The following is a selection from a Father’s Day sermon given by my grandmother at the West Richmond Friends Meeting:

I am a sixth generation Quaker. All four of my grandparents were Quakers. The Meeting of my birthright was First Friends Meeting of Marion, Indiana…

…I got the first memory of how Quaker Meeting works when I heard a discussion between Dad and Mother. There were no angry words or shouting in our home. At that time my dad was a carpenter/cabinet maker.

There was one evening when I was about four, Dad came home late. Dad always called Mother “Angel” even though her name was Edna.

“Angel, I’ll have to eat quickly and get back to the Meeting House.”

“For goodness sake, why? What has happened?”

“The organ is in. The working parts are installed, but no one knows how to finish the console and the trim around the pipes.”

“But, Glen, you did not want the Meeting to buy the organ, so why are you obligated to work on it.”

“Angel, remember? I withdrew my objections when I saw most of them wanted it. But the wood is there. Beautiful, God created wood. I cannot stand by and see it spoiled. I will do the cabinet work. I cannot let them deface that wood.”

After supper Mother sat a long time at the table holding her head in her hands. I knew Mother was praying. I sat on the stair step trying to figure it all out. I knew they had disagreed. I was sure Mother accepted his decision. Why was she praying now? This was important.

I remember how carefully I looked at the beautiful dark wood when Dad took us to see it. I kept thinking, Daddy didn’t want the organ, but he saw the beauty in God’s wood.