How Quakers can use the writings of Margaret Fell as inspiration for living out the Testimonies in their lives today.
How Quakers can use the writings of Margaret Fell as inspiration for living out the Testimonies in their lives today.
Devotional, Quaker, Spiritual growth
Margaret Fell was an inspiring and practical leader in the early Quaker movement in 17th-century England. Remembered as the wife of George Fox, her writings have been largely forgotten. This book brings them to life again, with excerpts and reflections structured around the four testimonies that have continued to shape Quaker witness to this day: Simplicity, Truth, Equality and Peace. To do this, Joanna Godfrey Wood follows each passage with a modern adaptation of Fell's words and then explores her own personal responses from a 21st-century perspective. We are left with a sense of a strong and beautiful bridge linking past and present.
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The STEP in the title stands for simplicity, truth, equality and peace - principles at the heart of Quakerism and in the writings of Margaret Fell (1614–1702), who was the wife of George Fox. The book explains the background of Quakerism in terms of ideas and practice before considering the four main themes. There are extracts from the writings, followed by adaptations, ideas and notes, highlighting particular themes such as the simplicity of silence and stillness, light as truth, equality of ministry, personal peace, and striving for peace in the world. There is a challenging directness and inner focus that ‘can speak to our condition’ in our journey towards wholeness, where we are all still works in progress. ~ David Lorimer, Paradigm Explorer
Wood (Traveling in the Light), a practicing Quaker, unpacks in this accessible work essential Quaker beliefs and the florid writing style of Margaret Fell (1614–1702), the “mother of Quakerism.” The author explains her first reading of Fell as revelatory, and parses Fell’s prolific writings to explain the profound inner conviction that is central to Quakerism. Wood teases out other Quaker fundamentals—simplicity, truth, equality, and peace—that Quakers call “testimonies” and Wood finds rooted in Fell’s thought. Explaining how Quakerism revolves around the notion “that beliefs cannot be nailed down” and can only be understood through questioning, Wood illuminates how spiritual understandings range from seeing “God as a human construct” to “the Christian Quaker who even perhaps refers to the Trinity.” She paraphrases selections of Fell’s writing and expounds on common themes: “The word ‘Light’—used by early Quakers to convey all that is mysterious or ineffable—reveals Truth.” Ultimately, Wood can only offer her own personal testimony of Quakerism and shows her aim as a person of faith is “wholeness,” but she concedes that she is a “work in progress.” While the author intends to explain basic Quaker ideas to those first encountering the faith, even readers familiar with foundational Quaker writings will benefit from this glowing overview. http://www.publishersweekly.com/9781789045772 ~ Publishers Weekly
In this inspiring and beautiful book Joanna creates a bridge across time to the writings of Margaret Fell over 350 years ago. The personal experiences and reflections of these two women are woven together as we share their journeys of discovery. A reminder of the roots of Quakerism. A joy to travel with them both. ~ Ruth Tod, author of Positive Parenting in a Peaceful World
This is a fascinating book, a unique blend of reminiscence, commentary and Quaker wisdom. Joanna is an expert guide to the work of Margaret Fell, a lynch-pin of the early Quaker movement in Britain. She uses well-chosen extracts from Fell’s writing to shed light not only on the beginnings of Quakerism, but on the lives of Quakers today – in particular their commitment to simplicity, truth, equality and peace. Her book is accessible, thought-provoking and exhilarating; invaluable to seasoned Quakers and essential reading for anyone interested in the ways in which Quakers find meaning and purpose. ~ Geoffrey Durham, author of What Do Quakers Believe?
An agreeable, thorough and truthful exploration of how it is to be a Quaker today. Joanna pulls no punches in offering challenges that we, as Quakers, need to shine Light on. Going back to Margaret Fell’s writings and bringing them into modern parlance within our present Testimonies provides a very good anchorage for first-time spiritual explorers finding paths to shine the Light within. This is where we can find our power and take small steps towards dealing with inner and outer callings. As both Margaret Fell and Joanna Godfrey Wood say, albeit with a 350-year gap and a very different language style, the content remains the same: within the darkness is the Light. Be brave, be courageous, have faith, but "go there". ~ Isa Louise Levy, MA, Artist/Arts Psychotherapist
Margaret Fell, wife of George Fox, is celebrated as the 'mother of Quakerism' but her profound and original spirituality has been all but lost. Joanna Godfrey Wood's appropriate bringing to new light the essence of her central texts is a major Quaker re-discovery. Her examination of Fell's explorations of the four great spiritual STEPs through the concepts of Simplicity, Truth, Equality and Peace has been a personal pilgrimage that can now be ours. Her research unearths fresh meaning through adaptations of Fell's language, enriched by a series of ideas and notes, that together give a contemporary relevance to her historic experience. ~ Alec Davison, a founder of the Leaveners, Quaker Quest and the Kindlers
Joanna Godfrey Wood, driven to understand her lifelong faith more deeply, and seeking that force of Truth “that first brought Quakerism into being,” has turned to the "unread Fell". There she has found a true friend and sure guide, and it is a faithfulness to Fell's animating spirit that she has shared with us the fruits of this encounter. ~ Thom Bonneville, member of North-West London Area Meeting
