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Julie's been busy this weekend following up on the rally she attended Friday, hooking up with all of the organizing that's happening to save St. Mary's Church in Malaga NJ. She's taken lots of pictures of St. Mary's and yesterday made up t-shirts for the cause!

One positive element to come of the Bishop's decision to close down St. Mary's and half the Catholic churches in South Jersey is how parishioners are coming together for their churches. Julie's already typed in half of a 1997 history of St. Mary's onto the internet, and there are plans to interview elderly members, the oldest of whom remember the church being built.

The story of a little church in a sleepy rural town is the really the story of the Italian Catholic experience in America. There's a certificate in the back of the church that lists all of the donations that were collected to build the church, some from dirt poor farmers who couldn't even afford a dollar but still put all they could to build a house of worship.

To my Quaker readers: don't worry, I'm not going Catholic on you all. It's just that even I can tell there's something special about St. Mary's and the devotion and the newfound-feistiness of it's community (how did they makes the Times?! And two pictures!). The bishop wants to sell all these little rural churches and replace them with impersonal mega-churches. The struggle for authenticity, humanity and the remembrance of the experience of those who struggled before us transcends religious denominations. We'd all lose something if churches like St. Mary's were all torn down to make way for more Super Wawa's.

Tags: southjersey, catholic, st mary's, malaga, nj, diocese of camden, bishop galiante, farmers, italian, authenticity

Always a step behind Wess, I started a QuakerQuaker "Page" over on Facebook. Nothing there yet but it could be a place for readers to comment and for me to toss out ideas for future directions.

I've personally found that the organizing potential of Facebook isn't nearly as interesting as it seems at first blush. Groups are constantly created, joined in a mad rush, then left to decay a slow death of unanswered discussions. FB is a good place to chat with friends and there's a certain thrill of the ephemeral to learn that an acquaintance you haven't talked to in years is in Tuscon this weekend enjoying a spicy Thai chicken. But perhaps a Facebook Group (or "Page," as this technically is) will be a good forum for a somewhat established network.

Warning: Geek to follow: Thanks to readers for their patience these past few days as I've transferred QuakerRanter to a new web host. My old account had multiple sites on the same server, including QuakerQuaker.org and MartinKelley.com and every time there was a problem on QR it would take everything down. After probably a year of troubleshooting and never quite fixing the problem QR is off on its own (on Bluehost.com, I wanted to see what CPanel was like).

I'm also rebuilding the site to be more compliant with the new Movable Type template structure, which motivates this new look. I still like the old minimalist design ripped off of Kottke and might bring it back or might experiment with something else that fits the new stream-of-life direction the blog has been taken with its Twitter integration.

I can't really blog about the most interesting financial development of the day, which has to do with the end of a certain witness of fifteen years but if any F/friends want to know feel free to drop me an email.

Off now to see if the town Halloween parade has been washed out by rain again (today is the rain date and it's pretty soggy if not actively raining). Expect pictures of cute boys in matching butterfly outfits...

Robin M's recent post on a Convergent Friends definition has garnered a number of fascinating commenters. The latest comes from Scott Savage, a well-known Conservative Friend (author of "A Plain Live," publisher of the defunct "Plain Magazine" and lightening rod for a recent culture war skirmish over homosexuality at Ohio State University). Savage's comment on Robin's blog follows what we could call the "Cranky Conservative" template: gratuitous swipes at Conservatives in Iowa and North Carolina, wholesale dismissal of other Friends, multiple affirmations of Christ, digs at the issue of homosexuality, a recitation of past failures of cross-branch communication, then a shrug that seems to ask why he should stoop to our level for dialogue.

Snore.

What makes my sleepy response especially strange is that except for the homosexuality issue (yay for FLGBTQC!) I'm pretty close to Scott's positions. I worry about the liberalization of Conservative Friends, I get cranky about Christian Friends who deny Christ in public, and I think a lot of Friends are missing the boat on some core essentials. When I open my copy of Ohio's 1968 discipline and read its statement of faith (oops, sorry, "Introduction") I nod my head. As far as I'm aware I'm in unity with all of Ohio Conservative's principles of faith and practice and if I signed up for their distance membership I certainly wouldn't be the most liberal member of the yearly meeting.

I'm actually not sure about Scott's yearly meeting membership, I'm simply answering his question of why he and the other Conservatives who hold a strong concern for "the hedge" (a separation of Conservative Friends from other branches) might want to think about Convergence. Of all the remaining Conservative bodies, the hedge is arguably strongest in Ohio Yearly Meeting and while parts of this apply to Conservatives elsewhere--Iowa, North Carolina and individuals embedded in non-Conservative yearly meetings--the snares and opportunies are different for them than they are for Ohioans.

Why Ohio Conservative should engage with Convergence:

If you have all the answers and don't mind keeping them hidden under the nearest bushel then Convergence means nothing.

But if you're interested in following Jesus and being a fisher of men and women by sharing the good news... Well, then it's useful to learn that there's a growing movement of Friends from outside Conservative circles (however defined) who are sensing there's something missing and looking to traditional Quakerism for answers.

Ohio Conservatives have answers and this Convergence movement is providing a fresh opportunity to share them with the apostate Friends and with Christians in other denominations seeking out a more authentic relationship with Christ. Engaging with Convergence doesn't mean Ohio Friends have to change anything of their faith or practice and it needn't be about "dialogue": simply sharing the truth as you understand it is ministry.

Yes, there are snares involved in any true gospel ministry; striking the right balance is always difficult. As the carpenter said, narrow is the way which leadeth unto life. We are beset on all sides by roadblocks that threaten to lead us away from Christ's leadership. Ohio Friends will need to be on guard that ministers don't succumb to the temptation to water down their theology for any fleeting popularity. This is a real danger and it frequently occurs but while I could tell eight years of great insider stories from the halls of Philadelphia, is that what we're here to do?

Let me put my cards on the table: I don't see much of Ohio effectively ministering now. There's too much of a kind of pride that borders on obnoxiousness, that loves endlessly reciting why Iowa and North Carolina aren't Conservative and why no other Friends are Friends, blah blah blah. It can get tiresome and legalistic. I could point to plenty of online forums where it crosses the line into detraction. Charity and love are Christian qualities too. Humility and a sense of humor are compatible with traditional Quakerism. How do we find a way to continue safeguarding Ohio's pearls while sharing them widely with the world. There are Ohio Friends doing this and while I differ with Scott Savage on some social issues I consider tangential (and he probably doesn't), I very much appreciate his hard work advancing the understanding of Quakerism and agree on more than I disagree.

But how do we find a way to be both Conservative and Evangelical? To marry Truth with Love? To not only understand the truth but to know how, when and where to share it? I think Convergence can help Ohio think about delivery of Truth and it can help bring seekers into the doors. When I rhetorically asked last month what Convergent Friends might be converging toward, the first answer that popped in my head was Ohio Friends with a sense of humor. I'm not sure it's the most accurate definition but it reveals my own sympathies and I find it tempting to think about what that would look like (hint: kraken might be involved).

A reminder to everyone that I'll be at Ohio Yearly Meeting Conservative sessions in a few weeks to talk more about the opportunities for Ohio engagement with Convergence. Come round if you're in the area.

Also check out Robin's own response to Scott, up there on her own blog. It's a moving personal testimony to the power and joy of cross-Quaker fellowship and the spiritual growth that can result.

I'm pleased to announce that my latest freelance project has just launched: BetsyCazden.com. There's nothing particularly revolutionary about the technology behind the site or its design, but the Quaker geek in me is so happy to see it. Long-term readers will remember my excited post Fellowship Model of Liberal Quakers, written after reading Betsy's Beacon Hill Friends pamphlet Fellowships, Conferences, and Associations. Betsy is one of the small number of Quaker historians willing to take on contemporary history and her observations can be quite insightful. I hope she'll find an even wider audience with this site and the blog that she plans to add soon.

There have been a few recent posts about the state of the Quaker blogosphere. New blogger Richard M wrote about Anger on the Quaker blogs and LizOpp replied back with Popcorn in the Q-blogosphere?.

Read a fabulous article last night and this morning by Diana Boyd, a PhD student at UC-Berkeley and a researcher at Yahoo! Research Berkeley. She's writing about the interactions of culture and technology and it speaks a lot to some of the online and offline conversations I've been having lately.

Here's the link: G/localization: When Global Information and Local Interaction Collide. And here are some snippets to entice you to follow it:

On culture:

When mass media began, people assumed that we would all converge upon one global culture. While the media has had an effect, complete homogenization has not occurred. And it will not. While some values spread and are adopted en-masse, cultures form within the mass culture to differentiate smaller groups of people. Style-driven subcultures are the most visible form of this, but it occurs in companies and in other social gatherings.

Techies will like her take on "embedded observers":

While the creators have visions of what they think would be cool, they do not construct unmovable roadmaps well into the future. They are constantly reacting to what's going on, adding new features as needed. The code on these sites changes constantly, not just once a quarter. The designers try out features and watch how they get used. If no one is interested, that's fine - they'll just make something new. They are all deeply in touch with what people are actually doing, why and how it manifests itself on the site.

On online communities:

Digital community participants sometimes find that they "accidentally" meet someone. People collide on Flickr because they took similar photos; the find wonderful blogs through search. These ad-hoc interactions typically occur because people are producing material that can be stumbled across, either through search or browsing. They may not intend for the material to be consumed beyond the intended audience, but they also don't see a reason to prevent it. In essence, they are inviting moments of synchronicity. And synchronicity is energizing.

John Paul Stephens has asked if I could help compile a list of online tributes to our Tom Fox, the fallen Christian Peacemaker for FreetheCaptivesNow.org'sTom Fox Memorials page. I've started a list, now up on QuakerQuaker.org, that I'll keep up for a few months. Any readers who know of something that should be included should either email me at martink-at-nonviolence-dot-org or tag it "for:martin_kelley" in Del.icio.us. Thanks. Here's my list so far:

See also:

• FreetheCaptivesNow.org
• Christian Peacemaker Watch over at Quakerquaker.org
• My posts on the Christian Peacemaker witness
• A really nice page on Tom over at Electronic Iraq

An amazing thing has happened in the last two years: we've got Friends from the corners of Quakerism sharing our similarities and differences, our frustrations and dreams through Quaker blogs. Disenchanted Friends who have longed for deeper conversation and consolation when things are hard at their local meeting have built a network of Friends who understand. When our generation is settling down to write our memoirs -- our Quaker journals -- a lot of us will have to have at least one chapter about becoming involved in the Quaker blogging community.

On electronic fellowships, online magazines and the freedom of this patchwork of independent cross-linked blogs: "Maybe the web's form of hyperlinking is actually superior to Old Media publishing. I love how I can put forward a strong vision of Quakerism without offending anyone--any put-off readers can hit the "back" button. With my Subjective Guide to Quaker Blogs and my On the Web posts I highlight the bloggers I find particularly interesting, even when I'm not in perfect theological unity. I like that I can have discussions back and forth with Friends who I don't exactly agree with. I have nothing to announce, no clear plan forward and no money to do anything anyway. But I thought it'd be interesting to hear what others have been thinking along these lines."

I would love to expand the Quaker Ranter into a new online magazine that would encourage and mentor in a new generation of writers, activists and ministers in the Society of Friends. I’m already moving in that direction, with more and more “Guest Pieces,” but it can not be done with just a nip and tuck there: even with my fifteen years of publishing experience and the lovely instant publishing possibilities of the internet, some work and expense is needed to properly launch a new online journal.

My listing Quaker blogs and websites is included in Beliefnet's current lead article, The Best Spiritual Blogs. I've been getting about 30-40 visitors a day from them over the last few days. I would be more excited, except that most of the visitors come and leave without looking around at all. Whoever wrote Beliefnet article clearly read through my list, as a couple of our selections overlap including one very obscure Quaker webpage.

An update on my post about online magazines and the new Movabletype charges... The folks at MT have listened to all the feedback and implemented new policies which are much more sensitive to the needs (and resources) of small nonprofit and community groups. It's really good news for all the independent publishing happening via blogs. Look for my "powered by" symbol to change to the new 3.0 version as soon as I install it.

A few months ago a Yahoo search stumbled across this gem: Using Weblogs for Spiritual Journaling (Rich Text Format), a paper written by Ruth Mason for a British conference of Friends. This really gets at one of the reasons I publish Quaker Ranter:

"Weblogs offer the opportunity for Quakers to publish to the web from their personal perspectives, rather than institutionally or corporately as on, for example, a yearly meeting website. By showing how Quakerism sits within our individual lives – as well as showing all the other ‘hats' we wear in being our selves – weblogs may provide a unique outreach tool. As the wealth of existing weblogs attest, the weblog journal is about recording the everyday, the detail of our lives: an alternative and a supplement to the generic monolithic identities as pacifists or social campaigners which may be the main images those outside of Quakerism have of us."

See also: Friends use of the Internet , a list of resources from the British Quaker techie brigade, led by John Wragg (the contact for the site). I was lucky enough to meet John at last year's British Yearly Meeting sessions though I wasn't lucky enough time to read the volumes of material he had prepared on Quaker IT use. My impression was that British Friends have engaged in more thoughtful deliberation of internet use and have a certain fondness for high-concept sites (online meeting for morship anyone?), while we Americans have the edge on the practical "beating Amazon at their own game" sites, like Quakerbooks.org. Maybe this is just me stereotyping, but the different mindset is part of the reason I like listening in on the British internet discussions.

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Don't miss my own Subject Guide to Quaker Websites and Blogs

An Atlantic County Methodist Episcopal Meetinghouse. Picture from NJChurschape

One of my favorite sites is the amazing NJChurchscape.com--that's New Jersey Churchscapes, put together largely through the efforts of Frank L. Greenagel. It's a true labor of love, a cataloging of church and meeting architecture in New Jersey. It has beautiful photos, great stories, readable essays on architecture. In a state where everything below Cherry Hill often gets ignored, South Jersey gets good coverage and there's a lot from the old Quaker colony of West Jersey. This month's feature is on the meetinghouse, a building of endearing simplicity and it raises a lot of questions for me of how we relate to our church buildings.

Hello everyone. I'm a Friend and web developer living in South Jersey, father to sons Theo and Francis.

I was very involved in pacifist publishing (book and online) in my 20s and worked for a couple of well known Quaker organizations in my 30s. My major publication these days is the QuakerQuaker, which launched in 2006. Nowadays I'm building websites for journalists, small businesses, schools and a smattering of activists. I go into more detail on my biography and current work over on my design site MartinKelley.com.

QuakerRanter is my free-for-all blog. There's a lot of posts about Quakers and also about cool places I've explored in the South Jersey. But I let myself talk about whatever I want and my post on baby naming is actually one of the most visited on the site! Fellow Friends mystified or offended by the "Ranter" title should read "We're all Ranters Now. I want to keep the spirit of a blog with this site and post on any topic that flits across my mind.

I keep contact information current over on MartinKelley.com, which has email, phone, IM and every other kind of crazy communication method listed!