Public Quaker on 'Spiritual Formation'

Alice from Public Quaker asks what are the five things most important to Quaker spiritual formation. I'm totally uncomfortable prescribing five things that others must follow, but I have a list that I'd say are important in the Quaker ethos (as I understand it).

Alice suggests 'doing-things' that people should try which I find a little strange. It strikes me as being akin to saying that you should eat fish on Fridays, where I expect that things that would be important to Quaker spiritual development are more attitude-oriented than action oriented. Here are my suggestions:

We're Free to be Quakers, not Quakers, at meeting, away from meeting and to follow our consciences in the situations we find ourselves as we best can. And your conscience may

The structure and organisation of the worldwide network of Quaker meetings is Simple. And without formed ritual or funny handshakes, there's less to distract each person from seeking to listen, communicate and bear witness to the still small voice.

I'm glad the Advices & Queries are Not Prescriptive. How could they be, and yet leave us free to follow conscience?

Consequently, Quaker ethos is Enabling. The challenge remains to go forward and carry that ethos

It'd be worth nothing if it weren't Respectful. Were each of us simply free without prescription and enabled to do whatever we would like, we'd be forever fighting in some form or another. Respect ensures that people consider doing unto others as you would have them do for you.


The challenge to bear this ethos is one that I would highlight as important to spiritual formation. Although she doesn't say it, I doubt Alice overlooks these ideals.

Take care
love K3n.

Prejudice and Consideration

I've got to admit that I've been thinking less-than-charitable things recently. In the wake of last month's international fuss about cartoons published in Denmark which denigrate the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH), I've got to admit that my response to both sides was to call them stupid. The religious were held back from appreciating their fellow humans by stupid religiosity; the cartoonists and publishers across Europe being plain rude and inconsiderate with stupid claims about their own freedoms. Neither side seemed to be able to appreciate the other, and the comments I heard from many religious friends seemed to revolve around expectations that the moderate Muslims denounce extremism. All without denunciation of the racial and irreligious extremism that published the cartoons by these people (although that was heard from newscasters seeking not to enflame the situation).

What I was failing to do -- and what I suspect was failing to happen across the world -- was to consider the views of those I disagree with. I may not be a religious Muslim or a ring-wing cartoon satirist but their humanity requires me not to write off their experiences straight out. Admittedly, each faction can easily see justification for their view -- as I did when writing off the concerns of the Muslims or free-speech proponents -- but grace is needed to listen kindly and work together.

And it gets worse: I probably should have stood in meeting and shared this mea culpa with the congregated Friends. I didn't because it was our first visit and I haven't ministered vocally before. I've previously chosen not to say anything because I haven't yet felt settled, wise enough or that I had anything to say: out of respect for the experience, traditions and thoughts of other folks at meeting, I keep shushed. Maybe someday I will stand up and be counted.

Large silence

With apologies for the absence of fresh words here (and without apologies for the silence), I've found something that I think needs to be said.

For a while I had hoped to develop a series and structure of ideas to progress through and discuss with any of the internet's broad church of readers. But time escaped from me and I... I'll leave the excuses for now.

The thought that has been rolling through my head, one of the few that I keep coming back to, says this: "I am an ecosystem". I don't mean that in the sense that I'm a smelly hippy sort who doesn't shower enough, but that I'm part of something bigger and unavoidably involved wherever my feet hit the ground. Why's that relevant here? This is a blog in which I write stuff, which is loosely connected to other parts of the Internet. In this arena of that same ecosystem, it exists. I was away a long while, neglectful to the implied promises of the first two posts here. Sorry all.

I first met the word 'ecosystem' as a kid when the virtuous television urged my generation of children to try and protect the environment and natural habitat of all life on our planet. Perhaps it isn't fully appropriate here, but I wanted a word that points out the messy set of relationships and driving forces, objects, ideas and anything else in the mish-mash around K3ninho. Those last two words may be important as they point out a focus to a bunch of stuff. So technically, these articles are the focus of a whole bunch of stuff, and this is an ecosystem (albeit like the plants on the window-sill in my kitchen: struggling and more than a bit neglected). Part of the attraction of weblogs is the interaction, and that would be something I welcome here -- I hope I'm still willing to learn, and that people are still checking here for fresh words.

I suspect this idea of 'ecosystem' reflects a felt need to be a part of a community, to create a community and to to interact. I've been silent during every Quaker Meeting I've been to, mostly because I haven't felt led to say anything (and doubt I will -- but check back to see if we do say something about 'Meeting for Celebration of Marriage' vs. 'Meeting for Celebration of Commitment'). It may sounds reasonable to say the same for here, but that's just an excuse: sitting silently in a debate, or when the restaurant staff come to take your order, or when facing the love of your life, or wherever... won't do. More later...

More later...
Take care.
love K3n.

A Manifesto

Welcome. A new start. A new...something.

(I'm rubbish at P.R., so please excuse this momentary lack of focus and poor attempt at diversion with glamour and glitzy buzz-words.)

This is Quaker By Journey.
[A blog about having been something else and becoming something Quaker. We want this to be a record of how we meet with Quaker friends, Quaker tradition and Quaker customs.]

This is the manifesto, because we've got to start somewhere. There's going to be a need for some kind of direction and intention in this journal; it wil help us keep on topic.

We're going to talk about our experiences and how we understand things. That doesn't mean that we're right, or that we have the accepted view on things. It's an enormous weight off my mind to say that, despite the content of this blog, we're not orthodox or espousing one sole way to do things.

If you disagree, you know where the Comment button is. Tell us. Explain why. All that interactive stuff that goes on in Blogland is welcome here. I suspect we'll be wrong before too long and need some assistance...

Anthing else? Ask below...

define:"Quaker By Journey"

Why Quaker By Journey?

I wasn't satisfied with the text recommended to new attendees to Quaker meetings (Geoffrey Hubbard's Quaker by Convincement). While an interesting read, telling the author's story and introducing a lot of the traditions behind present Quaker practice, it didn't speak to my condition. I think that there are many people who have a similar condition(*) to me and who would value the explanation of the journey I'm on.

I grew up in a Christian family. My parents grew up going to church, from Protestant families and took us to church faithfully each week. As a teenager I took seriously the business of following this pattern of faith, becoming baptised at the Baptist Church we attended when I was fifteen. The provision of pastoral support for teenagers and young adults was excellent at the church and I grew into its habits. I played in the band and still really enjoy making music. When time came to leave for university, I travelled around a hundred miles, settled to my course and found a church to attend. Also I attended the Christian Union, and became heavily involved. I ended up holding the purse strings and with a responsibility for putting on large-scale events to publicise the CU and Christian Faith. The system of faith I held -- which centred on the reliability of the Bible to tell God's Story Of Jesus Christ -- simply needed people to appreciate the Book, or so I thought, and then they would become Christians.

I suspect the story can be characterised as burnout; perhaps it is outgrowing the system I found myself in. Either way round that last sentence should show that my system of faith had its limits. After about five years of reading the Bible religiously, praying regularly, listening to sermons in church, attending conferences and festivals and aligning my life with the accesories of a Proper Christian life, I felt that there wasn't enough to this culture to support its life-long adherence. I needed more input, more thinking creatively and a wider appreciation of the Cosmos in which we find ourselves. The personal characteristics of Jesus Christ (or those which I wish to follow) were highly important and remained highly important; the certainty that Jesus' Church was only my church friends disappeared.

I left my church congregation to give my head peace from its noise. I left to have a break and to re-assess the important parts of my faith practices. I left to escape the ghetto of Evangelical Christianised living. I left to show that the prodigal children aren't all outside the church. I left to follow the narrow path... Almost a year after stopping going to church, stopping praying and stopping the worship-songs-in-your-head that I had done, I made it to my local Friends Meeting House.

That was a breath of fresh air. Having intended to make a pilgrimage for a long time, arriving at Meeting, being greeted, taking a seat and participating in the silence, it was good to be there. Simply good.

Why Quaker By Journey? I maintain that my journey was heading in the direction of Quakerly ways before I even arrived. I am convinced that my intentions (to live sustainably; to trade fairly; to be honest and trustworthy; to speak out for those who cannot defend themselves; to make peace) were each intentions I had before making any Friends. I attend my local meeting because we (I and the meeting) are sympathetic to each others' aims.

I didn't one day realise that I was amenable to the tag "Quaker", but hope I am becoming such a person that I would one day be recognised as one.

Take care.
love Ken.

*: This is a only a technical term if you permit such things. It may have become embedded in Quaker wordings by tradition. I think that these contemporary alternatives should convey the same thing: worldview, perspective or practice of tradition.