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So now what do I do if he comes to Meeting? And what do I do if I am in a situation where it is just he and I in Meeting? Do I assume that God has my back? How does one tread that line of Christian love and charity, finding that of God in others, and staying safe?

The obituary for our awesome neighbor Angie. A real saint, she’ll be missed. I can still hear her say “ah, but what are you gonna do?” response to all of life’s troubles.

DOMENICO, ANGELINA “ANGIE” (NEE MAZZA) 84 - of Hammonton, passed away Friday peacefully at home surrounded by her loving family. Born in Hammonton she was a lifelong resident there. Mrs. Domenico was a retired machine operator for Aggressive Coat Co. of Hammonton. She was a member of the International Ladies Garment Workers Union, and St. Rita’s Society of Hammonton. Angie was a loving caring, person that dedicated her life to her family and friends, who meant everything to her. She was a good cook who enjoyed cooking for her family and friends and never showed up anywhere “empty handed.” She was predeceased by her husband: Joseph A. Domenico. Angie is survived by her five children: Joseph C. Domenico, Rita Domenico, Michael Domenico, John Domenico and daughter in law: Barbara Restuccio all of Hammonton; Marie Sirolli and her husband Nick of Winslow; three brothers: Jack Mazza (Helen); Vince Mazza (Kathy) and Mike Mazza all of Hammonton; four grandsons: John Domenico (Teresa); Michael Domenico(Shannon); Vincent Domenico (Kristen) and Joseph. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated Tuesday 10:00am in St. Joseph’s RC Church, N. Third St., Hammonton. Burial will follow in Oak Grove Cemetery. A viewing will be held Monday evening 7:00pm - 9:00pm and again on Tuesday morning 9:00am at the Carnesale Funeral Home, 202 S. Third St., Hammonton. (www.carnesalefuneralhome.com) Published in The Press of Atlantic City on June 12, 2010

If there is hope for a future for Friends marked by anything other than the same divisions and resentments we have nurtured in the past, we have to find a non-confrontational way of being with one…

The Lord made it clear to me that what I needed to do was to simply start living the transformed life… The New City Friends worship group was born out of this. Our Christian foundation,…

A LOT of what I run into, in my own dancing around with this in my head, is a sense that my best sense of Jesus (both what feels truest, for the most part, and what feels more likable) is of a man…

Ministers today need to model the Christian life. Those around us need models. Most people who are called “role models” today are not living lives that we should follow. American culture values…

Gulley asks the right question. If the church is following Jesus it should be reflecting the priorities of Jesus. Gulley presents his vision of those priorities and gives many examples of people and…

Over in the Guardian (left), a post by a Theo Hobson sure to elicit many comments: If Quakers were more Christian.

My response in the comments:

Hi Theo: your article made it up to QuakerQuaker.org and I see that regulars over there are starting to pop up here. I started the site and the tag line is currently “primitive Christianity Revived again.” There are many of us who think that the original Quaker message is still relevant. There are Friends meetings and churches that are rooted a bit more in the Quaker understanding of gospel but they can be hard to find. If you visit one of these, you’ll certainly hear the Lord’s name and Christian ministry.

At this point “Friends” and “Quakers” mean so many different things depending where you go (and you just experienced one end of the spectrum) that the name is not really descriptive of anything anymore. I written about these sorts of things a lot on my blog, the Quaker Ranter, but here’s one article where I hope liberal Friends don’t simply become a least-common-denominator faith.

Thanks for sharing your observations and stirring the pot a bit. God bless.

In that process of seeking, I came to a Quaker meeting. There on a rainy Sunday, I heard others rise and speak what they were hearing when they became quiet, and their accountings were remarkably…

Great piece:

How come the rest of the church is taken up with missional or emerging church as if it were something new? We are only doing what the apostles did two thousand years ago, and what the regular old Christian in the street did – helped the neighbour, fed the poor, nursed the sick, visited the imprisoned, clothed the naked…

I’ve been reading John P. Bowen’s book Evangelism for “Normal” People, (Augsburg Fortress 2002). What is “normal” evangelism? Not approaching strangers with “Are you saved?” or handing out leaflets on street corners! It’s living peacefully, helping our neighbours, reaching out to those in need, and generally following Christian principles. It’s taking some risks when people question us about faith. It’s being bold in witness, but in witnessing with love.

[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…

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…

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…

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…

C.S. Lewis on the consequences of running on our lives “on the wrong juice.” Mere Christianity, p. 39 (1958 edition).