Goin' back home... to Anacortes

Nuthin' like goin' back to the ol' stompin' grounds (hence all the apostrophes).

Yes, I had always been planning to take a break from my church search and visit Quaker Cove. See, on of the upsides to attending North Seattle Friends Church is that we have our retreat out in Anacortes.

For supposedly being simplicity-loving Quakers, it can be a little fancy. Look at that! Two showers in one place? Flushing toilets?

And this is just the oldest changes. Inside our chapel you'll find what was once a fireplace is now a heating system, complete with spinning fans and vents! And there's a microwave and coffee maker in the corner! Myself, I'm still a little put out by the television I just saw there yesterday... Where's the escape from it all? Where's the nature? It's like people wanna be comfy. Well I want no part of it! ;)

However, the people and the place make up for all the "fanciness". People I've known all my life show up once a year and check in with me. Stories are swapped, spouses are met, jobs are checked in on. It's good times.

Oh, and for the message? A Quaker guy preached to us aobut the Quakerly way we could interact with the world. While talking about the first generation of Quakers! (Listen to God, know that there are truths which don't change [justice, love, truth], and apply those as best as you can through the current culture. But always remember that the relationship between you and God is what gave you waht insight you might have. That relationship is what matters most.) Needless to say, there was much less conflict of ideas than I've had in the past few weeks.

Besides, where else could we have an untalented talent show, and see things like this?



Good times. Well worth the break from "searching" through other places.