Eldering

It occurs to RantWoman that in connection with preparations for the next Pacific Northwest Quaker Women's Theology Conference it would not be terrible to assemble some e-material on eldering. It would occur to RantWoman that this is a good idea, but RantWoman has way too much ahead of this in queue to do today.

RantWoman confesses that she has already posted the results of one recent effort to elder her about her practice sometimes of doing Sudoku in Meeting for Worship. RantWoman was proud to accept the role of Clerk of the Committee on Doing Sudoku in Meeting for Worship Committee at Facebook's Association of Bad Friends. RantWoman realizes that this failing is not of the same scale as some proudly proclaimed there, but RantWoman feels that is as much obvious failing as she will willingly contribute. Unwillingly may be another matter! As for the redundancy in the committee name, both RantWoman's Monthly Meeting and Yearly Meeting as well as some other bodies have committees with just about that level of redundancy and that appears to be an element of some flavors of Quakerese.

RantWoman finds herself reflecting on another hypothetical instance of eldering. RantWoman's Meetinghouse used to have an absolutely lovely salmon-colored azalea at the edge of the walkway at the entry to the grounds. A couple of years ago while the tree / bush/ whatever azaleas are was in glorious full bloom, some unknown miscreants came along at some unknown time and hauled it away. They hauled it away in a way that broke all the stalks and almost certainly killed the plant.

On the scale of global barbarities, one unquestionably could do worse, but several Friends were justifiably affronted and mortified. What to do in this situation? RantWoman advocated calling the cops and making them come and take a report just in case there was a band of azalea-butchering barbarians loose in the city, but RantWoman thinks that did not happen. What else to do?

RantWoman is an enthusiastic consumer of all manner of possibly un-Quakerly material. Well RantWoman is a Quaker and she consumes it, therefore.... However, be ye forewarned some of RantWoman's tastes might curl your hair. A local rag called The Stranger offers its pages as a forum for weekly anonymous rants and the azalea-napping seemed prime candidate for excoriation in that medium. The Wrong Azalea RantWoman did not write the headline; she would have done better.

RantWoman was mainly venting her own spleen; she did not mean this as a test of who else among the weighty of her Meeting also read The Stranger but her efforts were recognized. When asked she of course readily claimed credit. The following good-natured conversation ensued: "Does thee need to be eldered?" "I dunno. Would thee like More overt reference to (our site) or less? Would thee like MORE unQuakerly language or less unQuakerly language?"

You dear readers might get the idea from these examples that RantWoman is not fully receptive to eldering. RantWoman is inclined to let time and other posts take care of that possible misimpression. Let us just say that RantWoman has once or twice just felt tremendously ministered to by different generations of Quakers speaking to their experiences in previous times. Sometimes the precise words are one matter. Sometimes it is also just the fact that these Friends have come through these events still centered and clear as Friends.