Category Archives: Quaker Testimonies

War and Foolishness

Posted on September 19, 2021 by Doug Bennett

Message given at Durham Friends Meeting, September 19, 2021 War is what’s on my mind and in my heart today – and foolishness, too.  War and foolishness because war, I believe, is one of the most profound forms of human … Continue reading →

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The Quaker Testimony of Equality

Posted on March 7, 2021 by Doug Bennett

Message given at First Friends Meeting, Richmond, Indiana, March 7, 2021 and at Durham Friends Meeting, May 16, 2021 It is equality that is on my mind this morning.  Equality is something that has been on my mind more or … Continue reading →

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And So We Pass from One Season to Another

Posted on November 9, 2020 by Doug Bennett

Message given at Durham Friends Meeting, November 8, 2020 And so we pass from one season to another.  The leaves are mostly gone now, gone ‘til next spring, their bright colors just a memory.  The sun is down by late … Continue reading →

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Dis-Union at Brooklyn Friends

Posted on September 4, 2020 by Doug Bennett

[Posted 9/4/20; expanded 9/5/20] This morning’s New York Times has an article about Brooklyn Friends School (BFS) titled A Quaker School Promoted Liberal Values. Then Its Teachers Unionized. (The print version is headlined “Quaker Values Tested As Teachers Unionize At … Continue reading →

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Quaker Values?

Posted on July 1, 2018 by Doug Bennett

Message at Durham Friends Meeting, July 1, 2018 Quaker values are on my mind this morning – that phrase ‘Quaker Values.’ Partly Quaker Values are on my mind because the last week or two – or really the last year … Continue reading →

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What Are We Doing Here?

Posted on June 4, 2017 by Doug Bennett

Message delivered at Durham Friends Meeting, June 4, 2017 “What are we doing here?” I wrote those words on a sheet of paper a few hours after I agreed to bring today’s message. I don’t really know where they came … Continue reading →

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A Few Words on Quakers and Equality

Posted on November 14, 2014 by Doug Bennett

November 14, 2014 [My wife’s book club has been reading The Invention of Wings, Sue Monk Kidd’s fictionalized biography of of the Grimké sisters, Sarah and Angelina (Nina), who were leaders in the abolitionist and women’s rights movements. Since Sarah and … Continue reading →

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Constraints on Leadership: Missions, Roles and Values

Posted on April 3, 2014 by Doug Bennett

April 3, 2014 “We must not suppose that those in authority are unaware …, but we must recognize that their liberty of action is often circumscribed by the nature of their office: the powerful are not necessarily free.” That quotation … Continue reading →

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Let’s Have a Testimony of Intimacy

Posted on April 27, 2012 by Doug Bennett

April 27, 2012 In the midst of Indiana Yearly Meeting’s ongoing turmoil about homosexuality, the Bible, and the authority of the yearly meeting, a Friend writes, “it is clear even to the casual reader that God has something to say … Continue reading →

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Pacifism, War and Sin

Posted on December 3, 2011 by Doug Bennett

December 3, 2011 For the Indiana Yearly Meeting Facebook Page: Do we regard as Christians people who believe in war? Doesn’t the Bible make it clear that participation in war is a sin? Suppose your church or meeting had a … Continue reading →

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