PODCAST · religion
West Hills Friends
by West Hills Friends
West Hills Friends is a Quaker meeting in Portland, Oregon. You can find more about us at www.westhillsfriends.org. Included on this page are words of people in our community, and visitors.
Episodes
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"God's First Queries: Who told you that you were naked?" by Nathan Meckley
Nathan Meckley, in a series on God’s First Queries, read from Genesis and looked at the second question from God: Who told you that you were naked? Nathan’s queries for waiting worship were: In what ways do feelings of fear and vulnerability separate us from others? From God? From what do you…
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"God's First Queries - The voice of Love calling: “Where are you?" by Nathan Meckley
Nathan Meckley starts a series on God’s First Queries and reads from Genesis 1 & 2. Nathan’s queries for waiting worship were: Have you ever withdrawn into hiding from God? What happens if you pause to consider that Divine Love is already -- and has always been -- actively seeking you? What is…
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"Bread from Heaven," by Nathan Meckley
Nathan Meckley shares a message about the manna that fell from the skies in Exodus 16. When, during a time of difficulty or hardship, were your needs met in a surprising and unfamiliar way? How do you discern the difference between “wants” and “needs” in your own life?
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"Loving Words, Loving Silence" by Nathan Meckley
Nathan Meckley shared a message called “Loving Words, Loving Silence” about the relationship between silence and words in our spiritual lives.
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"Silence Fell" by Holly Dhynes
There are silences that we choose and silences that choose us. Perhaps our chosen silence can receive the silence that was not chosen.
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Testimony of Equality by Gillian George
Gillian George shares a message about the Testimony of Equality for our series on the Quaker SPICES. Gillian shared that the equality testimony is rooted in the understanding that every human being has equal access to the guidance of the inward light, the present teacher, the divine, the Holy...
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Testimony of Integrity by Nathan Meckley
Nathan Meckley shares a message about the Testimony of Integrity for our series on the Quaker SPICES. Nathan shared that integrity urges us, or compels and convicts us to bring our words and our actions into alignment, making it the one Quaker Testimony that makes all others possible. We are…
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Testimony of Stewardship by Doreen Crail
Doreen Crail shares a message about the Testimony of Stewardship for our series on the Quaker SPICES. She shared about being stewards in four areas: our relationships; our bodies; our resources; and the Earth and creation
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"God never gives up on community," by Julie Peyton
Julie Peyton talks about the Quaker testimony of Community as part of our series on the Quaker SPICES. She reminds us that God never gives up on the call to live in community with one another. Throughout history, people have failed at this again and again. The pattern keeps repeating. But if God...
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"Making Space for Peace," by Holly Dhynes
As part of the series on Quaker SPICES testimonies, Holly speaks about the Quaker value of peace. She looks at Micah 3:3-4, the story of Mary Fisher visit to the Sultan and the work of bereaved families in Israel and Palestine.
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Quaker SPICES and the Testimony of Simplicity by Nathan Meckley
Nathan Meckley reflects on the Quaker testimony of simplicity and invites us to consider what it might mean to live with greater intention. What would living more simply look like in your life? What clutter of things, or activities or ways of being could you let go of to create more clarity and...
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"One Minister's Observations About Interim Ministry and Life." by Nathan Meckley
Nathan Meckley shares a message about how interim ministry is different from what people expect, because it is not a placeholder, it's a space maker. A space maker makes room for discernment, giving others a space to pause and maybe even make a different choice.
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Who is your neighbor? By Nathan Meckley
Nathan Meckley looks closely at the parable of the Good Samaritan and Jesus' command to "love your neighbor." He asks a thought-provoking question: Do we know who our neighbor is, or only what our neighbor is?
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“Independence and Main Character Syndrome," by Gillian George
Gillian George shares a message about independence on this holiday weekend. The path we are called to walk is one of interdependence that values every person as equal bearers of the divine who are able to both give and receive. It is a path that embraces all as equally valuable regardless of...
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"Bearers of Good News," by Nathan Meckley
Nathan Meckley shares about a time when someone spoke a message that was life-changing and life-saving, for which he is forever grateful. The good news that was spoken to him gave him a life of freedom, which he now has.
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"Time given into our hands is a gift," by Nathan Meckley
Nathan shares a message about the difference between chronological time and God's timeless kairos. He invites us to see time as a gift and worship as an intersection with eternity.
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"The bathwater, and the baby Jesus," by Laura Simmons
Laura Simmons shares a reflection about how she stayed at her troubled church because even as a newish Christian, she understood the difference between God and God's people and institutions. We had a time of Worship Sharing in small groups around these queries: When have you found yourself…
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"To step into a river" by Nathan Meckley
Nathan Meckley shares a message about how no one ever steps in the same river twice. It is not the same river, and it is not the same person. And speaking on the topic of the entering the silence of worship he says, "If it is truly a living river, then neither it nor I can ever be the same twice."
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"Pentecost and the direct experience of the Divine" by Nathan Meckley
Nathan Meckley shares about Pentecost’s message of direct experience of the Divine and the Quaker understandings of the Inner Teacher and Spirit-led faith. Quaker tradition prioritizes direct spiritual experience and direct guidance of the Inner Teacher available to all. What role does this…
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"Why are you standing there looking up?" by Nathan Meckley
Nathan shares a message about the Ascension and the possibility that the void after loss is the precondition for the thing God is going to do. What might you be gazing at, focused upon, from which you may need to turn for something new? Every ending or departure creates a space. Is that space...
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"It Takes A Village," by Keri Kimberly
Keri Kimberly shares stories about her family and childhood, illustrating the impact community has on all of us. Every person, from the youngest to the oldest, has something to teach us, and we form an interconnected web. We never cease to need a community to offer us friendship, to serve as...
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"That kind of radical," by Bethany Lee
Bethany Lee shares that the word radical originated from the idea of a root. Radical is not always like the extremes of a pendulum or spectrum, but extreme, like, the tips of the roots at the very edges of the nervous system taking in what is needed. Bethany wondered, “where might I need to be…
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"How then shall we live?" by Nathan Meckley
Nathan Meckley shares a message about the woods he grew up around and how we come to love nature through paying attention and personal connection, and how this invites us to reflect on our relationship with creation and how we should live.
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"Tools of kindness," by Mica Coffin
Mica Coffin shared a message about what tools or doorways have not been helpful or not helpful for her spiritual growth.
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"The power to transform anything," by Nathan Meckley
Nathan Meckley shares that “Mark doesn’t give us a classic happy ending, all tied up in a nice Easter bow.” The resurrection story continues to challenge everything we consider an ending. Is there anywhere in the world, is there anywhere in your life, that God’s redeeming work of love still needs...
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"A different hope," by Nathan Meckley
Nathan Meckley shares that when we follow the story of Jesus, we take hold of a different hope, a different revolution that doesn't arrive through power and might, but through the paradox of strength through weakness, through vulnerability, hardship, pain, loss, and yes, the surprise of...
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"Inescapable Interconnections," by Nathan Meckley
Nathan Meckley shared a message about hunger and the MLK Jr quote: “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice anywhere.” Right now, in the U.S., there is more than enough food to feed everyone. People go hungry not because of scarcity, but because human practices and policies designed and...
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"The Dual Calling of Mr. Dooley," by Nathan Meckley
Nathan Meckley shares a message about comforting the afflicted and afflicting the comfortable. While offering comfort is usually welcomed, afflicting the comfortable can be dangerous and costly as seen in the example of Jesus. Yet we are still invited to embrace this calling fully. Image: Dooley...
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"Nathan's Random Thoughts on Showing Up in Spiritual Practice; Hope in Spiritual Practice, Revisited" by Nathan Meckley
Nathan Meckley shared a message he title: “Nathan's Random Thoughts on Showing Up in Spiritual Practice; Hope in Spiritual Practice, Revisited.” Because at this time in the world, and in many of our lives, don't we just need to always revisit what can possibly give us hope?
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“For Such a Time as This” by Nathan Meckley
Nathan Meckley shares the story of Esther, Malachi and Haman concluding with the message that we may not choose the time in which we live, but we do discern how we live and who we will be.
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"They spoke as prophets," by David Peyton
David reads from Ezekiel and reflected on prophesy, “Son of Man,” and the early Quakers prophesying in a time of oppression. In silence, we listen for the divine impulse not knowing who will speak, only that the message matters more than the person.
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“Made for the Time I’m In” by Leslea Logan
Leslea Logan shared how hearing Sweet Honey in the Rock sing “Made for the time I’m in” opened a spiritual shift that became a God-sent message to her heart and spirit to share with others, that it is no accident that we are here at this time to face this crisis as God's hands and feet.
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"The Antidote to Despair: Faithfulness in the Wilderness" by Susanna Ballard
Susanna Ballard shared a message about grief and resilience and having the courage, humility, and faith to do that one thing, whatever it is, our "next right thing."
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"You are the ones who are most ready," by Nathan Meckley
Nathan Meckley read the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:3-12) and spoke about how, according to one scholar, the Aramaic translation of “Blessed” could have meant “ripe.” Instead of bestowing from on high, Jesus is calling it as it is and telling his poor and oppressed listeners, “You are the ones who are...
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"The Passion is playing out in real time" by Nathan Meckley
Nathan Meckley read from John 15:12-14 and gave a message about how the reenactment of the ancient story is happening right now. This is showing us Emmanuel, God, with us, here and now. The Passion is playing out in real time. Photo by Nathan Maduta on Unsplash
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"There is no fear in love" by Nathan Meckley
Nathan Meckley gives a message on fear as a real part of being human in this increasingly terrifying world. He read from 1 John 4:18: “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear,” and spoke about how courage is not the absence of fear, but the mastery of fear. He also read from the...
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"They left by another way," by Nathan Meckley
Nathan Meckley reflects on Epiphany as the manifestation of light that both illuminates God’s presence and exposes the deep shadows of power, fear, and violence in the world. Nathan read the story of the Magi and we spent some time reflecting on the line “they left for their own country by…
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"Magnificat" by K. D. Novak Burnett
K. D. Novak Burnett shares “The Magnificat,” a short-story style reflection drawing from one of her childhood memories.
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Lectio Divina for John 1 with Nathan Meckley
Nathan Meckley reads the first several verses of John known as the prologue, where rather than talking about a birth and childhood, the author casts the coming of Jesus into the world in cosmic and eternal proportion. We reflected on the passage using the practice of lectio divina.
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"Confronting our own worst impulses," by Laura Simmons
Laura Simmons talks about confronting the temptation to write off those who write us off.
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"Joy Visits, " by Nathan Meckley
In his message, Nathan Meckley spoke about how rather than joy being manufactured, it visits us. We receive it as a gift. Have your experiences of pleasure, of happiness, and of joy been similar emotionally or spiritually or how have they been different? From where does the gift of joy come to…
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"The best way we can love God," by Kay Ellison
In her message, Kay Ellison asked the question how did Jesus handle living under a regime? And can I learn something from what Jesus did?
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"Love Was the Point All Along" by Stephen Deatherage
Stephen Deatherage offered the message on Sunday Nov 23, 2025. Stephen reflected on Moses and the Midianites, on current political figures, and on an imagined afterlife where we meet those we wronged and finally understand that love was the point all along.
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"A Wild Goose Kind of Hope" by Nathan Meckley
Nathan Meckley invited us into Advent by reminding us that hope is not a feeling but a choice; a tenacious, even wild “bird in the soul” that we practice by living as people who choose hope.
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"Living Into Integrity" by Gillian George
Gil George shared that integrity, for her, means knowing herself and her values, and living in a way where her identity, actions, and intentions remain aligned with those values even though it is always a work in progress.
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"Friends of God, Friends of Christ, Friends of Truth," by Nathan Meckley
Nathan Meckley reflects on how the word Friend carries both depth and aspiration for Quakers. Nathan asks us to consider what it means spiritually and relationally when we call someone friend or Friend. What does it mean to you when you call someone, lowercase, friend? When you call someone,...
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"For the Sake of the Joy," by Nathan Meckley
Nathan shared a message and reminded us that this season, from Halloween through All Saints and All Souls Day and Día de los Muertos, invites us to pause and honor that “the visible here and now is just a fragment of a much larger spiritual reality.” He drew on the image of “a great cloud of...
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"Relax, I’ve Got You" a First Word by Doreen Crail
Doreen Crail offers a First Word about how she’s been learning to turn down the noise, limit her doom-scrolling, and focus her thoughts and prayers on what is true, lovely, and joyful. She’s learning to listen and rest in God’s presence, hearing the quiet reminder, “Relax, I’ve got you.”
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"The Colors That Were Always There" by Nathan Meckley
Nathan reflects on autumn as a season that calls us to spiritual attention and reminds us of the wisdom in nature. Just as a tree’s hidden colors appear when chlorophyll rests, the beauty and truth within us can emerge when we pause and rest.
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"Some crosses may have rough edges," by Nathan Meckley
Nathan Meckley reflects on wearing a cross made from spent shell casings to the rally, and explores the cross’s history as both a symbol of suffering and transformation. True faith involves embracing the cross's rough edges and living into the daily, uncomfortable work of spiritual transformation.
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
West Hills Friends is a Quaker meeting in Portland, Oregon. You can find more about us at www.westhillsfriends.org. Included on this page are words of people in our community, and visitors.
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West Hills Friends
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How many episodes does West Hills Friends have?
West Hills Friends currently has 423 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is West Hills Friends about?
West Hills Friends is a Quaker meeting in Portland, Oregon. You can find more about us at www.westhillsfriends.org. Included on this page are words of people in our community, and visitors.
How often does West Hills Friends release new episodes?
West Hills Friends publishes regularly with 423 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
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You can listen to West Hills Friends on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts West Hills Friends?
West Hills Friends is created and hosted by West Hills Friends.
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