Peggy Parsons: Miracles. I know something new about miracles today. A miracle is 50% capacity and 50% courage. You say you believe and then God calls your bluff. Jesus walks among us and we call his name or reach for the hem of his garment or he sees us in our helpless need and is moved by compassion.
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Added by QuakerQuaker on 7th mo. 26, 2010 at 4:00pm —
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John Edminster: Who Are We? and Tension in Minutes. Clarity as to what was wrong with the minute dawned on me slowly, and I think it comes down to this: the committee that proposed it had started with a question, “who are we?” that could be taken as either a deep, “philosophical” one about our essential nature, or a sociological one about inclusivity and our decision-making processes – or both... Are we Quakers a…
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Added by QuakerQuaker on 7th mo. 25, 2010 at 7:08pm —
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Gordon Ferguson: Who We Are and What We Do. Buried in the linear propositional logic of the 'management speak' of this document is, I believe, an attempt to evolve the relationship between 'Who We Are' and 'What We Do'. It is at the heart of our identity as Quakers. For we are not just a religious group, silently contemplating the nature of reality, nor are we just a society campaigning…
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Added by QuakerQuaker on 7th mo. 23, 2010 at 11:19pm —
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Daniel Wilcox: The Paradox of Truth. As appealing as the universalism of the Good News is—For God so loved the world; God sent not his son into condemn the world John 3:16-17—of what use is it to tell everyone that all people are saved, if we don’t help each individual change? For in fact, at this very moment millions of particular individuals are living in minor or major hells on earth…
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Added by QuakerQuaker on 7th mo. 23, 2010 at 11:00pm —
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Ganeida describes unprogrammed Friends worship. How, I can hear you all asking, can you worship together when there is no set program that everyone is following? No songs to sing? No prayers all will pray together?..Silent worship is a discipline. Well, it should be. There is a rythmn to it just as there is a rythmn to the Catholic liturgy or a Baptist gathering or Charismatic worship. Times aren't set…
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Added by QuakerQuaker on 7th mo. 23, 2010 at 9:30am —
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Marriage Advice from Barrow Cadbury 1933 via Wess Daniels. The wider your interests outside your regular occupation, the more companionship you will enjoy together, and the happier and more fruitful life will be. After all, if two people are going to live together for thirty, forty, or sixty years they must have interesting things to talk about, or they will get cruelly on one…
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Added by QuakerQuaker on 7th mo. 23, 2010 at 9:00am —
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Aimee McAdams on writing the epistle for the Wichita YAF Gathering (Friends Journal). I wrote in my journal:
“Lord we have finished the epistle. There are parts I like. There are parts I wish were cleaner. I do not know if everyone will feel in unity with it. I hope and pray that Friends will feel the truth and meaning and spirit behind the words. I pray that we are open to receiving…
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Added by QuakerQuaker on 7th mo. 21, 2010 at 12:59pm —
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Greg Woods: Transformative Experiences. This year, at the annual Friends General Conference Gathering I noticed a theme of personal transformation in the three evening plenaries. I started to reflect on the transformations I have experienced in my life, especially a transformation that led me to become a follower of Jesus in the last couple years. As I reflect on this experience, I…
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Added by QuakerQuaker on 7th mo. 20, 2010 at 4:54pm —
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Tony Lowe: What Ifs, and trusting the Spirit Instead of Ourselves. When I look at the history of the Society of Friends, I am always bothered by the great What If. What if Friends in 1827 had said ok, we have two somewhat different understandings of the basis of Quaker spirituality, so let’s find a way to continue to work together so that our witness to the Kingdom of God…
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Added by QuakerQuaker on 7th mo. 19, 2010 at 10:12pm —
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Colin Saxton: Christian Quakers. One of the compelling questions is, “What does it mean to be the Friends of Jesus in the 21st century?” Friends are often hesitant to talk about a communal spirituality. Historically, we’re nervous about too much emphasis on what we believe together and how we are to live together. When we’re concrete at all about our faith…
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Added by QuakerQuaker on 7th mo. 19, 2010 at 8:00pm —
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Johan Maurer: Who Owns the Quaker Brand?. In Britain, many Friends describe themselves as non-Christian or post-Christian, and the yearly meeting as a whole requires no explicit Christian commitment for membership. "In fact, you don't actually have to believe in God to be a Quaker." On the other hand, most members of the worldwide Quaker family would not recognize themselves in a British description of…
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Added by QuakerQuaker on 7th mo. 18, 2010 at 9:08pm —
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Emerging Diane: More questions if all Religions are the Same. While I believe one can be a hyphenated universalist (and I am, in the traditional 17th century Quaker sense, a Christian-universalist), I think it is difficult to be a stand-alone Universalist, because, whether you mean to or not, that can easily slide into the false-for-a-human God position: "Yes, I am the parent and…
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Added by QuakerQuaker on 7th mo. 18, 2010 at 8:46pm —
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Joanna H: Looking into the Darkness. I’ve been thinking lately about the benefits and dangers of talking about what’s wrong, broken, evil, as well as what is good. Pamela Haines’ Friends Journal article on good and evil was one reminder that I needed to consider this. Another was a collaboration with a Friend whom I admire and who is inclined to focus on the positive, to divide things…
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Added by QuakerQuaker on 7th mo. 18, 2010 at 8:30pm —
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NYTimes: Pleas Evolve for Conscientious Objector StatusFor Ms. McNeil, a Quaker lawyer committed to helping anyone with valid legal grounds get out of the military, the call presented a legal and personal conundrum — and a possible unintended consequence of a repeal of the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy.
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Added by QuakerQuaker on 7th mo. 17, 2010 at 7:45pm —
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RantWoman & the RSOF: Go Ahead Ask Me For Money. 'RantWoman has a concern for helping others learn how to ask for money effectively.' A timely topic.
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Added by QuakerQuaker on 7th mo. 17, 2010 at 4:30pm —
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Chris M: San Francisco starts a "Fund for Leadings". In May 2010, San Francisco Friends Meeting created a Fund for Leadings (Minute 2010-05-09). The purpose of this fund is to encourage Friends who feel “a sense of being called by God to undertake a specific course of action” to pursue their leadings. I share them here because I think this is an exciting effort that Quaker meetings and…
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Added by QuakerQuaker on 7th mo. 15, 2010 at 4:41pm —
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Emerging Quaker: Quakers and Universalism. I'm glad more and more people are challenging the truism that "all religions are the same." As both a Quaker and a religion reporter I chose to bite my tongue more than once when an older white male leaned over to me and said, as if revealing the secret of the ages: "Buddha and Jesus believed the same things" or "all religions are the same." After…
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Added by QuakerQuaker on 7th mo. 15, 2010 at 4:30pm —
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Addressing The Poisonous Root Of Bitterness. Jesus is not the enemy and never will be. If he were alive now, I firmly believe, he would not be a member of any existing movement, faith group, or organization. Based on how I read his ministry, he would be much more inclined to be out on the ground among those who needed his guidance and assistance most. Jesus would not seek to shore up his…
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Added by QuakerQuaker on 7th mo. 15, 2010 at 12:00pm —
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Pamela Haines: Good, Evil, and Rest for the Weary (Friends Journal). There is some intimate connection between evil-doing, oppression, and grief. What if hardness of heart is an indication of the need for tears of grief to soften that hard shell? Does the end of oppression require the grief of those who oppress? Then this man would need to grieve the evil he has done. But perhaps the process could be started…
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Added by QuakerQuaker on 7th mo. 15, 2010 at 11:44am —
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John: poem 'The End'. And God will wipe away all tears from our eyes, Will surely wipe away all tears from our eyes. Inclined no way but One, we lose all dread; Unthreatened, we disarm all spears from our eyes.
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Added by QuakerQuaker on 7th mo. 15, 2010 at 9:44am —
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