by Stacey Denny | Jan 20, 2025 | Plain Speech Messages
I’ve been thinking this week of my Baptist grandmother, who took it upon herself to make us fit for civilization. Fortunately, I didn’t see her often. When my father and mother were first married, they moved 120 miles away from her, to give themselves a little...
by Stacey Denny | Jan 20, 2025 | Plain Speech Messages
Well, what a good Thanksgiving we had. It might be my favorite holiday. I like the constancy of Thanksgiving, the timelessness. Thanksgiving in 2024 feels like it felt when I was a kid in the 1960s, the same menu, some of the same people, the same conversations, and...
by Stacey Denny | Sep 23, 2024 | GraceTalk Messages
My phone rang not long ago. It was a Quaker calling from out-of-state, whom I had met several years ago at a conference. He called because their Quaker meeting was in decline, and he wanted to know if I had any suggestions that might revive their meeting. He said,...
by Stacey Denny | Aug 6, 2024 | GraceTalk Messages
Earlier this summer, Joan had gone with Madeline to the store, so I was lying on the couch, praying, when I heard a knock at our back door. No one we know ever knocks, they just walk in, or call out. We’re not long on formalities. So when they knocked, I knew it...
by Stacey Denny | Jul 24, 2024 | GraceTalk Messages
When I first came to Fairfield, I had a bad case of the big head. I’d had several books published, still had hair, was married to a striking, intelligent woman, and was under the impression I was God’s gift to Quakerism. I rolled into here thinking how lucky you all...
