A Good Night for Freedom
Book by Barbara Morrow, photo above
Article by Pam Ferguson

One day several months ago, a friend in our meeting (who happens to be a grade school librarian) shared with me her discovery of a wonderful children's book on Levi Coffin and the Underground Railroad. I ordered the book for our meeting's library and was quite taken by the story. Needing ideas for our annual Mother-Daughter banquet that would attract both adults and children, I wondered if the author of this book would be available to speak and read her book to the children of our meeting.

I appreciate our Quaker history and heritage and I hoped having the author of this book available to read it would make the story come alive. I also hoped it would create an interest in the Underground Railroad and Levi Coffin's home and work 25 miles from our community. On a personal level, I wondered about this author's motivation for writing this story about Quakers.

The author, Barbara Morrow, a Presbyterian woman from Auburn, Indiana responded immediately to my letter asking of her availability to speak to the women and children of our meeting. Even though the trip was two hours each way, she graciously agreed to spend the evening at our meeting and share her book. This was her first opportunity to speak to a group of Quakers and she was interested in our local meeting and Quakers in Randolph County. It was fun to share with her our heritage in the city, our connections with freed slaves, and to show her places she knew from her research into this story.

Even more insightful was the understanding of her motivation for writing the story. She was interested in the activism of people along the Underground Railroad and captivated by learning the names of two slave girls, Susan and Margaret, who passed through the Coffin home. Knowing and hearing the names made this historical event more than just a story. That historical fact came alive with the names of two young women who lived because of the intervention of people who saw them as human beings, and in the words of our Quaker ancestors, who saw "that of God" in their lives and the lives of other slaves who sought refuge and freedom along the Underground Railroad.

A Good Night for Freedom brought home some important lessons for me. I hear Friends today talk about our unhealthy obsession with our past and our heritage and how difficult it is to move forward if we "drive with our rearview mirror". I know 170 years ago our yearly meeting split over activism surrounding the issue of slavery. It was a painful separation inspiring Quakers from England to come to Randolph County to try to find a way to reconcile the two groups, to no avail . Anti-slavery Friends were an incredible asset to the Underground Railroad, and made a difference in our country for the abolition of slavery. Eventually, after twenty some years, the two groups softened and mutual yearnings brought them together again as one yearly meeting.


There always have been and always will be differences within our Yearly Meetings. And there may be more splits in the future. I hope not. Sometimes I wonder if we become so obsessed with our differences and the need to resolve them that we don't take the opportunity to wait together to sense the leading of God in the midst of those differences. Is it possible to spend our energy on the difficult and painful process to sit in worship with those who may not agree with us and with whom there is little fellowship? I believe it is necessary to take time and energy (maybe twenty years?) to seek a way forward together. Consensus and clearness may not always happen on our time schedule, but it should always happen through waiting on the spirit of God together. Our unity should be in based in religious experience and not just shared ideals or interests. Time softens us in our fellowship as we worship together and as we experience God’s presence. Again. And again. And again. And just maybe our mutual yearnings, our experience and our passion for a visible life centered in our testimonies will bring us together under the Spirit of God.

Four years ago Ron and I wandered Greece on a vacation and walked around the ruins at Philippi. It was one of those experiences that strengthened my resolve to be a servant of Christ. The apostle Paul was not superhuman. Philippi, the threshold of Christianity in Europe, was not a mega city. Paul was an ordinary man who was lead through a dream to travel to a city smaller in area than Winchester, Indiana. Obedience does not take extraordinary courage or heroism. It is the heart's longing to do something about a concern God has placed on our heart. Paul did not go to Philippi with the notion that his actions would change the world and spread Christianity throughout the planet. He set out on that journey with a heart open to the individuals God placed in his path. He used each and every opportunity to speak and live the Good News; at the river, in the marketplace and in a jail cell. God took the faithful obedience of an ordinary man and used it to further His kingdom here on earth.

Levi Coffin was not a giant among men. He, too, was an ordinary man who longed for justice in our world. He was an ordinary man who saw that of God in every human being who came to his door for help. His obedience was not about being the "President of the Underground Railroad", but about being the hands and feet of Jesus to those in need. To reach out to those who needed to see God and who faced injustice. The results of his simple obedience had heroic consequences that saved the lives of many people.

Many great and important things from our past and from our Quaker heritage have changed our world and changed people's lives. These great and important things arose out of the lives of ordinary people like you and me. We have the opportunity day by day to make a difference in our world. It is important for us to know and cherish our heritage, our history, and to know it deep in our hearts. It gives us vision, hope and motivation to look at our world and to see the good yet to be done to make God's Kingdom visible on earth. It is just a matter of simple obedience.