Betty Butterfield, Quaker Worship, & Our Theological Hospitality

O wad some Power the giftie gie us
To see oursels as ithers see us!
from -- "To A Louse: On Seeing One On A Lady's Bonnet, At Church"
Robert Burns, 1786

As I posted on my other blog (holyordinary.blogspot.com), I was reminded of that thought by Burns recently after receiving an email from my friend Keith. Now Keith is not his real name -- even though that's what I call him, even to his wife -- and for purposes of this post it's probably best I don't use his real name. That's because Keith is highly respected in the religious community of our fair city and I'd hate to do anything that might harm that reputation.

But he is sort of a smart-aleck and knows that I am, so sent me a link to the video that follows -- the religious adventures of Betty Butterefield. Betty is on a search for the right church, and as Keith told me via the miracle of email, she visited the Quakers.

The posting on my other blog has generated some thinking that I want to share on this one, because of it's emphasis on Friends and our witness and worship. And one thing is that Betty describes the group as looking like an AA meeting -- adults sitting in a circle and being quiet. She wants to "break the ice" and so stands up and says, "Hi, I'm Betty and I'm an alcoholic."

It made me wonder how many other folks have visited Friends and wondered if somebody had forgotten their part of the program? Do we do anything to help people know what to expect? Should we? If so, what. A little pamphlet on silence and worship hardly seems like enough -- and yet what would be enough? How welcoming are we -- really -- to the Bettys who wander into our midst?

Betty, talking about Quakers during her discourse on visiting the Unitarians, helped, in spite (or maybe because) of her satire, to see ourselves as others see us.
--Brent
PS Yes, I know I said I wasn't going to blog here anymore, but I just couldn't help myself.