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BHFH Digest—August 21, 2026
Photo: Jen and Emily (L) and Jen after delivering a bible half hour at FGC this summer (R)
Dear Friends,
As I re-enter my role at BHFH after sabbatical, I have been thinking about what it means to find and nurture our own voices.
I reread parts of Rainer Maria Rilke’s Letters to a Young Poet every year. This year, I was especially drawn to his challenge to a young writer seeking reassurance from others: “Withdraw into yourself.” Some questions, he writes, only our “innermost feeling in the quietest hour” can answer.
I needed some of that quiet. Being an Executive Director requires an almost constant orientation outward: What does this person need? How will this decision land? What does this moment require of me? Somewhere in all that listening, I had grown more distant from the parts of myself that called me to this work in the first place.
During sabbatical, I offered Bible Half Hours at Friends General Conference Gathering—not as BHFH’s Executive Director, but as a Friend and theologian discerning what was mine to say.
But finding my own voice didn’t mean doing it alone.
More than ten people supported me in eldership, many of whom I met through BHFH. One was Emily Savin, a dear friend I first knew when she was BHFH’s Program Manager. Her accompaniment wasn’t only affirmation and comfort (although she hugged me every morning). She challenged me, asked hard questions, and stayed with me as I discerned how to be faithful in difficult moments.
No one else could answer Rilke’s inward questions for me. But someone could sit beside me as I wrestled with them.
I think this is a gift of Quaker community: space to listen for inner wisdom, alongside people courageous enough to support and challenge us to follow it.
I am grateful for the perspective that distance from the BHFH gave me during my sabbatical and for the close relationships BHFH has given me, too.
In Light and community,
Jennifer Caldwell
Executive Director
Upcoming BHFH programs and events
Whether you're in Boston or across the world, there are opportunities to connect in community through BHFH.
Online event
Wednesday, September 23, 10:00am–11:00am
Friends Forum with Tad Stoermer
In his book, A Resistance History of the United States, public historian Tad Stoermer, shows how, from the very beginning, the tension between the ideals of resistance and the realities of power has defined America more than the Enlightenment ideals enshrined in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.
Ernest and Ester Weed Memorial Lecture with Christy Randazzo
More details coming soon!
Upcoming Opportunity
Disability, Faith & Quaker Practice
A listening project, supported by the Salem Quarter funds, exploring the intersection of disability, theology, and Quaker faith.
Through surveys, listening sessions, and community conversations, we are gathering stories, experiences, and questions that can help shape more accessible and life-giving faith communities.
We are seeing facilitators for our MIDWEEK: Experiments in Faithfulness series. If you have an idea for a spiritual practice you could share with other, apply to lead a MIDWEEK session. The events are online and supported by BHFH staff. Honoraria are available.
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