New Faculty Member Michael Brenneis: The Quaker Connection

So how did a nice Catholic boy, who graduated from a Baptist seminary, who became a minister in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), and who is seeking ordination in the Episcopal Church, find himself teaching at a Quaker seminary?

“Nascent connections” to Quakers along the way, responds Michael Brenneis. First, in 1971 in Orange County, California, he was eighteen and held draft number 36. He sought conscientious objector status, and those who counseled him were Quakers. He was impressed with their willingness to share knowledge and advocacy without requiring anything of him.

Then, in his first college-level religion course, the professor handed him a book to read. The book, Confronting Christ by D. Elton Trueblood, “further opened my awareness of Quakers,” says Michael.

During his years in Louisville, Kentucky, Michael was active in the Fellowship of Reconciliation in which the Louisville Friends Meeting played a central role.

Finally, Michael has three close friends in Washington, D.C. who are Quakers. He appreciates in these Friends their “willingness to be engaged and to share freely” as well as the consistency of their “commitment to peace and reconciliation.”

On teaching at ESR, Michael says, “I find it exciting to contemplate teaching in a place where the search for truth—wherever it might lead—is valued.”

--Donne Hayden. Read Donne’s profile of the new assistant professor of pastoral care and counseling in the current issue of ESR Reports. Click here for a PDF.

7/1/03