Author Archives: ericmuhr

Discernment and Inner Knowing: Making Decisions for the Best
by Joycelin Dawes

This ground-breaking study of spiritual and secular discernment explores Quaker discernment – individual and decision-making in a group – through the eyes of Theory U, a secular framework for change. The book explains and applies the methods and visual map of ‘Theory U’ to shed light on Quaker practice. This form of ‘mutual irradiation’ between Quaker discernment and Theory U brings greater clarity and strength to Quaker discernment and shows the reader how the insights of Theory U might deepen their own discernment practice.
The book follows a Theory U cycle, through opening mind, heart and will to reach the deepest inner place from which we discern a way forward. It questions how we understand and interpret ‘making decisions for the best’. The second part of the book looks at how discernment is clarified then tested through designing action that puts it into practice.
This book grew out of research into discernment for an Eva Koch scholarship awarded to Joycelin in 2016 by Woodbrooke Quaker Study Centre, Birmingham, UK

This fascinating, meticulously researched book is an essential addition to the library of any Meeting or Friend interested in exploring discernment by looking at it in a fresh way.

Recommendations:
“This compelling book provides an original and insightful understanding of the art of discernment for the modern world in all its complexities. Joycelin Dawes explores the Quaker tradition and practice of discernment alongside modern secular leadership approaches of presencing and sensing. She offers an invaluable synthesis and makes a significant intellectual and practical contribution to the field of discernment and decision making for individuals, leaders and members of organisations. I cannot recommend it highly enough for its wisdom and insights.” Dr Lynne Sedgmore CBE. Former Chief Executive of 157 Group, The Centre for Excellence in Leadership UK

“Joycelin Dawes’ book explores Quaker discernment in the context of ‘Theory U’, a model for understanding the flow of decision making. It helpfully illuminates Quaker discernment without turning it into an artificial or theoretical process but retaining the connection to deep spiritual experience that we as Friends are seeking and encounter when engage in discernment processes. This book will help Friends to better understand, practise and share Quaker discipline and the source from which we act.” Simon Best, Head of Learning, Woodbrooke Quaker Study Centre

Website and blog: https://discernmentandinnerknowing.wordpress.com
ISBN: 9781786977793
Paperback / 130 pages / published 27 April 2017

Face to Face: Early Quaker Encounters with the Bible
by T. Vail Palmer, Jr.

6 X 9 inch, 288 p. paperback
ISBN: 978159490374
Cost: $20.00

Through most of our history Friends have taken the Bible seriously and have looked to it for guidance. Friends have been leaders in testifying against war and working for peace, in recognizing the equality of women and men in Christian ministry, in working against slavery and advocating for social justice.

Yet we find in the Bible passages that instruct women to be silent in the churches, that call for the destruction of entire people groups, that suggest poverty is intractable, that require the submission of slaves.

The earliest Friends constantly quoted the Bible—and it is clear that their pioneering positions on matters such as war, women’s ministry, and justice derive from their understanding of the Bible.

How can this be?

The writings of George Fox, Edward Burrough, and Margaret Fell demonstrate that at least these three, first-generation Friends, were reading the Bible with empathy. For them the heart of the Bible lay in its personal narratives. Out of this empathetic reading emerged their innovative understanding of the Christian way of life.

This book can be ordered directly through Barclay Press

Come Away and Pray: God is Light
by Judy Brutz

Come Away and Pray, God is Light invites quiet moments of contemplation. Ponder statements of Quaker thought as well as scriptural verses. “I saw also that there was an ocean of darkness and death, but an infinite ocean of light and love, which flowed over the ocean of darkness: and in that I saw an infinite love of God…” George Fox, 1624 – 1691 “Let women then go on – not asking favors, but claiming as a right the removal of all hindrances to her elevation in the scale of being – let her receive encouragement for the proper cultivation of all powers, so that she may enter profitably into active business of life … Then in the marriage union, the independence of the husband and wife will be equal, their dependence mutual, and their obligations reciprocal.” Lucretia Mott, 1793 – 1880 “Words may help and silence may help, but the one thing needful is that the heart should turn to its Maker as the needle turns to the pole. For this we must be still.” Caroline Stephen, 1834 – 1909. Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. Psalm 119:105 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Matthew 5:9 I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me. I was in prison and you visited me. Matthew 25:35-36

5.1 x 7.8 inch, 126 p. paperback
ISBN: 9781544984872
Cost: $7.00

This book can be ordered directly through Amazon

Holy Silence: The Gift of Quaker Spirituality
by J Brent Bill

J. Brent Bill’s Holy Silence is a contemporary classic on sacred silence. With warmth, wisdom, and gentle humor, Bill presents the Quaker practice of silence and expectant listening to a wider Christian audience. This revised and expanded edition includes new spiritual silence practices and a new section on incorporating holy silence into worship. Written by one of the most respected interpreters of the Quaker tradition, Holy Silence opens up for readers a fresh way of connecting with God.

5.2 x 8.1 inch, 159 p. paperback
ISBN: 9780802874030
Cost: $15.99

This book can be ordered directly through Eerdmans

Life Lessons from a Bad Quaker: A Humble Stumble Toward Simplicity and Grace
by J Brent Bill

On quick observation, the Quaker lifestyle boasts peace, solitude, and simplicity—qualities that are attractive to any believer of any denomination or religion. Yet living a life of faith is not as simple as it may look. In fact, it’s often characterized more by the stumbles than the grace.

“When someone asks me what kind of Christian I am,” says Quaker author J. Brent Bill, “I say I’m a bad one. I’ve got the belief part down pretty well, I think. It’s in the practice of my belief in everyday life where I often miss the mark.” In Life Lessons from a Bad Quaker, a self-professed non-expert on faith invites readers on a joyful exploration of the faith journey—perfection not required. With whimsy, humor, and wisdom, Bill shows readers how to put faith into practice to achieve a life that is soulfully still yet active, simple yet satisfying, peaceful yet strong.

For anyone who is bad at being good, this is an invitation to a pilgrimage toward a more meaningful and satisfying life . . . one step—or stumble—at a time.

5.5 x 8.5 inch, 208 p. paperback
ISBN: 9781630881313
Cost: $16.99

This book can be ordered directly through Abingdon Press

Finding God in the Verbs: Crafting a Fresh Language of Prayer
by Jennie Isbell and J. Brent Bill

Do you long for deeper communion with God? Spiritual director Jennie Isbell and Quaker minister Brent Bill know how easy it is to lapse into repetitious refrains of prayer:

“Our hearts told us that we had lapsed into easy God speak. We weren’t reaching deep into our spirits and drawing out living words of praise, confession, concern, intercession and longing. We were tired of speaking in clipped shorthand to God. We wanted to pray in such a way that we showed up with our whole selves.”

If you have experienced a similar longing, come join the authors on this prayer journey into the deep waters of the Spirit. This book offers companionship and guidance as you begin to notice, consider and deepen your prayer experiences, with refreshing exercises sprinkled through every chapter to offer you a fresh language for prayer. Find God here—in the nouns and the verbs of your conversation.

5.5 x 8.2 inch, 362 p. paperback
ISBN: 9780830835966
Cost: $16.00

This book can be ordered directly through Intervarsity Press

Eastern Light: Awakening to Presence in Zen, Quakerism, and Christianity
by Steve Smith

This spiritual autobiography integrates perspectives of early Quakers, Zen Buddhists, and contemporary Christian thinkers. Smith draws from these sources as he tells a personal tale of his Quaker childhood, his years of spiritual crisis, and his ultimate return to Quakerism by way of Zen Buddhism. Along the way, Smith explores and explains the Quaker peace testimony and liberal Quaker views of gender, power, education, and care for the natural world.

5.5 x 8.5 inch, 242 p. paperback
ISBN: 9781941309001
Cost: $22.00

This book can be ordered directly through Western Friend

Giving Up Something Good for Something Better
by Sister Alegria del Senor

In this chronicle of the development of Amigas del Señor Monastery in rural Honduras, Sisters Alegría and Confianza tell of the joys, struggles, and adventures they encounter in a country beleaguered by poverty and violence. Sharing in a Covenant of Caring with Multnomah Monthly Meeting, the two women are perpetually professed Methodist Sisters, working to improve healthcare at a local clinic, while walking a path of spiritual insights.

6 x 9 inch, 362 p. paperback
ISBN: 9781539888123
Cost: $15.00

This book can be ordered directly through Western Friend

Soldier Girls: The Battles of Three Women at Home and at War
by Helen Thorpe

“A raw, intimate look at the impact of combat and the healing power of friendship” (People): the lives of three women deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq, and the effect of their military service on their personal lives and families—named a best book of the year by Publishers Weekly.

“In the tradition of Adrian Nicole LeBlanc, Richard Rhodes, and other masters of literary journalism, Soldier Girls is utterly absorbing, gorgeously written, and unforgettable” (The Boston Globe). Helen Thorpe follows the lives of three women over twelve years on their paths to the military, overseas to combat, and back home…and then overseas again for two of them. These women, who are quite different in every way, become friends, and we watch their interaction and also what happens when they are separated. We see their families, their lovers, their spouses, their children. We see them work extremely hard, deal with the attentions of men on base and in war zones, and struggle to stay connected to their families back home. We see some of them drink too much, have affairs, and react to the deaths of fellow soldiers. And we see what happens to one of them when the truck she is driving hits an explosive in the road, blowing it up. She survives, but her life may never be the same again.

Deeply reported, beautifully written, and powerfully moving, Soldier Girls is “a breakthrough work…What Thorpe accomplishes in Soldier Girls is something far greater than describing the experience of women in the military. The book is a solid chunk of American history…Thorpe triumphs” (The New York Times Book Review).

5.5 x 8.4 inch, 432 p. paperback
ISBN: 9781451668117
Cost: $17.00

This book can be ordered directly through Simon & Schuster

Just Like Us: The True Story of Four Mexican Girls Coming of Age in America
by Helen Thorpe

Now updated, the powerful account of four young Mexican women coming of age in Denver, two who have legal documentation, two who don’t, and what happens to them as a result.

Just Like Us tells the story of four high school students whose parents entered this country illegally from Mexico. We meet the girls on the eve of their senior prom in Denver, Colorado. All four of the girls have grown up in the United States, and all four want to live the American dream, but only two have documents. As the girls attempt to make it into college, they discover that only the legal pair sees a clear path forward. Their friendships start to divide along lines of immigration status.

Then the political firestorm begins. A Mexican immigrant shoots and kills a police officer. The author happens to be married to the Mayor of Denver, a businessman who made his fortune in the restaurant business. In a bizarre twist, the murderer works at one of the Mayor’s restaurants—under a fake Social Security number. A local Congressman seizes upon the murder as proof of all that is wrong with American society and Colorado becomes the place where national arguments over immigration rage most fiercely. The rest of the girls’ lives play out against this backdrop of intense debate over whether they have any right to live here.

Just Like Us is a coming-of-age story about girlhood and friendship, as well as the resilience required to transcend poverty. It is also a book about identity—what it means to steal an identity, what it means to have a public identity, what it means to inherit an identity from parents. The girls, their families, and the critics who object to their presence allow the reader to watch one of the most complicated social issues of our times unfurl in a major American city. And the perspective of the author gives the reader insight into both the most powerful and the most vulnerable members of American society as they grapple with the same dilemma: Who gets to live in America? And what happens when we don’t agree?

5.5 x 8.4 inch, 416 p. paperback
ISBN: 9781416538981
Cost: $17.00

This book can be ordered directly through Simon & Schuster