--- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
+++ b/ross_armstrong_visit.txt	Tue Dec 13 21:36:23 2022 +0000
@@ -0,0 +1,61 @@
+Maternal grandmothr a Quaker, mother raised Quaker
+
+Father became a Quaker after the 2nd WW, PoW..., attended Leyburn in
+Yorkshire.
+
+Lebanon, then Jordans, and first-day school wasn't for him.
+A Christian environment, but not a church-goer himself as a young adult.
+
+'Progressive' school with a Quaker head.
+
+Life decisions propelled him towards using the I Ching, but that
+didn't last as responsibilities grew.
+
+1980s, became involved in Palestinian issues, various jobs, ended up
+as a furniture maker and building trades, then assistant manager at
+Hadeel.
+
+Started observing Ramadan around the time of the 1st Gulf War: an
+active, pervasive engagement with religious practice, studied Arabic.
+
+Learned the 1st Sura, the cornerstone of his practice.  The nature of
+this as prayer that begins with '...merciful' is so different from the
+caricature of Muslims as fanatics.
+
+Came to MfW at P&M for four or five years, impressed by the depth of
+some of the Quakers he has met.  Made the transition from a "committed
+non-Attender" to acknowledging he _was_ an attender.  Really
+appreciated Quaker decision making in contrast to other experiences of
+committees.
+
+Membership:  Last autumn, Lebanon was for his father's job as Head at
+Brummana, mother a Trustee, who visited regularly, and she asked him
+to consider taking on that role.  Applied but not appointed, but the
+experience made him think again about membership, see the
+achievements, the remarkable work that has been done by Quakers.
+Andrew Clark, friend of his mother, awesome what one can achieve,
+leaves us a bit ashamed by comparison:  working of the Kingdom of
+Heaven.
+
+"Friends of Truth" can be goal and a daunting challenge.  
+
+"What I think of God" is not relevant, what matters is what 'he' has
+to say to me about how to live my life.
+
+Wife is as it were a lay preacher in the Zen temple in Portobello.
+There are a lot of connections between their practice and scriptures
+and ours.
+
+Gets into trouble for telling the truth.
+
+As leaving QMH in Ramallah, "are Quakers Christians?"  No
+Christology...
+
+Obstacles?  Vietnam, Palestine, now Ukraine, and XR, are
+difficulties.  Worries about the apparent need to take sides:  being
+driven by fear is not a good starting point for decisions.
+
+A member of the crew rather than a passenger.
+
+MfWfB can be an awesome experience
+