Author: Quaker House

The Beat of a Distant Drum

2022 marks our return to a full complement of activities and few restrictions. The excitement is palpable. The Quaker house Steering Committee is delighted to welcome our new Friends in Residence, Kriss and Gary Miller. See their page here. Kriss will be blogging in this space each week. This was a beautiful week. We packed […]

“April is the Cruellest Month…”

Blog by Ron Petersen, QHCHQ Steering Committee member April 2022 “April is the cruellest month, breeding Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing Memory and desire, stirring Dull roots with spring rain. So opens T. S. Eliot’s poem “The Waste Land”. As I begin work on the blog entry I agreed to do for this […]

The World is Always Turning

By Shari Castle PhD Quaker House Steering Committee Member An old folk song says that the “world is always turning toward the morning.”  As I sit here in wintery Chautauqua, I think about how the world is always turning toward the summer season. Here on the Chautauqua grounds, I’m in my cozy winterized condo having […]

What Hides Beneath the Snow

            It’s December and winter time at the Chautauqua Institution.  And the Quaker House has entered its season of hibernation.  The porches are enclosed with canvas drapes protecting chairs and bicycles, the water pipes are drained, wall air conditioners stored inside, perishables removed, furniture covered in sheets, WIFI disconnected and stand by power turned off.  […]

All Together Now

Week Nine: All Together Now from Emily Provance, Friend in Residence Friday afternoon, a few people lingered after storytelling, and Kathy Slattery (our house manager) offered leftover Italian ices.  We chose between orange and raspberry-lemon.  Then we sat on the steps and savored the melting tang on our tongues, rough concrete beneath our bare feet, […]

Taking Care

Week Eight: from Emily Provance, Friend in Residence If there’s ever a time to delve into brain and soul, the time is now.  This week at Chautauqua, the institutional theme was “The Human Brain: Our Greatest Mystery.”  The interfaith lectures centered on the human soul.  We talked about the extraordinary power of the human brain, […]