Further emanations from Planet RantWoman wherein Business Meeting delegated the task of finding new renters to Finance Committee and RantWoman might perfectly well just shut up and observe except for that part about being true to one's Light, particularly Light as delivered experimentally aboard public transit.
Understand, Planet RantWoman means someone who is very glad that there are buses to get around on, now thanks to the latest service change on many routes all night. Planet RantWoman also means someone who is very glad to be ABLE herself to use the bus at all hours of the day and well into the evening. Planet RantWoman includes responsible people in her Meeting who do use the bus but mostly in the daytime.
Planet RantWoman also includes many many opportunities for sociological and anthropological data collection. It is not like RantWoman really goes looking for these opportunities, but the environs serve generously regardless.
Various data points:
Stop announcement: buses mostly have automated stop announcement. For various reasons the volume gets turned down or they malfunction. Or the driver gets tired of answering the same question all the time and therefore will call out stops for specific destinations such as homeless shelters. RantWoman definitely expects such stop announcements to flourish around her Meeting.
Bugs: the NUMBER ONE complaint of everyone on buses who chatters about homeless shelters is Bugs, Bugs, Bugs. RantWoman expects rent can cover any costs related to this or that at least a lease might address it. RantWoman would not in the least mind a little bit of transparency from the people managing the lease about possibility of insects and perhaps even inquiry as to experience at other shelters run by said agency.
RantWoman thinks the Committee on Homeless People... might also have thoughts though RantWoman thinks the communion of Meeting for Worship with Attention to Business should be at least as efficient a vehicle for conversation as endless phone tag. RantWoman thinks this but acknowledges a certain God as Personal Butler expectation and will just add some names to her list of people it might be worth picking up the phone to.
Disaster Preparedness: it would be RantWoman's Light to have some kind of at least minimal conversation about Disaster Preparedness as terms of a lease are being agreed on. RantWoman has in mind both encouraging tenants to think about how to manage when the Big One hits, equally or probably important, more pedestrian winter moments such as windstorms and snow. RantWoman will have to continue to speak...
In the meantime, an item from RantWoman's media streams
https://thecisforcrank.com/2017/09/27/morning-crank-meets-all-necessary-privacy-requirements/amp/
And while reflecting on worship and data collection environments, a refresher that swam out of a search engine:
http://rantwomanrsof.blogspot.com/2010/04/time-to-pray.html
Saturday, September 30, 2017
Jahrzeit
RantWoman notes with tenderness the 10th anniversary / jahrzeit this past week of the death of a very weighty Friend who RantWoman will with deep affection and respect refer to as Hummingbird on a Holiday Friend. RantWoman offers two blog posts about worship in this Friend's memory.
http://rantwomanrsof.blogspot.com/2010/07/are-all-our-members-clear-of-sleeping.html
http://rantwomanrsof.blogspot.com/2010/11/gift-of-prophesy-worship-as-soap-opera.html
http://rantwomanrsof.blogspot.com/2010/07/are-all-our-members-clear-of-sleeping.html
http://rantwomanrsof.blogspot.com/2010/11/gift-of-prophesy-worship-as-soap-opera.html
Tuesday, September 26, 2017
Plaza Roberto Maestas: tons of topical concepts for property discernment
Be patterns. Be examples. Um, actually celebrate others' examples!
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Sunday, September 24, 2017
Ruth Corwin Meyer Memorial minute with annotations
Memorial Minute for
Ruth Corwin Meyer
Ruth Corwin Meyer, a birthright Friend, died May 11, 2017,
in Rio Rancho, New Mexico. Born
September 21, 1933, in Rochester, New York, she was the only child of Elizabeth
and George Corwin, founders of the Wilton Connecticut Monthly Meeting. Ruth began piano lessons in grade school with
a teacher who told her parents she had
no aptitude. Fortunately they
found a more insightful teacher. Ruth
went on to study piano and French horn at the Conservatory at Oberlin College
in Oberlin, Ohio, and graduated in 1955.
She earned an M.A. in music at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester,
New York, and received a Fulbright in 1957 to study at the Mozarteum Academy
for Music and the Performing Arts in Salzburg, Austria. At the Mozarteum Ruth met Martin Beat Meyer,
a Swiss student of conducting. They were
married under the care of the Wilton Friends Meeting, and on completing their
studies, lived briefly in Switzerland, then in the United States.
After their divorce in 1965 Ruth moved to Boulder to begin a
doctoral program in musical arts at the University of Colorado. Her first teaching position was at the
Oberlin Conservatory, having been invited to replace her own professor, Jack
Radunsky, for the 1969 fall semester.
Finishing her degree in 1970, Ruth taught piano for two years at Western
Colorado University in Gunnison. There
she became a close friend of oboist Forest Cornwell, his wife Jessie, and their
three children, a relationship that endured and flourished through the
years. Later, the family moved to
Montana and Ruth to Portales to chair the piano department at Eastern New
Mexico University, but she visited many summers and at Christmastime. They became her adopted family.
At Eastern Ruth taught piano, piano pedagogy, and piano
literature and also ran the piano
preparatory department. With her
colleagues, violinist Katherine Thayer and cellist Art Welker, she played for
several years in a Trio. An outstanding
teacher, Ruth always treated her students with patience and great respect. She cared for them as individuals: if they
were struggling financially she found a way to help them earn money. They would sometimes live or travel with
her. For many of them, her teaching was
an “incomparable gift.”
Upon retirement in 1989,
Ruth moved to Rio Rancho, NM, where she continued to teach pedagogy and
piano to area teachers. She also tutored
math at a local middle school. A brain
aneurysm in 1994 abruptly changed Ruth's way of living. Losing her short-term memory ended her
independence but did not dim her buoyant, warm, generous spirit. When her assisted living facility closed,
Brenda Oates, the manager, invited Ruth to live in her Paradise Hills home
where she became part of a vibrant extended family. Nor did Ruth lose the ability to play music
that she already knew or to learn new pieces.
She and her friend Janis often played and performed four-hand
compositions. Also, her joy and
appreciation of live classical music remained strong.
Along with Ruth's devotion to music and her students was her
lifelong commitment to the Religious Society of Friends. Growing up in the Wilton Meeting, she
attended First Day School and took part in many Young Friends activities. To celebrate her 50th birthday--“a
gift to myself” Ruth called it--she took leave in order to live and study
during the 1983-84 academic year at Pendle Hill, the Quaker educational
community in Wallingford, Pennsylvania.
For Ruth this was a meaningful new experience. She often spoke about her teacher, Dyck
Vermilye, who made a lasting impression.
Ruth's bequest to Pendle Hill reflects its deep spiritual
influence. In February 1990 she
transferred her membership to Albuquerque Monthly Meeting where she contributed
a quiet steady presence, coming to meetings of the Peace and Social Concern
Committee, enjoying third Sunday potluck lunches. Ruth played at the 60th
Anniversary of the founding of Albuquerque Meeting and bequeathed the Corwin
family Bible to the Meeting.
She is survived and remembered by her friends, many of them
former students. A joyful memorial
meeting to celebrate Ruth's life was held
at the Albuquerque Friends Meeting House
on July 15, 2017.
Like many good Quaker memorials, Ruth's memorial included moments which did not make it into the memorial minute.
One was about smoking. Enough said.
The other was about a long-term relationship while in college with an African American guy. RantWoman is SO curious. RantWoman wonders whether he is even still alive for RantWoman to #Sayhisname. RantWoman is trying to decide how to feel about how the couple's desire to marry Just Was Not Done at the time.
Love and blessings always.
Thursday, September 21, 2017
Online Worship: NPYM Peace and Social Concerns Monday September 25
Please join us Monday for NPYM's Peace and Social Concerns monthly online worship sharing at 7pm PST.
This is purely about tending to our souls.
It is a place to grieve, inspire, and be inspired. It is not a place to brainstorm, create, or take on work.
We will meet monthly, on the final Monday of the month (yes, that's in just a few days).
Here is the login information:
Join from PC, Mac, Linux, iOS or Android: https://zoom.us/j/125548662
Or iPhone one-tap :
US: +16465588656,,125548662# or +16699006833,,125548662#
Or Telephone：
Dial(for higher quality, dial a number based on your current location)：
US: +1 646 558 8656 or +1 669 900 6833
Meeting ID: 125 548 662
International numbers available:
https://zoom.us/zoomconference?m=fzYgZqkOxxsxzr2ftr2vw_W7bVNpAbH-
Thank you, and I hope to speak with you there!
best,
Sea
Sunday, September 17, 2017
Two hours of Reflective Thinking Once a week
RantWoman does not usually think of ROI and spiritual experience in the same sentence.
RantWoman may need to reconsider.
http://www.businessinsider.com/i-created-a-2-hour-rule-based-einsteins-habits-2017-8
RantWoman may need to reconsider.
http://www.businessinsider.com/i-created-a-2-hour-rule-based-einsteins-habits-2017-8
Friday, September 15, 2017
Stewardship Due Diligence
RantWoman has been reflecting on GREAT distress she caused Gratefully Valued Clerk trying to be true her Light about due diligence issues in a recent Business Meeting.
http://rantwomanrsof.blogspot.com/2017/07/diligence.html
RantWoman did not even realize Gratefully Valued Clerk had left the room until others reminded her. RantWoman is very sorry for distressing the Clerk. RantWoman is also even clearer about need to speak to what was on her mind.
Having a who can out-distress who contest does not seem on point, but RantWoman is clear to try again about the due diligence issue on her mind. RantWoman is clear to lay out her concerns but unclear whether they need immediate attention for example in context of a discussion about what is meant by stewardship.
The questions on RantWoman's mind were basically about funding sources and financial stability for a new tenant, a different homeless services agency than our Meeting has dealt with in the past. Since that Business Meeting, RantWoman has looked at the agency website where there is a big giant "we are having a fundraising campaign" message. Again, RantWoman has no opinion about whether that means we should be cautious about organizational capacity to pay regular rent, but RantWoman thinks we, the whole community not just Finance Committee should know what we are getting into.
Along comes business Meeting this month, with um, complexities meaning RantWoman was not present. After Meeting for Business, RantWoman asked Friend Treasurer whether anyone had asked about the due diligence issue mentioned above. Friend Treasurer said um, no, RantWoman was probably the only person besides members of Finance Committee even to look at the webpage in question.
If RantWoman were being completely insufferable she would ask wehther Finance Committee looked at the webpage before or after RantWoman called the point above to their attention. As it is, one does not need to be a "Trust nothing implicitly" fanatic to think it is reasonable for Finance Committee to be able to answer questions and for the answers to make sense. RantWoman thinks it is lousy stewardship that no one else is paying enough attention to ask some of the questions on RantWoman's mind. Hopefully RantWoman can try again more decorously. Or RantWoman will somehow manage to afflict someone else with her level of interest in the topic.
See, RantWoman has an odd scruple. Our Meeting's ministry to homeless people has progressed from allowing people to sleep under our eaves to the SHARE group that slept in our worship room to a shelter paying rent and with a different model of service than SHARE. Rent and a lease and an organization able to handle such are part of the steps forward. Still, RantWoman's scruple: RantWoman is uncomfortable relying on the continued existence of homelessness as a substantial income stream.
New tenant is a very reputable organization. Homelessness is unlikely to get solved anytime soon and better to aim for higher standards of service. Still RantWoman would like more data about progression from homelessness to stably housed. And RantWoman has heard others comment about loss of relationship SHARE participants had with Meeting. RantWoman has heard this and has no need to comment.
Stepping back though all organizations that serve the homeless are facing tough challenges from utter insufficiency of state and federal funding, from the increasing numbers of people on the street and a whole housing system under stress. Seattle is experiencing a region-wide housing affordability crisis. Numbers of homeless people are up. Numbers of unsheltered dying outdoors are up. The city conducts regular sweeps of homeless encampments which can be found everywhere. Rents are skyrocketing. New construction is not keeping up with demand. And performance standards / funding flows sometimes depend on agencies being able to place people in housing that does not exist for millennial Amazonians with good salaries let alone for people with very low incomes where people with disabilities are also overrepresented.
SHARE, our former partner about ministry with homeless people has had organizational and funding challenges. This is partly internal but partly also taking on an expensive and unwieldy operation of tent cities. RantWoman thinks housing crises are not likely to stabilize for quite awhile and fears that Operation Nightwatch too will reach some point of overwhelm. RantWoman wonders whether this possibility has crossed anyone else's mind and is sublimely uninterested in others' views that she is crazy for thinking of it.
At the same time, RantWoman is absolutely fine about charging the rent the market will bear. RantWoman is absolutely fine about making sure that the costs of serving the unhoused is reflected in program / project arrangements such as leasing of shelter space. But as long as we are going to derive important income from the current state of affairs, RantWoman's sense of integrity requires that we also embrace larger efforts to address housing affordability in our region! Stay tuned because RantWoman also perfectly well recognizes stewardship issues inherent in the state of the real estate market in general.
RantWoman humbly posts this before the Campus Discernment Retreat partly because the thoughts are complex and would not necessarily all make it out of her mouth in worship-sharing. At the same time, RantWoman feels awkward about going on at length and crowding out other voices. Hold the problem in the Light, for one thing because RantWoman is SO clear about the points on her mind.
http://rantwomanrsof.blogspot.com/2017/07/diligence.html
RantWoman did not even realize Gratefully Valued Clerk had left the room until others reminded her. RantWoman is very sorry for distressing the Clerk. RantWoman is also even clearer about need to speak to what was on her mind.
Having a who can out-distress who contest does not seem on point, but RantWoman is clear to try again about the due diligence issue on her mind. RantWoman is clear to lay out her concerns but unclear whether they need immediate attention for example in context of a discussion about what is meant by stewardship.
The questions on RantWoman's mind were basically about funding sources and financial stability for a new tenant, a different homeless services agency than our Meeting has dealt with in the past. Since that Business Meeting, RantWoman has looked at the agency website where there is a big giant "we are having a fundraising campaign" message. Again, RantWoman has no opinion about whether that means we should be cautious about organizational capacity to pay regular rent, but RantWoman thinks we, the whole community not just Finance Committee should know what we are getting into.
Along comes business Meeting this month, with um, complexities meaning RantWoman was not present. After Meeting for Business, RantWoman asked Friend Treasurer whether anyone had asked about the due diligence issue mentioned above. Friend Treasurer said um, no, RantWoman was probably the only person besides members of Finance Committee even to look at the webpage in question.
If RantWoman were being completely insufferable she would ask wehther Finance Committee looked at the webpage before or after RantWoman called the point above to their attention. As it is, one does not need to be a "Trust nothing implicitly" fanatic to think it is reasonable for Finance Committee to be able to answer questions and for the answers to make sense. RantWoman thinks it is lousy stewardship that no one else is paying enough attention to ask some of the questions on RantWoman's mind. Hopefully RantWoman can try again more decorously. Or RantWoman will somehow manage to afflict someone else with her level of interest in the topic.
See, RantWoman has an odd scruple. Our Meeting's ministry to homeless people has progressed from allowing people to sleep under our eaves to the SHARE group that slept in our worship room to a shelter paying rent and with a different model of service than SHARE. Rent and a lease and an organization able to handle such are part of the steps forward. Still, RantWoman's scruple: RantWoman is uncomfortable relying on the continued existence of homelessness as a substantial income stream.
New tenant is a very reputable organization. Homelessness is unlikely to get solved anytime soon and better to aim for higher standards of service. Still RantWoman would like more data about progression from homelessness to stably housed. And RantWoman has heard others comment about loss of relationship SHARE participants had with Meeting. RantWoman has heard this and has no need to comment.
Stepping back though all organizations that serve the homeless are facing tough challenges from utter insufficiency of state and federal funding, from the increasing numbers of people on the street and a whole housing system under stress. Seattle is experiencing a region-wide housing affordability crisis. Numbers of homeless people are up. Numbers of unsheltered dying outdoors are up. The city conducts regular sweeps of homeless encampments which can be found everywhere. Rents are skyrocketing. New construction is not keeping up with demand. And performance standards / funding flows sometimes depend on agencies being able to place people in housing that does not exist for millennial Amazonians with good salaries let alone for people with very low incomes where people with disabilities are also overrepresented.
SHARE, our former partner about ministry with homeless people has had organizational and funding challenges. This is partly internal but partly also taking on an expensive and unwieldy operation of tent cities. RantWoman thinks housing crises are not likely to stabilize for quite awhile and fears that Operation Nightwatch too will reach some point of overwhelm. RantWoman wonders whether this possibility has crossed anyone else's mind and is sublimely uninterested in others' views that she is crazy for thinking of it.
At the same time, RantWoman is absolutely fine about charging the rent the market will bear. RantWoman is absolutely fine about making sure that the costs of serving the unhoused is reflected in program / project arrangements such as leasing of shelter space. But as long as we are going to derive important income from the current state of affairs, RantWoman's sense of integrity requires that we also embrace larger efforts to address housing affordability in our region! Stay tuned because RantWoman also perfectly well recognizes stewardship issues inherent in the state of the real estate market in general.
RantWoman humbly posts this before the Campus Discernment Retreat partly because the thoughts are complex and would not necessarily all make it out of her mouth in worship-sharing. At the same time, RantWoman feels awkward about going on at length and crowding out other voices. Hold the problem in the Light, for one thing because RantWoman is SO clear about the points on her mind.
Electronic Hairballs: Email in times of crisis
The Still Didn't Get the Memo Committee on Email Immoderation seems to be coughing up electronic hairballs of various kinds.
RantWoman saw in a tweet that September is #SuicidePreventionMonth
RantWoman in connection with other things is also reading such Light as trickles out of Care and Counsel about email.
http://ufmseattle.org/home/reports/thoughts-on-ufm-email/
RantWoman notes STUNNING absence of realism about things like people being actively suicidal in email or actively suicidal in email written 6 hours ago by someone who does not have continuous internet connectivity.
RantWoman is meditating about Care and Counsel as a source of wisdom and about just trusting one's Inner Blowtorch and letting Care and Counsel catch up afterward.
RantWoman wonders how many people would follow the guidance above and just wait until they get email that better fits their idea of cheery and easy to read.
Please hold RantWoman's sarcasm in the Light because RantWoman once had a conversation where she was asked why she spent so much time about such a situation.
The question came up in the midst of a whole stream of matters and RantWoman heard an overtone that infuriated her. The crisis had already passed RantWoman had to prioritize other problems. RantWoman has never found time to have a conversation and has filed it for various reasons.
RantWoman actually did not spend much more time than she already was doing anyway. But RantWoman might find it easier not to be offended by the question if it were rephrase as "RantWoman what were you expecting others to do?" or RantWoman what were you seeing that we were not or that you did not think we were seeing?"
But mostly it's an old story that clatters to mind from time to time for unpredictable reasons.
RantWoman saw in a tweet that September is #SuicidePreventionMonth
RantWoman in connection with other things is also reading such Light as trickles out of Care and Counsel about email.
http://ufmseattle.org/home/reports/thoughts-on-ufm-email/
RantWoman notes STUNNING absence of realism about things like people being actively suicidal in email or actively suicidal in email written 6 hours ago by someone who does not have continuous internet connectivity.
RantWoman is meditating about Care and Counsel as a source of wisdom and about just trusting one's Inner Blowtorch and letting Care and Counsel catch up afterward.
RantWoman wonders how many people would follow the guidance above and just wait until they get email that better fits their idea of cheery and easy to read.
Please hold RantWoman's sarcasm in the Light because RantWoman once had a conversation where she was asked why she spent so much time about such a situation.
The question came up in the midst of a whole stream of matters and RantWoman heard an overtone that infuriated her. The crisis had already passed RantWoman had to prioritize other problems. RantWoman has never found time to have a conversation and has filed it for various reasons.
RantWoman actually did not spend much more time than she already was doing anyway. But RantWoman might find it easier not to be offended by the question if it were rephrase as "RantWoman what were you expecting others to do?" or RantWoman what were you seeing that we were not or that you did not think we were seeing?"
But mostly it's an old story that clatters to mind from time to time for unpredictable reasons.
Sidewalk Chalk
RantWoman needs more sidewalk chalk in her life. Should RantWoman maybe borrow some children for this?
Wednesday, September 13, 2017
Initial Property Discernment Retreat
It fills RantWoman's heart with joy that this Property Discernment process is getting off the ground.
Enough said for now. RantWoman rants also pending.
Enough said for now. RantWoman rants also pending.
Dear Friends,
We hope to see many of you at the UFM Campus Discernment Retreat coming up on Saturday. Whether or not you plan to attend this event, we invite you to read some documents that our Committee has prepared to share with the Community. If you do plan to attend the Retreat, we hope you will be able to set aside a few minutes to read these documents, particularly the Research Documents, before the Retreat.
Research Documents:
These research documents are the results of our Committee's initial round of research. We have attempted to begin answering questions that we felt were necessary background information for everyone in the Community as we discern the future of our Campus together. We will present this research briefly at the Retreat, followed by a brief period for questions and answers. We will have a handful of paper copies available for reference at the Retreat and after, but we will not hand out copies to everyone. The links below are to PDF documents, or you can view them as either PDF or Google Docs in this publicly accessible Google Drive folder.
3 - Campus Chain of Ownership (courtesy of Merlin Rainwater)
Retreat Documents:
The following documents will be distributed at the Retreat, so there is no need for you to print them if you will be attending. There will be opportunities to read them at the Retreat, but you may find that you get more out of the experience by reading them beforehand. If you are unable to attend the Retreat, we strongly suggest you read these documents to get a sense of what will happen at the Retreat and perhaps to formulate your own responses, which we will invite you to share at another opportunity, after the Retreat. The links below are to PDF documents, or you can view them as either PDF or Google Docs in this publicly accessible Google Drive folder.
2 - Stewardship: Readings & Queries (worship sharing in the morning)
3 - Considering the Big Options (brainstorming activity in the afternoon)
Please let us know if you have any difficulty opening or reading these documents by emailing us at UFM.Campus.Discernment@gmai
With gratitude,
UFM Campus Discernment Committee
Monday, September 11, 2017
Remember 9/11 with Rep. Jayapal
September 11, 2001 was a terrible day -- and a pivotal day in our country's history.
Like many of you, today, I reflect back on the tragedies of that day, when our country was shattered by those horrific events. I reflect, too, on the incredible acts of generosity and community that took place in New York City and across the country.
That day served as a reminder that our world isn't as small as we thought it was. We are all deeply connected.
I also reflect today on the particular trauma that some communities felt in the wake of 9/11. Many Muslims, Arabs and South Asians were targeted first by hate crimes, and soon after by government policies that violated civil liberties and due process. If there was a silver lining to those events, it was that communities realized that they needed to be engaged in our democracy. They realized that building coalitions was necessary to build power. And they realized that we all would have to fight to ensure that our nation stayed true to our ideals of rights and liberties, that safety could not come at the expense of our liberties.
It was right after 9/11 that I came fully into my own political consciousness. Out of those events, I started the organization called Hate Free Zone, now called OneAmerica, to fight for immigrant, civil and human rights. We accomplished so much -- and OneAmerica is still continuing its important work.
Our work was not -- is not -- easy, but it is necessary. In the end, our organizing efforts are life-giving because they remind us all that we each have power and that change does not happen unless we push for it. The coalitions we build are so powerful: decrying terrorism and hate of all kinds, standing for justice for all and not just for some.
Today, as a member of Congress, I still see myself as an organizer. I am so proud to work with groups across the country who are deeply embedded in the struggle for justice. Whether to ensure that black lives really DO matter, or to stand up for immigrants, workers, or LGBTQ people, we know that our work can only be successful if we unite and stand boldly for justice, dignity and respect for everyone.
No, our work is not yet done.
But this is our country, and we must continue to give everything we can to making it the best it can be. We must continue to strive toward progress, a more perfect union, a more perfect world. We must continue to move forward.
Today, we remember all those who died in the September 11 attacks. We remember all those who gave selflessly of themselves. We remember all those who were targeted by hate in the days, months and years after. And, we remember all the resolve and power that emerged and continues to grow to ensure justice for all.
Be good to one another. We are all in this together.
Sincerely,
Pramila Jayapal
Postings Before Retreat 1
This item has been seasoning in RantWoman's Drafts folder for awhile but it got autosaved before RantWoman could note its most recent previous update RantWoman is clear to post as-is even though some editing might be in order.
RantWoman had a conversation recently with a member of the committee on campus discernment. RantWoman is finding it depressingly easy to have her brain short circuit in a number of "When Quakers Screw Up" Moments. RantWoman is trying to sit with"Begin again now. AND RantWoman is clear in her Light: the charter of the project was MUCH improved after a weighty Friend noted that RantWoman had made important contributions to the draft and then added a couple elements of her own. RantWoman is absolutely clear that the Discernment Committee work process needs further RantWoman contribution.
There are still points exercising RantWoman and exercising her to the point that she is quaking, not settled. RantWoman offers these concerns in humble trust that they will find their way where needed.
RantWoman came away from the conversation at least feeling listened to but has no sense of any agreement. In fact, after letting the conversation rattle around in her head on the bus on the way home, RantWoman feels need of further consideration. RantWoman wants the same thoughts available unfiltered to all members of the committee and to the community who, RantWoman THINKS are also supposed to be included in the discernment process.
Here please bear with a RantWoman mental hiccup. RantWoman is trying to be interested in a retreat mentioned in conversation. First RantWoman is wondering why a whole retreat and not perhaps shorter highly participatory moments say after light lunch on fourth Sundays.
Honestly, the mere mention of a retreat sends RantWoman's mind careening back to a retreat long ago where MANY suggestions about things that would make the retreat accessible to RantWoman and to others were ignored and then RantWoman was blamed for all the problems. Blame RantWoman ... is getting to be a REALLY repetitive theme. Begin again Now.
Here RantWoman gets to be grateful for a brilliant illustration of one of RantWoman's concerns: is it possible easily to find electronic resources about topics of concern such as making events accessible or what now is more modernly called inclusive events. RantWoman thinks but has not tested that if one puts "accessible" or "Accessibility" into the search bar on this blog, some resources should pop up and RantWoman can tell readers which blog in blog roll is also likely to have resources. However, RantWoman's tagging IS eccentric. RantWoman will TRY to get in people's faces constructively but RantWoman would be EXTREMELY grateful if someone who reads this blog could connect with RantWoman and ask for more detail.
RantWoman brings up this storing, and consistently finding concern up for many reasons.
--RantWoman does not read print! RantWoman feels very clear: it probably makes sense to have some documents on paper in the library, BUT RantWoman is also called to ask people to learn terms like alternate formats and accessible documents.
--This discernment process needs to be a community-buildingactivity, weaving history the challenges of the present and future. ONE of those challenges is storing, organizing and accessing information in people's different preferred media.
--This discernment process is going to involve weaving together vocabulary about a number of different topics. Linguist brain craves acknowledgment of this reality and effort to work with it as the whole discernment process evolves.
--There are going to be points in this discernment process where newcomers enter the process and it will be valuable to have relevant documents collected and easy to review.
--Some of the time research is going to involve documents that are already public but that would be easier to find if direct links are stored with other related information.
At this point, there is no agreement even about how to use electronic resources to support discernment. RantWoman thinks little dribs and drabs of heavily digested blog posts by committee members are NOT going to cut it as part of a community-wide discernment process. So for now, such Light as comes to RantWoman is getting posted to RantWoman's blog.
The recent conversation directed RantWoman to this item from the Meeting Newsletter incorporated into the Rant Below..
But First, RantWoman needed to digress from ranting about discernment to rant about an accessibility issue: Even though the newsletter is usually 4-6 pages long, it would be ever so helpful for RantWoman's reading ease to use Headings. RantWoman realizes that this is an ask. RantWoman realizes that things in Word for Windows are not always preserved when things move back forth to Macs. RantWoman also notes that SOME OF THE TIME previously, there have been headings in the newsletter and some of the time not. RantWoman put up with a problem others probably did not even notice, butthis time RantWoman emailed the newsletter editor and suggested she ask for help from two people RantWoman THINKS it is reasonable to ask and to expect help from.
From the Committee on Campus Discernment
The committee on UFM campus discernment has held our first few meetings. One of our assignments to ourselves is brushing up our skills on Quaker discernment process. We are noticing the importance of keeping open minds and hearts as we approach this work.
"If, however, Friends come to group spiritual discernment wedded to a predetermined
position, then the exercise in faithfulness is undermined."
From, Friends Practice of Group Spiritual Discernment, by Lee Junker.
1. YES. In the Business Meeting that created the committee on Discernment, SEVERAL voices, not just RantWoman expressed the concern that the committee is not big enough to do all that will need to be done. But the committee came wedded to the predetermined outcome that they did not want any additional members. So RantWoman emphatically dissents in her blog: THIS COMMITTEE NEEDS MORE MEMBERS
2. Might the rest of Meeting ALSO need some sense of what Discernment is about. Does the rest of Meeting actually get to read the book and consider points we might want to include. Are the materials available in alternate formats such as ebook, or audiobook so that people such as RantWoman can interact independently at times when she is awake and other committee members might be asleep?
Back to the Newsletter Item, for one sentence.
We are also identifying research questions that will guide our work and the discernment process.
[Has it maybe occurred to you to share the list of questions and ASK whether Friends think it adequately covers the topic? This is brainstorming. A discernment process does not have to decide to look at every question that comes up, but sometimes there is valuable insight in the questions.]
From time to time we will be reaching out to the UFM community for help with some of this research. Right now we are looking for the names of congregations or
meetings, in Seattle or beyond, that have undertaken a decision making
process about potentially significant changes to their property. If you know
of any such congregations please share
their names with us.
RantWoman HAS in fact shared a number of comments relevant to this request. RantWoman has received NO acknowledgment of these offerings.
Love,
the committee who thinks they are large enough
RantWoman had a conversation recently with a member of the committee on campus discernment. RantWoman is finding it depressingly easy to have her brain short circuit in a number of "When Quakers Screw Up" Moments. RantWoman is trying to sit with"Begin again now. AND RantWoman is clear in her Light: the charter of the project was MUCH improved after a weighty Friend noted that RantWoman had made important contributions to the draft and then added a couple elements of her own. RantWoman is absolutely clear that the Discernment Committee work process needs further RantWoman contribution.
There are still points exercising RantWoman and exercising her to the point that she is quaking, not settled. RantWoman offers these concerns in humble trust that they will find their way where needed.
RantWoman came away from the conversation at least feeling listened to but has no sense of any agreement. In fact, after letting the conversation rattle around in her head on the bus on the way home, RantWoman feels need of further consideration. RantWoman wants the same thoughts available unfiltered to all members of the committee and to the community who, RantWoman THINKS are also supposed to be included in the discernment process.
Here please bear with a RantWoman mental hiccup. RantWoman is trying to be interested in a retreat mentioned in conversation. First RantWoman is wondering why a whole retreat and not perhaps shorter highly participatory moments say after light lunch on fourth Sundays.
Honestly, the mere mention of a retreat sends RantWoman's mind careening back to a retreat long ago where MANY suggestions about things that would make the retreat accessible to RantWoman and to others were ignored and then RantWoman was blamed for all the problems. Blame RantWoman ... is getting to be a REALLY repetitive theme. Begin again Now.
Here RantWoman gets to be grateful for a brilliant illustration of one of RantWoman's concerns: is it possible easily to find electronic resources about topics of concern such as making events accessible or what now is more modernly called inclusive events. RantWoman thinks but has not tested that if one puts "accessible" or "Accessibility" into the search bar on this blog, some resources should pop up and RantWoman can tell readers which blog in blog roll is also likely to have resources. However, RantWoman's tagging IS eccentric. RantWoman will TRY to get in people's faces constructively but RantWoman would be EXTREMELY grateful if someone who reads this blog could connect with RantWoman and ask for more detail.
RantWoman brings up this storing, and consistently finding concern up for many reasons.
--RantWoman does not read print! RantWoman feels very clear: it probably makes sense to have some documents on paper in the library, BUT RantWoman is also called to ask people to learn terms like alternate formats and accessible documents.
--This discernment process needs to be a community-buildingactivity, weaving history the challenges of the present and future. ONE of those challenges is storing, organizing and accessing information in people's different preferred media.
--This discernment process is going to involve weaving together vocabulary about a number of different topics. Linguist brain craves acknowledgment of this reality and effort to work with it as the whole discernment process evolves.
--There are going to be points in this discernment process where newcomers enter the process and it will be valuable to have relevant documents collected and easy to review.
--Some of the time research is going to involve documents that are already public but that would be easier to find if direct links are stored with other related information.
At this point, there is no agreement even about how to use electronic resources to support discernment. RantWoman thinks little dribs and drabs of heavily digested blog posts by committee members are NOT going to cut it as part of a community-wide discernment process. So for now, such Light as comes to RantWoman is getting posted to RantWoman's blog.
The recent conversation directed RantWoman to this item from the Meeting Newsletter incorporated into the Rant Below..
But First, RantWoman needed to digress from ranting about discernment to rant about an accessibility issue: Even though the newsletter is usually 4-6 pages long, it would be ever so helpful for RantWoman's reading ease to use Headings. RantWoman realizes that this is an ask. RantWoman realizes that things in Word for Windows are not always preserved when things move back forth to Macs. RantWoman also notes that SOME OF THE TIME previously, there have been headings in the newsletter and some of the time not. RantWoman put up with a problem others probably did not even notice, butthis time RantWoman emailed the newsletter editor and suggested she ask for help from two people RantWoman THINKS it is reasonable to ask and to expect help from.
From the Committee on Campus Discernment
The committee on UFM campus discernment has held our first few meetings. One of our assignments to ourselves is brushing up our skills on Quaker discernment process. We are noticing the importance of keeping open minds and hearts as we approach this work.
"If, however, Friends come to group spiritual discernment wedded to a predetermined
position, then the exercise in faithfulness is undermined."
From, Friends Practice of Group Spiritual Discernment, by Lee Junker.
1. YES. In the Business Meeting that created the committee on Discernment, SEVERAL voices, not just RantWoman expressed the concern that the committee is not big enough to do all that will need to be done. But the committee came wedded to the predetermined outcome that they did not want any additional members. So RantWoman emphatically dissents in her blog: THIS COMMITTEE NEEDS MORE MEMBERS
2. Might the rest of Meeting ALSO need some sense of what Discernment is about. Does the rest of Meeting actually get to read the book and consider points we might want to include. Are the materials available in alternate formats such as ebook, or audiobook so that people such as RantWoman can interact independently at times when she is awake and other committee members might be asleep?
Back to the Newsletter Item, for one sentence.
We are also identifying research questions that will guide our work and the discernment process.
[Has it maybe occurred to you to share the list of questions and ASK whether Friends think it adequately covers the topic? This is brainstorming. A discernment process does not have to decide to look at every question that comes up, but sometimes there is valuable insight in the questions.]
From time to time we will be reaching out to the UFM community for help with some of this research. Right now we are looking for the names of congregations or
meetings, in Seattle or beyond, that have undertaken a decision making
process about potentially significant changes to their property. If you know
of any such congregations please share
their names with us.
RantWoman HAS in fact shared a number of comments relevant to this request. RantWoman has received NO acknowledgment of these offerings.
Love,
the committee who thinks they are large enough
Saturday, September 9, 2017
DATA: How many threads can you count in this Reply/All exercise.
The Still Didn’t Get the Memo Committee on Email Immoderation has been
seasoning / sneezing at matters of email lists. The Still Didn’t Get the Memo …
Committee has been considering whether to post blithely away because data is
data or for Gods’ sake to wait until Mercury is no longer in retrograde so
there is only the RantWoman Message Manglement Service in the picture
generating static in message flows. [The Latter is what will occur]
First RantWoman offers the guidelines for her Meeting’s email list.
RantWoman notes that the URL appears in different form in the usual
message footer. RantWoman notes tartly that some people either seem to have
trouble finding the guidelines or perhaps have not read them.
RantWoman calls readers’ attention to a couple parts:
·
Announcements only
·
“Of interest to the UFM Community,” as defined
apparently by the email czar
·
NO Reply/ all If you are requesting an action, please
specify a response option.
·
Forward only with the original author’s
permission.
RantWoman herewith posts the body of 3 successive emails, the latter
two generated via Reply/all. No RantWoman has not asked the original authors’
permission to forward, extract for blog, dispatch via carrier pigeon, tweet out
a syllable at a time… RantWoman received them via a different pathway and has
NO idea whether the pathway involved the original authors’ permission to
forward. It’s EMAIL for Gods’ sake. Once it leaves one’s own keyboard, it’s OUT
OF YOUR HANDS. If you are so worried about violations of privacy, you might
want to reconsider using email at all.
Extract One: Non Discrimination
Policy
From newly formed Sierra Cascades Yearly Meeting of Friends:
Nondiscrimination
Policy
Does your
church have a nondiscrimination policy? If not, you might consider talking to a
lawyer about creating one. This is one of the easiest ways to formally
communicate your community’s commitment to safety. It should be published on
your website and in your bulletin where it can be easily found. Most such
policies explicitly list protected classes (gender, ethnicity, race, skin
color). If you have one, check to see if it also includes people with
disabilities, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, HIV status,
immigration status. Nondiscrimination policies are one of the ways potential
visitors check to see if you care about them. Sample policies linked below:
[any instructions about where to direct followup and folowup
requested?]
Extract 2
It is my belief that UFM has nondiscrimination and discrimination policies already and that they used to be collected in one place, under the care of Personnel Comm. They have never been rescinded since they were approved or accepted by MM (for a while they happened sort of piecemeal), so they stand, whether the current Personnel Comm. has received them from its predecessors or not. The only one in which there were doubts --because it was provisional and not clearly discerned so long ago-- was the question [shortly before Meeting for Business]
Let's not get ourselves confused about the ONE question before the Meeting at this time. If PC wants something else to do, they can find someone to review the minutes from 1975 to 1989 and find when/how they were considered and approved. Isn't it too bad [author of email] was never allowed to finish indexing the MM minutes?
[any instructions about where to direct followup and folowup
requested?]
Extract 3
I don't see it having any relevance on our presentation of the …proposal to September's Meeting for Business.
This is a longer term issue for Personnel to consider. And in doing so, we should see whether the already-good protections that Washington and Seattle have in place, regarding hiring. They may have all of the other protected classes that we might be worried about covered.
I don't see it having any relevance on our presentation of the …proposal to September's Meeting for Business.
This is a longer term issue for Personnel to consider. And in doing so, we should see whether the already-good protections that Washington and Seattle have in place, regarding hiring. They may have all of the other protected classes that we might be worried about covered.
[any instructions about where to direct followup and folowup
requested?]
RantWoman-supplied Link that will get you to RCW 49.60
http://rantwoman.blogspot.com/2015/11/fun-facts-and-rcw-4960.html.
RantWoman notes the addition in 2015 of gender identity and gender expression.
Tuesday, September 5, 2017
Reasonable Accommodations requests
Around RantWoman God is versatile.
God gets work done by email.
God gets work done by conference call.
God even gets work done in person.
Around Care and Counsel, God apparently only gets done in person.
Okay, RantWoman made a request to schedule a TIMELY meeting in person, with the person clerking a committee planning a retreat.. RantWoman has been told that someone planning a retreat is too busy planning the retreat to meet until six weeks after the retreat! RantWoman is posting this after the fact. rRantWoman stands by this characterization of the situation and is deeply exercise by other circumstances as well.
THIS IS NOT ACCEPTABLE.
RantWoman is DONE with people thinking this is acceptable. RantWoman is going to speak up PUBLICLY.
RantWoman needs to make reasonable accommodations requests.
1. RantWoman really wants to hear what even timid-voiced Friends hear. RantWoman requests that Meeting rent or borrow a mobile mic system so that people doing large go-rounds can be heard when they speak. RantWoman happens to have an option she is willing to pursue to borrow a system.
2. RantWoman requests that people keep scented products to a bare minimum. RantWoman reacts badly to excessive scents but has a very small number of products that have scents. RantWoman is extremely grateful when others also keep scents to a bare minimum.
RantWoman is clear to speak up publicly also because RantWoman imagines there may be other Reasonable Accommodations requests that also need to be articulated.
Hold us all in the Light.
God gets work done by email.
God gets work done by conference call.
God even gets work done in person.
Around Care and Counsel, God apparently only gets done in person.
Okay, RantWoman made a request to schedule a TIMELY meeting in person, with the person clerking a committee planning a retreat.. RantWoman has been told that someone planning a retreat is too busy planning the retreat to meet until six weeks after the retreat! RantWoman is posting this after the fact. rRantWoman stands by this characterization of the situation and is deeply exercise by other circumstances as well.
THIS IS NOT ACCEPTABLE.
RantWoman is DONE with people thinking this is acceptable. RantWoman is going to speak up PUBLICLY.
RantWoman needs to make reasonable accommodations requests.
1. RantWoman really wants to hear what even timid-voiced Friends hear. RantWoman requests that Meeting rent or borrow a mobile mic system so that people doing large go-rounds can be heard when they speak. RantWoman happens to have an option she is willing to pursue to borrow a system.
2. RantWoman requests that people keep scented products to a bare minimum. RantWoman reacts badly to excessive scents but has a very small number of products that have scents. RantWoman is extremely grateful when others also keep scents to a bare minimum.
RantWoman is clear to speak up publicly also because RantWoman imagines there may be other Reasonable Accommodations requests that also need to be articulated.
Hold us all in the Light.
Monday, September 4, 2017
Conflict is not Abuse: for the mean-to-read list
For the Mean to read list
 |
| Conflict Is Not Abuse by Sarah Schulman |
Sunday, September 3, 2017
Petabytes and teaspoons
This item has been seasoning in RantWoman's drafts folder for awhile. There are a number of circumstances flying full-speed into RantWoman's BS detector. That needs to be held in the Light. In the Meantime, RantWoman is posting things accumulated from her Drafts folder.
The brief version:
Here is an article about a proposal before the Seattle City Council to address the reality of unhoused people living in their cars.
http://www.seattleweekly.com/news/theres-lots-to-love-about-mike-obriens-rv-ordinance/
RantWoman is posting it here because:
--RantWoman thinks it is reasonable and appropriate to be able to have sensible conversations with others around her about the different issues represented.
--Unhoused people living in cars is only one of many "how does the regionwide housing affordability crisis affect the daily lives of people in Meeting?" questions on RantWoman's mind. There would also be questions of what are we as a meeting or as individuals called to do. RantWoman assumes that she is not the only one who has car encampments somewhere near where they live. RantWoman could see the case for seeing whether people living in the housing near Meeting could imagine a location for car encampments.
RantWoman absolutely thinks car encampments are for better or worse an important part of addressing people's need for shelter. Car encampments, like dockless bikeshare are also an exercise in community. Probably enough said, until there is experience to be shared or advice to be sought.
--In Seattle's 7 districts and 2 at large seats City Council, Council Mmeber Rob Johnson, the person who introduced this bill represents the district were our Meeting is located. Enough said for now?
--RantWoman is growing impatient about a discernment process and SHARED discussion of events, media items, etc, as well as ease of retrieval. A few months down the road RantWoman for instance does not want to scream her screen reader over all 3+ petabytes (meaning a ginormous quantity) of information flowing through the internet everysecond; RantWoman wants easily to get back to the few sprinkles of data she has already been working with and any new relevant data. RantWoman recognizes that her need for technology will drag some other people along a technological learning curve and compete for attention with Friends' need sometimes just to go steep them selves in petabytes of data flooding them from outdoors. RantWoman already admits she is being impatient. Enough said?
Actually, no. RantWoman is tired of waiting around. RantWoman is just going to post as led for awhile. RantWoman can make the case that thoughtful discernment should not have to wade through every piece of electronic lint that flutters out of RantWoman's spiritual compost heap. Rant Woman can also make the case that a more specific set of tags might be nice. However, for now RantWoman is going to use the tags she already had. Sometimes if a hashtag seems relevant, RantWoman will include it
Enough for now?
The brief version:
Here is an article about a proposal before the Seattle City Council to address the reality of unhoused people living in their cars.
http://www.seattleweekly.com/news/theres-lots-to-love-about-mike-obriens-rv-ordinance/
RantWoman is posting it here because:
--RantWoman thinks it is reasonable and appropriate to be able to have sensible conversations with others around her about the different issues represented.
--Unhoused people living in cars is only one of many "how does the regionwide housing affordability crisis affect the daily lives of people in Meeting?" questions on RantWoman's mind. There would also be questions of what are we as a meeting or as individuals called to do. RantWoman assumes that she is not the only one who has car encampments somewhere near where they live. RantWoman could see the case for seeing whether people living in the housing near Meeting could imagine a location for car encampments.
RantWoman absolutely thinks car encampments are for better or worse an important part of addressing people's need for shelter. Car encampments, like dockless bikeshare are also an exercise in community. Probably enough said, until there is experience to be shared or advice to be sought.
--In Seattle's 7 districts and 2 at large seats City Council, Council Mmeber Rob Johnson, the person who introduced this bill represents the district were our Meeting is located. Enough said for now?
--RantWoman is growing impatient about a discernment process and SHARED discussion of events, media items, etc, as well as ease of retrieval. A few months down the road RantWoman for instance does not want to scream her screen reader over all 3+ petabytes (meaning a ginormous quantity) of information flowing through the internet everysecond; RantWoman wants easily to get back to the few sprinkles of data she has already been working with and any new relevant data. RantWoman recognizes that her need for technology will drag some other people along a technological learning curve and compete for attention with Friends' need sometimes just to go steep them selves in petabytes of data flooding them from outdoors. RantWoman already admits she is being impatient. Enough said?
Actually, no. RantWoman is tired of waiting around. RantWoman is just going to post as led for awhile. RantWoman can make the case that thoughtful discernment should not have to wade through every piece of electronic lint that flutters out of RantWoman's spiritual compost heap. Rant Woman can also make the case that a more specific set of tags might be nice. However, for now RantWoman is going to use the tags she already had. Sometimes if a hashtag seems relevant, RantWoman will include it
Enough for now?
Fall Grateful
RantWoman offers humble appreciation for:
--Getting rid of the Bedbug High Rises, also known as carpet sound
panels on the worship Room walls
--Carpet replacement occurring within a finite amount of time with
relatively little drama.
--Light in changing Seasons.
--Midweek worship even when it is coming right now with a really blunt "Because God asked you to." Hold that in the Light.
 |
| Worship Room Clearstory windows New carpet |
--Getting rid of the Bedbug High Rises, also known as carpet sound
panels on the worship Room walls
--Carpet replacement occurring within a finite amount of time with
relatively little drama.
--Light in changing Seasons.
--Midweek worship even when it is coming right now with a really blunt "Because God asked you to." Hold that in the Light.
Saturday, September 2, 2017
Diligence and Ripostes
Bless us Oh Lord for RantWoman suffers today from an overabundance of need for snarky ripostes to things she has heard Friends around her say recently. Please understand, RantWoman's fountain of snarky ripostes is subject to various strands of interference and unmitigated Inner Blowtorch.
In the realm of Inner Blowtorch, although RantWoman feels no call at this moment to explain why Operation NightWatch is on her mind, RantWoman is not infrequently on the bus with people dispatched through Operation NIghtwatch's dispatch system. RantWoman has also collected conversational comments from somewhere about the dispatch system somehow not always getting available shelter beds filled. RantWoman thinks understanding this issue and the current realities as far as use of shelter beds is on point for an ongoing conversation but is not clear to say more in blogland.
Scratch that. There also is a big giant due diligence issue right on the Operation Nightwatch homepage as RantWoman writes. On one hand, it is even more vivid than the due diligence perspective on RantWoman's mind in last Business Meeting. On the other hand RantWoman has sent her usual overly complex email. Humbly, RantWoman would appreciate SOME indication that SOMEONE has read--and interacted with--her email. RantWoman has no opinion necessarily about what might come from looking at the due diligence issue, but RantWoman considers it her duty as a faithful member of meeting and steward of community efforts to point it out. RantWoman would not mind having a clearer sense to whom she might succinctly direct these concerns or offers of help investigating and expect reasonable responses. Hold seasoning of the question in the Light.
There is also the RantWoman Message Manglement service situated securely between RantWoman's ears, as well as various other hiccups and irregularities in the Space Time continuum. And when all that is insufficiently exculpatory Mercury is still in retrograde until September 3. But back to RantWoman's well of snarky comments.
#1
"...on the bus I cannot even tell anymore who is homeless..."
Unspoken snarky response: "DUDE. What buses do you ride? Sit in the courtesy area or as RantWoman has been known to call it, the Crip fights section. Open your ears."
#2
holding in the Light every voice sounding timid or touching something real and tender
holding in the Light every voice sounding timid or touching something real and tender
holding in the Light every voice sounding timid or touching something real and tender
"...I was so pleased about how discussion about the Welcoming people of all Genders" minute went at Annual Session that I am ready to tackle racism next year!"
NOW RantWoman can think "Friend would you care to elaborate?"
Can any of RantWoman's readers imagine why that statement might make one burst out laughing? Set off a giant collective spiritual popcorn popper?
As it was, worship was fairly gathered. RantWoman's meditations alternated between reflections on the pluses and minuses of pre-worship caffeine and meditations about the power of a two-word tweet "belligerent jerk" drawing appreciation across huge cultural chasms. Other messages emerged. There were newcomers to welcome. Nothing needed to make it out of RantWoman's mouth--Yet. Stay tuned. Hold in the light.
In the realm of Inner Blowtorch, although RantWoman feels no call at this moment to explain why Operation NightWatch is on her mind, RantWoman is not infrequently on the bus with people dispatched through Operation NIghtwatch's dispatch system. RantWoman has also collected conversational comments from somewhere about the dispatch system somehow not always getting available shelter beds filled. RantWoman thinks understanding this issue and the current realities as far as use of shelter beds is on point for an ongoing conversation but is not clear to say more in blogland.
Scratch that. There also is a big giant due diligence issue right on the Operation Nightwatch homepage as RantWoman writes. On one hand, it is even more vivid than the due diligence perspective on RantWoman's mind in last Business Meeting. On the other hand RantWoman has sent her usual overly complex email. Humbly, RantWoman would appreciate SOME indication that SOMEONE has read--and interacted with--her email. RantWoman has no opinion necessarily about what might come from looking at the due diligence issue, but RantWoman considers it her duty as a faithful member of meeting and steward of community efforts to point it out. RantWoman would not mind having a clearer sense to whom she might succinctly direct these concerns or offers of help investigating and expect reasonable responses. Hold seasoning of the question in the Light.
There is also the RantWoman Message Manglement service situated securely between RantWoman's ears, as well as various other hiccups and irregularities in the Space Time continuum. And when all that is insufficiently exculpatory Mercury is still in retrograde until September 3. But back to RantWoman's well of snarky comments.
#1
"...on the bus I cannot even tell anymore who is homeless..."
Unspoken snarky response: "DUDE. What buses do you ride? Sit in the courtesy area or as RantWoman has been known to call it, the Crip fights section. Open your ears."
#2
holding in the Light every voice sounding timid or touching something real and tender
holding in the Light every voice sounding timid or touching something real and tender
holding in the Light every voice sounding timid or touching something real and tender
"...I was so pleased about how discussion about the Welcoming people of all Genders" minute went at Annual Session that I am ready to tackle racism next year!"
NOW RantWoman can think "Friend would you care to elaborate?"
Can any of RantWoman's readers imagine why that statement might make one burst out laughing? Set off a giant collective spiritual popcorn popper?
As it was, worship was fairly gathered. RantWoman's meditations alternated between reflections on the pluses and minuses of pre-worship caffeine and meditations about the power of a two-word tweet "belligerent jerk" drawing appreciation across huge cultural chasms. Other messages emerged. There were newcomers to welcome. Nothing needed to make it out of RantWoman's mouth--Yet. Stay tuned. Hold in the light.
Friday, September 1, 2017
Non Discrimination while Mercury is still in Retrograde
RantWoman sometimes finds it convenient to credit astrology with some or another message manglement. RantWoman got stunning messages from two different astrology streams she reads about the recent eclipse. Among other details, Mercury is in retrograde, so if messages are not coming through as intended, RantWoman recommends praying about it and hanging in there.
The new NPYM welcoming All Genders Minute, about which the world is entitled to more opinions than RantWoman is going to offer just now.
http://aquakerwitch.blogspot.com/2017/07/npym-minute-welcoming-transgender-and.html
From newly formed Sierra Cascades Yearly Meeting of Friends:
Via another email pathway which among off-putting characteristics discourages use of reply/ all. RantWoman finds this item interesting, but the email she received contains no information about options to follow up. Is there someone willing to be a contact? Is there someone from a topical committee interested in shepherding along some discussion? Hint: RantWoman thinks that although the topic is certainly a social concern, RantWoman would specifically NOT assign it to Peace and Social Concerns.
Two further RantWoman comments:
--RantWoman quite likes the statements above because the non-discrimination categories apply to personnel but equally important to other categories of connection!
--So far there has been no mention in Quaker conversationsaround RantWoman about gender identity a couple years ago getting added to the WA state non discrimination statement and what that might or should also mean. On RantWoman's mind but not today.
The new NPYM welcoming All Genders Minute, about which the world is entitled to more opinions than RantWoman is going to offer just now.
http://aquakerwitch.blogspot.com/2017/07/npym-minute-welcoming-transgender-and.html
From newly formed Sierra Cascades Yearly Meeting of Friends:
Via another email pathway which among off-putting characteristics discourages use of reply/ all. RantWoman finds this item interesting, but the email she received contains no information about options to follow up. Is there someone willing to be a contact? Is there someone from a topical committee interested in shepherding along some discussion? Hint: RantWoman thinks that although the topic is certainly a social concern, RantWoman would specifically NOT assign it to Peace and Social Concerns.
From newly formed Sierra Cascades Yearly Meeting of Friends:
Nondiscrimination Policy
Does your church have a nondiscrimination policy? If not, you might consider talking to a lawyer about creating one. This is one of the easiest ways to formally communicate your community’s commitment to safety. It should be published on your website and in your bulletin where it can be easily found. Most such policies explicitly list protected classes (gender, ethnicity, race, skin color). If you have one, check to see if it also includes people with disabilities, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, HIV status, immigration status. Nondiscrimination policies are one of the ways potential visitors check to see if you care about them. Sample policies linked below:
Two further RantWoman comments:
--RantWoman quite likes the statements above because the non-discrimination categories apply to personnel but equally important to other categories of connection!
--So far there has been no mention in Quaker conversationsaround RantWoman about gender identity a couple years ago getting added to the WA state non discrimination statement and what that might or should also mean. On RantWoman's mind but not today.
Various Homelessness Items
Please excuse ragged url's for now; RantWoman is also refraining from riffs on Every Theme Gushing out of RantWoman's Febrile Mind.
New Navigation Center
http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/northwest/navigation-center-for-seattle-homeless-to-open-next-week/
Operation Nightwatch
https://www.seattlenightwatch.org/
Interesting Resource: WECount
http://mailchi.mp/58ca54a0018b/wecount-summer-newsletter-and-updates?e=58d0671c0d
New Navigation Center
http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/northwest/navigation-center-for-seattle-homeless-to-open-next-week/
Operation Nightwatch
https://www.seattlenightwatch.org/
Interesting Resource: WECount
http://mailchi.mp/58ca54a0018b/wecount-summer-newsletter-and-updates?e=58d0671c0d
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