Come prepared for Meeting for Worship.

This is the advise that we are given. Great. But what does it mean?

Slowly, I am coming to learn more of what it means for me to do that. There are certain things I know it means - making sure my body and clothes are clean, that I've had breakfast. It's important that I have walked or biked- some kind of stretching my body, and getting in touch with my physical self, as it is through my physical self that I hear and feel…

Moving on - the consequences of "the fall" are inescapable when we look at the history of "civilized" man. The story of Cain and Abel reveals to us the broader consequences of man's fall as they extend beyond the lives of the perpetrators into the lives of their children (all of us). Cain and Abel represent two ancient modes of life - the shepherd's and the farmer's. Both are already in the practice of relating to God through the giving of gifts, offerings or sacrifices. Why this mode of…

www.fgcquaker.org/gathering/this-year/workshop/the-evolution-of-quakerism-in-america

Look at my description.  I hope to work in all branchs of Quakerism and some of the modern groups.  The more divese the group the better the workshop.

Maurice Creasy, a 20^th century Quaker theologian, discusses the original Christological understanding of founding Friends as being able to hold the “particular and the universal, the historical and the mystical emphasis” of Jesus together in unity. The salvific significance and power of Jesus…

I was working in my office just a usual one day about two years ago.  And God suddenly spoke this question to me . . . in his teaching mode.  "Is your view of God as a winner or as a looser?"    

I replied . . . "run that idea past me one more time I never thought about it that way."  

His reply was "Will there be more people in hell…

Good news . . . Good news . . . the bug eater has lost his head.  That's right folks . . . another heretic has lost his second head.   We all know . . . that anyone . . . that is a  heretic . . . has lost his mind.  

Our investigative reporter has found out that a dancer has tripped up the bug eater.    Is not Karma wonderful.   The guy shoots off his mouth at everyone…

DIY Discussion Carnival

We're coming up on our last full week of this month's Discussion Carnival on "The New Do-It-Yourself Organizing." There has been some good featured blog posts but not a lot of discussion here on the QuakerQuaker forum. So let's stop beating around the bush and ask the hard question:…

There are a good many interesting things in the story of the "fall" but the things most interesting to me in the past have been what I mentioned yesterday

1. The nature of the "death" that Adam and Eve suffer as a result of their disobedience?

2. The "fallen" nature of our lives on this earth, and do we continue to live in that fallen world/nature?

3. What Christians and especially early Quakers understood about what you might call God's "Ur-Promise"…

April 20, 2011

An Open Letter to Ministry and Oversight, to the Clerk, members and attenders of San Diego Meeting of “The Religious Society of Friends.” And To All Friends, for Consideration

As all things come from God-- Disagreement is a gift, however disagreeable it may seem. Disagreement is an opportunity to…

After God rests on the seventh day, we move on to yet another creation story - this one focusing on the creation of man (Adam) and his dwelling place, the garden in Eden. Here man is created separately and placed at the head of the earthly creation and given the job of caring for it.  There are all kinds of trees, but in the middle of the garden are the tree of life, from which Adam may eat, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil - from that tree Adam is told he may not eat, "for on…

What a terrible generalization that would work so well on a bumper sticker. "Quakers. Not violent. Just passive aggressive." When I speak among Friends in Quaker venues or among folks who know little about the Religious Society of Friends, this joke (I'm a Quaker, I do not get violent--just passive aggressive) always gets a laugh.



With comic performances we comics most consistently employ two types of jokes.



1. The absurd "What if..."…

You are my fair one!

You are my beloved.  I have created you, loved you, been faithful to you, always-and will continue to be.

There is no place you have been that I was not with you and no place you will go that I will not go before you.

You are anointed with the most precious of oils.  Your birthright is salvation.  Your destiny is to be my cosmic lover.

Worship me with love and faithfulness.  Wait patiently with me, as I have waited patiently with you.  Listen,…

 I post here a small piece of ministry I gave this past Sunday - in part because I want to honour the rich community of friends that lead to whatever ministry I give, both in and out of Meeting for Worship.

This one is meaningful to me in part because here in the UK, singing is very unusual. I regularly sing in meeting for worship, and consider it to be both a terrifying and liberating act that I am priveledged to get to do. Friends here have loved my singing (quite common in my…

I have wrestled and gone a full twelve rounds with my own angel in writing this.  How does one express indignation, hopefully of a righteous quality, in a fully Quakerly sense?  Am I making too much of this?  Am I making not enough of it?  Will my words wound, rather than correct?  Discerning that, yes, this needs to be said, I have proceeded.  But seeking to…

This is my final installment of my four part review (with excerpts) of Glen Retief’s The Jack Bank, A Memoir of a South African Childhood.

Part One: A Child Takes on his World

Part Two:…

It seems a new kid has taken the place of the Bug eater since the arrest.  Our sources tell us  most of the bug eaters students have been seen with the new kid.  

And every time the new kid shows up at synagogue he always starts some kind of ruckus.   He almost alway breaks the laws of Moses during synagogue.  Imagine a man healing on the sabbath . . . how horrible.  We've heard that he will not allow anyone to elder…

For the last few weeks we've been experimenting with sending automatic weekly updates via Mailchimp. I haven't found it as useful or personal as I'd like, so I'm switching back to manual postings.

Discussion Carnival

This month's Discussion Carnival theme is The New DIY Organizing. "DIY" is slang for do-it-yourself and we've been…