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9 votes
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Indiana now has a religious right to abortion
28 votes -
How the 18th-century gay bar survived and thrived in a deadly environment
13 votes -
Personal reflections on Quaker retreat, community, and worship
Friends believe in peace, kindness, simplicity, listening, non-violence, emotional understanding, activism, continuous learning and revelation, silence, togetherness, the inner light within all...
Friends believe in peace, kindness, simplicity, listening, non-violence, emotional understanding, activism, continuous learning and revelation, silence, togetherness, the inner light within all people, silent togetherness, friendship, love, respect for life. You may know Friends as Quakers. Some of your children may attend Friends schools. Friends gather at Meeting for Worship. Meeting (unprogrammed) is quiet and contemplative; individual; punctuated by the voice of spirit (you and I); an opportunity to be heard, and not be judged, and to hear, and to not judge; to connect. It is thoughtful, and beautiful, and somber, and joyous. And unlike anything else in my life.
I attend meeting in a very old house. It is beautiful and smells of ancient wood, with benches far beyond the years of the bricks around them. History runs deep in such spaces. Death, too: it is a burial ground many generations over, but these days we find it to be a garden both literally and otherwise. For a time, this place had dwindled (so I am told), but now it seems fresh and full of life. We come and we sit and we stand and we speak and we sing. The little ones do their best to keep still, but we know they're moved to run about, for that is the way of things. I don't mind. They are our future.
I was grateful to have been invited by Friends to a retreat out in the country. The residence was rustic and the setting was scenic, calm, and I had been there once for another purpose. I could tell that it was full of meaning. There was space to adventure. I did so. My cohort, which you might broadly call young adult, does not often have space to reveal ourselves. After so many years of repression, we instinctively put up barriers and we forget what it means to really laugh and feel. The goal of the retreat was to provide an open forum for emotional communion, especially getting in touch with who we were (have been), are, and will be. It was not prescriptive. As time passed, our leaders invited two elders to share in and expand our thought with teachings, music, video, movement, objects. Some examples of tone:
- "Welcome."
- "Friend speaks my mind."
- "That of the spirit is within you and I."
- "You were once very small; smaller than this seed."
- "Spirit moves me to vocal ministry."
- "You are among Friends."
- "What do you think?"
- "We love you."
A few specific words stand out to me from the retreat: "BREATHE" "DELIGHT" "LISTEN" "MUSIC" "VISION" "SMALL" "GROW" "THANK YOU" "HELPING" "FRIEND" "FRIENDS" "WORSHIP" "MUSTARD" "LAUGHTER" "JOY" "COMMUNITY" "REVEALING" "HEART" "SING" "SPACE" "CLEAN" "LIGHT" "STARS" "PEACEFUL" "PASTORAL" "WOODPECKER" "SUPPORT" "GREEN" "IDYLLIC" "DOG" "SOCIAL" "WHOLE" "MELANCHOLY" "INTIMATE" "CRY" "HOLD" "BELIEVE" "SEE" "RENEW" "SHARE" "APPRECIATE."
It is not very often that you meet a group of strangers and in just a few days leave each other with such bright smiles and quite a few hugs. And it is quite a bit rarer for those hugs to be deep, meaningful embraces. To be realistic, you can only get to know fifteen people so well in a weekend, but the grace in which these Friends held each other eased my reservations more than I expected. I am learning to see the light within other people (and within myself) more clearly. I find this highly instructive as well as reassuring.
There's talk in our society about the absence of community, especially for young people. Economy, government, technology, culture itself seem to disconnect us. Children are pushed too hard and yet they are left behind. I had opportunity in retreat to think about what it means to be a child and what it means to be an adult. I think everyone in our group had a different and personal takeaway on that matter. I also had opportunity to spend time with people who I would verily call role models. They were (are) kind and considerate and it was a gift to be with them, and to be called Friend (and friend).
I take great comfort in knowing that I have a path of forward support here. I can see myself continue to nurture my emotional maturity among this community, something I think I've neglected until relatively recently. I am grateful that this is not the final time I will see my new friends. We have our entire lives to live. It can be together. Suddenly, I start to see a fullness in the world that I was missing before.
That's what I wanted to share. Forgive my esoteric sentences: it's challenging to express the feeling of emotional/internal dialogue in conventional language. I'm more than happy to expand on anything I wrote here. I also welcome your reactions and your own experiences with faith of any kind.
37 votes -
Where will people commune in a godless America?
24 votes -
Indiana appeals court upholds injunction on abortion ban, citing religious liberty
17 votes -
‘God has a new Africa’: undercover in a US-led anti-LGBT ‘hate movement’
17 votes -
The rise and fall of the trad wife: Alena Kate Pettitt helped lead an online movement promoting domesticity. Now she says, “It’s become its own monster.”
39 votes -
France plans mobile school force after headteacher resigns over death threats
21 votes -
Oslo community club KFUM will make their Eliteserien debut next week after an incredible rise through the Norwegian divisions
5 votes -
Dune, Islam and religion
13 votes -
"The One Who Is". Who on Tildes recently called God by this name?
I was recently on a topic and a commenter referred to God this way. I can't seem to find it now. If it was you, or you know anything about this, I'm curious why that phrase? What does it mean? Is...
I was recently on a topic and a commenter referred to God this way. I can't seem to find it now. If it was you, or you know anything about this, I'm curious why that phrase? What does it mean? Is it associated with a particular tradition?
Also, is there a way to search for specific text on Tildes?
22 votes -
Israel’s ultra-Orthodox don’t serve in its armed forces. That’s getting harder than ever to justify and threatens Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition.
39 votes -
Ancient Beat - the newsletter of ancient history - celebrates its 100th Issue
6 votes -
How American evangelicals use digital surveillance to target the unconverted
35 votes -
India moves to implement controversial citizenship bill that excludes Muslims
28 votes -
Norway terrorism trial for LGBTQ bar shooting begins – man accused of killing two people, and seriously injuring nine others, at an Oslo nightclub in 2022
9 votes -
Revealed: US conservative thinktank’s links to extremist fraternal order, Claremont Institute officials closely involved with Society for American Civic Renewal
21 votes -
After George Galloway’s triumph in Rochdale, urgent questions loom for Keir Starmer – and the left, too
14 votes -
Tell me about your weird religious beliefs
Let's hear about religious and spiritual (maybe philosophical?) beliefs not considered "mainstream" in the modern West. The percentage of people who identify as "spiritual", "other", or "none" is...
Let's hear about religious and spiritual (maybe philosophical?) beliefs not considered "mainstream" in the modern West.
The percentage of people who identify as "spiritual", "other", or "none" is rising at the expense of larger "organized" religions.
Disclaimer: it's hard if not impossible to draw hard lines around what is considered a "religion" verses a philosophy, culture, or mere ritual or traditional practice. If you aren't sure if what you believe fits the prompt, err on the side of sharing.
Things that probably fit the prompt:
- Minority religions
- Native beliefs/cultures
- Highly syncretic beliefs
- Non-western religions or beliefs
- "Pagan" beliefs
- Esoteric or occult beliefs or practices
Things that might not fit the prompt
- Mainstream Christian beliefs or traditions
- Naturalism or a lack of belief in any particular religious or spiritual tradition
I don't exclude these two categories because they aren't important, but because they are incredibly important, and most of what we think about religious or spiritual beliefs exist in frameworks created by the above two groups. I want to use this opportunity to learn about others, and I feel that I already know a good bit more about atheism and mainstream Christian theism than most other perspectives.
This is a sensitive subject that is tied deeply to people's sense of meaning; please treat your fellow commentor's beliefs, cultures, and values with respect. Thank you in advance for your input and perspective.
56 votes -
Modern Viking music: Tragedy of a misunderstood art
8 votes -
What is India's "uniform civil code" and why does it anger Muslims?
17 votes -
California's push for mandatory ethnic studies classes runs into the Israel-Palestine conflict in designing a curriculum
22 votes -
Christian Super Bowl commercial outrages US conservatives
39 votes -
Swiss police probe hotel ski rental ban for Jewish guests
14 votes -
Mennonites are pious Christians who eschew much of the modern world. But in Mexico even they have not escaped the pull of the drug cartels.
24 votes -
How Iceland takes better care of its foreign criminal offenders than the rest of Europe
9 votes -
Recruited to play sports, and win a culture war
4 votes -
More Americans are nonreligious. Who are they and what do they believe?
39 votes -
God and the unreasonable effectiveness of mathematics
26 votes -
Ohio pastor charged for housing the homeless
45 votes -
The three-decade saga that led to the Crown Heights tunnels
13 votes -
Citing safety, dozens of Jewish families are leaving Oakland public schools
37 votes -
A secret tunnel in a NYC synagogue leads to a brawl between police and worshippers
50 votes -
Queen Margrethe II is the first Danish monarch to abdicate in 900 years – but it is just a sign of the times
17 votes -
Impact: FTC stops data broker X-Mode selling sensitive location data
16 votes -
Some German Jews say their country goes too far defending Israel – and they find themselves attacked for antisemitism
46 votes -
The Vikings and the Muslim scholar
11 votes -
Blasphemy laws have returned to Denmark – even fanatical Quran-burners must remain free
28 votes -
Danish parliament has voted to ban the burning of religious scriptures after a series of Qur’an desecrations in the country and neighbouring Sweden
26 votes -
Recordings show how the Mormon church protects itself from child sex abuse claims
25 votes -
No Fap: A cultural history of anti-masturbation
34 votes -
US thwarts plot to kill Sikh separatist, issues warning to India
28 votes -
Employees can be banned from wearing headscarves, top EU court rules
28 votes -
Diplomas for sale: $465, no classes required. Inside one of Louisiana’s unapproved schools.
27 votes -
Review: The Verge, by Patrick Wyman
7 votes -
The New Jersey Hindu temple covered with 10,000 sculptures, marble elephants, ample parking, and a federal investigation into how it all got built
12 votes -
The history of Father Ted
8 votes -
Iranian-born Norwegian man is charged over deadly Oslo Pride attack in 2022 – four other suspects are linked to the shooting but have not been charged
10 votes -
Transgender people can be baptized Catholic, serve as godparents, Vatican says
59 votes