As fear rises at developments in our world, this seems like a good time to remind ourselves of Hanlon’s razor: Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by ignorance. Love is the only power that can transform this world into what we long for it to be.
Category: Community
The Ancestors
I got a late start as I walked out onto the Dungeness Spit, so rather than try for the 9 mile hike to the lighthouse and back, I wandered slowly, looking mostly at the water, remembering my recent insight that the oceans don’t separate me in the Pacific Northwest from my family in Northern Europe […]
A Milestone Interfaith Event
On Tuesday, October 26th we held a dedication of the Reflection Room at Swedish/Edmonds, where I work as hospital chaplain. It has been a two-year process to get the room built, decorated and dedicated as “A place to worship, reflect, meditate, pray, seek, or just be.” I could write page after page about everything that’s in […]
State Accountable to Church?
A few years ago I was back in Norway at a national conference on separating state and church – Norway’s constitution declares the Lutheran faith to be the state’s religion. I entered the conference hall very clear in my own Quaker mind that the ties between state and church had to be severed. The conference hall was filled with representatives of […]
As Sweet As Honey
(Quaker-specific musings are now on my new blog.) In the book of Ezekiel, God instructs the prophet to tell the rebellious Israelites to behave themselves. I like the part where God reassures Ezekiel that he is only responsible for speaking God’s words, but not for making the tribe hear them. As preparation for prophesying, Ezekiel is told to […]
Lowering Barriers to Worship: Culture
The poll I recently did on class and faith, as well as what I’ve learned from similar conversations elsewhere (links) pointed out culture (not theology or practices) as the primary barrier for someone with fewer privileges. I expect to write 4-5 blogs on various aspects, and will start with social interactions, then address practices, and end with thoughts about theology/faith/beliefs […]
Fighting Against, Standing With, or Building Bridges?
I promised earlier that I would talk about steps we can take towards making our faith communities more welcoming of people who don’t fit the majority profile, whatever that may be in a particular community (I was talking specifically about liberal Quakers and class when I said that, but now I want to broaden it out a […]
Poll on Class and Faith
The ongoing conversation on class/education and faith in the Quaker blogosphere makes me curious about WHY something like 9 out of 10 liberal Quakers have college degrees when only roughly 1 in four Americans in general has a college degree (I’m basing this on information from Jeanne’s blog). Can you help me out by letting me know what […]
Class and Faith
An important discussion is taking place in Quaker blogs these days regarding whether (liberal) Quakerism has become elitist, making it hard for people from a working class or poor background to feel included. Unfortunately I think this conversation has applications in many other denominations, too. http://www.quakerquaker.org has links to these posts, many of which are truly thought-provoking and prophetic. They are speaking […]
Two T. Rexes and a Blankie
Here is a story about community: One day a couple of years ago, I was in a bad mood because my daughters had left toys and stuff all over the house, once again. I even found their toys and stuff in the bathroom, and I was starting to get very angry. As I bent down to pick up the toys by the […]
Susanne Kromberg's Musings 