PlainSpeech Messages | Find YOUR way to GRACE.
I recently read a message I’d given in 1984 and felt a mixture of embarrassment and surprise. Embarrassed because it seems inadequate now, and surprised by how much my worldview has changed. Twenty-five years from now, I might read these messages and have a similar reaction. I offer no guarantee that my work or words will endure the eroding effects of time. I can only assure you these thoughts have been helpful to me, and perhaps a few others, today. With that qualification, I offer them to you.
~ Philip
NEW!
What In the World Were We Thinking? (Our Belief in the End Times)
Well, that was some eclipse, wasn’t it? I hope you were able to enjoy it since we won’t have another one until 2153, 129 years from now. Thirty-five of us gathered on the kitchen porch here at the meetinghouse. Herb and Chris grilled hot dogs and we ate moon pies and...
What In the World Were We Thinking? (A Distrust of Leaders)
Some time ago, I wrote an essay about the abuse scandals in the Catholic Church. It got published and circulated around, and made its way back to Danville, to the Catholic Church where I had been raised. I knew that was likely to happen and had girded my loins, as the...
Cultures of Crucifixion – Easter 2024
There’s good news this week. If you’ve been putting off buying a Bible until the right one comes along, you’ll be pleased to know the official God Bless The USA Bible became available this week. It includes the King James version of the Bible, the Declaration of...
Cooperation, not Competition, as an Aspect of Community
I was being a curmudgeon the other day, talking with someone about how young people today don’t know anything about history, when it occurred to me that until I was 30 or so, the only thing I knew about World War II was what I learned from watching Hogan’s Heroes. A...
Quaker Qualities (Not Just Integrity, but Integration)
Several years ago, Joan and I were in Frostburg, Maryland, attending the sessions of Baltimore Yearly Meeting. For those of you not accustomed to our Quaker jargon, a yearly meeting is a collection or assemblage of local or monthly meetings, usually in the same...
Quaker Qualities (Not Simplicity, but Generosity)
When I was 32 years old, I received a phone call from the Friends World Committee for Consultation, asking if I would serve on their Executive Committee. This was a big deal in Quakerism, like being asked to serve on the college of cardinals and pick a new pope. I was...
Quaker Qualities (Consistent Compassion)
This past week, I was at the bank and noticed the young woman working as a teller had her preferred pronouns, "she/her," written on her name tag, just after her name. I thought, “Well, that’s just because she’s young and idealistic,” but then I noticed all the tellers...
Quaker Qualities (Democratic Discernment)
It was my birthday this past week. I turned 63 and thought it important to have a little preventative maintenance done on my chassis, so Monday had my teeth cleaned, Tuesday had six pre-cancerous lesions frozen off, fasted on Wednesday, in preparation for a...
Quaker Qualities (Osmosing)
Many years ago, I had the opportunity to meet a prominent Quaker who had studied at several of our Quaker colleges and universities and had written extensively about Quakerism. He was a pre-eminent expert on all-things Quakerism and would tell you so if you talked...
How to Die Before You’re Dead (11)
I know those people who were counting on a stunning come-from-behind victory for Vivek Ramaswamy are surely disappointed after his departure from the presidential race this week. I think we can all agree our nation has been well-served by billionaires with no...