February 4, 2019
In May of last year, I introduced the seeds of hope capital campaign with some words from Quaker luminaries about that seed of hope that lies at the center of what it means to be a Friend.
- Robert Barclay wrote that “a divine, spiritual, and supernatural light is in all men.”
- Isaac Penington claimed that this seed was placed in each of us by God as a witness that might “spring up and remain” in us.
- Elizabeth Fry admitted that she didn’t understand “words of doctrine,” but “one thing I do know, – that Christ is in me ... that ever blessed power.”
- Stephen Grellet confessed that he was surprised to “find in me what I had so long sought for without me” – Jesus Christ, that “divine presence.”
I pointed out that the work of Barclay Press – as a Christian publisher in the Friends tradition – is to serve as a seed vault. To capture the essence of these seeds of hope, to preserve it in the words of Friends both present and past, and to share those words – in pamphlets, devotional readers, curriculum, trade books, ebooks, and booklets. Barclay Press is a Quaker non-profit, and the work of publishing and distribution is our ministry.
Today, I want to report on how we’re doing.
- Each new title costs us about $3,000 to design, produce, market, and distribute. In 2018, we produced four Barclay Press titles: A Long Road: How Quakers made Sense of God and the Bible by T. Vail Palmer, Jr.; The Shalom of God by Howard R. Macy; Going the Extra Mile: Adventures with God in Seventy-Five Countries by Norval Hadley; and Malone University: A Commemorative History, 1892–2017 by Jacalynn J. Stuckey.
- Some small congregations rely on Barclay Press for curriculum but get so far behind financially that they can’t afford to pay. We were able to afford to write off more than $3,000 in debts from those churches while continuing to serve them.
- We made significant progress on paying down our long-term debt, taking care of three accounts that were more than ten years old.
- Barclay Press had three weeks of cash reserves to help us get through a crisis, and we’ve been able to maintain that margin.
My seeds of hope dream is to raise a total of $162,000 by December 31, 2020. Gifts of $52,000 from 82 donors puts us 32 percent of the way toward our goal. Here’s how you can help us continue to make progress:
- A one-time or monthly donation – just click on DONATE at barclaypress.com or mail us a check at 211 N Meridian St, #101, Newberg, Oregon 97132.
- Talk to your church or monthly meeting about making support for Barclay Press a regular part of your budget.
- Pray for Barclay Press and for the work that we do.
Thank you!
Eric Muhr
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