🌱 The Seeds of God

Dear Friends, welcome to the first of many “Remixing Faith” newsletters.

I want to treat this primarily like an introduction to what is to come but I have some goodies down below as well.

The purpose of this newsletter is really to be working on the concept of remixing faith and resisting empire in a way that feels personal and hopeful. I believe that this is a time that there is openness and hunger and if we are willing to allow ourselves to be “acted upon” by God, I believe that we can truly come together and build the multitude in new ways.

Here is one big question I’m working with for the newsletter:

While it may be a big question, let’s dig in.

I have a lot planned for us on this journey but for now, I just want to get started.

Gratefully,

Wess Daniels

Greensboro, NC

I was asked to write a short meditation on the Quaker concept of the “seed of God” this past week from my friend and pastor of Reedwood Friends Meeting, Mark Condo. Above is the video of my reflection that was a part of their worship service.

Early Quakers used the language of the “seed of God” and the “seed of the Serpent” to delineate between the work of God in one’s life and the infiltration of harm and evil in our lives and in our systems we create. I love the language of “seed of God” and “seed of the serpent” because it maps directly onto the language I use of “religion of creation” and “religion of empire.”

I was helped by an article from British Quaker and educator Mark Russ who writes:

The real teeth in his article is when he makes the connection between the seed of the Serpent and White Privilege, which includes all the ways that empire functions in our society: racism where some human beings are thought to be and treated as superior to everyone else, “beastly economics” that provide wealth for a few at the expense of everyone else, ecological devastation (not caring for creation), a distorted moral narrative (religious images and language employed on behalf of justifying actions of the empire), and an ongoing and persistent violence against the seed of God in others.

If these are the seeds of the Serpent then the seeds of God stand in direct contrast to these. Spiritual practice is about uprooting these seeds and allowing God to bring us “out of empire” and all of its ways.

How might we as nurture the seed(s) of God not only in ourselves, but in others, in a way that helps us to wake up to the ways in which we (white folks) are still asleep to the violence and trauma that Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color face on a daily basis? What are the ways in which we participate in the big, or even “little” empires, on a daily basis?

I believe that the seeds of God that early Quakers sought to nurture lead to liberation, loving one another, nonviolence, generosity, and equity for all. They are exemplified by what St. Paul called the “fruits of the Spirit.” What could it look like for you and I to be gardeners of the seeds of God? What do we need to undo in our own lives? What do we need to let go off and denounce? What do we need to commit to?

Below I have included various sections with other information and things of interest, including links in the “Dress Down Friday” section (a holdover from the blog). Dig around now or save for later. There’s plenty in here of great value.