“It’s all a question of story. We are in trouble just now because we do not have a good story. We are in between stories. The old story, the account of how the world came to be and how we fit into it, is no longer effective. We have not learned the new story.” —Thomas Berry
“Change the Story, Change the World” —Findhorn Foundation
What is the New Story?
We believe that the process of evolution including the further evolution of the human species is on-going, that the next step is the further evolution of consciousness, and that this step is urgent and necessary for our survival as a species and for the survival of the planet.
We believe the Earth and all Creation are sacred. Knowing that we are deeply interconnected with all Creation, we urgently seek to be transformed and to be agents of transformation in response to the crises of our time. Recognizing this truth and continuing to be led by the Inner Light and wisdom traditions, we are committed to active participation in this emerging consciousness.
The New Story as explored by Brian Swimme, Thomas Berry, Joanna Macy, and others is a integration of a new cosmology, deep ecology, and a non-visible realm variously named God, “the aliveness,” the All-Nourishing Abyss, the Implicate Order, the Light. We also look to the old stories to discover the timeless truths of the wisdom traditions of our and other faiths. Within this framework we seek to answer questions such as:
- In the context of the New Story, what is God? Light? Reality? Consciousness? The self?
- What are the habitual patterns of thought and behavior that hold me/us back from experiencing connection to all life on Earth?
- How do we become agents for the transformation of consciousness?
- What is the special contribution of our faith traditions to the New Story?
- What is the contribution of the New Story to our faith traditions?
For more information and meeting times write to New-Story@fmcquaker.org.
Publications
- A “Gate to Our Garden” Meditations on selected watercolors by Mary Coelho
- One-Page summary of the New Story Group: January 2025
- “From Trauma to Inscendence” by Mary Coelho, October 2024. Hosted on the Deeptime Network.
- “The Sacred Depths of Nature” August 14, 2023, by Mary Coelho in Befriending Creation August 2023 Newsletter
- “A Transformed Understanding of Matter” By Sarbmeet Kanwal. A review of Coelho (2020) Chapter 2.
- The Depth of Our Belonging: Mysticism, Physics and Healing by Mary Conrow Coelho, 2020. Now in Kindle edition.
- Les quakers et la nouvelle histoire: nous soigner ainsi que la terre 2020. Translated by Gregoire Maury.
- Quakers and the New Story: Healing ourselves and the earth by the New Story Group at Friends Meeting at Cambridge. 2014, revised 2017.
- Quaker Universalist Fellowship: Interview with Mary Coelho March, 2016.
- Recovering Sacred Presence in a Disenchanted World, Pendle Hill pamphlet #433 by Mary Coelho, 2015.
- Quakers and the New Story: Essays on Science and Spirituality by Philip Clayton, Mary Coelho, and the New Story Group, 2007. Republished on-line by Quaker Earthcare Witness.
- Awaking Universe, Emerging Personhood by Mary Coelho, 2001. Now in Kindle edition.
What are Ways The New Story Lives in Us?
We highlight here how the New Story informs and has practical meaning for our lives. We hope others will share their pathways. Please email New-Story@fmcquaker.org when you’re able to enrich our community by adding your view.
- Plastics! by Dave Damm-Luhr, October 2025
Meditations, etc.
- Book talk at Pacific Yearly Meeting by Mary Coelho.
- Welcome to the New Story, October, 2021
- Poor City Tom, May, 2021, by Cornelia Parkes
- Environment Awareness, May 14, 2021, by Gwen Noyes
- Environment Awareness June 30, 2021, by Gwen Noyes.
Links
Meeting June 22, at 7:00pm on Zoom
- Topic for June: “How does community support simplicity?” with Gwen Noyes and Art Klipfel, founders and residents of Cambridge Co-housing.
Meeting May 25, at 7:00pm on Zoom
- Topic: “Working with the Old Story in us: How Lessons from Alternatives to Violence Programs (AVP) can Help” with Jane Cutting
- New Story Newsletter May 2026
Meeting April 27, at 7:00pm on Zoom
- Topic: “The Wisdom of Science: Life-changing Insights in Time” with Dave Damm-LuhrSlides
- New Story Newsletter April 2026
Meeting March 23, at 7:00pm on Zoom
- Topic: “Our Beautiful Universe” with Mike Mallary. Come and ponder why. Slides
- “Connecting our stories in time in the Universe and on Earth: From cosmos to cosmogenesis” with Dave Damm-Luhr Slides
- New Story Newsletter March 2026
Meeting February 23, at 7:00pm on Zoom
- Topic: “Classical Wisdom in the Axial Age: Insights for Today” with Cornelia Parkes
- “Classical Wisdom in the Axial Age” annotated slides
Meeting January 26, at 7:00pm on Zoom
- Topic: “Wisdom from the Classical Traditions that informs us today” and plans for the coming year. Cornelia Parkes and Dave Damm-Luhr, co-facilitators.”
- New Story Newsletter January 2026
- “Wisdom from the Classical Traditions” Slides