My two cents for the Modern Quaker Library

At the end of the year, our Ministry and Oversight Committee had some money left in its budget. We decided to use the funds to purchase some adult religious education materials. I lucked out with the task of ordering the books!

This is the list of books I ordered for the SFFM library in Twelfth Month 2005, along with my personal reasons for choosing these and not others. The main criteria was that it be written or published somewhat recently, since our Meeting's library is heavy on books that have been donated by people who are now very elderly or deceased. For example, we already had three copies of Howard Brinton's Quaker Journals

Creeds & Quakers: What’s Belief Got to Do With It? by Robert Griswold because he was the Brinton Visitor from North Pacific Yearly Meeting a few years ago and he came and spoke at our Meeting along with many others in Pacific Yearly Meeting. From Quakerbooks.org: "This [Pendle Hill] pamphlet's author asserts that Friends too often hold Quaker testimonies as ideals, as ends in themselves, rather than as fruits of the Spirit. Without spiritual grounding, testimonies become creeds."

Dear Friends and Sisters: 25 Short Biographies of Quaker Women by Gil Skidmore because we could use more stories of Quaker women and because when Gil commented on my blog Martin raved about her work.

A Description of The Qualifications Necessary to a Gospel Minister by Samuel Bownas because it's still the best advice I've ever read about Quaker ministry.

Essays on Quaker Vision of Gospel Order by Lloyd Lee Wilson because it has changed so many people's relationship to Quakerism, including my own

The Heart of Christianity: Rediscovering a Life of Faith by Marcus Borg because it helped me to see that I could be an educated modern adult AND a Christian at the same time.

Holy Silence: The Gift of Quaker Spirituality by J. Brent Bill because the description said it would help explain the difference between Quaker silence and Zen, Catholic, etc. uses of silence and a Friend that I showed my list to said, "oh, I heard him speak once, he's good."

Islam: A Short History by Karen Armstrong, because I thought we ought to have something written in this century...

Living the Way: Quaker Spirituality and Community by Ursula Jane O’Shea because this is the description from Quakerbooks.org: "The author asks the questions "What is it about Quakers that has sustain this small religious group for 350 years?" She traces the life-cycle of the Religious Society of Friends and examines its current state of transition. She points to the singular aspects of Quaker spirituality and community life that have the power to revitalize modern Quakerism."

The Message (The Bible in Contemporary English) translated? by Eugene Peterson because a great number of my respected Friends have it but our Meeting didn't

On Living with a Concern for Gospel Ministry by Brian Drayton, because it was recommended on the Quaker Ranter

Powers That Be by Walter Wink because it's a kind of distillation of his Powers trilogy. Everyone I know who's read his trilogy loved them, but I know I will probably never read all three books.

Quality and Depth of Worship and Ministry from Britain Yearly Meeting Committee on Eldership and Oversight because it asks this question: Dare we assess quality and depth? I thought this would be good for our M&O to read.

Reading the Bible Again for the First Time: Taking the Bible Seriously but Not Literally by Marcus Borg because I liked his other book so much, Chris M. read and liked this one, Borg is going to be a speaker at FGC this year, and plus it's such a great title and topic.

Sara Mapps Douglass, Faithful Attender: View from the Back Bench by Margaret Hope Bacon with a foreword by Vanessa Julye because racism is still an issue in American and the Religious Society of Friends. Again, good to have something written in this century.

Silence and Speech: For Those New to Meeting for Worship by Richard Allen because a Friend in my Meeting was talking about writing something just like this recently

Walk Worthy of Your Calling by Margery Post Abbott & Peggy Senger Parsons because a Friend I respect said it was important and because these are two women involved in building Quaker bridges

Whispers of Faith: Young Friends share their experiences of Quakerism published by Quaker Press because we all need to hear more from young Friends and because it was edited in part by Claire of Spiritual Journeys

Wrestling with Our Faith Tradition by Lloyd Lee Wilson because we need all we can get from Lloyd Lee

You know, links like this take a very long time to post!