tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10737238.post112007131999597693..comments2024-03-22T03:10:08.766-05:00Comments on The Good Raised Up: Some last minute readingUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10737238.post-1121142451814899912005-07-11T23:27:00.000-05:002005-07-11T23:27:00.000-05:00Welcome back, dear Liz.Sleep well and write soon.P...Welcome back, dear Liz.<BR/><BR/>Sleep well and write soon.<BR/><BR/>Peace,<BR/>RobinAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10737238.post-1121138311891691102005-07-11T22:18:00.000-05:002005-07-11T22:18:00.000-05:00First off, the above comment was deleted because i...First off, the above comment was deleted because it was an ad. <BR/><BR/>Second, thanks for the encouragement for me to post, now that I'm back home. It's going to take me a while, since I am still tired and integrating the week at Gathering. <BR/><BR/>But for now, I'll post some facts:<BR/><BR/>• There were about 1,600 Friends from Canada, the U.S., Rwanda, and a few other countries.<BR/><BR/>• Highlights for me included the high-school sponsored Meeting for Worship, the plenary provided by John Shelby Spong, and the intergenerational interest group I attended.<BR/><BR/>• There was an important public witness made, called "Let Love Choose," about marriage equality. It could have been better attended, but FGC leadership and an ad hoc committee from Friends for LGBTQ Concerns busted their butts to pull it off!<BR/><BR/>• Weather was mostly delightful, with low humidity and temperatures in the mid-80s. I don't think we saw a day over 90, except the first day. And we had one wicked day of rain, when tropical storm Cindy made its way across the state.<BR/><BR/>• There is on-going discussion, at least among a few small groups or between individuals, about the place of the "Quaker sweatlodge workshop" at the Gathering. <BR/><BR/>• The 2006 Gathering is planned to be in Tacoma, Washington and will be curtailed by one day, to ensure there is enough travel time for Friends from the east coast to make the trip (think Philadelphia, New England, and Baltimore Yearly Meetings). Unfortunately, the registration will be closed at 1,200—400 fewer Friends than were here this year. It is a grand experiment to hold a Gathering so far west, but I think Friends from Canada and the west cost of the U.S. will help sell out the '06 Gathering in no time! The theme is "Swimming in Living Waters." <BR/><BR/>• I had brief and very brief opportunities to talk with fellow Quaker bloggers <A HREF="http://a_musing.blogspot.com" REL="nofollow">Peterson</A>, <A HREF="http://quakerspeak.blogspot.com" REL="nofollow">Claire</A>, and <A HREF="http://www.nonviolence.org/martink" REL="nofollow">Martin</A>. Very cool.<BR/><BR/>More later, as Way opens. But first, I'm still catching up on my sleep!<BR/><BR/>Blessings,<BR/>LizLiz Opphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09802348848085930901noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10737238.post-1121105298928967772005-07-11T13:08:00.000-05:002005-07-11T13:08:00.000-05:00Robin, I love your comment so much. I have sat bes...Robin, I love your comment so much. I have sat beside such Friends, the ones who are so strongly aware of the presence of God I may be too cluttered to notice. In fact I have felt a "wave of gathering" travel down a meeting bench once when there were several Friends like that surrounding me. <BR/><BR/>I know this idea is going to stay with me until I have children some day. Thank you.<BR/><BR/>Being reminded of this effect makes me remember my responsibility to those I am worshiping with. If I am distracted and unhappy and just waiting out the time, I usually think "Well, I'm the only one affected". Of course, that's not true.<BR/><BR/>Love,<BR/>AmandaAmandahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04944788955150864371noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10737238.post-1121104177504137232005-07-11T12:49:00.000-05:002005-07-11T12:49:00.000-05:00Hope you made it home safely. I look forward to re...Hope you made it home safely. I look forward to reading your posts about FGC (no pressure).Peterson Toscanohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18189029949905668568noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10737238.post-1121026197477384572005-07-10T15:09:00.000-05:002005-07-10T15:09:00.000-05:00Hi Liz,Welcome back! For those of us who couldn't...Hi Liz,<BR/><BR/>Welcome back! For those of us who couldn't attend FGC, we're anxiously waiting to hear how it went. I hope it was a challenging and uplifting experience. I keep checking the usual suspects, and have only heard from <A HREF="http://quakerspeak.blogspot.com/2005/07/post-gathering-self-check-in.html" REL="nofollow">Claire</A> at Spiritual Journeys as to how things went. Rest up. - RobRobhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02121082135356221967noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10737238.post-1120109749675892402005-06-30T00:35:00.000-05:002005-06-30T00:35:00.000-05:00Okay, here's another one: several months ago in me...Okay, here's another one: <BR/><BR/>several months ago in meeting for worship, I had my three year old son in my lap, my six year old next to me. Both squirming and distracting me and probably everybody else around us, neither one wanting to be any farther away from me. <BR/><BR/>I was remembering that when my older boy was born about 8 weeks early, the doctors said that in fact the best thing we could do for our baby was called kangaroo care, to hold him skin to skin, and that his body would learn to regulate his temperature from our warmth, his breathing from having us breathe on him, his heart beating from feeling the rhythmn in our chests.<BR/><BR/>I wondered if the best way to teach (my) children about meeting for worship was to have them so close that they could feel the love of God radiating out from (me). <BR/><BR/>Have you ever sat next to someone in meeting for worship who helps you center down just by the strength of their own worship? <BR/><BR/>Am I faithful enough to the promptings of the Spirit in meeting for worship that I am able to help my children? <BR/><BR/>Can I learn to be that kind of person in time to help my own children? <BR/><BR/>How perfect does my practice have to be?<BR/><BR/>Who else will help my/our children to feel the power of meeting for worship?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com