Fresh Pond Minute on Corporate Support of Individual Ministries

Blog as filing cabinet item, stored here for ease of finding again even if interesting discussion ensues elsewhere.

Fresh Pond Monthly Meeting Minute on Corporate Support of Individual Ministries

http://nefriend.neym.org/FreshPond-SupportingMinistries.html

In the comments stream further detail from New England Yearly Meeting
http://www.nyym.org/leadings/PYM.htm

You, dear readers, were hoping to get by without a trademarkRantWoman tirade????

Sorry!

Not that sorry.

Cope!

First gratitudes at least:
1. RantWoman is rabidly, madly deeply grateful that these items are available in forms accessible to RantWoman.

2. RantWoman's experience is that God is bountiful, sometimes more bountiful than Friends know what to do with. RantWoman wonders whether some people find the labor-intensive aspects of Quaker mutual support sort of draining sometimes.

3. RantWoman is very interested to know what practices Fresh Pond Monthly Meeting uses to ensure a good pool of people for clearness and support committees.

The rest of these comments need to be held in the Light so that SOMEHOW the message will fall where it needs to. Those of fragile, easily rattled sensibilities are invited to stop reading and hold things in the Light.

What if the number of well seasoned leadings is larger than the capacity of the topical committees?

What if RantWoman is seasoning Leadings on others' behalf: just because some or another Friend cannot  do... does not mean ... does not need to be done.

What if (RantWoman means to write a generalized Live on Planet Earth item for her transit and transportation and eldercare ramblings on her other blog and maybe possibily has in mind not only for instance people who came up in a discussion at a local transit commission but also some Weighty Friends in her own Meeting)?

Hold that thought in the Light, PLEASE

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Christmas presents: minutes AND email.

RantWoman has discovered that her email drafts folder is a little like the closet where one stores Christmas presents one has accumulated over a good spell before the holiday. Here are two such presents, one about minutes and one about email. Readers are invited to note that RantWoman is holding them in the Light as they read.

RantWoman of late has been called, repeatedly to concerns about minutes, specifically the difference between recording decisions and recording minutes of exercise hopefully reflecting the range of comments about some or another issue.

RantWoman is aware that, at least in others' estimation, she is probably overachieving on numerous not preferable dimensions. RantWoman suggests that readers who venture further and find themselves perplexed either trust their Light or feel free to inquire of RantWoman what the heck she is talking about.

With minutes of decision, precision and clarity are greatly to be desired. With minutes of exercise, RantWoman feels called to point out that part of the POINT of the exercise is like tilling a garden with different plants able to make different things of the available material.

RantWoman is holding several minutes of exercise situations for additional discernment. RantWoman takes exception to what has gotten recorded in all of them. RantWoman is clear repeatedly to speak specifically because of a sense of community going astray from Truth if she does not. Hold RantWoman--and community--in the Light.

First, the tilling the garden thoughts came from a conversation involving lots of references to pruning, dislike of thinkings that seem like voting or that seem argumentative or repetitive. RantWoman wanted to speak more of tuning, of pulling different voices into the right chord and harmonies for the situation.

Not to be argumentative, but how are Friends supposed to discern sense of the room if some threads do not get woven into a succession of offerings?
RantWoman also particularly points out that Friends sometimes need to hold thoughts of "helpful" on different timeline. RantWoman sent argumentative email to one of the people behind the "don't be argumentative" votes. RantWoman has acquired some experience working with disaster preparedness topics for very diverse audiences. RantWoman pointed out that certain behaviors which are actually already darned annoying when everyone is warm and dry and the lights are on might be peculiarly helpful in making those assembled think of resources needed for more extreme circumstances. If RantWoman thinks about this thread a few steps further, she suspects a topical query might be what spiritual resources are needed in worlds of White People Adjustment / What really needs to evolve to whip this Climate Change thing conferences?

Not to be argumentative, but RantWoman has been holding the following thoughts:  "Trust the committee" vs test the committee; bring it to the group and let go. When RantWoman drafted this she had in mind 3 situations where what the Business Meeting did with the work of the committee was very different from what the committee did. In the interest of conciseness if RantWoman recalls these situations in form sufficient for blogging, RantWoman promises to examine them in their own entry.


The second challenge on RantWoman's mind is the use of email for Quaker Business. RantWoman is not prepared to lay down her clerkship of the Association of Bad Friends Still Didn't Get the Memo Committee on Email Immoderation; this can be one problem. The other problem is that every time RantWoman picks up the question of email, it turns all squishy in her hands.

RantWoman adores email BECAUSE it is a record of what was said. RantWoman deeply appreciates being able to use a search bar and find things without having to skim her own impossible handwriting. RantWoman also has personal experience with people who say they dislike email, have work history reasons for being leery of email, but also maybe have a hearing loss and, it turns out, actually do much better by email.

In this vein, RantWoman was thrilled by a Quarterly Meeting plenary a couple Quarterly Meetings ago involving a restorative circle exercise exactly about the pros and cons of email. RantWoman only wishes everyone in her life for whom email is a vexed question had been at the Quarterly Meeting.
For example RantWoman attended a Clerking workshop with Weighty Friends who Teach Clerking. One of the items handed out as if it were holy writ without invitation to discuss was a statement on email seasoned by Milwaukee and Claremont Friends, Friends of a generation who dislike email. 

After the clerking workshop, RantWoman banged out a series of emails to the effect, among other things, that perhaps Friends who cannot imagine God showing up by email may in fact be writing whole generations out of their concept of the divine. RantWoman is grateful that her offerings were well-received in the abstract; applications in practice around RantWoman continue to evolve.


Friends

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Angry Birds, Led Zeppelin, Samson, Delilah: Tim Hawkins

RantWoman is certain that the world is entitled to more ofthe churnings ofRantWoman's spiritual compost heap. RantWoman is certain of this, but the press of events has RantWoman onoverdrivethat all she is doing is grabbing bits of others' oeurve.

For better or worse, the items below amuse RantWoman deeply. Plus RantWoman's family is theologically multilingual and for instance RantBrother would probably laugh very hard. RantWoman PROMISES not to try Led Zeppelin in Meeting for worship, even by air guitar. Shout to the Lord might not play well anyway...

Tim Hawkins: the "Angry Birds" in Corinthians and "Shout to the Lord" set to Led Zeppelin
http://youtu.be/fgo2dcivomQ

Tim Hawkins' Youtube buddy Bob Smiley on Terrorist toothpaste
http://youtu.be/F27NMq7kxVw


Understand, RantWoman suspects liking TimHawkins qualifies her as a serious BAD  Friend on multiple grounds. Cope, and have some more disturbing material
Tim Hawkins Prayer Squeeze
http://youtu.be/iGi-iHq69us

Tim Hawkins Hey There Delilah
http://youtu.be/_wxy-SMSqPM

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Psychology Today on Vicarious Trauma

RantWoman spends a certain amount of time reflecting about the needs for spiritual care of people in many different work circumstances. Here is an item about professional interpreters that RantWoman can especially relate to.
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/talking-about-trauma/201308/vicarious-trauma-and-the-professional-interpreter

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2014 Pacific NW Quaker Women's Theology Conference: Mark your calendars

Pacific Northwest Quaker Women's Theology Conference Teaser
If you have never attended but the idea of a conference of women talking together of our spiritual lives sounds even slightly intriguing, please sign up to learn more!


Mark your calendars: June 11-15, Menucha Conference Center, Corbett OR
Subscribe to information updates at http://pnwquakerwomen.org/conference/

While you are at the webpage, check out the Epistle from the 2012 conference, in either English or Spanish.

All are welcome who are interested in their personal spiritual growth, in exploring together with other women their faith journey, and in experiencing the unique community that the Pacific Northwest Quaker Women's Conference nurtures.

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Coffee Strong Fifthe Anniversary Party Nov. 10

Join Coffee Strong’s Fifth  Anniversary Dinner and Silent Auction

November 10th,

4:30pm – 8:00pm 

Daybreak Star Indian Cultural Center in Seattle.

CIA whistleblower  Ray McGovern will speak.

This will be a gathering of over two hundred  peace and justice activists and supporters of service member and  veteran rights from around the Puget Sound region.

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Watercolor Show and Silent Auction to Beneffit Indigenous project in Suriname

An invitation from watercolor artist Ruth Yarrow:

To raise funds for a wonderful project led by  indigenous people in Suriname and our Mennonite friends Sarah Augustine and Dan Peplow, I am putting up an exhibit of my watercolors at the 

Seattle Mennonite Church,

3120 NE 125th St., 98125, just east of Lake City Way.

The opening will be on Sunday,November 3, from 11:15 am to 1:00 pm.

I am donating the paintings, new frames, mats and work of  cutting the mats.

The total income from this silent auction goes to the Suriname Indigenous Health Fund.

Minimum bids will be $100.

The exhibit will be up from November 1 to December 15, and bidding will close promptly on Sunday December 15 at 12:00 Noon. I hope you can make it!

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Spooky, HIPAA Meets the Prayer Chain

RantWoman celebrates the season of Halloween and all Saints day and Samhain and numerous topics muddling back and forth between conscious and subconscious.




RantWoman has been jumping up and down intermittently with questions and reflections about what is desirable as far as shared understanding of confidentiality for members of pastoral care committees, members of care committees, RantWoman KNOWS this topic is complex. ONE problem is that when RantWoman has tried to speak and hear what others understand, RantWoman keeps hearing in response only "shut up" and "we don't have time." RantWoman is unclear whether that is all that is being said but is VERY clear that is what she is hearing.

Please hold that problem in the Light and feel free to stop here.



RantWoman is WAY overachieving about questions and concerns and means to start here with some elementary medical confidentiality. RantWoman needs readers' prayers in advance.



First RantWoman HOPES to convey that it IS possible to share meaningful information with more than enough cover phrases HOPEFULLY to convey the meaningful part without compromising confidentiality. In particular, the issue from RantWoman's perspective is either facts already known from a patient's relative or information from a public Meeting for Worship. Rantwoman is TRYING to hear a concern but is hyperventilating from her own life experience.



Second, RantWoman is going to find it REALLY difficult to have a sensible conversation about the topic if there cannot FIRST be room for RantWoman to ask Friends prayers specifically over one soap operaesque story and one long ago but still intermittently throbbing awful story from one of RantWoman's particularly frequent flyer spells of eye care.



Let's start with RantWoman's vast frequent flyer experiences.

The soap opera item: RantWoman spent the prep period for one of her hospital eye experiences listening to her doctor and the nurse from the hospital gossip about an office romance at the doctor's office. The office romance led to an unintended pregnancy and a wedding; RantWoman never quite knows what to do with the thought of medical practitioners experiencing unplanned pregnancy but found herself grateful for an update a few months later when opportunity finally presented itself to ask her own doctor how the situation turned out. RantWoman really did NOT need to know of the soap opera, but as long as she did....





Now the throbbing, RantWoman has trouble talking rationally about the item she means to season event. Warning: medical trauma details.



Once upon a time RantWoman had to have surgery for a detached retina. There are various ways to treat a detached retina. RantWoman wound up needing the most invasive wrap a band around the eyeball, fill the eyeball with a gas bubble and then keep one's head face down for a couple weeks while the gas bubble pastes the retina back where it belongs. The procedure is invasive; swelling can happen for LOTS of reasons.



(RantWoman is also aware that swelling can happen over issues not paid attention to because of not being appropriately documented in a medical chart or not acted on if it was there. RantWoman mentions this point because the possibility that it is on point. RantWoman also mentions this point with reference to a paper medical chart approximately the thickness of War and Peace. For better or worse, in spite of one "not appropriately documented" probability, RantWoman remains with the same medical group. One reason is that even as the office struggles with electronic medical records, RantWoman's current doctor gets out the entire three volumes of "War and Peace" a couple times / year and reviews some historical information available only in the paper chart. But RantWoman is getting ahead of herself and muddling time frames again.)



At the time of RantWoman's surgery one of the staff at RantWoman's eye care practice was the daughter of someone in RantMom's church in MT, someone who more than once transported RantMom when she herself was planning a trip to Seattle. RantMom was on the church prayer chain. RantWoman assumes that the other mother was too. As soon as RantMom heard that RantWoman needed surgery, there was probably a call to the prayer chain. Also afoot, a trip to Seattle with the Motoring Mothers due in Seattle the day after RantWoman's surgery, exactly at the hour that RantWoman expected to be at her one-day followup appointment.



RantWoman TOLD RantMom that she fully expected to be at her appointment and that the motoring mothers should just go to the other daughter's workplace. RantWoman assured RantMom that the other mother SHOULD know how to get to her daughter's workplace; RantWoman assumes she had been there many times.



RantMom INSISTED on stopping by RantWoman's apartment. RantWoman of course was not there. Then there was some further communications fiasco with Little Sister. Then daughter staffperson came to see RantWoman mid-appointment wanting to know where our mothers were.



Mid appointment meant that RantWoman was in the middle of some consent process needed to stick a needle in RantWoman's eye to drain fluid and reduce pressure. And somehow daughter staffperson also needed to reassure RantWoman that she had told her mother nothing! Of course not! It was the prayer chain. It had not even occurred to RantWoman to worry about the daughter sharing info inappropriately--UNTIL the daughter staffperson was fretting about it while RantWoman was trying to cope with the consent form and the probably should not happen need to stick a needle in the eye issue!



Somehow cellphone calls elicited the info that RantMom and the other Motoring Mother were using a payphone and a fast food place RantWoman would never have taken either of them to. FINALLY RantMom absorbed the point that she should just come to RantWoman's eye care provider.



Lately, literature Brain keeps telling RantWoman there are elements of this story in common with what RantWoman has come to see is probably a BIG "hold in the Light" issue from a recent series of conversations. Probably, but RantWoman does not apologize: she is completely incapable of working with the other conversation because she keeps tripping over her own needle in the eye issues before she can even TRY to talk rationally.



The other story: a while ago for a couple weeks a death / obituary / memorial announcement about a new attender's spouse ran in the weekly Bulletin at RantWoman's meeting. The announcement also evoked appreciative ministry in our second Meeting for worship from a medical provider who spoke in worship of getting to know the deceased over time. Ministering medical provider would not, from Meeting life, know the spouse but RantWoman does.



RantWoman has learned from the spouse the circumstances of the deceased passing. They involve the medical specialty and organization where the ministering medical provider works. IF RANTWOMAN HAD TO GUESS, RantWoman assumes that ministering medical provider knows the deceased through work though of course RantWoman would never ever expect the ministering medical provider to say as much.



RantWoman attended a memorial and met one of the deceased's children who also happens to be a medical provider. RantWoman was given the words to say: IF RantWoman had to guess.... expressed great admiration. The other medical provider thanked RantWoman for her words.

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Worship and surfing and not falling asleep

Blog o the morning:


Quakers and Surfing:

http://alicekatrina.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/quakers-and-surfing.html


The blogger's first visit to Quaker worship.

RantWoman sees several interesting-looking blogs in the blog roll too, but RantWoman has a world to save today and will have to come back to the bloggery.

RantWoman also is curious about someone already having a blog about Quakers before ever going to worship,

RantWoman is a geographical philistine and had no idea that surfing would be an applicable concept anywhere in the British Isles though it does seem obvious that if surfing were to occur, Cornwall would be a good place to look.


By way of scientific distraction and elaboration on themes:
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=mental-downtime&WT.mc_id=SA_Facebook


And while RantWoman is at it, an opinion piece from anthropologist Tanya Luhrman:
"God is a relationship not an explanation"
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/14/opinion/sunday/luhrmann-when-god-is-your-therapist.html?smid=fb-share&_r=0

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Consultation on Quakers and Russia

Call for a consultation on Keeping our Promises for Quakers in Russia and otherse with a concern for Quakers in Russia:


http://maurers.org/promises/


RantWoman heartily endorses this kind of consultation and will holding in the Light and reading further with interest! RantWoman is posting this partly as a reminder to herself to look up more information sources to help track how the discernment evolves.

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Howling About Dimishments Aunts and Uncles Division

On howling about Diminishments, relatives edition.


RantWoman is still aglow with the family warmth surrounding RantMom, 3 pairs of aunts and uncles, and RantWoman herself after a LOVELY excursion to the Oregon Coast. The glow endures even after numerous rain squalls, chattering sea gulls, rambunctious and smelly sea lions, lots of views of waves crashing ashore, other such seaside attractions.

The Howling about Diminishments part: EVERYONE, EVERYONE there was struggling with various physical frustrations, listed here with the Retired RantRelations' former professions.

RantWoman and RantMom were both counting our blessings to be there. The last time RantMom and her siblings tried to gather on the OR coast, they wound up at the last minute diverting to MT to help RantMom ease into the routine of treatment for her second cancer. RantWoman could not even help. Instead RantWoman got surgery for a second detached retina, a gas bubble in her eye and some no-fly orders.

This time RantWoman and RantMom got to get there and back primarily on public transit. RantMom especially found it a challenge to scramble in and out of one of the available vehicles but was otherwise comparatively spry for this visit.

But the maladies rundown:

Aunt Schoolteacher: now blind in one eye and struggling about things visual because of glaucoma. Not necessarily easy to chat much with RantWoman but seems to have some good social support.
Uncle Schoolteacher: painful to stand very long because of back and knee issues as well as neuropathy in feet lingering after long ago cancer treatment.

Aunt Office Manager: numbness in hands, in theory because of carpal tunnel issues.Needed to borrow RantWoman's fingers to open a bottle of laundry detergent.
Uncle Bus Driver: approximately deaf as a post. Wears hearing aids unevenly. Stand facing him to talk and he lipreads with enthusiasm. Do not expect him to interact with anything said to his side or from behind.

Aunt Travel Agent: on blood thinners and eschewing green vegetables after harrowing medical events in summer that turned out to be lots of small blood clots in lungs.
Uncle Beer Boiler Tender: walks a couple miles every day to keep serious heart issues under control.

Multiple people needed to put in their teeth in the morning before trying to say much.


The family has a tradition of trying to do a whole jigsaw puzzle over their time together. This means everyone is invited to participate. Some of the everyones ONLY do puzzles at reunions; some only look on and silently cheerlead. This year's puzzle got put back into the box in bigger chunks than it came out of the box. Save it for next time.

RantWoman sat through a conversation about dementia and personality changes and spent a certain amount of time thinking / trying not to think about present day RantMom.

There was mention of various teenage and preteen grandchildren. They did not seem to be missed.

And still RantWoman came back aglow.

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Signs? Rush Hour and

Ordinarily RantWoman does not really go for all that "threaten them with hellfire" stuff. However, in the interest of #saveMetroNow #keepusmoving, RantWoman is going to digress SOMEWHAT from her #disasterprep #npm2013 threads and work with some actually existing disasters, the actually existing hell that currently is Puget Sound traffic gridlock. The basic #disasterprep point: if traffic congestion in the Puget Sound is this bad under normal conditions, heaven help us all after an earthquake.


The picture below arrived in RantWoman's blog roll just as RantWoman has been trying to zero in on the high points she means to propagate in connection with the WA State Senate's Transportation Listening Sessions now occurring around WA.

Churchsign: "Keep using my name in vain and I will make rush hour longer." God

In particular, recently RantWoman was called to spend several hours in a room full of people deeply concerned about Roads and Transit.

There were Death by Powerpoint elements: LOTS of small pictures on a couple slides of MANY spots in WA in need of road repair, bridges at risk, etc. There were a couple slides full of more data than anyone wants to try to look at on a Powerpoint slide. Nevertheless, RantWoman will need to make a reasonable accommodations request that the slides be available for accessible consumption in connection with the rest of the hearigs.

The point that sticks hardest in RantWoman's mind right now though: RantWoman listened to LOTS of elected officials, members of chambers of commerce... talk about needed transportation projects. RantWoman listened to SOME voices talking about the importance of transit. Most important, instead of hearing that WA's highly regressive tax structure makes it really, really easy to recruit people for high-tech jobs, RantWoman heard several big employers talk about how traffic gridlock is killing productivity, traffic gridlock is a reason people keep TURNING DOWN job offers.

Hold that thought because RantWoman also heard people with high incomes clearly say they are willing to pay more taxes to have a transportation infrastructure that works! In particular, someone needs to say it: is the state of WA ready to admit that gas tax, MVET, tolls alone will not meet our transportation needs and we need to c-c-c-cons-s-sid-d-d-der an in-n-n-come t-t-t-tax?

RantWoman herself can attest: there was a time in RantWoman's life when RantWoman took more calls from technical recruiters than she does now. RantWoman more than once:

1. THANKED employers for not hiring her because RantWoman did not feel she could safely get from the bus stop to the front door of the workplace especially in the wintertime.

or

2. Suggested that if the recruiter was serious about engaging RantWoman and wanted RantWoman to commute across a certain large lake, the first thing that would need to happen would be to insert another 0 into the proposed salary amount.

Bus connections have improved SOMEWHAT since RantWoman routinely made such demands; now RantWoman also HAS TO leave the driving to other people.

Improved bus connections are a GOOD thing. The bus not only is RantWoman's car, the bus is the family car for RantWoman's entire extended family, RantMom at 75, Little Sister, Brother in Law, Irrepressible Nephew as well as RantWoman. We ALL for different reasons need to leave the driving to other people BUT the bus is still stuck in the same traffic gridlock as everything else!

But back to the sign. God in his / her infinite wisdom and grace has seen to attach the various RantFamily households each to our own house of worship. Remember, the bus is our car. We even manage to worship whether or not the streets are clogged with other traffic. RantWoman is not prepared to evaluate anyone else's use of God's name in vain but RantWoman REALLY, REALLY does not want to spend any longer on the road than absolutely necessary! Word!

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Overseeing. Overlooking. Much Fog and Blur Over Something

RantWoman's Meeting is in the process of seasoning whether to rename the committee currently called Oversight and if so what to call it. Since Oversight is the name listed in organizational bylaws, if there is a change, the bylaws need to be amended too. In addition to multiple references to Oversight committee which would need to be changed, the bylaws also contain:

1. at least one reference to "Overseers" by which is meant members of said committee. RantWoman EXACTLY understands why the word Overseers is a problem. During the era of enslavement in the US, the overseer on a plantation was someone of African descent responsible for working the other slaves and keeping all the enslaved in line.

RantWoman is less clear about the word Oversight and whether it MIGHT be sufficient simply to replace "Overseers" with "members of Oversight committee" in the bylaws. RantWoman WISHES she felt any capacity to go all word nerd and quaker history geek on the problem. Instead RantWoman has raised the question in Meeting for Business and is interested to see what comes backin response.

2. two references to the word "overseeing" in the following contexts: "overseeing marriages" and "overseeing worship groups." In both cases, RantWoman in translator mode would reflexively change these terms to what she considers better Quakerese, something in the vicinity of the examples below.

"overseeing marriages" = "assisting couples in clearness for marriage and the Meeting in clearness to take marriages under the care of Meeting"

"overseeing worship groups" = "support and nurture of worship groups under Meeting's care"

RantWoman has a couple basic objections to the use of "overseeing" in the contexts above. For better or worse, Rantwoman does not hear the same resonance with enslavement in the word "overseeing" as with the word "overseers."

RantWoman DOES hear something she personally is HIGHLY allergic to, Quakers playing God, implying promises about more than it is humanly reasonable to promise..

RantWoman understands perfectly well that oversight has a more or less neutral administrative meaning. RantWoman understands this because "oversight" exists in RantWoman's mind with a cluster of other words like management, supervision, administration... which cluster and split different in English than the equivalent cluster of words in Russian. These words exist because the functions are needed, with full understanding of the limitations even of one's or one's organization's best efforts. Still, "oversight" gives RantWoman many headaches even without theology.

But when it comes to theology, worship groups are responsible for tending their own spiritual gardens; a committee of onlookers at best tends with a light touch. The phrase "overseeing marriages" even more insistently puts RantWoman in mind of a wonderful quote from George Fox about how we marry none but that is God's work.
http://rantwomanrsof.blogspot.com/2013/01/marriage-as-god-ordained-for-our-good.html

THAT language,more than anything, is why RantWoman is allergic to the phrase "overseeing marriages." Furthermore RantWoman knows perfectly well that bylaws sometimes get read by people likely to have little interest in uniquely Quaker practices and this is exactly why RantWoman thinks it is quite reasonable to spell out the Quaker distinctives of the matter! In the world of translation, however much one strives for verbal economy, sometimes one gets to substitute a whole bunch of words for one word. RantWoman believes this is such a moment.

Alas, all of this is such Light as has come to RantWoman. RantWoman actually really, Really, REALLY wishes the bylaws changes would not keep coming to Business Meeting until RantWoman hears answers to her questions about history AND there is unity about what if anything to rename the committee in question.

So far, the bylaws changes keep showing up on the Business Meeting agenda but for various reasons not getting acted on. Wordsmithing bylaws in Business Meeting is one of those exercises in applied Quakerism that is either quite charming and educational or really tedious, but RantWoman thinks these suggestions need to be heard out loud and heard in separate Light from the question of what to call the committee now called Oversight!

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Give us this day our daily...

RantWoman is THRILLED that the search engine of her choice yielded these two wonderful resources when RantWoman fet it Joan Broadfield's name:


Center on Conscience and War
http://www.centeronconscience.org/

RantWoman is terribly happy to realize this site exists because it encompasses acronyms RantWoman had lost track of and because what the heck kind of Quaker is it who cannot provide current resources about conscientious objection!

And from the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting pastoral care resources, an interview about recognizing white privilege.

http://www.pym.org/pastoral-care-support/2013/05/recognizing-white-privilege-an-interview-with-joan-broadfield/

RantWoman finds herself delighted about several points in the delivery of this item:

--Paying attention to issues of privilege is considered pastoral Care!

--Recognizing White privilege is treated on par with helping people with other challenges remain connected with the Meeting community.

So what's not to like????

Look, okay, most readers are going to be happy to stop here, with positive, uplifting, centered, inspiring items like the two above.

RantWoman herself would be delighted to stop here.

But...

Give us our daily "I didn't tell you about my day" opportunity to have a full-blown, froth at the mouth, lose all perspective on almost everything accessibility tirade!

RantWoman whipped out her search engine to get to the two items above because she had one encounter too many with Yahoo brand non-accessibility through Quaker.Quaker trying to read an item there by Joan Broadfield called something like Silent or Waiting.

RantWoman did her customary click on the link off her blogroll. Enough of the article flashed before RantWoman's eyes that RantWoman can tell it indeed is there and then RantWoman's browser did one of it's standard "this is too weird and I will phone home to the computer brand mothership but not take you where you want to go" messages.

RantWoman's computer does this nearly all the time when she tries to read things on Quaker.quaker, especially when JAWS, RantWoman's main screen reader is running. RantWoman has tried quaker.quaker with other combinations of operating system and software version. NOTHING works except sometimes turning off the screen reader. RantWoman is glad that is an option for her, in VERY limited increments.

RantWoman wishes she had the slightest desire to troubleshoot accessibility but she does not. In fact RantWoman has so much experience with people complaining about yahoo and very unevenly implemented accessibility that she is fine with just going straight to scorn and recommendation of other platforms.

RantWoman would, though, be undyingly grateful if anyone involved with quaker.quaker wanted to take up the issues of yahoo accessibility with someone from yahoo. RantWoman does not mind complaining herself, but RantWoman is likely to get around to this months down the line. But all the accessibility issues make it a big pain for RantWoman to interact with a big part of her community. Website accessibility issues mean the precious Yahoo brand around RantWoman primarily gets associated with negative experiences. And RantWoman really does not need any more practice feeling blessed to have so much to complain about!

Word!

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Editors: wish to thank, wish to elder

RantWoman reminds her readers of previous commentary about one would-be editor in her vicinity.
http://rantwoman.blogspot.com/2013/04/edited.html

Were RantWoman to elder this Friend, she is grateful to trip over this item which does the job MUCH more nicely that RantWoman has found words to do:
http://www.lambswar.com/beyond-my-experience/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+LambsWar+%28The+Lamb%27s+War%29


RantWoman's inner editor insists RantWoman omit a blog link for a particularly vivid shut-up message. RantWoman notes that one issue would be use of the phrase "season yourself." Another issue would be the former title attached to the erstwhile editor. A third issue: said Friend has the specific accessibility-related   job the Friend has because of a lot of blind people agitating and making people think outside their boxes! This does not guarantee the Friend is required instantly to know how to deal with every insufferable blind person who comes along, but it does make RantWoman feel entitled to ask the Friend to try.  In any case, RantWoman requests her readers hold in the Light the existence of such shut-up messages along with a tangle of other stresses of community. Now back to Editors!

RantWoman is thrilled, thrilled to report that recently she has had two different extremely positive experiences with editors, editors who were enthusiastic about RantWoman's initial offerings, editors whose suggestions made lots of sense or who could handle RantWoman needing to undo some of the proposed changes and tweak them herself.

In the first case, the WA Council for the Blind newsletter, the editor wanted RantWoman to interact about 6 more times with the article than RantWoman planned to. The editor let slip "usually we do not work this hard with articles, but yours is so GOOD." Did RantWoman mention that flattery will get you EVERYWHERE?

RantWoman notes that the newsletter does not overflow with visual interest. It's a newsletter by and mainly for blind people. RantWoman's article appears under her own name but it is a ways down the page under a heading something like Stars from Yesterday, Stars for today, Stars for tomorrow.

The WCB newsletter.
http://www.wcbinfo.org/newsline_june2013.html


Then there is Quaker print:
In the July August 2013 Western Friend. Sorry, though, looks like you either get to pay to get the electronic copy or find a print copy.
http://westernfriend.org/

Digression, of course having nothing to do with Disability: Understand RantWoman is naturally thrifty and not disposed to having paper clutter up her apartment. RantWoman's Meeting has a LOVELY library. All else being equal, RantWoman would read her Quaker publications at her Meeting's library. Except of course that RantWoman as a practical matter CANNOT read the print editions and is not charmed by the thought of paying for an electronic subscription so that RantWoman can read with one of her forms of electronic reading.

Remind RantWoman to bring up with Quaker publications some sort of library distribution option for the electronic version. OR offer a discount for electronic only versions. Look, RantWoman GETS that the more full-price subscriptions a publication can spread costs over, the better as far as staff and editing and other desirable standards. And RantWoman needs ways to share resources. And RantWoman is not clear of a path through this, which of course is why RantWoman gets to labor some more with Friends,. SIGH.

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No fuss no muss sort of sudden sex offender accompaniment?

Lots and lots of things go right for a series of Meetings and a released sex offender. Released sex offender has a small trust fund and many skills. He quickly seeks out an appropriate therapist.

Also note the name of the committee involved : the Care of Meeting committee
http://www.afsc.org/friends/accompaniment-experiment-healing-justice


Mention in passing of issues to do with children

Mention in passing of people with survivor issues.

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How not to be an ally

RantWoman suspects she is going to be reading a lot of this blog, for  one thing, someone RantWoman works with is speaking frankly about his pronoun gender preferences. RantWoman wants to be on point about the matter except when she wants to roll her eyes or snarl at other people rolling their eyes.

How not to be an ally:
http://blackgirldangerous.org/new-blog/2013/6/17/8-ways-not-to-be-an-ally



And while we're at it talking about the privilege thang, George Monbiot about Bono:
http://m.guardiannews.com/commentisfree/2013/jun/17/bono-africans-stealing-voice-poor

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Faith Action Network Spring Summit

RantWoman is unsure how many of her readers live in western WA and might be interested in attending the Spring summit of the Faith Action Network. The last time RantWoman attended she found it very gratifying to hear what other people of faith are doing; RantWoman also found it humbling to carry a banner on behalf of all the things that Friends do.

RantWoman highly recommends the spring summit of the Faith Action Network, Sunday June 2, 3- 5 pm. Seattle First Baptist Church
https://fanwa.ourpowerbase.net/civicrm/event/info?reset=1&id=5

RantWoman also recommends that Friends concerned with interfaith witness not limit that work only to the Faith Action Network, but that is a separate conversation.

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Beloved Dead or not yet; from war zones. Mothers' Day

Rantwoman notes the passing last year of Arthur Satherwaite of Pullman Moscow Monthly Meeting. Arthur is one of the last men who came to the northwest as conscientious objectors during World War II. At the most recent Quarterly Meeting,  RantWoman was presented an opportunity she lamely declined to read more of Arthur in smudgy newspaper clippings on a poster board. RantWoman also roomed with Arthur's widow Florence and her sister but that is another story.

RantWoman's witness about the Peace Testimony is considerably more heterodox than mere memorials for a conscientious objector. One time on a way to a meeting, RantWoman found herself riding with someone whose son is a diplomat. At the time he was serving in Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom. RantWoman was obliged to mumble something like "I am holding you both in the Light because your kid is in a war zone. It does not matter what I think of the war!"

Recently, during RantWoman's last spell of coffeemaking for after 11:00 worship, RantWoman had occasion to greet a young man who grew up in our Meeting. The young man now serves in the military. Some of the time he is a machine gunner. Some of the time he is a recruiter. RantWoman cannot decide which job role is more in need of prayer.

In closing worship at Quarterly Meeting RantWoman was given a message calling to mind Arthur and the young recruiter / machine gunner and the following further thoughts..

It is the age of poverty draft, excuse me all volunteer army. Women now serve in combat. Servicemembers can be openly gay.

--What in the way of peace witness is needed for Quakers of today?

--What are Friends' thoughts or leadings as far as questions of universal service?

--Is there any place in our Meetings or our Friends' organizations where youth can look while seasoning such questions?


Many thoughtful well-centered Friends may wish to stop here. Friends willing to digress slightly and bear with more of RantWoman's intemperate rantings are invited to read on:

RantWoman notes two comments not recorded in the official record of a threshing session about structure in January:

--Someone suggested abolishing Peace and Social Concerns committee and assigning all their work to Worship and Ministry. RantWoman, who STRIVES to do all sorts of witness from a well-grounded spiritual center thinks on one hand that is a brilliant idea. On the other hand, RantWoman thinks her Meeting's present Worship and Ministry committee should find that idea terrifying, that capacity to do this is not what first leaps to mind about Worship and Ministry committee, and that her Meeting can appreciate the gifts of Worship and Ministry WITHOUT expecting them to tiptoe a single hair beyond their Light, like for instance to offer spiritually centered guidance about conscientious objection.

 --Someone else afterward suggested abolishing Worship and Ministry. Can anyone guess who or why? RantWoman does NOT suppose their work would get assigned to Peace and Solcial Concerns. But what IS needed?

Does this question occur to anyone besides RantWoman?

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The Gospel of Disaster Preparedness and Checkbox Theology

RantWoman is always ready to preach the gospel of disaster preparedness. Here is a link about awesome opportunities in Seattle with additional commentary from RantWoman as to her Meeting's previous interactions with preparedness and presence in different circumstances.
http://rantwoman.blogspot.com/2013/04/faith-based-disaster-preparedness-forums.html

A small warning of theologies in collision:

The blog post includes a link to sign up for one of the upcoming fora.

http://seattlefaithbasedforums.eventbrite.com/

RantWoman nearly got stuck on

"Please tell us whether you are a Faith-based leader or a member / ambassador representative of your congregation."
RantWoman internal dialogue:

I am definitely faith-based. We are all ministers of God. We don't HAVE leaders. The only leader I recognize is the holy Spirit.

But I do not feel like a member ambassador either. Today for instance someone suggested getting thrown off a bridge sounded like more fun.


RantWoman, it's the Fire Department. How many meetings have you sat through in large rooms with interprettation to and from several languages.

Question from group 1: this is what we think in our country.

Answer: We're the fire department and this is how we do things.

Question from group 2: In our country....

Answer 2: We're the fire department and this is how we do things.

RantWoman, thinking, gosh it's really helpful even to know what my neighbors might be thinking, not to mention "single standard of Truth" as far as the Fire Department!

Now, as to earthquakes .... tsunami...volcanic eruptions ... rain...severe winter storms and snow...landslides ....flooding...meteorites? . sundry Acts of God...climate change?

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