One of my favorite Quaker practices is during Meeting for Worship when we allow time for people to share particular situations or people that they want the Meeting to "hold in the Light." At Brooklyn Meeting, this happens at the end of Meeting for Worship, when the person sitting "head of Meeting" welcomes anyone to…
Category: The Spirit
Thomas Kelly on the spiritual discipline of saying “No”
This passage from the Quaker mystic Thomas Kelly's book A Testimony of Devotion really speaks to my condition: "The concern-oriented life is ordered and organized from within. And we learn to say No as well as Yes by attending to the guidance of an inner responsibility. Quaker simplicity needs to be expressed not merely in…
Tai Chi in Cuyler Gore park in Fort Greene (video)
I overslept and missed Quaker Meeting this morning. So I decided instead to do some tai chi chuan in Cuyler Gore park across from my apartment in Fort Greene. It was a brisk but sunny Fall morning, with the breeze whipping around the orange and yellow leaves. Lovely conditions for some tai chi. Here’s a…
Listen, Pray, Dance, Love
Today’s Meeting for Worship at Brooklyn Quaker Meeting felt so electric and powerful to me. There was a palpable energy in the room that had a dozen people leaping up and sharing vocal ministry that moved me greatly. I’m generally not one who likes a whole lot of vocal ministry, preferring a mostly silent Meeting…
“…. and scene”: wrap-up of World of Peacecraft hoax
And now a little wrap-up after the silly Quaker MMORPG hoax I perpetuated over the couple of days. For those I fooled and are miffed about it, my apologies. It was only meant in good fun, I assure you. My intent was simply to riff on the announcement earlier this week of a new virtual…
Game Trailer for “World of PeaceCraft” Quaker MMORPG
I got in my in-box this link to a game trailer for “World of PeaceCraft,” the new Quaker-themed MMORPG coming out this December. Check out those graphics! They must have used some sophisticated mo-cap and lip sync to get Harrison Ford to look so lifelike. Sweet! (Yes, I’m a bad, bad person. Luckily Quakers don’t…
More on “Quaker Life: World of PeaceCraft” gameplay
Lots more attention than I expect from yesterday’s post about “Quaker Life: World of PeaceCraft” the new Quaker-themed MMORPG. I got a follow-up email from the WoP CEO of Thaddeus Thomas, who frankly wasn’t too thrilled that I leaked the news prior to their press conference next week. Urgg, sorry about that. Anyway, Mr. Thomas…
Quakers to launch MMORPG “World of PeaceCraft”
Since I have contacts with a number of Quaker institutions, I got this advance notice from the Quaker United Service (QUS) that I thought sounded pretty cool and relevant to this blog. The Religious Society of Friends — better known as the Quakers — will be launching this December a new online roleplaying game “The…
What Quakers can learn from hip-hop
Today in Meeting for Worship at Brooklyn Quaker Meeting, my mind was spinning on the subject of hip-hop. Although the Meeting was just about over, I couldn’t help but stand up and share this: This morning I can’t stop thinking about hip-hop. As a form of expression, hip-hop, at its best, challenges the powers that…
Back when I was an evangelical Christian…
During my undergrad years at UCLA in late 80s, I was extremely active in an evangelical Christian worship group called the University Christian Fellowship, or UCF for short. It was a tightknit bunch of 30 or so folks from various denominations and backgrounds who gathered a couple of times a week for worship-sharing (singing), bible…