How does Truth prosper among us?
New England Friend Brian Drayton recently visited Philadelphia and recounted host ministry on the old Quaker query, How does Truth prosper among us?
Friends in the past used “Truth” in ways that went well beyond a simple proposition or assertion of fact, a “truth claim,” some specific content. “Truth” instead connoted something of the action and the reality of God’s work in the world, as we experience and try to live it.
Used by individuals as a greeting, some variation of “How does the truth fare with thee?” can be a reminder that the friendships of Friends can be spiritually deeper than “yo, whassup?” informality (at one point Friends would even eschew “Good morning” as a greeting on the chance that the morning might actually not be comparatively good).
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2007 Backhouse Lecture.Jenny Spinks
'How doth the Truth prosper amongst us?' 4
(This was a question that Friends Meetings were required to answer at regular intervals.)
Do we nurture a space in our lives for ourselves and for each other for the Spirit to flow, where we can recognise our mistakes and move on?
Can we see this happening in each other's lives, in the life of the meeting?
