Better Late Than Never...

Now that everyone is past caring, I'm finally going to post about Friends General Conference Gathering (FGC).

Wonderful things about Gathering

• Getting there... by Greyhound. Not as romantic as the Peace Train, but not as late, either.
• 5 hours of Sacred Harp a day.

• Bible Half-Hour with Janet Ross. She explored the theme of water and spirit in the Bible and in the poetry of Rumi.
• Mary Rose O'Reilley's reading...and being in the same row with two other knitters.
• Visiting Tacoma, particularly the glass museum.
• A lovely gathering of friends to celebrate my birthday.
• Meeting Quaker bloggers.
• Friendly knitters everywhere.
• Evalyn Parry's hysterical Friendly version of the Macarena, the Quakeriana, and her poem, What Flavour Quaker, excerpted here:

“was that voice I thought I was hearing in worship
actually that of the Divine Maker?
Maybe not.
Maybe in worship I’ve been asleep, not awaker!
Is it possible that I’m just a big ol’ Faker Quaker?
Just a Birkenstock-wearing muck-raker?
A potluck dinner banana bread baker?
An oatmeal maker, an organic tomato staker?
A tie-dye booty-shaker?
Oh no….
could I be a FLAKER Quaker?A “God has asked me to say that I need a ride home
from meeting today!”ministry-maker?
A placator?
An agnostic, Jewish, Buddist Pagan Universalist Quaker?A bad decision-maker?
With no creed or
dogma, sometimes I do get stuck
in this never-ending, Quaker-questioning rut.
What about you, Friend? Are you a quality Quake? Does
alphabet-soup-committee membership a real Quaker make?What flavour best
describes your Quaker stripes?Or is it unquakerly anyway to divide Friends into
different Quaker types?
Do you put your faith into practice?Do you practice what you preach?
Is it a prerequisite to believe George Bush should be
impeached?...
Has the foundation of my
query been properly laid?
Is a Quaker born, or made?Best grown in sun, or
shade?If washed too often, will a Quaker fade?