Hello, everyone Thank you for welcoming me into the group. I learned English in school, but it was a long time ago. Please excuse my mistakes. I use an automatic translator, therefore it may be that I write horrible things I have not even imagined. Please feel free to correct me. My name is Laurent. I am French. I am 47 years old. I share my life with my partner Frank for 15 years. We are christians, catholic origin, but we live our faith outside the churches. There a few years, I discovered by chance, quakerism. I read a few books available on the subject in French. I am bookseller. Specifically, I am the christian bookseller in the city of La Rochelle. With my partner. What I learned about quakerism fascinated me. Because it matched my deepest spiritual aspirations for christianity in action. The most specific aspects of Quakerism, dont shock me. Because I have studied theology and Bible. I taught 14 years biblical culture with youth in the Paris suburbs. I was guide in Israel where I also taught two years at a school in the Occupied Territories. I know and appreciate the Jewish world, I teach Hebrew in La Rochelle. So the difference between water baptism and baptism of mind, do not ask me any problems. I also learned from my Jewish friends that orthopraxis is more important than orthodoxy, as each seeks honest truth. And my existentialism, makes me put freedom of conscience first. I contacted the only small french quaker group who is located in Paris. But I was disappointed because I did not find the christian spirit of the origins of Quakerism. I have some correspondence with a member who said he was a Buddhist. I have nothing against, but I wanted to deepen my Christian life... I searched in the internet which quaker organizations existed in the world. I found very christian quaker organizations but seemed quite fondamentalist and not very gay friendly. Finally, I thought I should create myself a group of christian friends in La Rochelle. And then I found your group, I feel a good christian energy and I want to know more about you. Thank you for reading me. Sincerely. Laurent.
Posted on: Sat, 18 Oct 2014 16:22:50 +0000