What happens in Meeting for Worship

RantWoman's inner blowtorch is hard at wrok seasoning exactly HOW MUCHnarrative theology to offer in response to an unrelated inquiry.

RantWoman quite likes this offering.

http://www.quaker.org.uk/what-happens-meeting-worship

RantWoman's Inner Blowtorch MAY have dialedback from scorch to gently toast in a day or so. Maybe

NWYM Discerning

RantWoman has been holding Northwest Yearly Meeting Annual Session in theLight in connection with planned small-group discussions of same sex relationships. RantWoman finds these posts interesting asmuch for practices and framing suggested as for any involvement in contents of discussion. http://nancyjthomas.blogspot.com/2012/07/yearly-meeting-reflections.html  http://johanpdx.blogspot.com/2012/07/grace-to-you.html

RantWoman quite likes the thought of blogs as publishers of Truth especially when she gets feedback about maybe publishing a littleless of the Truth. RantWoman, predictably, has more to say but is just going to have to put up with spiritual constipation until a broken arm heals. Please hold RantWoman in the Light.

Grace,self-compassion, Scientific American

Spiritual sustenance right on the pages of Scientific American

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=self-compassion-fosters-mental-health

Wild Goose 2012, Coming West Too!

RantWoman recently saw a retweet from @fwccAmericas looking form #quakers who might want to take FWCC or other materials To Wild Goose West. RantWomanwould LOVE to connect with a ride, especially a ride not embarrassed to hang out withRantWoman's middle-aged self. Then RantWoman would be glad then to consider how to get materials there!

Why we need Wild Goose and the symbolism of the Wild Goose
http://sojo.net/magazine/2012/06/chasing-wild-goose


RantWoman  is terribly excited.

RantWoman wishes the teaser site for Wild Goose West had more content but RantWoman is terribly excited to see that Wild Goose is coming West.
http://wildgoosefestival.org/west



All purpose convergent rock part piece just for a different flavor

http://sojo.net/blogs/2012/06/29/nights-were-flamed-fire

Quaker Fair, Restorative Justice, University Halls Not Prison Walls

RantWoman invites Friends interested in restorative justice to check out the table for the Friends Committee for WA Public Policy table at the Quaker Fair on Friday July 20 during NPYM2012 Annual Session or at http://www.fcwpp.org/


Vaguely topical but RantWoman is not clicking through just now to reread:
The heroism of community college teaching
http://westernfriend.org/2012/06/university-halls-not-prison-walls/

http://hystery.blogspot.com/2012/06/bridge.html

Pre-Annual Session Queries from NPYM Ministry and Oversight

Queries to help prepare for NPYM Annual Session 2012
What do I need to tend to (such as children’s needs) or set aside (such as nagging responsibilities) so that I can arrive calm, open hearted and expectant: fully present to the Spiritof God moving among us?

Is there some small spiritual practice in which I could engage that may help make me moretender to the leadings of God as they may present themselves? Sample ideas: daily silence, gratitude practice, reading the Bible or other sacred literature or sharing deeply with another traveler as I make my way to Tacoma.

How can I let go of the worldly ways of making decisions and come to Annual Session’s Meeting for Worship for Business with openness to “see what love can do?” With a theme of “Listening in Tongues” how can I prepare myself to seeing, feeling and hearing unaccustomed perspectives with the tenderness I would wish for my own?

Am I holding in Light those among us who have taken on special leadership roles at this time?

Am I open to the possibility that way may open for me to take on a role I had not yet imagined for myself? Am I alert to the gifts and leadings of others that I might encourage them to engagein ways that may, in turn, bring them gifts?

Query for those unable to attend in person
For those who are unable to attend in person, would I consider joining AS in spirit for Meeting for Worship, Wednesday evening and Sunday Morning, and holding myself and the Yearly Meeting in Light variously throughout the Annual Session? Have I shared with folks who are able to attend, my concerns and perspectives which might be important to the discussions atAnnual Session? Have I considered how my holding the Annual Session in Light provides an important positive intention which is, although physically distant, still an important way to participate in my yearly meeting?

Ministry and Oversight Committee

Epístola / Epistle de la Conferencia Teológica para Mujeres

In English:
http://rantwomanrsof.blogspot.com/2012/06/pacific-nw-quaker-womens-theology.html

En Español
Conferencia Teológica para Mujeres Cuáqueras del Noroeste Pacífico


13-17 de junio de 2012

Corbett, Oregón

Epístola



Saludos a los Amigos en todas partes.

La gracia llenaba nuestros días y tejía los hilos de nuestras vidas en un solo tapiz de luz y amor, igual a los edredones colgados en las paredes que nos rodeaban. Estábamos reunidas para la Conferencia Teológica para Mujeres Cuáqueras del Noroeste Pacífico, iniciado el 13 de junio de 2012 en el Centro de Conferencias “Menucha”, sobre el Río Columbia, cerca de Corbett, Oregón. Nos reunimos alrededor del tema Invitando, contemplando y viviendo la gracia. Antes de la conferencia cada participante escribió un ensayo breve en respuesta al tema. La conversación entre nosotras comenzó mientras que leyéramos estos ensayos en línea y continuaba durante el tiempo que pasábamos juntas. Venimos con diferentes trasfondos de experiencia entre Los Amigos y otras tradiciones. Algunas venían con mucha anticipación y otras con algo de temor acerca de lo que íbamos a escuchar, sentir, y hacer juntas. Venimos anhelando encontrar la comunidad, un lugar para sentirnos en casa. Y venimos sabiendo que íbamos a ser desafiadas a escuchar profundamente, aprender a abrirnos más y crecer. Tuvimos la esperanza de que el esfuerzo resultaría en una comprensión más profunda y añadiría nuevos diseños y texturas a nuestro tapiz de gracia.

Jueves por la mañana recibimos un mensaje de Ashley Wilcox bajo el tema, “Invitando la gracia”. Ashley comenzó con su afirmación de amor por el Apóstol Pablo. A partir de Hechos 9, nos mostró que a veces invitamos la gracia por hacer algo completamente equivocado. También invitamos la gracia en nuestras vidas cuando aceptamos a otros, ofreciéndoles acciones amorosas y palabras de vida. Bajo el mismo tema, Darla Samuelson nos enseñó el uso de disciplinas específicas para crear espacios que dejan que la gracia toque el dolor de la vergüenza que es tan común en la experiencia humana.

Viernes por la mañana Cherice Bock nos habló sobre la contemplación de la gracia mediante un estudio de palabras. Hizo la pregunta llamativa, “¿Tenemos que sentir culpables para poder recibir la gracia?” En respuesta a su propia pregunta, propuso que la gracia en un don inmerecido y sin condiciones. Cherice llegó a la conclusión de que la gracia es activa, social, y perdurable. Como administradores de la gracia, cuando extendemos la gracia a los demás recibimos más gracia en nuestras propias vidas y estamos llamadas a seguir extendiéndola en este mundo.

Christine Hall seguía con el mismo tema, diciendo que cuando contemplamos la gracia, nos encontramos envueltos en un amor que nos une a Dios, unas a otros, a la creación y al misterio divino. Terminó citando a Thomas Merton quien decía que por medio de la contemplación “vemos más allá de la ilusión de nuestra separación”.

El sábado, en respuesta al tema, “Viviendo la gracia”, Carol Urner nos desafió a decir “Sí” a la voz que nos guía, aun cuando no sabemos a donde nos llevaría. En aquel “Sí” hay un río de luz que fluirá por nosotras y nos sostendrá. Elenita Bales siguió, recordándonos que “Vivir la gracia” significa acción. Nos animó a desarrollar un ritmo de fidelidad en hablar las verdades que surgen de nuestras almas y a correr el riesgo de la vulnerabilidad para así llegar a ser canales de cambio. De la historia de los Cuáqueros, Elenita citó a Ann Wilson y nos preguntó, “¿Qué vas a hacer al final?”

Los talleres, llevados a cabo por las tardes, presentaron una variedad de maneras de nutrir nuestras vidas y crear aperturas para la gracia. En el taller, “Escribir como una práctica espiritual”, exploramos varias maneras de comenzar y ser fieles a nuestra escritura espiritual. El taller sobre la Biblia mostró que a pesar de los diferentes sentimientos en cuanto a las Escrituras, sentimientos tan distintos como enojo o amor, podemos hablar de estas diferencias en una manera interesante y respetuosa. En una sesión titulada, “Hablando con audacia santa”, los participantes consideraron perspectivas y experiencias que mostraron claramente que el testimonio profético está vivo en nuestras juntas anuales. Otro grupo compartió las diferentes prácticas que se usan para mantener a otros en la luz, prácticas tales como movimiento, meditación, oración, y visualización. En una sesión llamada, “Cosas difíciles”, mujeres de distintas juntas anuales respondieron a preguntas que habían sido escritas de antemano. Los participantes entraron en una discusión respetuosa que reconocía nuestras diferencias, a la vez que animaba comprensión y aceptación. Otro taller se enfocó en comités para escuchar y cuidar de personas; ofreció guías y herramientas para apoyar a los que están sufriendo. Judy Maurer compartió sus experiencias y reflexiones acerca de enseñar, escuchar, adorar, y trabajar relacionadas a asuntos de justicia social en Rusia. Christine Hall presentó, “El camino del Espíritu”, un programa nuevo de estudio contemplativo aquí en el Noroeste Pacífico.

Las actividades de la noche proveían otras oportunidades para añadir al tapiz comunal que estábamos tejiendo. Jueves en la noche Roena Oesting, vestido como Elizabeth Fry y hablando en la voz de Fry, relató eventos de la vida de “Betsy”, sacados de su Diario. Expresamos gratitud por las maneras en las cuales el trabajo de Elizabeth Fry en las cárceles empezó un patrón del trabajo de reforma penal entre Amigos que continúa hasta hoy. Viernes en la tarde escuchamos las experiencias de las que asistían a la Sexta Conferencia Mundial de Amigos, auspiciado por el FWCC y llevado a cabo en Kenia. Sus intercambios habían sido fructíferos, ricos y llenos, aunque a veces difíciles. Mientras escuchábamos sus historias, entendimos que aún allá, habían sido sostenidas por la gracia. Más tarde en un tiempo de recreación, nos pusimos a bailar, cantar, jugar a naipes, trabajar en un rompecabezas grande o crear arte. Estas actividades nos abrieron el corazón unas a otras, y los intercambios y conexiones formadas eran gozosos.

Durante toda la conferencia los hilos de conversación—mientras comíamos, en los grupos pequeños, trabajando en el rompecabezas, o en caminatas—nos tejían juntas con belleza y gracia. Era un don maravilloso sentarse a la mesa, acercarse a una desconocida y sentir como en familia. Domingo por la mañana nos reunimos para la hora final, un culto de adoración. Nancy Thomas nos trajo el mensaje, un desafío a responder continuamente con gratitud a la gracia de Dios. Habíamos venido aquí para ser nosotras mismas y salimos afirmadas y con apreciación y gozo para las relaciones de amistad que están profundizándose entre las juntas anuales; eso, sí, es gracia. Tomando prestado un sentimiento de Carol Urner, “Tenemos que terminar, pero todavía no hemos comenzado.”

Grace as Laugh Riot and Blindness Tourism

RantWoman has realized, rereading her reflection paper for the Pacific Northwest Quaker Women's Theology Conference, that she kind of served up industrial-sized., poured from the fire hose Grace. In an effort, HOPEFULLY to present Grace in gentler nibbles, RantWoman reminds her readers of these two moments from her reflection paper for the Pacific Northwest Quaker Women's Theology Conference.

May it all be done heartily unto the Lord, through the assistance of his Grace,

Faith healing with stalker vibe overlaid

http://rantwomanrsof.blogspot.com/2011/07/healed-blessed-jesus.html


May it all be done heartily unto the Lord, through the assistance of his Grace,
Faith healing with cigarette smoke at a bus stop
http://rantwomanrsof.blogspot.com/2011/08/believe-and-be-healed.html


Recently RantWoman caused gales of laughter by speaking of the moments above in terms something like the following: "I have been (TALL) since I was about 10 or 11. I am also, cough, built like a linebacker. Pretty much no one used to mess with me on the street. That all changed when I needed to take up with Ambassador Thwack, the badly-behaved white cane. Now I am beset by all sorts of people who take the white cane as an invitation to rush up, grab the blind person and bless them. I really do not know what to do with all these blessings!"

RantWoman likes to laugh and laughter about endless "grab the blind person and bless them" moments is a great gift. Besides, the mirth-invoking moments are way gentler on the spirit than:

1. African American church lady toting an enormous Bible and tottering around on heels worthy of the glittery outfit she was also wearing. Tottery church lady stopped her car with headlights boring into RantWoman's maladjustable pupils in the dark; she thought RantWoman ought to feel blessed to be dragged into traffic in poor visibility by someone wearing black when the reason for everyone being in the location was a memorial for someone else's Death! RantWoman absolutely does have a whole bunch of new twitches about crossing the street, but she generally can handle it by herself just FINE THANK YOU. RantWoman felt blessed simply to be rendered speechless because if she had opened her mouth....

2, A couple people near and dear to RantWoman, people RantWoman generally reveres for their capcity to cling to their world views in spite of the slings and arrows of beings less endowed with rock-solid certitude. Certitude is nice about moral matters, but it is NOT NICE when the issue is dragging RantWoman across streets into traffic, discombobulating RantWoman's listening and split-second decisionmaking, expecting that the mere presence of Ambassador Thwack the Badly  behaved white cane will overcome a whole lot of scary physics, AND being ABSOLUTELY IMPERVIOUS to correction from RantWoman.

(For the record, this item is on RantWoman's faith-themed blog not only because it concerns matters of faith but also because it concerns matters of RantWoman's faith community. RantWoman believes the friend in question has FINALLY gotten the message; RantWoman is not in any hurry to try to go walking and test the issue.)

Oh wait, RantWoman is getting stuck, and fixated, and not knowing when to quit, so perhaps this is ENOUGH for today.

Kids these days

This post from Nancy Thomas about Friends and Orthodox tradition in Russia beautifully illustrates the weight of spiritual elders:

http://nancyjthomas.blogspot.com/2012/06/quakers-in-context-russia.html




On the other hand, RantWoman never tires of good youthful tantrums:

Manifesto of the Mennonite Anti-Mission Association
http://young.anabaptistradicals.org/2012/07/07/manifesto-of-the-mennonite-anti-mission-association/

Extra credit for:

--Using the word "manifesto"

--Vigorously and to RantWoman's ear incisively eldering elders

--Sounding suspiciously like universalist Friends what with all that multifaith radical listening


More Micah Bales bomb-throwing, er excuse me summons to prophetic witness: Burn Down the Meetnghouse
http://lambswar.blogspot.com/2012/07/burn-down-meeting-house.html

The RantWoman department of unsolicited Advices offers:

--a prescription to read John Woolman's Journal about eldering one's elders

----Channeling  Grace the Office Manager from RantWoman's long ago spell selling the nuclear freeze door to door, people who compile terrorist watch lists tend to be sort of metaphor-impaired. If you are going to get inscribed in such a list in reference to burning something down, should you maybe consider a bigger target than your Yearly Meeting?

--a prescription to read John Woolman's Journal about eldering one's elders, again! RantWoman does not know when to quit about many matters on her mind. RantWoman herself has been known to rail about the entire baby boom. And still, RantWoman persists in thinking that HOW one lives one's faith matters, and this includes sitting with the issue of possibly unnecessary intergenerational strife or how all generations suffer when our world is out of balance.


--admonitions to bear with matters of stewardshp of property. God has certainly granted us the capacity to figure out both matters of our own carpets and care of our planet. One should perhaps not rule out the possibility of learning about how to care for the latter by tending to the former.

--If the people lead, eventually the leaders will follow. One assumes Quaker youth have much to say, not only to their elders but to the wider world as well!

Gratifying

RantWoman is charmed by this post about the Pacific Northwest Quaker Women's Theology Conference, http://nancyjthomas.blogspot.com/2012/07/pnwqwtc-in-retrospect.html?showComment=1341524058638#c3092328298485483891

RantWoman concurs with the thought that the acronym PNWQWTC is enough to make one sneeze!


RantWoman also appreciates this item about prayer and place
http://johanpdx.blogspot.com/2012/07/prayer-and-place.html

and this iteration of Patriarchal pronouncements about a certain punk band:
http://www2.stetson.edu/~psteeves/relnews/1206g.html#27

Readers will note RantWoman's continued circumlocutions about a certain band's name. RantWoman is not saintly enough to feel guilty when the work of the language professional requires her to utter vulgarities. RantWoman's speech patterns even ocasionally include vulgarities of RantWoman's own. But RantWoman must honor the fact that she is having trouble uttering the bad's name in public, in mixed company, even when reminded that it is perfectly acceptable to honor the band's own choices about what to call themselves. Perhaps someone could tell the Patriachate that they also have the option of such circumlocution.

Sr. Joan Chittister at Stanford

RantWoman expects to want easily to find Sr. Joan Chittister's baccalaureate address at Stanford again:

http://sojo.net/blogs/2012/07/03/sister-joan-chittisters-stanford-baccalaureate-address?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sojourners%2Fgods-politics+%28Sojourners+God%27s+Politics+Blog%29

Reborn on the Fourth of July

Reflections on CO's, selective opposition to military actions, conversion.

By way of blog as filing cabinet

http://forusa.org/blogs/mark-johnson/reborn-fourth-july-challenge-faith-patriotism-conscience/10670

Tell them and Tell them and wait upon....

A blog post about the world gathering of Friends and different faces of Quaker theology coming alive

http://www.rachelernst.org/2012/07/tell-them/#comment-278

Comments too

Independence of a sort

RantWoman's Meeting has a practice of cycling through the queries in NPYM Faith and Practice on a more or less annual cycle. RantWoman basically likes the practice of intentionally revisiting all the associated life themes. However, RantWoman sometimes becomes annoyed that the particular cycling practice tends to put the same themes in the same months. RantWoman's experience is that people need to attend to these themes on individualized schedules.

For instance July, aside from being RantWoman's birth month is a time when RantWoman tends to need to attend to memories of lots of deaths.

Today, in addition to a shoutout for everyone working all or part of the holiday, a shoutout to some sibling urchins who spent a couple Fourths of July hawking helium balloons at longago Symphony concerts, it is time again to remember RantWoman's friend who declared his independence of this world 20 years ago on the Fourth of July

http://rantwomanrsof.blogspot.com/2009/10/varlam-robo-fag-and-doctors.html

The actual departure was, um, kind of an anticlimactic fizzle. On his way there, RantWoman's friend

--loved learning languages, birdwatching, and creating fantasy baseball teams based on his ratings of the players' physical attractiveness

--served enthusiastically as Seeing Eye Faggot to help a blind friend scope out suitable dates. RantWoman is perfectly well aware that, as a feminist and spiritually oriented person, she is supposed to object vigorously to all this abject objectification of people based only on appearance. Alas, most of the time, this blatant and shameless cruising was so hard to take seriously, so ineffectual as a relationship strategy for either the blind half or the sighted half of the game, that RantWoman really could not bring herself to do more than laugh, occasionally very hard.
Because this friend was about to receive a public service award for his AIDS education work when he decamped to other realms, RantWoman fielded a call from the newspaper. The newspaper wanted to know whether it was okay to print this friend's scathing opinion of the AIDS quilt. RantWoman, never one to sugarcoat or play very nuanced spin doctor, said that would be fine but also assured the reporter that her personal opinion is that the AIDS quilt is for the living and that people make all kinds of things of different memorials

RantWoman was determined that this friend have some Jewish pallbearers; it just happened that all his Jewish friends that RantWoman knew of were all women. RantWoman found 3 men and all three women were unfailingly honored to be asked.

RantWoman thanks this friend's father for teaching her the custom of sitting Shiva after a death. RantWoman apologizes to Jews everywhere who might be appalled that RantWoman once recently decided that sitting Shiva was exactly the ministry needed for two friends grieving a deceased German shepherd.

There! Now that RantWoman has gotten some needful memorial meanderings out of her system, here's wishing everyone a safe, festive Fourth of July!

Grace Comes around again

...if by grace one means

--Stasa over, self-identified non-theist Quaker Pagan shwoing up at an event called "All God's Critters Got a place in the Choir" just as RantWoman was thinking about  a teensy bit of grumbling that maybe just maybe a few more theological polyglots, buddhists, Pagans, ..., would have enhanced the richness of this year's Pacific Northwest Quaker Women's theology conference.
--the aura of blessedness presumed to accompany permitting homeless men and women to sleep in the worship room at our Meeting
http://aquakerwitch.blogspot.com/2010/07/all-god-quakers-got-place-on-committee.html

--RantWoman being given the Light to rhyme "discernment" with "ferment."

--No leading at all to apologize to Bill Staines for the parodic wording of "All God's creatures got a place on a committee" but  repeated acknowledgment and thanks for use of the tune.