newsletter

Blue River Quarterly Meeting From Shahin Adrian, Juli, and I traveled to DuBois, Illinois September 20-22 for the Blue River Quarterly (BRQ) gathering that is part of Illinois Yearly Meeting. Friends welcomed us warmly, curious about how we discovered them and how things fared with Memphis Friends Meeting and our own yearly meeting. Many of…

Sharing Trees by Robin  The Black Seeds Urban Garden in Uptown Memphis and the Frayser Community Urban Garden sit in food deserts where they are committed to improving the availability of fresh foods in their respective neighborhoods. Back in 2023, several Friends in our Meeting met these gardeners during the Experience Memphis Garden Tour that…

When Way Opens By Mallory Before a global pandemic, before a continued journey of infertility, before a baby entered our lives, before I knew anything about pastoral care or chaplaincy, when my now spouse and I were dating, Katelyn and I were traveling one weekend. I was driving and the topic of seminary came up….

Rediscovering Friends by Mary Jane My first encounter with Quaker meeting was in London. I remember the stillness, the plain woodenbenches and the plain glass windows looking out into Covent Gardens. Having been raised in an Evangelical tradition, I was surprised how well the quiet suited me but when I got home, I resumed worship…

Finding Friends By Kent  One day when I was about 7, I asked my mother if she thought people who didn’t worship the way we did would really go to hell. She answered by asking, “What do you think,” and I simply said “No, they don’t.” It didn’t make sense that God would love some people and not others, no…