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Forum: “The Radical Theology and Spiritual Experience of Early Friends”
November 24 @ 11:30 am - 1:00 pm
Free
On Sunday, November 24, Swarthmore Meeting member Marcelle Martin will offer a forum on “The Radical Theology and Spiritual Experience of Early Friends.”
The first Quakers lived in a time of great social and religious turmoil, when many new ideas about Christianity and new practices were being expounded by many different groups. When Quakerism arose in the mid-seventeenth century in England, the Quakers were the most original and radical on the theological spectrum, emphasizing that each person has a direct connection with divine guidance and offering group practices to make it easier to hear that guidance. After decades of intense persecution, Quakers pulled back on some of their most radical ideas and stopped speaking about some of their extraordinary experiences. Because they bowed to social pressure in this way, the radical Quaker tradition survived and still thrives today. But now it’s time to reclaim the more radical aspects of the original Quaker theology. The full truth in Quaker faith is needed to face the challenges of our time.
The forum will be held from 11:45 am to 1 pm in Whittier Room at Swarthmore Friends Meeting. It is free to attend and all are welcome.
No preparation is required. For those interested in doing some background reading about the first Quakers, however, either before or after the forum, you can find three recent articles by Marcelle in Friends Journal, in print or online:
“The Radical Original Vision of George Fox” (June/July 2024 issue) https://www.friendsjournal.org/the-radical-original-vision-of-george-fox/“The Glory of God Was Revealed,” about healing miracles associated with the first Quakers (March 2024 issue) https://www.friendsjournal.org/the-glory-of-god-was-revealed/and “Quaker Dreams” (an examination of how Quakers have used dreams as pathways to inner wisdom) (February 2024 issue) https://www.friendsjournal.org/quaker-dreams/
Marcelle is also the author of two books and three Pendle Hill pamplets about Quaker spirituality. For four years she was the resident Quaker Studies teacher at Pendle Hill, and since 1996 she has traveled extensively around the country leading workshops and retreats at Quaker meetings, retreat centers, and FGC summer Gatherings. Her blog is A Whole Heart (https://awholeheart.com/) She lives in Chester, PA with her husband, Terry, who serves as the first editor of almost all of her writing.
Some printed copies of the June/July Friends Journal issue are available in the Swarthmore meeting office.
