A Return on Their Investment

I had an interesting question asked of me tonight. A friend observed that the Quakers have invested a great deal in me with all I have been involved with among them. (THANK YOU!!!) Having only been in the Quaker church for three years, my friend wanted to know if I was committed to them, if the Quakers were going to get a good return for what they've invested. It is a completely justified question to ask. It was an interesting question to answer.

I told her that the Quaker church is the garden in which I am planted. I deeply agree with many of their core beliefs such as God being in every person and God being the highest authority, not the Bible. God and the Bible won't disagree with each other, but go to the author himself/herself if you need the final word. I also appreciate the giving of silence and time to the people and things in our lives, to our faith in God. The Quakers tend to be very open to people who ask questions and who may not fit in with mainstream Christianity. With all I've learned and how I've grown, the Quaker church is a very good fit for me. I plan on ministering among them for a long time to come.

However, I grew up in a strong Christian church, not Quaker, and have learned too much of Christian history and other denominations to ever put myself in a denominational box. It's like flying up high in the air and knowing you'll never be able to limit yourself to only walking on the ground. Gaining a larger view of things, I have strong streaks of many faiths. I was raised Christian, born Jewish, with a deep affinity for Eastern Orthodoxy and Catholicism. In fact, all my spiritual directors have been Catholic and my favorite religious bookstore is Eastern Orthodox. My relationship is with God and that is as far as my deep religious identity goes. My bond with God is who I am, what church I am involved with is what I do.

As many of you know, I am a public speaker and it doesn't matter to me what denomination asks me to come, I love being the kind of person who can relate to and talk with people from a wide variety of faith walks. I see myself not only as a bridge builder among Quakers, but as a bridge builder between all the children of God. After all, God does not look at us through the categories of denominations, why should I? This goes for my spiritual direction practice as well. I will happily see clients from any group. We are all the children of God.

So Quakerism is the garden in which I am planted, my home base, and the group I am invested in (they'll get a great return), but my roots go well beyond the Quaker walls and into the gardens of all people who call the one I love their beloved too.

365-09 #246