Advance Resources for Workshop #28:
"Lucretia Mott -- Liberal Quaker Theologian"
FGC Gathering 2003  

 Proverbs 27:17 - People learn from one another, just as iron sharpens iron.

Dear Friends,

Welcome to Workshop #28!

I look forward to working with you in this week-long workshop.

Lucretia Mott was more than a pioneering feminist and abolitionist. She was also a seminal Quaker theologian. (She despised the term "theologian," and would be scandalized to hear herself described as one; but the truth is, it fits.) We’ll explore in depth why her reading, thinking and preaching shaped (and still shapes) much of the religious thought (theology) and practice of liberal (FGC style) Quakerism.

These religious ideas and convictions guided and energized her lifelong work for abolition, women's rights and peace, among other causes. But as these "outward" aspects of her career are better-known, we will mention them only in passing.

The idea for this workshop emerged from my partial reading of a new book of letters by Lucretia Mott. In them she shows herself keenly interested in the writings and ideas of many liberal religious thinkers of her time, people mostly now unknown among Friends.

These authors and figures had much to say about God, Christ, the Bible, the church, and other issues of faith, which were then (as now) in sharp contention. But Lucretia not only read and thought about these new ideas: she also frequently spoke of them, and acted on them. Given her prominence among liberal Hicksites of her day, she played a very influential, if informal role in shaping the form and direction of the liberal Quaker movement. Yet this "career" as a "theologian" is but little spoken of in the recent biographies, and is largely unknown.

To prepare for this workshop I have been learning about Lucretia's role, and the ideas and writers who influenced her,and with whom she engaged in dialogue and debate. One of my goals is to share the results of this study with workshop participants, using many contemporaneous documents as well. This will not only round out our understanding of Lucretia; it can also, I am convinced, help us better understand our own faith community: how we got where we are, and where we're heading. This can also shed light on some of the current concerns and dilemmas we face.

This workshop is described as being "high-content." That means we will be reading a lot, thinking a lot, working with and discussing ideas and their impact. we will be grappling with theological issues that are often avoided in liberal Quaker circles, including:

        >> the nature of God,
        >> the nature and mission of Jesus;
        >> what "saviour" and "being saved" means;
        >> the meaning and interpretation of the Bible;
        >> the proper structure and governance of the church

All these were issues on which Lucretia thought deeply and held strong views, which she expressed eloquently and forcefully. This is the essence of what a theologian does; but Lucretia differed from more conventional theologians in two respects, one of lesser and one of greater importance: of lesser importance, she was "untrained" in the academic sense. She had no degrees from college or seminary. This lack did not intimidate her, or deter her from avidly reading and knowledgeably discussing theological ideas.

The greater difference was that, as a faithful Quaker minister, Lucretia never prepared her sermons. She spoke "as the Spirit moved," and did not write her messages down. (Those of her sermons that have been preserved were taken down by stenographers.) Indeed, she often expressed a fear of writing for publication, and almost never did so. Had she turned her sermons into books and articles, I believe the fact of her wide theological influence would be more visible to historians than it has been.

But then, this workshop would be less of an adventure, an opening up of new territory for our learning together.

There will be a notebook of materials to accompany our sessions, for which I will ask reimbursement, not to exceed $10. There will also be available in the Bookstore a collection of  recent articles and essays growing out of my ongoing research.

One final word: Please do not confuse this process with a merely academic or historical effort. This workshop will be an exercise in worship, in following the words of Jesus that one of the greatest commandments is to Love God "with your whole heart, your whole soul, and your whole mind." (Matthew 22:37) This workshop will be an exercise in "programmed worship," worship with the mind, using it to understand and practice our faith better.

This worship can begin now.

See you soon!

Chuck Fager
E-mail: quest@quaker.org

  Background: Nantucket Island, Nantucket Women, and Lucretia

 Advance Readings:

Key thinkers who influenced Lucretia:

Joseph Blanco White & His Autobiography

William Ellery Channing "Unitarian Christianity," 1819

Theodore Parker, "The Transient and Permanent in Christianity", 1841

Lucretia Mott: Some Sermons & Letters