News article about Quaker Pagans

Over the last few months, quite a number Pagan Friends participated in interviews with religion reporter Matthew Streib of the Religion News Service.

The resulting article, "Pagans find a sometimes uneasy home among Quakers," appeared on the Modern Reformation website on 4/25, and was one of the leads on the RNS website today.

While on the whole I believe Matthew did a good job, I do have some issues with the article:

• Although I don't know the content of Kevin-Douglas' interview with Matt, I do know (very well) that K-D was involved with Paganism long before Russell died.

• Every other religion mentioned is capitalized in the article, but Pagan is not. (In this case, I don't know if this is Matthew's decision, or that of his editor.)

• While I can't speak for all Pagan Friends, for most Pagan Friends I know, this is not remotely a "dual faith."

I have one faith: I am a Witch. Quakerism is central to how I walk that faith in the world. Quakerism is central to how Pagan, Christian, non-theist, Jewish, and agnostic Friends walk our faith in the world.

Funny how I've never heard people say Christians who are Friends have a dual faith. And while people insist I am a hyphenated-Quaker (a Pagan-Quaker, or, more often, pagan-Quaker), I've never heard any insistence that Christian-Quakers are hyphenated.

• I don't have a tape of our conversation, but I can't imagine that I said you can find a Pagan in almost any liberal Meeting. (For one thing, it certainly depends on how big the Meeting, where it is in the US, etc.)

Woo-hoo! Cat and Peter host "a bastion of Quaker-pagan thought"!

I completely agree with Cat that superficiality is not a good thing. But then, I think that's true for both Paganism in general and Quakerism in general.

So I certainly like how the article ended. But I guess it just seems to me that some basic underlying assumptions went unchallenged in this article, and the ways in which we [the interviewees] challenged those assumptions just went right over the reporter's head. Ah, well. Perhaps in a longer, more chewy piece it may have been more likely to happen.

On the other hand, I am vastly amused by Christianity Today's take on this: "Now hundreds of pagans call Quakerism home." Hundreds? Who knew?? Where are we? (I figured I'd know if there were hundreds of us!)

Check out the lovely and lively comments on Quaker Pagan Reflections. I look forward to reading comments here, too!

p.s. Hee. Just as I was finishing this, "Choir" by emma's revolution (Pat Humphries and Sandy Opatow, of FGC Gathering 2003 fame) came on my cd player's shuffle. "Has anybody seen the choir? I want to preach to the converted!" Humor and perspective are Good Things. :)

Philadelphia-area event

from Jen and Nif:

Greetings, and happy springtime! SpiralSong will be presenting a spring concert at the Big Blue Marble Bookstore in Mt. Airy on Sunday, May 4, at 3pm. We hope to see you there!

Sunday, May 4, 3:00pm.
SpiralSong Sings in the Spring!
Best known for community-wide Winter Solstice celebrations each December, SpiralSong presents a May Day(ish) concert of seedlings,solidarity, and social justice. Directed by bookstore staffer Jen Sheffield.
Admission: free

Big Blue Marble Bookstore
551 Carpenter Lane
(corner of Carpenter and Greene St.)
Philadelphia, PA 19119
215-844-1870
http://www.bigbluemarblebooks.com/

"..to welcome in the summer sun, to welcome in the May-o
for summer is a comin' in, and winter's gone away-o"

"An unromantic approach..."

I'd like to recommend my friend Michelle's article, "Don't wait for the 'right room' to pray."

(I know we Quakers like to think we're immune to this, but really, we are confronted with all the same challenges as everyone else when we wish to commune with the Divine. I've heard from a lot of Friends who have trouble worshipping outside the Meeting Room...)

Marines in my life

As some of you know, my surrogate brother was, until very recently, in the Marine Corps. In some ways, there's the kind of tension you might expect between us about it; and yet there are other ways in which he understands some of the peace work I've done out of my convictions as a Friend -- peace witness in the Middle East; American Red Cross Disaster Relief and Armed Forces Emergency Services work -- better than anyone else in my family.

I just found out that a dear cousin on another side of the family, who's graduating from high school this June, has enlisted in the Marines. He tells me he's shipping out in September.

And I am having a hard time with this.

My brother was considerably older when he enlisted. He started in the reserves. He fought in Desert Storm. He's always been older (and taller) than I am. There are times when I've been scared for him, and for my family, but I've had, I don't know -- a certain acceptance of his decision to serve this way.

My cousin is eighteen. He's starting on active duty. We're in the middle of a long war. I held him as a baby. He's only been taller than I am for a couple of years.

And, from the soldiers and families I've worked with as a volunteer, I have some sense of what he's going into.

I'm scared for him, and I don't have that same kind of acceptance of his decision.

I know he's going to learn a lot about himself, and he's going to grow. And I'm looking forward to seeing that.

But I am not looking forward to the rest.

I wish I could protect him in the same way I held him as a baby.

Not a sentiment he'd appreciate, I think. :)

'Tis the season

March 30's Oh My Gods! reminded me of something.

Many years ago, I was attending a meeting after work one night just before Easter and Passover. During the break, I was having a conversation with a friend who'd sought me out for mutual support: we were the only two non-Christians in a room full of fairly religious people... many of whom kept looking at us oddly. The program was supposed to be "spiritual, not religious," but we often found ourselves, well, misunderstood. The butt of jokes. Fielding "questions" about the same stereotypes, over and over. From people who insisted they were truly accepting. Or from those who were just truly clueless.

"May the Force be with you! [giggle] No, really, I'm not making fun of you. I think it's fine that you're a Witch."

"You're Jewish? Why did you kill Jesus when He's our Lord and Savior?!"

Our best educational efforts reached a number of folks; but nonetheless, cluelessness can be awfully persistent. After a weeks and then months of it, well, our humor got... warped.

That night, my friend drew me off to the side while we drank our tea.

"How's it going?" I asked.

"Okay, okay."

"Ready for Pesach?"

"Not entirely. We still need the blood of some unbaptized Christian babies so we can make matzoh, you know. Hey, you're a Witch -- you know where to get that stuff, right?"

"No, man, are you kidding? We had to use squirrels last Full Moon. Do you know how hard those damned things are to catch? If you get a line on babies, please let me know."

At which point, one rather young and earnest fellow -- the one who consistently greeted me with, "May the Force be with you," followed by giggles and the insistence that no, really, he accepted me -- stalked up to us and said, "I don't appreciate you making fun of my religion like that." And stalked off.

My friend and I looked at each other. We were speechless.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Peeps... Passover... ow

While Peeps were originally an Easter candy, they've come to fill many other roles over the years. For example, they were often an important part of Roses, Too!'s Eostara and Samhain observances.

But it had never occurred to me that they could have such an educational role for Pesach...

"Peeps for Passover"

Grace

I am in the middle of a stressful, anxiety-producing couple of weeks -- a lot of life is happening in a short period. On the plus side, it's time-limited and is already in the process of resolving. But until more of it sorts itself out, I'm chewing my fingernails and not getting enough sleep.

But I am getting good support.

And in the middle of this, there are ways in which the Goddess is clearly dancing in my life.

Or, in Quakerspeak, there are ways in which the Spirit is clearly moving in my life.

This makes me happy.

And, all things considered, She's leading me pretty gently right now. I think this is what happens when I am able to listen better. (Less need to shout, perhaps?) :)

It's all right, it's all right
It's all right
She moves in mysterious ways...

Done is good

My final rainbow shawl commission is done! I just have to put it in the mail.

Hooray!

I have now done five of these -- the original one, two commissions from that same auction, plus two more in subsequent auctions. I am sooooo done. (At least, for now. If someone's heart is set on one, or on a rainbow throw, I would consider it.)

Now I can work on my first-ever sweater, a present for my beloved wife. :)

What does a bunny have to do with Easter?

Here's a fairly good video -- "History of the Holidays: Easter" -- from History.com, regarding how certain practices and customs from the Pagan festival of Eostara came to be associated with the Christian festival of Easter...

FGC Summer Gathering 2008: Courageously Faithful

This year's Friends General Conference Gathering will be held in Johnstown, PA, from 28 June through 5 July. Gathering can be a truly wonderful experience. Financial assistance is available, so don't let that be the thing that stops you. Click here for more information.

Hope to see many of you there!

Courageously Explicit

The theme for this year's Gathering of Friends General Conference is "Courageously Faithful."

Thanks to my Beloved Wife, I started attending Summer Gathering in 2001. And the Goddess made it clear right off the bat that She was calling me to active ministry among Pagan Friends, not just in my life in general, but at Summer Gathering: that year, I was asked to facilitate the Women's Center Full Moon Ritual; from 2002 to 2006, I facilitated evening interest groups for and about Pagan Quakers; and in 2007, I facilitated a week-long workshop for Pagan Friends.

This year, I am being led in an even broader, deeper direction.

For the last several years, I've been having conversations with Friends in different locales about who feels "most welcome" and "most at home" in our Meetings. I've talked with Pagan Friends, of course, but also Non-Theist Friends, Jewish Friends, Christian Friends, straight Friends, and queer Friends. These conversations have led me to conclusions I didn't necessarily expect, coming at first solely from my own experience and that of other Pagan Quakers.

It's never who we'd necessarily think.

Here's one example, from a large, East Coast Monthly Meeting:

---------------------------

In this Meeting, Pagan Friends feel that they are not welcome to give vocal ministry that's explicit -- that comes from their experience of the Divine, or comes in the language of how they experience the Divine. They feel that it's not okay for them to talk about the Goddess or the Gods, Samhain or Beltane, or the like. They've been eldered for it, they've been criticized for it, they've been told they have to give up the Goddess if they're going to be Quakers -- even though some of them are members of their Meeting.

These Pagan Friends have the impression it's okay for Christian Friends to give explicit ministry. They feel like it's okay for Christian Friends to talk about Jesus or Christ, Christmas or Easter, or the like.

I've heard from Christian Friends in this same Meeting, who were also told their vocal ministry wasn't welcome. I've heard from Friends -- including members of the Meeting -- who were asked not to return after giving explicitly Christian ministry during worship.

I felt an answering pain and anger.

But, they told me, Pagans can say whatever they want.

So, in this one example: The Christians think the Pagans are welcome to speak clearly and openly from their experience of the Divine, but not Christians. The Pagans think the Christians can speak clearly and openly from their experience of the Divine, but not Pagans.

And they've both got it wrong.

---------------------------

Here's my theory:

Friends who experience the Divine in explicit, specific ways rarely feel like we're the "most comfortable" or the "most welcome" in our Meetings.

Somehow, our explicitness is threatening. And folks have let us know that.

Now, I freely admit, when someone stands and speaks their truth, and makes it clear that theirs is "The One Right Way" and that they're prepared to act accordingly, that I feel threatened.

But all of the Pagan, Jewish, and Non-Theist Friends, and most of the Christian Friends, whom I've heard give ministry in the explicit language of their experience are not preaching theirs as "The One Right Way." Most of them are very clear: This is my experience. This is my facet of the whole.

A universal longing in spiritual/religious community is for a place where we can have these conversations about the Divine in our lives. "How fares the Truth with thee, Friend?"

It's time for explicit Friends -- and I'm using this term for lack of a better one, not because I think it's necessarily the best term -- it's time for explicit Friends to reach out to one another, talk with one another, support each other, lift each other up, help each other be faithful, have deep, chewy conversations with each other, build community together.

So, here's the beginning of the language I'm fantasizing about for the interest group proposal:

Title: Courageously Explicit.
Description: Three Friends walk into Meeting for Worship: a Christian, a Pagan, a Non-Theist, and a Jew.

What might the next sentences be?
They all give explicit ministry.
They all experience gathered worship.
Come help tell the rest of the story.
If you experience the Divine in a specific, explicit way, come build community and share fellowship.

I don't know yet what the rest of the language will be.

I welcome discussion on this.

(And yes, I know that's more than three: Jewish, Non-Theist, and Pagan, at least, are not mutually exclusive. *smile*)

England 6: Quaker Country

My final day visiting Beloved Wife in England, we headed further up north, into Quaker Country (also called "1652 Country").

(Two wonderful websites about walking tours of 1652 Quaker country: Bill Samuel's Quaker Tour of England, and Dai Williams' An Attender in Quaker Country.)

We were limited to places we could get to by the combination of public transit and our own two feet, and by the time of a dinner date in Manchester that evening. Beloved Wife did some on-line research, and we decided to visit Briggflatts Meeting House and hopefully Firbank Fell.

We took the train to Oxenholme, then the bus to Sedbergh. The bus ride was, um, dramatic: here we were on this big bus, in hilly country, on these very narrow lanes bordered by stone fences, going rather fast. (It didn't seem to bother any of the other passengers -- three elderly women -- at all.)

From the bus, we had a lovely view of Lambrigg Wind Farm. That was neat!


Here we are in Sedbergh:


(Don't ask me why there are palm trees in Sedbergh.) From Sedbergh, we walked to Briggflatts Meeting House and Burial Ground. (For the map, click here. Briggflatts is southwest of Sedbergh; Firbank Fell is northwest of Sedbergh.)

Walking along paths in this part of England involves some interesting customs regarding private property and public rights-of-way. And gates. As with our trip from Edale, we found ourselves walking along paths that bordered as well as cut through the middle of sheep pastures. (In Edale, there were some cattle, too.)


The customs seem pretty simple: don't scare the critters, keep your dog on a lead if you're walking with one, and make sure you close the gates behind you. Interestingly, as we approached Briggflatts, and saw there was repair work taking place on one of the buildings, we also saw signs for the re-routed footpath. Very neat.

So we walked out of town, through fields, over hills, along lanes, and under an abandoned railroad track, until we came to Briggflatts. First we visited the burial ground, then the meetinghouse itself.


The burial ground was beautiful.


The meetinghouse, which dates from 1678, was also beautiful. Even now, just looking at the picture and remembering the deep, deep sense of peace in the meeting room, I find myself with tears in my eyes.


Many of the folks who signed the guest register -- Friends and non-Friends alike -- commented on the simple beauty and the peace of the meetinghouse.

Perhaps, as Friends, we shouldn't care, or it shouldn't matter to us, what our Meetinghouses look like, if they're beautiful or not. But it does. And I don't think worse of us for it.

Briggflatts is in my absolute favorite style of meeting room. There's a meetinghouse in the midwest of the US, whose insides just look like a Methodist church to me: medium-blond wood paneling on the walls, the same shade of medium-blond wood in the benches, pale blue-green cushions, and very modern. Somehow, it just doesn't work for me. (I realize this sense of what's "right" in a meetinghouse is a distinct result of the East Coast Catholic portion of my upbringing.)


There is a small set of rooms in the same building, accessible from outside, that houses the Meeting's library, a bathroom, and even a small kitchen. There were mugs and tea placed out in the library, with a note that milk was in the fridge, and an invitation to eat one's lunch and have a hot cup of tea. Such lovely hospitality!

We had our lunch out in the garden, in spite of the chill, while consulting the map. We sadly concluded that we could not both walk to Fox's Pulpit on Firbank Fell and make our train, and prepared to leave. As we were walking up the lane towards the footpath, one of the wardens, Tess, appeared out of their house to talk with us, and offered to drive us up. This gave us a lovely chance to visit with her, and talk about the life of the Meeting, Quakerism in the US and Britain, her husband and children, and just to enjoy fellowship. It was a treat.

Tess told us how George Fox preached to 1,000 people here. We had heard this, but found ourselves in puzzlement. Firbank Fell is in the middle of nowhere, as you can see in this picture. Why did Fox decide to preach there, and why on earth were 1,000 people there, 350-odd years ago, to hear him?


According to Tess, the people of Kendal and Sedbergh couldn't decided which of the two towns should get the church, so the church was built on top of Firbank Fell, between them. When Fox came to preach, word spread, and so not only did the folk of both towns come to hear him, so also did all their friends and relatives from far away. When Fox was denied entry to the church, he chose this rock, next to the church, from which to preach.


(Evidently, he later took over the pulpit in the church, too.)


Tess offered to drive us to Sedbergh to catch our bus, but because of her help, we had plenty of time to walk back to town; so we asked her to drop us off back at her house and the meetinghouse. When we got there, a committee meeting was about to start, so we got to meet several folks from the Meeting. In spite of all the visitors they get every year, they welcomed us enthusiastically (in an understated British way). Like the warden in York, they seemed to feel some extra kinship on learning that the two of us are part of the unprogrammed tradition.

To walk back to Sedbergh, we cut along the old railway bed so we could walk along the Dales Way footpath.


We were in good time to catch our bus, and then our train, and then to have dinner with folks in Manchester.

The day was definitely one of the highlights of my trip.

Click below for the full album.

2008-02 England 6: Quaker country

The Snow Bunny

The Ostara Bunny and the Snow Bunny announced together today that the Snow Bunny will distributing eggs to Pagan children for Ostara/Spring Equinox this year in Southeastern Michigan.

"With the National Weather Service and my own instincts calling for 5-8 inches of snow, the Snow Bunny is just much better-equipped to handle winter storm conditions while delivering eggs to the Pagan children of Southeastern Michigan," the Ostara Bunny stated.

The Snow Bunny added, "It's very important to both of us that children everywhere know how much they mean to us, and this means making sure there are eggs for them to find in the snow. I consider it an honor to accept this mission."

In addition to being better able to handle snowy conditions, the Snow Bunny's white fur will make it easier for her to remain hidden in plain view while she does her work.

The Ostara Snow Bunny Cometh

There's a winter storm warning in effect, with 5-8 inches of snow predicted between Friday night and Saturday morning.

Happy Equinox/Ostara! ;-)

"When Girls Will Be Boys"

This is a fascinating article on college students -- particularly at women's colleges -- who come to identify as transmen and genderqueer, and many, many of the issues this raises. (The NY Times requires free registration.)

"Rosa's Stew"

I love it when Ben calls me up and sings to me.

Before you go any further, please say the following two phrases out loud, one after the other:

• Rosa's Stew
• Roses, Too!

(Roses, Too! is the Coven my best friend and I co-founded in Philadelphia in 1993.)

Now you know all you need to know. Enjoy!

"Rosa's Stew"
lyrics by Benjamin Newman
ttto: "Bread and Roses" by James Oppenheim, set to music by Mimi Farina

/ G CG-- / C D / 1st / DA D /: G - / C(Am) D :/ G - /

As we go marching, marching
To fight the noble fight
A band of angry women
Can work up an appetite

All day we've walked together
Voices raised in songs of protest
And we sing a little louder
When the potluck is at Rosa's

As we go marching, marching
Singing songs of love and toil
In Rosa's cluttered kitchen
Something good is on the boil

When marching makes us hungry
There's one thought that sees us through
Yes, it is bread we fight for
What we crave is Rosa's stew

It's often said of Martha
That her sourdough never fails
But leave it out all April
And it gets a little stale

When bread and hearts have hardened
There is just one thing to do
There's no crust that will not soften
When it's dunked in Rosa's stew

Now, stew can be nutritious
But this is so much more
In it we have a foretaste
Of the world we're fighting for

At Jane's pie and Sarah's salad
We will not turn up our noses
But for hungry souls and bellies
There's no cooking quite like Rosa's

Spring is on Her way!

Tuesday, I saw a white-breasted nuthatch at our suet feeder. It was -- predictably, celebratorily -- upside-down.

I love white-breasted nuthatches. :)

They supposedly do not migrate, but I've seen very few this winter at our feeders, and I've missed them.

Then yesterday, I saw the bird which is the true harbinger of spring in southeastern Michigan: the red-winged blackbird!

I was unloading the car after running errands, and heard a bird-sound I hadn't heard in months: it sounded a lot like the "clack" sound red-winged blackbirds make, one of two of their calls with which I'm familiar. (The other call sounds like the bird is caroling, "I'm heee-re!") (Or, "Mate with mee-eee!")

When I looked around, I saw three or so medium-sized black birds in the tree above me and at the neighbor's feeders. They looked a lot more like grackles at first glance, but they sounded wrong for grackles. And then I saw thin strips of pale yellow at the shoulders. A few moments later, the two at the feeder mantled, and I saw both the yellow and the red. Not as bright as it will be later in the year, but definitely there!

We're about three blocks from the river, and don't usually get red-wingeds this far away from the water. But I guess food is a good draw this time of year and at the end of a long migration!

The temperature hit about 55 F here yesterday. My driveway is no longer an ice rink or a pond, but getting fairly muddy; the top few inches of the ground are starting to thaw. It may be dipping into the 20s F at night, and we may well get more snow -- 5 more inches, I'm told, and we'll break our record -- but Spring is definitely on Her way.

Blessed be!

A cup of tea...

According to scientists at the University of Maryland and Cardiff University, via Environmental Graffiti: English Breakfast Tea can help inhibit anthrax. As long as you take your tea without milk.

Click here for the Cardiff press release.

Too funny!

City View Quaker Church in Asheville, NC

A Quaker Church in NC which was part of Friends United Meeting has withdrawn from FUM and lost their building after taking a united stance to support gay rights, according to the Asheville Citizen-Times.

The church is still meeting in the former minister's home.

Read the Citizen-Times story here.

According to the article, City View lost their building and were officially disbanded by FUM. In addition:

The Quarterly Meeting also told Vestal’s church they could no longer use the word Quaker in their name.

“They don’t have proprietary right to the name, so we kept it,” Vestal said.

Vestal has lost his pastoral salary and has gone to work at a bookstore. His church now meets in his home in North Asheville.

Blessed are these brave Friends.

The changing of the seasons...

The forecast is calling for overnight thunderstorms, sleet, and snow. There's still snow on the ground here.

Several of our patients at work have told me they've seen robins. I've heard birds who wintered over singing their spring songs -- especially chickadees! Yesterday, I saw a white-breasted nuthatch.

There is something pleasing about the relentlessness of spring's coming. It doesn't matter that there's snow on the ground, or what winter weather will happen this week.