SEEDS e-Newsletter
Overcome Evil Jesus’ Way
by Jan Wood God loves--and yearns for restoration--for our broken world. But God is a realist. God is not caught by surprise when people, relationships, cultures and nations turn their backs on their Divine Purpose and become misshapen. They become a sad shadow of...
Thoughts on Humility from Africa
by Marge Abbott As I've been working on my latest book which considers the ways in which Friends experience and talk about prophetic ministry today, numerous Friends have shared their perspectives. Esther Mombo of Kenya and the late Moses Bigirimana of Burundi both...
Assertive and Visible Goodness–in Rural Haiti
by Lon Fendall The first time I heard this phrase was in a Good News Associates meeting recently. The GNA director, Jan Wood, used the phrase in response to my report about being involved with some projects in rural Haiti. Jan said something to the effect of,...
Sharing Friends’ Faith & Practice
A few weeks ago, my seminary classmate Kenya asked if I would lead a workshop on prayer practices for the Episcopal Road Fellows, a group of young adults working for social justice in Atlanta. Kenya and I are excited about the workshop, which will involve prayers...
Our Personal Accreditation Standards
by Lon Fendall A major part of my ministry is to support the Friends theological colleges in Kenya and Rwanda. I just returned from another visit to Friends Theological College (FTC) in Kaimosi, Kenya where I have been an academic consultant for them in their...
Invisible Ministry: Spiritual Accompaniment in Two Voices
by Christine Betz Hall and Becky Wood W hat Else is God Doing Among Us? —Chris Not the people whose words flow easily and often in worship. Not the teachers who open hearts to new ideas and ways of living faithfully. Not the prophets who beckon us forward into scary...
Holy Ground, Holy Relationships
A year ago I had the opportunity to see for myself the difference a Quaker witness can make in the West Bank of Palestine. My going itself was a surprise. Over the years as Di and I had opportunities to visit the “Holy Land,” I had been reluctant. Most official tours...
Surprised by the Joy of Interim Pastoral Work
A year ago, it never occurred to me to go back to work—in the sense of being employed. I was happily retired after more than forty working years. I was free to set my own hours, to follow leadings, and to volunteer. I always felt free to stop doing those things at any...
Ministry as Answering
by Jan Wood In the community of faith of my childhood, it was very clear that once a person committed his/her life to Christ she needed to be about the business of ministry. And since I made the decision to follow Jesus at the age of four, I've had a lot of time to...
Quaker Discernment and the Power of the Resurrection
I was raised in a devout but non-Quaker Christian home and served for 33 years in Reformed Christian colleges and churches before retiring in Newberg, Oregon. What initially drew my wife and me to Newberg was the peace testimony of Quakers, having become a...