I joined the Religious Society of Friends in Norway when I was 18, and for decades, “Quaker” was one of my strongest identifiers. Perhaps too strong, since it took ten years of struggle to acknowledge that I was no longer a Quaker. Even though my theology didn’t – and doesn’t – conceive of a way […]
Category: Faith
When Is The Exodus Complete?
This week’s common lectionary gospel text is Luke 9:28-36, known as The Transfiguration. In this passage, Jesus climbs a mountain with some of his disciples. Jesus goes alone up to the top of the mountain, and this is what Luke tells us happens next: “While [Jesus] was in prayer, the appearance of his face changed and […]
The Source of Honor
My girls have just been through a few weeks of karate training at their elementary school. As a Quaker and a pacifist, I wasn’t too thrilled about it, and I was especially un-thrilled when my girls came home requesting that we watch Karate Kid for our next family movie night. But I didn’t interfere with my […]
Thirst for God
I have just facilitated a retreat on transitions for a wonderful women’s group. One of the things I love about doing retreats is the atmosphere of longing for God that retreatants create. In this heavily scheduled day and age, a person who is willing to set aside a whole day for God is a person who is thirsty […]
Resurrection Stories
I have been presented with an opportunity where I can choose to act on something that is unfair. It would have been an easier decision if the unfairness had affected me, but the stakes are raised by this being an injustice against M, my nine year old daughter. It is much harder not to intervene when she is the one […]
Love and Sacrifice. Or Self-Donation?
“Five years or fifty, when people have sweated, suffered, and shed blood together, there can be no hesitation: If one calls, the other responds.” This is how Laurie R. King’s heroine in the mystery novel “Justice Hall” explains why she is going off to help a friend in distress when she is really to tired to stir. And […]
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 […]
Resurrection Faith Is Incomplete
This summer I spent some time with a group of evangelizers as they considered the hardships and persecution of former Muslims who had recently become Christian due to their mission efforts. These new Christians had been blocked from access to their village well, had been physically attacked, and were ostracized by their own families. The converts’ lives were in perpetual danger, and several of […]
Resurrection Faith
I can only be thankful for the vision I had of Jesus on the cross (described on 1/10/08) because after about a year of wrestling with its meaning, it become the core of my faith, my understanding of suffering, and my calling to be a spiritual companion with the marginalized. It was at times hard to talk […]
Crucifixion Faith Is Incomplete
The last three months of my blogging life have turned out to be an exploration of different facets of abundance. In November, I explored it from the individual perspective and concluded that a person’s ability to experience abundance doesn’t seem to have much to do with how much money or “stuff” we have at our disposal. In December, I looked at whether […]
Susanne Kromberg's Musings 