Wess Daniels: The End of Words. Quaker theologian Isaac Penington once wrote: "And the end of words is to bring [humanity] to the knowledge of things beyond what words can utter. So, learn of the Lord to make a right use of the Scriptures: which is by esteeming them in their right place, and prizing that above them which is above them."…
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Added by QuakerQuaker on 9th mo. 30, 2010 at 3:30pm —
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Martin Kelley - a simple outreach program. When a newcomer shows up at meeting, invite them out for lunch. I’ll leave the details up to you. Your place, a local restaurant, sandwiches at the meetinghouse, doesn’t matter. Total newcomer, someone from another meeting, a old regular who hasn’t shown up in awhile, doesn’t matter. When someone you didn’t expect shows up for worship on First Day Morning, say…
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Added by QuakerQuaker on 9th mo. 30, 2010 at 9:34am —
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Will T: A People to be Gathered. When George Fox climbed Pendle Hill he had a vision of a great people to be gathered. Friends who seek renewal of the Society of Friends use this vision as a touchstone of what the Society of Friends can become again. I know that it speaks to me. I also think that Friends have lost sight of what it means to be a people.…
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Added by QuakerQuaker on 9th mo. 29, 2010 at 12:30pm —
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Bill Clendineng: Waiting Rooms and Worship. Traditional Friends worship is a lot like the waiting that happens in a waiting room. It may be quiet but it is not passive. There is a reason for the waiting as we anticipate some kind of moving. In a doctor's office or an airport lounge we have a pretty clear idea of what will be happening. Waiting in worship means we are open to something happening,…
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Added by QuakerQuaker on 9th mo. 29, 2010 at 12:23pm —
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By Convincement Iris: Spiritual Hearing Aids. During a recent Meeting for Worship, one member admitted he’s having increasing difficulty hearing and has begun to wonder if he needs hearing aids. As he’s thought of the possibility of slipping something into his ears to help him hear more clearly, he’s yearned for a similar simple correction to better hear that voice that guides him. “If…
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Added by QuakerQuaker on 9th mo. 28, 2010 at 6:44pm —
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LizOpp: Dangers of today's implicit Quakerism. When we as a community stop talking openly among ourselves about the responsibilities of membership (or of long-term attendance-ship!), then those responsibilities become implicit and invisible--which used to be okay when we would spend oodles of time with one another during the rest of the week. But when we see each other and…
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Added by QuakerQuaker on 9th mo. 28, 2010 at 6:00pm —
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George Lakey: Why did you go to jail yesterday?. I dislike arrest and jail, personally. Been there, done that, as long ago as the civil rights movement in the sixties. I dislike the loss of freedom, being put under the custody of someone with a gun. Most of what I dislike are the reminders of that seizure of my body and my destiny: the tight pressure of cold metal handcuffs on my skin, the…
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Added by QuakerQuaker on 9th mo. 28, 2010 at 3:33pm —
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Quaker Oats Cherice: Technology in worship & other thoughts. Cherice writes about some of the complexities of technology in a worship service and shares some reflections on the main topic of the message: "The gospel story is bigger than simply the life of Jesus in the flesh; we continue the gospel story as we live out our faith. We're representatives of Christ—we ARE the…
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Added by QuakerQuaker on 9th mo. 28, 2010 at 1:15pm —
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LizOpp: Invite a visitor to lunch. If we skip that step--asking the visitor, "Do you have any questions about Quakerism?" or "What was your experience like during worship?" or even "What did you know about Quakerism before you came here?--we risk perpetuating the perception that Quaker meetings are really more like a social club where we don't talk about God in our lives, a…
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Added by QuakerQuaker on 9th mo. 27, 2010 at 4:30pm —
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Chronicler: Travel in ministry (and the process in Ohio YM). During the past two months, I have felt an increasing call to travel in the ministry. What I am about to post is probably going to be unfamiliar territory for Friends of other yearly meetings, though the current process in Ohio YM is what other YMs would have recognized historically. This post is not at all intended as a…
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Added by QuakerQuaker on 9th mo. 24, 2010 at 12:45pm —
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How I Ended Up Leading a Semi-Programmed Worship. While I didn't particularly approve of the semi-programmed worship, I didn't feel strongly enough to stand in the way. I decided instead just not to go. That didn't last, however.... I began to wrestle with my opinion of semi-programmed worship, in light of my experience with leading the bible study, and began to question my…
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Added by QuakerQuaker on 9th mo. 24, 2010 at 12:08pm —
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Michael Jay on the FUM Emerging Leaders conference. One might comment upon the quality of the ‘emerging leaders’. To be honest, several of the students seemed quite emerged to me, having been active in leadership and ministry for years... In the room, there were several new, experimental meetings represented. We enjoyed lively discussion about where faith meets practice… outside of the various parts…
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Added by QuakerQuaker on 9th mo. 24, 2010 at 12:00pm —
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Friends Journal: Friends and Education. A special web companion section to
Friends Journal's October 2010 special issue on Friends and Education. Nine articles on testimonies, decision-making and worship in Quaker schools.
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Added by QuakerQuaker on 9th mo. 24, 2010 at 10:44am —
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R Scot Miller: Gays in the military; don't get me started. Why on earth would I commit myself to fighting for a marginalized individual’s right to participate as an equal in an endeavor that not only commits murder against exploited populations, but does so in a manner that suggests to both the exploited and formerly exploited populations that violence is the appropriate response,…
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Added by QuakerQuaker on 9th mo. 24, 2010 at 10:36am —
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Christianity Today: Sarah Ruden's fresh examination of Paul. A Quaker scholar and poet looks at Paul in his social/cultural context: 'What characterizes our society at its best is the habit of looking at ourselves with a critical attitude. I think this really started for Western civilization on the road to Damascus.'…
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Added by QuakerQuaker on 9th mo. 23, 2010 at 3:00pm —
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Eileen Flanagan's practical ideas for revitalizing Quaker message. My experience of speaking to non-Quakers is that ours is a welcome and needed message; it's just not known what we stand for. In anticipation of Brent's next post about practical ideas, here are a few of mine:"Say what we believe--in person and on the Internet." "Tell people what we do--in person and on the…
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Added by QuakerQuaker on 9th mo. 23, 2010 at 12:58pm —
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Brent Bill: What have we to declare?. I think Quakerism has one of the most winsome invitations ever to offer to people. The heart of Quaker worship is gathering to meet God. The distinctive of the Quaker message of worship is that we are not inviting you to come hear a specialist speak about God, another person read a book about God, others sing some songs about God, but rather to come and…
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Added by QuakerQuaker on 9th mo. 23, 2010 at 11:00am —
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Quaker Oats Cherice: worship reflection on international day of peace. I also thought about the verse Romans 12:17, which says, “If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone,” because it was posted along the trail. I thought about how this doesn't mean we live without conflict with everyone. Sometimes it will look like we're creating conflict…
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Added by QuakerQuaker on 9th mo. 22, 2010 at 7:49am —
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Chris M looks back at 20 years with Friends. I went because I didn't like the buildup of US military forces in Saudi Arabia, following Iraq's invasion of Kuwait. The Quakers were speaking out against it, so I thought I'd check it out. Months before, a friend of mine from where I worked, a major publishing house, had encouraged me to attend. She thought I would like it.…
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Added by QuakerQuaker on 9th mo. 20, 2010 at 12:09pm —
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Brent Bill: A Modest Proposal for the Revitalization of the Quaker Message. Toward the end of my presentation, I admitted that I had some interest in the future of the Friends message in North America. Particularly, I said, I was not so much interested in the institutional survival of the Religious Society of Friends (and it's various structures) as I was a recapturing of the…
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Added by QuakerQuaker on 9th mo. 20, 2010 at 10:00am —
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