One of the things we have observed since moving here last year is that this place is extremely beautiful. The sunsets are especially pretty with colors of gold and yellow dancing on the water of the lake. The peach sunrises with all of the fowl of the area slowly awakening are spectacular, as are the…
Have you ever struggled to keep the expectations of others while walking your personal walk in the Light? Have you ever been told something isn’t Christian or isn’t Quakerly, and you secretly thought that this was silly. Our two replicas of Edward Hicks paintings are representative of his effort to do just this. Edward Hicks…
Before I came to Oregon, during the first year of the Trump administration, I watched 15 years of hard work be devastated with one executive order after another; clean air, clean water, recycling, garbage dumps all garbaged by someone with the power to throw them away. It was very depressing. I had fought to keep…
Who are you? When I went to pre-kindergarten my teacher would greet me saying, “Good morning, Joseph.” My response was “I’m not Joseph. I’m Obitron.” I imagine this was from many times watching Transformers on Saturday morning cartoons. I am not sure how long this went on, but it was definitely a story that was…
I appreciated being able to go to the Yearly Meeting’s annual gathering. Thank you, and I heard last week here at Klamath Falls Friends was a good service as well. At the annual gathering, it was great to see old friends from Richmond, Indiana and to be with the other pastors and people of the…
What do you know about Jesus? If you ask the average person on the street they might offer just a few points. He’s God. His symbol is the cross. He died horribly and it’s somehow good. If you asked people when he was still around they might have had two major points. He eats with…
Many of us remember the Beach Boys “Good vibrations” song that was popular around the same time as “Turn, turn, turn.” “I’m picking up good vibrations”—Are you? Are you creating good vibrations? Our scripture tells us today, there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. That…
There are many different visions of the future. Sometimes the future seems fearful and we fear we are going towards a national dictatorship, and that there are wars and mangled lives and tortured souls in so many places in the world, we might not see any hope of peace to anchor ourselves for. But these…
I sit at my desk in the lobby. Person walks up. What’s your name please? I say. Name she says. Were you born on date I say? Yes, she says. Can I see your bracelet? I say. She shows me her bracelet. Yes, that’s right. You can have a seat, I say. Next person, it…
“In actions and in truth.” Powerful words with the emphasis being on the last word today – Truth. But trust is hard to restore once lost. Saying, “I’m sorry is not enough.” You will have to see that I love you in action and in truth. People in general have lost trust in humanity…