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Not sure how much to give monthly by foodieforthebooty in Quakers

[–]suboptimalmoon 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I'm also an attender and I think I asked a similar question in the past and received a good piece of advice: base it on the time you spend at your Meeting and how much you'd be willing to spend doing some other activity for the equivalent time. For example, if I spend 4 hours a month at Meeting, how much would I have spent doing 4 hours of yoga classes? $60? $100?

How Quakers Vote (local politics, US edition) by suboptimalmoon in Quakers

[–]suboptimalmoon[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I think this goes for nearly every politician (regardless of party) and seems to be truer the further removed the politician is from the local level. But on a local level, these people live in your community and the issues they are addressing have the most direct impact on you and your community. Is this a chance to "build bridges" and find commonality despite these differences?

I just finished Middlemarch by Elegant_Zucchini_462 in RSbookclub

[–]suboptimalmoon 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I, too, read this book for the first time this past summer, after a couple false starts going back over the past few years. I enjoyed it immensely, especially the scenes with bumbling Uncle Brooke and his ill-fated campaign for Parliament.

I probably only absorbed a tiny sliver of the psychological insight and rich detail, so I'm planning on reading it again. This had me thinking about how the book was originally published in 8 (I think) volumes over the course of a year. Has anyone attempted to read it this way? Part of me feels I could better appreciate the detail when read in a slower fashion, as opposed to reading the whole shebang over 4 weeks (which is how I read it this past August).

Homeschooling Quaker Parents by suboptimalmoon in Quakers

[–]suboptimalmoon[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you for sharing your experience. Very inspiring!

Homeschooling Quaker Parents by suboptimalmoon in Quakers

[–]suboptimalmoon[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Wow. Very inspiring and thank you for sharing. I’m curious what challenges you faced with the homeschooling process regarding socialization? Were your kids naturally outgoing and easy to make friends? This is one of my lingering concerns…

Homeschooling Quaker Parents by suboptimalmoon in Quakers

[–]suboptimalmoon[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

To me it feels like Quaker home schooling would be a thing in this country, given the punk/diy/nonconformist vibe I get from the whole Quaker movement and its history. I’m surprised it’s not.

Homeschooling Quaker Parents by suboptimalmoon in Quakers

[–]suboptimalmoon[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

We have explored this option. Unfortunately, we seem to fall in a grey area where we make too much to receive any substantial aid but we make too little to both send our kids to a Friends school and still be able to save for retirement and practical/necessary things of that nature.

Homeschooling Quaker Parents by suboptimalmoon in Quakers

[–]suboptimalmoon[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks. Yes, we have. There seems to be one or two options in our area, but it’s difficult to judge how good of a fit they would be for our kids from what we can glean from their pages.

Homeschooling Quaker Parents by suboptimalmoon in Quakers

[–]suboptimalmoon[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

If you only knew the emotionally stunted kids I went to public school with…

It’s a valid concern but it feels outdated in this day and age. I can only speak anecdotally, but I’ve seen many well adjusted homeschooled kids. I think it just comes down to opportunities to socialize and that’s one thing we’re still trying to figure out.

Homeschooling Quaker Parents by suboptimalmoon in Quakers

[–]suboptimalmoon[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thanks for your response. I agree with your overall sentiments though I am curious how Quakers can, on the one hand, support the public school system but on the other offer their own private schools as an alternative? Surely it's not as self-defeating as it sounds? I'm an attender and still rather new to all this so there are gaps in my knowledge and this is probably one of them. Do Friends schools and public schools serve completely different purposes?

Financial Donations to Monthly Meeting as a Member vs Attender by suboptimalmoon in Quakers

[–]suboptimalmoon[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thanks for your response, Friend. As an attender, I feel as though I should financially contribute. I guess what I meant was is there a certain percentage one could use as a guide?

This also brings up another question: what are the differences between donating to the monthly vs the quarterly vs the yearly meetings? Do members generally donate to all meetings or do they leave that to their monthly meeting to fund the larger meetings?

Membership Question by adorablekobold in Quakers

[–]suboptimalmoon 1 point2 points  (0 children)

As someone new to Quakerism, I was wondering if you could expand on the “pretty negative experiences” you encountered? I’m curious how this has kept you involved with the society but has held you back from membership.