Putney Friends Meeting

Living in Dark Times

Rex Ambler is a prolific Quaker author who has written about the inward teachings of George Fox (Truth of the Heart) and is perhaps best known for making the wisdom of early Friends accessible to Friends today. Two books – Light to live by and Seeing, Hearing, Knowing – Reflections on Experiment with Light – detail the practice of meditation which he had discovered in Early Friends, and suggest ways in which modern Friends could ‘experiment’ with the practice themselves, with a six-step guide to the meditation to help them through.  In the years that followed the publication of his book he was invited to introduce the practice, and the vision behind it, to many meetings in Britain, Europe, North America and Africa.  The practical workshops he presented became known as Experiment with Light, and the small groups set up in meetings to practice it became known as Light Groups. His most recent book is The Quaker Way: A Rediscovery in which Rex takes up the challenge of describing the Quaker way of life and at the same time making sense of it.  Rex asks the question, “What is really going on when Quakers sit in silence?” Rex has been a teacher and political theologian, helped to establish the Gandhi Foundation in Britain, and been active in Britain Yearly Meeting. His books spiral out from his personal experiences and influences, which include Gandhi’s work with the poor and oppressed, personal change in the face of crisis, and the value of meditation.

Information about Rex, which includes downloadable meditations: http://www.experiment-with-light.org.uk/medits.htm.

Pursuing Justice Requires Boldness

Dr. Nekima Levy-Pounds is an award-winning professor of law at the University of St. Thomas School of Law and the founding Director of the Community Justice Project, a civil rights legal clinic.  Dr. Levy-Pounds is also the President of the NAACP Minneapolis Chapter, a civil rights attorney, legal scholar, media personality, blogger, and nationally recognized expert on issues at the intersections of race, public policy, economic justice, public education, juvenile justice, and the criminal justice system. In 2015, she was named one of 40 Under 40 by Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal.  In 2014, she was named Attorney of the Year by Minnesota Lawyer and recognized as one of 50 under 50 Most Influential Law Professors of Color in the Country by Lawyers of Color magazine. She has a heart for the people and works toward achieving justice for those whose voices are often unheard within society.

Dr. Levy-Pounds’ website includes several of her podcasts on topics including black history, institutional racism, and criminal justice reform: http://nekimalevypounds.com/.

in peace,

Sadelle