John Punshon reviews The Naked Anabaptist. '...There are many contemporary Christians (not about to leave their home churches) who are looking for something different, radical, challenging, and that will provide insights and inspiration. ... Stuart Murray calls such folks neo- and hyphenated- Anabaptists. It struck me that as a Friend, I found no difficulty in slipping into…
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Added by QuakerQuaker on 8th mo. 31, 2010 at 2:17pm —
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Will T: The Rest Stop is Over. I have had some false starts where I thought that new life was emerging and I was ready to resume my writing and other forms of ministry. These turned out to be premature. Now it appears that my rest stop is over and that it is time to get back on the bus, resume my writing and to be open to what new opportunities may arise for me.…
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Added by QuakerQuaker on 8th mo. 31, 2010 at 12:22am —
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Timothy Travis: Going up the Mountain. No one can go up the mountain for me, no one can bring down that lightening in a bottle--safe and smooth, warm and comfortable--that can change me and save me. I have to go up there, myself. I need to feel the shaking, smell the smoke, endure the heat, and get what I need for myself (which is freely given to all who seek it), directly from the Source.…
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Added by QuakerQuaker on 8th mo. 31, 2010 at 12:08am —
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David Johns: Seminary education & postmodernity. Much of our formation is oriented toward helping keep alive institutions and organizations (movements, denominations, et al.) that have largely run their course. (Some of these, perhaps many, are structured appropriately for the 1940′s or 50′s and are speaking to cultural realities and religious sensibilities of such eras–and if our…
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Added by QuakerQuaker on 8th mo. 31, 2010 at 12:05am —
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Song: NEYM Pie, words by Jim Grace. A long, long time ago / Friends can still remember how the Spirit came to these here shores. / Young George Fox heard a voice within him, saying there is one to speak to his condition. / And then his heart did leap for joy.
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Added by QuakerQuaker on 8th mo. 25, 2010 at 9:00pm —
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Liz Opp answers why she's a Quaker. I am a Quaker because I place myself in Quaker contexts--not exclusively, but primarily: be it with other Quakers for socialization; or reviewing Quaker writings for inspiration and guidance; or engaging in corporate worship, even on a sometimes irregular basis. But as I read over what I've already offered, I find myself returning to this: I am Quaker because…
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Added by QuakerQuaker on 8th mo. 25, 2010 at 2:19pm —
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Rick Jordan: I’ve never been so quiet, so long, with so many people. It was strange on our first try at this. Most everyone sits with their eyes closed. I did, too. But every once in a while, I’d look around. There is something beautiful in seeing the faces of several dozen praying souls. Sometimes, I’d see someone else looking around, our eyes would connect, then both of us would quickly close…
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Added by QuakerQuaker on 8th mo. 25, 2010 at 1:53pm —
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Tony Lowe: A Year of Peace. Maybe the time has come for us all to follow the example of convergent Friends and focus on those things around which we can find unity rather than those which divide us. One thing that unites us is that we all still believe there is a great work in the world to be done by Friends. But can we not accomplish more working together than any one group of us can on…
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Added by QuakerQuaker on 8th mo. 23, 2010 at 9:16pm —
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Tom Smith on the concept of The Light. It is difficult for me to use language other than New Testament and Friends language since this is the language of my father who was my spiritual guide and mentor even though he really never acted or talked in any other way than a father to me. I don’t remember hugs in our family but I do remember smiles and looks that carried a humble…
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Added by QuakerQuaker on 8th mo. 23, 2010 at 9:11pm —
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Joanna Hoyt: Gifts and grunt work. “We’re here trying to do important spiritual work, and you want to take people’s time and attention to talk about scraping plates?” ... I believe that the real important work, living into the kingdom of God, requires us to pay attention to the messes we make and the people who get stuck cleaning them up.…
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Added by QuakerQuaker on 8th mo. 23, 2010 at 8:30am —
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Tania: The Need for older and younger Friends in meeting. It came to my mind that a Meeting functions best when there’s a strong segment of older Friends and a strong segment of younger Friends as well. Meetings are like a body of water: we need the depth of older Friends to keep us grounded in Spirit and the current of younger Friends to prevent stagnancy.…
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Added by QuakerQuaker on 8th mo. 22, 2010 at 10:14am —
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Friends Invite Westfield Indiana to Celebrate. 'A 175th-anniversary celebration this weekend brings a greater awareness to the early years of Westfield, a town laid out by Quakers in 1834.
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Added by QuakerQuaker on 8th mo. 22, 2010 at 10:08am —
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Seth Hinshaw - Detraction. Whenever we discuss a person who is not present, we need to be aware of the danger of detraction. As Children of the Light, we should bear in mind that God does not expect us to repeat everything we know. Even when we are sure that what we are saying is true, it may be detraction to say it.
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Added by QuakerQuaker on 8th mo. 22, 2010 at 10:00am —
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Jeanne B: A Modern Plea, on Friends Schools. In my reflection I thought about the people I got to interview at fifteen schools before I had to stop the research. I found hard-working people with good intentions, people who crave excellence and equality. They reiterated some of what I already understood about Friends education: Quaker college preparatory schools supply a good education to students whose…
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Added by QuakerQuaker on 8th mo. 20, 2010 at 12:01am —
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LizOpp: When Meetings become Root Bound. Our meetings can get root bound, can't they? ...Like when we fall into spiritual ruts of faith and practice, never seeking new opportunities to listen for God's call, or letting those new opportunities slide by, or failing to take a stand publicly for an important social-justice issue because it's too much work to organize and step out into public. …
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Added by QuakerQuaker on 8th mo. 19, 2010 at 11:44pm —
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Will T: Wandering in the Wilderness. In fact, it seems to me that for New England Yearly Meeting, and perhaps unprogrammed Friends in general, wandering in the wilderness falls pretty close to the center of our comfort zone. Actually entering the Promised Land scares the bejeebus out of us.
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Added by QuakerQuaker on 8th mo. 19, 2010 at 11:23pm —
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Kevin Camp: Organized Religion is not a Social Club. It seems to me that the moment the focus ceases to be on growing the faith and welcoming newcomers, then petty factionalism, rivalry, and cliques enter. What is so distasteful about staying relevant and spreading our message through the world? How did we get here, after all? I find much comfort in the stories of Friends from the 18th Century…
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Added by QuakerQuaker on 8th mo. 19, 2010 at 7:06pm —
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Max Carter: No better place for mosque than near Ground Zero. What better place for a mosque than near a place where some misguided followers of the faith corrupted its teachings and committed unspeakable acts? It can be a place where the true principles of the faith can be taught - with a powerful object lesson a short distance away of what may happen when the…
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Added by QuakerQuaker on 8th mo. 19, 2010 at 4:22pm —
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Wess Daniels: A New Framework for Evangelism and Mission. Because of our theology and practice the Quaker perspective on mission has always been an alternative response to the more general “winning souls mentality” it is far more holistic and operates out of a conviction that God is already at work in our world, it is our job as the church not to bring God to the…
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Added by QuakerQuaker on 8th mo. 19, 2010 at 1:00pm —
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New England YM: Minute of Sending Forth/Commission. We refute the lies of the present situation: the lie that causes movements for transformation to see each other as competitors; the lie that says that social action is spiritually shallow and spirituality is socially passive; the lie that says that war and destruction are inevitable and efforts for change are hopeless; the lie that says we can’t change the world until…
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Added by QuakerQuaker on 8th mo. 17, 2010 at 12:59pm —
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