Joe and Jane have been Quakers for over 50 years and are both actively engaged in the Society of Friends. They have a long time commitment to working with children and youth. Joe and Jane first visited Guatemala attending a Quaker conference in 2006, where they learned of the Friends Scholarship Program. They became “hooked” on the program after being invited to attend a week long teaching English experience a few years later and have been regular visitors and contributors since. Both now serve on the board of directors of PROGRESA, the scholarship program. They are grateful to be with many Camas Friends at the peaceful witnesses for justice and due process at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Center in Portland.

Sarah Katreen Hoggatt is the author of seven books and numerous articles. A writer, spiritual director, and international speaker (for which Sarah is a recorded minister of SCYMF), Sarah lives in Keizer, Oregon, where she dragon boats, takes guitar lessons, and makes art out of dots (when she has time). Sarah is on staff with Friends World Committee for Consultation (FWCC) and also does freelance book design (this is what takes up a lot of her time). After serving as co-presiding clerk of SCYMF, she spends what free time she does have hiking with friends or cuddling up with a book on a rainy day.

10 Jacob left Beer-sheba and went toward Haran. 11 He came to a certain place and stayed there for the night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place. 12 And he dreamed that there was a stairway set up on the earth, the top of it reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.

Queries:

What heavy burdens am I carrying? What are others carrying?

What might rest look like for me or for others?

How can I help others get the rest they need?

What do I need from others, or myself, to find rest?

Queries:

What has my God/Guide enticed me to do, say, or become? 

When have I felt a “burning fire in my bones?” What did I do about it?

Does our truthtelling arise from a Loving Center? Does Love guide our speech? 

How do I know when I am experiencing or expressing Love? What are the cues?

Dr. Bradley B. Onishi is a former Friends leader and the award-winning author of Preparing for War. He founded the Straight White American Jesus (SWAJ) podcast, Axis Mundi Media, and the Institute for Religion, Media, and Civic Engagement.

Onishi is a Research Associate at the U.C. Berkeley Center for Religion and a member of the Committee on the Public Understanding at the American Academy of Religion. He often writes for outlets like Rolling Stone, Politico, and the New York Times, and appears regularly on MSNnow.