{"id":1701,"date":"2024-09-15T16:51:45","date_gmt":"2024-09-15T21:51:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/shareletter.milwaukeequakers.org\/?p=1701"},"modified":"2024-09-15T16:51:45","modified_gmt":"2024-09-15T21:51:45","slug":"don-pardee-and-linda-corbin-pardee-interview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shareletter.milwaukeequakers.org\/?p=1701","title":{"rendered":"Don Pardee and Linda Corbin-Pardee Interview"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In 2024, Shareletter began a series of interviews of Milwaukee Friends, asking a set of ten questions; some of which are standard, but others which require thoughtful consideration. Following are Don and Linda’s answers to these questions<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. How long have you been a Quaker?<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Since 1995.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n
    1. What brought you to Quakerism?<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

      Linda<\/em>:\u00a0 I was in a grad school Anthropology Class on participant observation. I needed to find a group to observe for a semester and I chose the Quakers, having learned about them a couple of years earlier when we were standing at an abortion clinic in 1992 helping to keep the clinic open. I had met a woman who mentioned that she had been going to a Universal Unitarian church but said she was going to try the Quakers, because they had a philosophy of social action that appealed to her. That stood out to me and so I chose the Quakers for my study. I was hooked pretty quickly. My TA said, after reading my second journal entry, \u201cYou know you\u2019re going to have to keep some objectivity in this.\u201d I talked to Don about coming with me but because I was doing course work, I attended by myself that first semester. And then Don and the kids started coming when that class was done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \n
      1. What keeps you coming back?<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

        Don<\/em>:\u00a0 The many friendships that we have developed and the sense of peace the worship provides.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Linda<\/em>:\u00a0 I agree. It has also been a place that brought together my desire to make change in the world as a reflection of my religious beliefs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          \n
        1. What aspects of Quakerism do you absolutely cherish?<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

          Linda<\/em>:\u00a0 I love the quiet. I love the silence. That amazing feeling of expectant waiting. It feels like sitting in that corporate silence taps into a collective unconscious that\u2019s very beautiful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          Don<\/em>:\u00a0 Ditto.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            \n
          1. Are there any aspects of Quakerism that you would rather do without?<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

            Linda<\/em>:\u00a0 Our decision-making process can at times be challenging but I value it as well. I wouldn\u2019t want to do without it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Don<\/em>:\u00a0 Not that I can think of.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

              \n
            1. There is a continuum of faith regarding the role of God in the world.<\/strong> Some believe that the Divine is active in the world and \u201chas a plan\u201d for everything while at the other end of the spectrum, others believe that there is a Divine Spirit infused in everything but that there is no \u201chand of God\u201d guiding the universe.\u00a0 What is your \u201ctheory of God\u201d and how does that impact your spiritual journey?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

              Linda<\/em>:\u00a0\u00a0 I don\u2019t have a clear answer for this. I grew up a United Methodist preacher\u2019s kid and came from very religious Protestant families. And so I grew up with this belief in God and the plan that God had for all of us. So that\u2019s a comfortable idea for me on some level. And yet I sometimes feel that this idea of \u201cGod\u2019s plan\u201d doesn\u2019t always feel right for me. What I love about Quakers is that there\u2019s room for my uncertainty and ambivalence and an acceptance that my understanding of God or Spirit and my spiritual journey are my own and will continue my whole life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

              Don<\/em>: \u00a0I believe in God. The Quaker phrase \u201cthere is that of God in everyone\u201d has been a touchstone for me during my time in this wonderful Meeting. I see God in the kindness, thoughtfulness and love exhibited by the people in this community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                \n
              1. What do you find most challenging about your spiritual journey?<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

                Don<\/em>:\u00a0 Taking enough time to just sit and be, in expectant waiting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                Linda<\/em>: I agree with Don \u2013 taking time to be in the spiritual journey is challenging. I also find it hard to live the Quaker values sometimes \u2013 to find that of God in the people I\u2019m dealing with, or not being as active on issues that are important to me as a Quaker.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                  \n
                1. Is Quakerism a practice (orthopraxy) or a religion (orthodoxy)?<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

                  Don<\/em>:\u00a0 One of the men at Waupun Prison who I visited for years and who had studied all the great religions, once said he \u201cliked the Quakers because they didn\u2019t force anyone to follow a specific creed\u201d. He also said in one of our worship groups that when we were sitting together listening for spirit \u201cthat we didn\u2019t need to talk about it. Just sitting in the same space together and listening for that of God was enough.\u201d I agree with him completely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                  Linda<\/em>: Our son Aaron, who attended Scattergood Friends School, used to talk about Friends who are Quakers because of social action and community, and those who are Quakers because of religious faith. I don\u2019t know if I\u2019m able to say which one Quakerism is (I\u2019m an inherently ambivalent person), but I feel like people come to Quakers for both reasons \u2013 practice and religion. Perhaps what makes most sense to me is to try and bring those two things together – faith and practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                    \n
                  1. What advice do you have for someone just beginning to explore Quakerism?<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

                    Linda<\/em>: I feel very fortunate about how I came to Milwaukee Friends Meeting and how I learned about Quakerism. Because it was a grad school class, I spent time interviewing people, learning from different Quakers, as well as doing some research. I interviewed Rebecca North and Janet Hilliker and Priscilla Camilli and learned so many different things about our meeting and how Quakers can think and act and that helped me feel that this was a spiritual home for me and my family. And I got involved with things that worked best for me at that time \u2013 Children\u2019s RE; I helped some with Peacemaker\u2019s Camp; I attended Women\u2019s Spirituality, which I loved; I served on Nominating Committee, which helped me learn more about members and attenders of our meeting. I really recommend committee work as a way to learn more and find one\u2019s place in Meeting and really cement what draws one to Quakers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                    Don<\/em>: \u00a0In addition to attending Meeting on Sundays, I too suggest joining a Milwaukee Friends Meeting committee that interests you, such as Peace & Justice, Hospitality, Meetinghouse or Loaves & Fishes. There are many others. You could also pick up a copy of \u2018Faith & Practice\u2019 from our library and read about the values this community lives by.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                      \n
                    1. Anything you would like to add?<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

                      We really love this community so much! We\u2019ve been so supported through hard times and have been celebrated when exciting things happen. It\u2019s been such an important faith community as we raised our kids and I\u2019m so grateful for the impact of Quakers \u2013 MFM, NYM, Camp Woodbrooke, Scattergood, and our experiences at FGC Gathering \u2013 on their lives and ours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                      <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                      We really love this community so much! We\u2019ve been so supported through hard times and have been celebrated when exciting things happen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":1682,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[134],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1701","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sept-24"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareletter.milwaukeequakers.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1701","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareletter.milwaukeequakers.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareletter.milwaukeequakers.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareletter.milwaukeequakers.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareletter.milwaukeequakers.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1701"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/shareletter.milwaukeequakers.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1701\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1703,"href":"https:\/\/shareletter.milwaukeequakers.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1701\/revisions\/1703"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareletter.milwaukeequakers.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1682"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/shareletter.milwaukeequakers.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1701"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareletter.milwaukeequakers.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1701"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shareletter.milwaukeequakers.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1701"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}