Quakers have had an uneasy relationship with music since the late 17th century.

Although singing was recognized as an authentic expression of the connection with Spirit, too much music could become amusement and a diversion. Popular culture played with this dichotomy as demonstrated by this sheet music cover of 1919. Special Collections’ online exhibit ‘Sing ye in the spirit’ : Music & Quakerism in Harmony will show you more on the subject.

Some of the newest notes among Friends are being sung by Jon Watts who blends spirituality, Quaker history and rap. Listen to him and watch to see if your shoulders don’t begin to shake, too!

George Stephens is still an enigma, even though it’s been almost 40 years since a group of Haverford students founded the George Stevins [sic] Memorial Association.  Their quest was to gather enough information about him in order to understand this courageous Haverfordian.  Here are some of the characteristics known to date through discovered artifacts: he was a little ungainly on the soccer field, his team having suffered defeat in Ethiopia when the ball dribbled past his left-leaning feet (see "Sinistericon" and his sneakers as evidence); he had little humor, as the well-known artist, Kevorkian, revealed in his portrait of Steyvens [sic]; he wrote his senior thesis on an unknowable topic, given that the 5" floppy on which it was presented can no longer be read; and he had a preference for large women (see Margaret Dufay’s toothbrush).  Perhaps a visitor to the exhibit, which closes on March 15th, will discover the perfect artifact.  We welcome any creative evidence that will fulfill the mission of the Jorge Esteban [sic] Memorial Association.