Shameless self promotion

Allow me to talk Quaker for a minute and tell you about a project I'm involved in at work, which has just raised enough money to officially launch and now has a website: the Quaker Youth Book Project, which is being sponsored by an organization called Quakers Uniting in Publications (QUIP).

The vision is for an anthology of nonfiction writing and art by Quakers ages 15-30, also edited by young people, from all branches of the Religious Society of Friend, and hopefully from all over the world, speaking to young people's spiritual experiences and engagement with Quakerism. We're just now recruiting an editorial board who will shape the call for submissions later this year and are anticipating publication in 2009/2010 ("anticipating" always being the operative word in small press publishing).

The Religious Society of Friends has had a series of schisms since George Fox first started causing trouble in England in the 1650s, and there are now at least four distinct branches of Quakerism that are often affiliated with national or international associations or governing bodies. (For a better explanation of the branches than I could write, see the Quaker Information Center.)

Quakers in the United States (who are, ahem, nearly if not definitely outnumbered by Friends in Africa) can really run the gamut from non-Christ centered hippy peace activists to very definitely Evangelical conservative Christians (with lots of stereotype defying in between). Because parts of the Quaker family are not organized hierarchically while others are, the possibility for variation between local meetings or chuches is even more impressive. The theological diversity also exists globally. There are a lot of differences between the branches, as well as some similarities.

Lately I've been thinking about this diversity as a gift, as an opportunity to explore, in microcosm, some of the religious and cultural differences that happen among Christians, among Americans, and on the world stage -- as an opportunity to do some of the really hard work of dialogue in my own house, so to speak. It may be cliche, but I have a large extended family, so thinking of Quakers (and more broadly, Christians) in that way is constructive for me: we don't necessarily have to agree with or like one another, but there is an imperitive to at least respect if not love one another -- which is not really an imperitive limited to Quakers or Christians. I find the possibility for dialogue, for listening and learning in contexts were agreement is not necessarily expected, to be really exciting, so am particularly excited to play a role in this book project.

QUIP isn't the first or only Quaker organization or community to explore ecumenism among Friends. Friends World Committee for Consultation has been at it for a long time, as has Young Friends of North America (though I confess to a be a little foggy on the history, demise and resurection of YFNA) and sites like QuakerQuaker.org have become a clearing house for communication about cross branch dialogue and synthesis.

So there's definitely a precedent, and even though it's a project in the context of work, and eventhough it definitely wasn't my idea, I feel lucky and excited to be along for the ride.

Go check out the website. I worked hard on it: www.quakeryouth.org/quipbook