February 2010
Su Penn: Plain Bonnet and Shaved Heads →
I guess God does not need me in plain dress. God prefers me as a frumpy middle-aged mom. Probably the world has some very specific need for a frumpy middle-aged mom, and I’m meeting that need in ways…
Real Live Preacher on the lay ministry of Friends →
What impressed me most was the peaceful nature of it. There was a complete absence of anxiety in the room. In my own church experience—in the rare opportunities that laypeople have to speak in…
Emily Stewart on surprising commonalities at the... →
It reminded me of what a lot of young Quakers in the U.S. are asking for: opportunities to have visceral experiences of God. Though many early Friends experienced this in meeting for worship, that…
Danny Coleman reviews Brian McLaren's "A New Kind... →
[McLaren] is quite familiar with the theology of Friends and spoke in glowing terms of Quakers. Perhaps George Fox & Co. were at the far bleeding edge of what has come to be called the Emergent…
Raye H: Jesus' approach to sin in 1 Corinthians →
What [Jesus] did not do was engage them in an argument about scripture, about what God really meant, and so forth. Jesus made the point that the one who is to punish sins is the one without sin. He…
Stopping everything to read Wired's "How Google’s... →
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Killing the Buddha, "As God as it Gets" →
New-to-me site, though I think I’ve stumbled on it before. Stephen Dotson was over today and recommended it. Below is part of it’s manifesto. Sounds like a useful outreach project. They seem to have a lot of funny taglines.
Killing the Buddha is a religion magazine for people made anxious by churches, people embarrassed to be caught in the “spirituality” section of a bookstore,...
Robin M on learning from collections of Quaker... →
I think this ought to be required reading for everyone who undertakes the education of children, either as a parent or teacher in a school or First Day School. It is mostly about the Christian…
Micah Bales on the pull of liturgy →
Far more shocking to me, I realized that I missed the liturgy. I missed the corporate recitation of the Psalms. I missed the congregational call and response. I missed the corporate confession of…
Su Penn: Quakers and Lent →
We think of the Light in which we walk as something warm and full of love. We forget it’s also a searchlight, a firebrand, something that sears when it shines so brightly we can no longer pretend not…
Moscow-Vladivostok: virtual journey on Google Maps →
The great Trans Siberian Railway, the pride of Russia, goes across two continents, 12 regions and 87 cities. The joint project of Google and the Russian Railways lets you take a trip along the famous route and see Baikal, Khekhtsirsky range, Barguzin mountains, Yenisei river and many other picturesque places of Russia without leaving your house. During the trip, you can enjoy Russian classic...
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1927 Book of Discipline for Philadelphia Yearly... →
On Archive.org. Disregard its listing as Orthodox, this is the Hicksite version. The “Book of Discipline” is more commonly known as “Faith and Practice” these days and is the most official document of Friends beliefs for the region & group it serves. I love the handwritten note on the inside back cover, which is a copied passage on Friends from Rufus Jones. Via Chris...
LA Quaker Anthony M wonders where the Quakers are →
The only thing that troubled me was the lack of Quakers. Why am I the only Quaker to be present in a gathering of progressive Christians? I am certainly not the only “weighty” Quaker—there are other…
Eileen Flanagan: Finding meeting support for... →
The most difficult part, in terms of having a minute, has been in trying to figure out the appropriate role for my anchor committee, which is made up of busy working mothers. I am not the only person…
Chuck Fager: Kenya corruption scandals in news;... →
Every time I have spoken or written about this matter in a public forum (and the speaking goes back a couple decades), I am given assurances that “something is being done,” and urged, overtly or…
Linda Wilk sees elders passing →
I’ve been aware for a long while now that we are losing the elders that I began at this meeting with, and with their dying, comes a loss of their presence and eldering, that can never be gotten back…
Joanna Hoyt looks at the world's vision of success →
I look at ‘successful’ people of all ages and am not convinced that their success translates to a meaningful, integrated and satisfying life, or even to freedom from fear. Our economically privileged…
R. Scot Miller: Public Witness, Gay and Lesbian... →
I share my beliefs because it is important for those persons of the gay and lesbian - and heterosexual - communities, to know that in the midst of the aggression and degradation that is relied upon…
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Timothy Travis: a "neglected" Quaker concern →
There are still Friends engaged with Native American issues, but for most of us the historical Quaker concern… is a vague piece of history. This opportunity, though, is always there for us to put…
Jay Marshall: Boundaries and distinctions →
We are faced with a problem for our future that is not easily resolved, as “inclusivity” and “particularity” come into contact and conflict. When not critiqued, movements for tolerance and…
Quakers and Slavery, 1657-1865: An International... →
This looks pretty cool. November in Philadelphia. Jerry Frost is one of the keynotes:
This major international, interdisciplinary conference aims to examine the history, literature, and culture of the Quaker relationship with slavery, from the society’s origins in the English Civil War to the end of the American Civil War.
Friendly Mama: My discomfort is my lack of... →
We let the comfort of the least, um, rooted of us set the overall depth for everyone. Being spiritually centered takes work. The few times I was really in a state of being aware of living in God, I…
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Growing Together Will: Love is patient →
If we are called to love our enemies, isn’t this how we are called to act? If God is love, then this is the nature of God. Isn’t this the way God works with us, wearying out all in us that is of a nature contrary to God? Faithfulness requires that we proceed in in the manner of love. If I am to be faithful it means I have to do more listening and less talking. It means I have to listen...
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Emerging Diane: What's hat honor for today →
It’s clear that the “small” gestures of the early Quakers—not taking off their hats, not theeing and thouing—sent tremors through the society disproportionate to the gestures themselves. They were powerful symbols of a new way of living. They were simple acts affirming human dignity that resonate with us to this day.
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LizOpp: What is dear to me about Quakerism →
And it is in the silence that the community who hears such vocal ministry will come to bear witness to that person’s transformation and healing. We will help hold the Friend prayerfully as she, or he, sinks down into the Seed and begins to share the story.
Chris M. The Fingerprints of spiritual experience →
Once when I was teenager, I recall thinking about religion, and realizing I was definitely agnostic if not atheist. After all, I was good at science, and especially interested in physics and…
“Our beds are empty two-thirds of the time.
Our living rooms are empty...”
– R. Buckminster Fuller, as quoted in “Space: It’s Still a Frontier”
Passionate Ashley on semi-programmed worship →
Some of the folks at FFC can be a little twitchy and I think the time for singing and sharing helps us focus and center and makes the waiting worship deeper. Our pastor stresses that the format of…
Danny Coleman on elders that are old →
It has been said that wisdom is perishable. Unlike information or knowledge, it cannot be stored in a computer or recorded in a book. It expires with each passing generation. Elders who are truly…