Mission with Prophetic Power: The Journal of John Woolman (SRSC 12)

Chapter 8 Finishing Well (1772)

Chapter Summary This final chapter of Woolman’s life begins as the previous chapter, with a discernment regarding an overseas journey. He experiences a concern, informs others, obtains the appropriate certificates, and then waits for some time while exploring his own heart and practical details. The problem with this trip regards his accommodations. He would rather stay in the steerage with the sailors (a space mildly similar to that which slaves would have experienced in their trans- Atlantic journeys). Finally, after listening to others and to the Spirit he and the owner agree to his passage in the steerage. Journeying with the sailors, Woolman is able to share in the life of the sailors and his account recounts his own sufferings in that location, along with his reflections on the life and difficulties of young sailors. As usual, he reflects on the impact of our economic practices (consumption, treatment of employees) upon people like these young sailors. He longs for the

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