Margaret Hope Bacon, a very bright light in the world of Quaker letters, died on February 24, 2011. I had the privilege of knowing Margaret a bit and attending her memorial service at Central Philadelphia Monthly Meeting. It was a fitting tribute to her, with much rich, loving ministry. Allen, her husband, read a poem in her honor, as Margaret was accustomed to do at memorial services. A granddaughter spoke about Margaret’s tenacity and faith, her willingness to move forward despite not knowing what path she might take, despite fear and resistance.
This granddaughter described Margaret discovering Lucretia Mott’s grave at Fair Hill Burial Ground in north Philadelphia, which at the time was overgrown, neglected, surrounded by a neighborhood also terribly neglected and abandoned. I can imagine Margaret discovering Lucretia’s grave on that day in 1992 – finding the small gravestone among the trash and debris, brushing it off, picking up the trash, clearing the space to reveal the lettering. That day was the beginning of the transformation of that burial ground to become a place of witness and love – for the lives of those interred there, the lives of the Quakers tending the graves, and for the neighbors living close. That day began a relationship
that continues to this day, one of mutual spiritual irradiation and a witness to the power of love. Margaret’s life seemed dedicated to that work – of bringing to light the lives of Friends who were beacons for the Society of Friends, and by doing so, calling us back to our center, to live from that same place of love and witness, of a willingness to go to unfamiliar, uncomfortable places, and to seek out love and connection.
Bruce Birchard, General Secretary of FGC, was a good friend of Margaret and her husband, Allen. He had care of the memorial meeting for worship, and he told a story about Margaret’s indomitable spirit:
"I served with Margaret Bacon on what is now called Membership Care Committee for Central Philadelphia Monthly Meeting. Our meeting was one of the early ones to seriously consider the possibility of marrying same gender couples under our care. After several years of discernment, the meeting finally found unity in a decision to hold “ceremonies of commitment” for same gender couples, but not marriage ceremonies. Although we had several same-gender couples in our meeting, however, not one of them approached the meeting about having a “ceremony of commitment.” After a year or two of no action, someone (and it may have been Margaret) brought the matter up again in our committee. We had a strong sense that our work was not done. Shouldn’t we bring the matter back to the meeting for further discernment? One member of the committee—a lesbian woman—said, “I don’t know if we should do this. I’m not optimistic about the ability of our meeting to move further on this matter.” Margaret spoke at that point: “This is not about being optimistic or pessimistic. This is about being faithful. I understand the fears we have, and I know it will be hard and challenging work. But I have faith that this meeting can come to unity to marry same-gender couples.” It took another year and a half, but we did come to that unity, and it was a supremely joyous day when we found ourselves clear on that decision."
As Fair Hill has no more space to bury Quakers, Margaret was buried at another Quaker burial ground, Friends Southwestern Burial Ground in Upper Darby, the place where my husband serves as caretaker and we live in the caretaker’s house. Now her grave will serve as a constant reminder to me and others to live my life courageously, grounded in faith.
At the end of Valiant Friend, Margaret describes her experience standing next to Lucretia’s grave that day,
“The grass stirs, the children shout. Otherwise there is nothing, only that clear light that she loved pouring down upon me. Only the memory, out of the silence, of the many, many times she said it: the Light is as available today as it was yesterday as it has been everywhere, for all eternity. Only after a bit, a gentle nudging. ‘What is thee doing about it?’ Lucretia wants to know.”
Margaret wants to know.
In tribute to Margaret, we are offering 15% off any book listed here that she wrote. Please take some time to peruse her works, a wonderful collection which illuminates the lives of Friends.
Find all of Margaret's in print books at her author's page at QuakerBooks.
In Peace,
Lucy
Here is an interview conducted with Margaret by Angelina Conti in 2008. Here is Margaret’s obituary in the Philadelphia Inquirer. Margaret gave FGC many of her old books, you can find some of them here.
New Got Silence? T-Shirts Available
Awhile ago there was a discussion on Facebook about organizing a Quaker flash mob. People would gather at Penn Station or 30th Street Station in Philadelphia, get some wonderful Quaker singers to belt out “Teach Me to Stop and Listen” or “Spirit of the Living God” then a whole bunch of Quakers would emerge wearing Got Silence? T-shirts and create a huge public meeting for worship.
This conversation on Facebook inspired the t-shirts we just produced, which have the new FGC ‘Seed’ logo on the front and “Got Silence? www.quakerfinder.org” on the back. They are available in v-neck, men’s traditional or women’s tiny sized shirts in a dark teal blue or cranberry red. We think they look great!
Pre-Order Parker Palmer's New Book
Parker Palmer will publish a new book in early August, Healing the Heart of Democracy: The Courage to Create a Politics worthy of the Human Spirit. In his newest book, Parker J. Palmer builds on his own extensive experience as a an inner life explorer and social change activist to examine the personal and social infrastructure of American politics. What he did for educators in The Courage to Teach he does here for citizens by looking at the dynamics of our inner lives for clues to reclaiming our civic well-being. In Healing the Heart of Democracy, he points the way to a politics rooted in the commonwealth of compassion and creativity still found among “We the People.”
“Democracy,” writes Palmer, “is a non-stop experiment in the strengths and weaknesses of our political institutions, local communities, and the human heart—and its outcome can never be taken for granted. The experiment is endless, unless we blow up the lab, and the explosives to do the job are found within us. But so also is the heart’s alchemy that can turn suffering into compassion, conflict into community, and tension into energy for creativity amid democracy’s demands.”
Healing the Heart of Democracy names the “habits of the heart” we need to revitalize our politics and shows how they can be formed in the everyday venues of our lives. Palmer proposes practical and hopeful methods to hold the tensions of our differences in a manner that can help us restore a government “of the people, by the people, for the people.”
You can pre-order the book from QuakerBooks for a 10% pre-publication price through August 15th, 2011.
Read an interview that Chel Avery pulled together with Parker Palmer a couple years ago.