Timeless Quaker Wisdom In Plain Song

Selected, set to music, and recorded by Paulette Meier.

This is a new and very different venture for me. One could say it began when I realized that many Quakers had been front and center in the development of peace education curricula and ideas, which I benefited from as a trainer in schools. Several years later, I began exploring the Quaker faith and began attending a Quaker meeting regularly. The more I learned, the more I appreciated the bedrock of spiritual belief and practice that Quaker peacemakers over the years had been grounded in. It has been this practice of inward seeking, leading to outward action, that has nourished Friends for over 350 years. 

As a recipient of the Minnie Jane Artist in Residence Scholarship in 2004, I had the privilege of studying at Pendle Hill, where I became more familiar with the writings of the 17th century founders of the Religious Society of Friends.  In the following year, I found myself wanting to memorize brief passages from these early Friends, both men and women. Putting the texts to melody made it easy to put them to memory. Now these song/chants have found their way to being recorded to disk. This is the first musical CD to ever be released by Quaker Press, for which I stand in humble amazement and gratitude. 

On the disc, you will find a collection of 21 brief, chant-like songs, sung in repetition once or twice, with short silences in between. Also included is a pdf file with background information about the authors and the themes in the texts, as well as my story of being led to do this project. A special addition is the inclusion of sheet music for all 21 songs. 

Here are a few of the quotations,  with Mp3 samples for you to check out: 

"Art thou in the Darkness?  Mind it not, for if thou dost, it will feed thee more, but stand still and act not, and wait in patience till Light arises out of darkness and leads thee."  - James Nayler (1659)

"We are a people, that follow after those things that make for peace, love and unity.  It is our desire that others' feet may walk in the same.  We do deny and bear our testimony against all strife and war and contention."  -  Margaret Fell (1660)

"Be patterns, be examples in all countries, places, islands, nations, wherever you come; that your carriage and life may preach among  all sorts of people and to them; then you will come to walk cheerfully over the world, answering that of God in everyone; whereby in them ye may be a blessing and make the witness of God in them to bless you."  - George Fox (1656)

"It would go a great way, to caution and direct people in their use of the world, if we understood more about the creation of it. For how could we find the confidence to abuse it, when we should see the great Creator stare us in the face, in all and every part thereof?" -  William Penn (1693)

"Peace requires Justice, justice requires law. Law requires government, not only within nations, but also between nations."  - William Penn (paraphrase, 1693)

"May we look upon our treasures, our furniture and our garments, and try to discover whether the seeds of war are nourished by these, our possessions." -  John Woolman (1763)