Cincinnati Friends Meeting

Jim's message from Sunday, June 2, 2024
"The Quaker Practice of Expectant Waiting"

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Centering Down for Father's Day, Sunday, June 16, 2024
I will not let you go, unless you bless me.
-Genesis 32:26
Today is what our society has called Father's Day. It is a day that has always produced mixed emotions for me, as I am sure it has for many of you. Periodically throughout my tenure with you I have spoken about my father and his influence on me and on my ministry. This morning I hope that you will allow me the opportunity to, once again, reflect on his life, and the impact he has made on me, his son.

My father was the personification of what you would call "a successful Quaker minister." He put his Meeting, community, and his fellow persons above himself, and he never deviated from that path. Unfortunately, there were also many times that he put others above his own family. His statement, "I am married to the church," was one that I would hear often during my growing years, and one that was very disturbing to my mother's feelings.

His childhood was not a happy one. Due to his illnesses...Scarlett Fever and Rheumatic Fever...he was absent from school for long periods of time. He had no close friends. Each Valentine's Day when I lived at home, he would repeat the sad story about being in his classroom while all of the children in his class were exchanging cards. He did not receive even one. The lesson for me was to make sure that I had cards for everyone in my class!

The spirituality of remembrance. That's what this day is about for me. The stories, the memories and pictures in the mind are all there. We knew that we loved each other, my father and I, we just never said that we loved each other. And before this neglect could be corrected he was gone. In many ways we were, in the words of the playwright, Moss Hart, "Two lonely people struggling to reach each other." I wanted my father's blessing, and at times our relationship felt like a wrestling match straight out of Genesis 32. "I will not let you go unless you bless me."

Are there positive memories that are evoked on a day like this?

Mother geese bringing their goslings to First-Day School.

Centering Down for Sunday, May 26, 2024
For the Son of man came to seek and to save the lost.
-Luke 19:10
Spiritual experiences have a way of bursting into our lives from the outside. From outside our socio-economic group...from outside our "in-group"...from outside our ingrown patterns and ways of doing. Did you ever notice how in Scripture it is always the religious insider or the most self-righteous person who is also the most clueless when it comes to a new revelation of God in the world? We experience God in the form of a Samaritan or a l***r, a pr******te or a centurion. And because of such experiences we view life from a completely different point of view...What we used to make fun of, we find ourselves doing, and what we used to do we now walk away from.

The focus of God's transforming power in the Scripture reading this morning is centered in a rich, Chief Tax-Collector named Zacchaeus. He was a teachable spirit, this Zacchaeus. He was about the work of seeking new insights, new revelations and new experiences that would lead to new beginnings.

I wish that I had known Zacchaeus in the flesh. I would have liked to ask him about his life after Jesus came to visit, and what would be his advice for those of still trying to sort it all out in this life. I don't know for sure what he would have said, but I would suppose that the following two suggestions may be a part of his advice:

First, pay attention to those who are peculiar and different, and who don't quite fit into our "in group." Pay attention to those on the outside of our lives who move us beyond ourselves.

Second, I think Zacchaeus would have encouraged us to fast from those things in our lives and in our culture that are disruptive to our souls. "What are those things or inner attitudes that prevent us or stifle us from growing spiritually?"

Who are those persons who are peculiar or different to whom you need to pay attention? What are those things or inner attitudes from which you need to fast?

Jim's message for May 5, 2024

05/05/2024 Newby, Loving God with Our Hearts.mp4

Centering Down Sunday, May 5, 2024

Beware of the scribes...
-Mark 12:38

The Gospel of Mark, Chapter 12, is a particularly contentious section of the Gospel. Here we have Scribes, Pharisees and Sadducees and other religious leaders trying to entrap Jesus. Jesus is not very gentle with them, but continues to teach them about the Kingdom of God.

What is the issue with the Scribes that Jesus has to warn us about them, telling us to beware of them? There seem to be several symptoms of their wrongdoing, but, I believe, the root cause is that instead of glorifying God, they have glorified themselves. And instead of loving their neighbors and caring for the most vulnerable in their society, they have, in Jesus' words, "devoured widow's houses and have recited long prayers for the sake of appearances."

It is easy for us in 21st Century America to commend Jesus for his words and to dislike these Scribes. But we need to step back for a moment and ask, "Why did they become Scribes in the first place?" Certainly a few may have entered into the vocation for the wrong reasons, but the majority, I would assume, probably wanted to faithfully serve God with all of their hearts. So what went so badly wrong in their lives that Jesus specifically denounces them? I believe it is this, and it is a problem with political and religious leadership throughout the ages: The Scribes began with a desire to do good, but they were swept away by power, praise, lobbyists and possessions, and slowly turned away from their first love. The Scribes had fallen into the same trap that so many fall into--the one where we begin by wanting to serve God and do good for the world, and end up desiring only that the world does good for us. All of their studies, prayers and actions had not been able to pe*****te their hearts, or if at one point their hearts were pe*****ted, they have now become hardened.

Are our hearts open, recognizing with The Little Prince that "It is only with the heart that one can see rightly?"

Our new outdoor conversation circle is a nice gathering space! Friends are contributing toward the cost of the chairs, and memorial contributions include a chair plaque.

CONCERT REMINDER!!

Please join us this Sunday, May 5th at 3pm Cincinnati Friends Meeting will welcome the Miami University Steel Drum Ensemble for an hour long performance. Light refreshments will be served after the concert and a free-will offering will be taken to benefit the ensemble and their program.

This event is free and open to the public, so please, spread the word, invite your friends and family to enjoy some fantastic music!

See you on Sunday!!!

Steel Band, Department of Music The Miami University Steel Band was founded in 1994. Under the leadership of founder and director Chris Tanner, the program has grown to encompass two separate ensembles with a combined enrollment of over sixty members, and twenty-five university-owned instruments. The ensemble is very active, perfo...

Transcript of Judy Leasure's message from Sunday, April 7, 2024 titled Beloved Community. Video not available of this message.

cincinnatifriends.org

Jeff Arnold's message from Sunday, April 21, 2024

04/21/2024 Arnold.mp4

Jim's message from Sunday, April 28, 2024

04/28/2024 Newby - Joy and Hope.mp4

Centering Down from Sunday, April 28, 2024.

They shall build up the ancient ruins, they shall raise up the former devastations; they shall repair the ruined cities, the devastations of many generations.
-Isaiah 61:4

My passion and hope resides in the belief that persons and institutions do not have to settle for the way things are, but can strive to become the life changing, world changing instruments of vitality and renewal that I believe God is calling us to be.

There are many elements associated with vitality and renewal. Two of the most important are Joy and Hope.

Joy is an inward quality which finds outward expression in the love and care we share with one another. This is why at the close of worship we ask if there are joys that people would like to share with others. It is in times of worship that this joy becomes most apparent, although it is quietly present in all forms of ministry. Contagious joy blesses the individual who possesses it and is the source from which our witness to those we come in contact springs. People, who do not have it, want it, and people who have it want to share it.

Hope is another essential aspect of renewed vitality. Persons of faith live in the hope that whatever happens outside cannot destroy what is within us. Periodically we all get the feeling that the random experiences and sensations and events that we call living, do not really add up to anything. We are always on the brink of this chasm of meaninglessness where, with just a nudge, we might tumble into despair. "Why am I here?" What has my life meant?" Enduring hope is about the stories we tell that help us make meaning out of our lives...The stories that restore to us our sense of purpose and worth, and make our lives worth living.

Joy and Hope. It is what George Fox experienced when he testified that he saw that there was "...an ocean of darkness and death, but an infinite ocean of life and love which flowed over the ocean of darkness."

What gives you joy and hope?

Save the date!! Sunday, May 5, 2024 at 3pm a group from the Miami University Steel Band Ensemble will be performing a free concert at Cincinnati Friends Meeting!!! Light refreshments to follow the concert and a free will offering to benefit the program will be collected.
Come join us for some wonderful music and fellowship.
Open to the public, so spread the word!
https://miamioh.edu/.../music/ensembles/steel-band.html

Some folks from Cincinnati Friends Meeting are traveling in England to commemorate the 400th birthday of George Fox, and one of their stops is the Friends Library in London. A librarian there showed them their copy of the book on the history of our meeting. How nice that it made it across the pond!

Jim's message from Palm Sunday, March 24, 2024

03/24/2024 Newby, Jesus on the Move.mp4

A meditation by Richard Rohr, Perfect Love Casts Out Fear

Perfect Love Casts Out Fear Holy Thursday Richard Rohr names how fear diminishes our ability to love and forgive: Jesus came to resolve the central and essential problem of hate.

Centering Down, Palm Sunday, March 24, 2024
He set his face to go to Jerusalem.
-Luke 9:51
Our Christian tradition teaches us that today is the day that we celebrate the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. For the author of Matthew's Gospel, this act is the tipping point for the Roman authorities and their collaborating Jewish leaders, which will eventually lead to Jesus' demise less than a week later. We are all familiar with the story, where Jesus sends two disciples to get him a donkey to ride into the city. All of the pictures in our minds show Jesus sitting atop this little animal, with people filled with hope that their Messiah had come, laying palm branches and garments in front of him, shouting Hosanna, and waving at him from the windows of their homes. We know the story.

On the other side of Jerusalem on that same day, another parade was taking place. Entering the city gate, Pontius Pilate arrived in the ancient city to show his power and to keep order during the season of Passover. He was the personification of Roman power.

Imagine the imperial procession's arrival in the city...a visual extravaganza of imperial authority. Pilate's procession embodied the power of the Roman Empire. Jesus' procession embodied an alternative vision, the empire of God. Here you have two competing images of what power looks like.

As represented by that triumphal entry, we worship a God on the move, a God of process and journey. Jesus on the move, and his representation of the empire of God means that we are called to live a new way, a way that challenges the principalities and powers by which the world is governed. As Christians and Quakers we believe that this new way challenges those things our culture takes for granted, and are counter to the culture that Jesus represents. This new way incorporates the Testimonies of Simplicity, Peace, Integrity, Community, Equality and Stewardship of the earth, and that as followers of Jesus, we are called to invite others to this new way of life.

What would have been your reaction to Jesus' triumphal entry?

Jim's message, March 3, 2024

03/03/2024 Newby - Assurance and Conviction.mp4

Centering Down, Sunday, March 3, 2024
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
-Hebrews 11:1
The passage from Hebrews above can be understood as a response to the anxious questions of life. It carries within it two words which are most elusive in the world of questioning...Assurance and Conviction.

As we live into the mystery of faith and the complexity of good questions, I believe that we can, at the same time, live into a faith of the assurance of things hoped for, and the conviction of things not seen. In doing so, however, it seems to me that certain practices need to become central as to how we view life and how we live life.

The first practice is patience. In order to grow into a faith of assurance and conviction, we need to grow in our ability to be patient. Assurance and conviction requires patience.

A second practice is a sense of adventure, which encompasses a sense of spiritual expectancy. A.N. Whitehead has written, "Without the high hope of adventure, faith degenerates into a mere appendage of a comfortable life." Spiritual risk-taking is adventurous.

Weaving throughout these two practices is the element of trust. It is a trust that we can, indeed, connect with the Living God and that there is a meaningful purpose in the life we are living, and that trust can, once again, be a part of our culture.

By practicing patience, by living with a sense of spiritual adventure and expectancy, and by working to recover trust within a culture of mistrust we can claim a faith of assurance in things hoped for, and conviction of things not seen.

How do you incorporate these practices into your life of faith?

Centering Down, Sunday, February 25, 2024
Ask, and it will be given you; seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened.
-Matthew 7:7
One of the synonyms that was used to describe early Quakers was the word "Seeker." What does it mean to be a seeker? How does one begin the spiritual journey of becoming a teachable spirit? I believe that such a journey begins, as it did for so many in the mid-17th century England, when we finally realize that something is missing in our lives, and we recognize that there is an itch down deep in our souls that is not being scratched by the old patterns and the old ways that used to work for us. We become seekers and teachable spirits, open to the possibility of transformation when we pursue new insights, new revelations and new experiences that we hope, and eventually trust, will lead to new spiritual beginnings.

When Jesus said, "Ask and it will be given you; seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened to you," he was giving those of us who have been seeking for a life-time reassuring and hopeful words. To ask, to seek and to knock will open us and lead us into new spiritual possibilities.

You have heard me say many times that I believe we are in this world to grow spiritually, and that each experience in our lives should be reflected upon by asking three questions: 1. How is God working in this experience? 2. What spiritual lessons am I to learn? and 3. How can I be a more effective minister to others as a result? A seeker will want to try and understand the workings and revelation of God in each experience of life.

Are you sensitive to the workings of God in your life? Are you able to discern the ways that God is working in the world?

Jim's message for Sunday, February 25, 2024

02/25/2024 Newby, Becoming a Seeker.mp4

Jim's message for February 18, 2024

drive.google.com

Congratulations to Corey, who recently spoke at our meeting!

College Selects Corey Cockerill as Its 20th President - Wilmington College (Wilmington, Ohio) Wilmington College’s Board of Trustees selected Dr. Coreen “Corey” Cockerill as its 20th president during its winter meeting on March 1. Cockerill, 46, served as interim president for the past 11 months. She joined the faculty 16 years ago and holds the rank of full professor of communication ...

Centering Down for Sunday, February 18, 2024..forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead...
-Philippians 3:13
In Paul's Letter to the Philippians, Chapter 3, he imagines his whole life as a kind of long and arduous marathon. He imagines himself as a runner, hitting the wall and straining forward to break the tape at the finish line, trusting that it is all worth the pain and the burn. He writes, "...forgetting what lies behind, and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on towards the goal of the heavenly call of God in Jesus Christ."

This was not always so for Paul. In the beginning of Paul's relationship with Christians he was running after Jesus' followers, trying to exterminate them. He had been running after a different prize. He wanted to be a religious success...He wanted to be holy...He wanted to be a good follower of God's law. His spiritual resume is long. He says he was circumcised on the 8th day after his birth, born of the tribe of Benjamin, a blue-blood with a good family name, a Hebrew born of Hebrews and accepted into Phi Beta Pharisee! Then suddenly we have the story of his transformation on the road to Damascus, and the rest is history. Paul realized that he had been running for the wrong prize, that he had been running in the wrong direction.

Perhaps it is human, or maybe it is just me, but I am always asking myself, "Am I running in the right direction?" It is an important query for all of us. I work hard at forgetting what lies behind, and giving up all hope of having a different past. Now I want to look forward to what lies ahead.

How do you discern if you are running in the right direction?

Jim's message for Sunday, February 11, 2024. Link to text of message in comments.

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Centering Down for Sunday, February 11, 2024
For whoever would save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake, will find it..
-Matt. 16:25
What did Jesus believe about God? Jesus understood God to be present in the here and now, not a distant reality. He believed that the kingdom of God is within us. In this understanding, Jesus was the first Quaker! Jesus did not experience God as a power operating in the world apart from humans..

The basic reality that Jesus experienced as God had the character of love. This kind of love, writes Phil Gulley, "...is that essence in us that reaches out to another, committed to their well-being, their enlightenment, their moral, emotional, relational and spiritual growth." Jesus embodied this kind of love in his own life in a radical way that gave his life its richness and ultimate meaning. Quakers would say that this is the reality that exists in the present, in the here and now, as the kingdom of God within us..

Such a radical love leads us to do things for justice and humanity that are risky, and that challenge many of the social mores of our society. As we seek to live out of this love we will come to experience war as abhorrent. We will begin to ask questions about an unjust immigration system. We will find ourselves demanding health care as a right, not something that the rich alone can afford. This kind of love embraces diversity in all of its beauty...in race, class, gender and sexual orientation. .

Being grounded in this radical love does not just happen. People must decide to act out of love as though it were the ultimate reality running through and beyond all things..

In what ways have you caught glimpses of this radical love?

Message from February 4, 2024, Wilmington College Sunday, given by Dr. Corey Cockerill Wilmington College Interim President

02/04/2024 Corey Cockerill.mp4

Centering Down for February 4, 2024
Spiritual examination is the goal of Quaker silence.
-J. Brent Bill, Holy Silence
Brent Bill goes on to write, "At its most basic, it can be as simple as using the silence as a time of asking questions about ourselves. Do I see my time, talents, energy and money as gifts from God? Do I buy more stuff because I need it, or to impress my neighbors or myself?"

Silence...A time to connect with the Inner Light of God and spiritually examine our lives. In our day of loud traffic and music, of yelling politicians and evangelists, silence is a rare commodity. Silence, I am convinced, is the place where spiritual growth begins. To quiet the competing voices within, and the clamor without, is to provide that time and space necessary to hear the "still small voice" of the Living God.

In the busyness of life that entraps us, may we try to find that silent chamber where we can be still and examine ourselves spiritually. May we open our hearts and minds to the Inner Light of God. Each time that we are distracted from the stillness, let us quietly return to holy silence.

Do you agree with Brent Bill that spiritual examination is the goal of Quaker silence?

Do you find regular intervals throughout your day when you can be still and seek to connect with the Inner Light of God?

This recording from Fairview Friends has some audio issues, but it is an exceptional message on the difference between consensus and sense of the meeting.

Fairview Friends Meeting 11/5/2023 Dan Kasztelan links Ephesians 4, Unity in the Body of Christ, to our Quaker 'Sense of the Meeting' process to discern God's will. It is NOT consensus.The vid...