Indigenous and Quaker Both

Martin Kelley — Wed, 28 Jan 2026 01:24:00 +0000

There’s often an implied us-them dichotomy when Quakers talk about Indigenous Peoples so I’m fascinated by communities that are both. My colleague Sharlee DiMenichi wrote about the handful of monthly meetings—and an entire yearly meeting—in the U.S. that are majority Indigenous.

I love complicated identities like this. There’s a lot of discernment that goes on about how to incorporate Indigenous and Quaker elements into life. For many, it seems a surprisingly natural fit. This is true elsewhere, in parts of Africa and South America, where missionary Quakers’ beliefs meshed with the belief systems of pre-colonial ethnic groups, allowing an easy transition.

Also of interest is that these meetings are all Christian, which demographers tell us is the norm for Native Americans today.¹ Decolonialism means something very different for those who are committed to hold on to Christianity.

Explore how Native Quaker communities hold onto their unique culture while practicing Christ-centered worship cultural commonalities, and shared…

Friends Journal

“We tried that back in 1937”

Martin Kelley — Fri, 22 Mar 2019 13:03:37 +0000

Johan Maurer tells the story of a Friends meeting that was able to turn engrained patterns and opaque decisionmaking around:

I don’t want to exaggerate the ease of the transition. I remember an elderly Friend who opposed a proposal to hold business meetings at another time than the Sunday school hour. She argued — and I think this is nearly verbatim — “We tried that back in 1937 and it didn’t work.” As much as I wanted to laugh out loud, I had to acknowledge that her entire history at the meeting exemplified selfless service.

https://blog.canyoubelieve.me/2019/03/trustworthy-part-four-churches-choices.html