Friends, the cross is the power of God. When you flee the cross, you lose the power...though the Cross seems foolish, stand in it...though it be a stumbling block to the wise, stand in it. And this is not to be exercised in only for a time, as at your first convincement; but daily, even to the death. - Priscilla Cotton, a Friends' minister, 1664

Bill Samuel's Home Page

[Bill & Young Samuel at the Biltmore, Asheville, North Carolina, September 10, 2011]
Bill & Young Samuel
Biltmore, Asheville, NC
September 10, 2011

I live in Rockville, Maryland, northwest of Washington, D.C., U.S.A. I am a 1968 graduate of Wilmington College, a Quaker institution in Wilmington, Ohio. I am retired from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in the Office of the Inspector General (OIG).

My main interest is in the Good News of Jesus Christ. I helped start a new local Christian outreach, Friends in Christ, which was the focus of much of my energies for several years, but no longer exists. Much later I was part of a similar effort called Friends of Jesus. For decades I was associated with the with the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), and put a lot of energy into Christian renewal among Friends. However, Quakers in my area are not corporately united around Jesus Christ, and I resigned my membership in my local Friends meeting on April 16, 2005.

I joined Cedar Ridge Community Church, a nondenominational "emerging church". Cedar Ridge's Mission is “To be and make disciples in authentic community for the good of the world,” and it takes this mission seriously. I remained a part of Cedar Ridge for 9 years.

In late 2014, I felt a need to make a change in faith community to one which did not have the same professional clergy upfront talking to an audience approach. I am now an Intern Member at Dayspring Church in Germantown, Maryland, a member faith community of the ecumenical Church of the Saviour. Dayspring has no one named as pastor, and follows a shared leadership model which is far more participatory than most churches.

I also appreciate involvement in the wider body of Christ, and have participated in conferences of Christian renewal movements such as Renovaré (Timonium, MD Regional Conference, May 1996, and Wheaton, MD Regional Conference, March 2002). For some insights into my faith journey and perspective, see Some Pieces of My Journey and Bill Samuel's Affirmations of Faith.

For many years, I wrote a brief inspirational message each week for the Friends in Christ email list that reached around the globe.

I went on a Quaker Tour of England June 15-30, 1998. If you go to the Quaker Tour site, you can see many of the highlights of that tour, with photographs and much text reflecting the educational nature of that tour.

[NCPTF symbol]I was one of the founders of the National Campaign for a Peace Tax Fund (NCPTF), and served on its staff for several years. The NCPTF developed and works to enact the U.S. Peace Tax Fund Bill to permit conscientious objectors to the military to pay their full Federal tax obligation without violating deeply held religious or ethical beliefs. There are parallel efforts in a number of other countries.

Friends Christian Renewal

Friends Christian Renewal Home Page - Activities and groups in various parts of the world related to Christian renewal in the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers).

School of the Spirit

School of the Spirit is a Quaker ministry of prayer and learning based in the Philadelphia area. It offers residential programs such as On Being a Spiritual Nurturer, which I attended in 1993-94.

Other Quaker Resources

Quaker Resources on the Web - This page has numerous links to my own pages, pages of other Quaker groups and individuals, and additional Quaker resources.

Christian Resources

[Beating Heart Image][Pro-Life White Ribbon]

Choose Life

All Christians should subscribe to the consistent life ethic which opposes the taking of human life, whether with abortion, war, the death penalty, euthanasia, or what. Some Quaker resources on the Web have resources on some of these issues, but few cover abortion. Did you know that many of the early suffragist/feminist leaders in the U.S. were raised as Quakers and that they were strongly anti-abortion? I serve as a Board member (and was President for 12 years) of Consistent Life.

Disclaimer

Listing of a link anywhere on my Web site does not constitute my endorsement of the contents of that Web site, but merely indicates that you might find some of the material at the site useful. If you have problems with the content or the format of any site, please contact the maintainer of that site.


There is One, even Christ Jesus, who can speak to thy condition.
- revelation given to George Fox.

In loving memory of Dorothy T. Samuel
April 21, 1918 - October 16, 2001
She inspired and encouraged me

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