Liz Oppenheimer has posted an extraordinary account of how “Friends transmitted Quakerism to her over time”:http://thegoodraisedup.blogspot.com/2005/03/Quakerism-from-generation-to.html. I find myself at a loss of words to sum it up – you have to read it for yourself and I strongly recommend you do. Here’s just the merest snippet:
bq. It took me years to understand that there was much, much more to Quakerism than just meeting for worship… I had yet to understand the concepts of corporate discernment or Gospel Order or waiting on the Spirit for guidance. None of my peers or spiritual friends at the time were talking with me about this stuff; and I have no recollection of anyone making the Quaker decision-making process more explicit at the time.
Liz will be offering a workshop at this year’s “FGC Gathering”:www.FGCQuaker.org/gathering. The description sounded great but if this post is anything like the sharing that will go on in that workshop, then you’ll want to be there.
In a similar vein, the Contrarian Quaker explains “I’m not here to be seen by men. I’m here to worship God”:http://Quakerman.blogspot.com/2005/03/i‑go-along.html; “New people, as they walk in, are met with smiles and introductions but by their second or third visit they end up standing in the midst of a gabbing throng completely ignored after meeting for worship… I simply decided that I was here to worship God.”
Quaker Ranter
A Weekly Newsletter and Blog from Martin Kelley
Quietly Calling for a National Campaign
March 16, 2005
The War Resisters League is part of a National Call for Nonviolent Resistance, though this is the first we at Nonviolence.org have heard of it (lucky we surfed by this morning, does the peace movement take pride in its insularity?). See the “iraq Pledge of Resistance”:http://www.iraqpledge.org/ for more info. Unfortunately with this little advance notice, we won’t be going to DC’s events this weekend. If any Nonviolence.org readers do we’d love a report.
MoveOn at peace with War?
March 16, 2005
Over on AlterNet, Normon Solomon is asking why the internet progressive group MoveOn has dropped iraq from it’s agenda: “When a large progressive organization takes the easy way and makes peace with war, the abdication of responsibility creates a vacuum. Ironically, a group that became an internet phenom by recognizing and filling a void is now creating one.”
QuaCarol: You Don’t Want to Be Ranters Anymore
March 11, 2005
By QuaCarol
Sometimes I have to lift up comments and make them their own posts. Here’s one of QuaCarol’s reply to “Uh-Oh: Beppe’s Doubts”:/martink/archives/000544.php: “I see this community of bloggers, reaching out to each other and connecting, when meetings (and here I venture to say “all”) are focused on keeping their pamphlet racks filled, rather than posting URLs on their bulletin boards or creating a newcomer’s URL handout.”
Uh-Oh: Beppe’s Doubts
March 9, 2005
I’ve occasionally thought of Beppeblog’s Joe Guada as my blogging Quaker doppleganger. More than once he’s written the post I was about to write. And more than one important article of mine started as commentary to one of his insightful articles.
So I’m worried that he’s written the first of a multipart article asking Is it time to leave Quakerism. I’m worried not just that Quakerism would lose a bright Light, etc., etc, but because I know that now I’m going to have to publicly mull over the question that’s a constant background hum that I try not to think about.
Update: just to prove my point, my comment to Joe’s post was more interesting that my post pointing to his post. Here’s the comment I just left there:
There was one day in worship a few years ago right around the time when my wife Julie decided to leave Quakerism when I had this odd vision. I imagined us as boulders the front edge of a waterfall. Thousands of gallons of water swept over us every day, eroding and scarring our surface and undermining the fragile base we were on. When Boulder Julie finally dislodged and fell off the precipice of Quakerism, I realized that one of the rocks that had held me in place was now gone and now there was going to be even more water and pressure trying to push me off.
I say this because you’ve become one of my blogging rocks, someone who confirms that I’m not a total nutcase. If you went over the edge I’d have to reassess my situation and at least take a peek down myself. At the very least I’m going to have to blog about why I’ve stayed so long. I’m sure this is only part one to my commentary on these issues…
Bulldozing the U.N.
March 8, 2005
President Bush has nominated a “foe of the United Nations to be its U.S. ambassador”:http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A13790-2005Mar7.html. Ten years ago he declared: “There’s no such thing as the United Nations,” and went on to say “If the U.N. secretary building in New York lost 10 stories, it wouldn’t make a bit of difference.” This is a fellow who called his role in withdrawling the U.S. signature on the treaty ratifying the International Criminal Court “the happiest moment of my government service”:http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A13790-2005Mar7.html. The Guardian reports that “fought arms control agreements, a strengthening of the biological weapons convention and the comprehensive test ban treaty”:http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,12271,1432701,00.html?gusrc=rss. With his nomination, the Bush Administration continues its course of unilaterialism and open contempt for the world community. Not a good way to build a last peace.
Lebanon and Syria
March 5, 2005
The resignation of the government is Lebanon is being hailed as a “boost for democracy” Reports describe Beirut as “a sea of excitement”:http://www.guardian.co.uk/syria/story/0,13031,1428151,00.html. ABC News and others are reporting that “Syria is about to announce its withdrawl from Lebanon”:http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=553479. How wonderful it would be if “Beirut could emerge”:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beirut from its thirty years of chaos with the start of the “1975 civil war”:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lebanese_Civil_War.
Even good change can cause turmoil. David Hirst, writing in the guardian, wonders whether the upheaval threatends to “destabilize Syria and turn it into another iraq”:http://www.guardian.co.uk/syria/story/0,13031,1430243,00.html: “After the example of elections, however flawed, in occupied iraq and Palestine, has come this new, unscheduled outbreak of popular self-assertion in a country [Lebanon] where a sister Arab state, not an alien occupier, is in charge.”
For the latest news, you can turn to the “Guardian’s special report on Syria and iraq”:http://www.guardian.co.uk/syria/0,13031,928812,00.html. To jump in the fray, you can turn to the Nonviolence Board’s thread on the “resignation of the Lebanese government”:http://www.nonviolence.org/comment/viewtopic.php?t=3297
On Dressing Plain
March 3, 2005
A guest piece from Rob of “Consider the Lillies” (update: a blog now closed, here’s a 2006 snapshot courtesy of Archive.org). Rob describes himself: “I’m a twenty-something gay Mid-western expatriate living in Boston. I was inspired to begin a blog based on the writings of other urban Quaker bloggers as they reflect and discuss their inward faith and outward experiences. When I’m not reading or writing, I’m usually with my friends, traveling about, and/or generally making an arse of myself.”