Come into the Secret Room of our hearts and be our Guest…
Yes, as our hearts are awakened to your Presence within us,
we are led back to the Source of all life.
~ Nan Merrill
Dear friends,
We hope you are nourished by Nan's words, and the words of the others whose quotes have been gathered for you in this Letter and in the Letters that have come to you each month, without fail, for 36 years. We are encouraged knowing the value of what is offered. One reader told us, echoing the sentiments of many, "It's like having a spiritual director in the mail. In a time of chaos, it's where people can go for Silence, and find what they need."
We love bringing the Letters to you. For our tiny volunteer staff of six, it is a work of the heart, as it was for Nan. But this work is not free.
It costs $40,000 a year to print and mail the Friends of Silence Letter each month; and this cost keeps rising. We also maintain a website where you can browse every issue of the Friends of Silence Letter and peruse a searchable database of quotes that you can find by author, theme, or content. We send the Friends of Silence Letter to you by email (should you request it) as well as an occasional email called Inside Silence with reflections and news of retreats. We have just launched a beautiful and spirit-enhancing online study-retreat experience that offers the opportunity to go in depth with the Letter on Mystery published in October 2022. Our website and these extra resources add another $3,000 of yearly costs. Office expenses such as postage for donation receipts and various banking fees are yet another $3,000.
The Letter is sent to anyone who asks, without charge. There is no subscription price, nor do we carry advertisements. The Letter is supported solely by donations.
The Holy One is good and the abundance poured forth from the Friends of Silence community each year has always been enough to keep the Letter afloat. But while we walk in faith, it is with precarity. We are including a link to our donation page. If you have never given before, please take a moment to think of what getting the Letter means to you, what value it has. If you have given in the past, we thank you for continuing to make it possible for us to bring the Letter to you and all who ask.
With gratitude, and knowing all will be well,
Lindsay, and Bob, Joy, Kate, Mary Ann, and Todd