tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8428685.post114007333157226986..comments2023-09-19T07:50:13.308-07:00Comments on Feminary: I'm a big chickenStasihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10864458542635159512noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8428685.post-1140322373469135892006-02-18T20:12:00.000-08:002006-02-18T20:12:00.000-08:00You don't necessarily need to go anywhere to help ...You don't necessarily need to <I>go</I> anywhere to help people. The unfortunate truth is that there are problems everywhere. Volunteering at the local rape crisis center is just as useful as doing the same thing in Africa.saraeandersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12119958547959999754noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8428685.post-1140196764681761212006-02-17T09:19:00.000-08:002006-02-17T09:19:00.000-08:00a friend pointed me to your blog--in part b/c he t...a friend pointed me to your blog--in part b/c he thought i'd like your feminist in a conservative evangelical seminary bit, but mostly because of this recent post. I just returned from 2 months of living in Palestine. I was based in East Jerusalem, but spent a lot of time traveling around the West Bank. and i think you should go. yes, hebron is intense right now. especially with the evacuations. but hebron is also at a historically critical point, and it would be amazing to be part of the inertia seeking a just resolution. if youre leaning away from hebron, i could hook you up with different orgs throughout the west bank (i.e. a children's theater group in bethlehem, palestinian feminist groups in east jerusalem, women's economic empowerment org in ramallah, a film collective in nablus, the world council of churches has a program throughout the west bank.)and i know someone who is moving to hebron--with the world council of churches program--sometime in march. i'd be happy to talk with you more by email or phone or whatever... and you can check out my blog and see if youre even interested in my perspective on the situation or in any orgs i could point you to... <BR/><BR/>until then, best of luck in sorting through all of these desires and fears and passions of yours.Jessicahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15394110828496723067noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8428685.post-1140192068883263202006-02-17T08:01:00.000-08:002006-02-17T08:01:00.000-08:00She certainly did.I'm going to seek out a way to d...She certainly did.<BR/><BR/>I'm going to seek out a way to do some retreat...maybe over spring break.Stasihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10864458542635159512noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8428685.post-1140144342207566142006-02-16T18:45:00.000-08:002006-02-16T18:45:00.000-08:00"Have I failed you?"Nope. I've enjoyed reading thi..."Have I failed you?"<BR/><BR/>Nope. I've enjoyed reading this blog, and I think your posts are full of meaning and insight. They carry some benefit to me, anyway, since I've yet to get back into going to church again. So...whatever you decide to do, please keep writing.<BR/><BR/>Oh, and the commenter before me had some pretty good things to say, too.<BR/><BR/>--EvanAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8428685.post-1140088158032855642006-02-16T03:09:00.000-08:002006-02-16T03:09:00.000-08:00Hi Feminarian,Wishing you well in your discernment...Hi Feminarian,<BR/><BR/>Wishing you well in your discernment. I have several thoughts here, no idea if any of them will seem relevant. But if we were chatting over a cup of tea (yes, I am English) I’d probably ask about some of this. Sorry it’s a bit long!<BR/><BR/>To live faithfully is not doing nothing. Living Christ’s life where we are, in the stuff we do every day is a profound contribution to the world’s health. And you know that – you talk about “being where you are”. From the Quaker cultural perspective, God will tell us where God wants us to go. Traditionally, the Quaker path has involved surrendering to God’s will and waiting in an awareness of God’s presence for God’s own spirit to move us. Which is a kind of faithful doing nothing, but which we believe will put us where we are meant to be. <BR/><BR/>This summer at a World Gathering of young adult Quakers I had a really strong knowing of what I am meant to be doing. I understood in that moment that my “job” is to live a prayer of love in my everyday life. I’m not great at it, I’m trying to learn how, but it answered that nagging feeling that I might be meant to be somewhere else, doing something else. No, I’m meant to be here, doing very ordinary life things with love. No grand gestures. My point is, not all of us are called to go anywhere and a call to stay at home is no less genuine.<BR/><BR/>Have you considered going on retreat to do this discernment? Could you spare 24 hours or even longer, to just be with God and wait to know God’s will? You could fast or do some other practice, maybe. Is there someone, a pastor or a spiritual friend whose knowledge of God you respect, who could help you plan a retreat, or who would be willing to meet with you & pray with you to know what you are meant to be doing? <BR/><BR/>I guess I am expressing a view which is about surrendering your own will in this, and waiting on God to tell you. I believe that faith is a very active force – we have to use it, like a muscle, in order to understand God. If we are willing to depend upon God in prayer, to put ourselves in God’s hand as Jesus did, *then* suddenly God speaks. The act of faith is to put aside our own willing, be prepared to walk away from everything including what we have rashly told our friends we are going to do, and I think nine times out of ten God turns us round and sends us right back into our everyday life, saying “this is the cup I give you”. And I understand that humility in God’s grace makes it possible to do whatever is set there, even if it’s not prestigious or dramatic. <BR/><BR/>It's true that the world is big and needy, but no less where you are than anywhere else. If there’s a radical outbreak of God’s peace in California (that’s where you are?), where the spiritual thirst can be slaked and people are being truly set free to live Love's life by the sheer amount of God's grace that's pouring in, it will help everyone on earth. And I have a belief that listening and praying and allowing yourself to be transformed by the knowledge of what you have heard is a vital part of God’s work of bringing peace. Maybe the people who you meet from the exciting projects around the world are bringing you what you or others where you are need to learn from those far away places? Listeners are needed, people who stay where they are and pass the messages out into the home communities, as well as those who go out and learn in other places. <BR/><BR/>Like I say, it’s just one more view for your considerations. God bless!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com