On October 7, 1772, John Woolman, a Quaker tailor and writer, died in England of smallpox.
He had lived, worked, and traveled around the Philadelphia area, but had gone to England to spread his message of the incompatibility of Christianity and slavery.
Many years ago I read his Diary and was impressed by his simplicity as well as his fervor in visiting other Quakers with his message of resisting oppression by refusing to cooperate with slavery.
He consistently refused to stay with slave owners; he also ate no sugar or molasses since they were the products of slave labor.
In his plea for the poor he wrote:
O that we who declare against wars, and acknowledge our trust to be in God only, may walk in the light, and therein examine our foundations and motives in holding great estates! May we look upon our treasures, the furniture of our houses, and our garments, and try whether the seeds of war have nourishment in these our possessions.
Though few of us are as consistent as he was but we should keep his example in mind as we seek to live as disciples of the peaceful Christ.
walk the way 