tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-70872415279735813122024-03-13T05:06:24.284-07:00In Pursuit of JoyJami Harthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12677818286181722689noreply@blogger.comBlogger24125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7087241527973581312.post-8195551170655638002012-03-07T14:53:00.001-08:002012-03-07T14:55:08.874-08:00Discovered FriendPacific Northwest Quaker Women's' Theology Conference<br />June 8-11, 1995<br /><br /><br /><em>"... What canst Thou say ?<br /> Art Thou a Child of Light,<br /> and hast walked in the Light;<br /> and what thou speakest, is it inwardly from God ? _____ George Fox<br /><br />Blessed rather are those who hear and understand the word of God and follow it ! _____ Luke 11:27-28</em> <br />I am a Child of Light. I have known this from a very early age, from my earliest memories, that I felt Gods' presence. Whether this was totally from divine inspiration or from early teachings, or from a combination of both, it is not possible at this age of fifty-four to discern My grandparents were from German Reformed and Lutheran backgrounds and from the age of six, when we moved away from the town of my birth, I was raised in the United Presbyterian church.<br />My childhood, in the rural hills of Western Pennsylvania, offerred much opportunity for solitude. Many hours were spent walking in the woods and communing with God and being in awe that I was privileged to be a part of this wonderful creation. The only memories that I have about any context of this communing are, in general, asking for understanding and for guidance in doing Gods' will, which is evidence that some teachings were at work there.<br />The full impact of what it means to me to be a Child of Light did not really come to the forefront of my consciousness until just a few years ago when Nelson Mandela was being released from twenty-seven years in a South Africa prison and stories of his life were available. I read of his dignity and of the respect that even the prison guards had of him and wondered how this could be. How could someone who had spent twenty-seven years in prison still retain even a shred of dignity, and where did he get it in the first place ?<br />Then the newspaper articles told of his being a prince of a royal household and I thought, of course, he is royalty, that is where his sense of dignity came from. And I wondered what it would be like to have had that sense of dignity that this would have conferred, to have been treated by all those around you from birth with respect and honor and nobility. And then I had the thought, I am a Child of God, created in the image of God, what could be more royal or noble than that ? What could the world be like if we all truly knew and acted on the knowledge that being a Child of God is our birthright ? How would we all be different if we treated each other from birth as sacred, holy Children of God, each created in the image of the Divine ? I have walked taller, with my head held higher since that day, and have seen the rest of Gods' creation through different eyes, through the eyes of one who knows that we are all birthright Children of God.<br />Paying attention to how the Spirit or Divine Presence manifests itself through the lives of others is one way in which I learn to walk in the Light and; therefore, I try and bear witness to these manifestations in my own life, so that perhaps others may also have an opportunity to learn through my experiences. In worship sharings and in meetings for worship, I have received powerful insights and sometimes leadings from the Inward Teacher through others sharing their experiences of the Divine Presence in their lives and seeing a commonality with an experience that I may have had. On a few occasions, I have been powerfully seized upon to speak in meeting for worship and been approached by Friends afterward with tears in their eyes for the message that was given was so meaningful in their lives.<br />I have been a seeker all of my life. Even though there have been a few long, fallow periods when the ground was being prepared for the seeds, I have never felt abandoned by God, but rather, have felt a guiding hand through all of my human endeavors, work, family, relationships, and spiritual communities. In my early twenties, I "converted" to Catholicism. One of the tenets that I was drawn by was the authority of conscience, but it did not seem in the end that this was actually practiced or honored. When I came upon Quakers in my early forties, it was like a thunderclap from the heavens, the recognition that this was actually where I belonged all along, I just didn't know about it yet. It is for this reason that I consider myself not a convinced Friend, as I did not need to be convinced of anything, but a discovered Friend.<br />So, it seems that no matter through which avenue I have been led to seek the Divine, God has been there, whether in the United Presbyterian church of my childhood, the Roman Catholic Church of my youth, or the Religious Society of Friends of my adulthood. It has been my experience that the Divine Presence cannot be contained by any humanly devised belief system, but is present in and encompasses all of our systems of belief. Faith is from the grace of God and it is comforting to know that my faith will not be limited by my belief. I believe that it is a holy obligation to listen for the word of God in all the ways that are possible; through prayer, worship, reading the bible and other inspired writings, observing how God may be revealing through other religions to people of other cultures, and engaging with others in mutual discernment of how we might fit into Gods' plan, both individually and corporately, and to realize our relationship to each other in God.<br /><br />Jami Hart<br />Multnomah Monthly Meeting<br />22 January 1995<br /><br />Member since 1983Jami Harthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12677818286181722689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7087241527973581312.post-52748101151968488302011-04-05T13:40:00.000-07:002011-04-24T17:32:02.578-07:00ImaginingFor the past year I have been rotating among the various Quaker meetings in and around Portland.<br />I have been seeking to identify what best feeds my soul and to discover where I might best be led to serve at this time.<br />A question that has been with me a long time has been, what would my idea of an ideal meeting for worship be like?<br />Unprogrammed meetings often are very rich, but other times for me it seems as though there is something missing.<br />On the other hand I love the music and the discussions of queries or messages in programmed meetings, but the five or ten minutes allotted for “open worship” do not provide anywhere near the time required for the deep communion of a gathered meeting.<br />I imagine a meeting for worship of two hours, a programmed hour and an unprogrammed hour. I also would like to experience the meeting described by Brent Bill in his Modest Proposal: … *“instead of fitting holy silence in, use it as the basis for worship. Then trust God to lead the choir to stand and share musically. And move the pastor to give a prepared sermon…”. That, I believe, would feed my soul.<br /><br />*A Modest Proposal p.12Jami Harthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12677818286181722689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7087241527973581312.post-19911666169199110452010-12-18T12:43:00.000-08:002010-12-18T12:46:37.953-08:00Learning: Lessons from DiscriminationWhat I learned from a lifetime of discrimination, first as being female and then as being gay, is that the people in positions of authority who have the education, “expertise”, and power over other peoples’ lives, don’t necessarily have the truth.<br /><br />I learned that what is revealed to me through my life experience can be more valid than what others only know through their studies, belief systems and cultural “norms”.<br />Whenever unexamined, closely held beliefs result in harm to another person or people, those beliefs have to be challenged with the reality of the experiences of those who have been judged.<br /><br />The Quaker processes of threshing sessions and clearness committees in which all gather to try and discern together with divine assistance and all are willing to be changed is a major reason that I am a Quaker.<br />Much has changed in my lifetime. Psychiatry has come to realize that being gay is not a sickness, the law in some countries no longer recognize being gay as a crime.<br /><br />The last bastion of discrimination is in some of the churches that still recite one portion of the old purity laws while blithely ignoring all of the others.<br />Jesus said that he came not to destroy the law, but to fulfill it.<br />What does it mean that the law was fulfilled? There is a lot of description of what he meant in Matthew 5:17-27<br />There is no mention of homosexuality here, but much about divorce and judging others.<br />Why don’t some churches attempt to recognize fulfillment of the law?Jami Harthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12677818286181722689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7087241527973581312.post-49821483104181704862010-11-11T01:01:00.000-08:002010-11-11T01:10:32.939-08:00Remembering: Thanksgiving in Exile<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_zbMEGUK0MSs/TNuxmSH0oKI/AAAAAAAAADI/LBD9OaZ9QFM/s1600/1960%2B07%2BUSNTC%2BBainbridge%2BMD.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 134px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5538215438039949474" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_zbMEGUK0MSs/TNuxmSH0oKI/AAAAAAAAADI/LBD9OaZ9QFM/s320/1960%2B07%2BUSNTC%2BBainbridge%2BMD.jpg" /></a><br />Memphis, Tennessee - Nov, 1960<br /><br /><br />I boarded the bus in Bainbridge, Maryland still wearing the dress blue Navy uniform that had just been stripped of all of its' rate stripes and insignia. The command officers had planned to strip them off in front of the whole recruit training staff, but in the end decided that I didn't yet have enough rate to make an impression.<br />So, here I was headed for Memphis, Tennessee where some of my friends from boot camp were stationed and had a small house off base. I couldn't go home as the humiliation was too great. Six months before, my parents had watched me graduate from boot camp as Honor Woman of my company, meaning that I was considered to be career material.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Then I was retained as a physical training and water safety instructor as, at that time, I had completed two years of college as a Health and Physical Education major and also had my Red Cross Water Safety Instructor <a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_zbMEGUK0MSs/TNuxx-gTqmI/AAAAAAAAADQ/mNTmdmZPyXw/s1600/1960%2B08%2B05%2BGraduation.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 149px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5538215638932367970" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_zbMEGUK0MSs/TNuxx-gTqmI/AAAAAAAAADQ/mNTmdmZPyXw/s320/1960%2B08%2B05%2BGraduation.jpg" /></a>certificate.<br />I had joined the Navy after two years of college, as my mother was threatening to put me in an institution after having found out by breaking open a locked box of letters, that I loved a woman at college. I was dragged to our family doctor and to our minister, both of whom suggested that I be separated from my love.<br />Then someone that I had been at college with showed up in one of the recruit companies and she started the rumors.<br />I was confined to the barracks for about a month in lieu of the brig. At the time being gay was a crime.<br /><br />I was taken to the Navy psychiatrist and all I remember was that he administered the Rorschach test as at the time being gay was considered a mental illness.<br /><br />It wasn't long before the investigation began and I was interrogated daily regarding my relationship with a woman at college who had been my first love. The Navy interrogator was a very persistent man and I was a still shy 20 year old. I just needed it to stop, so finally admitted to acts that to this day I don't know what they were as I didn't know the words for things then and was much too embarrassed and shy to even consider asking. There was a female officer present, but she never said a word throughout the entire ordeal. I guess she was only there as a witness. They searched my room, looking for whatever evidence would convict me of the crime of being gay. All they found was a cheap paperback that I had bought at a drugstore, I don't know the title. It was some sordid tale of women that are always available and that give people the wrong impressions of the "gay lifestyle".<br /><br />I had planned to finish college through a program that the Navy had at that time and go on to become an officer. But now I was facing the loss of a second career choice.<br />Somewhere I had heard that if I went to the chaplain that things would go easier. I swallowed my pride and told him that I wanted to change and I succeeded in getting a general discharge under honorable conditions. Most service women in my situation received either undesirable or dishonorable discharges.<br /><br />I arrived in Memphis on Thanksgiving day. My friends were on duty, so I found my way to the house and the only thing in the refrigerator was some leftover stew. That was my Thanksgiving dinner that year and the beginning of the almost half century exile from my family of birth.<br /><br />The Israelites spent forty years in exile in the desert, ostensibly to learn something. What was I being led to learn?Jami Harthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12677818286181722689noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7087241527973581312.post-66272080663653832212010-08-01T16:34:00.001-07:002010-08-01T16:35:07.736-07:00PerceivingThis morning at Freedom Friends Church there was a young service dog that got very anxious and ran around searching the room whenever her handler went into another room. It came to me that this was an analogy for it being very difficult at times to have faith in what is unseen. But, isn’t it our purpose to make Love visible in the world by following the teachings of Jesus.<br /><br />And then I began to reflect on what was my task to make love visible in the world and then to share that.<br />There are several outstanding examples in my life when I have failed at this task and they are etched permanently into my consciousness. I am trying to make an effort to be more aware of opportunities as they arise and to act out of being centered.<br /><br />Many people have spoken of how they have felt the Presence of God or Jesus or the Holy Spirit as holding them. I have never felt that, nor have I heard a “still small voice”, and yet there has been something, an almost imperceptible guidance, and I have been at a loss as to how to describe my experience of the Divine Presence. I then thought it is more like a knowing, but not quite that and I asked myself, how do you know something. It finally came to me that the word that I have been looking for is more like a perception. A perceiving of what I need to do or say or what I am to do. This has been with me my whole life and I never had a word to describe it.Jami Harthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12677818286181722689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7087241527973581312.post-64430121476845116762010-07-05T09:12:00.001-07:002010-07-05T10:42:37.646-07:00SeekingI have been having promptings lately to make regular visits to Friends churches. My meeting no longer fills my spiritual needs and hasn’t for some time. I need and love the expectant waiting in Holy silence, but that is only a part. Early Friends knew the bible so well that they were easily able to refer to passages that spoke to their lives. I have followed the common lectionary for most of my adult life to try and understand how the teachings might apply to my life, but this cannot be a solitary endeavor. A community is needed to discern together. There is among unprogrammed Friends a tolerance for many paths, except it seems for following the teachings of Jesus. To me this is like throwing out the baby with the bath water, to throw the teachings out with the way that some who call themselves Christian have misinterpreted those teachings and use them to judge and condemn others.<br /> <br />Yesterday I traveled to the westside of Portland to visit West Hills Friends Church. The west hills have always been a challenge for me to find my way around. I had Brunhilde, my GPS, with me and it took 40 minutes for what should have been a 20 minute drive. When I finally arrived, it came to me that this drive was an apt illustration of my spiritual journey. Going around in circles, many dead ends, and every once in awhile landing in the right place. <br /><br />Part of the difficulty throughout my life has been that a part of me has not been acceptable in any place, but this is becoming less true. So, I will continue to seek out places where I might learn how the teachings of Jesus speak to me today and how I might follow the way.Jami Harthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12677818286181722689noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7087241527973581312.post-45685510604041921782010-05-29T19:31:00.000-07:002010-05-29T19:38:00.536-07:00Walk With Me: Mentors, Elders, and FriendsEighth PNW Quaker Women’s Theology Conference<br />16 - 20 June 2010<br />Seabeck Conference Center<br />Seabeck, Washington<br /><br /><em> I am calling up memories of your sincere and unqualified faith (the leaning of your entire personality on God in Christ in absolute trust and confidence in His power, wisdom, and goodness), [a faith] that first lived permanently in [the heart of] your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am [fully] persuaded, [dwells] in you also. <br /> That is why I would remind you to stir up (rekindle the embers of, fan the flame of, and keep burning) the [gracious] gift of God, [the inner fire] that is in you by means of the laying on of my hands with those of the elders at your ordination]. <br /> For God did not give us a spirit of timidity (of cowardice, of craven and cringing and fawning fear), but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of calm and well-balanced mind and discipline and self-control.</em> 2 Timothy 1:5-7 (Amplified Bible)<br /><br /><em>"Many Friends today are crying out for spiritual mentors, for ministers and elders who are lovingly steeped in our tradition. Some Friends hunger for a deeper relationship with God, for a connection with a divine power that heals and empowers. We long for wise and loving role models and examples." </em>From: Martha Paxson Grundy, Tall Poppies: Supporting Gifts of Ministry and Eldering in the Monthly Meeting, p. 27, Pendle Hill Publications.<br /><br /><em>"As meetings became settled, elders performed a variety of functions, according to their gifts and leadings. . . . [A]ll gifts and ministries were for building up the spiritual life of the meeting and the Society: directing and re-directing people to the Spirit of God, to the Inward Christ, the Light, the Inward Teacher, the Guide, the one true Priest and Shepherd. It was clearly understood that any member of the meeting might be called to some part of this service, but that some were specifically led by the Spirit at any given time." </em> From: Patricia Loring, Listening Spirituality Vol. II, 1999.<br /> <br /> THEME: Walk With Me: Mentors, Elders, and Friends<br /><br /> MENTORS<br />I have never had a mentor. <br />I have had many of the opposite; people who tried to discourage me from paths that I felt were true to my inner guide.<br /><br />As a pre-teen, when I talked of going to college, my mother tried to dissuade me saying, "you'll be like your aunt Betty and get married after two years". My aunt Betty was my father's younger sister, the only girl and the only one of his family of five siblings to get the opportunity and she didn't finish. I guess it seemed logical to them to project that onto me. My reply was always "I'll never get married", which was promptly also dismissed as the naiveté of the young. <br /><br />I subsequently succumbed to societal pressures as it was difficult to resist in the 1940's and 50's with no support, but I always knew that marriage to a man was not my métier, my vocation or path in life.<br /><br />Another area in which I was discouraged from following my inner guide was religion. I was raised mostly in the United Presbyterian church, although we did not attend regularly. My father worked many weekends and my mother did not drive. I also felt, even as a very young child that it was not the path to the Divine for me as I felt there was too much hell fire and damnation and very little grace, although I could not articulate this at the time. In my early twenties, I was drawn to Roman Catholicism and "converted" to that religion. When my mother found out, there was a big confrontation and attempts to get me to change my mind. It wasn't until my early forties that I discovered that I was a Quaker. By then, I was away from those who would discourage me in my path to the encounter with the Divine.<br /><br />But when it comes to spirituality, books can sometimes provide the catalyst or guidance that will help you go deeper in your relationship with God. In a sense, my mentors may have been the writers of books.<br /><br />In the end, the only mentor that I truly had was my inner mentor who saw me through all of the above and more.<br /><br /><br /> ELDERS<br /><br />There is some confusion among a few Friends in our meeting about who is an elder. Being an unprogrammed meeting means that there is no permanent body of “Elders”, but the duties of nurture and discipline which constitute eldering are shared among the Oversight and Worship and Ministry committees. There is a member of meeting whom some Friends experience as being “mean” and a Friend who left meeting partly because of them told me that they felt there was no recourse as this Friend was an elder. I replied that this person was not an elder and that being old does not qualify a Friend as an elder. It is also difficult to recognize elders when the positions rotate every few years on the committees.<br />I may be wrong, but my sense is that if asked, very few could readily identify who are the current elders in our meeting.<br />It seems to me that the lack of either mentoring or spiritual direction negatively affects the development of elders. I have served on both of these committees in the past and have now been asked to serve on the Ministry and Oversight committee of North Pacific Yearly Meeting beginning in 2011. I can only hope that with God's help I will be able to adequately serve.<br /><br /><br /> FRIENDS<br /> <br />Several friends lately that have left meeting have told me of their finding new communities in Humanists and Unitarians and have tried to get me to try these out. I have no interest and the only response that I can think of is that they are not Quaker. The Quaker form of worship, expectant waiting for a connection with the Divine, for me, cannot be surpassed by any other practice. Add to that the testimonies, and the practice of waiting for Divine guidance in meeting for worship for business and these are the things that I could not leave behind.Jami Harthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12677818286181722689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7087241527973581312.post-66055560317756741942010-04-15T19:54:00.000-07:002010-04-18T14:32:05.249-07:00Shared WorshipLast first day was a beautiful spring day for the morning drive to Camas Friends Church. <br />A wonderful turnout from two Quaker meetings (Bridge City and Multnomah and a Quaker church (Camas Friends) for a shared service. <br />Wess Daniels, the pastor had sent out an email that week with the lectionary reading with the text to be discussed, it comes from the Gospel of John 20:19-29. <br /><em>“When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” <br /><br />But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.” <br /><br />A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.” Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.” (John 20:19–29 NRSV)</em><br /><br />After reading the passages, Wess presented a few queries to the congregation which garnered a lot of comments from Friends from all three congregations. This seemed to me to be akin to our unprogrammed yearly meeting’s (North Pacific Yearly Meeting) worship discussion groups format on a larger scale. Friends are still remarking about how powerful this was and how it brought new meaning to their understanding.<br /><br />During the period of expectant waiting in the silence there were a few very meaningful messages from Friends from the different congregations. It was truly a gathered meeting.<br /><br />Also impressive was the sharing of personal concerns asking for prayers and the gratitudes expressed during the service. This was a wonderful manifestation of holding each other in the Light.<br /><br />A hearty potluck of soup, bread, and salads was shared over good conversations afterward.Jami Harthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12677818286181722689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7087241527973581312.post-88300157452027991982010-03-21T14:52:00.001-07:002010-03-21T14:53:45.234-07:00GraceThis morning at potluck between Meeting for Worship and Meeting for Worship for Business I did my usual thing and took a seat at an empty table and waited for folks to come to me. I can never make the decision of who to sit with.<br />A gentleman soon approached and asked if he could sit there, and the table soon filled. He introduced himself as a retired pastor. I asked what denomination and he replied that it was a very small evangelical church. Now, I had just the evening before began reading If God is Love rediscovering grace in an ungracious world by Phillip Gulley (a Quaker pastor) and James Mulholland (a theologian). I decided to be brave and ask the retired pastor if he was on the side of grace or if he believed in the requirement of works. We had a very lively discussion and it ended with him asking me to write down the book so that he could read it. He was wearing a hearing aid and mentioned that he had only 20 percent hearing left and he liked our form of worship as it relieved him of much of the anxiety of trying to hear. Another man at our table serendipitously just happened to be a sign language interpreter for the courts and began telling him about requesting in time closed captioning when he attended public events. He described in detail how to request this ahead of time and how it was covered under the Americans with Disabilities law. I said to the pastor that I didn't believe in co-incidence either and he replied "it is called Grace" and he said he awoke every morning looking ahead to what the day would bring to him. This day brought him several good things already. I stand on the side of Grace.Jami Harthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12677818286181722689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7087241527973581312.post-70631024685136772712010-02-28T13:22:00.000-08:002010-04-23T16:03:46.525-07:00Being GatheredI worshipped with Camas Friends Church this morning.<br /><br />The reading was from:<br />Luke 13:31-35 (Amplified Bible)<br /><em>31At that very hour some Pharisees came up and said to Him, Go away from here, for Herod is determined to kill You.<br />32And He said to them, Go and tell that fox [sly and crafty, skulking and cowardly], Behold, I drive out demons and perform healings today and tomorrow, and on the third day I finish (complete) My course.<br />33Nevertheless, I must continue on My way today and tomorrow and the day after that--for it will never do for a prophet to be destroyed away from Jerusalem!<br />34O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who continue to kill the prophets and to stone those who are sent to you! How often I have desired and yearned to gather your children together [around Me], as a hen [gathers] her young under her wings, but you would not!<br />35Behold, your house is forsaken (abandoned, left to you destitute of God's help)! And I tell you, you will not see Me again until the time comes when you shall say, Blessed (to be celebrated with praises) is He Who comes in the name of the Lord!</em><br /><br />TheQuery was:<br /> How might you gather or be gathered over Lent?<br />When I first sat down, I said a silent prayer that we would sense the presence of the Divine among us. <br />After a time, to my complete discomfort I was moved to speak and was glad that I had put my inhaler in my pocket that morning, as it made me breathless and dizzy.<br />I said something to the effect that in our day words can be stones that we throw at each other. It grieves me that we do this among branches of Friends with our judgments of each other before actually knowing each other. I pray that G_D will help us to gather and that we do so with gratitude.<br />After I sat down, I remembered our last Pacific Northwest Quaker Women's Theology Conference and the vision that came to me of the poster that illustrates the various branches of Friends, and my observation that it is still one tree.Jami Harthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12677818286181722689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7087241527973581312.post-30429309540675450412010-01-16T13:32:00.000-08:002010-01-16T13:35:42.557-08:00AvatarI had a strange dream the other night. I was lying down on my side in what appeared to be a church or sanctuary and then my consciousness left my body and rose up to the ceiling. I was thanking G_d profusely even though I had stopped at the ceiling rather than continuing on to heaven. It still felt peaceful.<br />I think that the dream might have been the result of having recently seen the movie, Avatar, in which scientists had found a way to link their consciousness to an artificial body that resembled those of a tribe of native people on a distant planet. After the movie, we had a conversation with a woman outside who had not yet seen the movie, but told us that the story had been told before and that some friends had taken the script from Disney’s Pochahontas, substituted names from Avatar and it was the same story. Also, David Brooks of the New York Times wrote a piece about it being a too often used story with a “white messiah”. I think they missed a lot. There were similarities, a large, powerful corporation coming to destroy a native culture for the minerals there, and the main protagonist falling in love with the daughter of the chief. But what was different about this story was that the invaders did not succeed. The natives thoroughly routed them and then the one who had come among them as an avatar actually died to his old self and his consciousness was permanently transferred to the avatar body by the wife of the chief, who herself was the tribes’ shaman. It was a resurrection story that I could appreciate. That one could see joining with another people to overcome evil that threatened all is a heartening message.Jami Harthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12677818286181722689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7087241527973581312.post-90985171060670122562009-12-04T13:07:00.000-08:002009-12-04T13:09:55.843-08:00Advent2009 12 04<br /><br /> <em>To love means loving the unlovable.<br /> To forgive means pardoning the unpardonable.<br /> Faith means believing the unbelievable.<br /> Hope means hoping when everything is hopeless.</em> - G.K. Chesterton<br /><br />It is now the season of Advent, the season of anticipation and hope. I have been pondering hope since July when synchronicity brought together my purchase of Joan Chittister's book, Scarred by Struggle, Transformed by Hope, and the arrival of Peggy Senger Parson's pamphlet "Be prepared to give reasons for the hope that is within you...".<br /><br />It is true that the time in my life that I felt the most that everything was hopeless was also the time that I was compelled from within to seek healing, growth, and the conversion of becoming new, of opening the heart to the grace of new possibilities. I, the ultimate introvert, was seeking out grief groups and friends to keep reciting the struggle of being a witness to my love’s death without giving in to the death of the soul.<br /><br />Chittister speaks of “holy indifference” as being the foundation of spiritual discernment. The idea being the openness of the many manifestations of the will of God in life, the awareness of the multiple gifts of God and openness to all of them. “But holy indifference – detachment – teaches me that there is no room for isolation, abandonment, death of the spirit when I lose one thing because I know that there is something else waiting for me in its place. If only I can allow myself to watch for it, to wait for it, to grasp it when it comes.”Jami Harthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12677818286181722689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7087241527973581312.post-83863915715172241232009-04-03T13:27:00.000-07:002009-04-03T13:31:26.511-07:00Notes from a Christian - UniversalistAfter North Pacific Yearly Meeting Annual Session, one who is new to Friends expressed concern and dismay after attending an interest group on the Christian-Universalist split - that there was this difference on the part of Friends.<br /><br />I felt an imperative to resolve this issue for myself several years ago when it first came to my attention. Believing as John Woolman that, <em>"There is a principle which is pure, placed in the human mind, which in different places and ages hath had different names. It is deep and inward, confined to no forms of religion, nor excluded from any where the heart stands in perfect sincerity. In whomsoever this takes root and grows, of what nation soever, they become</em> <em>brethren",</em> I set out to explore what this has meant and means now for me personally.<br /><br />I am a Christian because that is how I was raised. It is the culture I came from with the belief system whose language I am familiar with, and through which I "approach" a dialogue with the Divine.<br /><br />I am also a Universalist because I also believe that God reveals to all people, whether Hindu, Muslim, Jew, Buddhist, or Native American, and therefore; all belief systems are avenues through which we can all discover more about and grow in the knowledge of our common creator.<br /><br />In my worship group at NPYM, someone spoke of our obligation to speak when something did not seem right to us, when we were bothered in some way by concerns that arise from, perhaps, what others have said or from something inside that just doesn't sit right. In other words, to me this may be a clue that one is being moved by the Spirit to engage in dialogue.<br /><br />I wanted to say something then, but there wasn't time - that we are equally obligated to listen. Through this speaking and listening we engage in a dialogue that enables us to discern that of God in ourselves, in each other, and in our corporate body. This is holy work. I believe this obligation carries over into the larger world of God's creation, to engage in the process of dialogue and discernment with people of other cultures and belief systems, to grow in the knowledge and love of God, and to learn what God would have us do, individually and corporately.<br /><br />Belief systems are from humankind and are therefore limited. Faith is from God and is unlimited. My faith will not be limited by my belief.<br /><br />I recently watched the Dali Lama in a video "Compassion in Exile". He appeared to me to be clearly a man of God.<br />I saw and heard him and other Tibetans speak of forgiveness of the Chinese who are destroying the Tibetan temples and their culture and forcing the Tibetans into exile. I saw more than forgiveness. There was genuine concern about what will happen to the Chinese because of their actions, as the Tibetans have a strong belief that what one does to others will eventually be visited on oneself.<br /><br />Is this forgiveness, love, and compassion not from God? I know of no human belief system in which forgiveness and concern greater than this magnitude are expressed. Is this forgiveness, love, and compassion not valid or not from God because it is not from a Christian belief system?<br /><br />Can we who are Christian or Hindu or Jew or Muslim not add to our concepts of forgiveness, love, and compassion by this knowledge and belief from another culture and religion?<br /><br />This is only one of many examples that I find from other belief systems that do not take away from or diminish my belief, but only add to and enhance my faith. I am discerning more and more that my / our God is truly a universal God who reveals to all people. We can only enhance our knowledge of this Divine Presence by engaging in this discovery ( through study, dialogue, etc. ) of what is being revealed through all of God's people.<br /><br />I also believe that, as children of one God, whatever separates us from each other also separates us from God.<br /><br />We speak of Birthright Friends, as those who are born into the Religious Society of Friends, into that belief system. I like to keep in mind that we are all Birthright Children of God, born into an inherent knowledge of and faith in a Divine Presence that is present in, transcends, and encompasses all of our human systems of belief. If we truly knew and understood this, what might it allow us to accomplish in this world? I believe that we could truly become the People of God that God desires us to be.<br /><br /><br />Published March 1995<br />Friends Bulletin<br />p 89Jami Harthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12677818286181722689noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7087241527973581312.post-37993185204300510032009-03-21T12:29:00.000-07:002009-03-21T14:18:41.180-07:00Not FunI have been told that I am too serious and faulted for not being fun. It is true. I don't know how to have fun. My entire life has been full of serious pursuits. My work was serious ( 40 years of analyzing blood, bone marrow, tissues and body fluids in a clinical laboratory to provide diagnostic and treatment protocols for physicians). Being a chiropractic physician for a few years in the middle of all of that was serious. Raising children was serious. I guess some people have fun doing this, but I didn't know how to make that fun either. Being a Quaker has been a study of the serious for the past 25 years, reading the Bible, Quaker journals, articles and books. The title of my blog is serious (Holy Child of God). I chose it as a challenge both to myself as a reminder of its' truth and to others who only believe the misinterpretations in the KJV of "abomination".<br />When I retired almost three years ago, I had in mind that at some point I would do something useful for the world and volunteer either with hospice or as ombudsman for the state to monitor nursing homes. Again, serious pursuits. So far, I have not felt called to move in either of those directions. Now I am wondering if, in this part of my life, I should be pursuing joy or fun or whatever one calls it. It doesn't seem right when there is so much pain and suffering in the world to be pursuing joy instead of trying to relieve pain and suffering. It seems too selfish to me. On the other hand, I am sure that I am not lead in that direction at least for now, so maybe I need to be more open to joy, fun, etc. I just don't know where to begin. Maybe I could start with renaming my blog. Maybe call it In Pursuit of Joy and try to be more aware of possible openings for this.Jami Harthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12677818286181722689noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7087241527973581312.post-36582056188994218532009-03-19T19:32:00.000-07:002009-03-19T19:39:51.877-07:00FWCC Section of the Americas Annual MeetingFriends World Committee for Consultation<br />Section of the Americas<br />Annual Meeting<br />19 - 22 March 2009<br />Canby Oregon 97013<br /><br /><br />Two Friends from Africa, one from India and one from Australia were hosted at 2 potlucks by Multnomah Monthly Meeting in Portland, Oregon. One on the evening of 17 Mar 2009 for the meeting as a whole, and one at noon 18 Mar 2009 for the monthly seniors' potluck. At the evening session the Friends from Africa spoke of the connections that FWCC had with the African Yearly Meetings and the responses of Quakers to the fighting that broke out last year in Kenya. A question and answer period followed the potluck. These Friends had travelled many miles through many time zones and were visibly exhausted. I feel that hospitality requires that travelling Friends' physical needs should come before the requests of hosting Friends to endlessly require answers to questions that could be addressed after Friends have rested.<br />One audience member in particular ( I had never seen this person before and don't know how familiar she is with Friends) kept asking one of the African Friends what her mission here was and what she was doing for world peace.<br />I felt like standing up and helping the Friend from Africa out, as she seemed to struggle for an answer. I am not good at Quakerly responses so said nothing. On the way home I railed that it is too bad that someone didn't ask her what she was doing for world peace and that it was not all up to the woman that she had put on the spot. See what I mean by not being very Quakerly.<br />Today it came to me that perhaps I could have explained simply that Friends from various parts of the world were coming together for a conference this weekend. Maybe she really did not know this.<br />At the noon session I sat beside the Friend from India and we struck up a general conversation about family. He asked if I lived alone and I told him that I lived with my partner. He did not ask and I did not explain further. I wanted to ask if he knew of any GLBTQ Friends in India, but was afraid of the possible response. I wonder if I will ever find my voice. Sometimes I feel like Gigot in the film of that name. He was mute and upon seeing a child in the river and being unable to speak to summon help, the child drowned. Gigot runs into the church, looks up at the cross and pounds his chest in a silent but profound questioning of God for his absence of the ability to speak. This was one of Jackie Gleason's greatest performances and has stayed with me for decades as it is so meaningful to me. I am so envious of people who are articulate and quick with their responses.Jami Harthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12677818286181722689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7087241527973581312.post-78785994219603392182009-03-15T12:02:00.000-07:002009-03-15T15:47:07.175-07:00Gifts of the Spirit<a href="http://www.facebook.com/ext/share.php?sid=73287133857&h=gdYXk&u=EgdBl&ref=nf" target="_blank">AIG Execs Who Ruined Company To Get $165 Million In Bonuses</a><br />Source: www.huffingtonpost.com<br />AIG Execs Who Ruined Company To Get $165 Million In Bonuses - The Huffington Post<br /><br />Does anyone else see this as I do as a misuse of the God given gift of Administration as listed in Luke 14:28-30; Acts 6:1-7; 1 Cor 12:25-31 ? The gift of Administration is described by C. Peter Wagner in his book Discover Your Spiritual Gifts as "...the special ability that God gives to certain members of the Body of Christ to understand clearly the immediate and long range goals of a particular unit of the Body and to devise and execute effective plans for the accomplishment of those goals." This gift is also defined by Kenneth Cain Kinghorn in his book Discovering Your Spiritual Gifts as "... a gift that enables one to provide leadership and guidance in matters of organization and administration. The administrator serves by recognizing and coordinating the abilities and gifts of other members of the group, institution, or church."<br />Of course it can be claimed that these spiritual gifts could be separated from human talents, but I believe that they are all God given and meant to be used for the common good of all and not for personal gain at the expense of others.<br /><br />And this from William Penn:<br /><em>Government seems to me a part of religion itself, a thing sacred in its institution and ends. ... And government is free to the people under it, whatever be the frame, where the laws rule and the people are a party to those laws; and more than this is tyranny, oligarchy, or confusion. ... As governments are made and moved by men, so by them they are ruined too. Wherefore governments rather depend upon men than men upon governments. Let men be good, and the government cannot be bad. If it be ill, they will cure it. But if men be bad, let the government be</em> <em>ever so good, they will endeavor to warp and spoil it to their turn</em>. <br />- William Penn, "First Frame of Government", 1682Jami Harthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12677818286181722689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7087241527973581312.post-40032206185473998162009-03-06T11:29:00.000-08:002009-03-06T19:33:59.827-08:00FALSE WITNESSSPOTLIGHT ON <br /><a href="http://www.hrc.org/endthelies/starr.html"></a><br /><a href="http://www.hrc.org/endthelies/starr.html">Ken Starr</a><br />The dean of Pepperdine University's School of Law is arguing before the California Supreme Court in defense of Prop. 8.<br />Starr argues against gay families by claiming that there are "substantial adverse consequences for children that often flow from alternative household arrangements.<br /><br /><br />Isn't this a case of FALSE WITNESS against your neighbor? This was important enough to be among the ten commandments. Witness is very powerful and very difficult to defend against. False witness is what led to the crucifixion of Jesus.Jami Harthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12677818286181722689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7087241527973581312.post-27791105314522640432009-02-19T15:15:00.000-08:002009-02-19T15:17:27.693-08:00More Reflections on FLGBTQC Mid Winter Gathering<span style="font-family:arial;color:#003300;">13-16 Feb 2009<br />at Camp Adams<br />Mollala Oregon<br /><br />For the first time FLGBTQC, in the epistle, is asking Friends to walk with us. What would this look like? This arose out of meeting for worship with attention to business due to the concern that FCG would be holding the summer gathering in the state of Virginia which has recently passed a law against same sex marriage. It is of grave concern to same sex married Friends who are legally married in another state, but must worry that if they become ill in Virginia, their spouse may not be allowed access or have a say in treatment. I was affected by a related situation 6 years ago.<br />My partner of 27 years and I were the first same sex couple to have our relationship taken under the care of Multnomah Monthly Meeting in Portland Oregon in 1989, 13 years into our relationship. We raised our children together, my son was 14 and her daughter 8 when we first got together. We each had 2 grandchildren and had grandparents night every Friday night for about 3 years when they stayed overnight with us and enjoyed many activities together and then she was diagnosed with lymphoma. She died 7 months later. It has been almost 6 years and the bitterness of having to worry about insurance and other financial problems instead of focusing on her dying will forever remain. My employer did not have domestic partner benefits. Her insurance continued for a time, but when she was no longer able to work there was no more insurance. When she died, I was not considered to be the next of kin under Oregon law so her daughter had to sign for her cremation. Then her ashes were in the trunk of her daughter's car and then in her closet instead of being in the home that we shared for 27 years until her family and I all met at the coast to disperse her ashes as she had requested. For Friends to have walked with me would have meant that they were with me in my situation, to have helped to bear my burden and sorrow. It is true that Friends provided meals for several weeks near the end of her life for which I will be forever grateful, but it seemed that no one really wanted or knew how to be with the situation.<br />I hope and pray and work for the day that it will be better for LGBTQ F(f)riends in the future.</span>Jami Harthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12677818286181722689noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7087241527973581312.post-79681523792888946162009-02-18T19:38:00.000-08:002009-02-19T11:19:41.244-08:00FLGBTQC Mid Winter Gathering<span style="color:#003300;"><span style="font-family:arial;">FLGBTQC Mid Winter Gathering<br />13-16 Feb 2009<br />at Camp Adams<br />Mollala Oregon<br /></span><br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="color:#003300;">The Spirit was very much with this gathering. Many came from hundreds and some from thousands of miles to be together with Friends who would know us in more aspects of ourselves than are perhaps known in any other group.<br />It is reassuring to be among Friends who know that we too are holy children, are created in God's image, and are beloved by God. As Peter came to realize, God sees through all outward appearance to the spiritual beings that we are at our eternal core.<br /><br /></span>Acts 10:34-35 (Amplified Bible)<br /><span style="font-size:78%;">34</span>And Peter opened his mouth and said: Most certainly and thoroughly I now perceive and understand that God shows no partiality and is no respecter of persons,<br /><span style="font-size:78%;">35</span>But in every nation he who venerates and has a reverential fear for God, treating Him with worshipful obedience and living uprightly, is acceptable to Him and sure of being received and welcomed [by Him]. </span>Jami Harthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12677818286181722689noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7087241527973581312.post-81847645964498018062008-12-25T14:56:00.000-08:002008-12-26T13:30:54.291-08:00<span style="font-family:arial;">2008 12 25<br /><br />THE 1st DAY of CHRISTMAS<br /></span><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twelve_Days_of_Christmas">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twelve_Days_of_Christmas</a><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">We have been snowbound for the better part of 2 weeks now. Actually, I have been pleased about this as it has slowed down the frenzy and excess that characterizes our modern Christmas. In my childhood (the 1940's and 1950's) we had our family Christmas on the 25th and then visited grandparents, aunts and uncles, and cousins during the following week which was still Christmas.<br /><br />In the 1990's we had a few Christmases when adults watched as children tore into piles of presents and then sat back and asked "is that all?" or "are there more?". No one said thank you, they didn't even know who gave them what. They didn't take the time to recognize from whom each present was given. This took something away from them even more than the adults. The chance to be thankful and appreciative of what they had.<br /><br />This year no one is able to get out, so we will be going to see my grandchildren later in the week, possibly the 4th day of Christmas, which feels more right to me. Having everything happen in one day, all of the visiting and present opening is exhausting. It is much better spread out for the 12 days. It is strange that our culture will recognize the 8 days of Hanukkah, the 7 days of Kwanzaa, but not the 12 days of Christmas. We are taking our turkey dinner to our 86 year old neighbor's house as her daughter is unable to get there. We will enjoy a leisurely present opening when we get back home. We will enjoy grandchildren opening presents from us at a slower pace and take time to ponder the true meaning of the 12 days of Christmas.<br /></span>Jami Harthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12677818286181722689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7087241527973581312.post-19966984934085928842008-12-06T19:22:00.000-08:002008-12-15T16:05:45.334-08:00<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8ziECzNKhM">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8ziECzNKhM</a><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong>The Unforgivable Sin</strong><br />Is not this an example of the unforgivable sin that Jesus spoke of in Matthew 12:31-32, Mark 3:29, Luke 12:10-12, the sin against the Holy Spirit ?<br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong>Matthew 12:31-32 (Amplified Bible)<br /></strong></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:78%;">31</span> <span style="color:#cc0000;">Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy (every evil, abusive,</span> [</span><a title="See footnote a" href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=47&chapter=12&verse=31&end_verse=33&version=45&context=context#fen-AMP-23521a"><span style="font-family:arial;">a</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;">]<span style="color:#cc0000;">injurious speaking, or indignity against sacred things) can be forgiven men, but blasphemy against the [Holy] Spirit</span> <span style="color:#cc0000;">shall not and</span> [</span><a title="See footnote b" href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=47&chapter=12&verse=31&end_verse=33&version=45&context=context#fen-AMP-23521b"><span style="font-family:arial;">b</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;">]<span style="color:#cc0000;">cannot be forgiven.<br /><span style="font-size:78%;color:#000000;">32</span> And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Spirit, the Holy One, will not be forgiven, either in this world and age or in the world and age to come.<br /></span></span><br /><strong></strong><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong>Mark 3:28-30 (Amplified Bible)<br /></strong><span style="font-size:78%;">28</span> <span style="color:#cc0000;">Truly and solemnly I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever abusive and blasphemous things they utter;<br /></span></span><span style="font-size:78%;">29</span> <span style="color:#cc0000;"><span style="font-family:arial;">But whoever speaks abusively against</span> <span style="font-family:arial;">or maliciously misrepresents the Holy Spirit can never get forgiveness, but is guilty of and is in the grasp of</span></span><span style="font-family:arial;"> [</span><a title="See footnote a" href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=48&chapter=3&verse=28&end_verse=30&version=45&context=context#fen-AMP-24318a"><span style="font-family:arial;">a</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;">]</span><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="color:#cc0000;">an everlasting trespass.<br /></span><br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong>Luke 12:9-13 (Amplified Bible)<br /></strong></span><span style="font-size:78%;">9</span> <span style="font-family:arial;color:#cc0000;">But he who disowns and denies and rejects and refuses to acknowledge Me before men will be disowned and denied and rejected and refused acknowledgement in the presence of the angels of God.<br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:78%;">10</span> <span style="color:#cc0000;">And everyone who makes a statement or speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit [that is, whoever</span> [</span><a title="See footnote a" href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%2012:9-13;&version=45;#fen-AMP-25468a"><span style="font-family:arial;">a</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;">]<span style="color:#cc0000;">intentionally comes short of the reverence due the Holy Spirit], it will not be forgiven him [for him there is no forgiveness].<br /></span><span style="font-size:78%;">11</span></span><span style="font-family:arial;"> <span style="color:#cc0000;">And when they bring you before the synagogues and the magistrates and the authorities, do not be anxious [beforehand] how you shall reply in defense or what you are to say.</span><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">12</span> <span style="color:#cc0000;">For the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour and</span></span> [<a title="See footnote b" href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%2012:9-13;&version=45;#fen-AMP-25470b"><span style="font-family:arial;">b</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;">]<span style="color:#cc0000;">moment what [you] ought to say.<br /></span></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Jesus teaching was that we are to constantly seek direct inspirational contact with God as he demonstrated in his life.<br />To make up one's mind about one shall believe permanently is to not be open to the pouring out of the Holy Spirit through you.<br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;">To be closed to the Holy Spirit means being shut off from the activity of God that could bring fresh revelation to each situation.<br />The only way out of this spiritual stagnation is through the action of the Holy Spirit, but if one is closed to this, there is no remedy and the sin or separation from God continues in the state of being unable to be forgiven. </span><br /><p><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:78%;"><em>Source: FOX, EMMET </em>The Sermon on the Mount: <em>The Key to Success in Life Harper-Collins Publishers New York NY 1934</em></span></p><br /><br /></span>Jami Harthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12677818286181722689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7087241527973581312.post-84015996240703956992008-11-10T12:15:00.001-08:002008-11-10T12:15:49.597-08:00World War II Honoree<a href="http://www.wwiimemorial.com/registry/search/pframe.asp?HonoreeID=2129410&popcount=3&tcount=8">World War II Honoree</a>Jami Harthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12677818286181722689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7087241527973581312.post-6100851114107891492008-11-10T12:15:00.000-08:002008-11-10T12:15:20.516-08:00World War II Honoree<a href="http://www.wwiimemorial.com/registry/search/pframe.asp?HonoreeID=2129868&popcount=2&tcount=8">World War II Honoree</a>Jami Harthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12677818286181722689noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7087241527973581312.post-20145599076551346742008-11-10T12:14:00.000-08:002008-11-10T12:14:54.769-08:00World War II Honoree<a href="http://www.wwiimemorial.com/registry/search/pframe.asp?HonoreeID=91614&popcount=1&tcount=8">World War II Honoree</a>Jami Harthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12677818286181722689noreply@blogger.com0