Pendle Hill is a Quaker center welcoming all for Spirit-led learning, retreat, and community. Our Vision: To create peace with justice in the world by transforming lives.

The Joy and the Provocation of “God-With(in)-Us”

December 21, 2022

Francisco Burgos, Executive Director

Cold days and long, dark nights have arrived at Pendle Hill. This season always stirs a strong desire for contemplation in me, and I find myself drawn to consider the dispossessed among us. All too often I am numb to their cries. Perhaps you, like me, find yourself turning down or tuning out their sorrows and strife or scrolling quickly past troubling images in the latest newsfeed – they sneak back into mind during a daily walk or errand, but perhaps we have not taken time to stop and look with openness and solidarity. Or perhaps you know what it is like to find yourself professing with words that which you have not acted upon as necessary to transform our reality. When I find myself dwelling in contemplations and (in)actions such as these, I bring myself back to the biblical concept of Emmanuel, which is typically translated as “God-with-us;” I, given my Quaker convictions, prefer “God-with(in)-us.” Read more…

Pendle Hill holds hybrid Meeting for Worship every day, both in person (for staff, sojourners, conference groups, and guests) and online via Zoom (for everyone else). For more information, refer to: https://pendlehill.org/mfw.