I am still at Gathering. I’ve not been posting much. Had a couple of nights with the baby that weren’t brilliant on the sleep front and that soon eats into my ability to talk clearly, think clearly, get around where I’m meant to be and to organize us, let alone writing something you might find interesting.
We had a couple of New Foundation meetings yesterday. The lunchtime one was jammed, and the digital recorder had to be moved cos the babies thought it was very interesting. The evening meeting on the theme of “connecting to christ, connecting to each other in christ” was good spiritual food, and there was some great ministry. I’m really looking forward to the bank holiday weekend at Woodbrooke, “Living the Sermon on the Mount”, hoping to get there. Meeting with folks here and having such a deeply moving meeting has really made me think about what I need from other Friends to help me follow Jesus. (The podcasts of the two meetings should be available soon from the New Foundation UK site.)
I am attempting to be a christian in the Quaker understanding of that, to follow Jesus’s teachings and example. I’m not great at it, I’ve just started really. I need help from community to do that. I’m not able to do it at all without God’s help; I have a real hunger to be with other folks who are also trying to be faithful the same way. I need other Quakers because I am trying to walk a specific path: listening to the inward teacher, studying scripture, praying, learning the ‘Quaker toolkit’ for living life in the living spiritual power. We christians need each other to recognise each other’s God-given spiritual gifts and to help each other to exercise them rightly to the glory of God. I want to invite everyone to God’s feast table as we’re instructed, but I also eed a place of fellowship – like when Jesus draws his disciples apart from the crowds – to be with those who are dedicated to this Way of Jesus, to check ourselves in the light we can show to each other, to check whether we are loving ourselves instead of Jesus.
If when I’m confessing my difficulty, folks recommend other stuff – a buddhist practice, a hindu prayer, a new age practice – then I’m not being helped to be faithful to my path, which is to relate to God through Jesus. I am open to new light on my path – my understanding of Jesus and how he shows us who God is is constantly evolving – but I am trying to be closed to distractions that take me off this path. Those of you who know my butterfly brain will understand that’s quite a discipline for a person like me. It helps me to live the Quaker path if Friends talk with me from the perspective of God present with us, the inward teacher, the scriptures that show u who God is, and pray with me.
We in Britain Yearly Meeting need your prayers, folks. The last business sesssions are today. Bless us with everything you have.