Hearing the Light

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Hearing the Light begins with the foundations of Quaker theology, which is based in the Quaker method of unprogrammed, silent worship. This act of gathering as a community to wait and listen to God is at the heart of Quakerism and essential to understanding Quaker theology, which is embedded in the practice as well as explained by it. Rhiannon Grant shows how Central Quaker theological claims, such as that everyone has that of God within them, that God offers support and guidance to all who choose to listen, and that Quakers as a community are led by God to treat everyone equally, resist war, and live simply, can be understood through a consideration of this distinctive worship practice. Rhiannon Grant also explores what it means to say that this form of theology is liberal – although many Quakers are politically liberal, they have also been called “conservative radicals” (Kenneth Boulding), and the liberalism involved is not mainly political but an attitude towards diversity of thought, opinion, and especially religious belief. While united by the practice of unprogrammed worship, Quakers have no written creed and no specific beliefs are required of members. Instead, there is a prevailing attitude of continued searching, an acceptance that new evidence may appear, and a willingness to learn from others, including members of other faith communities. At a time of great religious and political division, this radical approach to faith and learning that Grant sheds light upon, has never been more prescient.

Author: Rhiannon Grant
Publisher: Christian Alternative (2021)
ISBN: 9781789045048
Paperback, 80 pages

Part of the Quaker Quicks series. This series of short paperbacks is very useful for outreach and for religious education.

The Guided Life

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Finding Purpose in Troubled Times

Quakers have made the cultivation of the guided life the focus of their spirituality for over three centuries. Generations of Quakers have developed practices for nurturing their connection to an inward source of guidance, meaning and purpose. This Inward Guide is present in all people, cultures and traditions. It goes by many names and is understood in many ways, but it is equally available to everyone who is willing to listen and respond. The Guided Life shares some of the spiritual practices that the Quaker tradition has developed to discover purpose and direction in daily life. These practices may be of use to anyone who is wrestling with the complex challenges and dilemmas of the modern world.

Author: Craig Barnett
Publisher: Christian Alternative, November 2019
ISBN: 9781785358968
Paperback, 80 pages

Part of the Quaker Quicks series. This series of short paperbacks is very useful for outreach and for religious education.

Telling the Truth About God

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Telling the truth about God without excluding anyone is a challenge to the Quaker community. Drawing on the author’s academic research into Quaker uses of religious language and her teaching to Quaker and academic groups, Rhiannon Grant aims to make accessible some key theological and philosophical insights. She explains that Quakers might sound vague but are actually making clear and creative theological claims. Theology isn’t just for wordy people or intellectuals, it’s for everyone. And that’s important because our religious language is related to, not separate from, our religious experience. It also becomes clear that denying other people’s claims often leads to making your own and that even apparently negative positions can also be making positive statements. How do Quakers tell the truth about God? This book explores this key theological process through fourteen short chapters. As Quakers, we say that we know some things, but not very much, about God, and that we are in a constant process of trying to improve our ways of saying what we do know.

Author: Rhiannon Grant
Publisher: Christian Alternative, April 2019
ISBN: 9781789040814
Paperback,  88 pages

Part of the Quaker Quicks series. This series of short paperbacks is very useful for outreach and for religious education.

In Search of Stillness

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How can we find inner stillness in our lives today? What is it for and how can we use it? Inspired by the fiery writings of early Quakers, such as George Fox and Margaret Fell, this book calls on their advice to go within and wait, adapting it to create a modern, relatable method for finding stillness and peace. This meditation is for us to use however we most need it, whether to explore and heal the self and others or to help us be more effective in the wider world.

Author: Joanna Godfrey Wood
Publisher: Christian Alternative, 2021
ISBN: 9781789047073
Paperback, 104 pages

Part of the Quaker Quicks series, short paperbacks very useful for outreach and religious education.

Quaker Based Christianity

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How the Jesus story and the Quaker way fit together.

‘What is Quakerism?’ can be a difficult question to answer, especially when Quakers today struggle to find a shared religious language. In this book, Mark Russ answers this question from a personal perspective, telling his story of trying to make sense of Jesus within the Quaker community. Through this theological wrestling emerges a ‘Quaker Shaped Christianity’ that is contemporary, open and rooted in tradition. In reflecting on how to approach the Bible, the challenges of Universalism, and the key events of the Jesus story, this book offers a creative, inspiring and readable theology for everyone who has wondered how Christianity and Quakerism fit together.

Author: Mark Russ
Publisher: Christian Alternative
Paperback, 88 pages

Why I Am a Pacifist

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Tim Gee tells the story of why he became a pacifist and what it means to him. Gee reflects on the lives of peacemakers past and present to provide responses to questions like “Don’t we have to hit back if we’re hurt?”, “Don’t we need war to respond to evil?” and “Doesn’t religion justify wars?”. This is a critique of war, but more than that, it stakes a claim for pacifism’s feminist and anti-racist qualities. This is a call for a more nonviolent world.

Author: Tim Gee
Publisher: Christian Alternative,  October 2019
ISBN: 9781789040166
Paperback, 88 pages

Part of the Quaker Quicks series. This series of short paperbacks is very useful for outreach and for religious education.

In Step with Quaker Testimony

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Margaret Fell was an inspiring and practical leader in the early Quaker movement in 17th-century England. Remembered as the wife of George Fox, her writings have been largely forgotten. This book brings them to life again, with excerpts and reflections structured around the four testimonies that have continued to shape Quaker witness to this day: Simplicity, Truth, Equality and Peace. To do this, Joanna Godfrey Wood follows each passage with a modern adaptation of Fell’s words and then explores her own personal responses from a 21st-century perspective. We are left with a sense of a strong and beautiful bridge linking past and present. (review excerpted from Friends Journal)

Author: Joanna Godfrey Wood
Publisher; Christian Alternative (2021)
ISBN: 9781789045772
Paperback, 88 pages

Part of the Quaker Quicks series. This series of short paperbacks is very useful for outreach and for religious education.

Money and Soul

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Economic issues pervade the testimonies. Quakers value equality, yet we see economic inequality increasing dramatically. We value integrity, yet our economic system has no place for conscience. We value simplicity, yet our growth economy requires ever-increasing consumption. We value community, yet our society throws out those on the margins. We value stewardship, yet are running through finite resources at an alarming rate. We value peace, yet the violence and devastation caused by our economic system’s exploitation of people and the planet is tragic. Thus this walk through the Quaker testimonies with particular attention to our economic system.

Part of the Quaker Quicks series. This series of short paperbacks is very useful for outreach and for religious education.

Author: Pamela Haines
Publisher: Christian Alternative. 2019
Paperback, 80 pages
ISBN: 9781789040890

Hope and Witness in Dangerous Times

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Lessons from the Quakers On Blending Faith, Daily Life, and Activism

This book invites all people of faith to consider how our personal and communal faith practices in growing deeper spirituality should bring us to a fresh engagement with the needs of this world. This includes being active in promoting those values which align with our understanding of the gospel and standing against injustice, oppression, and evil inflicted on any of God’s children. Such activism, rooted in deep spirituality, may include being what Quaker civil rights activist Bayard Rustin called “angelic troublemakers.”

Author Bio: John Brent Bill is Quaker minister, author, retreat leader, conservationist, and photographer. He has written many books, articles, and fiction pieces and teaches writing at the graduate school level and in adult continuing education courses. He has also served as a writing coach to a number of published writers. He lives in Mooresville, Indiana.

Previous Titles: Beauty, Truth, Life, and Love: Finding an Abundant, Good Life with God; Life Lessons from a Bad Quaker: A Humble Stumble Toward Simplicity and Grace; Finding God in the Verbs: Crafting a New Language of Prayer 

Endorsements: In these troubling times it’s easy to feel “I’m too insignificant to make a difference”. Brent Bill draws deeply on age-old and modern Quaker insights to show how each of us how can find our own way forward from hopelessness, and move through contemplation and onward into action. He suggests that effective engagement in large and small issues needs to be based on faith, prayer and love of other people.  -John Lampen, author of Quaker Roots and Branches.

Author: J. Brent Bill
Publisher: Christian Alternative, August 2021
ISBN: 9781789046199
Paperback, 88 pages

Quakers Do What! Why?

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Quakers Do What! Why? is an introduction to Quaker oddities. Based on a question and answer format, it is for anyone who has learned a fact about Quakers – perhaps only that Quakers exist – and wants to know more.  

Author: Rhiannon Grant
Publisher: Christian Alternative, August 2020
ISBN: 9781789044058
Paperback, 88 pages

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