Quaker Leadership Center (QLC)

Welcome to our page!

Who are we?

The Quaker Leadership Center (QLC) was launched in 2022 by Earlham School of Religion (ESR) in Richmond, IN. Established in 1960 as a graduate theological division of Earlham College, ESR is the pre-eminent Quaker seminary in the United States. 

The Center is being funded with a grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. through its Pathways for Tomorrow Initiative, which is designed to help theological schools in the U.S. and Canada prioritize and respond to the most pressing challenges they face as they prepare pastoral leaders now and into the future.

We are a ministry of ESR but seek to serve and connect a wide variety of Quaker leaders.

What is our Mission?

In a time of rapid cultural and congregational change,

We equip Quaker leaders to faithfully adapt by: 

  • Cultivating new connections among diverse Quaker expressions
  • Collaborating with existing partners to revitalize leaders and their ministry contexts 
  • Curating relevant resources from the wider world of faith and leadership 
  • Convening conversations about common concerns and new possibilities 
  • Creating spaces where leaders find their path to ministry and groups discern their vital futures
  • Companioning leaders and like-minded Friends as they incubate new ministries 

Upcoming events

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How you can connect

Connect with our work and network by subscribing to our email list where you can get resources, reflections, and communications about upcoming events.

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QLC news

Get-One-Good-Word-Friendly-Reminder-Word-Good-on-Grain-of-Wood-Background-Sign

Get One Good Word

We are surrounded by bad words. By “bad words” I don’t mean “swear words” so much as wasteful or harmful words. Every day, we are invited to an all you can eat buffet of content. I consume a lot of content, I’ll admit. But human beings can’t live on content alone. We are desperate for…

Come Kindled

Present to God who is the Great I Am — One who can only be encountered in the sacrament of the present moment. Usually, this means I have to take time to wrestle with my God (a text or spiritual message) and my demons (inner voices that call me things other than “beloved”) and win…

Declare Your Interdependence

Happy Independence Day to all who celebrate! There is much to be said for independence. I want every person and every nation to be free and self-determining. I’m not here to shame anyone’s patriotism or put out anyone’s fireworks today. Let’s celebrate the blessings of liberty and the gifts of our country. But I do…

Ring Them Bells

Ring them bells ye heathen from the city that dreams / Ring them bells from the sanctuaries ‘cross the valleys and streams… So begins one of my favorite Bob Dylan songs. But Quakers have historically been skeptical of “them bells.” Bells are features of the cursed “steeple houses” that George Fox railed against….

Fill the Jars

I recently shared a message at my meeting about the story of Jesus turning water into wine (John 2:1-11) and I can’t stop thinking about how it might speak to Friends who are working and praying for transformation. It’s a great story about a miracle that launched Jesus’ ministry and became a “sign” of things…

Come Kindled

Present to God who is the Great I Am — One who can only be encountered in the sacrament of the present moment. Usually, this means I have to take time to wrestle with my God (a text or spiritual message) and my demons (inner voices that call me things other than “beloved”) and win…

Meet your QLC team

Let us know if you have questions, concerns, visitation inquiry, or request for resources

Della Stanley-Green photo

Della Stanley-Green

Director

Della is excited to see where God is leading the Center, ESR and the whole of the Religious Society of Friends. She is a Recorded Minister in Western Yearly Meeting and a trained spiritual director.

She recently completed a three-year interim as the leader of the Interim Co-Superintendent Team for Western Yearly Meeting of Friends, (33 Quaker Meetings in western IN and eastern IL). She also serves as an Adjunct Professor in the MBAOnline@UDayton program teaching “The Principled
Organization: Integrating Faith, Ethics and Work.”

Andy Stanton-Henry photo

Andy Stanton-Henry

Associate director

Andy is a writer, Quaker minister, chicken-keeper, and distraught Reds fan. He holds degrees from Barclay College and Earlham School of Religion, and is a doctoral student studying Open and Relational Theology. He carries a special concern for rural leaders, leading to his recently published book Recovering Abundance: Twelve Practices for Small-Town Leaders. Andy has also trained in spiritual direction, labyrinth facilitation, conflict transformation, and entrepreneurial ministry. A native Buckeye, Andy now lives in East Tennessee with his spouse, Ashlyn, their blue heeler Cassie, and their laying hens.