tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32734763.post4936249863402654946..comments2023-03-20T05:46:29.855-04:00Comments on Chronicler's Minutiae: Some Guidelines for New TestimoniesChroniclerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09975664843098264401noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32734763.post-77007678750195649462009-09-29T10:00:56.358-04:002009-09-29T10:00:56.358-04:00It's worth pointing out that one very importan...It's worth pointing out that one very important aspect of the Queries evaluation doesn't have to do with changing testimonies, but with providing guidance to Friends in areas that the Queries don't currently address.<br /><br />My monthly meeting has unwed members raising children. How do we maintain an appropriate relationship, and what is it to be?<br /><br />What do we do about homosexual members and homosexuals who have been led to us by God? The current situation is not addressed by the Queries and we have no corporate guidance in that respect.<br /><br />Some full members are on active duty in the military, being trained to kill people. Do we need a different witness towards war than the one we maintain now?<br /><br />Most members of Ohio Yearly Meeting are non-residents, and do not attend meetings regularly. We have no queries that ask us how we are doing with them.<br /><br />We have no queries that deal with people that want to set up new meetings .<br /><br />And so on.<br /><br />We're not talking about letting in the world here, we're talking about opening our eyes and asking questions of ourselves that we need to answer in order to be guided in issues that didn't exist or didn't matter in 1958.<br /><br />Alohakevin robertshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07336902422644197456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32734763.post-25077140047074557552008-11-28T19:29:00.000-05:002008-11-28T19:29:00.000-05:00Frederick - Thank thee for the post. A close frien...Frederick - Thank thee for the post. A close friend of mine in Philadelphia Yearly Meeting is a member of the Grange. She says that the historic testimony against secret societies did not include a ban on joining the Grange. I haven't investigated the point because it doesn't matter to me. This is an example of a testimony that has not been discussed too much of late.Chroniclerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09975664843098264401noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32734763.post-45956377520309052302008-11-26T15:55:00.000-05:002008-11-26T15:55:00.000-05:00Thank you for your thought-provoking post. I noti...Thank you for your thought-provoking post. I noticed an arresting parallel between Ohio Yearly Meeting's deliberations and New England YM's. My copy of the New England Friend (our YM newsletter) arrived today, and contained an update about NEYM's process for revision of our Faith and Practice. Jan Hoffman writes: "When we distributed a questionnaire in 2002 asking Friends what they would like to see in the revision, a very frequent response was that we print a definitive list and description of “the testimonies.” We were clear we could not do so. [She quotes John Punshon to explain why.] ...This led to our clarity to create a chapter on the spiritual source of testimony itself. ... Another piece of our deepening understanding of testimonies occurred during this past year when we began working on General Advices and Queries. We have come to see that testimonies, queries and advices are closely linked. When we experience the power of a new truth, it brings with it a desire to live in obedience to our Inward Guide as a testimony to that truth. Advices and queries are tools for discovering how to do this."<BR/><BR/>Sorry to quote at length, but I thought it was exciting to see the Holy Spirit guiding our meeting towards the same place yours is.<BR/><BR/>I also had a bit of fun with the subtitle of your blog. I know that New England YM is hardly Conservative nowadays, but we were the home of John Wilbur, after all, and a slender group carried that tradition up to our reunification. Some Friends don't like to mention those divisions because of the strife they had in them, but I think that, from a "convergant" point of view, using our history can be very helpful. So I'm glad to see you using the name prominently.Frederickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12817627491361603340noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32734763.post-13749359924513794572008-11-25T11:00:00.000-05:002008-11-25T11:00:00.000-05:00Thank thee for thy post. It's helpful for me to th...Thank thee for thy post. It's helpful for me to think of testimonies as thee has described them: as a sustained leading of the body, not just of individuals.<BR/><BR/>Micah <BR/>http://valiantforthetruth.blogspot.com<BR/>http://lambswar.blogspot.comMicah Baleshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06849915973708989620noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32734763.post-90017759055342111832008-11-22T15:24:00.000-05:002008-11-22T15:24:00.000-05:00Perhaps it would be helpful to add a fifth questio...Perhaps it would be helpful to add a fifth question: Is it Christ asking us to change our behavior in this way, and not just a spirit of the world?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com