeting members whose passion was for witness were saying “Well, it looks like Ministry won,” with my hire. My passion for spiritual deepening was well known, and in a committee
August 2022 – Deepening at the Root Read More »