8.27.2005

Call me provincial

Maybe you could call me provincial. I've been to meeting for worship in seven states, the District of Columbia and Paris, France. But I've never been to a programmed meeting, much less one of those evangelical Friends Churches. Heaven forbid! ;) They might use the G word. They might not respect my silence. They might not accept some of my Friends as Quakers. They're probably not *really* Quakers anyway...

But they're some of my new favorite blogs!

Robin's subjective and far-from-complete list of programmed/evangelical Quaker posts that blew me away:

Aj Schwanz on what if there were no pastors? (from her old blog. Click on her name for her new blog)
Gregg Koskela's Gregg's Gambles on his dreams for his institutional church and God's call to community
Scott Wagoner's Quaker Renewal Forum on the difference between Quaker faith and Quaker culture
C. Wess Daniels' gathering in light on forging a third way and what am I going to do when I grow up?
Johan Maurer's Can you believe? on trusting the Holy Spirit and the first post I ever read on his blog

They all speak to my condition. My humble gratitude to the authors. I commend them to you.

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3 Comments:

Blogger Gregg Koskela said...

Wow!

Robin, thank you for your comments on my blog, and for your link and words here. I'm realizing just how many "kindred spirits" (to quote Anne of Green Gables) there are in the world.

One of my long time hopes has been to build friendships with "other" Quakers. ;^) (VERY tongue in cheek!) I hate the divisions that we on the Evangelical side have created (and are still creating).

I discovered Quakers in college, at George Fox University. Reading Fox's and Woolman's Journal, reading Barclay's apology, I felt like I had found whole new ways of connecting with God. Then I got to discover the last 150 years of Quaker history, with our segmenting: Social Justice OVER THERE, Jesus OVER here. Blech. So, thank you for coming to my blog, and I'll make yours a regular in my bloglines, too! Here's hoping we'll meet in person someday.

8/28/2005 1:11 AM  
Blogger Robin M. said...

Gregg,
What a pleasure to see you "over here." I am truly grateful for the Quaker blogosphere that has allowed me to travel so much more widely this summer than my budget or vacation days at work would have permitted.

I discovered Quakers just after graduating from a Catholic university. I wasn't Catholic, but the Jesuits taught me that religion and intellectual inquiry weren't mutually exclusive. And it was in the midst of a social justice Opportunity arranged by the university that God sought me out. Quakers taught me how to respond.

I too hope that one day we will meet in person - Newberg and San Francisco aren't really that far apart, in more ways than one.

8/28/2005 1:37 AM  
Blogger Aj Schwanz said...

Re: Gregg - "That friend speaks my mind." Thanks so much for your wonderful words, both on my and your blogs. I'm amazed at how this world of technology brings us together in ways we never imagined. And how wonderful that we can share these experiences and "reconciliations" with those in our immediate communities - the Lord works in mysterious ways! (I almost says that the Lord moves in mysterious ways, which is true, but generally more true about Bono). ;)

8/30/2005 5:09 PM  

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