Church family,
Thomas Kelly’s words and work have always been a source of strength and depth for me. He was born in 1893 on an Ohio farm. As a Quaker he worked both in the pulpit and classroom to spread God’s love and message. After fully “converting” to Orthodox Quakerism some time later, Kelly returned to the classroom to work on his Ph.D from Hartford Seminary. He felt this would be the pinnacle of his career and he threw himself headlong into the work without taking time away from the pulpit.
It was there that the seeds of God’s message grew in a special way.
After failing his first oral defense for his Ph.D at Hartford, Kelly’s health began to fail rapidly. His failure to defend his position before his Ph.D committee lead him down a deep dark road where he suffered from “woozy spell.,” He would lose his equilibrium often and his mind would go blank while both preaching and teaching. Kidney stones were frequent. Aggressive bouts of hay fever often set it.
His academic failure seemed to be taking a toll on his spiritual and physical nature. But from that dark place, and with the help of the church, and God’s presence, Kelly returned. The words he offers the church after that dark time speak so wonderfully to us.
As I said, I love reading Kelly because his story reminds me that when we fail, when we find ourselves in our own Dark Night of the Soul, God’s vivid presence can be found. For God is always present and seeking us out—especially if we think we are alone. That “aloneness” feeling has a place in our lives, and in our spirits, as we work through this covid-19 isolation and transition. I hope you will be blessed by Thomas’ words:
"The Quaker. . . message has always been that God still lives and moves,
works and guides, in vivid immediacy,
within the hearts of men [and women]. For revelation is not static and complete, like a book,
but dynamic and enlarging,
as springing from a Life and Soul of all things. This Light and Life is in all men [and women],
ready to sweep us into its floods, illumine us with its blinding,
or with its gentle guiding radiance, send us tendered but strong
into the world of need and pain and blindness. Surrender of self to that indwelling Life
is entrance upon an astounding, an almost miraculous Life. . . .
“Behold, I stand at the door and knock.” [Rev. 3:20] In the silence of your hearts
hear Him knock.”
works and guides, in vivid immediacy,
within the hearts of men [and women]. For revelation is not static and complete, like a book,
but dynamic and enlarging,
as springing from a Life and Soul of all things. This Light and Life is in all men [and women],
ready to sweep us into its floods, illumine us with its blinding,
or with its gentle guiding radiance, send us tendered but strong
into the world of need and pain and blindness. Surrender of self to that indwelling Life
is entrance upon an astounding, an almost miraculous Life. . . .
“Behold, I stand at the door and knock.” [Rev. 3:20] In the silence of your hearts
hear Him knock.”
Rev. Derek
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