Of all the shades of blue, you are the most funky, unique, and independent. Expressing yourself and taking a leap of faith has always been easy for you.
"You're both warm and practical. You're very driven, but you're also very well rounded. You tend to see both sides to every issue, and people consider you a natural diplomat."
I don't see an email address for you, so I'm leaving this message here, although it doesn't apply to the blog entry.
Thanks for the note left at Quaker Ranter. I was actually afraid to write it. I have not been a Friend very long and do not feel that I can speak with any special insight the way those with more years of practice and study can.
I support the right of all Friends to practice Quakerism as they are given the Light to practice it. I have often refrained from replying to many posts that I have found upsetting and even denigrating, posts written in an authoritarian tone, posts accusing others of being lukewarm or in some other way not as good, not as fervent as the Early Quakers.
I'm also beginning to feel "snippy" at the term "Liberal", as it is becoming more and more a stereotype. I sense the term almost being used in a pejorative sense, and almost always used to express something that's missing or inferior--lack of belief in Christ, failure to adequately preach Christ, tepidness, "feel-good-ism"... I don't know what else.
I believe that each of us is a work in progress, like it or not. Each of us, as long as we use the Light we have so that more is given us, will continue to make greater progress still. It is futile to compare ourselves either with one another or with Early Friends.
The beauty of Quakerism is, I believe, the ethereal yet enduring bond formed by the Testimonies. Generation after generation of Friends write essays and pamphlets reinterpreting them for the times they live in. It is what we have, I believe, instead of a Magesterium with authority to declare what is orthodox and what is heresy.
The Testimonies are our common spiritual heritage, yet one that allows for great latitude of individual interpretation and practice.
The downside, of course, is that without a central authority that says, "You must preach/believe/practice this way or that way," the interpretations are bound to multiply exponentially, so that there is the question of ... so who are we? what are we?
Yet Quaker belief and practice endure ... as long as we are tender with one another and continue to discuss our interpretations and practices with respect. --Barbara
And Barbara, whoever you are, what a wonderful comment! I have nothing that I can add to it but it did me a lot of good to see it put so concisely into writing.
Barbara - Thanks! I was so nervous about that comment, I kept running over it in my head all night. I don't want to be mean, but I have felt really hurt by much of this "discourse" and apparently it was just time to vent a little bit!!!!
I'm going to try to put together a post about some of this soon.
Peace
Pam
PS- there should be a link to my email if you click on my profile. Otherwise, it is pamska at yahoo dot com
Amsterdam is way cool. I haven't been since I was 15 but I even thought it was cool then. Saw the van Gogh museum, Anne Frank House, Medieval torture museum, rode a canal boat, rode the tram (gotta love European mass transit!). We were only there on a flight layover and we still had a blast.
Austin is AWESOME. I would love to live there if I could afford it (expensive by Texas standards, although not so bad in general). Pretty area, less humid than Houston, lots of music, lots of stuff to do, good food, you name it. I love Austin.
I think you might have the "hide email" checked...at least I don't seem to see your email on your profile. But thanks for noting it in your comment.
I live in PA and I'm a member of Schuylkill Friends meeting. I just officially became a member in January, although I attended for a few years prior to that. I went through a few years of searching for a new religious path after I decided to finally break with Catholicism, which I had practiced all my life.
Well, welcome Barbara! I grew up in Philly, pretty close to the Schuylkill River. but I've never heard of Schuylkill Friends. (I went to Germantown Friends School, which was my introduction to Quakerism.
My cat has decided it's cuddle time, so I'm having difficulty seeing the screen :)
It's amusing to me how many catholics become quakers (I mean, obviously more stay catholic) since in many ways they feel like polar opposites. Still, I think there's something about mysticism and the immanence of God that resonates the same (I went to Catholic school before Friends school as a kid)
11 comments:
***You are Ocean Blue***
"You're both warm and practical. You're very driven, but you're also very well rounded.
You tend to see both sides to every issue, and people consider you a natural diplomat."
I thought this was important too.
Hi Pam,
I don't see an email address for you, so I'm leaving this message here, although it doesn't apply to the blog entry.
Thanks for the note left at Quaker Ranter. I was actually afraid to write it. I have not been a Friend very long and do not feel that I can speak with any special insight the way those with more years of practice and study can.
I support the right of all Friends to practice Quakerism as they are given the Light to practice it. I have often refrained from replying to many posts that I have found upsetting and even denigrating, posts written in an authoritarian tone, posts accusing others of being lukewarm or in some other way not as good, not as fervent as the Early Quakers.
I'm also beginning to feel "snippy" at the term "Liberal", as it is becoming more and more a stereotype. I sense the term almost being used in a pejorative sense, and almost always used to express something that's missing or inferior--lack of belief in Christ, failure to adequately preach Christ, tepidness, "feel-good-ism"... I don't know what else.
I believe that each of us is a work in progress, like it or not. Each of us, as long as we use the Light we have so that more is given us, will continue to make greater progress still. It is futile to compare ourselves either with one another or with Early Friends.
The beauty of Quakerism is, I believe, the ethereal yet enduring bond formed by the Testimonies. Generation after generation of Friends write essays and pamphlets reinterpreting them for the times they live in. It is what we have, I believe, instead of a Magesterium with authority to declare what is orthodox and what is heresy.
The Testimonies are our common spiritual heritage, yet one that allows for great latitude of individual interpretation and practice.
The downside, of course, is that without a central authority that says, "You must preach/believe/practice this way or that way," the interpretations are bound to multiply exponentially, so that there is the question of ... so who are we? what are we?
Yet Quaker belief and practice endure ... as long as we are tender with one another and continue to discuss our interpretations and practices with respect.
--Barbara
I was indigo, too.
I messed around with those other tests while I was waiting for our World's Slowest Scanner here at work, and some of them were eerily accurate.
And Barbara, whoever you are, what a wonderful comment! I have nothing that I can add to it but it did me a lot of good to see it put so concisely into writing.
Barbara - Thanks! I was so nervous about that comment, I kept running over it in my head all night. I don't want to be mean, but I have felt really hurt by much of this "discourse" and apparently it was just time to vent a little bit!!!!
I'm going to try to put together a post about some of this soon.
Peace
Pam
PS- there should be a link to my email if you click on my profile. Otherwise, it is pamska at yahoo dot com
Oh, and on the test thing, they are terribly addicitve, but some of them are so stupid!!!
My european cities (I took it twice) are Dublin and Amsterdam - two places I haven't been but would love to visit.
My US city is Austin - another place I've never been, but heard good things about. Maybe I'll visit, in the winter
Ouch. That thread is a doozy, all right.
Amsterdam is way cool. I haven't been since I was 15 but I even thought it was cool then. Saw the van Gogh museum, Anne Frank House, Medieval torture museum, rode a canal boat, rode the tram (gotta love European mass transit!). We were only there on a flight layover and we still had a blast.
Austin is AWESOME. I would love to live there if I could afford it (expensive by Texas standards, although not so bad in general). Pretty area, less humid than Houston, lots of music, lots of stuff to do, good food, you name it. I love Austin.
Hey Pam,
I think you might have the "hide email" checked...at least I don't seem to see your email on your profile. But thanks for noting it in your comment.
I live in PA and I'm a member of Schuylkill Friends meeting. I just officially became a member in January, although I attended for a few years prior to that. I went through a few years of searching for a new religious path after I decided to finally break with Catholicism, which I had practiced all my life.
Have a great weekend, Pam ...Thee too, Hannah :-)
--Barbara
Well, welcome Barbara! I grew up in Philly, pretty close to the Schuylkill River. but I've never heard of Schuylkill Friends. (I went to Germantown Friends School, which was my introduction to Quakerism.
My cat has decided it's cuddle time, so I'm having difficulty seeing the screen :)
It's amusing to me how many catholics become quakers (I mean, obviously more stay catholic) since in many ways they feel like polar opposites. Still, I think there's something about mysticism and the immanence of God that resonates the same (I went to Catholic school before Friends school as a kid)
peace
Pam
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