RantWoman is seasoning items to write under the influence of pipe organ lingering after Christmas eve worship RantWoman had rich worship experiences and expects several deliveries.
Faith Healing, Radio Broadcasts on Christmas morning about the faith of non-Christians:
A self-identified pork-eating, alcohol-drinking, premarital sex having Muslim woman who grew up in the US spoke. She explained how her father came to grips with her intent to live with her boyfriend. Her father asked, "Does he believe in a force greater than himself? ... Does he believe in gravity?" Well, yes. Then the boyfriend was Muslim enough for her father.
Faith Healing irreverence, not particularly Christmas-themed except that the thought muddled to the surface during pre-holiday bustle., perhaps in connection with solstice-themed reflections on subsistence challenges after the solstice before spring produce begins to appear:
To everyone who thinks God is supposed to fit into 30-second soundbytes, RantWoman notes that 19th century Russian novelist Fedor Dostoevsky got paid by the cuarto. If he had kept it short, his family would have starved. RantWoman has no suggestions about how to handle that point in the age of expectations about soundbytes, in the age of Twitter, a medium RantWoman peculiarly actually adores.
Faith Healing, Grace: RantWoman's worship thoughts were more Luke Chapter 1, geneology of Christ including WOMEN, and C Wes Danilels "You can't out-scandalize God" http://gatheringinlight.com/2013/12/23/a-new-family-portrait-matthew-1/ than ministry in quaker worship from the book of John about men of good will / men with whom God is pleased.
Faith Healing, Nelson Mandela 1.
The fake sign language interpreter on stage at Nelson Mandela's funeral has inspired the Seattle Deaf and interpreter communities to address longstanding concern with a person who apparently has been misinterpreting the Seattle Men's Chorus for decades.
Here is RantWoman's contribution to the conversation, with multiple links to a blog by members of the deaf community.
http://rantwoman.blogspot.com/2013/12/letter-to-frank-stilwagner-of-flying.html
The short, boiled down version: hearing people think the "interpretation" is very artistic or some darn thing: Deaf people find the signing linguistically useless and people who train ASL interpreters find MUCH to object to. Holding the situation in the Light never hurts.
Faith Healing, Nelson Mandela 2:
On the bus on RantWoman's way to Christmas Worship, RantWoman and RantMom's cellphone conversation suddenly lurched from family dramas and Christmas stockings to Nelson Mandela. RantMom's box of Christmas decorations moved from MT include the historical Rant Children stockings custom sewn by RantMom. There is a stocking for each Rant child.
This year, RantMom's display expressed her fervent hope that all her children might be able to bear each other's presence. RantWoman knows several mothers who do not have that expectation. RantMom has been clearly told this is not necessarily a reasonable expectation right now; it's a moot point anyway since RantBrother is in MT, indoors at least.
RantWoman is not sure how the conversation got from stockings to Nelson Mandela, but it did. Somehow 26 years of principled study on Robben Island came up, as did the diplomacy spoken of by lots of African leaders. RantWoman got stuck on the stockings and things already restimulated from seemingly innocent words in the Christmas eve worship. At SOME point it might be reasonable to have some moments of Truth and Reconciliation, but RantWoman was definitely not called to try on the bus. RantWoman already, earlier in the fall had to tell RantMom that RantWoman thinks some outside help would be extremely helpful and on point for RantMom. Or, hypothetically, there is always the option of Quaker worship groups with someone else who maybe possibly might have certain life issues in common. Would RantWoman do that on purpose? Uhhhh...RantWoman would not mind if God got that done but would still want prayerful care of the situation if that occurred, but first RantWoman would have to drag RantMom to....
Faith Healing: extra guest
This year the RantFamily Christmas feast included a friend of Little Sister's family, another guy from Guatemala so Brother in Law had someone to talk to. Guy from Guatemala was being Christmas guest because his wife has gotten into some odd mindset involving faith healing and other challenging themes. RantWoman is sorry that faith healing gone overboard meant Guest could not have Christmas with his daughters but was delighted he was part of the Rant family feast!
Monday, December 30, 2013
Saturday, December 28, 2013
A Semester with Barbara Brown Taylor
On RantWoman's mean to watch / listen to list, 3 lectures by Barbara Brown Taylor
http://www.candler.emory.edu/news/releases/2013/11/taylor-candler-semester.cfm
http://www.candler.emory.edu/news/releases/2013/11/taylor-candler-semester.cfm
Thursday, December 26, 2013
Johan Maurer on Discipline, Meeting for Business
Blog as filing cabinet item about discussion in Russia of Quaker discipline, Meeting for Business. Conservative Friend, Jesus at center....
http://johanpdx.blogspot.com/2013/12/a-few-thoughts-on-quaker-discipline.html
RantWoman desires to be able to find this again whether or not she hurries to pen some reflections based on it.
Whole conversation with Johan Maurer posted on Youtube
http://johanpdx.blogspot.com/2013/12/a-few-thoughts-on-quaker-discipline.html
RantWoman desires to be able to find this again whether or not she hurries to pen some reflections based on it.
Whole conversation with Johan Maurer posted on Youtube
Monday, December 23, 2013
Galina Evgeevna Orlova 10 May 1937 - 23 December 2013
Galina Evgeevna Orlova, one of the founders of Friends House Moscow, translator of Thomas R Kelly, Bill Taber and many other Quaker materials, passed away today. Blessings, prayers, gratitude for her life and all who loved and admired her!
Here is the Russian text of a memorial minute by Patricia Cockrell of Britain Yearly Meeting, as posted today on Facebook. Given last week's experience with Bing, I will either look for an English version of this item or provide one later this week.
Галина Евгеньевна Орлова
(10 мая 1937 – 23 декабря 2012)
Свои первые пятьдесят лет Галина Евгеньевна жила жизнью непримечательного советского гражданина. В университете она прошла обязательные курсы марксизма-ленинизма и вышла замуж за однокурсника Эрнста Абрамовича Красновского, изучавшего русскую литературу. После ВУЗа их вместе распределили на работу в школу на Камчатку, в девяти часовых поясах на восток от Москвы. Им нравилась и их работа и природа того края, но они скучали по культурной жизни столицы и были рады по окончании обязательного срока вернуться и устроиться работать учителями в Москве, где в 1968 году у них родился сын Глеб.
Галина впервые встретила упоминание о квакерах в одном из рассказов Николая Лескова. Ссылка в советской книжке поясняла, что это была секта, недолгое время существовавшая в Англии, а сейчас почти исчезнувшая. Поэтому, когда мы встретились у нее в школе в 1988 году, она была удивлена, узнав, что я квакер. Хотя у нас был очень плотный график, между уроков мы находили время поговорить о разном, но Галину особенно интересовали квакеры. В последующие годы, когда я со своими учениками по программе обмена приезжала к ней в школу, в моем багаже были книги и брошюры о квакерстве. Галине было интересно читать их, но чтение вызывало и чувство неудовлетворенности: частью из-за того, что она тогда не достаточно хорошо владела английским языком, а частью и из-за того, что каждый текст вызывал новые вопросы. Я посоветовала ей присоединиться к небольшой группе, проводившей в Москве молитвенные собрания по примеру Друзей, потому что квакерство должно быть прочувствовано на личном опыте, а не выучено по учебникам. Но это тоже не удовлетворило ее вдруг проснувшуюся жажду духовной жизни, хотя некоторые книги ей особенно понравились, в частности работы Томаса Келли и Уильяма Тэйбера на русском языке.
Галина завершила свою учительскую карьеру и посвятила себя изучению квакерской веры и практики. И для этого ей понадобилось улучшить свои навыки в английском языке. Она получила грант для прохождения курса обучения в Вудбрукском учебном центре, и там же она обратилась с заявлением и получила международное членство в Обществе Друзей. Она говорила о своем времени в Вудбруке, как о золотой возможности для внутреннего преобразования. Каждый день она участвовала в молитвенных собраниях и эпилогах, и до конца своей жизни сохранила привычку ежедневной молчаливой молитвы.
Когда она стала клерком только что признанного Московского месячного собрания, Галина с большим интересом читала о сути собрания и практических функциях клерка в книге Брайана Морли «За пределами консенсуса», которую она и группа Друзей перевели на русский язык.
1 января 1996 года, когда в Москве начал работу Дом Друзей, Галина стала его сотрудником. Она упорно шла по пути собственного духовного роста, и у нее хорошо получалось обучать как отдельных духовных искателей, так и группы квакеров на территории бывшего Советского Союза. Посетители офиса принимались с теплом и уважением. Для поддержки проектов Дома Друзей Галине пришлось много поездить – в том числе в Псков (поддержка детей-инвалидов), Краснодар (беженцы), Чечню (жертвы войны). Она также в течение многих лет посвящала уйму времени и усилий проекту «Альтернативы насилию», переводя материалы, готовя фасилитаторов, участвуя в работе Совета проекта.
Глубоко преданная целям Дома Друзей, Галина была несколько лет членом правления этой организации после того, как в 2004 году болезнь вынудила ее выйти на пенсию.Затем она посвящала себя уходу за внуком Кириллом, одновременно с мужеством и смирением борясь с постоянно возрастающими печальными симптомами болезни Паркинсона.
Она никогда не искала себе наград и говорила правду, даже когда это было неудобно. Она жила скромно и имела минимум личных нужд. Галина говорила, что время, проведенное ею в Доме Друзей, стало радостным опытом учебы, совмещенной с большими возможностями поддерживать других людей и следовать своим собственным духовным путем.
Патриша Кокрэлл (Британское Годовое собрание)
Из свидетельств Божьей милости в жизни ушедших Друзей
Here is the Russian text of a memorial minute by Patricia Cockrell of Britain Yearly Meeting, as posted today on Facebook. Given last week's experience with Bing, I will either look for an English version of this item or provide one later this week.
Галина Евгеньевна Орлова
(10 мая 1937 – 23 декабря 2012)
Свои первые пятьдесят лет Галина Евгеньевна жила жизнью непримечательного советского гражданина. В университете она прошла обязательные курсы марксизма-ленинизма и вышла замуж за однокурсника Эрнста Абрамовича Красновского, изучавшего русскую литературу. После ВУЗа их вместе распределили на работу в школу на Камчатку, в девяти часовых поясах на восток от Москвы. Им нравилась и их работа и природа того края, но они скучали по культурной жизни столицы и были рады по окончании обязательного срока вернуться и устроиться работать учителями в Москве, где в 1968 году у них родился сын Глеб.
Галина впервые встретила упоминание о квакерах в одном из рассказов Николая Лескова. Ссылка в советской книжке поясняла, что это была секта, недолгое время существовавшая в Англии, а сейчас почти исчезнувшая. Поэтому, когда мы встретились у нее в школе в 1988 году, она была удивлена, узнав, что я квакер. Хотя у нас был очень плотный график, между уроков мы находили время поговорить о разном, но Галину особенно интересовали квакеры. В последующие годы, когда я со своими учениками по программе обмена приезжала к ней в школу, в моем багаже были книги и брошюры о квакерстве. Галине было интересно читать их, но чтение вызывало и чувство неудовлетворенности: частью из-за того, что она тогда не достаточно хорошо владела английским языком, а частью и из-за того, что каждый текст вызывал новые вопросы. Я посоветовала ей присоединиться к небольшой группе, проводившей в Москве молитвенные собрания по примеру Друзей, потому что квакерство должно быть прочувствовано на личном опыте, а не выучено по учебникам. Но это тоже не удовлетворило ее вдруг проснувшуюся жажду духовной жизни, хотя некоторые книги ей особенно понравились, в частности работы Томаса Келли и Уильяма Тэйбера на русском языке.
Галина завершила свою учительскую карьеру и посвятила себя изучению квакерской веры и практики. И для этого ей понадобилось улучшить свои навыки в английском языке. Она получила грант для прохождения курса обучения в Вудбрукском учебном центре, и там же она обратилась с заявлением и получила международное членство в Обществе Друзей. Она говорила о своем времени в Вудбруке, как о золотой возможности для внутреннего преобразования. Каждый день она участвовала в молитвенных собраниях и эпилогах, и до конца своей жизни сохранила привычку ежедневной молчаливой молитвы.
Когда она стала клерком только что признанного Московского месячного собрания, Галина с большим интересом читала о сути собрания и практических функциях клерка в книге Брайана Морли «За пределами консенсуса», которую она и группа Друзей перевели на русский язык.
1 января 1996 года, когда в Москве начал работу Дом Друзей, Галина стала его сотрудником. Она упорно шла по пути собственного духовного роста, и у нее хорошо получалось обучать как отдельных духовных искателей, так и группы квакеров на территории бывшего Советского Союза. Посетители офиса принимались с теплом и уважением. Для поддержки проектов Дома Друзей Галине пришлось много поездить – в том числе в Псков (поддержка детей-инвалидов), Краснодар (беженцы), Чечню (жертвы войны). Она также в течение многих лет посвящала уйму времени и усилий проекту «Альтернативы насилию», переводя материалы, готовя фасилитаторов, участвуя в работе Совета проекта.
Глубоко преданная целям Дома Друзей, Галина была несколько лет членом правления этой организации после того, как в 2004 году болезнь вынудила ее выйти на пенсию.Затем она посвящала себя уходу за внуком Кириллом, одновременно с мужеством и смирением борясь с постоянно возрастающими печальными симптомами болезни Паркинсона.
Она никогда не искала себе наград и говорила правду, даже когда это было неудобно. Она жила скромно и имела минимум личных нужд. Галина говорила, что время, проведенное ею в Доме Друзей, стало радостным опытом учебы, совмещенной с большими возможностями поддерживать других людей и следовать своим собственным духовным путем.
Патриша Кокрэлл (Британское Годовое собрание)
Из свидетельств Божьей милости в жизни ушедших Друзей
Mikhail Kalashnikov dies
RantWoman is posting this item here with good intentions about writing somekind of a reflection on Kalashnikov's life and the weapons that bear his name.
http://www.businessinsider.com/mikhail-kalashnikovs-death-and-his-greatest-regret-2013-12
Even if this turns out to be only good intetions, a blog as filing cabinet item.
http://www.businessinsider.com/mikhail-kalashnikovs-death-and-his-greatest-regret-2013-12
Even if this turns out to be only good intetions, a blog as filing cabinet item.
Sunday, December 22, 2013
I Want a Hippopotamus For Christmas. Only a Hippopotamus will do
It's fourth Sunday of Advent or God present amidst all the messiness of life and family members are gathering 'round with all their giant Personalities and Issues and Holy-day Expectations and Clamor and Fuss and Frazzle and sundry other attractions that RantWoman is more than Bad Friend enough not so secretly to really enjoy, along with some FRUITCAKE. Uh, the fruitcake has not arrived yet.
Sensible Auntie would like to speak of a spirit of giving, of generosity, of thinking of the delights of others.
Sensible Auntie has gotten distracted from such centered efforts by "O Quaker Auntie." O Quaker Auntie is very relieved. Recently on one of the Rant Sister's Sunday parallel journeys to our respective houses of worship Little Sister thrilled the likes of O Quaker Auntie. Little Sister is not actually as charmed by the thought of middle school Nerf War at her house of worship as RantWoman might have suspected.
Okay, and...?
Little Sister further confessed another moment in the world of middle schooler and Nerf weaponry: Irrepressible Nephew knows how to modify the Nerf Blaster, something RantWoman suspects looks even more like a weapon than ordinary Nerf Ware. In particular, Irrepressible Nephew knows how to modify his Nerf Blaster so that it fires better or something. Bad Auntie, inadvertant setter of less than perfect examples just wants to hide under the bed and really does not want to know more details of this armament modification.
Unfortunately for RantWoman's desire to live in denial, O Quaker Auntie got summoned to a confession that Irrepressible Nephew's school peers greatly esteem this skill. Irrepressible Nephew goes to school in another neighborhood so inorder for Nephew to realize his prowess, a teacher signs off on kids making the exchange at school under the teacher's supervision.
O quaker Auntie is stuck inventorying reasons possibly to hyperventilate. O Quaker Auntie is also meditating upon a number of youngish men she knows who have grown up in the bosom of Quakerdom who have gone off to join the military because they "needed structure." SO FAR O Quaker Auntie is managing to let Irrepressible Nephew and his parents find their own paths about the modified Nerf Weaponry. So far...
Remember Worse Auntie? Bad Auntie sets bad examples unintentionally. Worse Auntie says things like "you're darn right I did that. So?" or "You;re complaining of some or another RantWoman excess. What if RantWoman fears the world actually needs MORE of that very Behavior?"
--put Azalea into the search bar to find one piquant Worse Auntie Moment.
--RantWoman actually thinks maybe the world needs MORE of "Grab the Blind Person and Bless them." This happens all the time to RantWoman; RantWoman can attest that it also happens worse to other blind people. RantWoman thinks that every time this occurs on the way to a Quaker event she should remember to complain and exclaim LOUDLY. RantWoman thinks she should do this for three reasons:
1. RantWoman has perhaps been remiss in taking really a VERY long time to start complaining of this in her life. Ask RantWoman if you really want timeline.
2. Maybe other people who hear RantWoman ranting will learn that this behavior is insane and even more optimistically that they too could speak up when they observe someone doing this or other behavioral cousins such as Grab the Blind Person and Drag them into traffic, Grab the Blind Person and Argue with them about walking route in traffic, or worst of all Grab the Blind Person and Impose someone else's physical needs on the Blind Person's choices.
3. MAYBE if RantWoman talks enough about her range of experiences, people will figure out which just have to be held in the Light and which really, really need more intervention and even immediate intervention.
Well, maybe
--RantWoman thinks maybe service dogs is another area the world needs MORE, not less of. For LOTS of conversations, a service dog is a service dog is a service dog and the human handler is the embodiment of responsible animal stewardship. In reality:
1. Not every blind person takes appropriate care of their companions; RantWoman has been dreading the possibility of meeting one such challenged blind person.
2. LOTS of people get their doctors to certify that it will be beneficial to live with an animal and then drag the animal everywhere, whether or not the dog gives even faint impression of finding this enjoyable. O Quaker Auntie is spending a good bit of time being pet furniture around one such creature!
3, Another RantWoman pet peeve, no matter how many certifications an animal has: feeding the dog human food and worse feeding the dog at the table.
4. And this is not even to mention intercultural issues and problems for people expected to help service dogs and their handlers get around even if the people themselves have dog-related PTSD.
Anyway, rather than go on about service chickens a service lizard, and the occasional service python, service emu or service gecko, even Worse Auntie is TRYING to get into the holiday spirit. In fact, Worse Auntie is just thinking about this fabulous hit:
I want a hippopotamus for Christmas. Only a hippopotamus will do.
http://youtu.be/7oOzszFIBcE
warning: closing trailer contains just SCANDALOUS language.
Worse Auntie also notes this historical example of communication from RantMom, should RantWoman ever have wandered near the idea of asking for a hippopotamus for Christmas:
RantWoman this is your mother. You will be getting a sweater. And you will write your grandmother a thank you letter!
Sensible Auntie would like to speak of a spirit of giving, of generosity, of thinking of the delights of others.
Sensible Auntie has gotten distracted from such centered efforts by "O Quaker Auntie." O Quaker Auntie is very relieved. Recently on one of the Rant Sister's Sunday parallel journeys to our respective houses of worship Little Sister thrilled the likes of O Quaker Auntie. Little Sister is not actually as charmed by the thought of middle school Nerf War at her house of worship as RantWoman might have suspected.
Okay, and...?
Little Sister further confessed another moment in the world of middle schooler and Nerf weaponry: Irrepressible Nephew knows how to modify the Nerf Blaster, something RantWoman suspects looks even more like a weapon than ordinary Nerf Ware. In particular, Irrepressible Nephew knows how to modify his Nerf Blaster so that it fires better or something. Bad Auntie, inadvertant setter of less than perfect examples just wants to hide under the bed and really does not want to know more details of this armament modification.
Unfortunately for RantWoman's desire to live in denial, O Quaker Auntie got summoned to a confession that Irrepressible Nephew's school peers greatly esteem this skill. Irrepressible Nephew goes to school in another neighborhood so inorder for Nephew to realize his prowess, a teacher signs off on kids making the exchange at school under the teacher's supervision.
O quaker Auntie is stuck inventorying reasons possibly to hyperventilate. O Quaker Auntie is also meditating upon a number of youngish men she knows who have grown up in the bosom of Quakerdom who have gone off to join the military because they "needed structure." SO FAR O Quaker Auntie is managing to let Irrepressible Nephew and his parents find their own paths about the modified Nerf Weaponry. So far...
Remember Worse Auntie? Bad Auntie sets bad examples unintentionally. Worse Auntie says things like "you're darn right I did that. So?" or "You;re complaining of some or another RantWoman excess. What if RantWoman fears the world actually needs MORE of that very Behavior?"
--put Azalea into the search bar to find one piquant Worse Auntie Moment.
--RantWoman actually thinks maybe the world needs MORE of "Grab the Blind Person and Bless them." This happens all the time to RantWoman; RantWoman can attest that it also happens worse to other blind people. RantWoman thinks that every time this occurs on the way to a Quaker event she should remember to complain and exclaim LOUDLY. RantWoman thinks she should do this for three reasons:
1. RantWoman has perhaps been remiss in taking really a VERY long time to start complaining of this in her life. Ask RantWoman if you really want timeline.
2. Maybe other people who hear RantWoman ranting will learn that this behavior is insane and even more optimistically that they too could speak up when they observe someone doing this or other behavioral cousins such as Grab the Blind Person and Drag them into traffic, Grab the Blind Person and Argue with them about walking route in traffic, or worst of all Grab the Blind Person and Impose someone else's physical needs on the Blind Person's choices.
3. MAYBE if RantWoman talks enough about her range of experiences, people will figure out which just have to be held in the Light and which really, really need more intervention and even immediate intervention.
Well, maybe
--RantWoman thinks maybe service dogs is another area the world needs MORE, not less of. For LOTS of conversations, a service dog is a service dog is a service dog and the human handler is the embodiment of responsible animal stewardship. In reality:
1. Not every blind person takes appropriate care of their companions; RantWoman has been dreading the possibility of meeting one such challenged blind person.
2. LOTS of people get their doctors to certify that it will be beneficial to live with an animal and then drag the animal everywhere, whether or not the dog gives even faint impression of finding this enjoyable. O Quaker Auntie is spending a good bit of time being pet furniture around one such creature!
3, Another RantWoman pet peeve, no matter how many certifications an animal has: feeding the dog human food and worse feeding the dog at the table.
4. And this is not even to mention intercultural issues and problems for people expected to help service dogs and their handlers get around even if the people themselves have dog-related PTSD.
Anyway, rather than go on about service chickens a service lizard, and the occasional service python, service emu or service gecko, even Worse Auntie is TRYING to get into the holiday spirit. In fact, Worse Auntie is just thinking about this fabulous hit:
I want a hippopotamus for Christmas. Only a hippopotamus will do.
http://youtu.be/7oOzszFIBcE
warning: closing trailer contains just SCANDALOUS language.
Worse Auntie also notes this historical example of communication from RantMom, should RantWoman ever have wandered near the idea of asking for a hippopotamus for Christmas:
RantWoman this is your mother. You will be getting a sweater. And you will write your grandmother a thank you letter!
Saturday, December 21, 2013
Unpacking one's knapsacks: Maine Wabanaki Reach
Blog as filing cabinet item about a project in Maine with Native Americans that RantWoman is fascinated to hear of.
http://mainewabanakireach.org/volunteer/
http://mainewabanakireach.org/volunteer/
Friday, December 20, 2013
Fresh Pond Minute on Corporate Support of Individual Ministries
Blog as filing cabinet item, stored here for ease of finding again even if interesting discussion ensues elsewhere.
Fresh Pond Monthly Meeting Minute on Corporate Support of Individual Ministries
http://nefriend.neym.org/FreshPond-SupportingMinistries.html
In the comments stream further detail from New England Yearly Meeting
http://www.nyym.org/leadings/PYM.htm
You, dear readers, were hoping to get by without a trademarkRantWoman tirade????
Sorry!
Not that sorry.
Cope!
First gratitudes at least:
1. RantWoman is rabidly, madly deeply grateful that these items are available in forms accessible to RantWoman.
2. RantWoman's experience is that God is bountiful, sometimes more bountiful than Friends know what to do with. RantWoman wonders whether some people find the labor-intensive aspects of Quaker mutual support sort of draining sometimes.
3. RantWoman is very interested to know what practices Fresh Pond Monthly Meeting uses to ensure a good pool of people for clearness and support committees.
The rest of these comments need to be held in the Light so that SOMEHOW the message will fall where it needs to. Those of fragile, easily rattled sensibilities are invited to stop reading and hold things in the Light.
What if the number of well seasoned leadings is larger than the capacity of the topical committees?
What if RantWoman is seasoning Leadings on others' behalf: just because some or another Friend cannot do... does not mean ... does not need to be done.
What if (RantWoman means to write a generalized Live on Planet Earth item for her transit and transportation and eldercare ramblings on her other blog and maybe possibily has in mind not only for instance people who came up in a discussion at a local transit commission but also some Weighty Friends in her own Meeting)?
Hold that thought in the Light, PLEASE
Fresh Pond Monthly Meeting Minute on Corporate Support of Individual Ministries
http://nefriend.neym.org/FreshPond-SupportingMinistries.html
In the comments stream further detail from New England Yearly Meeting
http://www.nyym.org/leadings/PYM.htm
You, dear readers, were hoping to get by without a trademarkRantWoman tirade????
Sorry!
Not that sorry.
Cope!
First gratitudes at least:
1. RantWoman is rabidly, madly deeply grateful that these items are available in forms accessible to RantWoman.
2. RantWoman's experience is that God is bountiful, sometimes more bountiful than Friends know what to do with. RantWoman wonders whether some people find the labor-intensive aspects of Quaker mutual support sort of draining sometimes.
3. RantWoman is very interested to know what practices Fresh Pond Monthly Meeting uses to ensure a good pool of people for clearness and support committees.
The rest of these comments need to be held in the Light so that SOMEHOW the message will fall where it needs to. Those of fragile, easily rattled sensibilities are invited to stop reading and hold things in the Light.
What if the number of well seasoned leadings is larger than the capacity of the topical committees?
What if RantWoman is seasoning Leadings on others' behalf: just because some or another Friend cannot do... does not mean ... does not need to be done.
What if (RantWoman means to write a generalized Live on Planet Earth item for her transit and transportation and eldercare ramblings on her other blog and maybe possibily has in mind not only for instance people who came up in a discussion at a local transit commission but also some Weighty Friends in her own Meeting)?
Hold that thought in the Light, PLEASE
Thursday, December 19, 2013
Peculiar Gifts Lucia
RantWoman is peculiarly still in Thanksgivingukkah Be grateful Stand up and Say who you are even if... Mode. RantWoman may or may not get around to elaborating by blog. The exact formulation that keeps coming to RantWoman is more than incendiary enough for RantWoman but every corner of RantWoman's life, including the Rant WaitingBasket, is overloaded to bursting. If RantWoman somehow does not get around to lobbing ONE of her many curve balls, it might not be a total calamity.
Call that sequence Peculiar Gratitude #1. RantWoman appreciates energy sometimes even when it is too much.
Peculiar Gratitude #2. RantWoman has bedbugs to thank for NOT having RantBrother crashing on her couch and instead learning that RantBrother is in MT and living indoors in exchange for part-time work. The temptation to offer RantBrother time on RantWoman's couch and prospect of needing to tell RantBrother "No" were what finally motivated RantWoman to speak to her management of the bedbug issue. Praise the Lord and take care of That of God in ME!
Peculiar Gratitude #3. The reading group still wandering through writings related to John Woolman talked at a recent session about "superfluities." RantWoman is kind of a Bad Friend in terms of attachment to sundry superfluities. However, bedbugs are one REALLY dynamic way to help chase superfluities such as phone bills from 2002 out the door. Sayonara superfluities, or some of them anyway!
Peculiar Gratitude #4 Irrepressible Nephew is also too happy to offer suggestions about bedbugs. Irrepressible Nephew and his mother suggest...COCKROACHES, something called Dubia cockroaches also fed to Irrepressible Nephew's many lizards.
http://www.nyworms.com/dubiacare.htm
http://bedbugger.com/2007/03/19/faq-is-there-an-insect-that-will-eat-bed-bugs/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bed_bug
Peculiar Gratitude #5 Supposedly, according to Little Sister and irrepressible Nephew, one does not even need cockroaches. Supposedly cockroach urine is enough to deter bedbugs from coming back. Supposedly. RantWoman is SO relieved. RantWoman was trying to imagine how to explain to her building management, "Look, these are PET cockroaches to protect against the bedbugs." Now all RantWoman has to do is come up with discrete ways to have cockroach urine present without inviting cockroaches....
Peculiar Gratitude: Lucia. RantWoma n started cataloguing these particular gratitudies on Lucia. Need we say more?
Call that sequence Peculiar Gratitude #1. RantWoman appreciates energy sometimes even when it is too much.
Peculiar Gratitude #2. RantWoman has bedbugs to thank for NOT having RantBrother crashing on her couch and instead learning that RantBrother is in MT and living indoors in exchange for part-time work. The temptation to offer RantBrother time on RantWoman's couch and prospect of needing to tell RantBrother "No" were what finally motivated RantWoman to speak to her management of the bedbug issue. Praise the Lord and take care of That of God in ME!
Peculiar Gratitude #3. The reading group still wandering through writings related to John Woolman talked at a recent session about "superfluities." RantWoman is kind of a Bad Friend in terms of attachment to sundry superfluities. However, bedbugs are one REALLY dynamic way to help chase superfluities such as phone bills from 2002 out the door. Sayonara superfluities, or some of them anyway!
Peculiar Gratitude #4 Irrepressible Nephew is also too happy to offer suggestions about bedbugs. Irrepressible Nephew and his mother suggest...COCKROACHES, something called Dubia cockroaches also fed to Irrepressible Nephew's many lizards.
http://www.nyworms.com/dubiacare.htm
http://bedbugger.com/2007/03/19/faq-is-there-an-insect-that-will-eat-bed-bugs/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bed_bug
Peculiar Gratitude #5 Supposedly, according to Little Sister and irrepressible Nephew, one does not even need cockroaches. Supposedly cockroach urine is enough to deter bedbugs from coming back. Supposedly. RantWoman is SO relieved. RantWoman was trying to imagine how to explain to her building management, "Look, these are PET cockroaches to protect against the bedbugs." Now all RantWoman has to do is come up with discrete ways to have cockroach urine present without inviting cockroaches....
Peculiar Gratitude: Lucia. RantWoma n started cataloguing these particular gratitudies on Lucia. Need we say more?
Wednesday, December 18, 2013
Claremont Friends Meeting statement on Friends and Email
RantWoman's closet full of half-prepared Christmas presents includes this item and permission from a Friend at Claremont Friends Meeting to repost.
RantWoman has a tangle of thoughts derived from an email exchange related to this policy. It's on the shelf of half-sewn, not ready for the Christmas tree items and may or may not emerge timely.
In the meantime....
FRIENDS
AND EMAIL:
Guidelines,
Concerns and Reflections
Offered by
the Committee on Ministry and Counsel of Claremont Friends Meeting
The
rapidly-evolving realms of electronic communication—from email, websites and
listserves to Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, My Space,
Friendster and beyond—pose both great opportunities and challenging issues for
Friends. The complexity of these issues is compounded by generational
differences: while most older Friends make regular use of email and websites,
Quaker youth live in a new universe of additional electronic media. Concern for
good Quaker process struggles to keep pace with this unfolding and multifaceted
revolution. Most Friends understand that the revolution is irreversible. We
need a collaborative effort to address it. For the foreseeable future, youth
will be pioneers and teachers of the new technologies; the wisdom of older,
seasoned Friends can bring the technologies into harmony with good Quaker
practice. These “Guidelines, Concerns and Reflections” are provisional. Like
The Elders at Balby, we offer them not “as a rule or form to walk by, but that
all with the measure of light which is pure and holy may be guided . . . for the
letter killeth, but the Spirit giveth life.” (1656)
The
following is adapted from the “Milwaukee Friends Meeting Report of the Ad Hoc
Committee on E-mail Communications,” by Kay Augustine, Elizabeth Evans, Tom
Fritz, and Susan Perkins, June 10, 2010.On the Positive Aspects of Email:
- Email allows for convenient and rapid exchange of information.
- Sending and reading emails may occur at the convenience of the sender and receiver.
- Emails also provide a written record of communication.
- Attachments to emails allow easy sharing of documents.
- When responding to an email, one may take time and care to compose a reply.
- When emailing multiple parties, a sender can ensure that all receive identical content.
- Email can be enlarged for those with difficulty seeing.
- Joint emails can be a convenient way to arrange meeting times and places, and to circulate agendas, minutes, and informational notes.
- Email is a poor medium for corporate discernment. Lines on a computer screen or down-loaded page cannot convey the full range of communication—facial expression, tone of voice, body language, etc. Thus emails can easily be misunderstood.
- Conveying delicate or sensitive information by email is especially challenging.
- The ease of email increases the likelihood that a message intended only for one person or group are inadvertently sent to others.
- Heavy reliance upon email contributes to information overload—and both the writing and the reading of email messages are labor intensive.
- The sender of an email may not be aware that the recipient is out of town (or checks his/her email rarely) and thus may falsely assume that a message has been received.
Please
turn over.
Access
issues: Those who do not
have computers or whose computer skills are minimal may be left out of the
loop. Even when recipients are computer literate, emails—and especially
attachments—sometimes cannot be opened. Spam blockers often bury email
communications in junk mail files, where they may never be read.Recommendations:
- Whenever possible, corporate discernment should be conducted face-to-face, or when that is not possible, by means of sensitively-managed telephone conference calls.
- Access issues should be handled sensitively—for example, by arranging for an email buddy who agrees to communicate with persons who lack email access.
- Because computers do not always talk to one another, it may be helpful to send attachments in more than one format (for example, in both “pdf” and “.doc” formats). Pasting an attachment into the body of the email message avoids the “I can’t open your attachment” problem.
- When emailing time-sensitive materials, consider following up with a phone call to ensure that the intended recipient has indeed received the message.
- Sensitive email communications should not be forwarded without the author’s consent, and should be carefully stored or archived to preserve privacy.
- Read written communication carefully and take time before responding. Write clearly, reflecting on how one’s words may be read by others.
- Exercise discretion about the use of names, remembering that your message may be read by those for whom it is not intended.
- Remember that in all communications, we are asked to cherish one another. If in doubt, let love be your guide.
Revised and approved in CFM Meeting for Business on 27 January 2013
Tuesday, December 17, 2013
Bing Meets Russian Quakerese
RantWoman has PLENTY else on her buffet of vexations today but is called to an accidental encounter of the Language Geek kind. RantWoman poked into the Russian language Quaker Facebook group Kvakery and observed the following moment of malfunctioning international language machinery:
Bing meets Quakerese, translating fromRussian:
Friends, please, keep me in the light-now we will have a very serious meeting on the future of real estate of our gathering
How RantWoman would translate the status in question; What the Russian says.in idiomatic English Quakerese
Friends, Please hold me in the Light. We are about to have a very difficult meeting about the future of our Meeting's property.
RantWoman would opine about this in Russian except that she is not using her own computer. Besides keyboard setup issues, Mr. JAWS is sort of uncooperative about Russian unless specifically told to deal. Sigh. Whine.
Bing meets Quakerese, translating fromRussian:
Friends, please, keep me in the light-now we will have a very serious meeting on the future of real estate of our gathering
How RantWoman would translate the status in question; What the Russian says.in idiomatic English Quakerese
Friends, Please hold me in the Light. We are about to have a very difficult meeting about the future of our Meeting's property.
RantWoman would opine about this in Russian except that she is not using her own computer. Besides keyboard setup issues, Mr. JAWS is sort of uncooperative about Russian unless specifically told to deal. Sigh. Whine.
Christmas presents: minutes AND email.
RantWoman has discovered that her email drafts folder is a little like the closet where one stores Christmas presents one has accumulated over a good spell before the holiday. Here are two such presents, one about minutes and one about email. Readers are invited to note that RantWoman is holding them in the Light as they read.
RantWoman of late has been called, repeatedly to concerns about minutes, specifically the difference between recording decisions and recording minutes of exercise hopefully reflecting the range of comments about some or another issue.
RantWoman is aware that, at least in others' estimation, she is probably overachieving on numerous not preferable dimensions. RantWoman suggests that readers who venture further and find themselves perplexed either trust their Light or feel free to inquire of RantWoman what the heck she is talking about.
With minutes of decision, precision and clarity are greatly to be desired. With minutes of exercise, RantWoman feels called to point out that part of the POINT of the exercise is like tilling a garden with different plants able to make different things of the available material.
RantWoman is holding several minutes of exercise situations for additional discernment. RantWoman takes exception to what has gotten recorded in all of them. RantWoman is clear repeatedly to speak specifically because of a sense of community going astray from Truth if she does not. Hold RantWoman--and community--in the Light.
First, the tilling the garden thoughts came from a conversation involving lots of references to pruning, dislike of thinkings that seem like voting or that seem argumentative or repetitive. RantWoman wanted to speak more of tuning, of pulling different voices into the right chord and harmonies for the situation.
Not to be argumentative, but how are Friends supposed to discern sense of the room if some threads do not get woven into a succession of offerings?
RantWoman also particularly points out that Friends sometimes need to hold thoughts of "helpful" on different timeline. RantWoman sent argumentative email to one of the people behind the "don't be argumentative" votes. RantWoman has acquired some experience working with disaster preparedness topics for very diverse audiences. RantWoman pointed out that certain behaviors which are actually already darned annoying when everyone is warm and dry and the lights are on might be peculiarly helpful in making those assembled think of resources needed for more extreme circumstances. If RantWoman thinks about this thread a few steps further, she suspects a topical query might be what spiritual resources are needed in worlds of White People Adjustment / What really needs to evolve to whip this Climate Change thing conferences?
Not to be argumentative, but RantWoman has been holding the following thoughts: "Trust the committee" vs test the committee; bring it to the group and let go. When RantWoman drafted this she had in mind 3 situations where what the Business Meeting did with the work of the committee was very different from what the committee did. In the interest of conciseness if RantWoman recalls these situations in form sufficient for blogging, RantWoman promises to examine them in their own entry.
The second challenge on RantWoman's mind is the use of email for Quaker Business. RantWoman is not prepared to lay down her clerkship of the Association of Bad Friends Still Didn't Get the Memo Committee on Email Immoderation; this can be one problem. The other problem is that every time RantWoman picks up the question of email, it turns all squishy in her hands.
RantWoman adores email BECAUSE it is a record of what was said. RantWoman deeply appreciates being able to use a search bar and find things without having to skim her own impossible handwriting. RantWoman also has personal experience with people who say they dislike email, have work history reasons for being leery of email, but also maybe have a hearing loss and, it turns out, actually do much better by email.
In this vein, RantWoman was thrilled by a Quarterly Meeting plenary a couple Quarterly Meetings ago involving a restorative circle exercise exactly about the pros and cons of email. RantWoman only wishes everyone in her life for whom email is a vexed question had been at the Quarterly Meeting.
For example RantWoman attended a Clerking workshop with Weighty Friends who Teach Clerking. One of the items handed out as if it were holy writ without invitation to discuss was a statement on email seasoned by Milwaukee and Claremont Friends, Friends of a generation who dislike email.
After the clerking workshop, RantWoman banged out a series of emails to the effect, among other things, that perhaps Friends who cannot imagine God showing up by email may in fact be writing whole generations out of their concept of the divine. RantWoman is grateful that her offerings were well-received in the abstract; applications in practice around RantWoman continue to evolve.
Friends
RantWoman of late has been called, repeatedly to concerns about minutes, specifically the difference between recording decisions and recording minutes of exercise hopefully reflecting the range of comments about some or another issue.
RantWoman is aware that, at least in others' estimation, she is probably overachieving on numerous not preferable dimensions. RantWoman suggests that readers who venture further and find themselves perplexed either trust their Light or feel free to inquire of RantWoman what the heck she is talking about.
With minutes of decision, precision and clarity are greatly to be desired. With minutes of exercise, RantWoman feels called to point out that part of the POINT of the exercise is like tilling a garden with different plants able to make different things of the available material.
RantWoman is holding several minutes of exercise situations for additional discernment. RantWoman takes exception to what has gotten recorded in all of them. RantWoman is clear repeatedly to speak specifically because of a sense of community going astray from Truth if she does not. Hold RantWoman--and community--in the Light.
First, the tilling the garden thoughts came from a conversation involving lots of references to pruning, dislike of thinkings that seem like voting or that seem argumentative or repetitive. RantWoman wanted to speak more of tuning, of pulling different voices into the right chord and harmonies for the situation.
Not to be argumentative, but how are Friends supposed to discern sense of the room if some threads do not get woven into a succession of offerings?
RantWoman also particularly points out that Friends sometimes need to hold thoughts of "helpful" on different timeline. RantWoman sent argumentative email to one of the people behind the "don't be argumentative" votes. RantWoman has acquired some experience working with disaster preparedness topics for very diverse audiences. RantWoman pointed out that certain behaviors which are actually already darned annoying when everyone is warm and dry and the lights are on might be peculiarly helpful in making those assembled think of resources needed for more extreme circumstances. If RantWoman thinks about this thread a few steps further, she suspects a topical query might be what spiritual resources are needed in worlds of White People Adjustment / What really needs to evolve to whip this Climate Change thing conferences?
Not to be argumentative, but RantWoman has been holding the following thoughts: "Trust the committee" vs test the committee; bring it to the group and let go. When RantWoman drafted this she had in mind 3 situations where what the Business Meeting did with the work of the committee was very different from what the committee did. In the interest of conciseness if RantWoman recalls these situations in form sufficient for blogging, RantWoman promises to examine them in their own entry.
The second challenge on RantWoman's mind is the use of email for Quaker Business. RantWoman is not prepared to lay down her clerkship of the Association of Bad Friends Still Didn't Get the Memo Committee on Email Immoderation; this can be one problem. The other problem is that every time RantWoman picks up the question of email, it turns all squishy in her hands.
RantWoman adores email BECAUSE it is a record of what was said. RantWoman deeply appreciates being able to use a search bar and find things without having to skim her own impossible handwriting. RantWoman also has personal experience with people who say they dislike email, have work history reasons for being leery of email, but also maybe have a hearing loss and, it turns out, actually do much better by email.
In this vein, RantWoman was thrilled by a Quarterly Meeting plenary a couple Quarterly Meetings ago involving a restorative circle exercise exactly about the pros and cons of email. RantWoman only wishes everyone in her life for whom email is a vexed question had been at the Quarterly Meeting.
For example RantWoman attended a Clerking workshop with Weighty Friends who Teach Clerking. One of the items handed out as if it were holy writ without invitation to discuss was a statement on email seasoned by Milwaukee and Claremont Friends, Friends of a generation who dislike email.
After the clerking workshop, RantWoman banged out a series of emails to the effect, among other things, that perhaps Friends who cannot imagine God showing up by email may in fact be writing whole generations out of their concept of the divine. RantWoman is grateful that her offerings were well-received in the abstract; applications in practice around RantWoman continue to evolve.
Friends
Saturday, December 14, 2013
Remembering / Preventing the Sandy Hook Shooting
RantWoman thinks some readers will be grateful only to look at the two items here as a memorial to the Sandy Hook Shootings.
First, a father of one of the murdered boys at a retreat with Thich Nhat Khan
Next, " Love all the Children" writing from Lucy Duncan
http://www.afsc.org/friends/love-all-children-disarming-our-hearts-after-shootings-sandy-hook-school
RantWoman readers who read the above and wonder where the hell the real RantWoman has gone will have another opportunity to find out shortly.
RantWoman is deeply moved by Lucy Duncan's words here. RantWoman is also happy to hold the cares of grieving parents who might not be anywhere near ready to think about all the other grief beyond them.
RantWoman does not hold these parents because she is Wonder Quaker. In fact, RantWoman alternates between "too much Buddhism makes me want to punch people" and "okay, may we sit with that. RantWoman holds these parents in particular care because RantWoman remembers a time when she was deeply grieving the passing of RantDad. Somewhere along the way, someone said something that RantWoman now remembers as something like "What? You think you are the first person who has ever grieverd or the only person grieving?"
RantWoman remembers being TERRIBLY affronted and thinking that was just RUDE.
Rude?
And also incredibly helpful. Uhhh ...
For now just hold this community in theLight.
First, a father of one of the murdered boys at a retreat with Thich Nhat Khan
Next, " Love all the Children" writing from Lucy Duncan
http://www.afsc.org/friends/love-all-children-disarming-our-hearts-after-shootings-sandy-hook-school
RantWoman readers who read the above and wonder where the hell the real RantWoman has gone will have another opportunity to find out shortly.
RantWoman is deeply moved by Lucy Duncan's words here. RantWoman is also happy to hold the cares of grieving parents who might not be anywhere near ready to think about all the other grief beyond them.
RantWoman does not hold these parents because she is Wonder Quaker. In fact, RantWoman alternates between "too much Buddhism makes me want to punch people" and "okay, may we sit with that. RantWoman holds these parents in particular care because RantWoman remembers a time when she was deeply grieving the passing of RantDad. Somewhere along the way, someone said something that RantWoman now remembers as something like "What? You think you are the first person who has ever grieverd or the only person grieving?"
RantWoman remembers being TERRIBLY affronted and thinking that was just RUDE.
Rude?
And also incredibly helpful. Uhhh ...
For now just hold this community in theLight.
Friday, December 13, 2013
Santa Lucia / Friday the 13th
RantWoman notes the festive coincidence of St. Lucia and Friday the 13th.
Luciamorgan i Kungholmes Kyrka Beautiful church service plus narrative afterward in Swedish. Very Bergman
http://youtu.be/MLycexat2xk
RantWoman received this behind a Poo-pouri ad. RantWoman cannot imagine buying the product but RantWoman keeps encountering the ad and is bemused by efforts tto pretend what one is not. RantWoman is also bemused by multiple very churchy offerings for what is a VERY pagan holiday.
Lucia Mariakyrkan Helsingborg 2012
http://youtu.be/9KEHFP78h4o
RantWoman especially likes the headware here. RantWoman also notes a short sermon in Finnish, a snippet of the Hallelujah chorus in English and a lovely contemporary thing.
RantWoman is just overflowing with bemusements.
Luciamorgan i Kungholmes Kyrka Beautiful church service plus narrative afterward in Swedish. Very Bergman
http://youtu.be/MLycexat2xk
RantWoman received this behind a Poo-pouri ad. RantWoman cannot imagine buying the product but RantWoman keeps encountering the ad and is bemused by efforts tto pretend what one is not. RantWoman is also bemused by multiple very churchy offerings for what is a VERY pagan holiday.
Lucia Mariakyrkan Helsingborg 2012
http://youtu.be/9KEHFP78h4o
RantWoman especially likes the headware here. RantWoman also notes a short sermon in Finnish, a snippet of the Hallelujah chorus in English and a lovely contemporary thing.
RantWoman is just overflowing with bemusements.
Monday, December 9, 2013
Advent Week 2
RantWoman, inquiring minds may or may not want to know but they get to find out anyway:
What is thy leading as to Advent Bloggery?
RantWoman's leadings are as follows:
--There are FOUR Sundays in Advent and RantWoman means to try at least to mark all of these, plus or minus a day or two.
--RantWoman's soul is seething with backlogged topics to write of but RantWoman is challenged both by time and by need, overdue, to upgrade personal computer.
--RantWoman's brain is seething with topics which involve her faith community but may or may not be confined to her faith community.
--RantWoman's life is RICH in inclinations to rant at length and may or may not rant only in her Quaker blog.
Please hold both RantWoman and those in the vicinity of the Inner blowtorch in the Light.
What is thy leading as to Advent Bloggery?
RantWoman's leadings are as follows:
--There are FOUR Sundays in Advent and RantWoman means to try at least to mark all of these, plus or minus a day or two.
--RantWoman's soul is seething with backlogged topics to write of but RantWoman is challenged both by time and by need, overdue, to upgrade personal computer.
--RantWoman's brain is seething with topics which involve her faith community but may or may not be confined to her faith community.
--RantWoman's life is RICH in inclinations to rant at length and may or may not rant only in her Quaker blog.
Please hold both RantWoman and those in the vicinity of the Inner blowtorch in the Light.
Thursday, December 5, 2013
Day 8 Gratitudes and
Gratitude for current struggle
http://nbclatino.com/2013/12/04/film-justice-for-my-sister-becomes-movement-for-eradicating-violence-against-women/
Gratitude: The anniversary of the Montgomery Bus Boycott
http://www.montgomeryboycott.com/overview/
Gratitude for struggle: Nelson Mandela, July 18, 1918-December 5 2013.
RantWoman will write minutes today that begin:
"The meeting (conference call) opened with a period of silence and particular appreciation for the life of Nelson Mandela."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-25249520
"I was not a messiah but an ordinary man who had become a leadedr because of
extraordinary circumstances."
For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.
"education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world."
Josh Groban and Aretha Franklin at mandela Day 2009, You raise Me up.
http://youtu.be/OqUBHTy0PRM
Brenda Fassie, Vuli Ndela with Mandela
http://youtu.be/wFBGeQL6Gzk
Seems the Biblical sins of our fathers visted on the seventh generation may apply among mice exposed to bad smells too. RantWoman apologizes for not having acitation, but since the point is thematic resonance, perhaps her readers and bear with the problem.
And from Johan Maurer
http://johanpdx.blogspot.com/2013/12/myths.html
withs riffs on fathers and sons, peace in the middle east...
The last of 8 nights of Light: RantWoman needs to declare time warp and inner blowtorch blazing in order to come back and riff on the interfaith psychodynamics behind why RantWoman does not have the most positive associations ever with dreidls. It's one of those circumstances that could have come together MANY ways. It just happens that in the realm of the RantFamily dreidls are a fine shorthand. But What's on RantWoman's mind deserves its own space and RantWoman does not want to try to compete with Nelson Mandela.
But in the realm of peculiar gratitudes and love managing gnarly realities, RantWoman is REALLY grateful both for various abuse prevention educational events around her Meeting and grateful that parents show up and interact in much more centerd and informed ways than the Rant Parents ever could. And.....
http://nbclatino.com/2013/12/04/film-justice-for-my-sister-becomes-movement-for-eradicating-violence-against-women/
Gratitude: The anniversary of the Montgomery Bus Boycott
http://www.montgomeryboycott.com/overview/
Gratitude for struggle: Nelson Mandela, July 18, 1918-December 5 2013.
RantWoman will write minutes today that begin:
"The meeting (conference call) opened with a period of silence and particular appreciation for the life of Nelson Mandela."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-25249520
"I was not a messiah but an ordinary man who had become a leadedr because of
extraordinary circumstances."
For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.
"education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world."
Josh Groban and Aretha Franklin at mandela Day 2009, You raise Me up.
http://youtu.be/OqUBHTy0PRM
Brenda Fassie, Vuli Ndela with Mandela
http://youtu.be/wFBGeQL6Gzk
Seems the Biblical sins of our fathers visted on the seventh generation may apply among mice exposed to bad smells too. RantWoman apologizes for not having acitation, but since the point is thematic resonance, perhaps her readers and bear with the problem.
And from Johan Maurer
http://johanpdx.blogspot.com/2013/12/myths.html
withs riffs on fathers and sons, peace in the middle east...
The last of 8 nights of Light: RantWoman needs to declare time warp and inner blowtorch blazing in order to come back and riff on the interfaith psychodynamics behind why RantWoman does not have the most positive associations ever with dreidls. It's one of those circumstances that could have come together MANY ways. It just happens that in the realm of the RantFamily dreidls are a fine shorthand. But What's on RantWoman's mind deserves its own space and RantWoman does not want to try to compete with Nelson Mandela.
But in the realm of peculiar gratitudes and love managing gnarly realities, RantWoman is REALLY grateful both for various abuse prevention educational events around her Meeting and grateful that parents show up and interact in much more centerd and informed ways than the Rant Parents ever could. And.....
Wednesday, December 4, 2013
Day 7 Lucid Email
RantWoman's peculiar gratitudes for the seventh night of Hanukkah this year:
SO FAR, RantWoman has resisted the temptation both to send Care and Counsel Committee one of RantBrother's less than lucid emails and then to ask which members of the Still Didn't Get the Memo Committee on Email Immoderation Care and Counsel might find helpful to invite to the discussion.
RantWoman supposes that others might be grateful that RantWoman herself has to contend with some people and tendencies that fully qualify for service on the Still Didn't Get the Memo committee. In particular:
--RantWoman keeps trying to do projects with people whose first language is not English and who definitely prefer that RantWoman figure out how to talk to them rather than write email. Can you say Growing Edge?
--RantWoman has benefitted greatly from the services from Obsessive Compulsive Receptionst, OCR for short. OCR is TERRIBLY competent, as in so competent and diligent that she sends RantWoman emails that are even more oppressive than some of RantWoman's and sends them even later at night. Besides the issue of how to work with several issues arising from these traits, one of RantWoman's peculiar gratitudes is that MAYBE she will be able at some point to cite these interactions as part of the diversity on steroids experiences of the Friendly Neighborhood Center for Extreme Computing. Maybe.
--RantWoman has another colleague at the Friendly Neighborhood Center who RantWoman might nominate for service on the Still Didn't get the Memo Committee. Put Attack Receptionist into the search bar. This is Mr. Attack Receptionist. His first concern: he definitely still wants to be involved and contribute. One of the main things he is involved with is sending email about how he is not available due to illness or dialysis. The second thing he gets involved with is the kind of intemperate emails that cause one's colleagues never ever to want Mr. Attack Receptionist to speak on their behalf in any kind of a visible communications role. But he likes baseball. Run with that?
Anyway, RantWoman appreciates:
--Recent, comparatively LUCID email from RantBrother
(RantBrother seems to have quit drinking several months ago. SOMETIMES he can now talk about how probably it was not a good idea as shift manager at his job to come to work plastered. )
--Awhile back, RantBrother's email themes made an interesting progression. For a long time RantBrother would from time to time send RantWoman email detailing a long enemies list. One interesting point was the starting date of the enemies list; another was that at a certain point, it did not seem like he was adding new enemies. RantWoman was not able to evaluate any action items in the enemies list but Literature Brain was interested to note a shift at one point to a "They're trying to kill me" list and a list attached to different events and geography.
RantWoman has inner blowtorch blazing for a whole bunch of reasons. Maybe RantWoman will spell out enough of what is one her mind to fit into 8 days of Hanukkah. Maybe RantWoman will declare a time warp in order to hold the whole story. Hold the thought in the Light.
SO FAR, RantWoman has resisted the temptation both to send Care and Counsel Committee one of RantBrother's less than lucid emails and then to ask which members of the Still Didn't Get the Memo Committee on Email Immoderation Care and Counsel might find helpful to invite to the discussion.
RantWoman supposes that others might be grateful that RantWoman herself has to contend with some people and tendencies that fully qualify for service on the Still Didn't Get the Memo committee. In particular:
--RantWoman keeps trying to do projects with people whose first language is not English and who definitely prefer that RantWoman figure out how to talk to them rather than write email. Can you say Growing Edge?
--RantWoman has benefitted greatly from the services from Obsessive Compulsive Receptionst, OCR for short. OCR is TERRIBLY competent, as in so competent and diligent that she sends RantWoman emails that are even more oppressive than some of RantWoman's and sends them even later at night. Besides the issue of how to work with several issues arising from these traits, one of RantWoman's peculiar gratitudes is that MAYBE she will be able at some point to cite these interactions as part of the diversity on steroids experiences of the Friendly Neighborhood Center for Extreme Computing. Maybe.
--RantWoman has another colleague at the Friendly Neighborhood Center who RantWoman might nominate for service on the Still Didn't get the Memo Committee. Put Attack Receptionist into the search bar. This is Mr. Attack Receptionist. His first concern: he definitely still wants to be involved and contribute. One of the main things he is involved with is sending email about how he is not available due to illness or dialysis. The second thing he gets involved with is the kind of intemperate emails that cause one's colleagues never ever to want Mr. Attack Receptionist to speak on their behalf in any kind of a visible communications role. But he likes baseball. Run with that?
Anyway, RantWoman appreciates:
--Recent, comparatively LUCID email from RantBrother
(RantBrother seems to have quit drinking several months ago. SOMETIMES he can now talk about how probably it was not a good idea as shift manager at his job to come to work plastered. )
--Awhile back, RantBrother's email themes made an interesting progression. For a long time RantBrother would from time to time send RantWoman email detailing a long enemies list. One interesting point was the starting date of the enemies list; another was that at a certain point, it did not seem like he was adding new enemies. RantWoman was not able to evaluate any action items in the enemies list but Literature Brain was interested to note a shift at one point to a "They're trying to kill me" list and a list attached to different events and geography.
RantWoman has inner blowtorch blazing for a whole bunch of reasons. Maybe RantWoman will spell out enough of what is one her mind to fit into 8 days of Hanukkah. Maybe RantWoman will declare a time warp in order to hold the whole story. Hold the thought in the Light.
Monday, December 2, 2013
Hanukkah Day 6. Fire Photon Torpedoes
Again in the zone of peculiar gratitudes and ferocious Light, a couple weeks ago Meeting for Worship featured two "please hold me in the Light" messages, one with an implicit request and one more explicit.
The more explicit request: a Friend was facing surgery for breast cancer. RantWoman found herself thinking of RantMom and a blind friend both of whom suffer miserably from neuropathy after their cancer treatment. RantWoman is terribly glad to have both still among us and terribly glad RantMom is finally admitting she finds neuropathy a giant nuisance in the kitchen. Blind Friend would quite like still to be able to read Braille and no longer can.:The words that did not make it out of RantWoman's mouth: "well, of course I must hold you in the Light...and we will still love you even if all the treatments give you neuropathy."
The implicit request to be held in the Light came from a Friend needing to monitor vision for signs of a detached retina. Friend REALLY likes to read and RantWoman has to assume the phrase "detached retina" sounds absolutely terrifying. RantWoman GUESSES she gets to be grateful to have resisted slight nudgings toward "attack of the trauma all stars" comments. RantWoman definitely qualifies for opthalomology frequent flyer points and has plenty of opportunity to get in touch with joys of repeatedly being Exhibit A for newly minted opthamological technicians and having to remind them of long history.
RantWoman's history includes the term detached retina, twice, in 3 languages just to explain to key groupies. RantWoman's detached retinas did not qualify for simple laser beams tacking things back in place. RantWoman's option was MUCH more invasive including a band around each eye and a gas bubble inside for weeks. On the bus, one on one, RantWoman in other medical situations has found herself hearing some version of "been there. Done That.Got the T-shirt and a bunch of hardware and some more frequent flier miles besides. RantWoman has not felt called to spell things out in Meeting for worship for the whole community to hold either. Instead RantWoman gets to be grateful for Star Trek.
The one time RantWoman had to have something ophthalmological done with a laser beam,all RantWoman could think of was "Fire Photon torpedoes!" RantWoman does not want to speculate whether that comment would be helpful for the Friend who spoke. It certainly covered RantWoman's experience with a shock wave and a precise enough quantumof energy to remind RantWoman of some laser-themed mad scientist moments in summer science programs in high school.
Fire photon torpedoes indeed. Light up the blog screen.
The more explicit request: a Friend was facing surgery for breast cancer. RantWoman found herself thinking of RantMom and a blind friend both of whom suffer miserably from neuropathy after their cancer treatment. RantWoman is terribly glad to have both still among us and terribly glad RantMom is finally admitting she finds neuropathy a giant nuisance in the kitchen. Blind Friend would quite like still to be able to read Braille and no longer can.:The words that did not make it out of RantWoman's mouth: "well, of course I must hold you in the Light...and we will still love you even if all the treatments give you neuropathy."
The implicit request to be held in the Light came from a Friend needing to monitor vision for signs of a detached retina. Friend REALLY likes to read and RantWoman has to assume the phrase "detached retina" sounds absolutely terrifying. RantWoman GUESSES she gets to be grateful to have resisted slight nudgings toward "attack of the trauma all stars" comments. RantWoman definitely qualifies for opthalomology frequent flyer points and has plenty of opportunity to get in touch with joys of repeatedly being Exhibit A for newly minted opthamological technicians and having to remind them of long history.
RantWoman's history includes the term detached retina, twice, in 3 languages just to explain to key groupies. RantWoman's detached retinas did not qualify for simple laser beams tacking things back in place. RantWoman's option was MUCH more invasive including a band around each eye and a gas bubble inside for weeks. On the bus, one on one, RantWoman in other medical situations has found herself hearing some version of "been there. Done That.Got the T-shirt and a bunch of hardware and some more frequent flier miles besides. RantWoman has not felt called to spell things out in Meeting for worship for the whole community to hold either. Instead RantWoman gets to be grateful for Star Trek.
The one time RantWoman had to have something ophthalmological done with a laser beam,all RantWoman could think of was "Fire Photon torpedoes!" RantWoman does not want to speculate whether that comment would be helpful for the Friend who spoke. It certainly covered RantWoman's experience with a shock wave and a precise enough quantumof energy to remind RantWoman of some laser-themed mad scientist moments in summer science programs in high school.
Fire photon torpedoes indeed. Light up the blog screen.
Sunday, December 1, 2013
Hanukkah Day 5: Gratitudes. Light. Arrest Anniversary
In the category of clear Light and call to public witness, RantWoman is grateful to receive a link for this wonderful post about today being the anniversary of Rosa Parks' most famous bus ride.
http://www.tolerance.org/magazine/number-29-spring-2006/department/remembering-rosa-parks
RantWoman admits to a certain schandefreude and sense of rebbellion against current holiday BUYING imperatives. RantWoman remembers reading somewhere that starting the Montgomery bus boycott during the Christmas shopping season was one reason for its impact.
RantWoman is also grateful for the woman, whose name RantWoman apologizes for not recalling, who had gotten arrested a few days or weeks earlier also for refusing to yield her seat on a bus. RantWoman feels called to mention this woman's role as a pathbreaker, a goad to people to look for a more "respectable" figure to be the public face of the issue of segregation on public transit in Montgomery.
RantWoman is happy to take a break from cataloguing at least some of the more presentable seething in her head during and after Meeting for worship and to reflect on Hanukkah-themed messages in worship, including Please hold in the Light moments.
One Friend spoke of lighting candles locally, of inviting Friends over one night and having one of her visitors get his driver's side car window smashed.
RantWoman has a Friend who lives in "The South" who expresses reservations about who she invites over because of judaica in her house.
RantWoman has a former housemate who now observes Hanukkah in Hong Kong. Housemate who now lives in Hong Kong participated with RantWoman in many moments of outspoken presence in college. RantWoman and Housemate were in college at a time when self-righteous college students could always be on the side of angels by talking about South Africa.
One time RantWoman and Housemate and several others were making signs for a Divestment protest and someone mused aloud about what to write on a sign.
RantWoman: "How about "Divest Now, Pinheads"?
RantWoman proceeded to write "Divest Now" on the sign; Housemate was happy to take over and turn the sign into "Divest Now Pinheads." Guess which sign made the front page of the paper. Do angelic troublemakers really get to say "Divest Now Pinheads?"
The pinheads issue did not make it out of RantWoman's mouth during Meeting for worship.
More's the pity.
But someone's hope always to be on the side of angels did. Hold that point in the Light.
http://www.tolerance.org/magazine/number-29-spring-2006/department/remembering-rosa-parks
RantWoman admits to a certain schandefreude and sense of rebbellion against current holiday BUYING imperatives. RantWoman remembers reading somewhere that starting the Montgomery bus boycott during the Christmas shopping season was one reason for its impact.
RantWoman is also grateful for the woman, whose name RantWoman apologizes for not recalling, who had gotten arrested a few days or weeks earlier also for refusing to yield her seat on a bus. RantWoman feels called to mention this woman's role as a pathbreaker, a goad to people to look for a more "respectable" figure to be the public face of the issue of segregation on public transit in Montgomery.
RantWoman is happy to take a break from cataloguing at least some of the more presentable seething in her head during and after Meeting for worship and to reflect on Hanukkah-themed messages in worship, including Please hold in the Light moments.
One Friend spoke of lighting candles locally, of inviting Friends over one night and having one of her visitors get his driver's side car window smashed.
RantWoman has a Friend who lives in "The South" who expresses reservations about who she invites over because of judaica in her house.
RantWoman has a former housemate who now observes Hanukkah in Hong Kong. Housemate who now lives in Hong Kong participated with RantWoman in many moments of outspoken presence in college. RantWoman and Housemate were in college at a time when self-righteous college students could always be on the side of angels by talking about South Africa.
One time RantWoman and Housemate and several others were making signs for a Divestment protest and someone mused aloud about what to write on a sign.
RantWoman: "How about "Divest Now, Pinheads"?
RantWoman proceeded to write "Divest Now" on the sign; Housemate was happy to take over and turn the sign into "Divest Now Pinheads." Guess which sign made the front page of the paper. Do angelic troublemakers really get to say "Divest Now Pinheads?"
The pinheads issue did not make it out of RantWoman's mouth during Meeting for worship.
More's the pity.
But someone's hope always to be on the side of angels did. Hold that point in the Light.
Hanukkah Day 4 Do you hear what I hear?
A popular Christmas Carol, interpreted....
RantWoman dedicates this post and the video clip to
--everyone anywhere overendowed with prodigious capacity to mishear and have brain misfire, particularly if the misfire involves the kneejerk gift of blurting out highly insistent utterances.
--everyone anywhere who, for any reason up to and including auditory hallucinations hears things that go winging past others. RantWoman recommends not overdoing the auditory hallucinations, but when things are going by anyway, the people being flown past cannot necessarily tell the difference anyway. We must try to be tender with such.
Tender? This is RantWoman!?!?!?
But RanWoman,what does this have to do with Hanukkah?
Uhhh, I dunno but it's the first Sunday of advent.
RantWoman dedicates this post and the video clip to
--everyone anywhere overendowed with prodigious capacity to mishear and have brain misfire, particularly if the misfire involves the kneejerk gift of blurting out highly insistent utterances.
--everyone anywhere who, for any reason up to and including auditory hallucinations hears things that go winging past others. RantWoman recommends not overdoing the auditory hallucinations, but when things are going by anyway, the people being flown past cannot necessarily tell the difference anyway. We must try to be tender with such.
Tender? This is RantWoman!?!?!?
But RanWoman,what does this have to do with Hanukkah?
Uhhh, I dunno but it's the first Sunday of advent.
Saturday, November 30, 2013
Hanukkah Day 3. The Maccabeats, Fire
RantWoman might expect "we got the fire.." from certain flavorsof Christians. RantWoman would not at all have expected to hear it for Hanukkah. Yet here it is.
RantWoman might expect "we got the fire.." from certain flavorsof Christians. RantWoman would not at all have expected to hear it for Hanukkah. Yet here it is.
--In the spirit of not expecting... RantWoman needs, gratefully, to grab the Hanukkah theme of what seems completely inadequate to a need lasting and lasting and lasting 8 days or a whole feast of loaves and fishes. The bakery where the loaves will come from seems still to have many wacky things going on so let's not get TOO carried away, but...
--RantWoman is very grateful for Blow Things Up software which enables her to appreciate the visuals of this video. Video description is beyond RantWoman's Light so in terms of sowing interdependence, please ask someone nearby for this if you need it.
--In terms of "we got the fire," RantWomanhas a certain amount of nuclear power plant themed academentia (a master's thesis, to be precise) in her past. So RantWoman has felt like a spectator with an odd view of Iran's civilian nuclear energy and uranium enrichment saga. That was before an Israeli's social media comment, secondhand, a couple weeks ago while everyone RantWoman knows who works for the federal government was subjected to unintended paid vacation: "You don't have a government and the government you don't have is talking to Iran."
The important thing for the moment: RantWoman is grateful that parties to talks about uranium enrichment have recognized that a bunch of UN resolutions cannot just rewrite the terms of the Non-Proliferation Treaty. RantWoman sees the recently concluded multiparty agreement about this issue as HUGE steps forward. RantWoman would not mind if it were within her Light to write this thought in more polished terms but let us start where we are.
Hanukkah Day 2 Worship Aids
Thanksgiving; RantMom
RantWoman apologizes. She remembers generalized gratitude during Thanksgiving Meeting for Worship; she does not remember gratitude as precisely wrought as some years. Or maybe RantWoman was also too busy being tender toward RantMom. RantMom is recovering from pneumonia. She is recovering slowly. Hold her in the Light.
RantWoman is grateful too so far to have resisted several rounds of temptation toward SERIOUS Bad Friend behavior during Meeting for Worship, and not just on Thanksgiving when RantMom could probably still elbow an ill-behaved RantWoman in the ribs if the occasion required it.
--RantWoman continues to have all sorts of issues with certain printed worship aids but so far RantWoman has managed to resist any thoughts of a braille marathon on the offending documents explaining her point of view. RantWoman is seasoning a rather different suggestion. Please hold in the Light RantWoman's seasoning of what to do with these thoughts.
--Remember that clip of Shout to the Lord sung to Led Zeppelin?
http://rantwomanrsof.blogspot.com/2013/11/angry-birds-led-zeppelin-samson-delilah.html
SO FAR, RantWoman and probably other worshipers are grateful that urges to play the clip in Meeting for Worship have yielded to the prospect of utterly pathetic performance as squeaked out by one of RantWoman's new auditorily underpowered Android devices
RantWoman apologizes. She remembers generalized gratitude during Thanksgiving Meeting for Worship; she does not remember gratitude as precisely wrought as some years. Or maybe RantWoman was also too busy being tender toward RantMom. RantMom is recovering from pneumonia. She is recovering slowly. Hold her in the Light.
RantWoman is grateful too so far to have resisted several rounds of temptation toward SERIOUS Bad Friend behavior during Meeting for Worship, and not just on Thanksgiving when RantMom could probably still elbow an ill-behaved RantWoman in the ribs if the occasion required it.
--RantWoman continues to have all sorts of issues with certain printed worship aids but so far RantWoman has managed to resist any thoughts of a braille marathon on the offending documents explaining her point of view. RantWoman is seasoning a rather different suggestion. Please hold in the Light RantWoman's seasoning of what to do with these thoughts.
--Remember that clip of Shout to the Lord sung to Led Zeppelin?
http://rantwomanrsof.blogspot.com/2013/11/angry-birds-led-zeppelin-samson-delilah.html
SO FAR, RantWoman and probably other worshipers are grateful that urges to play the clip in Meeting for Worship have yielded to the prospect of utterly pathetic performance as squeaked out by one of RantWoman's new auditorily underpowered Android devices
Wednesday, November 27, 2013
Hanukkah, Peculiar Gratitudes, Inner Blowtorch Day 1
RantWoman feels led to celebrate the historic convergence of Thanksgiving and Hanukkah with 8 days of Dark and Light, peculiar gratitudes, possibly tasteless observations, and questionable reflections all illumined in RantWoman's Inner Blowtorch. By the grace of God(dess?) perhaps RantWoman will even include some reflections on the actual history and story behind the celebration.
Or RantWoman will ask Adam Sandler:
http://rantwoman.blogspot.com/2013/11/thank-you-adam-sandler.html
Please, hold this all in Light and stay tuned
Or RantWoman will ask Adam Sandler:
http://rantwoman.blogspot.com/2013/11/thank-you-adam-sandler.html
Please, hold this all in Light and stay tuned
Tuesday, November 26, 2013
Email: The Gospel According to, oops well, Care and Counsel.
RantWoman, God, and the Still Didn't
Get the Memo Committee on Email Immoderation are feeling called to hold worship
sharing with the, oops well, Care and Counsel Committee at RantWoman's Meeting
about the subject of email. RantWoman proposes to serve as Recording clerk and
to record minutes of much exercise in a separate entry. RantWoman is still
seasoning the matter of what queries to begin with.
RantWoman hopes that God shows up in
words, but notes a peculiar God historical tendency to show up in burning
bushes, pillars of cloud, commandments etched in stone tablets, plagues,
pestilence, planetary inundations, and sundry other difficult to parse manifestations.
RantWoman, this is God. If the entire Still Didn't Get the Memo committee shows up and everyone talks one blop at a time, this one worship sharing is going to take millenia.
RantWoman , musing: ...could just forward to Care and Counsel one of Rant Brother's "I'ms still mentally ill and I still want firearms" emails, perhaps seasoned with more "I didn't tell you about my day" details than anyone wants to interact with about why it's IMPORTANT that people like RantBrother have places like the Friendly Neighborhood Center for Extreme Computing they can come to read and send email.
RantWoman is not sure which members
of the Still Didn't Get the Memo Committee... are going to show up, but the
committee includes a particularly large membership with a number of different
qualifications:
--Generic Customer Service Friend
--Veteran Tech Support "Users
always Lie; They don't know they lie; they don't mean to lie but they Lie. Now
what was that symptom again?" Friend.
--Mental Health Triage Friend
--Out of Control Spiritual
Accompaniment Friend
--Data Nerd / What is trending over
time Friend
--Lots of ways to agree about
measures to make email manageable but not sending is not an option Friend.
--Language Nerd and Literature
Scholar Friend
--Magical Realism So what if the
timelines are non-linear Friend
--You're always asleep when I'm
awake Friend
--You barely know me and I barely
know you but I am supposed to know you are a resource Friend
--It takes days and days of phone
tag to reach you Friend
--I actually think sort of slowly
and LIKE being able to use my search engine to think over bits of the
conversation again Friend
--If you don't understand something,
have you considered asking for clarification? Friend
--If you don't understand something,
who might you refer the problem to Friend?
--Look, really sorry the message is
not coming in palatable form but have you considered that it might be your job
either to figure it out or to connect the sender withsomeone who can Friend
--I talk about Service Dogs all the
time. You think I don't know when to quit aboutservice DOGS. How about we talk
about service CHICKENS? Friend
--Really sorry God is not showing up
on your schedule Friend.
--You say you dislike email but you
actually do much better by email sometimesFriend.
--Sometimes I get so upset I cannot
talk Friend.
--You like to talk; I need to send
email Friend
--Have you considered the
possibility that what I am talking about applies to your day job too Friend.
RantWoman acknowledges that The
Still Didn't Get the Memo Committee... could perhaps get things off on better
footing by losing references to the "Oops Well" part of the Care and
Counsel Committee moniker. RantWoman acknowledges this, but she showed up warts
and all and the worship sharing needs to happen regardless.
Plus, RantWoman recently stumbled
across the most interesting reference to the word "oversight" not in
sense overburdened with the historical weight of enslavement but in a more
egalitarian, shared oversight "we all take care of each other" sense.
RantWoman WISHES she could remember which blog roll item she saw this in.
RantWoman also would not mind some umbra of a penumbra of a sense that anyone
else on Care and Counsel committee cares about RantWoman's inquiry. RantWoman
is aware of needing to hold someone in theLight about medical matters as well.
Finally, if someone calling Dial a Tirade gets a busy signal about this topic,
oh well, there are plenty more tirades available. Please hold that point in the
Light along with the entire gigantic Still Didn't Get the Memo Committee on
Email Immoderation.
The following item appeared recently
in the monthly newsletter at RantWoman's Meeting.
CARE
AND COUNSEL
COMMITTEE
Thoughts
on UFM Email
While email is a
tremendous benefit to us, at times it can be a burden. Care and Counsel
Committee put together the following document to help fellow members. It is
common when in the midst of an email problem that we feel the need to help the
other person understand our position or make our points more firmly. In these
guidelines below, we suggest another tack: Whenever you feel the need to set
things right, instead wait calmly. If after due consideration it is still
necessary, briefly state your position once and move on.
Too Long: One
strategy for long emails is to skim them looking for questions or requests.
Limit your response to answering the questions or requests directly and
briefly. This will greatly reduce how much must be read and understood, but
still gives the other person a specific response. It represents a midpoint
between ignoring an email and taking on the burden of reading and responding to
an overly long missive.
Too Numerous: If you
are receiving too may emails from another member, consider taking a break and
filing for future perusal. Once your good feelings return you can limit the
amount of mail you read from the other person by setting aside a period of
time, say 10 minutes every Monday, to read and respond to their emails. Take
the rest and file them for later.
Confusing: If the
email is confusing and there are no requests or questions in it, then take
whatever understanding you may
have from it and move
on. If there are requests or questions in it that you cannot understand, simply
respond by letting the
writer know that.
Unkind: A good rule
of thumb is to read the first few sentences and ask yourself if you feel good
about reading further. If continuing to read is digging a hole of bad feelings,
then stop digging and move on. If you want, let the writer know that for you to
read the email, he or she will need to rewrite it with kindness.
Writing Email: The
other side of reading email is writing email. Kind, compassionate, and
thoughtful emails that come quickly to the point and put any requests in the
first sentence are the mostly (sic—RantWoman) likely to receive an audience.
Put aside longer or heated emails until you have the chance to revise them to a
paragraph or two of kind, compassionate, and thoughtful words.
Care and Counsel
Committee,
RantWoman, this is God. If the entire Still Didn't Get the Memo committee shows up and everyone talks one blop at a time, this one worship sharing is going to take millenia.
RantWoman , musing: ...could just forward to Care and Counsel one of Rant Brother's "I'ms still mentally ill and I still want firearms" emails, perhaps seasoned with more "I didn't tell you about my day" details than anyone wants to interact with about why it's IMPORTANT that people like RantBrother have places like the Friendly Neighborhood Center for Extreme Computing they can come to read and send email.
Friday, November 22, 2013
Peace? Tantrums. Hammer Strokes.
RantWoman apologizes. This item is from a recent issue of her Meeting's newsletter. RantWoman finds the passage evokes an entirely unseemly desire just to have a temper tantrum or even ...
PLEASE hold that urge in the Light and remind RantWoman "use your words...."
ON PEACE
Queries
Do we refrain from taking part in war as inconsistent with the spirit of Christ?
What are we doing to remove the causes of war and to bring
about the conditions of peace?
Where there are hatred, division, and strife, how are we instruments of reconciliation
and love?
How do we communicate to others an understanding of the
basis of our peace testimony?
As we work for peace in the world, are we nourished by peace within ourselves?
On the other hand, two really different items that speak greatly to RantWoman's condition in spite of sundry controversies and conversations needed.
First from Russia
http://johanpdx.blogspot.com/2013/11/prophets-cynics-and-tricksters.html
Next closer to home:
http://robinmsf.blogspot.com/2013/11/cups-of-tea-and-hammer-strokes.html
PLEASE hold that urge in the Light and remind RantWoman "use your words...."
ON PEACE
Peace is the state in which we are in accord with God, the
earth, others, and ourselves. We know that
true, lasting peace among us can finally be attained only through unity in the
life of the spirit. We work to create the conditions of peace, such as freedom,
justice, cooperation, and the right sharing of the world’s resources. As we
work for peace in the world, we search out the seeds of war in ourselves and in
our way of life. We refuse to join in actions which lead to destruction and
death. We seek ways to cooperate to save life and strengthen the bonds of unity
among all people.
Do we live in the virtue of that life and power which
takes away the occasion of all
war?
Thursday, November 21, 2013
What does George Fox say video
Partly a blog as filing cabinet item so RantWoman has some chance of finding this again. Partly a confession: RantWoman would a WHOLE lot rather watch a video than read George Fox's journal, though the video does mke RantWoman think harder about sometime POSSIBLY reading his journal.
Saturday, November 16, 2013
Truth, Heart, Healing
Truth, Heart, Healing
Lucy Duncan and Nionu Spann
at Philadelphia Yearly Meeting.
http://www.afsc.org/friends/truth-heart-healing-working-spirit-transforms
worth being able to find again.
Lucy Duncan and Nionu Spann
at Philadelphia Yearly Meeting.
http://www.afsc.org/friends/truth-heart-healing-working-spirit-transforms
worth being able to find again.
Thursday, November 14, 2013
Angry Birds, Led Zeppelin, Samson, Delilah: Tim Hawkins
RantWoman is certain that the world is entitled to more ofthe churnings ofRantWoman's spiritual compost heap. RantWoman is certain of this, but the press of events has RantWoman onoverdrivethat all she is doing is grabbing bits of others' oeurve.
For better or worse, the items below amuse RantWoman deeply. Plus RantWoman's family is theologically multilingual and for instance RantBrother would probably laugh very hard. RantWoman PROMISES not to try Led Zeppelin in Meeting for worship, even by air guitar. Shout to the Lord might not play well anyway...
Tim Hawkins: the "Angry Birds" in Corinthians and "Shout to the Lord" set to Led Zeppelin
http://youtu.be/fgo2dcivomQ
Tim Hawkins' Youtube buddy Bob Smiley on Terrorist toothpaste
http://youtu.be/F27NMq7kxVw
Understand, RantWoman suspects liking TimHawkins qualifies her as a serious BAD Friend on multiple grounds. Cope, and have some more disturbing material
Tim Hawkins Prayer Squeeze
http://youtu.be/iGi-iHq69us
Tim Hawkins Hey There Delilah
http://youtu.be/_wxy-SMSqPM
For better or worse, the items below amuse RantWoman deeply. Plus RantWoman's family is theologically multilingual and for instance RantBrother would probably laugh very hard. RantWoman PROMISES not to try Led Zeppelin in Meeting for worship, even by air guitar. Shout to the Lord might not play well anyway...
Tim Hawkins: the "Angry Birds" in Corinthians and "Shout to the Lord" set to Led Zeppelin
http://youtu.be/fgo2dcivomQ
Tim Hawkins' Youtube buddy Bob Smiley on Terrorist toothpaste
http://youtu.be/F27NMq7kxVw
Understand, RantWoman suspects liking TimHawkins qualifies her as a serious BAD Friend on multiple grounds. Cope, and have some more disturbing material
Tim Hawkins Prayer Squeeze
http://youtu.be/iGi-iHq69us
Tim Hawkins Hey There Delilah
http://youtu.be/_wxy-SMSqPM
Monday, November 11, 2013
Psychology Today on Vicarious Trauma
RantWoman spends a certain amount of time reflecting about the needs for spiritual care of people in many different work circumstances. Here is an item about professional interpreters that RantWoman can especially relate to.
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/talking-about-trauma/201308/vicarious-trauma-and-the-professional-interpreter
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/talking-about-trauma/201308/vicarious-trauma-and-the-professional-interpreter
Saturday, November 9, 2013
Friday, November 8, 2013
2014 Pacific NW Quaker Women's Theology Conference: Mark your calendars
Pacific Northwest Quaker Women's Theology Conference Teaser
If you have never attended but the idea of a conference of women talking together of our spiritual lives sounds even slightly intriguing, please sign up to learn more!
Mark your calendars: June 11-15, Menucha Conference Center, Corbett OR
Subscribe to information updates at http://pnwquakerwomen.org/conference/
While you are at the webpage, check out the Epistle from the 2012 conference, in either English or Spanish.
All are welcome who are interested in their personal spiritual growth, in exploring together with other women their faith journey, and in experiencing the unique community that the Pacific Northwest Quaker Women's Conference nurtures.
If you have never attended but the idea of a conference of women talking together of our spiritual lives sounds even slightly intriguing, please sign up to learn more!
Mark your calendars: June 11-15, Menucha Conference Center, Corbett OR
Subscribe to information updates at http://pnwquakerwomen.org/conference/
While you are at the webpage, check out the Epistle from the 2012 conference, in either English or Spanish.
All are welcome who are interested in their personal spiritual growth, in exploring together with other women their faith journey, and in experiencing the unique community that the Pacific Northwest Quaker Women's Conference nurtures.
Tuesday, November 5, 2013
Coffee Strong Fifthe Anniversary Party Nov. 10
Join Coffee Strong’s Fifth Anniversary Dinner and Silent Auction
November 10th,
4:30pm – 8:00pm
Daybreak Star Indian Cultural Center in Seattle.
CIA whistleblower Ray McGovern will speak.
This will be a gathering of over two hundred peace and justice activists and supporters of service member and veteran rights from around the Puget Sound region.
November 10th,
4:30pm – 8:00pm
Daybreak Star Indian Cultural Center in Seattle.
CIA whistleblower Ray McGovern will speak.
This will be a gathering of over two hundred peace and justice activists and supporters of service member and veteran rights from around the Puget Sound region.
Monday, November 4, 2013
Workshop on Christian Hegemony and Privilege November 9
Join CARW & friends for this exciting workshop with Paul Kivel...
Living in the Shadow of the Cross
Understanding and Resisting the Power and Privilege of Christian Hegemony
A Workshop by Paul Kivel
When: Saturday, November 9th at 1-4pm
Where: Jackson Place Cohousing (800 Hiawatha Place S Seattle, WA 98144)
Please join the event on Facebook.
Workshop Description
Over the centuries, Christianity has accomplished much which is deserving of praise. Its institutions have fed the hungry, sheltered the homeless, and advocated for the poor. Christian faith has sustained people through crisis and inspired many to work for social justice. Yet, although the word “Christian” connotes the epitome of goodness, the actual story is much more complex. Over the last two millennia, ruling elites have used Christian institutions and values to control those less privileged throughout the world.
As our triple crises of war, financial meltdown, and environmental destruction intensify, this talk/workshop will dig beneath the surface of Christianity’s benign reputation to examine its contribution to our social problems. Living in the Shadow of the Cross reveals the ongoing, everyday impact of Christian power and privilege on our beliefs, behaviors, and public policy, and emphasizes the potential for people to come together to resist domination and build and sustain communities of justice and peace.
Paul Kivel is the award-winning author of several books including Uprooting Racism and Boys will be Men. He is a social justice activist and a nationally and internationally recognized educator who has focused on the issues of violence prevention, oppression, and social justice for over 45 years. Paul is the director of the Christian Hegemony Project and has conducted thousands of talks, trainings, and workshops on diversity, men’s issues, the challenges of youth, and the impact of class and power on daily life.
*****Location & Accessibility: In an effort to make the space accessible to guests with chemical sensitivities, please refrain from wearing scented products and fragrances like cologne when you attend.
The event will be at the Jackson Place Cohousing common house dining room, at 800 Hiawatha Place South, Seattle, 98144. It is by buses 7,14,48,8,4,36,60,ST550, and is wheelchair accessible & ADA-compliant. From the intersection of Dearborn & Hiawatha, head up the hill a half block then take a right in the alley, and a right onto the terrace. There is very limited parking off the alley, which should be saved for those who require an accessible space.
Sponsored by: Jewish Voices for Peace, Coaliton of Anti-Racist Whites, Tools for Change.
About CARW: http://carw.org
RantWoman accessibility tirades:
*****Directions helpful for people with vision impairments and for people who find it easier to climb stairs than to deal with hills: Jackson Place co-housing is located on the SE corner of Dearborn and Hiawatha Pl. S, one block E of Rainier Ave. S. Both the northbound and the southbound buses on Rainier Ave S stop N of Dearborn; the stoplight at Rainier and Dearborn is helpful for crossing streets.
Once you arrive at the SE corner of Hiawatha Pl. S and Dearborn, if you continue S on Hiwatha, there will be the first of two stairways going up from the street to the terrace level. Take the first stairway and turn Left at the top of the stairs to find the Dining room.
*****The dining room at Jackson Place co-Housing is wheelchair accessible provided one arrives by car and is able to park in one of the available spaces. If one arrives by bus, do not underestimate the significance of "up the hill!" The hill is steep enough that people who use manual wheelchairs will almost certainly appreciate someone helping to push them up the hill. People who use power chairs or scooters are invited to use their judgment about center of gravity issues.
*****The dining room at Jackson Place co-housing is also fairly live accoustically and some people with hearing impairments find it difficult to hear there.
Living in the Shadow of the Cross
Understanding and Resisting the Power and Privilege of Christian Hegemony
A Workshop by Paul Kivel
When: Saturday, November 9th at 1-4pm
Where: Jackson Place Cohousing (800 Hiawatha Place S Seattle, WA 98144)
Please join the event on Facebook.
Workshop Description
Over the centuries, Christianity has accomplished much which is deserving of praise. Its institutions have fed the hungry, sheltered the homeless, and advocated for the poor. Christian faith has sustained people through crisis and inspired many to work for social justice. Yet, although the word “Christian” connotes the epitome of goodness, the actual story is much more complex. Over the last two millennia, ruling elites have used Christian institutions and values to control those less privileged throughout the world.
As our triple crises of war, financial meltdown, and environmental destruction intensify, this talk/workshop will dig beneath the surface of Christianity’s benign reputation to examine its contribution to our social problems. Living in the Shadow of the Cross reveals the ongoing, everyday impact of Christian power and privilege on our beliefs, behaviors, and public policy, and emphasizes the potential for people to come together to resist domination and build and sustain communities of justice and peace.
Paul Kivel is the award-winning author of several books including Uprooting Racism and Boys will be Men. He is a social justice activist and a nationally and internationally recognized educator who has focused on the issues of violence prevention, oppression, and social justice for over 45 years. Paul is the director of the Christian Hegemony Project and has conducted thousands of talks, trainings, and workshops on diversity, men’s issues, the challenges of youth, and the impact of class and power on daily life.
*****Location & Accessibility: In an effort to make the space accessible to guests with chemical sensitivities, please refrain from wearing scented products and fragrances like cologne when you attend.
The event will be at the Jackson Place Cohousing common house dining room, at 800 Hiawatha Place South, Seattle, 98144. It is by buses 7,14,48,8,4,36,60,ST550, and is wheelchair accessible & ADA-compliant. From the intersection of Dearborn & Hiawatha, head up the hill a half block then take a right in the alley, and a right onto the terrace. There is very limited parking off the alley, which should be saved for those who require an accessible space.
Sponsored by: Jewish Voices for Peace, Coaliton of Anti-Racist Whites, Tools for Change.
About CARW: http://carw.org
RantWoman accessibility tirades:
*****Directions helpful for people with vision impairments and for people who find it easier to climb stairs than to deal with hills: Jackson Place co-housing is located on the SE corner of Dearborn and Hiawatha Pl. S, one block E of Rainier Ave. S. Both the northbound and the southbound buses on Rainier Ave S stop N of Dearborn; the stoplight at Rainier and Dearborn is helpful for crossing streets.
Once you arrive at the SE corner of Hiawatha Pl. S and Dearborn, if you continue S on Hiwatha, there will be the first of two stairways going up from the street to the terrace level. Take the first stairway and turn Left at the top of the stairs to find the Dining room.
*****The dining room at Jackson Place co-Housing is wheelchair accessible provided one arrives by car and is able to park in one of the available spaces. If one arrives by bus, do not underestimate the significance of "up the hill!" The hill is steep enough that people who use manual wheelchairs will almost certainly appreciate someone helping to push them up the hill. People who use power chairs or scooters are invited to use their judgment about center of gravity issues.
*****The dining room at Jackson Place co-housing is also fairly live accoustically and some people with hearing impairments find it difficult to hear there.
Saturday, November 2, 2013
Watercolor Show and Silent Auction to Beneffit Indigenous project in Suriname
An invitation from watercolor artist Ruth Yarrow:
To raise funds for a wonderful project led by indigenous people in Suriname and our Mennonite friends Sarah Augustine and Dan Peplow, I am putting up an exhibit of my watercolors at the
Seattle Mennonite Church,
3120 NE 125th St., 98125, just east of Lake City Way.
The opening will be on Sunday,November 3, from 11:15 am to 1:00 pm.
I am donating the paintings, new frames, mats and work of cutting the mats.
The total income from this silent auction goes to the Suriname Indigenous Health Fund.
Minimum bids will be $100.
The exhibit will be up from November 1 to December 15, and bidding will close promptly on Sunday December 15 at 12:00 Noon. I hope you can make it!
To raise funds for a wonderful project led by indigenous people in Suriname and our Mennonite friends Sarah Augustine and Dan Peplow, I am putting up an exhibit of my watercolors at the
Seattle Mennonite Church,
3120 NE 125th St., 98125, just east of Lake City Way.
The opening will be on Sunday,November 3, from 11:15 am to 1:00 pm.
I am donating the paintings, new frames, mats and work of cutting the mats.
The total income from this silent auction goes to the Suriname Indigenous Health Fund.
Minimum bids will be $100.
The exhibit will be up from November 1 to December 15, and bidding will close promptly on Sunday December 15 at 12:00 Noon. I hope you can make it!
Media Item about Bangor Explosives Handling Wharf
Mostly a blog as filing cabinet item on RantWoman's mean to write more list:
KOMO 4 TV aired an extensive segment in its Problem Solvers series, titled "Unacceptable Risk?" on October 28th.
Subject: the Bangor Second Explosives Handling Wharf currently under construction . You can read the transcript and see the entire video of the segment at this link:
http://www.komonews.com/news/local/Navy-building-controversial-explosives-handling-wharf-near-Seattle-229639501.html?tab=video&c=y
The report is very thorough. It features Ground Zero’s Glen answering questions about the project. Glen continues with a serious effort to stop this very expensive and risky project in court.
RantWoman's mean to write more points:
--As RantWoman recalls from casual conversation, this project has some pork barrel aspects; now that its principal sponsor, Rep Norm Dicks, has retired, there may actually be some possibility of cutting it.
--What with the deficit and all, could the Navy maybe....?
KOMO 4 TV aired an extensive segment in its Problem Solvers series, titled "Unacceptable Risk?" on October 28th.
Subject: the Bangor Second Explosives Handling Wharf currently under construction . You can read the transcript and see the entire video of the segment at this link:
http://www.komonews.com/news/local/Navy-building-controversial-explosives-handling-wharf-near-Seattle-229639501.html?tab=video&c=y
The report is very thorough. It features Ground Zero’s Glen answering questions about the project. Glen continues with a serious effort to stop this very expensive and risky project in court.
RantWoman's mean to write more points:
--As RantWoman recalls from casual conversation, this project has some pork barrel aspects; now that its principal sponsor, Rep Norm Dicks, has retired, there may actually be some possibility of cutting it.
--What with the deficit and all, could the Navy maybe....?
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