Thank you to those of you who held me and my neighborhood in the Light as we met to discuss my city’s plans to build at least 66 units of housing for the formerly homeless here. Your and my Meeting’s support made it so much easier for me to stand up and say to my neighbors that I welcome formerly homeless men and women into housing here, knowing that many of my neighbors will be very, very angry with me.
As I have advocated for homeless men and women in my neighborhood, I have met many people who see the world very differently from what I do. The responses to my op-ed piece in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer and discussions with neighbors who oppose mixed-income housing here have opened my eyes to just how common it is in this society to operate with gradations of people: some people are good and some people are bad. Many of my neighbors seem to see homeless people as unworthy and harmful to their surroundings, and most people in houses as deserving and beneficial to their surroundings (except for housed people like me who welcome homeless people, I guess we are traitors?). I have a brand new appreciation of how unique it is that Quakers insist that EVERYONE is a beloved child of God, that each person is the bearer of “that of God”.
Knowing that I have a whole faith community, both past and present, that stands with me has been a great source of comfort to me as I have faced my neighbors’ wrath. I was flooded with gratitude when I asked for my Meeting’s prayers and my on-line community’s support, and in so doing became aware that I was presuming that my fellow Quakers would be supportive. I would not presume that in any other setting, and I know other homeless advocates do not presume that their faith community will stand with them on this issue.
I am grateful to be a Quaker today.
Query for prayerful consideration:
What aspects of Quakerism fill me with gratitude?
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June 19, 2008 at 7:27 pm
Jeanne
I have a brand new appreciation of how unique it is that Quakers insist that EVERYONE is a beloved child of God, that each person is the bearer of “that of God”.
I wish I could have your appreciation. As a person who grew up working class, I don’t feel that kind of welcome from Friends. I’ve heard from several Friends of color who don’t feel that Quakers bear that truth to them.
We’re good at insisting that everyone is a beloved child of God, as long as they don’t worship with us. The distinction is subtle and never that explicit, but it’s there and it’s true: our acceptance is situational.
June 20, 2008 at 3:16 am
cath
Today (June 20) is World Refugee Day. The homeless are refugees, too, even if they are not living in camps in Africa and Asia. I appreciate your willingness to work to help them find stable living conditions. The entire world is better for this work that is being done for the homeless in your neighborhood.
However, I have to say that I know other religions and other people who embody this statement of yours:
‘ I have a brand new appreciation of how unique it is that Quakers insist that EVERYONE is a beloved child of God, that each person is the bearer of “that of God”.’
I don’t want to single you out here. Many of us have had this thought. I have often felt so spiritually happy to be a Friend that I wanted to let everyone know–but I wonder how useful it is to be too self-congratualatory. We may have unique ways of expressing our sense of God’s within, but we are not the only ones who operate on this principle.
I am holding the work being done in your neighborhood in the Light.
And thank you so much for your many musings.
cath
June 20, 2008 at 8:14 am
Susanne Kromberg
Jeanne and Cath,
I don’t disagree with your perspectives and certainly would not question your experiences. In previous posts I have written about areas where I think Quakers fall short of our ideals, which I think address some of your concerns.
This post, however, was in recognition of what is GOOD among Friends – a communal commitment that encourages and empowers to take on homelessness! Gratitude flowed freely from the depth of my soul, and I want to name that which is good, too.
A word of explanation about how to read my blog: My blog posts will probably move between appreciation of what is good and exhortation in the areas where we fall short. So I’ll switch between joy, disappointment and even detached musings, and an individual post is just a snapshot, not intended to show the whole picture. If you look for the whole picture in any one post, you’ll probably find my reflections lacking.
And I continue to stand in a place of gratitude today after another neighborhood meeting last night and anticipating another knock-down-drag-out one tomorrow – I am very, very joyful and comforted by my Quaker community.
November 4, 2008 at 3:05 am
Tarald
How are you? It’s been a long time. I miss your musings!