Hope and Rest in Challenging Times

Can we live more deeply in faith and hope? Can we let go of urgency, overwork, and the need to know how things will turn out? Peter will reflect on his journey from being raised as a cisgender white male, addicted to being in charge and “right,” to searching for peace in brokenness, mending relationships, and resting in God’s love. He will explore how two biblical passages on living in faith and rest, Hebrews 11 and Isaiah 30:15-18, have been companions for him this year – and have opened doors to learning new ways to be with God and others.

The talk will be followed by group reflection and sharing.

Thanks to the generous support of the Friends Foundation for the Aging, we’re able to make this and other free, online programs accessible to f/Friends of all ages.

If you would like to join us for dinner before the event,
please sign up at least 24 business hours in advance.  

This and our other First Monday Lectures are streamed live and available
as recordings on our YouTube channel.

Leader(s)

Peter Blood-Patterson has spent a diverse life as an activist, teacher of Quakerism, advanced practice nurse, family therapist, and promoter of communal singing among Friends and around the world. He was mentored by and received spiritual direction from Bill Taber and Parker Palmer at Pendle Hill. He has led Quakerism courses, workshops, and retreats for meetings and retreat centers around the world.

Peter’s ministry of teaching and writing about Quakerism is currently under the care of Mount Toby Friends Meeting in New England Yearly Meeting (NEYM). Working in close collaboration with a number of leading Quaker historians and writers, he is the primary curator of the online library InwardLight.org, which has already provided free access to hundreds of Quaker pamphlets, books, and talks stretching from the beginnings of Quakerism to the present day. He has received grants from NEYM’s Legacy Gift Fund and the Obadiah Brown Benevolent Fund to develop adult Quakerism courses and the Inward Light library. Peter is a frequent contributor to Friends Journal, most recently with his article “We Are All Held in Love: Reflections on Holding in the Light.”

During his residency as a 2025 Kenneth L. Carroll Scholar at Pendle Hill, Peter will build on his long-term belief that faith-based work of social transformation represents a form of prophecy. He will explore ways Friends today can play an important role in helping create the Kingdom of Heaven on earth – springing from God’s vision of a new creation here among us today.

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