Summer 2011 Lectures
Faith in Action: 2011 Young Adult Leadership Development Speaker Series
Thursday evenings from June 23th - July 28, 2011, from 7:30 - 9 pm in the Barn. Admission free.
The Pendle Hill Bookstore will be open before the lectures. For dinner or room reservations, call 610-566-4507 or 800-742-3150 (toll free).
Pendle Hill’s 2011 summer speaker series, Faith in Action, will take place on Thursday evenings from June 23 to July 28. The speakers will address topics of discernment, hearing and responding to leadings, varieties of spiritual gifts, and the role of faithfulness in the work of social justice.
Timeless Stories from the Living Earth: An Evening with Carl Big Heart
Thursday, June 23, 7:30 pm in The Barn
- Free and open to the public
directly to the speaker in a basket provided.
Read more: Timeless Stories from the Living Earth: An Evening with Carl Big Heart
“Take me to your Leaders, Eaarthlings!”- Leading like Life Depended on You
Thursday, June 30, 7:30 pm in The Barn
- Free and open to the public
Michael Gagné, a member of Central Philadelphia Monthly Meeting, was drawn to Quakers through Friends’ historical testimonies, emphasis on the Inner Light, courageous social action, mystical theology, and corporate discernment practices. His calling is centered on loving and strategic nonviolent action for peace and eco-justice. He works as the Eco-Justice organizer for Philadelphia Yearly Meeting and as the executive director for Envision Peace Museum. He is also an active participant in the Earth Quaker Action Team and its campaign to stop mountaintop removal coal mining in Appalachia. Michael has facilitated over 250 workshops on ecophilosophy and social action, presenting in a wide variety of settings.
Reproductive and Sexual Justice as Quaker Leading
Listen here
Guli Fager works as a sex educator with college students in Austin, Texas, a position she has held since 2008. She received her Master of Public Health in Sexuality and Health from Columbia University in 2007. In addition to her work with college students, she leads workshops with Quaker youth and parents around sexuality. Her writing on sexual health, sexuality, and public policy has been published extensively in a variety of outlets, including GoAskAlice.com, RH Reality Check, and on her own blogs. She grew up Quaker and is an alumna of Westtown School and a member of the Friends Meeting of Austin.
This is My Story, This is My Song
Thursday, July 7, 7:30 pm in The Barn
- Free and open to the public
Deborah Saunders is a seasoned minister and faithful witness to the ebbs and flows of the Spirit. She travels widely among Friends, sharing her experiences of her prison ministry. She visits various penitentiaries and prisons developing and maintaining relationships with men, women, and teenagers serving their sentences. Deborah’s journey to prison ministry involves radical engagement with moments of justice, compassion, and love. Deborah has led many workshops and served as plenary presenter for many Quaker gatherings.
Together to the Faithful Edge
Thursday, July 14, 7:30 pm in The Barn
- Free and open to the public
Noah Baker Merrill, a member of Putney Friends Meeting in Vermont, travels widely in the ministry. He is often called to offer messages at Friends' gatherings and beyond; to lead workshops on topics including spiritual activism, Friends' worship, and traveling ministry; to encourage faithfulness; and to nurture the integration of worship and witness in the Quaker movement. The minute he carries in these travels, endorsed by New England Yearly Meeting (NEYM), affirms his call to a ministry of "building relationships and waking hearts." He serves on NEYM's Committee on Ministry and Counsel and is a graduate of the Way of Ministry program. In 2009, for work supporting a future of peace for and with the people of Iraq, the Utne Reader recognized Noah as one of "50 Visionaries Who Are Changing Your World."
The Quaker Path to Peacemaking: The Wisdom of Early Friends in Plainsong
Thursday, July 28, 7:30 pm in The Barn
- Free and open to the public
Paulette Meier
Early Friends’ writings are filled with directives and descriptions of their powerful spiritual experiences, which grounded them in deep trust and faith as they acted on their leadings in the world. Paulette has chosen selections from these early texts and set them to song as a way to internalize their message. Doug Gwyn, Quaker scholar, minister, and musician, said of the music: “[Her] approach helps liberate early Quaker spiritual power for a new time.” Paulette will share some of these sung texts while leading us to reflect on the foundations of the Quaker way of peacemaking. We will also learn and sing some of the songs/chants together.Faith in Action
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Thursday, July 21
Young Adult Friends Panel
Convened by Sadie Forsythe, Young Adult Friends from Philadelphia will share their experiences of being called to ministry, discerning such a call, and working on that discernment in community. Sadie Forsythe serves as the Young Adult Friends coordinator of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting (PYM) where she hears and supports many of the stories of Young Adult Friends as they wrestle with living their faith and answering their leadings in contemporary society.