RantWoman notes this item about mental health care in another state. It's pretty daunting even for a native English speaker with good insurance and excellent support.
http://hereandnow.wbur.org/2013/04/05/mental-health-new-hampshire
RantWoman has anecdotal and observational information to the effect that realities in WA are just as hair-raising. RantWoman has further information that needing interpretation or having other language access barriers makes the challenge of living with mental illness even more daunting.
Once upon a time, long ago, RantWoman also worked as a bean counter in an organization where the norm was--and RantWoman thinks still is--to expect primary care doctors to manage most mental illness in primary care with medication. Enough said for now!
Sunday, April 7, 2013
Thursday, April 4, 2013
The Meeting as Stated?
Dear World, God/dess...
The annual State of Society report is gestating and RantWoman is as usual having trouble exercising restraint. Here are notes and a whacked up draft RantWoman inflicted on our brave and intrepid drafting team.
RantWoman insufferable? HOW could this be? Let us count the ways:
--RantWoman's hyperactive Inner Blowtorch keeps showing up a certain "This is your mother speaking" insistence about sharing many points of experience not necessarily at the front of other Friends' minds; RantWoman is also richly endowed with the gift of hearing others' protestations about this insistence only as "shut up."
--The clerk nearly forgot to begin the process of drafting our State of Society report until RantWoman reminded him at about the last second of the Business Meeting where drafters are customarily recruited.
--After Business Meeting a pair of parents of young children stepped forward. RantWoman remembers her role as idiosyncratic verbal documentarian about Irrepressible Nephew's early years. Little Sister just was NOT writing much at all and she still occasionally thanks RantWoman for the collection of electronic dispatches 500 characters at a time RantWoman served up on her device of the age. For comparison, RantWoman needs to congratulate this year's drafters for getting anything on paper.
--Next, RantWoman can be both a ruthless editor and extremely ungracious in response to others' editorial efforts. RantWoman offered considerable enhancement to the first draft circulating. RantWoman tries to be somewhere in the vicinity of humility, but...There are LOTS of words and RantWoman assumes others might be at least somewhat generous as well.
Some things that rise from a first read of the draft:
--RantWoman is the sort of nerd who actually reads these reports either at Quarterly Meeting or at Annual session. RantWoman reads for:
--some kind of interesting language about spiritual life
--what are challenges and how is the community addressing?
--something interesting about what Quakerism means within that community.
--are there any big changes or news?
--What political issues is the community engaged about and what are they doing?
--is the font big enough? Usually RantWoman has eyeballs for 1 or 2 at a time; and tends to skip the ones with the smallest font.
As to this year's drafting:
--RantWoman liked some pieces of the first draft a lot; other pieces seemed repetitive and invited substitution to expand the snapshot of community life.
--RantWoman has some opinions about census type info that get tested in the course of generating the final report.
--The area around our Meeting is changing. We are three years away from a new Light Rail Station opening within a few blocks of us. Both because of the new dorm impinging on a view to the south and because of a new apartment building across a street, some among us are thinking about what this will mean for our worshipping community.
--RantWoman shares a concern about not just doing laundry lists of activities. RantWoman is TRYING to be at peace about what the authors are led to write but RantWoman is a student of the Our Lady of Perpetual Community Responsibility: RantWoman seems to be about shoving the authors toward words that reflect the whole community.
--Our library is both a treasure trove of historical Quaker literature and a place for Friends to gather in love and community.
--There are many poets lurking among us; the monthly cycles of art exhibits in our social hall connect us to other circles within Meeting and beyond. Even the discussion of what to do with the Rich Beyer fence and other artworks reflects care of heritage even if modern realities nudge us in hard directions.
--RantWoman thinks just the fact of doing things like a travelling minute is sometimes important. This year Meeting prepared a minute to....send Conflict is a Gift of God Friend off to....teach conflict resolution in a foreign land.
Along the way, RantWoman felt called to have a spasm in the direction of her perpetual "What do I take away / What do I bring back?" query. RantWoman felt compelled whether others wanted to listen or not, to share a story of a weighty Friend RantWoman heard at a Quaker event looking to get her travelling minute endorsed. RantWoman was thinking about when the Weighty Friend had spoken at Annual session about getting to have several roles over time, mother, famous astronomer, excuse the odd phrasing, Quaker theology bon vivant out talking about science and theology at places like the World Council of Churches.
RantWoman notes how this quaint Quaker custom can connect a local Meeting who might have very limited time and energy with big questions that can be nibbled at in small local but meaningful bits. RantWoman is also thinking about how, even though she is a huge fan of electronic connections, the travelling minute is this wonderful token of in-person contact. But in the process of expressing that thought, RantWoman found herself called to further vex ...Worship and Ministry committee. ....
But enough. Here is what RantWoman did to whack up the draft. RantWoman is speaking only for herself and perfectly well knows it would be FINE, FINE to let others speak for once. And this is RantWoman…
++++++++++
State of the Meeting Report (March 2013) DRAFT
University Friends Meeting
Our worship this year has been rich and balanced. Our meetinghouse hums with life: in addition to two First Day meetings for worship, lively Adult Education and midweek worship, our Social Hall is rented out nearly every night, a preschool thrives on our ground floor 20 homeless individuals find shelter in our worship room each night; this ministry draws in enthusiastic supporters for benefit concerts and helps us consider many concerns related to affordable housing across our city At Quaker House, we also continue to welcome both travelers and six new social service interns, newly renamed QuEST fellows, each year through our QuEST program.
It has now been a few years since our Year of Discernment, a process many of us found to be quite enriching and strengthening This year we ask where the clarity we found that year might again serve as a way to reset our compass. Are we doing too much? Are our tasks and roles the right ones? Do we work in simplicity and Light? At a threshing session on this topic, a suggestion emerged that we might try a drastic winter pruning—cutting back on the number and size of our committees and endeavors, and from that cleared space, seeing what structural needs emerged. For example, we consolidated both financial management and care of facilities for our two buildings within one meetingwide committee each; now we are discerning what makes most sense for managing our several personnel
We have been quite clear in our commitment to properly welcoming and supporting our youngest attenders and their parents. Our permanent preschool teacher is in her second year of working with our infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. This year we also hired two permanent First Day teachers, who provide regular programming for our elementary-aged children. We also host a quarterly gathering with young families at our meeting and South Seattle Friends Meeting. Junior Friends from several Seattle-area Meetings gather once a month to create a sense of Quaker community as well and to share our experiences raising children as Quakers . Finally we also honor the care and sporadic participation of Friends’ grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and young people in our activities.
Our worship community includes survivors of sexual abuse as well as sexual offenders. We hold this reality carefully and with deliberate transparency. We maintain a set of policies and practices geared towards the safety of our children. We always have two adults with our children’s program activities. From time to time we hold educational activities about abuse awareness and prevention; we hold abuse survivors tenderly along with the other struggles of many in our community.
A number of challenges are trying the spirits of Friends right now. In addition to deaths in our community (…..) several among us are grieving the loss of parents, spouses, or other important people in their lives. Our community holds this with care even when Friends are grieving people not directly known by many in Meeting.
Many Friends are beset by the demands and darned inconveniences of aging: hearing loss, rheumatism, Parkinsonism, various forms of vision meltdown, digestive obstructions, dyspepsia, disinclination to leave the house, and multitudinous other distresses. A certain Pendle Hill pamphlet may well go on as to "Hallowing our Diminishments" but what if Friends really need is "Howling about our Diminishments"? We focus the Light of ministering to specific Friends through over individual care committees; we also strive to pay attention as a community: a new disabled parking place, for adaptations in how we distribute information, and other gestures of care and accompaniment.
Our community welcomed …. New members and …. Transfers out. One transfer especially stands out; one member of the first same-gender couples anywhere to ask their Meeting to call their commitment to each other a marriage and to take it under the care of the Meeting like any other marriage. This couple broke up amiably after over 10 years together and each found and in that Friend's case lost a beloved new partner. This year That Friend has moved back to CA where she grew up to live near her grandchildren.
The arrival of grandchildren is especially touching in light of WA voters this year voting in favor of full marriage equality for same-sex couples within our state. University Meeting and North Pacific YM have been on record in support of civil marriage equality for over 15 years. Echoing George Fox, "we marry none but only witness whom God marries. Interestingly, pride in WA voters notwithstanding, none of the same-sex couples in our Meeting is in any hurry to head to the courthouse for the new paperwork.
One illustration of our rich community life; our fall community-building retreat / work party first asked Friends to explain their experience of worship in one verb then divided us into small groups for worship sharing. Over lunch a clothesline provided space for Friends to hang their verbs. There some Friends shared difficult and prickly words also present though not necessarily spoken aloud. After lunch Friends dug into a number of needed work projects; when everyone gathered at the end of the day, Friends were grateful for many completed maintenance project and re-energized with new verbs.
We are richly blessed, enjoying each others’ company at Light Lunch, engaging in collective social action and political advocacy, tending to the native plants that surround our meeting house, and greeting with open and attentive hearts the newcomers and old-timers with whom we meet for worship.
The annual State of Society report is gestating and RantWoman is as usual having trouble exercising restraint. Here are notes and a whacked up draft RantWoman inflicted on our brave and intrepid drafting team.
RantWoman insufferable? HOW could this be? Let us count the ways:
--RantWoman's hyperactive Inner Blowtorch keeps showing up a certain "This is your mother speaking" insistence about sharing many points of experience not necessarily at the front of other Friends' minds; RantWoman is also richly endowed with the gift of hearing others' protestations about this insistence only as "shut up."
--The clerk nearly forgot to begin the process of drafting our State of Society report until RantWoman reminded him at about the last second of the Business Meeting where drafters are customarily recruited.
--After Business Meeting a pair of parents of young children stepped forward. RantWoman remembers her role as idiosyncratic verbal documentarian about Irrepressible Nephew's early years. Little Sister just was NOT writing much at all and she still occasionally thanks RantWoman for the collection of electronic dispatches 500 characters at a time RantWoman served up on her device of the age. For comparison, RantWoman needs to congratulate this year's drafters for getting anything on paper.
--Next, RantWoman can be both a ruthless editor and extremely ungracious in response to others' editorial efforts. RantWoman offered considerable enhancement to the first draft circulating. RantWoman tries to be somewhere in the vicinity of humility, but...There are LOTS of words and RantWoman assumes others might be at least somewhat generous as well.
Some things that rise from a first read of the draft:
--RantWoman is the sort of nerd who actually reads these reports either at Quarterly Meeting or at Annual session. RantWoman reads for:
--some kind of interesting language about spiritual life
--what are challenges and how is the community addressing?
--something interesting about what Quakerism means within that community.
--are there any big changes or news?
--What political issues is the community engaged about and what are they doing?
--is the font big enough? Usually RantWoman has eyeballs for 1 or 2 at a time; and tends to skip the ones with the smallest font.
As to this year's drafting:
--RantWoman liked some pieces of the first draft a lot; other pieces seemed repetitive and invited substitution to expand the snapshot of community life.
--RantWoman has some opinions about census type info that get tested in the course of generating the final report.
--The area around our Meeting is changing. We are three years away from a new Light Rail Station opening within a few blocks of us. Both because of the new dorm impinging on a view to the south and because of a new apartment building across a street, some among us are thinking about what this will mean for our worshipping community.
--RantWoman shares a concern about not just doing laundry lists of activities. RantWoman is TRYING to be at peace about what the authors are led to write but RantWoman is a student of the Our Lady of Perpetual Community Responsibility: RantWoman seems to be about shoving the authors toward words that reflect the whole community.
--Our library is both a treasure trove of historical Quaker literature and a place for Friends to gather in love and community.
--There are many poets lurking among us; the monthly cycles of art exhibits in our social hall connect us to other circles within Meeting and beyond. Even the discussion of what to do with the Rich Beyer fence and other artworks reflects care of heritage even if modern realities nudge us in hard directions.
--RantWoman thinks just the fact of doing things like a travelling minute is sometimes important. This year Meeting prepared a minute to....send Conflict is a Gift of God Friend off to....teach conflict resolution in a foreign land.
Along the way, RantWoman felt called to have a spasm in the direction of her perpetual "What do I take away / What do I bring back?" query. RantWoman felt compelled whether others wanted to listen or not, to share a story of a weighty Friend RantWoman heard at a Quaker event looking to get her travelling minute endorsed. RantWoman was thinking about when the Weighty Friend had spoken at Annual session about getting to have several roles over time, mother, famous astronomer, excuse the odd phrasing, Quaker theology bon vivant out talking about science and theology at places like the World Council of Churches.
RantWoman notes how this quaint Quaker custom can connect a local Meeting who might have very limited time and energy with big questions that can be nibbled at in small local but meaningful bits. RantWoman is also thinking about how, even though she is a huge fan of electronic connections, the travelling minute is this wonderful token of in-person contact. But in the process of expressing that thought, RantWoman found herself called to further vex ...Worship and Ministry committee. ....
But enough. Here is what RantWoman did to whack up the draft. RantWoman is speaking only for herself and perfectly well knows it would be FINE, FINE to let others speak for once. And this is RantWoman…
++++++++++
State of the Meeting Report (March 2013) DRAFT
University Friends Meeting
Our worship this year has been rich and balanced. Our meetinghouse hums with life: in addition to two First Day meetings for worship, lively Adult Education and midweek worship, our Social Hall is rented out nearly every night, a preschool thrives on our ground floor 20 homeless individuals find shelter in our worship room each night; this ministry draws in enthusiastic supporters for benefit concerts and helps us consider many concerns related to affordable housing across our city At Quaker House, we also continue to welcome both travelers and six new social service interns, newly renamed QuEST fellows, each year through our QuEST program.
It has now been a few years since our Year of Discernment, a process many of us found to be quite enriching and strengthening This year we ask where the clarity we found that year might again serve as a way to reset our compass. Are we doing too much? Are our tasks and roles the right ones? Do we work in simplicity and Light? At a threshing session on this topic, a suggestion emerged that we might try a drastic winter pruning—cutting back on the number and size of our committees and endeavors, and from that cleared space, seeing what structural needs emerged. For example, we consolidated both financial management and care of facilities for our two buildings within one meetingwide committee each; now we are discerning what makes most sense for managing our several personnel
We have been quite clear in our commitment to properly welcoming and supporting our youngest attenders and their parents. Our permanent preschool teacher is in her second year of working with our infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. This year we also hired two permanent First Day teachers, who provide regular programming for our elementary-aged children. We also host a quarterly gathering with young families at our meeting and South Seattle Friends Meeting. Junior Friends from several Seattle-area Meetings gather once a month to create a sense of Quaker community as well and to share our experiences raising children as Quakers . Finally we also honor the care and sporadic participation of Friends’ grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and young people in our activities.
Our worship community includes survivors of sexual abuse as well as sexual offenders. We hold this reality carefully and with deliberate transparency. We maintain a set of policies and practices geared towards the safety of our children. We always have two adults with our children’s program activities. From time to time we hold educational activities about abuse awareness and prevention; we hold abuse survivors tenderly along with the other struggles of many in our community.
A number of challenges are trying the spirits of Friends right now. In addition to deaths in our community (…..) several among us are grieving the loss of parents, spouses, or other important people in their lives. Our community holds this with care even when Friends are grieving people not directly known by many in Meeting.
Many Friends are beset by the demands and darned inconveniences of aging: hearing loss, rheumatism, Parkinsonism, various forms of vision meltdown, digestive obstructions, dyspepsia, disinclination to leave the house, and multitudinous other distresses. A certain Pendle Hill pamphlet may well go on as to "Hallowing our Diminishments" but what if Friends really need is "Howling about our Diminishments"? We focus the Light of ministering to specific Friends through over individual care committees; we also strive to pay attention as a community: a new disabled parking place, for adaptations in how we distribute information, and other gestures of care and accompaniment.
Our community welcomed …. New members and …. Transfers out. One transfer especially stands out; one member of the first same-gender couples anywhere to ask their Meeting to call their commitment to each other a marriage and to take it under the care of the Meeting like any other marriage. This couple broke up amiably after over 10 years together and each found and in that Friend's case lost a beloved new partner. This year That Friend has moved back to CA where she grew up to live near her grandchildren.
The arrival of grandchildren is especially touching in light of WA voters this year voting in favor of full marriage equality for same-sex couples within our state. University Meeting and North Pacific YM have been on record in support of civil marriage equality for over 15 years. Echoing George Fox, "we marry none but only witness whom God marries. Interestingly, pride in WA voters notwithstanding, none of the same-sex couples in our Meeting is in any hurry to head to the courthouse for the new paperwork.
One illustration of our rich community life; our fall community-building retreat / work party first asked Friends to explain their experience of worship in one verb then divided us into small groups for worship sharing. Over lunch a clothesline provided space for Friends to hang their verbs. There some Friends shared difficult and prickly words also present though not necessarily spoken aloud. After lunch Friends dug into a number of needed work projects; when everyone gathered at the end of the day, Friends were grateful for many completed maintenance project and re-energized with new verbs.
We are richly blessed, enjoying each others’ company at Light Lunch, engaging in collective social action and political advocacy, tending to the native plants that surround our meeting house, and greeting with open and attentive hearts the newcomers and old-timers with whom we meet for worship.
Tuesday, April 2, 2013
War Tax Resistance: Could not say it better myself
RantWoman would absolutely consider having enough income to need to think about the share of her taxes going for war a VERY good thing. It even occurs to RantWoman that this thought would be among the more unusual things a vocational rehab counselor might ever hear.
RantWoman, for better or worse, is in Make Your own job mode so RantWoman simply gets to highlight this excellent item from Waging Nonviolence about war tax resistance and trust that seeds might fall somewhere fertile.
http://wagingnonviolence.org/feature/what-if-they-gave-a-war-and-nobody-paid/
RantWoman, for better or worse, is in Make Your own job mode so RantWoman simply gets to highlight this excellent item from Waging Nonviolence about war tax resistance and trust that seeds might fall somewhere fertile.
http://wagingnonviolence.org/feature/what-if-they-gave-a-war-and-nobody-paid/
Sunday, March 31, 2013
Guatemala: threatened with resurrection
The Cut to the Chase version: please hold the trial of former Guatemalan military strongmand Efrain Rios Montt and a co-defendant in the Light. This is a domestic trial in Guatemala for crimes of genocide against indigenous communities and other crimes.
The fact that this trial is occurring in Guatemala in the context of the Guatemalan justice system is a remarkable moment of shining the light of justice on awful things from the nation's history.
Read on for specific links. RantWoman confesses: she reads as much now with her "Auntie" hat on as with anything like the ardor and insufferable passion of her youth. RantWoman is holding thoughts of what Brother in Law might be willing to go anywhere near in conversation and thoughts of what Irrepressible Nephew Really SHOULD Care About. RantWoman gets to hold the possibility that the biggest thing either of them might care about would be a desire perhaps to travel to Guate to see Irrepressible Nephew's Guatemalan abuela while she is still alive to see.
Of possibly less importance would be Rant family gratitude that the gods of holiday eating rituals have already smiled in such a way that Christ will be risen and Easter gets celebrated this year in family fractions. One fraction retires at home recovering from ongoing radiation therapy. One fraction is still open to Divine Leading. One fraction will happen with some important local Guatemalan connections and without the opportunity for RantWoman to cause conversational distress speaking of disturbing things: the new Pope and the Argentinian Dirty War as well as the Rios Montt trial. RantWoman is pretty sure RantMom's reaction to either theme would be "Oh RantWoman, must you?" or perhaps "Oh RantWoman, would you please translate....Oh, Must you?"
RantWoman spent a good portion of the 1980's walking around wearing buttons emblazoned with such moments of truthtelling as "Your taxes pay for torture, rape and murder in Central America." RantWoman is STILL just a walking,talking living breathing yucky topics festival. RantWoman recently vexed someone she thought might be able to be present in the conversation with a question about the trial of former Guatemalan military leader Efrain Rios Montt. RantWoman was blessed basically by an exhortation to figure it out her own darn self.
Here are some links from the world wide infoglut to get started.
http://www.as-coa.org/articles/rios-montt-case-guatemalas-landmark-genocide-trial-begins
http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2013/03/2013323164622824769.html
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Americas/Latin-America-Monitor/2013/0322/Checking-in-on-Guatemala-s-Rios-Montt-trial
If the news is too much, perhaps Julia Esquivel's poem "They have threatened us iwith resurrection" will suffice.
First in English
http://rantwomanrsof.blogspot.com/2012/04/they-have-threatened-us-with.html
and in Spanish
http://bilgrimage.blogspot.com/2010/04/for-national-poetry-month-julia.html
The fact that this trial is occurring in Guatemala in the context of the Guatemalan justice system is a remarkable moment of shining the light of justice on awful things from the nation's history.
Read on for specific links. RantWoman confesses: she reads as much now with her "Auntie" hat on as with anything like the ardor and insufferable passion of her youth. RantWoman is holding thoughts of what Brother in Law might be willing to go anywhere near in conversation and thoughts of what Irrepressible Nephew Really SHOULD Care About. RantWoman gets to hold the possibility that the biggest thing either of them might care about would be a desire perhaps to travel to Guate to see Irrepressible Nephew's Guatemalan abuela while she is still alive to see.
Of possibly less importance would be Rant family gratitude that the gods of holiday eating rituals have already smiled in such a way that Christ will be risen and Easter gets celebrated this year in family fractions. One fraction retires at home recovering from ongoing radiation therapy. One fraction is still open to Divine Leading. One fraction will happen with some important local Guatemalan connections and without the opportunity for RantWoman to cause conversational distress speaking of disturbing things: the new Pope and the Argentinian Dirty War as well as the Rios Montt trial. RantWoman is pretty sure RantMom's reaction to either theme would be "Oh RantWoman, must you?" or perhaps "Oh RantWoman, would you please translate....Oh, Must you?"
RantWoman spent a good portion of the 1980's walking around wearing buttons emblazoned with such moments of truthtelling as "Your taxes pay for torture, rape and murder in Central America." RantWoman is STILL just a walking,talking living breathing yucky topics festival. RantWoman recently vexed someone she thought might be able to be present in the conversation with a question about the trial of former Guatemalan military leader Efrain Rios Montt. RantWoman was blessed basically by an exhortation to figure it out her own darn self.
Here are some links from the world wide infoglut to get started.
http://www.as-coa.org/articles/rios-montt-case-guatemalas-landmark-genocide-trial-begins
http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2013/03/2013323164622824769.html
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Americas/Latin-America-Monitor/2013/0322/Checking-in-on-Guatemala-s-Rios-Montt-trial
If the news is too much, perhaps Julia Esquivel's poem "They have threatened us iwith resurrection" will suffice.
First in English
http://rantwomanrsof.blogspot.com/2012/04/they-have-threatened-us-with.html
and in Spanish
http://bilgrimage.blogspot.com/2010/04/for-national-poetry-month-julia.html
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Esther Mombo, Kenyan Theologian Reedwood Friends Church April 4-5 Let the Living Water Flow
RantWoman is ECSTATIC to have the following invitation at last in electronic format:
http://fwccamericas.org/LivingWater.shtml
April 5-7:
Portland, Oregon.
Reedwood Friends Church.
With Esther Mombo (Nairobi YM Kenya)
Friday 6-9 pm & Saturday 10 am-5:30 pm
plenary sessions, small group discussions, singing & workshops
Includes snacks & lunch on Saturday.
Child care and some home hospitality available for Friday and/or Saturday nights
Esther Mombo is a lecturer and deputy Vice Chancellor Academics at St Paul's university Limuru, Kenya. It is here that she teaches African church history and theologies from women's perspectives. She was born and brought up in a Quaker home with her grandmother the late Enis Mugesia who was among the first Quaker converts in her village. Enis served in the women's meetings and was one of three or four women who carried out prison ministry among female prisoners. Esther was influenced by Enis Mugesia in her early days and in her choice of ministry that she undertook in theological education for herself and for the work she does today.
Her highly-regarded writings have been on such diverse topics as women's issues, HIV/AIDS, Christian-Muslim relations, and poverty in Africa. She has contributed in the development of different programmes including a first Masters Program in Christian Response to HIV/AIDS and others. She has made significant contributions to developing women's ecclesial leadership through theological training and contributed to different books including A Historical Analysis of the roles and status of Abaluyia women in Kenyan Quaker Christianity 1902-1979 and Harahamisi and Juma: The Development of the Women's Meetings in East Africa Yearly Meeting of Friends (Quakers).
She has spoken in different conferences in different Christian denominations, including the World conference of friends Kenya 2012. She is a graduate of Friends Theological college, St. Paul's, Limuru; Trinity College, Dublin; and Edinburgh University. She says, "Society is changing and has crucial issues that affect humanity. As a theological educator I hope to inform the work that women do."
Each adult is asked to contribute $40 to cover the costs for the program. Friends with financial limitations are encouraged to come and contribute as you are able.
The written text of Esther Mom's address at the 6th World Conference of Friends in Kenya
http://saltandlight2012.org/esther-mombos-reflections-conference-theme
A wonderful interview in Reform magazine from the UK
http://www.reform-magazine.co.uk/2009/09/esther-mombo-interview-the-importance-of-talking/
http://fwccamericas.org/LivingWater.shtml
April 5-7:
Portland, Oregon.
Reedwood Friends Church.
With Esther Mombo (Nairobi YM Kenya)
Friday 6-9 pm & Saturday 10 am-5:30 pm
plenary sessions, small group discussions, singing & workshops
Includes snacks & lunch on Saturday.
Child care and some home hospitality available for Friday and/or Saturday nights
Esther Mombo is a lecturer and deputy Vice Chancellor Academics at St Paul's university Limuru, Kenya. It is here that she teaches African church history and theologies from women's perspectives. She was born and brought up in a Quaker home with her grandmother the late Enis Mugesia who was among the first Quaker converts in her village. Enis served in the women's meetings and was one of three or four women who carried out prison ministry among female prisoners. Esther was influenced by Enis Mugesia in her early days and in her choice of ministry that she undertook in theological education for herself and for the work she does today.
Her highly-regarded writings have been on such diverse topics as women's issues, HIV/AIDS, Christian-Muslim relations, and poverty in Africa. She has contributed in the development of different programmes including a first Masters Program in Christian Response to HIV/AIDS and others. She has made significant contributions to developing women's ecclesial leadership through theological training and contributed to different books including A Historical Analysis of the roles and status of Abaluyia women in Kenyan Quaker Christianity 1902-1979 and Harahamisi and Juma: The Development of the Women's Meetings in East Africa Yearly Meeting of Friends (Quakers).
She has spoken in different conferences in different Christian denominations, including the World conference of friends Kenya 2012. She is a graduate of Friends Theological college, St. Paul's, Limuru; Trinity College, Dublin; and Edinburgh University. She says, "Society is changing and has crucial issues that affect humanity. As a theological educator I hope to inform the work that women do."
Each adult is asked to contribute $40 to cover the costs for the program. Friends with financial limitations are encouraged to come and contribute as you are able.
The written text of Esther Mom's address at the 6th World Conference of Friends in Kenya
http://saltandlight2012.org/esther-mombos-reflections-conference-theme
A wonderful interview in Reform magazine from the UK
http://www.reform-magazine.co.uk/2009/09/esther-mombo-interview-the-importance-of-talking/
Saturday, March 23, 2013
Contagion?
Who do you say I am?
RantWoman hereby celebrates the election of a new Pope, a Jesuit who has chosen his Papal name to remember St. Francis of Assisi's focus on the poor and humble by invoking.....Robert Barclay, educated by Calvinists and Jesuits, ... and John Woolman. RantWoman needs to get a couple Quaker in-jokes out of her system; RantWoman also promises she DOES mean to poke and probe at what the living presence of the Holy Spirit asks of her Meeting or at least of RantWoman.
Furthermore, RantWoman hereby celebrates both Nominating Season and the season of drafting the State of Society Report. "Celebrates" is a peculiar word. RantWoman is wondering whether she has been fed some weird too much of the truth serum of quinoa, guacamole, and 4 stars spicy salsa or whether some stray bedbug left over from last year's contingent has just been scouring her email:
Recent email from....Conflict is a Gift of God Friend:
"We are facing a significant down-tick in participation this winter -- worship attendance is down almost 20% from last winter. "
RantWoman:
Thank you for sharing this concern. I appreciate info about something I would not necessarily have noted.
--To what might we attribute this decline?
--the annual flu / crud being worse than average both in firs instance and in tendency to recur?
--a significant number of Friends called to travel because of deaths in their families, work, pleasure?
--the exhausting barbarity that passes for work schedule for many working age Friends
--the expense and tiresomeness of travel by car or bus
--childrearing, eldercare. grieving, medical events all the matters lurking amongst us trying our spirits right now
--The demands and darned inconveniences of aging. We have many weighty wonderful but rapidly decrepitating elders. Without in the least making any effort, for instance, to ask Rantwoman's permission (Rats. RantWoman would not grant it anyway) many of these weighty souls are beset by hearing loss, rheumatism, Parkinsonism, various forms of vision meltdown, digestive obstructions, dyspepsia, disinclination to leave the house, and multitudinous other distresses. A certain Pendle Hill pamphlet may well go on as to "Hallowing our Diminishments" but what if Friends really need is "Howling about our Diminishments"?
--weird weather?
--people coming once and not feeling led to return?
--People besides RantWoman sometimes feeling bored and stifled by all the beloved Friends in Adult Religious Education who are certain they have things figured out and need to say so instead of listening when some of us don't?
--People afraid of being accosted by someone loudly calling them to the community of coffeemaking?
--People who want other people just to shut up and go make coffee and don't deign to listen about spiritual matters or who demand conversations about spiritual matters predigested according to each person's individual tastes?
--Fear that Nominating Committee will try to draft them for something frustrating that does not feed them spiritually...?
--Something else which has somehow evaded the fog and blur of RantWoman's oh, so limited Light?
Have you considered whether you should also perhaps share your concern with:
--the clerk of Meeting?
--members of Worship and Ministry?
--members of Oversight?
--the clerk of Finance Committee?
--someone on Nominating Committee?
--random people who those listed above do not necessarily talk to
What would YOU have us do about this? Any guesses what others might feel led to do about this?
--Different format activities?
--Weekly invitations on Facebook so that all the people who Beliefnet tells are Liberal Quakers know how to find us? Oh dear. That means presuming we have something to offer a world hungering for spiritual communion. Actual agents of contagion? (See below)
--Potlucks at arbitrary intervals, perhaps featuring random rambling moments from RantWoman's dorky documentary collection, disaster preparedness, other slightly demented entertainment?
--The harangue a month Saturday brunch club?
--some sort of neighborhood based gathering / witness and gardening party
See some of these ideas definitely speak to Rantwoman and RantWoman is having problems finding other Friends who either share her enthusiasm or are willing to be carried along, say for the sheer privilege and delight of hanging out with RantWoman, the joy of walking in the Light....?
Recently RantWoman saw something connected with flu season about infection control and different religious practices including communion. Having read Barclay's Apology last year, RantWoman might offer one comment about infection control through spiritual rather than physical communion, including HOPEFULLY the immune boost from just showing up around one's community.
(Disaster Preparedness Brain also recalls encountering a story of one community whose residents during the 1918 flu epidemic were too scared of contagion to go out and care for each other. Guess which community suffered a much higher than average death rate!)
The Woolman reading group this year is getting a really different spin on infection control and particularly sometimes deliberate exposure to small pox.
Put this all in the salad slicer with someone's definition RantWoman read recently of being an elder as "agent of contagion for the Holy Spirit." What might "agent of contagion for the Holy Spirit look like around our Meeting?
RantWoman hereby celebrates the election of a new Pope, a Jesuit who has chosen his Papal name to remember St. Francis of Assisi's focus on the poor and humble by invoking.....Robert Barclay, educated by Calvinists and Jesuits, ... and John Woolman. RantWoman needs to get a couple Quaker in-jokes out of her system; RantWoman also promises she DOES mean to poke and probe at what the living presence of the Holy Spirit asks of her Meeting or at least of RantWoman.
Furthermore, RantWoman hereby celebrates both Nominating Season and the season of drafting the State of Society Report. "Celebrates" is a peculiar word. RantWoman is wondering whether she has been fed some weird too much of the truth serum of quinoa, guacamole, and 4 stars spicy salsa or whether some stray bedbug left over from last year's contingent has just been scouring her email:
Recent email from....Conflict is a Gift of God Friend:
"We are facing a significant down-tick in participation this winter -- worship attendance is down almost 20% from last winter. "
RantWoman:
Thank you for sharing this concern. I appreciate info about something I would not necessarily have noted.
--To what might we attribute this decline?
--the annual flu / crud being worse than average both in firs instance and in tendency to recur?
--a significant number of Friends called to travel because of deaths in their families, work, pleasure?
--the exhausting barbarity that passes for work schedule for many working age Friends
--the expense and tiresomeness of travel by car or bus
--childrearing, eldercare. grieving, medical events all the matters lurking amongst us trying our spirits right now
--The demands and darned inconveniences of aging. We have many weighty wonderful but rapidly decrepitating elders. Without in the least making any effort, for instance, to ask Rantwoman's permission (Rats. RantWoman would not grant it anyway) many of these weighty souls are beset by hearing loss, rheumatism, Parkinsonism, various forms of vision meltdown, digestive obstructions, dyspepsia, disinclination to leave the house, and multitudinous other distresses. A certain Pendle Hill pamphlet may well go on as to "Hallowing our Diminishments" but what if Friends really need is "Howling about our Diminishments"?
--weird weather?
--people coming once and not feeling led to return?
--People besides RantWoman sometimes feeling bored and stifled by all the beloved Friends in Adult Religious Education who are certain they have things figured out and need to say so instead of listening when some of us don't?
--People afraid of being accosted by someone loudly calling them to the community of coffeemaking?
--People who want other people just to shut up and go make coffee and don't deign to listen about spiritual matters or who demand conversations about spiritual matters predigested according to each person's individual tastes?
--Fear that Nominating Committee will try to draft them for something frustrating that does not feed them spiritually...?
--Something else which has somehow evaded the fog and blur of RantWoman's oh, so limited Light?
Have you considered whether you should also perhaps share your concern with:
--the clerk of Meeting?
--members of Worship and Ministry?
--members of Oversight?
--the clerk of Finance Committee?
--someone on Nominating Committee?
--random people who those listed above do not necessarily talk to
What would YOU have us do about this? Any guesses what others might feel led to do about this?
--Different format activities?
--Weekly invitations on Facebook so that all the people who Beliefnet tells are Liberal Quakers know how to find us? Oh dear. That means presuming we have something to offer a world hungering for spiritual communion. Actual agents of contagion? (See below)
--Potlucks at arbitrary intervals, perhaps featuring random rambling moments from RantWoman's dorky documentary collection, disaster preparedness, other slightly demented entertainment?
--The harangue a month Saturday brunch club?
--some sort of neighborhood based gathering / witness and gardening party
See some of these ideas definitely speak to Rantwoman and RantWoman is having problems finding other Friends who either share her enthusiasm or are willing to be carried along, say for the sheer privilege and delight of hanging out with RantWoman, the joy of walking in the Light....?
Recently RantWoman saw something connected with flu season about infection control and different religious practices including communion. Having read Barclay's Apology last year, RantWoman might offer one comment about infection control through spiritual rather than physical communion, including HOPEFULLY the immune boost from just showing up around one's community.
(Disaster Preparedness Brain also recalls encountering a story of one community whose residents during the 1918 flu epidemic were too scared of contagion to go out and care for each other. Guess which community suffered a much higher than average death rate!)
The Woolman reading group this year is getting a really different spin on infection control and particularly sometimes deliberate exposure to small pox.
Put this all in the salad slicer with someone's definition RantWoman read recently of being an elder as "agent of contagion for the Holy Spirit." What might "agent of contagion for the Holy Spirit look like around our Meeting?
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Cat Ministry, Physicists, What Canst thou say?
The after action report from Meeting for Worship last First Day, wherein God again stumbles over something sheparding a message from Eye Roller Friend and the Holy Spirit still herds multiple messages into a single mosaic:
Warm sun
RantWoman's brain and perhaps others' also well watered from Adult Religious Education as to considerations of Christ, Love, Authority, Experience...
long interval of blessed silence
Nasturtiums in Salad Friend: "...experience (movements of the Holy Spirit) without needing to understand...."
(apparently ministry of audible eye rolling from Eye Roller Friend.)
eruption from Eye Roller Friend about asking questions the right way along with words which sounded to RantWoman's admittedly muddled ears like dismissiveness of Nasturtiums in salad Friend.
a message or two
Eye Roller Friend leaves worship
kids enter
3-4 more messages
(RantWoman seasoning one untidy one that gets its own post and one shown below..
Close of worship
The part of RantWoman's spiritual compost heap that resonated with Nasturtiums in Salad Friend's message but never emerged as ministry, from the gospel according to Facebook infostreams:
This week some an item about Schodinger and Heisenberg and a cat drifted through RantWoman's gaze on Facebook.
RantWoman found herself delivered of peculiar Light: RantWoman could not care less how famous Schodinger and Heisenberg are as physicists; RantWoman would not leave any cat she cared about around either one of them.
Schodinger is the guy for whom the cat in the box is either dead or alive when one opens the box. RantWoman understands the point of thought experiments but does not need an either / or binary state cat. RantWoman needs to welcome a cat into her life, put up with a certain cat's wacky psycho kitty brain wiring, care for and be cared for by her, mourn her when she passes away. This is way more complicated that the binary state cat in the box.
Heisenberg is behind the Heisenberg uncertainty principle: is the cat a wave or a particle? If one measures things one way she is a wave; if one measures another way, she is a particle, never both at once. (Try explaining that to The Queen of Spades, or maybe just stay out of her way when she is doing pigeon patrol out the window.)
But if RantWoman spends too much time just thinking about is she a wave or a particle, RantWoman forgets to do really simple things like feed her, make sure she has water and a clean catbox...
Last first day RantWoman succumbed to voices wanting tidy messages and not necessarily repetition. In RantWoman's experience at least sometimes new elements wind up adding something for someone.
What canst thou say as to physicists, worship, cats?
Now, as to again eldering Eye Roller Friend, adapted from RantWoman's email to Eye Roller Friend, previously shared with Friends who think God should arrive in worship in approximately 30-second sound bytes, and now shared with the entire blogosphere:.
Dear Eye Roller Friend,
I am sorry you left Meeting for worship early. If you really were having trouble sitting still, it was probably the right thing, but you missed a couple messages expressing something new to RantWoman's ears, care in your direction as well as a nice one from someone RantWoman did not recognize speaking, to RantWoman's ears,to part of your point about how nice it is just to frame big questions different ways.
You also missed a plea from Worship and Ministry to direct questions about worship to them. Do you have any questions you might direct to them? When might you direct a question to Worship and Ministry rather than, say direct unmediated conversation with a person whose messages challenge you? (Do you have any clue how RantWoman might answer that question?)
Thought question of the day: what would it take for you to find words for your important thoughts without for instance sounding, even to RantWoman's jaundiced ear, a little like you were picking on a sweet little old lady? Please bear with the "little old lady" characterization. RantMom has gone, completely without asking RantWoman's permission, and turned into a little old lady, and Nasturtiums in Salad Friend is older and littler than RantMom. What would it take to have more patience to bear with... at least more of the time?
For furtther background, Mr. Nasturtiums in Salad Friend had a stroke awhile back and has been in assisted living ever since. This has meant huge adjustments for Nasturtiums in Salad Friend. RantWoman is sad that Nasturtiums in Salad Friend no longer has the energy to set up her beads at Friends events so Friends who do not know how to talk to each other can do something physical and hang out together and sometimes find words for a lot more or sometimes just hang out and learn a few tricks of beadwork.
RantWoman is NOT nostalgic for Nasturtiums in Salad Friend's habit when RantWoman was new to her Meeting. Nasturtiums in Salad Friend was clerk of Peace and Social Concerns and she regularly brought the entire box of good cause solicitations arriving every month to Business Meeting for help dealing. Rantwoman is VERY grateful that the community eventually took steps to recognize shared responsibility and over time evolved a number of practices related to solicitations.
Nasturtiums in Salad Friend like many among us, tends to have the same messages in slightly different words but RantWoman is grateful sometimes to be surprised by new seeking. RantWoman wrote Eye Roller Friend and counsels forebearance. RantWoman has no idea what to suggest to Eye Roller Friend about alternate wording. But read on.
Thanks also for sharing your comments after worship. I joke about your ministry of audible eye-rolling being a nice accessibility feature BUT I still do not consider it particularly a marker of disciplined worship. ...
Last First Day RantWoman personally did not notice. Nasturtiums in Salad Friend is one of several weighty elders dealing with the isolation, aggravation, frustration of hearing loss. For better or worse, it's POSSIBLE she herself did not hear Eye Roller Friend; maybe other elders nearby did not hear for the same reason. But RantWoman knows some people find interruptions during vocal ministry rude, disrespectful of the Light even if Light is not arriving to the interrupter. RantWoman considers it entirely reasonable for a member of Worship and Ministry to talk to Eye Roller Friend about that.
(RantWoman has also heard the word intimidating though not necessarily attached directly to Eye Roller Friend. RantWoman expects that people new to speaking in worship could easily find audible eye rolling intimidating!)
To rephrase RantWoman's question at the top, what would help you offer your own answer to the Margaret Fell What Canst Thou Say / Jesus to Peter Who do you say I am question alongside the answers suggested by Nasturtiums in Salad Friend or others in Worship?
Warm sun
RantWoman's brain and perhaps others' also well watered from Adult Religious Education as to considerations of Christ, Love, Authority, Experience...
long interval of blessed silence
Nasturtiums in Salad Friend: "...experience (movements of the Holy Spirit) without needing to understand...."
(apparently ministry of audible eye rolling from Eye Roller Friend.)
eruption from Eye Roller Friend about asking questions the right way along with words which sounded to RantWoman's admittedly muddled ears like dismissiveness of Nasturtiums in salad Friend.
a message or two
Eye Roller Friend leaves worship
kids enter
3-4 more messages
(RantWoman seasoning one untidy one that gets its own post and one shown below..
Close of worship
The part of RantWoman's spiritual compost heap that resonated with Nasturtiums in Salad Friend's message but never emerged as ministry, from the gospel according to Facebook infostreams:
This week some an item about Schodinger and Heisenberg and a cat drifted through RantWoman's gaze on Facebook.
RantWoman found herself delivered of peculiar Light: RantWoman could not care less how famous Schodinger and Heisenberg are as physicists; RantWoman would not leave any cat she cared about around either one of them.
Schodinger is the guy for whom the cat in the box is either dead or alive when one opens the box. RantWoman understands the point of thought experiments but does not need an either / or binary state cat. RantWoman needs to welcome a cat into her life, put up with a certain cat's wacky psycho kitty brain wiring, care for and be cared for by her, mourn her when she passes away. This is way more complicated that the binary state cat in the box.
Heisenberg is behind the Heisenberg uncertainty principle: is the cat a wave or a particle? If one measures things one way she is a wave; if one measures another way, she is a particle, never both at once. (Try explaining that to The Queen of Spades, or maybe just stay out of her way when she is doing pigeon patrol out the window.)
But if RantWoman spends too much time just thinking about is she a wave or a particle, RantWoman forgets to do really simple things like feed her, make sure she has water and a clean catbox...
Last first day RantWoman succumbed to voices wanting tidy messages and not necessarily repetition. In RantWoman's experience at least sometimes new elements wind up adding something for someone.
What canst thou say as to physicists, worship, cats?
Now, as to again eldering Eye Roller Friend, adapted from RantWoman's email to Eye Roller Friend, previously shared with Friends who think God should arrive in worship in approximately 30-second sound bytes, and now shared with the entire blogosphere:.
Dear Eye Roller Friend,
I am sorry you left Meeting for worship early. If you really were having trouble sitting still, it was probably the right thing, but you missed a couple messages expressing something new to RantWoman's ears, care in your direction as well as a nice one from someone RantWoman did not recognize speaking, to RantWoman's ears,to part of your point about how nice it is just to frame big questions different ways.
You also missed a plea from Worship and Ministry to direct questions about worship to them. Do you have any questions you might direct to them? When might you direct a question to Worship and Ministry rather than, say direct unmediated conversation with a person whose messages challenge you? (Do you have any clue how RantWoman might answer that question?)
Thought question of the day: what would it take for you to find words for your important thoughts without for instance sounding, even to RantWoman's jaundiced ear, a little like you were picking on a sweet little old lady? Please bear with the "little old lady" characterization. RantMom has gone, completely without asking RantWoman's permission, and turned into a little old lady, and Nasturtiums in Salad Friend is older and littler than RantMom. What would it take to have more patience to bear with... at least more of the time?
For furtther background, Mr. Nasturtiums in Salad Friend had a stroke awhile back and has been in assisted living ever since. This has meant huge adjustments for Nasturtiums in Salad Friend. RantWoman is sad that Nasturtiums in Salad Friend no longer has the energy to set up her beads at Friends events so Friends who do not know how to talk to each other can do something physical and hang out together and sometimes find words for a lot more or sometimes just hang out and learn a few tricks of beadwork.
RantWoman is NOT nostalgic for Nasturtiums in Salad Friend's habit when RantWoman was new to her Meeting. Nasturtiums in Salad Friend was clerk of Peace and Social Concerns and she regularly brought the entire box of good cause solicitations arriving every month to Business Meeting for help dealing. Rantwoman is VERY grateful that the community eventually took steps to recognize shared responsibility and over time evolved a number of practices related to solicitations.
Nasturtiums in Salad Friend like many among us, tends to have the same messages in slightly different words but RantWoman is grateful sometimes to be surprised by new seeking. RantWoman wrote Eye Roller Friend and counsels forebearance. RantWoman has no idea what to suggest to Eye Roller Friend about alternate wording. But read on.
Thanks also for sharing your comments after worship. I joke about your ministry of audible eye-rolling being a nice accessibility feature BUT I still do not consider it particularly a marker of disciplined worship. ...
Last First Day RantWoman personally did not notice. Nasturtiums in Salad Friend is one of several weighty elders dealing with the isolation, aggravation, frustration of hearing loss. For better or worse, it's POSSIBLE she herself did not hear Eye Roller Friend; maybe other elders nearby did not hear for the same reason. But RantWoman knows some people find interruptions during vocal ministry rude, disrespectful of the Light even if Light is not arriving to the interrupter. RantWoman considers it entirely reasonable for a member of Worship and Ministry to talk to Eye Roller Friend about that.
(RantWoman has also heard the word intimidating though not necessarily attached directly to Eye Roller Friend. RantWoman expects that people new to speaking in worship could easily find audible eye rolling intimidating!)
To rephrase RantWoman's question at the top, what would help you offer your own answer to the Margaret Fell What Canst Thou Say / Jesus to Peter Who do you say I am question alongside the answers suggested by Nasturtiums in Salad Friend or others in Worship?
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