SusanAnn wrote:Bill Rushby wrote:Actually, I seem to have one leg in the Quaker world and the other in the Mennonite/Brethren world. I would not for even one minute claim that the Quaker take on Christian faith and witness is flawless. In fact, my impression is that it has gone downhill.
Yet, as one "cradle" Conservative Friend-turned-Mennonite says, "I can't get Quakerism out of my system!" So, here I am, near the end of my life, still stuck in between!!!!
Thank you for writing this - that's pretty much where I am, I have spent some time worshipping with the Baptist churches in my city but I just can't get Quakerism out of my system either. I
When our granddaughter was born, i was answering questions from her mother. At one point, i could see her questioning .. i assured her, “i’m not making this up!”
This made me wonder, “Where did i learn this?” - i realized, newborns are the same now as they ever were, no matter what era or culture, what socio-economic status, newborns’ needs are the same.
i learned from my mother and grandmothers ..
i began to wonder how far back these “lessons” went, passed from one generation to the next,
mostly oral, mother to daughter, grandmother to granddaughter, on and on, over (eons)?
i began to think of life and culture as a baton race, each generation carrying the baton (information) forward. i began to understand how my mother spoke of the U.S. Civil War as if she’d been there! - she was born in 1917. this puzzled me! her elders had been there. (before technology, when people still talked to one another.)
there were “things i noticed” growing up, questions, that had no tangible answers.
i did not know there were Quakers in my family’s history. but, in my parents, i noticed a distinct respect for Quakers, and Amish, too, very little in words. and some overlapping beliefs. not idealism, they did not convey messages of fantasies, not envy, but respect.
(i think) batons are passed, even unconsciously. sometimes, when consciously denied/rejected!
.. Vocatus atque non vocatus deus aderit ..
(i think) we are spiritual beings, more complex than we understand.
maybe one day, all these confusing+encouraging
flashes+fragments of Light we glimpse will make sense.
So, yes. i suspect Quakerism will stay with you.