Practical Mystics

Jennifer Kavanagh is a well-known spiritual writer and has written this book on Quaker faith in action based on her own experience and insights. I would agree with a title that Quakers are indeed practical mystics in the true sense of the term, being both spiritually receptive and intensely engaged in social issues. The book gives a background on nature mysticism, describes meeting for worship, the nature of community, the imperative of service, the translation of faith into action, the importance of discernment and finding a balance in life. They are indeed a religious society of friends of truth, as their disproportionate impact on social change also demonstrate and illustrated in this book by a short biography of John Woolman (1720 – 1772). Overall, this is excellent and perceptive account of what it means to be a Quaker.