#quaker blogging

[whineosaur]

My wife at The Toast talking about her faith journey.

[whineosaur]

peace/faith/whatever is lovely

so one of my new year's resolutions, although they're not resolutions, so much, because they're not formal and just sort of like "oh, i want to do this," anyway one thing i wanted to do more was incorporate spiritual practices into my life on a more regular basis. i mean, i go to meeting almost every sunday and that is lovely, and i pray sometimes, but i just want to be more intentional about it. i've always told people that i'm christian, and have never not thought of myself as christian, but until i started going to quaker meeting, it was sort of like--a defiance? like i always clung to christianity because i wanted to be a person who could be a lesbian, who could care a lot about institutional problems, who could be everything i never saw growing up, but i also didn't make much of an effort to work at it. but it's not possible to just BE something that takes so much work. i mean, you have to actually do it. so yes, i go to meeting, but i want to work harder to embody my beliefs.

anyway, so last week i did some reading about the importance of inner peace. i found an amazing quote from practicing peace, which i use kind of as a devotional or guide:

"when your faith doesn't bring you the peace that passeth all understanding, when it doesn't bring you joy, when it allows no rest for the weary, there's something wrong... do we trust in our own hands more than the one who guides them? do we think we can create the commonwealth of god when it does not reside in our own hearts?" --kat griffith.

it was a good thought to start the new year. i often wonder what it means to worship in silence, and what it means to live my faith. even when i'm worshipping, it can feel like "what am i doing here? what is this for?" but one thing i love quakerism for is that one of its goals is not to yearn and try for a heaven beyond the life we're already living. the goal is to build a "commonwealth of god" right now, right here. of course, we have to acknowledge that it won't and can't be perfect, but perfection isn't a goal either. creating spaces where people are free, where they can live in peace, where they can learn how to live simply, with integrity and honesty, those are the goals. most importantly, we must do everything in love, which always seems so abstract, but sometimes i think about how every breath i get to take on earth is love. the sun shining on me and making me warm is love. putting a little extra in the tip jar is love, asking after my coworkers' families is love, going extra is love, doing anything that helps heal the brokenness in our world is love. and living that way is so hard because it opens you up to so much hardship and you are so vulnerable to the world. so then, i was thinking, as i copy down this quote into my journal, well, how do i do that? how do i make that happen? and at the bottom of my notebook--which is one that has a bunch of bible verses about joy at the bottom of every page--i see phillipians 4:8.

"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding,will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you." so that's the goal i'm giving myself this year: to answer that call. to let my gentleness be evident to all, to be patient and grateful in all things, to find a peace that can protect my heart even as i find new ways to love the world. to think on whatever is noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy, by changing the way i interact with the world, by being intentional about the things i let into my world, by acting on whatever compels me to leave my comfort zone to create the commonwealth of god on earth.

[whineosaur]

today at meeting, something happened that happens pretty frequently, where i was working really hard to focus on not necessarily finding my inner light, but sort of finding the most tender part of myself and holding that up into the light, and i was thinking about the work of shared vulnerability, and i was thinking about how the meeting room felt so full today because so many people had come to grieve, so many people needed a place where they could sit with the pain of being alive in a world that is so hurt and so broken, and i was thinking about ripping myself apart to let my inner light shine brighter, and i was thinking how all of us were there trying our hardest to create a space of peace and light and healing, and then i like--blacked out? like i keep time at meeting by the train going by underneath us, so i know that i was consciously thinking of all this around 10:30, but after that i don’t know where i went, and i’m starting to wonder if it isn’t that, like, i sort of let myself become a conduit for other people’s pain? because i’m hurting, yeah, but i’m also strong and i want so much to be something for people to hold onto. it’s a really weird experience. at 10:50 someone always stands up and says “let’s use this time to hold in the light those for whom we have special concerns” and it jerked me out of this really deep trance that almost felt like i was asleep, but i know that i wasn’t. and afterwards i felt both exhausted but healed. like in a better place, emotionally. and it’s not the first time it’s happened, where i don’t remember parts of meeting and i sort of jerk out of a trance that i didn’t even realize i was in, especially on those sundays where i’m acutely aware of the pain everyone is bringing in with them. anyway.

[lliveonthesunn]

re: that reblog, i'm pretty sure this is why I look forward to quaker things so much, even if it's just brunches or small group meetings, silence is really valued and it gives me time to appreciate being with these people before I have to start talking

[lliveonthesunn]

ALSO ON THE TOPIC OF THE WEDDING britt and i planned our invite total and menu out before we got all ~quakerfied~ and now we have all these other people we want to come to the wedding and like, no more money to provide people food? but as it turns out, quakers are HUGE into potluck weddings, like every quaker we’ve talked to had a potluck wedding. but also that’s really impractical because like all of our people are traveling and u can’t travel with a casserole. so i think what we’re going to do is have general invitations and reception invitations and if you get a reception invite you don’t have to bring food, like, you’re in the number of people we planned to provide food for, but if you get a general invite, you’re more that free to stay for the reception, you just also have to bring a dish.

i really hope this doesn’t end up being complicated having to explain to people over and over.

[lliveonthesunn]

okay but then i searched “quakerism” and the first post was from a baltimore quaker about a special meeting for worship their meeting had for the protests and they had a discussion about quaker pacifism and how it relates to the riots happening and i just love quakers okay

[lliveonthesunn]

re that last post i got curious about quaker tumblr and SURPRISE the quaker tag is 90% people’s breakfast pics ft. oatmeal, 9% parrots, .5% spam, and .5% quakerism

[lliveonthesunn]

Quaker Resources

(for moonyinthesky, but also for anyone interested.)

The Quaker Information Center has a handy little FAQ right here that covers a lot of the basics, including a few locator services for all over the world. They also have resources for more in depth research. Once you find a meeting close to you, if you want to learn more than what they have on their website, you should try to find the Faith and Practice guide of their Yearly Meeting. The YM is just the larger regional group they belong to: for example, the Atlanta Friends Meeting is part of the Southern Appalachian Yearly Meeting and Association (SAYMA). (This locator for the Americas tends to list the YM each meeting belongs to.) The F&P is long. Don’t worry about reading the whole thing, just scan the index for things you have questions about. The Faith and Practice guide usually covers everything from the values the meeting tries to uphold to the processes they use to hold business meetings and make important decisions. Obviously, unless you’re just very curious, you won’t need to know about that unless you decide to really get involved in the nitty gritty of how a meeting runs.

I did a lot of reading around the QIC website and the AFM website when I first started learning about Quakerism, and when I decided I wanted to learn more, I turned to books. Hopefully your library has some on hand, or you can ILL them. Some Quaker meetings will have their own libraries if you’re able to visit a Meeting House. Books I have read/am reading(*) or plan to read are

The Quaker Way*

Being a Quaker: A Guide for Newcomers*

The Quakers: A Very Short Introduction

Living the Quaker Way*

Quaker Reader*

Practicing Peace

An Introduction to Quakerism

Honestly, the best way to learn about Quakerism is going to be to get involved. It can be hard at first, since Meetings are silent. I think Britt and I went to three or four meetings before talking to anyone. But after a while it will get easier. Attend potlucks or classes they might offer. If someone says something in a meeting that touches you, let them know afterwards. Volunteer to help in the library or with childcare or setting up coffee before meeting or cleaning up afterwards. I think Quakerism is the most beneficial when you get involved with the community outside of just attending meetings for worship.

Hope this helps!!!!