Carolina Quakers: Saturday Showdown at Pine Hill?

Carolina Quakers: Saturday Showdown at Pine Hill?

Is THIS something that might happen when the North Carolina YM Representative Body gathers this Saturday, June 6? Can you see it:

Pine Hill Friends is suddenly surrounded by hundreds of hostile armed men, insisting that same sex marriages be performed there before they will let anyone leave?

Well, NO.

Nothing like that will happen. But the photo above is of a  REAL group of armed men, many claiming to be “Christians,” who surrounded a mosque in Phoenix last week, shouting and wearing obscene, threatening anti-Muslim slogans. [Yes, I faked the voice balloon, to mess with your head. Talk about christian churches being “forced” to marry gays is phony propaganda baloney. But the guns and the hate shown above were very, very real.]

In Phoenix, the surrounded Muslims reacted calmly, inviting the armed “Christians” into the mosque for coffee, tea, and quiet, peaceable conversation about beliefs and practices.

Afterward, one of the organizers, who took up the Muslims’ offer, actually, um, repented of this act of “free speech.”

Or what about this: the NCYM Representative body attenders drive home from Pine Hill, turn on their TV news, and see:

Um, no, that will NOT happen either. The idea that the president has ordered the Army to take over “red” states under cover of a fake military exercise called “Jade Helm 15” is another paranoid fantasy which should have embarrassed even Tim La Haye, plus anybody who even kinda took it seriously.

On the other hand, here’s some things that definitely COULD happen at Pine Hill on Saturday:

The big item on the official agenda will be a report from the [Not-so] “New Committee,” which has been laboring for most of a year over proposals intended, basically, to either purge or entirely break up North Carolina Yearly Meeting after nearly 320 years.
Once that report is presented, here’s a picture of what could happen next:

[Truthfully, I’m not so sure about the “Keep Calm” part; but whatever. There’s been plenty of heresy-hunting at recent sessions.]

And here’s another meme that’s bounced around a lot, and might be back:

Let’s linger a minute here. What does “Integrity” mean in relation to NCYM?

Does it mean taking seriously the four times that Faith & Practice says that it is NOT a CREED and thinking for oneself?  Or is it picking out a few phrases from it and trying to make them the “absolute authority” for an organized purge of officers, committees, and meetings–something that same Faith & Practice does NOT authorize anywhere??

Is it shown by attacking meetings which have honest issues about the fairness of their treatment in the yearly meeting, and reflect that in the partial payment of askings?

Or is there integrity in making widespread public threats about withholding ALL askings as of April 15, 2015 unless there was a purge by that date of disfavored meetings — and then abandoning the threat when the deadline passes and it doesn’t work?

Is it shown in getting creeds from other Quaker branches, purchasing most study resources and programs from Baptists and others, ignoring practically every Quaker in history and almost all the yearly meeting programs (except, of course, Quaker Lake) — and then demanding that other meetings be forbidden from freely associating with other kinds of Quakers, on their own time, and with their own voluntarily collected funds?

And is there integrity in pursuing heresy hunts inside this yearly meeting while making detailed plans to secede and form a separate body, one which will abandon just about every Quaker distinctive there is?

Hmmm.

 One other thing there’s sure to be, is a lot of talk about this book:

 The Bible.  We may hear it asserted (again) that the Spirit can NEVER disagree with the Bible; and that the Bible must be the “Absolute authority” for Quakers, NCYM, and really, everyone, Christian or not.

But this is a problematic set of ideas. It’s got problems both in terms of the BIble, which often disagrees within its texts, and in Quaker history, in which “biblical” truth & teaching have changed and changed again. Here’s one glaring example:

And this is just one example of how, in North Carolina Yearly Meeting’s own history, understanding and conviction about “what the Bible teaches” has changed radically.

In its early years, NCYM Friends accepted slavery, not only as legal but as God’s will, revealed in the Bible. [Most other churches did too, then.] But over time, about 80 years, that understanding changed to where Carolina Quakers were convinced that God’s will revealed in the Bible was completely against slavery.

The same thing happened with many other “core” issues: marrying non-Quakers; employing pastors; joining the military; even singing. All of these were once completely forbidden by God & the Bible to Carolina Quakers; now they’re not.

Here’s a somewhat tongue-in-cheek [but true] list of some of these changes in “core beliefs”:

After this many centuries of “evolution” of “core beliefs,” one might think NCYM would have gotten used to living with differences.  One might imagine there would be no surprise in discovering that there were diverse views TODAY about contentious issues of 2015. But evidently, this 300+ years of Carolina Quaker history is an unknown country to many.

But that doesn’t make it meaningless or irrelevant.

And there’ s one other group which has, alas,  been strongly in evidence at past Representative sessions which definitely needs mentioning. It’s those behind this image:

A representative of one group which underwent this spiritual waterboarding, wrote candidly about it in an “exit letter” to NCYM:

We believe that North Carolina Yearly Meeting of Friends (FUM) is dysfunctional and very much in need of help. We know this by the behavior we observe not through the abstractions of theology. We see cruelty, meanness, manipulation, hostility and codependency. We are not just pointing a finger at those who attack us theologically but those who permit this behavior as well.

As most readers know, the family of an alcoholic can be as responsible for the continuation of the disease as the victim himself. We believe that even those in NCYM with whom we align theologically have failed to confront the institution’s illness and are complicit as well.

We apologize if this seems harsh but we believe we must speak truth to power . . . .

— Ken Bradstock, for Fancy Gap Friends

This record is tragic, humiliating, un-Quakerly & un-Christian. But in just the past few days, one group has stepped boldly outside this frame: Deep River Friends.

In a letter to NCYM officials dated May 14, 2015, Deep River took a forthright, clear stand. We salute Deep River for speaking up so plainly. The full text of their letter follows this post; but here are a few key excerpts:

“We have deep concerns over what feels to be a push to have some meetings excluded or excommunicated from the Yearly Meeting. We do not agree with this and would not support this move. After much discernment and conversation, we feel clear to say that we would not approve and would not stand aside. . . . “

“On the matter of dual affiliation, we feel that whomever a local meeting affiliates with is up to that local meeting. We do hope and encourage every meeting to be as involved with the Yearly Meeting as much as possible and in good faith. . . . But, to the point of dual affiliation, we feel that it is best left up to each local meeting to decide and no meeting should be penalized or removed for dual affiliation.”

“We acknowledge that it’s good to have a Faith and Practice that provides guidance in matters of meeting polity and spirituality but we do not consider it to be a final and ultimate authority. We understand that to be the Living Christ who is here to teach his people himself and reveals himself through the Scriptures as well as the covenant community. We also feel that it’s the Yearly Meeting’s role to support this process within each local meeting rather than serve as a regulatory agency that exists to enforce theological creeds or procedural regulations.” 

“As it reads in the Gospel of John, “There are many rooms in my Father’s home…” (John 14:2, NLT), we feel there is plenty of room in God’s kingdom and North Carolina Yearly Meeting for a wide diversity of gifts, understanding, and ways of serving. . . .”

My hat is off to Deep River for this. Here’s hoping their deeply-felt, logical and reasonable insights will be taken seriously. We shall soon find out.

The full Deep River  letter is here:

 

Deep River Friends Meeting

Minute of Concern

 Dear Friends and Yearly Meeting New Committee:

Over the past few months, Deep River Friends Meeting has observed closely the issues and responses within our Yearly Meeting. Up to this point, we have chosen not to respond simply because we did not feel led to do so in any manner. Anything we wanted to add to the conversation we wanted to come from a clear heart and engaged mind. As we have received updates and reports regarding the work of the New Committee, we feel led to offer these thoughts.

 We are thankful and appreciative of the work the New Committee has accomplished and the time they have given to their task. We realize that all of the committee members have been faithful to the task and given generously of their time. It hasn’t been easy. We are grateful for their work and effort.

As much as we realize that finances are a deep concern and some meetings do not pay all of their Askings, we are deeply concerned of the punitive nature of the recommendation. The language of “member I non-member” rates feels very exclusive and we are concerned that children and families who want to participate at Quaker Lake will be negatively affected. We don’t feel anyone or any meeting should be denied Yearly Meeting services or have to pay more for Yearly Meeting services due to a meeting’s inability to pay Askings in full. We do feel that it is important the Yearly Meeting engage these meetings in thoughtful and honest conversations regarding the issue of Asking’s payment. Beyond that, we feel any type of punishment is inappropriate and not in keeping with Quaker values and beliefs.

 We have deep concerns over what feels to be a push to have some meetings excluded or excommunicated from the Yearly Meeting. We do not agree with this and would not support this move. After much discernment and conversation, we feel clear to say that we would not approve and would not stand aside.

On the matter of dual affiliation, we feel that whomever a local meeting affiliates with is up to that local meeting. We do hope and encourage every meeting to be as involved with the Yearly Meeting as much as possible and in good faith. If a local meeting has issues or a problem with the Yearly Meeting, we strongly encourage those local meetings to engage the Yearly Meeting in conversation. But, to the point of dual affiliation, we feel that it is best left up to each local meeting to decide and no meeting should be penalized or removed for dual affiliation.

Ultimately, we understand the role of the Yearly Meeting is to serve the local meeting so that local meetings can thrive and flourish and bless the communities in which they serve. Also, we feel it’s very important to allow each local meeting the freedom to discern who Christ calls them to be in their own local context. We acknowledge that it’s good to have a Faith and Practice that provides guidance in matters of meeting polity and spirituality but we do not consider it to be a final and ultimate authority. We understand that to be the Living Christ who is here to teach his people himself and reveals himself through the Scriptures as well as the covenant community. We also feel that it’s the Yearly Meeting’s role to support this process within each local meeting rather than serve as a regulatory agency that exists to enforce theological creeds or procedural regulations. It’s our understanding that the Yearly Meeting can play a significantly positive role if it seeks to protect the integrity of discernment within each local meeting and encourage each local meeting to Jive out Christ’s call as each meeting discerns that call. Furthermore, we would hope that the integrity of this discernment process would be protected within the Yearly Meeting so that each meeting is honored and “that of God” within each local meeting and individual is acknowledged and honored as well. We recognize there is diversity of belief and practice within the Yearly Meeting but we view this as a positive that adds to the life and strength of the Yearly Meeting.

 As Deep River Friends, we will continue to:

• Pay our Askings in full
• Remain engaged with the Yearly Meeting through missions and ministries
• Respect the right of each meeting to discern its own way and calling in keeping with Christ’s call upon their corporate life
• Pray for the Yearly Meeting and its leadership
• Engage the Yearly Meeting in honest and humble conversation when we feel we have concerns or
• Honor and respect each meeting even when we feel we may have differences both in how we minister as well as theology
• Continue to engage and support the Yearly Meeting through the utilization of its services, facilities, and

 As it reads in the Gospel of John, “There are many rooms in my Father’s home…” (John 14:2, NLT), we feel there is plenty of room in God’s kingdom and North Carolina Yearly Meeting for a wide diversity of gifts, understanding, and ways of serving. As we seek to learn from each other, we also seek to live by the words of the Apostle Paul: “Let Love be your highest goal…” (1 Corinthians 14:1, NLT).

In Christ’s Peace
Deep River Monthly Meeting of Friends

Approved in Monthly Meeting for Business – May 14, 2015
Mary Ann Cherry, Monthly Meeting Clerk

cc: Don Farlow, Wallace Sills, Hugh Spaulding