Spiritual Linkage with Russians; The Story of a Leading

What my Soviet-American reconciliation work has taught me is that each of us, no matter how ill-prepared, can do our small, but necessary part in peacemaking just by learning to listen. First, we must listen to the voice of God within, and follow its leading. Then we must listen to "that of God" in others. The more we listen, the more we discover that we have so much to offer each other--not just consumer goods, hard currency, and raw materials--but life-enhancing gifts of the Spirit: literature, art, music, and visions of a better world.

My involvement with Soviet-American reconciliation work began quite unexpectedly on a beautiful fall day at Taylor's Lane Farm, an idyllic Quaker settlement on the banks of the Delaware River where members of Central Philadelphia Meeting gathered for a picnic in September, 1986. A newcomer to the Society of Friends, I had felt a very strong inner impulse (what Friends call a "leading") to come to Philadelphia and work on some project involving peace, but I had no idea what this work would entail. ...