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?

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Epístola / Epistle de la Conferencia Teológica para Mujeres

In English:
http://rantwomanrsof.blogspot.com/2012/06/pacific-nw-quaker-womens-theology.html

En Español
Conferencia Teológica para Mujeres Cuáqueras del Noroeste Pacífico


13-17 de junio de 2012

Corbett, Oregón

Epístola



Saludos a los Amigos en todas partes.

La gracia llenaba nuestros días y tejía los hilos de nuestras vidas en un solo tapiz de luz y amor, igual a los edredones colgados en las paredes que nos rodeaban. Estábamos reunidas para la Conferencia Teológica para Mujeres Cuáqueras del Noroeste Pacífico, iniciado el 13 de junio de 2012 en el Centro de Conferencias “Menucha”, sobre el Río Columbia, cerca de Corbett, Oregón. Nos reunimos alrededor del tema Invitando, contemplando y viviendo la gracia. Antes de la conferencia cada participante escribió un ensayo breve en respuesta al tema. La conversación entre nosotras comenzó mientras que leyéramos estos ensayos en línea y continuaba durante el tiempo que pasábamos juntas. Venimos con diferentes trasfondos de experiencia entre Los Amigos y otras tradiciones. Algunas venían con mucha anticipación y otras con algo de temor acerca de lo que íbamos a escuchar, sentir, y hacer juntas. Venimos anhelando encontrar la comunidad, un lugar para sentirnos en casa. Y venimos sabiendo que íbamos a ser desafiadas a escuchar profundamente, aprender a abrirnos más y crecer. Tuvimos la esperanza de que el esfuerzo resultaría en una comprensión más profunda y añadiría nuevos diseños y texturas a nuestro tapiz de gracia.

Jueves por la mañana recibimos un mensaje de Ashley Wilcox bajo el tema, “Invitando la gracia”. Ashley comenzó con su afirmación de amor por el Apóstol Pablo. A partir de Hechos 9, nos mostró que a veces invitamos la gracia por hacer algo completamente equivocado. También invitamos la gracia en nuestras vidas cuando aceptamos a otros, ofreciéndoles acciones amorosas y palabras de vida. Bajo el mismo tema, Darla Samuelson nos enseñó el uso de disciplinas específicas para crear espacios que dejan que la gracia toque el dolor de la vergüenza que es tan común en la experiencia humana.

Viernes por la mañana Cherice Bock nos habló sobre la contemplación de la gracia mediante un estudio de palabras. Hizo la pregunta llamativa, “¿Tenemos que sentir culpables para poder recibir la gracia?” En respuesta a su propia pregunta, propuso que la gracia en un don inmerecido y sin condiciones. Cherice llegó a la conclusión de que la gracia es activa, social, y perdurable. Como administradores de la gracia, cuando extendemos la gracia a los demás recibimos más gracia en nuestras propias vidas y estamos llamadas a seguir extendiéndola en este mundo.

Christine Hall seguía con el mismo tema, diciendo que cuando contemplamos la gracia, nos encontramos envueltos en un amor que nos une a Dios, unas a otros, a la creación y al misterio divino. Terminó citando a Thomas Merton quien decía que por medio de la contemplación “vemos más allá de la ilusión de nuestra separación”.

El sábado, en respuesta al tema, “Viviendo la gracia”, Carol Urner nos desafió a decir “Sí” a la voz que nos guía, aun cuando no sabemos a donde nos llevaría. En aquel “Sí” hay un río de luz que fluirá por nosotras y nos sostendrá. Elenita Bales siguió, recordándonos que “Vivir la gracia” significa acción. Nos animó a desarrollar un ritmo de fidelidad en hablar las verdades que surgen de nuestras almas y a correr el riesgo de la vulnerabilidad para así llegar a ser canales de cambio. De la historia de los Cuáqueros, Elenita citó a Ann Wilson y nos preguntó, “¿Qué vas a hacer al final?”

Los talleres, llevados a cabo por las tardes, presentaron una variedad de maneras de nutrir nuestras vidas y crear aperturas para la gracia. En el taller, “Escribir como una práctica espiritual”, exploramos varias maneras de comenzar y ser fieles a nuestra escritura espiritual. El taller sobre la Biblia mostró que a pesar de los diferentes sentimientos en cuanto a las Escrituras, sentimientos tan distintos como enojo o amor, podemos hablar de estas diferencias en una manera interesante y respetuosa. En una sesión titulada, “Hablando con audacia santa”, los participantes consideraron perspectivas y experiencias que mostraron claramente que el testimonio profético está vivo en nuestras juntas anuales. Otro grupo compartió las diferentes prácticas que se usan para mantener a otros en la luz, prácticas tales como movimiento, meditación, oración, y visualización. En una sesión llamada, “Cosas difíciles”, mujeres de distintas juntas anuales respondieron a preguntas que habían sido escritas de antemano. Los participantes entraron en una discusión respetuosa que reconocía nuestras diferencias, a la vez que animaba comprensión y aceptación. Otro taller se enfocó en comités para escuchar y cuidar de personas; ofreció guías y herramientas para apoyar a los que están sufriendo. Judy Maurer compartió sus experiencias y reflexiones acerca de enseñar, escuchar, adorar, y trabajar relacionadas a asuntos de justicia social en Rusia. Christine Hall presentó, “El camino del Espíritu”, un programa nuevo de estudio contemplativo aquí en el Noroeste Pacífico.

Las actividades de la noche proveían otras oportunidades para añadir al tapiz comunal que estábamos tejiendo. Jueves en la noche Roena Oesting, vestido como Elizabeth Fry y hablando en la voz de Fry, relató eventos de la vida de “Betsy”, sacados de su Diario. Expresamos gratitud por las maneras en las cuales el trabajo de Elizabeth Fry en las cárceles empezó un patrón del trabajo de reforma penal entre Amigos que continúa hasta hoy. Viernes en la tarde escuchamos las experiencias de las que asistían a la Sexta Conferencia Mundial de Amigos, auspiciado por el FWCC y llevado a cabo en Kenia. Sus intercambios habían sido fructíferos, ricos y llenos, aunque a veces difíciles. Mientras escuchábamos sus historias, entendimos que aún allá, habían sido sostenidas por la gracia. Más tarde en un tiempo de recreación, nos pusimos a bailar, cantar, jugar a naipes, trabajar en un rompecabezas grande o crear arte. Estas actividades nos abrieron el corazón unas a otras, y los intercambios y conexiones formadas eran gozosos.

Durante toda la conferencia los hilos de conversación—mientras comíamos, en los grupos pequeños, trabajando en el rompecabezas, o en caminatas—nos tejían juntas con belleza y gracia. Era un don maravilloso sentarse a la mesa, acercarse a una desconocida y sentir como en familia. Domingo por la mañana nos reunimos para la hora final, un culto de adoración. Nancy Thomas nos trajo el mensaje, un desafío a responder continuamente con gratitud a la gracia de Dios. Habíamos venido aquí para ser nosotras mismas y salimos afirmadas y con apreciación y gozo para las relaciones de amistad que están profundizándose entre las juntas anuales; eso, sí, es gracia. Tomando prestado un sentimiento de Carol Urner, “Tenemos que terminar, pero todavía no hemos comenzado.”

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Turrell Skyspace

RantWoman is filing this item for the appreciation of Quaker travellers and museum attenders:

http://www.henryart.org/exhibitions/show/14

RantWoman was led to do this one fine fall evening while waiting for a bus across the street from the Turrell skyspace. It was a clear fall evening. RantWoman had come from a fundraiser for the homeless group who sleep on the floors of our Meeting. The Turrell Skyspace was lit up a lovely shade of blue. RantWoman needed to say some prayers because of something else.

http://rantwoman.blogspot.com/2011/10/car-vs-bicyclist.html


Is RantWoman inappropiately impeding her Meeting's path to spiritual perfection? Standing across the street, thinking about, several years ago, worshipping in the Turrell Skyspace with its wood-covered walls, oval shape, padded bench all the way around the room, RantWoman was led to think again of trying to convene a Meeting for Worship there sometime this fall.

RantWoman has now spoken to two people on Worship and Ministry about her leading to see whether more Friends are interested in holding worship in the Turrell Skyspace sometime this fall. Worship and Ministry committee would be the logical committee to ask. RantWoman is TRYING not to engage with every opportunity arising to foam at the mouth about that topic.

The other impeding her Meeting's path to spiritual perfection issue: RantWoman mentioned her leading to hold worship at the Skyspace; RantWoman so far has not mentioned the circumstance in the link above that made RantWoman feel especially blessed to think of the Skyspace at the moment her leading arose.

Let's just say, there is Quaker time and there is going to be RantWoman time. Stay tuned.

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More Low-Salt Popcorn: the God of the Bus and of SHARE

RantWoman was honored to hear FWCC Section of the Americas Executive Secretary Robin Mohr speak this weekend. Robin is one of those calming centered people in whose presence RantWoman cannot help but become better centered herself. Considering the state of RantWoman's spiritual compost heap, better centered is a VERY good thing. RantWoman remembers forwarding one of Robin's blog posts to the clerk of the FWCC Nominating Committee in the midst of the search for a new Exective Secretary. Little did RantWoman realize....

RantWoman thanks Friends for musical contributions. First was an item composed by Friends from RantWoman's Meeting about worship and sung to the tune of Girl from Ipanema. Next worship opened with prayer and Leaning on the Everlasting Arms, with refrain written in Spanish and Kiswahili on a flip chart. RantWoman would only be able to see the flip chart by planting her nose right in front. Unfortunatly RantWoman remains resolutely opaque, in tall woman in a big hat form to boot. This would get in the way of others reading the refrain as well so RantWoman decided just to put holding the words and the tune into others' hands and to duck.

Robin spoke of learning she was passionately interested in theology from required theology class in college. Robin spoke of the transformative power of travel first to Colombia and later to Chiapas in Mexico. Robin spoke of discovering Quakerism and the world of blogging, of connecting through blogs with others thinking deeply about theology and Quakers in the modern age. Robin also spoke of the sequence of jobs which, it turns out, have prepared her to be where she is today.

RantWoman is pleased to learn that the FWCC Section of the Americas will do another round of travelling ministers similar to Salt Light but on a new theme. This will begin after the World Gathering. RantWoman is moved by Robin's commitment to listening to God and to the way God talks through Friends throughout the Section of the Americas. RantWoman really likes the idea of 42 peer yearly Meetings rather than Meetings from the global North dominating the global south. RantWoman also specifically likes the idea of a world gathering of Friends journeying to one of the countries where there are especially large numbers of Friends rather than, say, expecting the world to travel to a richer country.

Queries from the "speed listening" part of FWCC Section of the Americas Executive Secretary Robin Mohr's presentation tonight after the closing potluck of the FWCC Executive Committee in Seattle.

1. After the Bible passage about Salt and Light, do you have too much or too little Salt and Light in your life?

RamtWoman spoke of what a gringo thing it is to want to buy low-salt popcorn at one point when the Arevalos of El Salvador came to a Salt and Light event. RantWoman spoke of bright lights in our worship room and the frustration of lots of pairs of voices in close quarters. RantWoman wishes she had registered what our clerk said in response to this query; perhaps what matters more is that we shared a chuckle and a sense that we are chuckling about the same vexations but the time is not ripe at this event to add more words.

2. What do you see as the main 2-3 key things the Religious Society of Friends should be working about? RantWoman does not remember the exact wording, but RantWoman and her query partner together came up with:

Global Climate Change / ecological concerns.

Equality, overcoming big differences in wealth. Right relationship can handle a lot of financial hits, but sooner or later, the equality bug bites.

RantWoman, channeling her Baptist spiritual roots: proclaiming the gospel, taking Friends' message to a hungry world. RantWoman realizes it might sound funny to phrase things thus from within a Yearly Meeting where "preaching the gospel" includes everything from Christ-centered to Buddhist to pagan to agnostic. Perhaps the point is that "the gospel" blesses and thrives and survives in and among all these forms

Our clerk added "Discerning what we are called to do."

As sometimes happens in RantWoman's experience, the questions period drew out themes more directly for locals to work at again than necessarily points it is realistic to expect Robin to respond to:

One Friend spoke of "the same people in the room" since 1981. RantWoman thought of taking exception since she was not in the room at that point, The more important thing is, what is preventing anyone from reaching out and drawing in? Perhaps that Friend missed Robin's point about FWCC being a volunteer-based organization with a very thin staff. Even when people have clear leadings and unmistakeable callings, material support is also needed, but FWCC by itself is, to RantWoman's understanding not mainly a place to find financial support.

RantWoman finds it curious that this question led her first to ramble of money because the Friend who posed it complained that many Friends he knows are little interested even in matters of quarterly and yearly Meeting, let alone of FWCC. RantWoman finds herself again thinking, well, what do these bodies need to do to present small steps Friends can do where they are, local activities with global connections. RantWoman is amused by persistence in her life of the theme "Think Globally, act locally."

"Getting Friends interested in racism" RantWoman finds this a vexed question: the Friend who expressed the question is, himself, active professionally outside Meeting in a number of ways to engage with the dynamics of racism. If RantWoman actually wants to listen to people different from her, Friends Meeting is not necessarily the best venue because others in Meeting are considerably less aware than the Friend who posed the question or RantWoman or a small number of others. But what is our task laboring with each other about topics like this?

Robin spoke of the global change queries and RantWoman found herself reflecting on a conversation about global change and the bus: even in comparatively bus dependent Seattle, life aboard the bus is at best alien, novel among many in RantWoman's Meeting. RantWoman values her bus experiences for many, many reasons. Others in RantWoman's Meeting are considerably less engaged about that of God on the bus and what new spiritual skills we might be called to learn to cope with eg more and closer togetherness.

Speaking of new spiritual skills and engagement with problems at hand, RantWoman has one more quibble which she should quibble about in person ahead of her blog: those gathered needed to move because it was time for SHARE, the self-managed homeless group who sleep on our worship room floor to arrive for the night. RantWoman was not close enough to planning for this event to think in time of making sure to invite SHARE to the potluck.

SHARE is the self-managed community of homeless people, primarily men, who sleep on our worship room most nights. Our agreement with SHARE is one of those "good boundary" things that RantWoman wishes we could adjust in a few different ways. Mainly, if there is an event like a potluck that might be of interest, Friends have to be quite intentional about channels for delivering an invitation to take part. RantWoman is going to have to take up this concern regarding future events.

In the Light

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Experience

RantWoman started this while deep in the throes of another round of her planning committee habit. RantWoman is unsure whether she needs a 12-step program for this or whether she is just supposed to think of herself like one of those herding dogs who get neurotic if they are not allowed to herd something. Maybe RantWoman will just go with "when the Goddess kicks you in the Butt..."

This time RantWoman has been helping plan the Pacific Northwest Quarterly Meeting. RantWoman's fingers have been abuzz with one of those Event Planning ISSUES that sometimes makes such work so colorful but saying more about that topic at this point would definitely be telling too much of the Truth. Truth is on the agenda at a public meeting, and by the time of the meeting, RantWoman will be clearer what she is led to blog of.

Meanwhile, RantWoman is going to speak from the exalted heights of Experience, experience forming and tending to worship sharing / spiritual sharing groups.

RantWoman is feeling nostalgic for the lengthy days of last summer when she had only to make very simple choices about which category of Worship Sharing group she wanted to participate in, worship sharing or worship discussion.

http://rantwomanrsof.blogspot.com/2010/05/path-to-spiritual-perfection.html


RantWoman has been reflecting about how choices sometimes just add complexity. Merely adding gender for instance causes Friends in RantWoman's orbit to emit sentiments ranging from "I will become twitchy and uncomfortable if I am the only person of my gender in a worship sharing group" to "I will be twitchy and uncomfortable if I am in a worship sharing group whose members are all the same gender" to "What's gender and may I provide Walking Encyclopedia service on the question?"

But RantWoman's Quarterly Meeting planning predecessors do not stop at choices about worship sharing or worship discussion plus divergent views about gender distribution. No, no, no, in order to talk about Simplicity, Clarity, and Integrity in the electronic age, attenders are expected to choose also from sharing or discussion while sitting, simply walking, or hiking. Attenders may also add music though mercifully no one has thought to ask about standing on one's head, wading in the rushing creek, rolling around in onion soup powder, or participating via Skype.

Next we come to queries. Again, RantWoman waded into the work stream far enough to interact several times, in person and via email. RantWoman THINKS she was not the only person trying at the in-person round to make a couple points that did not quite make it into the final version of the queries. In this vein, RantWoman however finds it refreshing merely to reflect on people having trouble hearing and to branch out from one person to others challenged in the same area.

RantWoman also notes that ranting does not in the least mitigate the fact that RantWoman had a wonderful deeply nourishing and gratifying experience in her worship sharing group, some kind of a let God be in charge thought at the very least.

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Sea Chantey Friend

Steve Lewis of Port Townsend Meeting was devoted chanteyman, mariner, and host of the Chantey Sings at the Port Townsend Wooden Boat Festival. Friends who knew Steve (were) invited to a potluck and memorial Chantey Sing for Steve on Sunday, March 13th from 5 to 9 pm in Seattle.

As with any good memorial occasion, RantWoman is still fondly processing email for this recently deceased Friend at moderate remove from the dates of his passing and one or more actual memorial events. RantWoman notes that Steve had a rich life full of f/Friends from many strands of life. RantWoman expects an official memorial will at some point emerge from Steve's Meeting, but RantWoman is going to weigh in on her own behalf.

The memorial event RantWoman went to in Seattle had wonderful biography about Steve growing up in upstate New York among many figures of the local civil rights movement. There were also many mentions of Steve's interests in and teaching about matters maritime including both oceanography and the skills and crafts needed for sailing and navigation.

RantWoman grew up far inland and just is not as well-steeped in such topics as people more native to the seagoing life. For this reason alone, RantWoman greatly esteems others' knowledge and experience in this realm. RantWoman also admits that a good listen to sea chanteys from all over will quickly teach one lots about geography and trade--in forms a lot more fun than videos.

RantWoman remembers Steve's smile, clear enough that even RantWoman could see it. RantWoman remembers Steve's sly wit and grin at one of the memorials for his mother-in-law when RantWoman gently teased about cancer treatment being a heck of a weigh loss plan. RantWoman also remembers Steve's smiling admission that he and his mother-in-law both sometimes rolled their eyes lovingly in the direction of his wife. RantWoman means to borrow this eyes rolled with love theme for another post, but first Steve gets to be fully memorialized in his own right.

Finally, in memory of Steve,a TERRIBLE joke he was fond of telling:

"Let me tell you about Gandhi. You know how he went around everywhere barefoot. And he fasted a lot so he had really bad breath. So can we say he was a super callused fragile mystic plagued by halitosis?"

See, I warned you, it's a TERRIBLE joke and someone who will be much missed.

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Morning Light

RantWoman is posting partly in an effort to demo some blogger features so she can explain them to other screen reader users. RantWoman promises to avoid further technical digressions, except to the extent that the technical digressions are somehow theoretically on RantWoman's path to more solid economic presence in the world.

RantWoman would like a steady infusion of tea to counter the pollen from the lovely cherry blossoms. RantWoman will settle for being glad she can detect new pink fuzz on a row of trees near her abode.

The nighttime temps are also holding steady enough above freezing that RantWoman expects very soon to succumb to temptation and GET HER HERBS PLANTED and out onto the balcony.

Yesterday was our Meeting's annual book sale. Easter is late. Quarterly Meeting is early. It's a La Nina year which has nothing to do with anything but sounds nicer than fretting about triple disaster earthquake / tsunami / nuclear power plant events in Japan. Anyway, the book sale seems early because of other schedule contortions.

Despite RantWoman's fitful efforts to avoid acquiring more PRINT, RantWoman is reflecting on two acquisitions at her Meeting's annual book sale, the Reina Valera edition of the Bible in Spanish and a first edition copy of Reweaving the Web of Life, a book on feminism and nonviolence. RantWoman has enough people in her life who care about the Reina Valera to justify the shelf space. The first printing of Reweaving the Web... has Blind Roommate on the cover and RantWoman's previous copy long ago got lost in some move. Still, RantWoman is reflecting on how differently she feels about some of the chapters now than when she first owned the book.

RantWoman is still vexed by Barclay, lately in connection with Worship. Those assembled last night like Barclay's thoughts about what actually happens during silent worship. RantWoman demurs, though, about Barclay's vehemence regarding music, forms and schedules. Perhaps God showed up more reliably for Barclay than for RantWoman; RantWoman generally has to make regular and orderly time allotments--and still sometimes needs more on top of that.

This month, RantWoman's computer is still ill. SOME of the time RantWoman is finding this good discipline forcing RantWoman to do numbers of things in more measured and intentional ways. RantWoman went back to reading visually, with a magnifier. This was painful enough that RantWoman is glad to have printed the next chapter in larger print. RantWoman still gets to whine and grumble about it being so tough to skim. Yeah, right and RantWoman gets to be happy to have enough vision both to try to skim and to have something to complain about. Or Rantwoman gets to think in terms of mobile devices...or...


RantWoman is grateful FINALLY to have hit some good conversations about things on her mind. There is more to say, but such as have already occurred also need more chewing and Quaker process is still inching along.

RantWoman MEANS to post some reflections from last weekend's Salt and Light event in Seattle. RantWoman is vexed: RantWoman offered to take notes and needs to treat the notes seriously. However, RantWoman showed up as well. Stay tuned.

The short version: RantWoman was listening to sermons on a few short Bible verses as well as stark and powerful accounts of living the Peace Testimony under VERY challenging circumstances, and RantWoman felt strongly eldered just to get over it about a whole bunch of topics not really to her taste and comfort. The topics are still not to RantWoman's taste, but RantWoman has decided just to get over it and work with who and what is available.




RantWoman is holding queries from the following post:
http://aquakerwitch.blogspot.com/2011/03/happy-eostara.html


What signs in nature tell you we're on the balance point between Winter Solstice and Summer Solstice, between Brigid and Beltane?


What's happening in your own spiritual life that reflects what's happening in nature?


How are you still stuck in the cocoon or shell of winter?


What environment are you emerging into?


How are you transformed as you emerge from your shell or your cocoon into spring?



RantWoman has an email correspondent on a non-spiritually-themed email list whose outgoing mail has Bible passages in the footer. Today's message:


faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who
comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek
Him.
--Hebrews 11:1,6 (NASB)

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Candlemas St Birgid Fire Water

Wherein RantWoman free associates about light, liturgy, fire cults, purification after birth, fertility, smithcraft, gender and technology, recent anniversaries of two fiery space shuttle calamities, and what are a passing radio reference to Chernobyl or the Egyptian internet going dark doing in here too? If RantWoman writes out her whole excursion, can RantWoman just have some WonderWoman bracelets too?

RantWoman started out by posting some naive questions in response to references to Imholc, Candlemas, and St. Birgid's day.
http://aquakerwitch.blogspot.com/2011/02/blessed-brigid-to-you.html

RantWoman was hoping for some well-digested review of topical symbolism at a tad more depth than the blog post or the post history tagged the same way. RantWoman got back, basically, invitations to go read Wikipedia her own dang self--along with exhortations not to believe everything she reads, particularly since it's all meant to be mythopoetic in the first place. Okay, careful what you ask for.

Understand, RantWoman's background is really Protestant with very minimal interaction with the liturgical year, well beyond Advent, Lent, sometimes Passover, Easter, Pentecost. RantWoman has a time or two been witness to several days running of the wanderings of unprogrammed Quaker worship. Oh heresy; the holiness of everyday life notwitstanding, these wanderings sometimes actually make RantWoman appreciate liturgy for applying oh maybe just a smidgen of structure to the whole range of human emotions and experiences and cycles of day and year and life.

Unless someone wrote good music about something on the liturgical calendar, though, RantWoman is unlikely to have encountered it. See for instance Candlemas, the presentation of Jesus to the temple, the end of purification after a mother has given birth, typically in modern eras also a time when a family will start toting their newborn to more social activities than right after the birth. Anyway, RantWoman had to go Wikipedia Candlemas.

The presentation of Christ at the temple, the purification of Mary 40 days after the birth, conveniently melding Jewish law, presumably various local practices and Christian tradition. RantWoman notes the acting out of rituals in pre-literate societies where otherwise people might not have obvious ways to help remember the calendar and planting points connected with the stories. RantWoman also notes that if Candlemas falls during Lent the rituals are modified.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candlemas

RantWoman, occasional technology geek broadly understood, that she is notes that the Bible, the New Testament in particular is not necessarily a terribly good source for meditations on many technological questions. RantWoman has been especially thinking about that following links from the Wikipedia article. The items above all mentioned Imbolc and St. Brigid, so off RantWoman went on excursions about water, fire, light, springs, wells, fertility, animal husbandry. RantWoman still has no clue how St. Brigid's connections with smithcraft arose. Needing some historical connections longer than the Biblical eras though, evoking the Bronze Age does nicely. RantWoman for the time being is content just to believe the associations and run with the metaphors. RantWoman is happy to grab the fire and light and molten metal and see where that goes.

Links from the item above about Imholc and St. Birgid, a goddess of water and fire, poetry, smithcraft, the timing of this sabbath with the birth of lambs and first planting, more calendar things that the ritual helps track.
http://www.witchology.com/contents/february/imbolc_static.php

http://www.applewarrior.com/celticwell/ejournal/imbolc/brighid.htm


But for this occasion, RantWoman continues to meditate about a high proportion of serious fog and blur in what passes for her own visual experience even if Light is otherwise clear, strong, and bright about ongoing evolution of several simmering matters.

RantWoman will close with two more conceptual excursions. First, RantWoman is seized from time to time with an urge to have a tantrum in the direction of the Baby Boom, the ENTIRE Baby Boom. Technically, by some versions of how the Baby Boom is reckoned, RantWoman IS the tail end of the Baby Boom. In fact, RantWoman would be the Korea generation if the RantFather had ever had any military service AND the children of that era did not just get swallowed up in the Baby Boom. RantWoman from time to time wishes she had older siblings to help break her parents in, to save RantWoman some trailblazing, to let RantWoman slack off about some or another weighty responsibility. RantWoman thinks sometimes of this wish for older siblings when she grumbles about the Baby Boom: that is not what she had in mind.

RantWoman would consider a tantrum only because the Baby Boom all starts turning 65 this year, with all their high expectations and overhang of weird fiscal practices and underinvestment in infrastructure and a whole bunch of dumping on future generations. RantWoman thinks it is PROBABLY not fair to paint the representatives of the Baby Boom she regularly interacts with in all the colors of her exasperation, but who said anything about fair? On the other hand, RantWoman has no idea what form of purification to prescribe; more to the point, RantWoman has more than enough to do just tending her own endless internal compost heap.

But if it's Candlemas, the season for presenting babes to the temple, RantWoman and the Purifying Baby Boom present to the world scene a whole bunch of countries like Egypt where a huge percentage of the population is under 30 or even under 18, underemployed, and overeducated. RantWoman is most assuredly meditating on what transformations this reality implies for the future but for today will be glad that the Egyptian internet is again alight with the torrents of unbounded content we have all become accustomed to.


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A curiously also topical item that speaks to RantWoman's condition
http://onequakertake.blogspot.com/2011/01/equality.html

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Sunflowers

RantWoman is relieved to learn that a large percentage of the nation's nuclear arsenal are likely to be safe for a good long time from...SUNFLOWER SEEDS.

http://blog.sojo.net/2010/12/30/disarm-now-activists-demonstrates-what-it-means-to-pay-the-price-for-peace/

With that to cheer her and the blessed centeredness of those called to such witness, RantWoman will resume her current humble "peace begins at home" efforts where there is trouble enough without even snipping any fences.

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