Quaker Anecdotes

Pendle Hill Pamphlets

by Irvin C. Poley, Ruth Verlenden Poley

Quakerism has been blessed with its great mystics and its peculiar saints; something of the beauty of their lives has been revealed in journals and in scholarly books. This little collection of stories is offered with a minimum of footnotes and quotation marks—without a garland of ibids, in Frank Sullivan’s phrase—in the belief that there is value in tasting the feast of good—and amusing—little things in our Friendly heritage. We shall be none the worse for the bigger problems of contemporary Quakerism if we see that the world of time and sense has often not quite fallen off, that the Water tastes frequently of the human pipes to which it has been entrusted.

45 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 27, 2015

Reviews

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

Released in 1946, this pamphlet is a collection of Quaker-related stories over the centuries, some meant for humor, some for instruction, most for both perhaps. I don’t expect, as a result, that this one lends itself to many call out quotes. Geared entirely to an audience intimately familiar with Quaker life, I suspect other readers will find greater value and humor --unless it doesn't travel well through time.

The overlying theme, repeated throughout the stories and jokes is the integrity and commitment to faith that each of the protagonists have. That part is inspiring.