Synopsis
Expanding on his plenary address at the 2011 Friends General Conference Gathering, Bruce Birchard describes the work of reconciliation on three levels: between his gay brother and traditional father, among three branches of the Religious Society of Friends, and in two African nations torn apart by genocidal conflict. He shares how he reexamined his thinking about the roles of activist and reconciler and about God as a noun and a verb. Discussion questions included.
About the Author(s)
Bruce Birchard has served as general secretary of Friends General Conference, as national coordinator of the Disarmament Program of the American Friends Service Committee, and as staff of the Friends Peace Committee of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting. He has been a member of Middletown (Connecticut) Meeting and 57th Street Meeting (Chicago), and has been an active member of Central Philadelphia Monthly Meeting since 1976.
Since his retirement in 2011, Bruce has served as a founding member of Quaker Voluntary Service and as a board member and clerk of Right Sharing of World Resources.
Pendle Hill published Bruce’s pamphlet The Burning One-ness Binding Everything: A Spiritual Journey (#332) in 1997. He has had several articles published in Friends Journal over the past 30 years, including “Exploring New Images of God for Healing the Earth” (June/July 2014), “Nurturing Vital Quaker Meetings and Spirit-Filled Friends” (May 2000), and “Friends and Their Leaders” (June 1993).
Bruce has given plenary addresses to Baltimore, Intermountain, Iowa (Conservative), Philadelphia, and Southeastern Yearly Meetings. This pamphlet is based on his plenary address to the 2011 Friends General Conference Gathering of Friends.
Pendle Hill Pamphlet #442