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kaybaxter.bsky.social
@kaybaxter.bsky.social
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kaybaxter.bsky.social
Really, trans allies, you have to do better than this.
November 10, 2025 at 5:46 PM
kaybaxter.bsky.social
From this week's Friend - Thought for the Week.
The words quoted by Mark are towards the end of the piece.
Because of the limit for Alt Text, this is the latter part of the piece, containing the words quoted by Mark D Russ. The essential difference is in the listening. I have also learned that some people, who can enunciate well-honed thoughts, clearly understand a sacred need in worship that they can fulfil. I learned from John Punshon (whose enunciated ministry was always well-honed) that to be prepared to minister is a continuous, sacred state, and does not need to end in speech. He was always prepared but spoke very rarely. Preparation for him meant taking deep breaths when entering and centring, and living a life steeped in reading, spiritual practice, and prayer. In his essay ‘An hour to fill’, John describes how, at his first Quaker Meeting, spoken ministry was unhoned and very personal – everyday stories of the insights in life events. He came again. Thomas Merton, also attending worship for the first time, heard everyday stories but was not moved to return. What is the difference between their experiences? I would say that, whatever the words, the essential difference is in the listening. It matters whether I listen to others for the Spirit, or in the Spirit. As a listener, I can dismiss differences in language (God or not-God; Christ or not-Christ) or irrelevance to me (e.g. about someone else’s struggles at work), or differences in supernatural beliefs. My job is not to close my ears, but to listen for the undertow of love, justice, care, forgiveness, generosity, hope, learning and healing. These are demonstrated in what I am told about Jesus. For me, this is listening in the Spirit, with tenderness and creativity. There is no need for me to question whether it is Spirit-led or not, nor to enter into argumentative banter to solve the riddles of life. Just as ‘the letter killeth…’ my own over-attention to the letter also killeth. My task is to seek and answer that of God in everyone – and so often in worship, the ‘answering’ is found in the way I listen.
March 7, 2025 at 4:28 PM