But God Didn’t Say That: Religious Community Members Talk God and Abortion

RantWoman presents:

Friends Journal Friends must take a stance on abortion

The short version of RantWoman's views:

--The question of when life begins is theologically and scientifically unknowable. 

--The US Constitution provides for people of many different faiths or of no faith. We live in a multi-faith democracy and laws need to leave room for freedom of religion, not weigh a fat hand on the scales in favor of one faith's views.

--God gives everyone free will.

--There is plenty of room in this conversation for LOTS of practical policies that can guarantee more life-affirming outcomes for people bearing children, children themselves, and all of society.

Please consider:

Justice Alito is bonkers and then there's prosecutorial discretion

Various Additional Videos

Lauren Boebert wants a theocracy.

Hot tip: if your goal is to set up a theocracy, maybe don't try to do it in a country that doesn't have a pesky little thing called a Constitution that specifically says "No, don't even think about the idea" in two  different places. .

Readers who, like RantWoman, need to wash our brains out anytime we go near the mere thought of the illustrious Rep. B please claim your official Bad Friend sash.

The REAL Reason Why U.S. Politicians Keep Visiting Taiwan

Posted without further comment

What the Amnesty International Report about Ukraine got wrong and why a key local staff member resigned

 

PS There's still a war going on.

WaPo OPinion Piece by Olga Pokalchuk

A woman's wonderful interesting life.

 

Part of this story is of what sounds like a wonderful life well-lived

AWWA Article about Terry

The other part of the story is about the strength of a community, a please hold us in the Light request from a Friend and relative present in the last days of a hospice journey, and the kind reflections offered after Terry's passing on a Meeting email list.

Be patterns. Be examples!

Resurrection?

For reasons of visual relateability, RantWoman has not even requested permission to post an image called Resurrection in Lavender and gold that was part of the prompt for this week's Witness Wednesday. Funny enough, the words that came with the image are part of what held RantWoman. Also funny enough, RantWoman WILL get to a reason to post video clips about Liz Cheney and the Republican party.

“I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn't say any other way - things I had no words for.”

— Georgia O’Keeffe (1887 – 1986) American modernist artist, known as much for her independent spirit and female role model as for her dramatic and innovative works of art

(For the record: when RantWoman herself needs to say things with color and shape, what tends to come out is "RantWoman is bad at both subtlety and minute detail." Sometimes that is what is needed.) 

Query: Where is Resurrection needed in my life?  My community? Our country?  Our world?

Other Quotes:

Resurrection can be messy business

Richard Rohr: Stay with the suffering until the resurrection comes.

A chat exchange

The true measure of a patriot, To leave behind undemocratic ways.

Yeah. And Republicans could start by supporting the Voting Rights act and fighting voter suppression

What RantWoman posted in chat while silent in shared space:

WY is on my mind today. My dad grew up there. We have travelled there to see my grandfather, a Presbyterian minister.

WY is important if we want to move away from the fossil fuel economy. WY is also beautiful and living there, even in the cities there is really different from bigger cities.

Liz Cheney talks about being a conservative Republican in favor of small government, low taxes, and a strong defense.

I am not sure how small government squares with all the states going nuts with abortion bans. 

We probably have different ideas of what a strong defense means but I am glad we agree that strong defense does not include destroying presidential records, playing fast and loose with classified documents, dissing gold star families...

I listen carefully when Liz speaks. I don't know whether her witness can get the Republicn party past its bad boyfriend situation with The Former Guy to some kind of renewal and I admire her guts in trying to talk about it.

Now time for the videos because they say a lot of the different things on RantWoman's mind.

Trevor Noah on Liz Cheney

from MSNBC

All in with Chris Hayes: Saving democracy by saving the GOP?

Trae Crowder This Ain't your papaw's 'publican party

Somewhat embarrassingly, like is one allowed both to laugh and to cringe at the same video. 

Gutfeld on freaking Faux Snooze

And on the other hand, "1 out of 4 Republicans in a very red state voted for someone actively trying to put TFG in jail."

Beau of the Fifth Column

 

Participate in QuakerVoice Discernment

Help Quaker Voice Set Its Priorities.  Discernment Session, August 31, 7 pm, on Zoom. Register using this link.

Quaker Voice on Washington Public Policy is embarking on a process of discernment about the scope and structure of its public policy advocacy, in a process called “Finding Our Quaker Voices.” We seek consultation and interaction with the broader Quaker community in the state of Washington.

You can provide your input to the process through the discernment session on August 29 or by sending a response to the survey found on quakervoicewa.org. Answers can also be sent to info@quakervoicewa.org.

(1) What are the issues that concern you most in the state of Washington, at the state or local level? 

(2) Would you like Quaker Voice to take a position on these issues? If yes, what position?

(3) On which of these issues are you willing to take action at least at the level of contacting your state legislators about it?

This process will be used to write a new policy statement that forms the framework for Board decisions about signing on to advocacy letters and asking our activists to sign in pro or con in legislative hearings. Use this link Finding Our Quaker Voices — Quaker Voice (quakervoicewa.org) for further details.

  

Susan E. Cozzens, scozzens AT live. Com, 404-483-8036

On the web at findingmy.place

RantWoman is posting this invitation as is. RantWoman will separately post some thoughts and questions of her own.

 

Liz Cheney post primary speech and John Oliver in time for the anniversary of the Afghan pullout

RantWoman here posts Rep. Liz Cheney's concession speech after her primary election.

RantWoman appreciates the tone and scholarly background.

RantWoman hopes it will not be too stylistically jarring also to post a Last Week Tonight video from John Oliver about Afghanistan. The irony would be starker if the video were about Iraq. But one year after the US pullout from Afghanistan, somehow it also belongs in the narrative.

Rep Zoe Lofgren I have enjoyed working with Liz Cheney

Urgent Quaker Call with concern for US democracy August 18 7:30 EDT

For anyone who has missed news of the multi-organization Quaker Call of concern about the future of our democracy, please take a look.

August 18, 7-9 PM EDT Register Here quakercall.net.

An “Urgent Call to the Religious Society of Friends” concerning the current extensive threats to U.S. democracy. This Call was prepared by a group of nineteen Friends led to speak out against the lies, extremist movements, and anti-democratic actions that are the opposite of Quaker understandings of integrity and Truth.

 

Accessibility note: the link above will take readers to a page to sign up for a Zoom session with worship sharing in breakout groups and efforts to collect the Light brought by participants in breakout rooms. There are links for various pieces of background.

Even though the text of the call can be seen on the Read the Call page many readers who want to read the call will be happiest first clicking on the Read the call link and then clicking on the Download the PDF link. This tip is also a polite way of saying RantWoman's screen reader could not find the text of the call until she clicked on the Download link.

RantWoman also wonders whether other Friends besides RantWoman may be called to respond to the query "What is missing from this call?"

ELECTED prosecutor speaks about prosecutorial discretion and democracy

Unpopular opinions:

1 Samuel Alito is bonkers. RantWoman as another Princeton graduate is happy to appreciate Justice Alito's willingness to delve into weird historical moments  in writing his opinion in the Dobbs opinion overruling Roe vs. Wade. RantWoman can appreciate capacity for research and still consider it bonkers to use his research as he has.

2. What if having the Supreme Court barf all over precedent is just the sort of judicial temper tantrum needed to end the tap dance around Supreme Court nominations, to take questions about abortion out of the hands of a court where Catholics are overrepresented relative to their percentage of the US population, and  to motivate and mobilize US voters to write laws that respect women's bodily autonomy, reflect the views of an overwhelming majority of people in the US? The US healthcare system is likely to remain as unfair as it is without substantial other steps, see below. There are going to be a lot of scared people hyperventilating while ducks get lined up to make that happen but all indications TO RANTWOMAN are that votes matter, that change is possible!

More on the other side of this video

3. RantWoman expects to hear a lot about rule of law and respect for democratic decisions. RantWoman would also REALLY like for someone to grab that lovely term "evidence-based" and keep talking every time there is an option about measures that protect the lives of women and children after birth as well as while the child is incubating, please excuse RantWoman, gestating.. 

Will there be enough voices of sanity able to do this...?

Stay tuned.

Political Reporting with Scenery: Australian Broadcasting Corp on Liz Cheney

RantWoman does not get to vote in the August 16 congressional primary in WY. If she did, she would seriously consider registering as an independent in order to support Liz Cheney. RantWoman has no opinion about whether this endorsement will have even the slightest impact. In any case, please appreciate the magnificent scenery.

Sometimes it is valuable just to see how a news story looks through the eyes of a reporter from another country. In this case, RantWoman also thinks it is just fine that the report is more about symbolism than actual policy.

WY is where Rant Dad grew up, graduated from high school and college. The Righteous Rev. RantGranddad was a Sunday School missionary and weekly religious radio host there for decades. The Rant children counted oil rigs more than once on summer road trips between CO and MT. RantWoman has never lived in WY but did snag a couple trophies in high school for a language competition at a WY community college. 

All that said,  RantWoman has no qualms about weighing in: a principled legislator to go where the facts are leading ranks much higher in RantWoman's esteem than someone who has completely been enthralled by....

In the interest of equal time or letting readers formulate their own "Ewww" reactions:

Hageman for WY campaign website

Cowboy State daily profile of Harriet Haggeman

Harriet Hageman Ballotpedia

Witness Wednesday meditations

Thank you to Debilyn Molyneaux of The Bridge Alliance for bringing a quest for shared spiritual practice among organizations working in Washington DC, the connection via the link above and this week's Witness Wednesday prompt:

“There is the thought, and then there is the knowing of the thought. And the difference between being aware of the thought and just thinking is immense. It’s enormous… Normally we are so identified with our thoughts and emotions, that we are them. We are the happiness, we are the anger, we are the fear. We have to learn to step back and know our thoughts and emotions are just thoughts and emotions. They’re just mental states. They’re not solid, they’re transparent. One has to know that and then not identify with the knower. One has to know that the knower is not somebody.” ~Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo (excerpted from the biography Cave in the Snow by Vicki Mackenzie)

This quote on first read landed squarely in RantWoman's "too much Buddhism makes me want to punch someone" nerves. RantWoman is VERY glad she did not stick with her unease but instead digressed to read the Bridge Alliance website above.

Further worship brought further words about detachment, about Abrahamic religions' dwelling in an all-encompassing external.

Just when RantWoman was thinking "oh good I don't have to tear myself out of some external, along came, in the chat,  "Thoughts and emotions are just like clouds, they will pass. I am the fullness of the sky behind them."

Aaaaaah. RantWoman's visual experience includes so much fog and blur that assuming clouds, even metaphorical ones, will pass is not a happening path.

Then another voice struggling with the prompt and that voice got to agency!

Yes! And RantWoman WILL reread the website above.

Should Readers need further texts to seed meditation today, Friends Journal Do Friends still need the peace testimony

Really DUMB Democratic tactic!

Dear Democratic campaign geniuses!!!

RantWoman's head is about to explode. 

Why on earth would you even consider spending campaign money in primaries to support looney Previous Guy loving extremist candidates and to OPPOSE brave Republican Congressional candidates who voted to impeach That Former Guy???

RantWoman thinks this is playing with fire. 

RantWoman thinks funding extremist Republican candidates in primaries is utterly dishonest and runs a huge risk, if the extremist wins in the general election of making Congress even more polarized, unreasonable and unable to work with each other than they are now.

RantWoman is utterly disgusted and will be investing her time energy and resources in close to the ground grassroots efforts that support policies RantWoman is FOR.

Word.

Now please appreciate this video about a race in Michigan.

YES! Dialogues in Faith Communities about property stewardship and community vision.

Graphic from the
Faith Land Initiative website
because this post needs a visual

Yes! Yes to the Church Council of Greater Seattle Faith Land Initiative !

YES to faith communities engaging actively about growth projections indicating that a million people are likely to come to this region by 2050 and where to put them all is going to be an acute concern for everyone.

YES to a certain Meeting RantWoman is supposed magically to stop caring about participating WITH OTHER FAITH COMMUNITIES in something that feels much more like life-embracing movements of Spirit than tiring discussion from a few years ago about "condo church" in the University District.

YES to a group of Friends offering time for a process that will last a year at least and YES to there being at least ONE Friend younger than 60 among this group.

YES to intentional discussions that cultivate shared work and wider conversations than one small committee trying to fit a bunch of things easily into boxes.

 

YES AND 

Early in a previous attempt at property discernment, RantWoman suggested just developing a glossary of terms that might be valuable in a conversation. Discernment about property matters involves terms from many different language domains. Not everyone is going to become urban planners or experts in every angle but in RantWoman's experience common vocabularies that do not make assumptions or presuppose any direction for a final destination can be extremely valuable. Ignoring this suggestion did NOT enhance RantWoman's confidence in previous process. RantWoman would be thrilled if this new process adopts RantWoman's suggestion or perhaps has already thought about this.

RantWoman realizes discernment about faith community property is not necessarily about the spiritual and worship life of any single faith community. RantWoman also hopes that discernment well done will bring to life better communities of all kinds

RantWoman lives in two worlds as far as advocacy / public ministry. Transportation advocates tend to go "Huh? when RantWoman wants to think of faith communities. And some of RantWoman's faith community work is with people who go "Huh?" about transportation issues. RantWoman would love it if the Faith Land Initiative can help build bridges about transportation issues both at a regional scale and in terms of one of RantWoman's favorite mantras about safe continuous  travel networks for all modes..

RantWoman craves a process that also engages with hard realities about climate change, the needs of people of different ages, and earth-friendly amenities.

People with Disabilities? The voices of PWD? Access needs even to be part of a process!

RantWoman needs to speak of African American Church lady hats and how housing and travel patterns intersect about people's ability to worship together. RantWoman some years ago caught a bus to Meeting near an African American church known for strong community presence. It made RantWoman sad to realize that because of housing displacement most of the people who came on Sundays all dressed up drove in from the 'burbs, the areas they could afford to live in.

RantWoman needs to speak of the Sunday Morning God bus and the fate of faith communities along a certain bus routes. RantWoman can be all over concepts such as "time to pray" on the bus. RantWoman thinks it's equally important though to think of models such as the 15-minute city full of neighborhoods where most people can live within a 15-minute WALK of work and most of what they need for daily lives.

In any case, YES! KEEP TALKING.

Interest Group Evaluation "Punishment is not Accountability."

RantWoman deeply appreciates transparency. RantWoman also likes it when data gets reviewed by more than one set of eyes. RantWoman writes of a Friend who personally has a mixed record in RantWoman's experience about the more than one set of eyes and about many questions here. RantWoman writes holding this Friend an multiple others present in an NPYM Interest Group in the Light. RantWoman also writes from a perspective of "these are RantWoman's thoughts now and are subject to further discernment.

Feedback on Mackenzie's abolition workshop "Punishment is not Accountability"

Thank you Friends, for helping me reflect on and improve this workshop! Your responses below are anonymous and no identifying details will be shared, though I might use short quotes from them to let University Friends Meeting know what Friends who attended my workshop thought, when I am asking them for a travel minute.

RantWoman is often deeply allergic to others speaking on her behalf or taking something out of context. So RantWoman is proud to speak for herself and happy to own whatever may result. Valuable discussion occurred. RantWoman offers a number of points for further discernment.

RantWoman is a language geek. She can ALWAYS start a conversation asking to define terms. Readers are asked, PLEASE do the best you can not to take this personally and to attend to RantWoman's need to be faithful to her Light.

Travel Minute? Would there be any plans for a support and accountability committee? For formal recognition of an elder to help hold space at events? Oh, wait: RantWoman in "teach a person to fish" mode is not going to comment here about existence of any shared understanding of such Quaker pastoral support concepts. RantWoman would be WAY too happy to comment about people trying to wear too many hats and cultivating such practices takes attention. Those are topics for another day.

Punishment?

Accountability?

In RantWoman's estimation there was interesting discussion of several points which could have maybe gone further. However the Interest Group never wandered very near definitions of either term.

RantWoman notes this without comment about whether that is a catastrophe. RantWoman appreciates information in the interest group description to a shortened version of a 6-hour workshop. In RantWoman's experience the arc for an interest group of 1.5 hours is very different from on for 6 hours.

There is a formatting issue for the rest of this post. RantWoman is having trouble dealing with in the rest of the survey. RantWoman interacts with Google forms all the time without accessibility issues. The difference is that RantWoman wants to share both questions and her responses. RantWoman hopes Readers can bear with jumping back and forth

Did RantWoman feel safe...dignity and humanity respected?

Mackenzie has done and continues to do MANY things that make RantWoman feel shoved aside, ignored, and like serious concepts important to RantWoman do not matter at all. None of this makes RantWoman feel like her dignity and humanity are respected. On the contrary, Mackenzie's actions like those of many others make it abundantly clear to RantWoman that she needs to continue to be faithful to her Light.

Mackenzie is not alone. RantWoman wanted to see how the interest group evolved and is clear about ongoing issues but VERY unclear about paths for better discussions. Apparently, one of RantWoman's ONGOING access needs is for time and paths to discussion events and circumstances after the fact. RantWoman would VERY much appreciate BEING ASKED--and NOT JUST BY MACKENZIE-- what "do better next time" might look to RantWoman. RantWoman also reminds one Friend who had her characteristically superficial reaction to RantWoman's inquiry that she probably has in her email multiple suggestions about how to "pick one thing" to do next.

RantWoman felt "safe enough" for several reasons:

--There were many people RantWoman considers wise Friends and / or wants to uphold in their various forms of witness.

--"abolition" was probably not the sense of the whole room.

--RantWoman managed not to blurt out everything that came to mind when an article in the Atlantic about gun violence came up. RantWoman figured she should at least read the article because her "whoa!" was not going to make it out of her mouth kindly during the interest group.

--RantWoman had the option of attending by Zoom. This cuts way down on options for "grab the blind person and bless them" or "RantWoman is saying something we object to so let's give RantWoman a hug never mind whether it makes RantWoman feel smothered." Speaking of bodily autonomy and why, besides recent Supreme Court rulings, this remains a hot button bring it up over and over topic for RantWoman, ...

How comfortable....?

See answer above: Also, whether or not RantWoman feels comfortable may or may not have anything to do with a clear sense of call to be present! RantWoman considers it bad form to dump out everything in her bag of OUCHES in another person's interest group. RantWoman generally considers it ableist to assume that just because one has good intentions and does SOME things right that there cannot be other forms of ableism going on. Somehow, this topic probably belongs with further work around oops Ouch Whoa.

Did you feel heard and valued...?

RantWoman has NO idea how to judge that. Partly that is visual cues. Partly it is realities of Zoom including everyone staying muted so non-verbal reactions can't be heard.

RantWoman cannot remember whether there was a separate Zoom host. RantWoman STRONGLY believes that a person conducting an interest group should have a co-host. At best, this can help hold space if something comes up that flusters or upsets the presenter.

Somewhere in this Interest Group it dawned on RantWoman that it would be good to have a set of accessibility tips to send to presenters in future years.

Did you feel Spirit moving?

RantWoman can't decide whether just to leave it at "Yeah, I guess" or to have a rant about how this question seems very theologically superficial to RantWoman. Since RantWoman was asked...

Honestly, RantWoman feels like she has TRIED to have conversations about this very topic. Just because email may not be the best venue does not mean there are not conversations to have.

And just like that, RantWoman looked away from typing and two related links popped out.

From Radical Discipleship: Contagion

because frankly, the words "Discipleship" and Contagion BOTH matter.

The article referenced in the above extract

Yes Magazine :Murmurations Love looks like Accountability

Several Multiple Choice questions:

RantWoman is going to admit she has no brain cells even to interact but would VERY much appreciate some kind of compilation of how others responded. Given certain ISSUES, some kind of public compilation is what RantWoman is asking for.

Any other advice?

This whole blog post is full of advice and suggestions. RantWoman is happy to talk further about any of them. NO ONE should try to carry the weight of all of them. RantWoman hopes these comments offer points for Mackenzie and others to work with.

RantWoman generally appreciates boldness and initiative.

RantWoman can cite a long list of "Do Better Next Time." Some of the time RantWoman can relate to the advices something like " you have to tell people something seven times..." Some of the time RantWoman feels a little like Charlie Brown and the football. Why RantWoman feels like that is for another post.

Any other advice....?

 

 

How safe did you feel during this workshop? Did Mackenzie do anything to make you feel more or less safe? In this context, safety might look like having your humanity and dignity respected.

RantWoman felt "safe enough" in this interest group because of the presence of other Friends. Mackenzie remains completely unable to have conversations which should not be hers alone about some specific ableism issues

How comfortable did you feel during this workshop? Did Mackenzie do anything to make you feel more or less comfortable? Did you feel comfortable enough to speak up?

Your answer

Did you feel heard and valued during the workshop?

Your answer

Did you feel Spirit moving in this workshop?

Your answer

Since taking the workshop, do you feel like you now know more about police and prison abolition?

Yes, I learned a lot!

Yes, I learned a few things.

Maybe I learned something?

No, I didn't learn much.

Since taking the workshop, do you feel more enthusiastic to continue learning about police / prison abolition and non-penal ideas for how to engage with harm and accountability?

Yes, very!

Yes, a little.

Not really, but that's because I already was very enthusiastic and I still am!

I don't know.

No, I feel like I have learned enough for now.

Other:

Since taking the workshop, do you feel more enthusiastic to talk further about harm and accountability with people around you?

Yes, very!

Yes, a little.

Not really, but that's because I already was very enthusiastic and I still am!

I don't know.

No, I feel like I have had enough discussion for a while.

Other:

Since taking the workshop, do you feel more enthusiastic to talk further about police and prison abolition with people around you?

Yes, very!

Yes, a little.

Not really, but that's because I already was very enthusiastic and I still am!

I don't know.

No, I feel like I have had enough discussion for a while.

Other:

Do you have any ideas or advice for Mackenzie as zie tries to follow hir leading to "do more with Quakers and abolition"?

Your answer

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