Robert Griswold: Reflections on the Inner Light at Work. Experience of the Inward Light teaches us that we are not stuck solely in a relationship with self. There is that to be found within which is awesomely real and commanding. And this is not a fabrication of our minds. It is experienced personally but it is not subjective or shaped by the ego. This experience gives us the certain…
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Added by QuakerQuaker on 6th mo. 30, 2010 at 11:00am —
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The Friend: British Friends defend large BP investment (UPDATED). Britain Yearly Meet, the organisation of Quakers across England, Scotland and Wales, has a higher proportion of its investments in the oil giant than in any other business. BYM say it has engaged with BP on issues such as renewable energy. The World Development Movement (WDM) urged Friends to consider selling their shares in the light of…
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Added by QuakerQuaker on 6th mo. 30, 2010 at 9:30am —
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Kevin Camp: On Spiritual Gatherings, Retreats, Conferences, And Camps. I've been reflecting recently on the nature of conferences, gatherings, retreats, or camps. For me, at least, attending such functions almost always proves fruitful in all sorts of ways. Making deep, emotionally satisfying connections with other Friends is always welcome. After arriving home, I feel charged and driven, even…
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Added by QuakerQuaker on 6th mo. 29, 2010 at 10:30am —
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Scott Wagoner: Exploring the Meaning and Purpose of Quaker Structure. I recognize that at some point early Friends established structure and organization. My sense, though, is that their vision was that the structure would serve the vision and mission and not that the mission was to serve the structure. Quakers often seem in survival mode these days and in that mode there is a…
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Added by QuakerQuaker on 6th mo. 29, 2010 at 9:56am —
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Iris on the Pacific Northwest Quaker Women Theological Conference. The conference is a place I can see how some of this faith vocabulary—God, Jesus, calling, ministry, mystery, Spirit—feels on my tongue and reverberates in my ears. The conference is a place I let go of my assumptions of what those words mean to others and where I trust people let go of assumptions of what those words mean to…
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Added by QuakerQuaker on 6th mo. 28, 2010 at 7:00pm —
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Wess Daniels: The Testimony of Enough. I actually tend to use “plainness” far more often [than "simplicity"] for two reasons. First, it is more historical accurate as the word early Friends used when they discussed these issues (that and “wanton” minds!). Early Friends believed that the powers of the world, which included fashions, and what we might call consumer culture today, had the…
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Added by QuakerQuaker on 6th mo. 27, 2010 at 7:30pm —
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Friendly Mama: Simplicity. We were told we would each be giving two five minute talks about one of the Quaker Testimonies; the first talk would be about how I came to that Testimony and the second was to be how my life reflects that testimony now. "No problem", thought I. I'm used to speaking before Friends and leading things and exploring and sharing about my spiritual process. That was, however, moments…
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Added by QuakerQuaker on 6th mo. 26, 2010 at 11:30pm —
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Practical Advice for Those Seeking Quakers. I've made some major updates to the "Practical Advice for those Seeking Quakers," "Spiritual Practices for Isolated Friends," and "Suggested Reading for Isolated Friends" pages to emphasize freely available (online) resources.…
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Added by QuakerQuaker on 6th mo. 26, 2010 at 11:00pm —
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Micah's Ministry Newsletter #20 - YAF Gathering 2010 etc. It is safe to say that each one of us was uncomfortable some of the time, and I know for a fact that some Friends came away from the event feeling that it was a "mostly Liberal" gathering, while others came away feeling that it was an "Evangelical-oriented" conference. I think this speaks to the prophetic power of Christ's…
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Added by QuakerQuaker on 6th mo. 26, 2010 at 3:00am —
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A Growing Concern. When I went to question her specifically on some holdings such as Dow Chemical and Walmarts and Coca Cola with snippets from our Earth Testimony... she countered that Quakers did not have an Earth Testimony. They had testimony against war, gambling, alcohol, and tobacco.. and they were running a fund completely clear of that. Then I was entranced by all the large ads in the Friends…
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Added by QuakerQuaker on 6th mo. 24, 2010 at 8:00pm —
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‘No Stranger to Danger’: RIP Quaker, Lawyer, Indigenous Peace Warrior Waratah. Nonviolence worker Waratah Rose Gillespie has passed away. Jarrod McKenna writes: "We will miss your fire, your sharp intellect, and your laugh. We thank God for your work and witness. Rest in the Peace you dedicated your life to." Posted by C Wess…
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Added by QuakerQuaker on 6th mo. 23, 2010 at 8:30pm —
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My Spiritual Journey (part one). Mark shares his travels from pentecostalism to Friends, with Belief-o-Matic to a tauferbard. "So, in fall of 2002, I took this test online called the Belief-o-matic, and it asks you all these questions about what you believe, and for some of those it asks you to rank how important is this, cause for some people the bodily resurrection of Jesus - you have to…
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Added by QuakerQuaker on 6th mo. 23, 2010 at 5:00am —
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Epistle from Pacific NW Women's Theology conference. Though we represent different backgrounds and branches of Quakerism, the lines between these seemed very thin and blurred. No one avoided talking about her home meeting or church, but our membership didn’t have as much weight as our personal experiences shared in love. Even as we attempted to be open and accepting, at times we…
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Added by QuakerQuaker on 6th mo. 22, 2010 at 9:30am —
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Embracing Complexity: What Are We To Learn From the Oil Spill? As I ponder this situation and pray about it, I find myself explaining to God, "Look, we humans can be greedy, prideful, and misguided, but even in this we didn't really mean the harm that we have caused. We're just trying to tap into energy sources to fuel all of our activity, creativity,…
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Added by QuakerQuaker on 6th mo. 21, 2010 at 4:30pm —
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Liz Opp: Letting God In. I've been thinking that in some ways, having the privilege that I have is like having an impermeable seal around me--so impermeable that it keeps God out too. So today I've been particularly grateful for the worship community I'm a part of because somehow, when I'm with them and we are worshiping, the Light of God seems to be able to sear through that otherwise impermeable…
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Added by QuakerQuaker on 6th mo. 21, 2010 at 2:00pm —
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Lydia Caros: The Written Test (Friends Journal): Queries have been used since the time of the early Quakers as a way of keeping track of personal and community progress. The Queries ask us to examine our lives, our spiritual activities, our connections with others in our meetings, and in the rest of our daily lives. Taking a few minutes for introspective responses is a good way to check in on…
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Added by QuakerQuaker on 6th mo. 21, 2010 at 11:30am —
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Timothy Travis: Of What Value is Theology?: If you share the traditional Quaker experiential knowledge of direct and transforming guidance from Christ/Light/Spirit, what good is theology? (the study of God and God's relation to the world. What is the value of thinking about such things as the nature, character and purposes of God?…
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Added by QuakerQuaker on 6th mo. 20, 2010 at 3:00pm —
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Eileen Flanagan: Work and Money: I have the sense that there is a balanced approach to this that I am still trying to figure out.
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Added by QuakerQuaker on 6th mo. 20, 2010 at 12:00pm —
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Su Penn: Still Thinking About My Quaker Meeting & Me: I thought that if it was really OK with my meeting to have a pamphlet published that equated "God" and "goodness," then I was definitely in the wrong place. And I also felt that I did not have it in me to be the lone voice of dissent; I really, in that moment, intended to let them go ahead and publish that pamphlet. And then, I thought,…
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Added by QuakerQuaker on 6th mo. 20, 2010 at 4:00am —
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Linda Wilk with Some Questions on Communities & Societies: Some know that I am doing research on Quakers and community and reading journals of early Friends and the communities they established as they pushed out into the wilderness that was early America... So, keeping that in mind, please consider responding to a few simple queries: What was the…
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Added by QuakerQuaker on 6th mo. 19, 2010 at 6:30pm —
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