Pilgrim & Stranger

Is Baltimore Yearly Meeting Christian... enough?

2011-08-13T13:33:00.005-04:00

Baltimore YM is affiliated with Friends United Meeting which acknowledges Jesus as "Teacher and Lord." Honestly, the number of Friends in BYM who have any relationship with or involvement in FUM is nominal. Few individual meetings offer education about the ministries of FUM. How many African, Latin or Midwestern ministers and elders have been invited to monthly meetings to speak, teach or

So I went to low mass

2011-05-27T18:37:00.003-04:00

Ok, so my students to read my blogs from time to time. One of my kids told me he read my blog on why I bother with religion. (I call them my kids, because the one child in my life is in Vancouver, WA. I haven't seen him but twice in his life; a regret of mine. So, the only kids I have are my students). I'll just start this little entry by saying that my life seems to be a big mess. Much of it

My views on Old Town and faith.

2011-04-11T22:58:00.003-04:00

I wrot emost of this in response to someone who hit me up on Facebook, curious about Friends. I think in writing to him, I was blogging. So, to preserve anonymity, I'll just reveal that he would be agnostic.Thanks for the bday wishes! I am indeed a Friend. We are a Christ-centered/Christian meeting, and very small (anywhere from 4 to 8 people on a given Sunday). www.oldtownfriends.org However,

For my tempted and addicted friends . . . .

2010-09-10T00:15:00.001-04:00

This epistle from George Fox has helped me to grow, slowly, out of the mire and muck that has been a huge part of my life:X. (10) To Friends, to stand still in trouble, and see the strength of the LordFriends,Whatever ye are addicted to, the tempter will come in that thing; and when he can trouble you, then he gets advantage over you, and then ye are gone. Stand still in that which is pure, after

Is Old Town Friends Christian?

2010-09-03T17:24:00.002-04:00

I've had several people ask me if we are Christian. Most of them aren't Christians themselves, but those who want nothing to do with a Christian body (many of them Quakers). This is NOT an official statement, but my understanding of who we are at my small Quaker meeting.Our young meeting, while consisting of Friends who are mostly affiliated with largely liberal yearly meetings (Baltimore and

Am I really a Cracker Faggot?

2010-08-09T10:49:00.004-04:00

Pat's comment makes me think about the value of living in Baltimore. Here, where I'm a minority in my sexual orientation, race and class, I am forced to learn more about the dominant culture here. I am faced every day with poverty (I live 3 blocks from a massive public housing project), and in my neighborhood there are a number of section 8 apartment complexes or buildings. We are frankly an

Posted on Quaker Quaker: Buddhist Quakers

2010-08-09T10:22:00.001-04:00

An acquaintance of mine posted something about Buddhism and it got me thinking of Quakers who practice Buddhism. So, to Google I went! I, of course, found comments on QuakerQuaker.org. One Friend posted about how he realized as a Christian how out of place he was in a liberal Quaker meeting, and so he, from how I read his post, quit going to his meeting and practiced Christianity alone.I hope

Focusing where I need to

2010-06-10T19:54:00.002-04:00

Those who know me know how I vacillate between the Fun Life and my spiritual calling to faithfulness. How I cringe those self-righteous types who have found Jesus and turn their noses up at those who still struggle with what it means to be human, let alone a spiritual being! When I have acted with the most disdain, the most judgment, with anger and condemnation it has been because I was afraid.

What I'm learning about Quaker Christianity Part 1

2009-12-22T13:37:00.003-05:00

Conversion, Convincement & PerfectionI read Ben Dandelion's Intro to Quakerism about first generation Friends. I found it very interesting how Quaker convincement process was an abbreviated form of 12-step recovery!I read Matthew 5:48, Romans 6:14, I John 3:9 and understood what Dandelion was saying to be:Technically, convincement was conviction; the day of visitation.Six key stages:1. a

Overseers and Oversight

2009-10-10T10:22:00.002-04:00

The Ministry & Worship committee on which I serve has struggled with proper terms for overseeing worship. Traditionally Quakers have had 3 offices: gospel ministers, elders and overseers. Gospel ministers were recognized by their meetings as having a particular gift in vocal ministry during worship, an ability to deepen the silence with their preaching and edifying the meeting. Their lives

Ex gay?

2009-09-24T09:41:00.003-04:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-J5T6wsnEQOne of the worst things gays and those who support our rights can do is bash or dismiss bisexuality. One, it flies in the face of both anecdotal and scientific evidence that it is real and even possibly the dominant sexual orientation (to varying degrees) even if one's gender preference is same or opposite gender. Even if that's not true, those who are "

Openly gay in Baltimore

2009-09-20T14:06:00.000-04:00

P.D.A. could save your life-- but in Baltimore?You know they’re a couple. They have to be. You’ve seen them (or someone like them). Two guys, each in his 50s, wearing jeans and leather vests with the sun glasses walking in very close proximity to one another somewhere around Mt Vernon. You can just tell that they belong together. Most likely you’re right. Why aren’t they holding hands,

The Veil was thinner . . .

2009-09-20T14:00:00.002-04:00

3/8/05Last night I had a dream: I was at a party, or maybe a club somewhere. Russell was there and I was so excited to see him. It was weird b/c I was cruising and yet searching for him. I oversaw him writing a letter talking about how we were wed in Christ or something like that and that he truly loved me but basically settled for certain things. I felt my heart sink. There were times when

Ministry

2009-09-20T12:33:00.001-04:00

This I wrote 8/18/04 to my meeting's M&W. I won't go into the result of it, but perhaps others can relate.Dear Friends on Ministry & Worship and Clearness & Counsel:I hope this letter finds you well in the Light. I pray that your work blesses you so that you may do the work as the [current] elders of the meeting. Over the past several months, and especially since FGC Gathering, I’ve had an

On being Christian

2009-09-20T12:18:00.001-04:00

I wrote this 5/29/08.Do you believe in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Personal Savior? I’ve never easily handled that question without a truckload of baggage exploding in front of any one who may be nearby. I didn’t have many pleasant experiences growing up gay, in the South, in a secular family and being friends with Roman Catholics (Pastor Hagy, anyone?), surrounded by Christians whose first

Russell

2009-09-20T12:06:00.004-04:00

This was a beginning draft to a memorial piece I was to give at Center Stage. I'll post the whole thing when I find it.There was a time when I did not believe myself lovable. There was a time when it was nearly impossible for me to really be spiritually and emotionally intimate. Russell was a living angel.there is no separating how I knew him. to separate the spiritual from the emotional,

Quakers come back to Old Town

2009-09-07T10:02:00.003-04:00

Not since 1921 have Quakers regularly worshiped at the Meeting House in what is known to natives as "Old Town" Baltimore. On Labor Day weekend, a small, simple group of people who call each other "Friends" resumed their quiet form of worship without fanfare.Ever since I moved to Baltimore in 2000, I would drive by the meeting house, located 2 blocks from the main post office on Fayette Street,

What is Quakerism?

2009-08-20T16:54:00.003-04:00

While there is no official statement on who Quakers are, this is mine:Quakerism is a living, vibrant faith with several manifestations that are strikingly different. Quakers refer to themselves and each other as "Friends." The terms are used interchangeably. The majority of Friends world wide are Evangelical Christians. However, in the United States there are various other "branches" of the

Unity among Friends

2009-08-20T10:27:00.003-04:00

I am sitting here daydreaming, while I should be finishing the final accounting for Russell's estate and taking it down to the Orphan's Court to get approved. I need to do this soon. School starts Monday!I was thinking about my feelings towards Quakers who are not Christians or Christ-centered (to me, there IS a difference -- Christian buys into the entire Christian tradition, where as one who

The Inner Light

2009-08-20T10:14:00.003-04:00

Someone wrote about Quaker belief in the Inner Light. He was objecting to it. Here is the link: http://apprising.org/2008/08/contemplating-the-inner-light-of-the-quakers/Here is the letter I wrote him:Hi. I am a Quaker, and read your posting. In many ways you aren't off base. However, I think you could write an even better argument or critique if you have a few more facts. First, there is a

Quaker Worship

2009-08-18T11:31:00.002-04:00

I was commenting to a friend about unprogrammed worship. I don't go to regular church services because I usually lose track of what a preacher is saying if it's longer than 10 minutes, I day dream during hymns. I'd rather be left alone to my own thoughts and focusing on the Presence in the Midst for an hour.To me it's authentic, responsive, and with all of the nuts-o commotion in my world,

Katie Couric Denounces "Fear" And "Ignorance" Driving People To Town-Hall Forums On Health Care Reform

2009-08-18T11:13:00.003-04:00

Katie Couric Denounces "Fear" And "Ignorance" Driving People To Town-Hall Forums On Health Care ReformPosted using ShareThis

Healthcare Reform

2009-08-18T10:44:00.004-04:00