There’s a Light that is shining in the Heart of a man
It’s the Light that was shining when the world began
There’s a Light that is shining in the Turk and the Jew
There’s a Light that is shining, friend, in me and in you.
I recently said in an interview with Friends Journal that I would like to challenge Friends to get clear about our relationship with the internet. Getting clear would look like one of these two things: A. We…
In the year 2000, when I was first getting into underground hip hop, I came across this rapper from Minneapolis who blew my mind. Edit 12.12: Eyedea was from St. Paul Eyedea was a musical prodigy, beginning…
As Quakers, we traditionally do not honor traditions such as Christmas, Halloween, the naming of weeks and months, swearing on the Bible. Wait… what? Does anybody actually do this anymore? Nobody that I know. The Quakers I…
Vital ministry is essential to vitality. Vital ministry breaks us open, stirs us up, inspires conversations, exposes us, makes us uncomfortable, puts us through the refiners fire. Ministers activate people. In short, without vital ministry, we are lost.
Our spiritual forefathers and mothers spoke of a “Light” that was an intense spotlight, something distinctly uncomfortable, that would shine on the the dark places inside of ourselves and reveal the things that we are trying to hide. This “Light”, honestly, sounds horrifying. It is no wonder they also called it the “refiner’s fire”.
But here is my point: we spend too much of our lives feeling insignificant, feeling not-powerful, waiting for someone to tell us that its okay to use our voice now.
Stop waiting for cultural credentials to write your book. Write it now. Stop holding back from singing in the streets. Stop waiting for an “appropriate” message to stand up with in Meeting for Worship. Stop robbing us of your gifts.
“How I Built Myself, With My Mother’s Help” from the album “Clothe Yourself in Righteousness” by Jon Watts Produced by Jake Thro Violin by Marina Vishnyakova Download the song Lyrics
Yesterday my co-minister and partner in crime Maggie posted a blog entry entitled “YOU’RE NOT A QUAKER (so please stop calling yourself one)” The post has provoked some great discussion and obviously real feelings from some of…
Jon Watts instrumental album.
“This is Just a (Love) Song” from the album “Clothe Yourself in Righteousness” by Jon Watts Produced by Jake Thro Violin by Marina Vishnyakova Download the song Lyrics
“Together We Compose This Bloody, Bleeding, Beating Drum” from the album “Clothe Yourself in Righteousness” by Jon Watts Produced by Jake Thro Violin by Marina Vishnyakova Download the song Lyrics
“Don’t Doff Your Hat” from the album “Clothe Yourself in Righteousness” by Jon Watts Produced by Jake Thro Violin by Marina Vishnyakova Download the song
“The Burden of Vision” from the album “Clothe Yourself in Righteousness” by Jon Watts Download the song Produced by Jake Thro Violin by Marina Vishnyakova
“Lifted Up” from the album “Clothe Yourself in Righteousness” by Jon Watts Download this song And for a moment there I was ground down I had my chin on my chest, infested surround sound. But I took…
When we were filming the scene in the hut for the music video, Tom Clement and I had some down time with Max Carter and, having asked him to prepare a brief lecture on the history of…
During the time of George Fox, Quaker — and the Valiant Sixty — James Nayler (or Naylor) was a powerful and respected Quaker preacher, who, at the beginning of the formation of the Religious Society of Friends, traveled extensively preaching the Quaker message and writing prolifically.
Friends, As the tenth anniversary to 9/11 came and went, I found myself reflecting on the past ten years… especially our reaction to being attacked and the results of that reaction. I found myself reflecting on my…
Announcing the release date for Clothe Yourself in Righteousness, a multimedia project about Quakers and nakedness.
Shiloh Quaker Camp is a Summer Camp in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains outside of Charlottesville, Virginia. It is a part of the Baltimore Yearly Meeting (BYM) Camping Program, along with Catoctin, Opequon and Teen Adventure (TA).