Rick Seifert

Articles

Presence and Place

Authors:

Rick Seifert

When I tell people I was on Mount St. Helens on May 17, 1980, the day before the massive eruption that left fifty-seven dead, the first question they ask is, “Why?”

Issue: On Place ( May 2022 )

What’s Not to Like about Quakers?

Authors:

Rick Seifert

During clearness committees with people applying for membership to our meeting, we typically come to a point in the conversation when we ask the applicant, “What questions do you have for us about Quakers and the meeting?” At one such moment recently, the applicant hesitated, seemingly lost for words. Then she exclaimed, “I have one! What do you like least about being a Quaker?”

Issue: On Garbage ( November 2017 )

The Message is the Message

Authors:

Rick Seifert

Marshall McLuhan, the late Canadian media philosopher, famously proclaimed, “The medium is the message.” For Quakers, the silent presence found in worship has no medium for its message. The message IS the message.

Issue: On Media ( September 2016 )

A Simple Quaker Business

Authors:

Rick Seifert

The rain has swept in from the Pacific, drenching bike-crazy Portland’s inner eastside industrial district. A rainbow arches over the airy Islabikes warehouse, where twenty-six-year-old Tim Goodall assembles and sells children’s bikes. It’s the British company’s only outlet in the United States.

Issue: On Production ( May 2014 )

A Small Steadying Sail of Love - Review

Authors:

Rick Seifert

A Small Steadying Sail of Love by Nancy Gibbs Richard

Issue: On Power ( March 2013 )

The Position of Clerk

Authors:

Rick Seifert

Dear Editor: I'm responding Talley Kenyon’s letter in the November/December 2013 issue of Western Friend. I'm sorry that Palo Alto Meeting has had trouble filling the positions of clerk and recording clerk. Believe me, Friends, they are not alone!

Issue: On Patriotism ( January 2014 )

Awaken

Authors:

Rick Seifert

Be still – free of time and space.

Be free – in the eternal and the infinite.

Issue: On Seeds ( November 2023 )

Seekers from the Storm

Authors:

Rick Seifert

Issue: On Legacy ( September 2024 )

Down by the Riverside

Authors:

Rick Seifert

Issue: Rivers ( May 2025 )

Our Troubles

Authors:

Rick Seifert

A Quakerly calling for my trip emerged when I learned of Ireland's small, but influential, population of Friends. Could Irish Quakers enlighten this visitor from a troubled land?

Issue: Unions ( November 2025 )