On the future of Barclay Press

“What’s going to happen to Barclay Press?” It’s a question I hear a lot. And the truth is that when I was hired as the new publisher, my goal was to keep the doors open for a year and then to try to do the same for another year. And so on. I’m 20 months in now, and I’m still giving people that same answer: I’m aiming to keep the doors open for another year.

In the meantime, we’re tracking long-term declines of several thousand dollars a year in our traditional curriculum lines – Fruit of the Vine and Illuminate – while production costs continue to rise; and we’ve seen cuts to our support, mainly for budgetary reasons, from the various yearly meetings that make up Evangelical Friends Church-North America.

How have we kept the doors open?

1) Part of the answer has been increased efficiency. We have fewer books sitting on our shelves, fewer unpaid bills, and a little more money in the bank. 2) Part of the answer has been increased production. We brought out three new books last year and are on track to publish four books and two e-books by Christmas. 3) Part of the answer has been you. A handful of you have faithfully sent monthly checks. We also received two cash gifts big enough to get us through some hard days this last winter and spring.

I send out this newsletter almost every week, and there’s a clickable link over in the right margin – Share Stories Change Lives. It takes you to a donation page where you can support the work of Barclay Press. (There are also some really cool historical photos!) Several of you have clicked on that link, and it’s made a difference. Here’s what your donation means for us:

• A gift of $25 a month pays for the hours of one editor to work through a book-length manuscript.
• A gift of $50 a month pays for the hours of all the writers involved in the production of one quarter of Illuminate small group curriculum.
• A gift of $100 a month pays for the design and layout work to set up and produce a book.

We also do limited graphic design projects for Friends organizations, web support, and we sell books! We released Rhythms of Grace three weeks ago: “Biblically-grounded, theologically astute, and enormously practical – I consider this book a must for any pastor looking to sustain or regain the unforced rhythms of life-giving grace.” – Derek Brown, professor of pastoral ministry

Tomorrow, Danny Coleman’s first book comes out. Amazon was promoting Presence and Process early last week as the #1 new release in Quaker Christianity: “Presence and Process is an amazing book. It provides the best, most compact introduction I’ve come across to key concepts like mysticism, contemplation, and process theology.... And it invites practitioners to imagine a new kind of church for the journey before us.” – Brian D. McLaren, author of The Great Spiritual Migration

A year from now, people may still be asking, “What’s going to happen to Barclay Press?” And a year from now, I might still be unsure about much more than keeping the doors open. In the meantime, we’ll keep working on sharing stories and changing lives. Thank you for your support!

Eric Muhr

On food

In this morning’s Fruit of the Vine, Katy Matchette reflects on one of my favorite topics: food. On Friday morning, my family was driving through town on their way to the Oregon Coast. I had to work and couldn’t join them on their adventure, so they joined me for a quick breakfast at the Newberg Bakery. I had a cup of coffee and a marionberry cinnamon roll. It was good.

Katy and I agree about food. “If it’s food, I like it,” she writes. An interesting thing about food – as far as Katy and I are concerned – is how often it shows up in scripture.

“Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes form the mouth of the Lord” (Deuteronomy 8:3). “I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food” (Job 23:12 KJV). God’s precepts are “sweeter than ... honey from the honeycomb” (Psalm 19:10).

And then there is Jesus’ challenge in John 6:27 that his followers “devote their energy not to seeking food, but the sustenance that would lead them to eternal life.” Katy admits that this is a hard word: “How do I begin to esteem God’s Word more than dinner?”

I think back on that cinnamon roll. I appreciated its shape and color. I took in the aroma. I ate it with my fingers, savoring every mouthful of cinnamon, butter, brown sugar, soft-baked dough, and warm marionberries. I know that I might not get to have a cinnamon roll (or probably shouldn’t have one) every morning. But I do have to eat. Every single day. Which might be Jesus’ point. Getting to know him is something I have to do. Every single day.

“Assimilating the Bread of Life is a long-term project,” according to Katy. And she offers this prayer: “Father, whet my appetite for the Bread of Life.”

Eric Muhr

On hospitality

In this morning’s Fruit of the Vine, Ron Woodward reflects on the welcome he and others experienced in Kotzebue, Alaska. “I especially remember the times that our crew took coffee breaks and accepted the hospitality of George and Maggie Melton in their tent out behind our work site. During those times George and Maggie served us coffee and homemade bread with jam.”

Ron’s text this morning comes from 1 Peter 4 in which we are reminded that “love covers a multitude of sins” and that for this reason, we should “be hospitable to one another without complaining.” Ron remembers that George and Maggie “were always kind and generous with our crew, and in spite of very limited means they gave of what they had.” George was a native pastor. Each winter, “after freeze-up – George and Maggie would pack up their tent in Kotzebue and return to one of the Eskimo villages.”

The Fruit of the Vine quarterly devotional reader has been helping to bring together Friends since 1961. That first collection of meditations was written by T. Eugene Coffin, Arthur O. Roberts, and J. Emel Swanson; and they suggested that “these ‘seed thoughts’ are put to best use ... for family devotions or for personal, supplemental reading – depends upon circumstances.” Back in 1961, each day had an assigned Scripture reading and a short introduction to that day’s Bible passage. Prayers were “not included, for we hope that as the Holy Spirit gains entrance into your hearts through the unfolding of Scripture you will discover both the need and words of prayer.” 

Nearly sixty years have passed, and we’re still producing a new issue of Fruit of the Vine four times a year. Each day offers a reflection – usually some personal experience – on a short passage from Scripture. Each day also now includes a song and a simple, one- or two-sentence prayer. I’m convinced that this little devotional reader is one of the ways – one day after another – that God has been teaching us to encourage, challenge, and inspire one another. And I suspect that another sixty years from now, we’ll still have much to learn.

Eric Muhr