Howard and Anna Brinton: Re-Inventors of Quakerism in the Twentieth Century
by Anthony Manousos
Reviewed by Pablo Stanfield
Everyone in Intermountain, North Pacific, and Pacific Yearly Meetings should read this biography and get a better idea of our history and our position on the spectrum of Quaker faiths and practices. In these three yearly meetings, which descended from Pacific Yearly Meeting (born 1947), the faith tradition is commonly labeled Beanite. This is thanks to the flushing of world-respected Quaker ministers Joel and Hannah Bean out of Iowa Yearly Meeting, first from recorded ministry and then even from membership in 1890. The Beans were ostracized because they refused to use the desired creedal language when applying to Iowa Yearly Meeting for recognition of their new monthly meeting in San Jose, CA. The result was the founding of the College Park Association of Friends, which later became the Pacific Coast Association of Friends, and later Pacific Yearly Meeting – the first yearly meeting since New England and London in the 1600’s to establish itself independently and not as an off-shoot of another yearly meeting.
Anna Cox Brinton was a granddaughter of Joel and Hannah Bean. After reading this new biography by Anthony Manousos of Anna and her husband Howard Brinton , Western Friends might consider changing the name of our faith tradition to “Brintonite.” because of their influence. You probably owe a debt to them and may be surprised to find that much of your Quaker tradition can be traced back to them,
Howard Brinton became a prominent 20th Century’s greatest exponent of Rufus Jones’s mystical tradition. At the same time He he was at the same time the liberal teacher of many who went out to make peace and social justice the hallmark of their Quaker religious life. Anna Brinton followed a spiritual leading to travel in the Orient, which helped initiate a broadening of the faith perspective of independent Western Friends. She also worked with AFSC and demonstrated Quaker faith in action.
The Brintons devoted their lives to making Quakerism accessible to others. It was Howard Brinton who summarized Quaker belief and practice as a set of core Testimonies – Simplicity, Peace, Integrity, Community, and Equality (nowadays often known as SPICE) – in his Pendle Hill Pamphlet (20), “Guide to Quaker Practice.”
He and Anna were also the ones who made Pennsylvania’s Pendle Hill Center for Quaker Studies a successful and enduring institution, after the early death of the center’s first director, Henry Hodgkin. They served as directors of Pendle Hill for almost twenty years and lived there in retirement, continuing their influence until their deaths and beyond.
Howard summarized his life’s work – explaining Quaker theology – in his best-selling book, Friends for 300 Years, written in 1952. The A major purpose motivating his explanations was to stopimpede the spread of churchevangelical -based pastoral Quaker pastoral practices.
All liberal Quakers have been strongly influenced by the Brintons and it is high time we understand them. This comprehensive and engaging biography, based in part on an unpublished autobiography by Howard and referencing many other writings, greatly helps us do that. It also has much to share with Evangelical Friends in the West.
As Anthony Manousos points out, doubts have arisen in recent years about the orthodoxies of Brintonite faith and about Howard’s interpretation of early Quaker writings. It is only fair to take a new look at the Brintons’ work and influence. This book includes three papers – by Stephen W. Angell, Douglas Gwyn and Paul Lacey – from the Brinton Symposium at Pendle Hill in 2011, which re-examined Howard Brinton’s theology and his importance in giving direction to liberal Quakerism.
If a reader has any problems with this book, it may be because the episodes do not necessarily follow in either chronological or logical subject order. The book also contains frequent editorial errors that get in the way of easy reading.
Despite those faults, I suggest you take it a little at a time and reflect on all it has to say. The story of this happy family – a real-life “dynamic duo” – will gratify you in reading and strengthen your understanding of the Religious Society of Friends today. Anthony Manousos has done us all a great service. ~~~
Howard and Anna Brinton was published by FGC, Philadelphia, 2013, and runs 266 pages. It is available from Quaker Books at www.quakerbooks.org.
Pablo Stanfield is a member of University Monthly Meeting in Seattle with a concern for appreciative eldering.
Amazon Book Review:
Top reviews from the United States
Alexandra Hopkins
5.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyable reading about an intriguing subject
Reviewed in the United States on December 5, 2013
This is an extremely well researched book. It gave me great insight into both the lives of the Brintons and the essential history of the Quaker faith. The writing style is simple and easy to read and I enjoyed every page.
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Jim F. Wilson
5.0 out of 5 stars A Beautiful Portrait of a Powerful Quaker Couple
Reviewed in the United States on August 19, 2015
This is a beautifully written biography of a Quaker couple whose powerful presence pervasively influenced the Quaker community for much of the 20th century. Their lasting influence can be found in organizations and essays and through their life example as well. They were the catalysts for the founding of the Pacific Yearly Meeting on the West Coast, and for the flourishing of Pendle Hill (a Quaker community devoted to study and practice) on the East Coast.
Writing a biography of a couple is not easy. The biographer has two foci and if not handled well it can become somewhat confusing. Manousos strikes just the right balance. It helps that Manousos is writing about a married couple so that their lives overlap. I was impressed that Manousos was able to balance their lives so that the reader gets a good portrait of Howard and Anna as individuals, and Howard and Anna as a couple. Manousos does this by devoting some chapters to Howard, some chapters to Anna, and other chapters, or sections of chapters, about their life as a married couple. Taken together the reader gets a multi-faceted portrait of these two powerful personalities and their interactions.
Reading this book also gives us insight into the struggles and schisms that pervaded the Quaker community during the period covered. The Brinton’s knew, and worked with, Quakers of different persuasions, while retaining a strong commitment to their own understanding. The Brinton’s were a significant force in the emerging Liberal Quaker perspective and their legacy is strongest among those who align themselves with that tradition (that would be the ‘Independent’ Yearly Meetings, such as the Pacific Yearly Meeting, and more broadly those affiliated with Friends General Conference).
If there is a weakness in the book, I would say it is in the way that Evangelical Quakers are characterized. The book frequently uses the term ‘fundamentalist’ to describe the Evangelical Quaker tradition. The term is being used loosely and, I think, somewhat inaccurately. Most Evangelicals are not fundamentalists. Fundamentalism is a particular tradition or perspective in Conservative Christianity with specific doctrines and formulations that do not necessarily map onto the Evangelical tradition. To be fair to the author, it appears that the Brintons used the term in this loose, and I would argue misleading, way; so Manousos is reflecting that usage. Still, I think it would have been helpful to point out that distinction. This, however, is a minor point and does not undermine the efficacy of the biography.
For those who, like me, are Liberal Quakers, this book will open a significant chapter of that history. For those who are Quakers of other persuasions, this book has many thoughtful insights regarding the Quaker tradition and its overall place in Christianity and World Religions. And if you want to be inspired by a couple that embodied the Quaker Spirit in their lives, their marriage, and their work, this book is highly recommended.
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