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Pendle Hill Quaker Institute: Living Our Testimonies in the “Fierce Urgency of Now”
May 2 - May 5
May 2-5, 2024
“We are not for Names, nor Men, nor Titles of Government, nor are we for this Party, nor against the other, because of its Name and Pretense; but we are for Justice and Mercy, and Truth and Peace, and true Freedom, that these may be exalted in our Nation.” —Edward Burrough, 1659
“We are now faced with the fact that tomorrow is today. We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now. In this unfolding conundrum of life and history there is such a thing as being too late.” —Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., 1967
As we face the illumination and escalation of longstanding structures of violence both in the U.S. and globally, Pendle Hill invites Friends to learn, vision, worship, and break bread in community, exploring the role of our communities in the context of our current political moment. We hope participants will leave this gathering spiritually grounded, with new relationships, strategies, and practices for living our testimonies, speaking truth, and walking with integrity through the world as Friends.
We will explore the queries below and those that rise in our time together, and we invite you to bring the queries that your Meetings, Friends’ organizations, and communities are grappling with:
- How do we live our testimonies with integrity today?
- When do we choose to name our political realities with truth and courage? When does silence leave space for Spirit, and when does it perpetuate harm?
- How does our commitment to answering that of God in everyone guide our speech and our action in this moment of polarization?
- What is the role of ministry in this time of political upheaval and violence?
- What visions, queries, and spiritual practices does the Religious Society of Friends have to offer us now?
- How can we rededicate ourselves to the struggle for a new world while grounding in our faith and the life of the Spirit?
