Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Judith Walter on 5th mo. 19, 2011 at 7:47am

Hi Denny,

 

For online meeting go to quakerworship.org

I have not been for a while, but have found the meetings to be more helpful than I imagined. As far as I know there are quakers both conservative and liberal there. I liked to imagine my fellow quakers gathered at the same moment, if not in the same place.

Take a look, for those of us with no physical meeting place it is a blessing.

love,

Judi

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Permalink Reply by Virginia J on 5th mo. 19, 2011 at 10:06pm

Yes,  I too go to this 'meeting room' most days, sometimes for MfW and sometimes anytime I feel moved to. 

 

I'm not sure about its history or whether the majority of attenders are Liberal Qs or not - doesn't seem to matter - but I find there a sense of  community and solidarity, knowing that these unknown online folk are in the same head/heartspace as me irrespective of time zones or geography. There's a daily meeting (loosely) scheduled at 10oo GMT and often someone in the meeting room outside those hours.

 

Would be good to hear your thoughts if you try this too, Denny.

 

Best, Virginia

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Permalink Reply by Denny Barnes on 5th mo. 20, 2011 at 6:06am

Thank you, Judi.

 

The weekly meeting at 20:00 GMT on Sunday is 4:00 AM on Monday in Shanghai.

 

When I entered the meeting at my 5:30 PM on Friday, I was asked, "Have you verbally shared your faith in Christ this week?" by the evangelical friends church southwest.

 

Whooops!  Seems this Liberal Quaker took a wrong turn in cyberspace.

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Permalink Reply by Virginia J on 5th mo. 20, 2011 at 6:43am

Hey Denny - sounds like that online meeting didn't work for you - it's not one I know,  soI hope you won't be discouraged and keep trying, ping me offline if you want the link to 'mine' (well, the one I found that works for me!), which seems to be a mish-mash of mainland Europeans, Americans, Aussies, Brits virginiajealous@gmail.com

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Permalink Reply by Jan Lyn Lewis on 5th mo. 22, 2011 at 10:49pm

Hello Denny,

I am not wishing to intrude.  I may be mistaken, but was that a 'real member' that you were in MfW with there or just the automatic minitry that was posted?

I ask, because their is daily automatic ministry from various branches of friends and all there differing Advices and Queries to ponder.  It is not set by those who are 'regular' attenders there, but continues to show daily.

Perhaps if that is the case, you may reconsider.  Always do as you feel led, I just thought that I would let you know, that there are quite a few people that frequent there of various varieties of Friends and seekers and I would say the majority are liberal.

All, however are always very welcome.

Jan Lyn

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Permalink Reply by Virginia J on 5th mo. 23, 2011 at 12:52am

Yes, I'd like to echo Jan's comment Denny - it just occured to me too that perhaps it was the automatic A&Q/ministry line that took you aback - it doesn't always speak to my condition either.

 

But then I guess the more liberal A&Qs from, say, Australia Yearly Meeting that also pop up could give pause for thought to conservative Qs visiting online meeting on that particular day too...

 

I hope the next try works for you.

 

Virginia

 

PS : I'd be up for a 'date' in the online meeting room if any the readers/contributors to this discussion wanted some long-distance silent worship together, some greater sense of connectedness. 

 

Around GMT 0800 works well for me but I could commit to 30 mins pretty much anytime between GMT0000 and GMT 1200.

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Permalink Reply by Judith Walter on 5th mo. 23, 2011 at 7:19am

Hi Denny,

As far as I know, these are automated. Not too sure why they are there. Try to take note of those that speak to you. I have found the meeting to be a blessing, as I have no nearby meeting,

As a Liberal Quaker, I don´t mind sharing my space, even cyberspace , with those who come to be quakers via other paths; my guess is that those who attend the online meeting feel much the same - hence the automated thoughts?

Judi

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Permalink Reply by Denny Barnes on 5th mo. 23, 2011 at 11:39am

Thank you, Judith, Jan Lyn and Virginia.

 

This is a busy week in Shanghai ... moving, several business issues, etc.  When I go to the online worship site at the end of my day, I seem to be there when nobody else is present.  Will keep trying and eventually understand the rhythm of the meeting.

 

Waiting in the light.

 

-denny

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Permalink Reply by Paula Deming on 5th mo. 23, 2011 at 11:42am

What time of the day, GMT or Eastern Daylight Time, are you there? If it's at a time that I can attend, I will do so. Right now it is 11:42 EDT.

~Paula

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Permalink Reply by Ganeida on 5th mo. 24, 2011 at 3:26am

Aussie.  Quaker. Isolated.  It seems to be the norm rather than otherwise here.  The liberal rep of Quakers in QLD means I get some strange looks & accusations of being non~Christian when in practice I am usually more scriptually based than my accusers.  I have found my on~line community, which has taken several years to establish & not all are Quakers, is a source of strength & support.  fFriends prayer partner me around the world, skype with me & visit my blog.  Each one is an absolute blessing in my life & makes the isolation easier to bear.

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Permalink Reply by Denny Barnes on 5th mo. 24, 2011 at 12:30pm

Paula,

 

China is GMT +8 hours.  When you are on daylight savings time, I am exactly 12 hours earlier than EDT.  We can use the same clock ;-)

 

I am pretty much fully occupied with moving and solving some business problems for another few days.  My new apartment has a lovely covered balcony overlooking an artificial lake.  After a long day of moving, I found an old guitar and sat on the balcony and played a few songs.  First contemplative moment I had in some time.  The old Irish hymn Be Thou My Vision came to me.

 

Be thou my vision, oh lord of my heart

Naught be else to me save that thou art.

Thou my best thought, by day and by night.

Waking and sleeping, thy presence my light.

 

Oh, such a lovely song with such deeply spiritual words.  You know it?  I have been singing it and suddenly I realized I don't really understand all of that English.

 

What does "Naught be all else to me save that thou are" really mean?

 

Seems to ring true in my soul, but my brain fails me.

 

We hook up the WiFi at the new home on Friday.  Maybe I will be able to sit out on the balcony with my laptop sometime and make that online MFW work.

 

Thanks for thinking of me.

 

-denny

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Permalink Reply by Paula Deming on 5th mo. 24, 2011 at 12:48pm

Naught be else to me save that thou art.

"Naught" translates as "nothing."  "Save" in this case means "except." Hence, the line can be translated out of poetic English into prose as, "Be my vision; I want nothing except that." I don't need you to give me anything, promise me anything, do miracles for me. You are. Be my vision in every moment, day or night, Lord of my heart. You are my light, my best thought.

 

Lovely! I just shared it with a fFriend, who adores hymns. Thank thee, Friend Denny.

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