If you have any news to share about births and deaths, or if you have written a book or composed a piece of music you think our community would be interested in, please send it to zephyr@inayatiyya.org with the subject heading “News of the Caravan.” Photos are welcome.
Parvati Shirley Britton died peacefully on July 19, 2026. Parvati Shirley was an artist, wife and mother. She leaves her beloved sister Jeanne and five children: David, Dani, Sarah, Benjamin, and Christopher; and their respective spouses: Nancy, Martin, Michael, Lisa, and Patricia; and 7 grandchildren and 5 great grandchildren.
She was born December 21, 1930 in Waterbury, CT, and attended Northfield School for Girls. She married very young and was widowed with 4 children at age 27. She remarried to Henry Britton and was a faithful wife to him for over 40 years.
She began doing needlework in her late 30’s while raising children in Plymouth, MA. She taught textile art at Brockton Art Museum and various adult education programs in schools and organizations. Her work was exhibited widely, collected internationally, and won many awards. She wrote and published a memoir entitled “Pieces of Life,” which based each chapter on a square of a sampler applique quilt she had made. Parvati Shirley was passionate about textiles and needlework and was also a fine acrylic painter.
Parvati was a long time Quaker, beginning in her twenties at Woolman Hill, and later, the Cambridge, MA meeting. She became a member of the Framingham Friends meeting in 2011 when she moved to Dani and Martin’s home. She was also a longtime member of the Inayatiyya Sufi Order, in which she was initiated in the early 1970’s by Pir Vilayat Inayat Khan as a Healing Conductor. She was a beloved member of the Suluk Academy Gulzar class.
Parvati Shirley lived a full and long life. She loved her family and friends deeply and will be sorely missed. The Quaker Memorial Service for Parvati Britton will be held in person and on Zoom on Saturday, September 5 at 1:00 PM at Framingham Friends Meetinghouse. Wahhaba Heidi Babb will be present representing the Inayatiyya and providing Universal Worship sections to the service. Please email moellerdani07@gmail.com if you would like to attend in person or by Zoom.
Book Review: Your Royal Nature: Inspiring Essays to Find Your Way Home
Alia Alice McDowell has received many excellent reviews of her latest book, Your Royal Nature: Inspiring Essays to Find Your Way Home. One professional review directly mentions Murshid. She writes: “I’m thrilled that Murshid’s name will sent to libraries and various platforms throughout the states. Hopefully, it will help spread the message.” Here’s the review. “In an age when we drift further and further away from ourselves and our humanity, this book shows the possibility of love and home, understood as peace with the self, communion with the divine, and positive influence. The book is filled with insights and powerful thoughts to live by. . . The author draws on Sufi teachings, especially the works of Hazrat Inayat Khan, and integrates wisdom from mysticism, psychology, and personal retreat experiences. ” – Readers’ Choice, 5-star rating