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Quakers Today

Quakers Today

By: Friends Publishing Corporation
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 Quakers Today features writers, musicians, and thinkers seeking wisdom and understanding in a rapidly changing world. We do not pretend to have all the answers. Instead, we have a place where you can hear people speak from the heart, grapple with faith, and share the insights they have found along the way. It is also a place where you can share your insights, reflections, and questions. Hosted by Peterson Toscano, he/him and Miche McCall they/them, Quakers Today is a project of The Friends Publishing Corporation. Season Four of Quakers Today is sponsored by American Friends Service Committee and by Friends Fiduciary.Copyright 2022 All rights reserved. Philosophy Social Sciences Spirituality
Episodes
  • Quakers and a 300-Mile Testimony: Quakers Walk to Washington

    Quakers and a 300-Mile Testimony: Quakers Walk to Washington
    Jun 17 2025
    In this special interim episode of Quakers Today, Sweet Miche shares how Quakers strive to embody religious freedom and the sacred right to provide sanctuary. We feature excerpts from the Quaker Walk to Washington, a remarkable 300-mile trek from Flushing, Queens—a place steeped in the origins of religious freedom in America—to Washington, D.C. This journey of deep spiritual conviction and witness highlights the ongoing Quaker commitment to justice. You'll hear from: Max Goodman & Ross Brubeck: Attenders at Brooklyn Monthly Meeting who grew up at Sandy Spring Monthly Meeting, and two of the core organizers of the walk. Diana Mejia and Stuart Sydenstricker: Quakers from Plainfield Monthly Meeting, who lead Wind of the Spirit, an immigration advocacy center. Imani Cruz: Global Policy Coordinator for Migrant Justice at the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC). A Journey of Faith and Action for Justice This episode delves into the "Quaker Walk to Washington," a pilgrimage rooted in the historical fight for religious freedom and the Quaker testimony of peace and justice. The walk draws direct inspiration from the 1657 Flushing Remonstrance, a courageous declaration written for Quakers facing persecution in New Netherland. This document, which asserts the right to religious liberty and the protection of all people, served as a foundational text for the walk's purpose. The episode also connects the walk to a recent lawsuit filed by Quaker meetings against the Department of Homeland Security, challenging policies that undermine the sanctity of worship spaces. The 300-mile trek itself became a profound spiritual experience. The walkers reflect on the physical challenges and unexpected moments of deep connection, such as canoeing through dense fog—a powerful metaphor for walking forward in faith even when the path ahead is unclear. The walk fostered a sense of solidarity with migrants, mirroring their uncertain journeys, and demonstrated how Quaker meetings along the route extended radical hospitality and welcome, regardless of resources. Beyond the symbolic act of walking, the episode explores the practical dimension of Quaker witness. Imani Cruz from AFSC outlines current legislative efforts to advocate for just immigration policies, including resisting increased funding for immigration enforcement and championing the Sensitive Locations Act, which aims to protect places like houses of worship from immigration intrusions legally. The walkers brought their message of justice to Washington, D.C., culminating in a powerful symbolic act of nailing a contemporary remonstrance to a door on the National Mall. Question for Next Season: What is your favorite Quaker term that is common among Friends, but strange to outsiders? Share your response by emailing podcast@quakerstoday.org or call/text 317-QUAKERS (317-782-5377). Please include your name and location. Your responses may be featured in our next season! Resources To learn more about the Quaker Walk to Washington and read the two remonstrances, visit QuakerWalk2025.org.Quakers Sue DHS over Immigration Enforcement and Religious Freedom from Friends Journal and QuakerSpeakSix Ways to Support Immigrants Right Now by AFSCJust Immigration from FCNL Quakers Today is the companion podcast to Friends Journal and other Friends Publishing Corporation content. It is written, hosted, and produced by Peterson Toscano and Sweet Miche. Season Four of Quakers Today was sponsored by American Friends Service Committee and Friends Fiduciary. American Friends Service Committee: Vulnerable communities and the planet are counting on Quakers to take action for a more just, sustainable, and peaceful world. The American Friends Service Committee, or AFSC, works at the forefront of many social change movements to meet urgent humanitarian needs, challenge injustice, and build peace. Find out more about how you can get involved in their programs to protect migrant communities, establish an enduring peace in Palestine, de-militarize police forces worldwide, assert the right to food for all, and more. Visit AFSC.ORG. Friends Fiduciary: Since 1898, Friends Fiduciary has provided values-aligned investment services for fellow Quaker organizations. Friends Fiduciary consistently achieves strong financial returns while witnessing to Quaker testimonies. They also help individuals support organizations they hold dear through giving strategies, including donor-advised funds, charitable gift annuities, and stock gifts. Learn more about FFC’s services at FriendsFiduciary.org. Feel free to email us at podcast@friendsjournal.org with​​ comments, questions, and requests for our show. Music from this episode comes from Epidemic Sound. Follow Quakers Today on TikTok, Instagram, X, and visit us at QuakersToday.org.
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    22 mins
  • Quakers and Home

    Quakers and Home
    May 13 2025
    the word “home” mean to you? From a laundry ministry on the streets of San Francisco to a Quaker refuge during World War II, Friends are reimagining what it means to offer shelter, connection, and belonging. Our episode gets its inspiration from the May 2025 issue of Friends Journal. Peterson: Gabe Ehri writes in the opening editorial, “In a world as profoundly abundant as ours, it is a societal failure of monumental proportions that anyone go without safe and comfortable housing.” Sweet Miche: And he ends with this reminder from scripture and Woolman: “Think on these things and do them.” That’s what we’re exploring today—what it means to actually do something. In This Episode: Zae Illo, an Earlham School of Religion graduate and a longtime public theologian, shares how his lived experience of homelessness informs his ministry among unhoused neighbors in San Francisco. Outside the Friends meetinghouse, his laundry ministry provides more than clean clothes—it offers presence, listening, and dignity. Read his article: Laundry Chaplaincy for Unsheltered Souls Sharlee DiMenichi, staff writer at Friends Journal, highlights how Quaker meetings across North America care for unhoused neighbors. From shelter partnerships in Arizona to memorials for unhoused Friends in California, her reporting centers spiritual practice and community action. Read her article: Solidarity with Our Unhoused Neighbors Michael Luick-Thrams reflects on Scattergood Hostel, the Iowa Quaker school that transformed into a refuge for Jewish children fleeing the Holocaust. Watch the QuakerSpeak video: Scattergood: A Quaker Response to the Holocaust Read the book: Scattergood by H.M. Bouwman Book Review We feature Bird, Bee, and Bug Homes and Habitats for Garden Wildlife, a vibrant guide for helping our smallest neighbors. It is recommended for ages 6–12 and curious adults. Read the review: Bird, Bee and Bug Homes Monthly Question We asked listeners: Beyond a roof and four walls, what does the word “home” mean to you? Thank you to Mario, Sonia, Erin, and Ben for sharing heartfelt reflections. From childhood memories to chosen neighborhoods, your answers grounded this episode in personal truth. Next question: What is your favorite Quaker term—one common among Friends but strange to outsiders? Leave a voicemail at 317-QUAKERS or comment on our socials. Credits & Links Quakers Today is a podcast from Friends Publishing CorporationHosted by Peterson Toscano and Sweet Miche QuakerSpeak Video recorded by Layla Cuthrell Season 4 is sponsored by Friends Fiduciary and the American Friends Service CommitteeMusic comes from Epidemic Sound. Closing song: Weather Any Storm by Cody Francis.Visit QuakersToday.org for a full transcript and more.Learn more about Zae Illo at ZaeIllo.com Contact us: podcast@friendsjournal.org Season Four of Quakers Today is Sponsored by: Friends Fiduciary Since 1898, Friends Fiduciary has provided values-aligned investment services for Quaker organizations, consistently achieving strong financial returns while upholding Quaker testimonies. They also assist individuals in supporting beloved organizations through donor-advised funds, charitable gift annuities, and stock gifts. Learn more at FriendsFiduciary.org. American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) Vulnerable communities and the planet are counting on Quakers to take action for a more just, sustainable, and peaceful world. AFSC works at the forefront of social change movements to meet urgent humanitarian needs, challenge injustice, and build peace. Learn more at AFSC.org. Feel free to email us at podcast@friendsjournal.org with​​ comments, questions, and requests for our show. Music from this episode comes from Epidemic Sound. Follow Quakers Today on TikTok, Instagram, and X. For more episodes and a full transcript of this episode, visit QuakersToday.org.
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    33 mins
  • Quakers and Unlearning with Philip Gulley

    Quakers and Unlearning with Philip Gulley
    Apr 15 2025
    Philip Gulley, Peterson, and Sweet Miche share their personal journeys of unlearning traditional theological concepts and reflect on what makes Quakerism a meaningful path to a more authentic faith. Gulley highlights fear as a significant motivator for religious beliefs and a tool for control and how the current political moment is a masterfully evil manipulation of human fears. Gulley also offers his perspective on the continued usefulness of organized religion, emphasizing the importance of bringing people together, respecting personal autonomy, and aligning its social efforts with the ethos of Jesus and radical love. Philip Gulley is a Quaker pastor, writer, and speaker from Danville, Indiana. Gulley has written 22 books, including the Harmony series recounting life in the eccentric Quaker community of Harmony, Indiana, and the best-selling Porch Talk essay series. Gulley’s memoir, I Love You, Miss Huddleston: And Other Inappropriate Longings of My Indiana Childhood, was a finalist for the Thurber Prize for American Hor. In addition, Gulley, with co-author James Mulholland, shared their progressive spirituality in the books If Grace Is True and If God Is Love, followed by Gulley’s books If the Church Were Christian and The Evolution of Faith. In Living the Quaker Way: Timeless Wisdom For a Better Life Today, Gulley offers the opportunity to participate in a world where the values of the Quaker way bring equity, peace, healing, and hope. In his most recently published non-fiction work, Unlearning God: How Unbelieving Helped Me Believe, Gulley describes the process of spiritual growth, especially the re-interpretation of the earliest principles we learned about God. Resources Here are some resources for friends in the process of unlearning and seeking spiritual growth: Therapy Therapy and spiritual growth can be deeply complementary. While therapy doesn't typically provide spiritual direction, it creates fertile ground for unlearning and spiritual development. You can use online therapist directories to find a therapist by location, insurance, specialty, cost, and more at Psychology Today, TherapyDen, or Open Path Psychotherapy Collective. Poets and Authors Audre Lorde is a profoundly influential Black lesbian feminist writer, poet, theorist, and civil rights activist. Her work powerfully explores the intersections of race, class, gender, sexuality, and ability. You can read her essays in Sister Outsider and her "biomythography" Zami: A New Spelling of My Name.Federico Garcia Lorca is one of Spain's most important poets and playwrights of the 20th century. His work is celebrated for its intense lyricism, surreal imagery, and passionate exploration of themes like love, death, desire, oppression, and Andalusian culture, particularly in works like Gypsy Ballads and plays such as Blood Wedding and The House of Bernarda Alba.Walt Whitman is a central figure in American poetry, often called the "Bard of Democracy." Whitman revolutionized poetry with his use of free verse and expansive lines. His lifelong work, Leaves of Grass, celebrates the individual, democracy, nature, the body, spirituality, and the interconnectedness of all life, aiming to capture the diverse spirit of America.Mary Oliver is an American poet who focuses on the natural world, particularly the landscapes of New England. Her work finds wonder, spirituality, and profound insight in quiet observation and moments of attention to nature, inviting readers to connect more deeply with the world around them.Christian Wiman is a contemporary American poet and essayist known for his unflinching honesty and intellectual rigor in exploring themes of faith, doubt, suffering (often drawing on his own experience with chronic illness), mortality, and love. Joy Harjo is a member of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation and served as the first Native American U.S. Poet Laureate. Her work weaves together Indigenous history, spirituality, myth, social justice, resilience, and a deep connection to the land, often infused with the rhythms of music and prayer.Akwake Emezi is a non-binary Nigerian writer and artist known for their powerful, innovative, and often genre-bending work. Their novels (like Freshwater and The Death of Vivek Oji) explore complex themes of identity, spirituality (often drawing on Igbo cosmology), gender, mental health, trauma, and the body, challenging conventional Western frameworks of selfhood.Elaine Pagels is a renowned historian of religion, particularly noted for her scholarship on early Christianity and Gnosticism. Her groundbreaking book, The Gnostic Gospels, brought non-canonical early Christian texts to wider attention, revealing the diversity of early Christian thought and exploring how political and social contexts shaped religious history and scripture. LGBTQ+ film festivals are events dedicated to showcasing films by, for, or about queer individuals and communities. They serve as vital platforms for representation, ...
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    28 mins
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