Text: Is this the most remote Quaker meeting in the world? Aerial image of a few grey buildings close together with access to a road that runs parallel to a white sand beach with indistinct dark debris, and blue water.

Text: To get there you'll have to take a ferry from an island. Image of a large ferry with "NorthLink" written on side leaving a dock at sunrise or sunset.

Text: Then another ferry from another island. Aerial image of a ferry departing from a dock. There is a large wake behind it and the water is teal.

Is this the most remote Quaker meeting in the world?

See if you can guess where it is…

(I’ll put the answer in the comments tomorrow!)

bsky.app/profile/thee...

Love was the first motion, and thence a concern arose to spend some time with the Indians, that I might feel and understand their life and the Spirit they live in, if haply I might receive some instruction from them, or they be in any degree helped forward by my following the leadings of Truth amongst them. And, as it pleased the Lord to make way for my going at a time when the troubles of war were increasing, and when, by reason of much wet weather, travelling was more difficult than usual at that season, I looked upon it as a more favourable opportunity to season my mind and bring me into a nearer sympathy with them. And, as mine eye was to the great Father of mercies, humbly desiring to learn what his will was concerning me, I was made quiet and content. Citation: John Woolman, 1763 Quaker preacher and abolitionist

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Our witness tells us that we need not wait for nuclear warfare to strike us before we strip our lives of… superfluities; we need not wait for events to bend our wills to unison…. We must simplify our daily routine without waiting for legislation; we must take our political and public responsibilities without having to take the negative action of being "against" nuclear testing, the death-use of science, the military-moulding of education. We must work for the unity and effective brotherhood of man without letting further wars, acts of congresses, decisions of courts, prove that the current pursuit of power, profit and all manner of material and social aggrandizement are treasonable to both Divinity and Democracy. The testimony of inward peace calls for a rebuilding of ourselves, which is no easy formula. For it is not enough for us to do all that is possible: we must do that which seems impossible, bringing to every activity and every plan a new criterion of judgment — a criterion obtained from within. Citation: Ira De A. Reid, 1958 Quaker sociologist and educator

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A cartoon of the Quaker Oats guy sitting at a table in a diner. He holds a menu while a waitress writes his order down on a pad. Quaker Oats guy: I feel like something different today. Do you have any Lutheran oats?

“I know Martin Luther hated Indulgences, so no maple syrup. Am I doing this right?”

I heard that New England had made a law to put the servants of the living God to death if they returned after they were sentenced away, which did come near me at that time; and, as I considered the thing and pondered it in my heart, immediately came the word of the Lord unto me, saying, ‘Thou knowest not but that thou mayst go thither.’ But I kept this word in my heart and did not declare it to any until the time appointed. So, after that, a vessel was made ready for Rhode Island, which I passed in. So, after a little time that I had been there, visiting the seed which the Lord had blessed, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ‘Go to Boston with thy brother William Robinson’, and at His command I was obedient and gave up to His will, that so His work and service may be accomplished. For He had said unto me that He had a great work for me to do, which is now come to pass. And, for yielding obedience to and for obeying the voice and command of the everlasting God, which created heaven and earth and the fountain of waters, do I, with my dear brother, suffer outward bonds near unto death. And this is given forth to be upon record, that all people may know who hear it, that we came not in our own wills but in the will of God. Citation: Marmaduke Stevenson, 1659 Quaker martyr

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Quakers Who Stand Up for Truth Quakers have a long history of getting into trouble for the sake of justice, but what drives them to act? From the earliest Quakers disrupting church services to a modern woman’s brave tax…

Someone taking this stand today is Jane McCarthy, a 74-year-old grandmother with incurable cancer. She refuses to pay taxes to protest her council’s investment in fossil fuels, and is willing to risk losing her home. (You can listen to Jane’s story on our podcast. quakerpodcast.com/quakers-who-...)

Many Quakers refused to pay these war taxes, and considered it important to make this refusal publically. Friends frequently had their possessions confiscated by the authorities as compensation for the taxes they refused to pay.

Friends have resisted taxes throughout history. It started in the mid-1600s when Quakers chose to go to jail rather than pay tithes to the church. In colonial America and for a while after the revolution, specific war taxes were levied to support conflicts like the French and Indian War.

Do Quakers pay taxes?

Most Quakers pay their taxes just like everyone else. But some Friends feel led by conscience to refuse to pay taxes because some of that money funds war, state violence, environmental damage, and other harms.

Katherine Evans, Margaret Killam, and Elizabeth Hooton were emotional, and the intensity of their public voices, which hostile contemporaries described as shouting or screaming, may well have held a residue of personal frustration or exultation; more importantly, it was an expression of the prophet's ritually expressed anguish over the nation, mediated through the conventional language and behavior of biblical figures. Indeed, rather than serve as a vehicle of self­ expression, the prophet's strident voice and gestures probably worked to blot out whatever emotions of terror, timidity, or arrogance she might have felt in the moments that preceded her public act. It is in this context, rather than that of egoistic self ­expression or neurotic masochism, that we find the most appropriate starting point from which to view the energy and persistence of Elizabeth Hooton's challenge to the magistrates of New England and the seeming compulsion with which she kept baring her back to the whip. Citation: Phyllis Mack, 1992 Historian and author

Today’s Daily Quaker Message. Subscribe for free: DailyQuaker.com/subscribe

Today’s Daily Quaker Message. Subscribe for free: DailyQuaker.com/subscribe

Even in the wicked, God has a witness which is pure, which checks them often, though they do not regard it.

Citation: Francis Howgill, 1660s
Early Quaker minister

I time traveled into the future to explain to you what a Quaker is. 💫

The Daily Quaker Message Nourish your spiritual journey with daily Quaker wisdom.

This month our daily devotional shares a quote every day from or about Quaker prophets. These are people who felt the suffering of others so viscerally, they could not help but put their faith into action.

Get free Quaker quotes in your inbox: dailyquaker.com/subscribe/

Text: Prophetic Quaker Witness Image is a painting set in the mid-1600s in mostly browns, blacks, grays, and whites. A Quaker woman stands preaching on an upturned basket to a roomful of people.

Prophetic Witness is how our Quaker faith translates into action: how we listen to the still, small voice and follow our leadings. From the beginnings of Quakerism, Friends have seen the intimate connection between a rich prayer life and taking action against injustice and inequity.

Michael Birkel on Quakers, Mysticism, and Reading the Bible

A thoughtful Quaker scholar shares his thoughts on mysticism, spiritual reading, and giving the next generation of Quakers room to express their faith.

quakerpodcast.com/michael-birk...

Quaker values and inclusive labor practices made Nantucket and New Bedford attractive places for people from all backgrounds, including many Black sailors, some of whom had escaped from slavery. These sailors found work on the whaling ships, some even becoming captains.

Quakers settled in Nantucket in the 1650s to escape persecution in England, and the Religious Society of Friends soon became a major influence on the island. In 1690, a Quaker from Cape Cod named Ichabod Padduck came to Nantucket to teach the locals about whaling.

And that was historically accurate. Quakers actually led the whaling industry in Nantucket and New Bedford, MA, for 150 years, and the Starbucks were a preeminent Quaker whaling family.

A drawing of whalers in a small boat. A wave crashes over the side as a whale's tale emerges with ropes around it and two whalers cower. One whaler stands with a harpoon in his hand. Text: Quaker Whalers??

If you paid attention in high school English class, you’ll remember that Starbuck was Captain Ahab’s first mate in Moby Dick. But do you remember what else Starbuck was? A Quaker!

In our world today, it is entirely too easy to witness all kinds of brutality and alienation, and yet not to bear witness. We can watch the news reports… but if all we do is watch, how is that different from voyeurism? The voyeur’s eyes are not soft, for they look in expectation of titillation, of being stimulated, of gaining something for oneself; and once that is satisfied, they look away. The eyes of a witness see the hard things and do not look away. How might we… be witnesses who are able to respond? Perhaps the task of followers of Jesus today is to adopt the “soft eyes” of the artist: seeing the brutal realities of life in our broken world, and not looking away. And more, to acknowledge those realities, and yet proclaim the presence of God—that God is yet present; remembering the risen Christ, present to the disciples in their upper room, and surely present to us now. For any true witness that we might engage in—whether for peace, against poverty, or any other thing—is a witness for Christ, if we are grounded in the reality of the resurrection. Citation: Brian Young, 2021 Pastoral minister at West Richmond Meeting, IN

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We need both a deeper spirituality and a more outspoken witness. If our spirituality can reach the depths of authentic prayer, our lives will become an authentic witness for justice, peace and the integrity of creation, a witness which becomes the context for our prayer. Out of the depths of authentic prayer comes a longing for peace and a passion for justice. And our response to violence and injustice is to pray more deeply, because only God can show us the way out of the mess that the world is in. And only God gives us the strength to follow that Way. Citation: Gordon Matthews, 1989 Quaker peaceworker

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And the winner of Quaker Mascot March Madness 2026 is... Wilmington College's Quakerman!

Wilmington College alumni, students, and fans, pat yourselves on the back. You rallied support for your favorite Friendly felt fella and earned him 15x more votes than Billy Penn.

Go fightin' Quakers!

Front of box of 8 Crayola crayons. The image on the box shows crayons in a variety of gray tones and a drawing of an early Quaker man. Text on box reads: "Quaker Gray."

Fingers holds open the cardboard flap of the Crayola box to show the crayons inside, which are all different gray hues.

Is it just me, or are these weird? Would you buy them?

My kid’s First Day school is asking us to sell these Quaker crayons as a fundraiser for a field trip to Benjamin Lay’s cave. I feel a little awkward walking around the neighborhood ringing doorbells with these.

An Hour of Quaker Worship

In the Quaker tradition, waiting worship is a profound, expectant stillness. For this experimental episode, we placed field microphones around Green St. Meeting in Philadelphia to create an immersive stereo documentary of communal waiting.

quakerpodcast.com/an-hour-of-s...

"The Quaker leader who defied gender norms in colonial America." Painting of the Public Universal Friend

Born in 1752 in Rhode Island, the Public Universal Friend was originally named Jemima Wilkinson and raised in a Quaker family. After surviving a fever in 1776, they declared they had died and been reborn as a new, genderless person devoted to God.

Adopting the name Public Universal Friend, they abandoned their birth name, dressed in both male and female attire, and began preaching about their spiritual awakening.

Although dismissed by their Quaker community, the Friend’s unwavering faith led them to travel across New England and the Mid-Atlantic, gathering a devoted following known as the Universal Friends. The Public Universal Friend’s teachings emphasized honoring God, treating others with kindness, and living a righteous and peaceful life.

For Trans Day of Visibility, we’re celebrating a Quaker pioneer, the Public Universal Friend.

If I am centered in that love, it is always there, holding me up through everything. It does not vary. What varies is the connection that I have made to it. So on a daily basis I have to check in, and ask ‘Okay, Yahweh, how are we doing today?’”

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As we age we need to learn how to grow down. Remember when we were children how adults seemed to delight in telling us—quite emphatically at times—to grow up? Sometimes they were impatiently and unrealistically hoping we’d resist the natural inclinations of childhood and conveniently turn into miniature adults. As we grew older, however, the message was really a hope that we would learn to be responsible and live up to our potential—learn how to climb mountains by tackling appropriate foothills first. As we get older, however, we need to learn the contemplative art of growing down, of letting our roots grow more deeply into those reservoirs of previously untapped Spirit that lie below the surface of our lives. We find similar opportunities awaiting us to let our roots grow more deeply into the depths of our relationships, our communities, and the “of God” dimension of our lives. We are people of depth as well as height, and aging comes as an invitation to resist the temptation to live superficially. Citation: Joe McHugh, 2020 Quaker spiritual director and author

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It's the final round of Quaker Mascot March Madness!

The Wilmington College Quakerman vs. the William Penn statue ("Billy Penn") on top of Philadelphia City Hall

Vote for your favs here: theequaker.org/march-madnes...

Check back on Friday to see who won!