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…

   I was contemplating how to introduce myself to Friends here and I found one of my old writings which although not spiritual or remotely religious in content, it seems to sum me up. I come from along line of Quakers on my mothers side, our ancestors can be traced back to the 1680s in Herefordshire England. My fathers side are all Catholic, some from England and some from the North of Ireland so its a bit of a mix. I started to be involved with Friends in Winnipeg Canada in 1990 and…

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…

“Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who shall stand in His holy place? He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully" (Psalms xxiv. 3, 4).            

As a newbie I will give an introduction to myself. I had been following Christ for quite some time, over thirty years, before I came across Quakerism and George Fox. I had become greatly dis-satisfied…

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…

I was thinking today how quickly people will grab a Bible Commentary, read a book, listen to a YouTube Video or ask a friend for spiritual answers, yet they are deathly afraid of listening to allow God to teach them. We have been trained to think it is impossible for God to speak to us or teach us directly, even through the Scriptures. The religious culture always points us to "experts" who are more learned than the rest of us.



Yet the Scriptures often speak of waiting and hearing…

Greetings friends,



I am so encouraged this evening to be reading the blog posts here on NFF. This has been such a blessing to me as it has brought joy to my heart and confirmation about what God has been teaching me over the past several years.



I was converted to Christ through a Mennonite congregation nearly ten years ago. Shortly after I was converted I moved away to another state and began interacting with other mainline evangelical "churches" as well as…

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…

I have found great comfort and deep wisdom in A&Q 5 this weekend:

5. Take time to learn about other people's experiences of the Light. Remember the importance of the Bible, the writings of Friends and all writings which reveal the ways of God. As you learn from others, can you in turn give freely from what you have gained? While respecting the experiences and opinions of others, do not be afraid to say what you have found and what you value. Appreciate that doubt and questioning…

"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…

I took the dog for a wander past the Quaker Meeting House, that I can see from the window of my new flat on the outskirts of York. Outside was a poster of Jocelyn Bell Burnell, the astronomer who discovered pulsars. She is also a lifelong Quaker.

I was concerned that as a scientist, she would probably be another Quaker non-theist, and having her face on the meeting notice board did not bode well for me worshipping there amongst like-minded Theists.

I googled, and found…

A couple of years ago, in MfW, I asked God a simple silent question. It was "Lord, what is Your will for us?"



Back came the answer, booming, that shook me to the core in its simplicity too: "My will for you all is to believe in Me!" It wan't a request. It was a command! 



So was the command to stand and minister this to the meeting. Shaking, and in some trepidation, for I suspected what the consequences would be, I…

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,…