Quaker Thought AMONG FRIENDS FRIENDS the Gift of a Hearing Heart
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Quaker Thought AMONG FRIENDS FRIENDS The Gift of a Hearing Heart JOURNAL larence Pickett was born in Illinois. "Even at birth," writes Walter Kahoe, " he combined Quaker thrift and October 15, 1984 Vol 30, No. 15 C enterprise by managing to get born before the doctor arrived, thus reducing the obstetric fee to five dollars. It would Contents have been the regular ten dollars had he not arrived before Cover photo by Doug Hostetter shows a defoliated tree in the physician" (Clarence Pickett: A Memoir, 1966). Vietnam. Cover quote from page 3. The Pickett family soon moved to a farm near Glen Elder, Among Friends: The Gift of a Hearing Kansas, where Clarence grew up in a community settled by Heart Vinton Deming .... .......•.•..... 2 other Quaker families. He studied at Penn College and Hart Eclipse Myron Bietz • • ••.•..•.. .. •........ 3 ford Seminary, and he taught biblical literature at Earlham An Ability to Raise the Human Spirit College for seven years. In 1929 he left Richmond, Indiana, Roger Wilson . .. •.•• .. .•..... ........... 4 to become secretary of the American Friends Service Com Clarence Pickett and the Early Years mittee in Philadelphia, a position he would hold for the next of the AFSC Elmore Jackson ...•.•.......... 5 21 years. The World Br-ightened When He Talked At the time of Clarence Pickett's death in 1965, messages About It Stephen G. Cary . • . •.• . ...•..... 8 were received from friends around the world. He had been My Brother Martin Philip W. Bennett ..•...... 10 loved and respected by people everywhere. The Harp at Nature's Advent Strung Douglas Steere once said: "Clarence Pickett seemed to have Esther Greenleaf Murer ..••••.. .. ......... 12 been given by God the gift of a hearing heart-a heart obe Children in Meeting for Worship dient to what he heard .... [He was] willing to involve Susan L. Phillips •... ...•........•....... 14 himself and his fellows in the discipline of those who knew Poetry Annette Larson Benert how to help." At one time during the early life of the AFSC, and C. A. Lofton ....... .. .....•.•.• • • . •. 15 some people thought that the organization should be laid Junior Journal .. .................. ...... 16 down, that the need for its work had ended. Douglas Steere Simple Living Kathy Epling ........... • ..•• •. 18 said, ''There were wiser counsels that prevailed and Clarence Reports .............. 18 Books ............... 26 was called to take it and continue its work; and he built it World of Friends .... .. 21 Milestones ........... 28 into a stethoscope to lay against the heart of the world to hear Forum ...... ........ 22 Classified ............ 30 the heart beat-to hear the needs that were there, to be obe Friendly Words ....... 25 dient to the needs, and to be given the wisdom to meet them. We thank God for this person." Famms JovaNAl. (ISSN 0016-1322) was established in 19SS as the sucx:<ssor to The Friend (1827- 19SS) and Friends lntdligencer(I844-19SS). It is associated with the Reli&ious Society This October 19 marks the centennial of the birth of of Friends. It is a member of Associated Church Press. STAFF Clarence Pickett. It seems appropriate, somehow, that the Vinton Demina, Editor·Manager Susan Hardee Norris and PhyUis Kline, JoURNAL share several reminiscences by colleagues who had E~ Homan, Assistant Editor Typography Barbara Benton and John Davis Gummere, Jeanne G. Beisel, Secretarial Services long association with Clarence. Design James Neveil, Bookkeeper Larry Spears, Promotion/ Circulation/ Karin Spiegler, Proofreader Advertising I recently came across these words of "A 17th-Century Nun's Prayer": "Give me the ability to see the good things Volunteers: Jane Burgess (lndtx); Renee Crauder and Edward McCaleb (Editorial Assistance); Mary Erkes and Marguerite L . Horlander (Office Assistance). in unexpected places and talents in unexpected people; and BOARD OF MANAGERS: 1982-198S: John Breasted, Carol H. Brown (Secretary), Teresa J . Engeman, Norma P. Jacob, Herbert L. Nichols, Elizabeth B. Watson, Edward H. give me, Lord, the grace to tell them so." Clarence Pickett Worth Ill. 1983-1986: Dean Bratis, Helen Morgan Brooks, Sol A. Jacobson, Leonard Kenworthy, Rowland K. Leonard, Mary Mangelsdorf, LineD McCurry (Clerk). 1984-1987: seemed to have this ability. Frank Bjornsaaard, Emily Conlon (Assistant Clerk), Peter Fingesten, Mary Howarth Marcia Paullin, Mary Wood, William D. Strong (Treasu,.,.), Thomas Swain, Allen Terrell' C. H. Mike Yarrow. ' • • • HONORARY MANAGERS: Eleanor Stabler Clarke, Mildred Binns Young. FORMER EDITORS: Ola11t Sanders, Susan Corson-Finnerty, Ruth Geibel Kilpack, James Thanks to Irene Davall, who spotted this little note in a D. Lenhart, Alfred Stefferud, Frances Williams Browin, William Hubben. recent issue of the New York Times: " It was a Barnes & Noble •FaiENM JOVaNAl. is published the first and fifteenth of each month (except January, June, J uly, Auaust, and September, when it is published monthly) by Friends Publishina bookstore on Fifth A venue and Eileen Brennan of Manhasset Corporation, ISOI Cherry St., Philadelphia, PA 19102. Telephone (21S) 241-7277. Second· class postaae paid at Philadelphia, PA, and at additional mailina offices. was asking a clerk to direct her to the religious section. 'We • Subscription: United States and "possessions": one year $ 12, two years $23, three years $3-4. Add $4 per year for postage outside U.S. Foreign remittances should be in 1 no longer have a religious section,' he told her. 'You want U.S. dollars 0< adjusted fe< currency differential. Single copies: $1 ; samples sent on request. • Information on and assistance with advertising is available on request. Appearance either nonfiction or self-improvement.' " of any advertisement does not imply endorsement by FJUENM JOVaNAl.. Copyriaht I&> 1984 by Friends Publishing COrporation. Reprints of articles available at nominal cost. Permission should be received before reprinting excerpu longer than 200 words. Available in microfilm from University Microfilms International. ~~=~-:-: ..... adclraa cll-.a to FRIENDS JOURNAL, 1501 Cllefry St., Plllladolplllo, 2 October 15, 1984 FRIENDS JOURNAL ,/ by Myron Bietz late spring solar eclipse ~-·'"""'''·""' -· ~n,:Pn•riP Of the light SeemS "the last one until the ral. Our cares and con- mid-1990s"-brought a "-"r"'l•tn4-:"r•·nu.'tt in and obscure the measure of excitement to students glow. Anxiously we hold and teachers enduring the re ..."'-~~ ·h ...... to the light, but they only maining days of a rapidly waning block its passage. school year. Students gathered at Perhaps, as with the external my window, unable to see the "What did you think?'' I asked. light, we need techniques and sun but aware of the softly fil "I dunno. It's kinda weird ...." precautions to avoid the extremes tered light from the cloudless sky. We take light-external light- of too much or too little light. A few with passes from their for granted, unaware until it dims Becoming preoccupied with science teachers asked to leave or disappears of how much we light-looking at it rather than class to observe the eclipse out depend on it. History and myth seeing by it-may limit vision. We doors. Cautioned not to look both record the panic that primi need to relax, accepting light directly at the sun, they flashed tive peoples felt and the extreme instead of darkness as the natural their "how-dumb-does-he-think means they sometimes took to order. Rather than following it we-are" smiles and showed me assuage the gods who were rob blindly, we ought to follow the their opaque x-ray film and their bing them of light, consuming the way it reveals. cards with pinholes and white sun. Even now, informed by the When the light is dim or ob viewing surfaces. A few students media of the exact time and scured, looking too hard can limit without passes wanted to go too, extent of an eclipse, we find the vision also. A technique, bor so I provided cards, straight pins, experience "kinda weird." rowed, ironically, from military instructions, and renewed How do we react to the pres surveillance training, may be warnings. ence or the seeming absence of helpful. Instead of looking "Looking at the sun couldn't the Light Within? directly at an object, the observer really blind us," a few scoffed. I Often it is the presence of the is instructed to look past it. assured them it could. Warned Inner Light that we find upsetting Peripheral vision is more sensitive but still skeptical, they departed. or disquieting. Its absence, or at to light and to movement. Instead In a few minutes they were least our lack of awareness of its of looking directly at a concern, back. "Did you see ill" I asked. presence, seems the natural we may do better by looking past "Yeah, the card and the pin order. When, in the midst of busy it, waiting quietly, allowing the hole really worked!" one replied, schedules, we sense its presence, light to surround it, modeling its his voice expressing amazement we seek ways of denying it, of features and showing a way. that an English teacher could avoiding it, of subverting it. The sun is back to full bright know about such things. Often we succeed. We seek it in ness now, and we walk in its periods of meditation; but when light. It can burn us or leave us it appears, we shift uneasily in cold, but mostly it warms us and Myron Bietz teaches English at Mayo High School our places. Sometimes like our shows us the way. When it leaves in Rochester, Minn., where he attends Rochester forebears, we quake before its for a time, we trust that it will M«ting. He WIU IUI1PIN 1984 Fellow, Nlllionlll En dowment for the Humanities Seminar, ReUgious intensity and its leadings. Blinded return. Eclipses are, after all, only Studies and Philosophy. by the light, we stumble. ~m~~~ 0 FRIENDS JOURNAL October 15, 1984 3 Remembering Clarence Pickett t was at the Friends World Confer things to be done to raise the human ence at Swarthmore in 1937 that, as spirit, given imagination, effective I one of the youngest members from administration, operational compe London Yearly Meeting, I first made the tence, and confidence in the inner re acquaintance of Clarence Pickett.