Elevator Speeches 1, 2, 3

Elevator speech 1
A. Be true to your Light.
B. Use the correct terminology. Use it all the time as often as possible.

RantWoman takes to heart two pieces of advice from sexuality educator Marja Brandon. First every time RantWoman has heard Marja speak Marja has said something along the lines of "Be true to your Light." For the more secular-minded or those squeamish about Marja's lamguage Gavin DeBecker, author of several books about stalking and per sonal safety says "trust your gut." RantWoman likes "Be true to your Light better, even when the issue is her own inner blowtorch.

Marja's second piece of advice: use correct terminology. Use it correctly. Use it as often as you can. Practice saying it in all kinds of innocuous settings so you have it easily at hand when you most need it. RantWoman means to take this to heart. Really. Yes, but a still small voice keeps tugging at her soul: "Um, earth to RantWoman, you know that much-hyped Russian punk band whose name you are too uptight to say? How is that 'use the correct terminology' thing working out for you?"

Another voice chimes in. "RantWoman, not everyone even wants to speak of all this either." Forget the still small voice thing there are a LOT of people around here with hearing loss. What was that you said? People would rather not talk abut it? It does not matter whether it's important to talk about. The "rather not talk about it crowd thinks you are just stomping on their nerves. Sure . Okay. I CANNOT read their faces so they are going to have to USE THEIR WORDS.



Elevator Speech 2
At the Faith Action Network summit in Seattle.

I am a Quaker...

[appreciative nodding We LIKE it when Quakers come.

Urk! May I adjust your expectations? I am not a Quaker because I am any good at this peace and love stuff; I am a Quaker because I need all the help I can get! Oh Wait, maybe that's TOO MUCH INFORMATION?]

Going around the room, people talked about what speicific concerns rise in their congregations. People mentioned marriaige equality, education. Someone else mentioned offender re-entry.

Here, more or less, was the RantWoman elevator speech for the occasion:
I come wearing two hats, my own congregation (Meeting) and the Friends Committee on WA Public Policy.

At my Meeting,

People engage at the individual level by supporting the League of Women Voters voter registration campaigns, by phone-banking in support of marriage equality before the Ref. 74 vote in November. Several of us feel quite strongly about bicycle, pendestrian, and other transportation issues as part of concern for sustainability.

As a Meeting:, we host a SHARE (self-managed homeless) shelter. Another important ministry is being a spiritual home for survivors of abuse, attending to the safety needs of our members and including two known sex offenders in our community. We did not go looking for the sex offenders ministry. It kind of came and found us; it is not always easy. It is also a rich experience .

[NO reaction RantWoman could detect. Not even any conversational lingering.]

And in terms of dealing on the front end with racial disparity in the criminal justice system (also  already mentioned more than once), an important achievement for the Friends Committee for WA Public Policy has been enactment of a law listng restorative justice as an option for dealing with juvenile offenders.

[also NO reaction RantWoman could detect. Nor conversational lingering. But much else to get on to.]




Elevator speech 3:
It's 3 or 4 country western songs. Please just hold my family in the Light. Lots of things are happening to churn up topics that need elevator speeches. No, frankly I do not need anyone's opinion that my family is crazy. NO ONE except someone inside it gets to say that. Plus, frankly, I am bored of the details. Maybe one of these days continuing revelation and New Light will team up in new directions. In the meantime, all prayers gratefully received.