Gay Marriage for British Quakers

One of the UK's oldest Christian denominations - the Quakers - looks set to extend marriage services to same-sex couples at their yearly meeting later. The society has already held religious blessings for same-sex couples who have had a civil partnership ceremony. But agreeing to perform gay marriages, which are currently not allowed under civil law, could bring the Quakers into conflict with the government. The issue of active homosexuality has bitterly divided Churches. But the BBC's religious affairs correspondent Robert Pigott said the Quakers had been more prepared than other groups to reinterpret the Bible in the light of contemporary life.

from the BBC

Apparently this BBC news clip was released before Britain Yearly meeting had come to any final conclusions - thus the tense of the article. However, a minute was agreed upon, and the result is that same-sex marriage will be performed in Quaker services. American Quakers are all over the place on this issue - I see us as clearly divided and I often wonder how we will resolve this without a major split. As I head to our own New England Yearly Meeting, I am thrilled with this news of Britain's decision. Hooray!

Radiant City

Something's happening on the edge of town. There's a desperate housewife in the parking lot, a musical chorus line mowing the lawn - and a loaded gun in the upstairs closet. Welcome to Radiant City, an entertaining and startling new film on 21st century suburbanites. Gary Burns, Canada's king of surreal comedy, joins journalist Jim Brown on an outing to the burbs. Venturing into territory both familiar and foreign, they turn the documentary genre inside out, crafting a vivid account of life in The Late Suburban Age. (from the Radiant City website)

Terrific real facts regarding suburbia and its pitfalls - and a hilarious storyline about a family living in the suburbs, ironic kids, a husband starring in a musical about suburbs ("it's kinda like screening Apocalypse Now" in Cambodia" he says), and a wife who despeartely wants to fit in and like her suburban lifestyle. Kind of a docu-comedy. Very entertaining and yet scary, with experts predicting the downfall of society as we continue to support unsustainable living.

Mr. Lincoln's Chair: The Shakers and Their Quest for Peace

by Anita Sanchez

"The Civil War struck America's Shaker communities with all the violence of a hurricane. Through the dramatic story of two worlds in collision, author Anita Sanchez gives illuminating insights into the nature of each. As she unfolds the story of the Shakers' quest to spur President Abraham Lincoln to grant them conscientious objector status, the reader realizes how critically important to our nation is the legacy of a people who are too often dismissed as merely being the makers of nice chairs. Vivid and beautifully written, this book is a wonderful introduction to the history, faith, culture, and heritage of the Shakers, who have been interacting with and quietly influencing the mainstream culture of the United States for over 230 years while most Americans were unaware it was even happening." --Darryl Thompson, Shaker historian and historical interpreter

Terrific book. I am a huge fan of the Shakers and their community and lifestyle. This book had lots of new information for me, and was well written and involved the "outside world" as well as that of the early and civil-war time Shakers.

If Grace is True: Why God Will Save Every Person

by Phillip Gulley and James Mulholland

Traditionally, many Christian denominations have held fast to the belief that those who confess God's saving grace from sin will be rewarded with eternal life while those who reject this grace will be damned to eternal perdition. Such a belief, according to ministers Gulley and Mulholland, fails miserably to acknowledge the real message of Christianity: that God's gracious arms are wide enough to hold every person, regardless of shortcomings or sins. The authors did not always feel this way, and their little meditation on Christian universalism is as much autobiographical confession as theological treatise. Using stories from their own lives and ministries, Gulley and Mulholland devote a chapter to each of the words in the sentence "why God will save every person." In a seamless voice, they tell of people's struggles to accept teachings of the church that keep them from closeness with God. They also recall events in their own lives where they stood in the way of God's grace operating in personal relationships. For example, when one of their ministerial friends declared his homosexuality, they realized that - despite their former judgmental stance on homosexuality - this person deserved God's love and grace as much as any other. Salvation, they argue, is simply being freed of every obstacle to intimacy with God. Gulley and Mulholland's stirring manifesto on the central role of universalism in Christianity will provoke traditionalists and encourage new ways of thinking about the nature and purpose of the Christian faith.

There's also some controversy around this book. I shall blog about that separately. This was, in my opinion, a terrific and tolerant look at Christianity and humans (in all their faulted ways) in a loving, all-encompassing way.

How God Changes Your Brain: Breakthrough Findings from a Leading Neuroscientist

by Andrew Newberg, Mark Waldman

Over the past decade or so, numerous studies have suggested that prayer and meditation can enhance physical health and healing from illness. In this stimulating and provocative book, two academics at the University of Pennsylvania's Center for Spirituality and the Mind contend that contemplating God actually reduces stress, which in turn prevents the deterioration of the brain's dendrites and increases neuroplasticity. The authors conclude that meditation and other spiritual practices permanently strengthen neural functioning in specific parts of the brain that aid in lowering anxiety and depression, enhancing social awareness and empathy, and improving cognitive functioning. The book's middle section draws on the authors' research on how people experience God and where in the brain that experience might be located. Finally, the authors offer exercises for enhancing physical, mental and spiritual health. Their suggestions are commonsensical and common to other kinds of health regimens: smile, stay intellectually active, consciously relax, yawn, meditate, exercise aerobically, dialogue with others and trust in your beliefs. Although the book's title is a bit misleading, since it is not God but spiritual practice that changes the brain, this forceful study could stir controversy among scientists and philosophers.

This was an interesting book to read, although slightly misleading. Rather than being a "religious" type book, it's more of an in depth study on how prayer and meditation and spiritual practice all affect the brain. Interesting perspectives and studies done on tolerance of other faiths, perspectives of God that differ and how that affects others, etc. A decent read.

Rest. Peace.

I'm contemplating more rest today. Listening to the gentle summer rain - my joints are really aching today, but I still appreciate the soothing sounds of the rain. Last eve I had planned to attend a community seminar, which might have bene interesting. Instead, I chose to sit in the stacks at the library, leaf through magazines, and rest. I was glad to have had the ability to make that choice - and surprised I made it that way!

Looking at the finances for the fall. I have the ability to embark on some new part-time jobs, but I'm wondering if time home with Maille, time home for rest, is the way I should be headed in the fall with new preschool for Maille, new job for me. Too many changes at once make me cranky.

Been listening to the music of Sufjan Stevens lately. Speaking to me rather cryptically as I go about my day. Vito's Ordination song is soothing and comforting....

Vito's Ordination Song :

I always knew you

in your mothers arms

i have called your name

i have an idea

placed in your mind

to be a better man

ive made a crown for you

put it in your room

and when the bride groom comes

there will be noise

there will be glad

and a perfect bed

and when you write a poem

i know the words

i know the sounds

before you write it down

only wear your clothes

i wear them too

i wear your shoes

and your jacket too

i always knew you

in your mothers arms

i have called you son

ive made amends

between father and son

or if you havent one

rest in my arms

sleep in my bed

there is a design

to what i did and said

Chopsticks for kids

Chopsticks! When we have taken trips to Asian restaurants of late, Maille, has loved using the chopsticks, even though they have been a little messy. I saw these on television once, and found them today at the MFA. Dishwasher safe, available on Amazon and other places - I may use them as party favors and attach them to kids' gifts in the future!