In these essays Craig Barnett explores possibilities for spiritual renewal, new life and creativity in the Religious Society of Friends.

This is a short book of short essays, which makes it accessible and readable but sometimes left me wishing for more depth - and, sometimes, for more accounts of personal experience rather than generalisations. It is the latter which are especially open to disagreement. Barnett notes in his introduction that the essays "include judgements about our current Quaker culture that will not be shared by other Friends whose experience and temperament are very different to mine" and I certainly found that to be true. There are some places where I agree passionately with the suggestions made, and other places where I disagree equally strongly - in the chapter on membership, both in the space of a single paragraph! I read this through a single sitting, which was fine (neither repetitive nor especially disjointed), but I think it would also work if read a bit at a time, or to use just one chapter as the focus of a discussion group

In this book of short essays written for The Friend, the Friend’s editor prefaces with “Craig offers a deeply felt, perceptive and clear analysis of contemporary Quakerism and considers the way forward. At the heart is …What does it mean to be a Quaker?”

Craig appears to partly answer this by encouraging each of us to focus and take serious the main spiritual practice of silent worship. Here are some extracts:
• “.. the Society waits for the choice of each Friend: Am I willing to risk the disturbing, transfiguring presence of the Spirit in my life?”
• “The Religious Society of Friends is not an end, but a vehicle for nurturing the spiritual practices that can sustain a more fully human life.”
• “…. Foremost among these are the Meeting for Worship and the Meeting for Worship for Business.”
• Gathered Worship: .. is the living power of the Quaker way, with an amazing capacity to heal, renew and transform our lives and communities.