Author Archives: Doug Bennett

About Doug Bennett

Doug Bennett is Emeritus President and Professor of Politics at Earlham College. He has a wife, Ellen, and two sons, Tommy (born 1984) and Robbie (born 2003).

Holy Silence and Worldly Silence

Posted on June 14, 2020

Message given at Durham Friends Meeting, June 14, 2020 People of my generation (and I use that term very loosely to include many of us) may not know much of the Bible.  Unlike my parents I didn’t grow up memorizing … Continue reading →

Posted in Peace & Social Concerns | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

What Does It Mean to Be Alive?

Posted on May 10, 2020

Message given at Durham Friends Meeting, May 10, 2020 The message I have this morning is about what it means to be alive – something very much on my mind as we go through this time of pandemic.  The summer … Continue reading →

Posted in Beliefs, Bible, Message | 1 Comment

Do We Leave Politics at the Door of the Meeting Room?

Posted on March 8, 2020

Message given at Durham Friends Meeting, March 8, 2020 When I first attended Meeting at Haverford College in the fall of 1964, I encountered non-stop talk – in Meeting — about the Vietnam War.  Most of it against, a little … Continue reading →

Posted in Message, Quaker Practices | Tagged | 3 Comments

Germantown Friends Meeting House

Posted on February 18, 2020

This is the Meeting I first started attending regularly, in the 1970s, and eventually joined.

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Ice Slide, Androscoggin River, 1904

Posted on February 6, 2020

In Topsham, Maine.

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Androscoggin River Valley from Glassface Mountain

Posted on January 17, 2020

from the Bangor Daily News

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Three Ways of Looking at the Christmas Story

Posted on December 15, 2019

Message given at Durham Friends Meeting, December 15, 2019 You’ve probably noticed it’s the Christmas season.  Holiday lights, decorated trees, cookies with icing and sprinkles, advertisements, glitter and glow.  The season when couples apparently give each other pick-up trucks.  There’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Beliefs, Bible, Message | 1 Comment

Building a Fire

Posted on November 18, 2019

Message at Durham Friends Meeting, November 17, 2019 As the days shorten and grow colder, I find myself eyeing the woodpile and the fireplace. I find myself thinking of fires to come.  I was a Boy Scout:  it was an … Continue reading →

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Beyond Me

Posted on October 27, 2019

Message at Durham Friends Meeting, October 27, 2019 When I think about God, or about Spirit, or the Light I quickly realize I don’t know very much.  I know that many questions – important questions – are beyond me.  Beyond … Continue reading →

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Holding in the Light

Posted on September 16, 2019

I want to talk more about the Light today.  We Quakers talk often of “the Light.”  It’s one of our ways of talking about Jesus or God or divinity.  There is a particular phrase that’s especially on my mind this … Continue reading →

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