SPRING 2009Where can you find brief, substantial writings by authors like Parker Palmer, Howard Thurman, Simone Weil, John Yungblut, Isaac Penington, Howard Brinton, Henry Cadbury, Elise Boulding, Sandra Cronk, Fritz Eichenberg, Thomas Kelly and Paul Lacey? In the Pendle Hill Pamphlet series. Each author has written at least one of the nearly 400 pamphlets published by Pendle Hill.
Since its founding in 1930, Pendle Hill has been a center where Quaker faith is expressed in education, specifically the education of adults for spiritually motivated service. Because spiritual experience is essential to Quakerism, Pendle Hill’s education is experiential at its core. The Pendle Hill pamphlets have been an integral part of this educational vision since 1934. The pamphlets are written from the personal experience, study and insights of the authors, concerning spiritual life, faith and witness.
Why does Pendle Hill publish pamphlets? Why not articles, posters or more books? We believe that the typical pamphlet has characteristics which make it a good vehicle for experimental thought. It is the right length to be read at a single sitting (about 9000 words). It expresses the search for guidance and Spirit-led ways to respond to particular needs in the world. It raises deep questions, embodies core insights, reflects caring or gratitude, and describes personal responses to unjust or troubling situations. Many pamphlets wrestle with themes of contemporary importance.
Some of the pamphlets have been written by persons who have lived and worked at Pendle Hill as students and staff. Others come from the wider community.
Receive each pamphlet as it is published by ordering a subscription from our bookstore. Or contact: bookstore@pendlehill.org Every Pendle Hill pamphlet ever printed is available from the Pendle Hill Bookstore. A complete index of Pendle Hill pamphlets is available as a free download. Some older pamphlets are also available for free downloading. Contact Pendle Hill Publications, 338 Plush Mill Road, Wallingford, PA; (800)-742-3150,ex. 2; bookstore@pendlehill.org; or www.pendlehill.org/bookstore.
Some Examples, Old and New
- Four Doors to Meeting for Worship
William P. TaberThis essay describes four doors as thresholds into the heart of worship as communion with the invisible but eternal stream of reality in which is this living and eternal Christ.
- Beyond Consensus: Salvaging Sense of the Meeting
Barry MorleyThe author discusses three essential components in discovering the sense of the meeting: release, long focus, and transition to light, all of which are nurtured by worship. Rich stories of life experiences, especially with adolescents, illustrate the process in a pamphlet that offers a true gift back to Friends.
- The Messenger That Goes Before: Reading Margaret Fell for Spiritual Nurture
Michael BirkelIn a careful exploration of passages from some of these letters, he shows modern readers how to find the gems of wisdom embedded in the rich language of early Friends.
- Quaker Witness as Sacrament
David O. SnyderWhat happens when we understand prayer as a kind of “inward activism” and political witness to Friends’ testimonies as a kind of “outward prayer.”
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Sunday, March 01, 2009 at 12:12 AM
