Comments for 27 Wishes

Comment on A movable feast: Quakers in a mobile society by 27wishes

27wishes — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 14:11:39 +0000

Glad this is a relevant post to several folks–it’s been on my mind, but in need of some seasoning. I didn’t mention it in the post, but some might posit this as a generational gap, another “young Friends” issue, but I see it happening in many age levels for many reasons.

I know this also may be a challenging post, as it’s not the surface-y Quakerism that most people know about and one that exposes a concern many of us face in our Meetings internally. I’m glad folks are willing to share their experiences here for others to learn and grow.

Comment on A movable feast: Quakers in a mobile society by Chris Mohr

Chris Mohr — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 03:40:01 +0000

Really good and important queries, Chad. I hope our meeting addresses them….

Comment on A movable feast: Quakers in a mobile society by Mia

Mia — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 14:40:40 +0000

This is a useful post, and I find the queries very helpful. Currently, our meeting has quite a few mobile members, and we’ve done different things for different people, as the situation warranted–anchor committees for some, committee membership for others that revolves around their travel schedules, etc. But it is never easy, and we sometimes find ourselves getting tripped up in “the way it used to be,” when Friends could devote their entire Sunday to meeting business. Thank you for this.

Mia

Comment on A movable feast: Quakers in a mobile society by Martin Kelley

Martin Kelley — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 13:15:05 +0000

I get emails from this mobile set all the time, asking questions, seeking advice. I often don’t really know what to say. This morning my inbox has one from a woman in her late 20s who’s been attending the local meeting on and off since she was 12. Most of the members are twenty years older than her, they’re not very committed and the worship is spiritually lifeless. She’s spent some quality time at a Catholic Worker house and a Vineyard community and is now wondering whether to move to another city to start an intentional house of Friends.

Many meetings don’t know what to make of someone like this. Mobility is part of it but so is care and commitment and a culture of genuine interest in one another. I’m not sure what I’ll say to today’s correspondent…

Comment on I Am Legend: Christian movies in diguise? by Jonathan M

Jonathan M — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 05:30:02 +0000

There are two different senses of “Legend” addressed in the film. The alternate ending corresponds more to the sense contained in the original book, that he is a legend among the new society of creatures that is forming, not for something great, but because they fear him.

The chosen ending corresponds to a more typical sense of legend in a positive light; someone who does something great that will never be forgotten.

This ending also goes a long better with the Christian theme present in the movie, that has some very direct connections to Christ.

Early in the movie when he opens the fridge you see a Time magazine that has Neville’s picture and says “SAVIOR?” Also, when the movie takes place he’s been alone in New York for “1001 days” according to his video journal, or nearly three years, approximately the same amount of time as Christ’s ministry. You could say that he had been bearing the burden alone for three years of trying to find the cure for humanity’s sickness.

I loved this movie. Every time I watch it I notice something different that makes me think. The Christian theme is just one of many that makes the viewer introspective on the ideas presented and how they apply to his or her own life and beliefs. This is one of the few movies where I actually feel like the movie was much better than the book that it was very loosely based on.

Comment on Traveling summer by 27wishes

27wishes — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 01:30:29 +0000

Yeah–I wish! It’d be good to hang w/you for the schwag-fest!

Comment on Traveling summer by jenny

jenny — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 01:10:22 +0000

I am pretty sure I know the answer, but if you are coming to ALA, email me your info….

Comment on I Am Legend: Christian movies in diguise? by Mike M

Mike M — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 02:19:55 +0000

It was certainly a Christian-esque plot. The scene in which the family is praying on the chopper shows them saying “Dear Father”; clearly Christian and perhaps Jewish if you want to get technical but its not likely for Jews to use that terminology….BTW, muhhamad was definatley NOT ever reffered to as a son; there exists not such concept in Islam; any muslim will tell you that is utter blasphemy to suggest that god has any children in any way or context…trust me. Other than that, love this movie and it’s subtle or not-so-subtle implications.

Comment on Facebook and Twitter: Quaker 2.0 technologies by Chronicler

Chronicler — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 11:50:55 +0000

Very interesting.

As a note, the Downingtown page on plain speech has a few slight errors. Plain dress has never died out among Friends, and in fact there are probably more plain-dressed Friends in 2009 than at any time since 1950.

Second, the term ‘thou’ was in common use among Friends throughout the 19th century, as the journals attest. It was only in the late 19th century that ‘thou’ fell from common use among Friends.

Comment on Facebook and Twitter: Quaker 2.0 technologies by Robin Mohr

Robin Mohr — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 05:18:25 +0000

Yes, Chad, in a conference session today on “What Would Jesus Twitter?” the question came up what if you wouldn’t want your church life and your work life to overlap? I had several questions on those lines. Would the fact that your lives overlap make you more likely to act with integrity? Wouldn’t this be a good part of spiritual formation? My personal worry is what my work colleagues will think of my religious life. If I say Jesus, will they understand that I follow Jesus and not Pat Robertson?

I’m not worried that people have trivial parts of their lives that they’re willing to share, we all need rest and recreation, but are we engaged in healthy moderation in all things, including moderation, or we frittering all our time away?

Chris and I were talking this evening about the Society of the Spectacle. I think that some of what makes Twitter and Facebook addictive is the sense of micro-celebrity. Even the trivia of our lives is interesting to somebody. They also feed our need to always hear “You’ve Got Mail.”