Як умру, то поховайте Мене на могилі, Серед степу широкого, На Вкраїні милій, Щоб лани широкополі, І Дніпро, і кручі Було видно, було чути, Як реве ревучий.
Як понесе з України У синєє море Кров ворожу… отойді я І лани, і гори — Все покину і полину До самого бога Молитися… а до того Я не знаю бога.
Поховайте та вставайте, Кайдани порвіте І вражою злою кров’ю Волю окропіте. І мене в сiм’ї великій, В сiм’ї вольній, новій, Не забудьте пом’янути Незлим тихим словом.
For years I've thought about joining the Foreign Service in some capacity. It's a career option that would allow me to use my talents and interests in a way that was beneficial to me and the wider world. Less secure and demanding forms of International Development and Advocacy work has called to me in years past, but I'm starting to give the US State Department and the diplomatic corps serious thought. I'm a little worried about the prospect, because I don't want it to distract from my spiritual religious and theological development. If I were to join the Foreign Service, I'd be spending at least 5 years of my life there. And I don't want to distract from gaining my Masters in Divinity or in getting the opportunity to teach.
Most importantly , i don't want to be cut off from my religious community. I'm a young Friend, and I don't want to go to a place unless God sends me, that doesn't have any Quakers to sit in silence and fellowship with on First day. I feel like I've gone long enough neglecting spiritual community, and it's time for me to have a real grounding. I fear being so caught up in my Job that I neglect the spiritual paths and gifts for religious and theological thought that God has blessed me with. So, I'm asking God for guidance and hoping he will bless me with some. I also want God to send me a young handsome Quaker/Sabbatarian person to spend the rest of my life with. I want to be equally yoked with a young man who loves God and people. Not self-hating, brave open funny.. Kind generous and understanding. Both Spiritual and religious. And again loving above all. Including loving me.
Well, I haven't entered any journaling here since last month, so I think I need to make the effort and at least talk a little bit about how life has been going recently.
Nothing really exciting has happened, other then getting a new Job. I start on July 15, and I am so excited to be able to do something different. I hope that it is a great fit, and that I truly enjoy myself and grow in this new working experience. Other than that, life is pretty monotonous and mundane. I'm reading and thinking a lot about various things. I'm losing weight (only 10-12 pounds away from my goal), and continuing to dream about the future. I'm still in a state of preparation, I think, for whatever work God has for me to do. I've been waiting a long time, but I hope the experience is truly worth the waiting.
The Abominable Crime is a documentary about the lives of Gay people in Jamaica and the dangers they are facing. It shows what happens when a devoutly conservative christian society that genuinely feels gay people are a danger, create the atmosphere of fear and revulsion that results in the death, injury and destruction of Gay people and their families.
The fate of Gay people in Jamaica was one of the things that made me realize that any person or faith who views homosexuality as an Abomination is an active participant in the disenfranchisement, injury and death of Gay people. Caribbean Homophobia proved to me that you can’t love or respect Gay persons while deeming their sexuality and relationships to be destructive.
When I was younger I believed in the idea of love the sinner and hate the sin, and the protest by many Church folk in the US that they weren’t encouraging the hatred of Gay people made sense to me. But as I looked at the land of my forbears and countries that are similar, like Jamaica, I realized that the only reason gay people are safe from the level of brutality and abuse exhibited in this film is because Conservative Christians in this country lack the kind of widespread cultural and political dominance that they enjoy in others. But where they have the power and cultural clout, the lives of gay people are made unerringly miserable.
The denomination I grew up in is the largest single denomination in Jamaica. The former Prime Minister featured at the beginning of this film is from my old denomination, the current Governor General is as well. And in a society where not just Conservative Christianity generally but MY denomination specifically enjoys so much weight and power, this kind of situation exists. This situation persists throughout the entire Caribbean and wherever else Conservative Christian ethics and worldviews have power or hold any sway. And it used to be this way in the US until fairly recently.
Jamaican homophobia helped to disabuse me of any illusions I held that I could view Gay people as abominable, detestable and worthy of death because of their relationships, and not cause them any harm. And even though it meant having to leave a Church I cared deeply about, I am grateful to these stories for opening up my eyes.
I've been thinking about the possibility of doing a biographical sketch of my great uncle Lemuel Sealey. He was a medical doctor from trinidad who participated in the organization and demand for rights of Afro-Canadians in Montreal during the 1970's.
Secret Quaker: Does anything unite Quakers?: At the World Conference of Friends in 1991, Val Ferguson asked: "Does anything unite this diverse group beyond our common love ...
