Friends Journal
@friendsjournal.org
Friends Publishing is a non-profit organization dedicated to communicating Quaker experience in order to connect & deepen spiritual lives. Friends Journal is our flagship publication, with a legacy that goes back to 1827.
As a Native person, Rachel Overstreet's knowledge of Indian boarding schools isn’t just an observation about a shameful moment in history. "The memory lives within me," she writes. "These schools were and are a part of my community’s history, an imprint so painful many people can’t acknowledge it."
Speaking with Friends About Indian Boarding Schools
A Native Perspective Unlike many Friends, I don’t have a clear memory of learning the history of Indian boarding schools.…
www.friendsjournal.org
January 9, 2026 at 1:00 PM
As a Native person, Rachel Overstreet's knowledge of Indian boarding schools isn’t just an observation about a shameful moment in history. "The memory lives within me," she writes. "These schools were and are a part of my community’s history, an imprint so painful many people can’t acknowledge it."
Comparing the Greco-Roman assumptions about religion and the gods with what early Christians said and did, as Nijay Gupta details in Strange Religion, presents a stark contrast that illuminates why Christians were considered weird, strange, and perhaps compelling.
January 8, 2026 at 1:01 PM
Comparing the Greco-Roman assumptions about religion and the gods with what early Christians said and did, as Nijay Gupta details in Strange Religion, presents a stark contrast that illuminates why Christians were considered weird, strange, and perhaps compelling.
"I’ve never seen frost on sand.
I’ve never seen waves withdraw
so far out at low tide, leaving the beach
more absence than presence.
I’ve never seen mountains
stumble down into the sea,
the pines on its profile both
mass and distinct..."
—from "Never Seen" by Morrow Dowdle
I’ve never seen waves withdraw
so far out at low tide, leaving the beach
more absence than presence.
I’ve never seen mountains
stumble down into the sea,
the pines on its profile both
mass and distinct..."
—from "Never Seen" by Morrow Dowdle
Never Seen
A poem by Morrow Dowdle.
www.friendsjournal.org
January 8, 2026 at 12:01 AM
"I’ve never seen frost on sand.
I’ve never seen waves withdraw
so far out at low tide, leaving the beach
more absence than presence.
I’ve never seen mountains
stumble down into the sea,
the pines on its profile both
mass and distinct..."
—from "Never Seen" by Morrow Dowdle
I’ve never seen waves withdraw
so far out at low tide, leaving the beach
more absence than presence.
I’ve never seen mountains
stumble down into the sea,
the pines on its profile both
mass and distinct..."
—from "Never Seen" by Morrow Dowdle
Care for the poor features prominently in the 72nd Psalm's vision of good governance. It celebrates a ruler who acts in accordance with a divine sense of justice and righteousness, assuming power not for himself, not for a small inner circle, but for the benefit of all.
quaker.org/2026/01/05/h...
quaker.org/2026/01/05/h...
January 7, 2026 at 5:32 PM
Care for the poor features prominently in the 72nd Psalm's vision of good governance. It celebrates a ruler who acts in accordance with a divine sense of justice and righteousness, assuming power not for himself, not for a small inner circle, but for the benefit of all.
quaker.org/2026/01/05/h...
quaker.org/2026/01/05/h...
Reposted by Friends Journal
The attempted cultural genocide carried out through Indian Boarding Schools is one most shameful yet little-known chapters of US history.
But as FCNL's Rachel Overstreet writes in @friendsjournal.org, we must not allow "shame to cloud our judgment or slow our feet" in acting to address its legacy.
But as FCNL's Rachel Overstreet writes in @friendsjournal.org, we must not allow "shame to cloud our judgment or slow our feet" in acting to address its legacy.
Speaking with Friends About Indian Boarding Schools
A Native Perspective Unlike many Friends, I don’t have a clear memory of learning the history of Indian boarding schools.…
www.friendsjournal.org
January 5, 2026 at 10:26 PM
The attempted cultural genocide carried out through Indian Boarding Schools is one most shameful yet little-known chapters of US history.
But as FCNL's Rachel Overstreet writes in @friendsjournal.org, we must not allow "shame to cloud our judgment or slow our feet" in acting to address its legacy.
But as FCNL's Rachel Overstreet writes in @friendsjournal.org, we must not allow "shame to cloud our judgment or slow our feet" in acting to address its legacy.
Mary Watkins's White Work and Reparative Genealogy "is the manual I’ve been longing for," writes Lucy Duncan. "It is a map, a spiritual provocation, and an invitation to the deepest level of working toward racial repair and healing."
REVIEWED: White Work and Reparative Genealogy: Reckoning with Ancestral Debt as a Path to Racial Reparations
Mary Watkins offers a memoir, a historical reckoning, and a guidebook for readers on a path to confront denial and mythologies of whiteness.
www.friendsjournal.org
January 6, 2026 at 7:01 PM
Mary Watkins's White Work and Reparative Genealogy "is the manual I’ve been longing for," writes Lucy Duncan. "It is a map, a spiritual provocation, and an invitation to the deepest level of working toward racial repair and healing."
In 2025, we learned a lot about how Friends in the United States are confronting the authoritarian excesses of their current government. But we’ve also learned about what it took to spur previous generations to action... and about the spiritual resources upon which we can draw in the struggle ahead.
Our Top Five Articles for 2025 - Friends Journal
Let's look at this year's most widely read features—from silent worship to vocal protest, these stories are grabbing Friends' attention.
www.friendsjournal.org
January 5, 2026 at 11:00 PM
In 2025, we learned a lot about how Friends in the United States are confronting the authoritarian excesses of their current government. But we’ve also learned about what it took to spur previous generations to action... and about the spiritual resources upon which we can draw in the struggle ahead.
In our January issue, we look at the historical and contemporary relationships between Friends and the Indigenous Peoples of the Americas, with an emphasis on Native perspectives—taking the time to listen, to own our collective past, and to work to right the ongoing legacies of past injustices.
Indigenous Peoples and Friends Archives - Friends Journal
January 2026
www.friendsjournal.org
January 5, 2026 at 8:01 PM
In our January issue, we look at the historical and contemporary relationships between Friends and the Indigenous Peoples of the Americas, with an emphasis on Native perspectives—taking the time to listen, to own our collective past, and to work to right the ongoing legacies of past injustices.
Margaret Fell was affectionately known as the “mother of Quakerism.” One of the ways she nurtured Friends was through her writings—which, Shulamith Clearbridge suggests, continue to speak directly to our spiritual needs today.
When You’re Surrounded by Briars, Mountains, and Cold Hearts
Margaret Fell for modern Friends.
www.friendsjournal.org
January 1, 2026 at 1:00 PM
Margaret Fell was affectionately known as the “mother of Quakerism.” One of the ways she nurtured Friends was through her writings—which, Shulamith Clearbridge suggests, continue to speak directly to our spiritual needs today.
“Of old none were ever judged Christians, but such as ‘had the Spirit of Christ,’” Quaker theologian Robert Barclay wrote. "But now many do boldly call themselves Christians, who make no difficulty of confessing they are without it, and laugh at such as say they have it.”
quaker.org/2025/12/29/a...
quaker.org/2025/12/29/a...
December 31, 2025 at 6:29 PM
“Of old none were ever judged Christians, but such as ‘had the Spirit of Christ,’” Quaker theologian Robert Barclay wrote. "But now many do boldly call themselves Christians, who make no difficulty of confessing they are without it, and laugh at such as say they have it.”
quaker.org/2025/12/29/a...
quaker.org/2025/12/29/a...
Documentation of the life of Rebecca Lee Crumpler, America's first Black female doctor, is scarce. Shani Mahiri King's Finding Rebecca fills in the gap by centering her experiences to reflect the context of sociocultural values and political realities of the 19th century for a free Black woman.
REVIEWED: Finding Rebecca: The Forgotten Life of Dr. Rebecca Lee Crumpler, America’s First Black Female Doctor
Rebecca Lee Crumpler was the first Black woman physician to publish a treatise on medicine, A Book of Medical Discourses, in 1883.
www.friendsjournal.org
December 30, 2025 at 1:01 PM
Documentation of the life of Rebecca Lee Crumpler, America's first Black female doctor, is scarce. Shani Mahiri King's Finding Rebecca fills in the gap by centering her experiences to reflect the context of sociocultural values and political realities of the 19th century for a free Black woman.
"Quakerism cannot simply be a set of ideals: a list of SPICES and platitudes about 'that of God in everyone,'" warns Christopher Stern.
"I need a Guide I can trust; that has no agenda of its own, except to help me learn how to be a more loving and caring person—and not necessarily more religious!"
"I need a Guide I can trust; that has no agenda of its own, except to help me learn how to be a more loving and caring person—and not necessarily more religious!"
We Cannot Do This on Our Own
What does it mean to listen and learn from Jesus?
www.friendsjournal.org
December 29, 2025 at 1:00 PM
"Quakerism cannot simply be a set of ideals: a list of SPICES and platitudes about 'that of God in everyone,'" warns Christopher Stern.
"I need a Guide I can trust; that has no agenda of its own, except to help me learn how to be a more loving and caring person—and not necessarily more religious!"
"I need a Guide I can trust; that has no agenda of its own, except to help me learn how to be a more loving and caring person—and not necessarily more religious!"
Reposted by Friends Journal
“This can happen if many of us in our meetings have come to have such direct experience of the Heart at the heart of all: the source of love, truth, and hope. And if those who have not… had that experience can trust that those who affirm that they have had this experience are not self-deluded ….”
We are approaching the 200th anniversary of a pivotal moment in our history as Friends: five of the eight yearly meetings in North American Quakerism split into rival bodies. As those bodies have further diverged, it can feel like each has lost a critical portion of the original Quaker message.
The Road Back to Rediscovering What Unites Us as Friends
The true life or our meetings is in the power of God.
www.friendsjournal.org
December 28, 2025 at 1:24 AM
“This can happen if many of us in our meetings have come to have such direct experience of the Heart at the heart of all: the source of love, truth, and hope. And if those who have not… had that experience can trust that those who affirm that they have had this experience are not self-deluded ….”
We are approaching the 200th anniversary of a pivotal moment in our history as Friends: five of the eight yearly meetings in North American Quakerism split into rival bodies. As those bodies have further diverged, it can feel like each has lost a critical portion of the original Quaker message.
The Road Back to Rediscovering What Unites Us as Friends
The true life or our meetings is in the power of God.
www.friendsjournal.org
December 26, 2025 at 1:00 PM
We are approaching the 200th anniversary of a pivotal moment in our history as Friends: five of the eight yearly meetings in North American Quakerism split into rival bodies. As those bodies have further diverged, it can feel like each has lost a critical portion of the original Quaker message.
Jerry "didn’t name the light... didn’t brand it... didn’t push it, hawk it, or sell it," Sean Crane recalls. "He simply peeled back layer upon layer of his own human frailty until the finest core piece of him was exposed, and he left it there for us to see, to hear, to feel, to play music with."
Not Another Holiday Letter - Friends Journal
2004 was an unusual year. I wrote a Christmas letter on time. After a year’s hiatus from writing a Christmas…
www.friendsjournal.org
December 25, 2025 at 8:01 PM
Jerry "didn’t name the light... didn’t brand it... didn’t push it, hawk it, or sell it," Sean Crane recalls. "He simply peeled back layer upon layer of his own human frailty until the finest core piece of him was exposed, and he left it there for us to see, to hear, to feel, to play music with."
"What does the future hold for Jesus that God’s angels should be concerned for his well-being? Why has he been given into my care? I have nothing to offer him to help him on his way other than my love. Will that be enough?"
John Andrew Gallery revisits the Christmas story from Joseph's perspective.
John Andrew Gallery revisits the Christmas story from Joseph's perspective.
Joseph’s Story
A Christmas narrative inspired by the Gospel of Matthew.
www.friendsjournal.org
December 25, 2025 at 12:00 PM
"What does the future hold for Jesus that God’s angels should be concerned for his well-being? Why has he been given into my care? I have nothing to offer him to help him on his way other than my love. Will that be enough?"
John Andrew Gallery revisits the Christmas story from Joseph's perspective.
John Andrew Gallery revisits the Christmas story from Joseph's perspective.
Earlier this year, one of the most powerful men in the world began musing about what would happen after he died. “I want to try and get to heaven if possible,” he said.
Well, just about everybody had an opinion about THAT. Even some Quakers, though we don't all agree about whether heaven exists.
Well, just about everybody had an opinion about THAT. Even some Quakers, though we don't all agree about whether heaven exists.
December 24, 2025 at 7:36 PM
Earlier this year, one of the most powerful men in the world began musing about what would happen after he died. “I want to try and get to heaven if possible,” he said.
Well, just about everybody had an opinion about THAT. Even some Quakers, though we don't all agree about whether heaven exists.
Well, just about everybody had an opinion about THAT. Even some Quakers, though we don't all agree about whether heaven exists.
Ellen Swallow and Ruth Patrick were environmental scientists and pioneers in their fields. Two new books for younger readers tell their stories—and according to chemistry teacher Laura Barrosse-Antle, "both deserve a place of pride on the shelves of the young Friends and scientists in your life."
REVIEWED: The Girl Who Tested the Waters: Ellen Swallow, Environmental Scientist AND Magic in a Drop of Water: How Ruth Patrick Taught the World About Water Pollution
Two new biographies of women environmental scientists encourage curiosity, perseverance, and a passion for making the world a better place.
www.friendsjournal.org
December 23, 2025 at 3:00 PM
Ellen Swallow and Ruth Patrick were environmental scientists and pioneers in their fields. Two new books for younger readers tell their stories—and according to chemistry teacher Laura Barrosse-Antle, "both deserve a place of pride on the shelves of the young Friends and scientists in your life."
If Quaker discernment leads to the revealing of Truth and living the Quaker way means following Truth, then how did Friends end up enslaving people, settling on stolen land, and contributing to an abusive carceral system? Consider the ways Friends let their own thinking get in the way of Spirit.
Following Truth Through Community
Discernment mistakes to avoid.
www.friendsjournal.org
December 22, 2025 at 4:11 PM
If Quaker discernment leads to the revealing of Truth and living the Quaker way means following Truth, then how did Friends end up enslaving people, settling on stolen land, and contributing to an abusive carceral system? Consider the ways Friends let their own thinking get in the way of Spirit.
"In my experience," hospital chaplain Becky Jones writes, "the effectiveness of prayer isn’t measured by whether we get what we ask for; rather, it is by how much we are opened up in the process."
The Intimacy of Prayer
Connecting spirit to spirit as a hospital chaplain.
www.friendsjournal.org
December 19, 2025 at 1:01 PM
"In my experience," hospital chaplain Becky Jones writes, "the effectiveness of prayer isn’t measured by whether we get what we ask for; rather, it is by how much we are opened up in the process."
Reposted by Friends Journal
I am a former Evangelical. For this episode, I spoke with Jasson Arevelo, an Evangelical Quaker from El Salvador. We explore the differences between Unprogrammed Quaker Meetings in North America and Evangelical Friends Churches in Central America.
#Quakerbeliefs
#Quakerbeliefs
In this month's Quakers Today podcast, Sweet Miche and Peterson tackle a question that seems simple but is actually quite complex: What do Quakers believe? Join us as we explore the wide theological spectrum of the Religious Society of Friends.
Quaker Podcast - Podcast Exploring Quaker Life & Religious Beliefs
Quakers Today, hosted by Peterson Toscano, features writers, musicians, and thinkers who are seeking wisdom and understanding in a rapidly changing world.
www.friendsjournal.org
December 18, 2025 at 1:43 PM
I am a former Evangelical. For this episode, I spoke with Jasson Arevelo, an Evangelical Quaker from El Salvador. We explore the differences between Unprogrammed Quaker Meetings in North America and Evangelical Friends Churches in Central America.
#Quakerbeliefs
#Quakerbeliefs
Although Washington, D.C.-based poet Paige Towler never uses the term “grounding technique," that’s what each page of Mindful Nature teaches young readers: to pay attention to the sights, sounds, smells, and textures around you, while also engaging the imagination.
REVIEWED: Mindful Nature: Connecting with Our Great Green World
The American Psychological Association and the National Wildlife Federation team up to teach children about mindfulness AND the natural world.
www.friendsjournal.org
December 18, 2025 at 5:30 PM
Although Washington, D.C.-based poet Paige Towler never uses the term “grounding technique," that’s what each page of Mindful Nature teaches young readers: to pay attention to the sights, sounds, smells, and textures around you, while also engaging the imagination.
Some Quakers may feel drawn to activism because of the ways it fulfills secular philosophies of justice or morality. Yet the core testimonies that have informed Friends' actions for nearly four centuries derive from something far weightier than political judgment.
quaker.org/2025/12/15/s...
quaker.org/2025/12/15/s...
December 17, 2025 at 6:48 PM
Some Quakers may feel drawn to activism because of the ways it fulfills secular philosophies of justice or morality. Yet the core testimonies that have informed Friends' actions for nearly four centuries derive from something far weightier than political judgment.
quaker.org/2025/12/15/s...
quaker.org/2025/12/15/s...
Defense counsel for Jacob Hoopes, the young Quaker charged earlier this year by federal prosecutors with assaulting an ICE agent, have been granted a continuance for his trial, scheduled to begin this week. The new trial date is February 17, 2026.
Friends Journal continues to monitor this story.
Friends Journal continues to monitor this story.
FBI Agents Seize Quaker Activist from His Home in Morning Raid
The trial for Portland Quaker activist charged with assault of a federal officer has been continued to February 2026.
www.friendsjournal.org
December 17, 2025 at 1:01 PM
Defense counsel for Jacob Hoopes, the young Quaker charged earlier this year by federal prosecutors with assaulting an ICE agent, have been granted a continuance for his trial, scheduled to begin this week. The new trial date is February 17, 2026.
Friends Journal continues to monitor this story.
Friends Journal continues to monitor this story.
In this month's Quakers Today podcast, Sweet Miche and Peterson tackle a question that seems simple but is actually quite complex: What do Quakers believe? Join us as we explore the wide theological spectrum of the Religious Society of Friends.
Quaker Podcast - Podcast Exploring Quaker Life & Religious Beliefs
Quakers Today, hosted by Peterson Toscano, features writers, musicians, and thinkers who are seeking wisdom and understanding in a rapidly changing world.
www.friendsjournal.org
December 16, 2025 at 9:30 PM
In this month's Quakers Today podcast, Sweet Miche and Peterson tackle a question that seems simple but is actually quite complex: What do Quakers believe? Join us as we explore the wide theological spectrum of the Religious Society of Friends.