We have recently received the following from Tomasz Kowalski, in Turin, Poland. He is visiting London with family and friends, from today (27-4-2012) to the 8-5-2012. Would any NFF supporters in the London area be able to meet up with him. I have invited him to the Ripley Gathering on the 5th of  5th Month at Ripley, but I think it would be good for him to meet a wider circle of NFF Friends;

Allistair Lomax

We covered just one paragraph from Sermon 2 in, "That Thy Candles May Always Be Burning."

I would not say we wandered off topic, but we touched on the subject of "being renewed up into the image of God." What did Fox mean by the statement "So now come up to the state before the Fall. Here is the wisdom of God, so in his wisdom to order all things to his glory and honor. Here is the top, and Christ set above all, and God hath made us to sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus…

The artwork above is by E. Burne-Jones, April 1888, for the first book edition of William Morris' A Dream of John Ball. Illustrates the couplet "When Adam delved and Eve span / Who was then the gentleman?" which had international popularity in several Germanic languages as an equalitarian slogan during the medieval period.…

Away with the body of death and purgatory! Away with them! Come to the apostles' religion, the true saints! For we are come again to the apostles' days and have that which they had and were in! So we have done with all that hath been set up since the apostles' days and [are come again] to a glorious church which Christ Jesus hath presented to God, that is without spot or wrinkle, or any such thing, but that it should be holy, and without blemish. (Eph. 5:27) This religion was…

"Which of the books by Lewis Benson is my favorite?" The question came floating up in my mind as I was putting various titles into our estore. The task is not so demanding that it doesn't allow room for such reflections.

However, I could not decide.

Today, I have it. My favorite book by Lewis is whatever one I am currently reading. At the moment it happens to be The Truth is Christ, New Foundation Publication #5.

I have just finished Lewis' essay on The…

The Women Under the Cross  …

Following is an excerpt from Sermon II (That Thy Candles May Always Be Burning) that we were reading and considering on our recent monthly call. We found this to be a very deep and searching time.

So keep the Sabbath; think not your own thoughts, for we are atop of that nature in Christ where evil thoughts are, that nature being taken away by Christ. So you should not think your own thoughts, do your own works, speak your own words. In the outward Sabbath there…

UK Newsletter #39d (Winter) is available. It contains a precursor of our main Woodbrooke theme, Fox's Firbank Fell sermon by Justin Meggit (our main presenter) and an article on the same theme by Michael Langford. Go Here

Book Review: Strength in Weakness Manifest, by Elizabeth Stirredge (1634-1706) 

With an introduction and notes by T.H.S. Wallace

Published by Foundation Publications, Camp Hill, PA USA, 2011

"Elizabeth Stirredge's small memoir, Strength in Weakness Manifest, is a treasury of spiritual wisdom on what it takes to be a faithful minister of the Lord Jesus Christ…

"Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen," or so goes the author of the book of Hebrews. My definition goes somewhat differently, though I suspect it comes to the same thing in practice. Faith is that which keeps me going, following the command of Christ, when all reason, all outward evidence, and all advice points a different direction. Faith is the willingness to look like an absolute fool for the sake of being obedient to Christ's direction. Faith keeps…

An aside into Hebrews

It has been some time since I made a post to this blog.  I have had subjects for at least three separate posts swirling inside and it is time to publish again.

My intent for this post was to take a look at the non-Pauline epistles in the New Testament (not already touched on in prior posts) before tackling Paul directly in the next.  In the writing my focus has narrowed.  My family has been reading the book of Hebrews together.  As I have pondered…

We were recently asked to respond to an online discussion.

The point we were asked to respond to was as follows; "Well, my most important question that i asked earlier is that what is so special about George Fox's views and beliefs? From what i understand, he wasn't satisfied with the Anglicans and Catholics of his time and he took matters into his own hand. He started preaching, and sharing the gospel in his own special way!…

I have been enjoying reading Pat Dallmann's The Word Within. I have known Pat for a number of years, so her fresh insights and the depth she brings to her essays are what I would expect, though I can't always anticipate her conclusions.

Even though I have not yet finished Pat's book, I want to encourage others to read it. If you have read it, what do you think of it?

Copies can be purchased from Terry Wallace,…

Forgive me if you all know of this website and I just haven't spotted it.

I was trying to find the 8 Volume Works of George Fox (at an affordable price!) and came across a site created by (I believe) 2 American Friends - they've scanned and proofed not only the complete Works, but also material by many other Friends, and the home pages also present Christian Quaker thought on the bible in a very clear and gentle way.…

The following is a paper I gave at the Oregon gathering this summer which was a joint meeting of the NFF and the Wider Conservative Friends Fellowship.  It is related to the blog I have been working on this year (2011) but has its own content.  May it be of use to you who read it.

Stretching our understanding and experience of the Messiah

“They asked one another, ‘Were not our hearts burning within us as he talked to us on the road and opened the…

There are at least two difficulties connected with the concept of baptism from the Quaker understanding.  One has to do with the fact that most people have a generally accepted concept of what baptism is.  To present the Quaker view of baptism means to offer a radically different view, and most people do not easily give up long-held understandings.  The second difficulty lies in the fact that, unlike most words in the Greek New Testament, the word baptizo was never translated into…

During the course of a recent gathering and subsequent conservation, the following comments arose that illustrate the confusion about becoming a Christian.

C:

Do we hear Jesus differently or more clearly the more we intentionally come before Him whether that be for the purpose of corporate worship or whether we are practicing individual spiritual disciplines such as silence? I asked the question for the purpose of clarifying your comments about disciples being…

Conscience and Light

 …

Our Friend, Rodney Pharris has posted a very serviceable exposition on Fox and Early Quaker's approach to the taking of outward bread and wine on QuakerQuaker. A useful and well-argued blog that deserves a link from here...

Fox on Bread & Wine