Mother's Day

We varied the format at Bridge City this morning, the planning committee having arranged for a children's activity at the center of our worship circle.

We transitioned from singing (from the hymnal), to "straight worship" (in the sense of unadulterated), to worship sharing, which Rocky introduced by way of an extended analogy involving tossing pebbles into a shared pond.

At this point, the children and a few designated adults dove into the center and prattled happily, while other adults stood and delivered, sharing about readings, happiest moments being a mother, being mothered, other teachings.

I was pleased to sit next to Barbara Janoe, one of our most esteemed long hauler Friends. I'm guessing she misses her Crooked River overlook. If I manage to get some high desert XRLs going, she's on my short list of invitees. Earthala Queen Aimee would be the first to agree.

Speaking of Earthala, we wanted it wheel chair accessible in some versions, with Wayne our adviser. He's trained for years in ADA compliance, and in wheel chair dancing as an art form. He faces bypass surgery tomorrow, for a heart long in disrepair. I went and visited him today, plus did some CSN recon.

I hope Wayne gets to enjoy the energy boost a repaired heart will bring. We could maybe use his expertise at the site, maybe helicopter him in sometime.

Speaking of helicopters, a wave to Dave Fabik, perhaps still in Phoenix? He's a former helicopter pilot, both military and civilian, knows a lot about the importance of following procedures (a recent discussion).

Some might accuse us of "programmed worship" given how we followed a definite program. Bridge City advertises as being unprogrammed, as do Multnomah Friends in the old ESI building. However, in the Quaker namespace, "unprogrammed" tends to have a more nuanced meaning I won't get into here.

We'd been encouraged to bring pictures of our mothers this morning. I didn't, but phoned her on cell, left a voicemail. Circuits were very busy today, reports Dr. Nick, whom I left to Go By Train (May 9 is National Train Day). He has some great mom stories, inherits a wild mix of genes and memes. Also on my short list.

Linda Richards and I, Mary Bolton and others, have been after mom to slow down, stop wheeling through Congress (she's in DC today, having trained down from the United Nations in NYC) and write her memoirs.

Tell us stories about working with Coptic Zabbaleen in Cairo, with indigenous peoples in the Philippines, fighting those land graby lowlanders and their Christian missionaries (sometimes abusive). Tell us about Jacopa, friend of St. Francis, and the family she came from, camped out somewhere in Rome (where again?).

But mom always says she needs to see the world on the right track, before she lets up and turns to writing that much. I can attest from her emails that she writes a crisp prose. So whaddaya all say: for Mother's Day, lets give all our moms a real present, a sense the world is finally on the right track for a change. That'd be worth something, to all of us I think.