New York Times: Excerpts from, Why Churches Should Drop Their Online Services By Tish Harrison Warren — Jan. 30, 2022 (My comments follow.) Over the past two years a refrain has become common in churches and other religious communities: “Join us in person or online.” I was a big proponent of that “or online” part. In … Continue reading Drop Online Church?? Bad Idea of the Week (and it’s only Monday morning)
Two new videos are on my mind as this week opens: The first was made last week, when three of us opened the door to what hopefully will become a much broader set of conversations about recent Quaker history, conflicts, and current issues. We gathered for the Earlham School of Religion’s Authors discussion of our … Continue reading Two Videos: “The Separation Generation” & My Odyssey in Brief
Blogging about the divisive agony which is overwhelming Southern Appalachian Yearly Meeting & Association (SAYMA — described here) was not on my agenda when we planned the Zoom session set for tomorrow, November 11, at 4 PM. (Register at this link: bit.ly/3k6eDBZ ) But stuff happens. Even in theology. And that post usefully (if … Continue reading The Separation Generation: A Continuing Challenge
Not since 1827 have so many American yearly meetings split in such a short time. That 1827 struggle was so traumatic that a fully-researched study of it (Quakers In Conflict, by H. Larry Ingle) was not published until 1986, one hundred and forty-nine years afterward. This time, between 2003 and 2018, four YMs broke, and … Continue reading Presenting The Separation Generation: November 11
A substantial Holiday Weekend Read: I always feel uneasy when finding myself in agreement with rightwing Catholic pundit Ross Douthat. But in his August 31 NYTimes column, he nails it, mocking the spectacle of : ” . . . generals and grand strategists who presided over quagmire, folly and defeat fanning out across the television … Continue reading A Quaker Theologian for Our Hard Times.