Reflections on my time as a Palm Beach (Lake Worth) Quaker

 The title is a bit sensationalistic but not much. In August 2023, in Lake Worth, FL business meeting was held at 1pm. During this meeting, it was suggested that the unprogrammed worship should begin with reading a quote from George Fox's writings. After this motion was raised, the clerk said: "those in favor, say aye" and then he said: "are there any objections"? At this point I stood up and said: "I object. First of all, why was this morning's worship at 10:30am opened with a quote from George Fox even though we have not agreed upon it in business meeting yet? Second of all, you already give them a welcome packet. The more you talk, the more you lead people into the mind instead of into the supramental silence beyond the mind. It is presumptuous and haughty of you to think you can take the role of educator to someone new to this meeting without them requesting it. They might be new to this meeting but that doesnt mean they are new to spirituality....

 The Quaker so-called consensus process is the complete opposite of sitting and waiting for God... at least in my experience of it. The egos are flying and the pressure to have your way is immense.  When a person stands aside, it is similar to getting out of the way of an oncoming 18-wheeler. You arent doing it because it is right, true or good... or most importantly because it is God's will. You are doing it because everyone else in the room wants things their way and you are tired of these people tearing into your subtle body with their resentment. And it isnt just the Lake Worth meeting where this happens. Note this: https://www.reddit.com/r/quakerism/comments/17y5bxa/i_can_give_examples_of_monthly_meetings_which/ And non-Quakers who take a rational objective evaluation of Quaker consensus critique it as follows: https://berkeleyjournal.org/2015/05/26/the-theology-of-consensus/   Quaker meetings have a huge uphill battle in reconciling the truth in silence (the spiritu...

  What went on at the Lake Worth Quaker Center for me was not as bad a Stockholm Syndrome. Let us be clear that neither John or Ellie are abusers and the Lake Worth Quaker Center is not (quite) a cult: sure they stroke each other's ego and let things slide. But there is no evil or destructive intent behind their unskillful actions. They just dont have an accountability buddy since my ousting. But let's get back to the topic of this post. I became emotionally connected to Ellie during the Women's World Cup 2023. She was grateful that I showed her a way to watch a 5-minute highlight reel instead of 90 minutes of the whole game. And we had some good discussions about the games as she would walk into meeting. So when I pointed out the attempt to let programmed worship creep into our unprogrammed meeting without group consent. IT HURT. And it hurt in realtime. She was right there in the room when I started outing her behavior. It did not feel good. But I did it anyway. I would s...

I’ve had many revelations since this apparent “bad” event took place. The goal of this writing is not those revelations but to accurately report what occurred on that day. The Palm Beach Quaker meeting meets at 823 N A St, Lake Worth, FL USA. After morning worship and lunch, there was a decision to hold the business meeting even though some key people were absent. The first item of business was to ratify the minutes from the previous month. The Clerk (John Palozzi) said “do all agree to this summary report of last month’s minutes”?  It was at this point that I said:  “I am not in agreement with the statement that COVID rates are rising in Florida. Before I could agree with such a statement, I would need to confirm at least the following: the existence of the Corona Virus The infectiousness of the Corona Virus Evidence that there is a working test for the Corona Virus It was at this point that Atlanta Chuck said “Oh jesus” Then the Clerk said: “This is not the time or place to ...