Also, the Quakers seem mostly awesome (except Nixon)… Pour one out for that radical bad ass who lived in a cave, railed against slavery and abuse of animals, and schooled Ben Franklin on morality, Benjamin Lay…
Also, Bayard Rustin.
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Truly unique; have always been egalitarian, there is no authoritarian priestly figure, and worship is just sitting in meditation and speaking if one feels the call.
I recall a story of a Quaker couple, around 1800 who had a friend with “consumption”, who was in love with the wife. The married couple were aware of this, and agreed that it would be the charitable thing to do for the wife to have an affair with their friend before he died. So she did, and they all three died of consumption.
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I wonder if that story made it into John Green’s upcoming book… which reminds me that I need to preorder a copy!
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I used to attend a UU church. Not only do they incorporate all sorts of faith traditions, they have no creed or doctrine, and encourage people to explore and define their own personal theology. The church I attended had members who were atheists, Christian, Jewish, and Muslim, that I know of. A number of mixed faith couples attended. If you want that church community without zealotry or judgment, a UU church is definitely worth checking out. Just don’t expect great music. It tends to be very much on the white bread side of things. Unless you happen to go to All Souls in Tulsa, Oklahoma, which has a very different vibe due to the incorporation of about half the congregation of a former historically black evangelical church.
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I thought that I’d read it in a book called Parallel Lives; Five Victorian Marriages, but skimming the summaries on goodreads, I don’t see this particular couple profiled. I don’t know where I read it then.
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Yeah, his book isn’t out yet, but that sounds like a very romantic Victorian story, so it must be somewhere!
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[…]
And on September 6th, there will be a pilgrimage by members of the LGBTQ+ community to St. Peter’s Basilica — an event that will appear on the official pilgrimage calendar for the very first time.
I mean I’m still waiting for a time where it’s no big deal when the Pope issues a press communiqué to the effect that she is getting a divorce, but until then I’ll take anything that vaguely moves in the right direction.
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Aha! The branch from Jesse? 
Among many other things:
“Student loan debt can be a barrier to a religious vocation”
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To truly begin the journey of becoming a nun, a woman is asked to relinquish worldly possessions, meeting the expectation of poverty. That includes debt, which can be an issue for educated young women today.
So debt is a worldly possession?
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