Status
Available
Call number
Collections
Publication
Wallingford, PA: Pendle Hill Publications, 2016.
ISBN
9780875744421
Other editions
Description
Expanding on his plenary address at the 2011 Friends General Conference Gathering, Bruce Birchard describes the work of reconciliation on three levels: between his gay brother and traditional father, among three branches of the Religious Society of Friends, and in two African nations torn apart by genocidal conflict. He shares how he reexamined his thinking about the roles of activist and reconciler and about God as a noun and a verb. Discussion questions included. -- Publisher's description.
User reviews
LibraryThing member QuakerReviews
Birchard tells some powerful stories of reconciliation and what he has learned from them about both God and how reconciling happens. This is eloquent, profound, and illuminating, and really important.
Only one of the important points for Friends that he brings out is that reconciliation and
This pamphlet is valuable even just for its brief explanation of the work of the African Great Lakes Initiative, a project of Friends Peace Teams, in healing and reconciliation in Burundi and Rwanda.
There is much to learn here. Read it more than once.
Only one of the important points for Friends that he brings out is that reconciliation and
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activism/protest go together, the flip side of each other. Activism without reconciliation can be just political pressure, not building the Blessed Community, which is surely what Quaker testimony is about. And Birchard's lovely story of reconciliation among the leaders of FGC, FUM, and EFCI (organizations of Yearly Meetings of different Quaker branches, with differences in practices and theology) points out how we can live our reconciling love with folks that we may also protest to.This pamphlet is valuable even just for its brief explanation of the work of the African Great Lakes Initiative, a project of Friends Peace Teams, in healing and reconciliation in Burundi and Rwanda.
There is much to learn here. Read it more than once.
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LibraryThing member kaulsu
Very readable and inspiring. Yet, I suspect, not so simple to put into practice. As Birchard alluded to in the section on reconciliation between Quaker groups, when one sincerely feels they are "right," how do they open themselves to grasping their arrongant assumption of superiority.
The first
The final case is one very few of us can understand. Or imagine ourselves in similar circumstances. Talk about white privilege! Or Western, or North American.
But in spite of the large gap in most of our understanding, still, forgiveness must be asked for, and must be given. Given freely. Friend Bruce--does it get easier?
The first
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vignette, dealing with love, hurt, and difference in the family, is easier to understand, though it, too, may be difficult for some to broach. It takes courage. It takes a willingness to understand one another. The final case is one very few of us can understand. Or imagine ourselves in similar circumstances. Talk about white privilege! Or Western, or North American.
But in spite of the large gap in most of our understanding, still, forgiveness must be asked for, and must be given. Given freely. Friend Bruce--does it get easier?
Show Less
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Call number
CP 442 c1