#eldership

[qtellerr]

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"Sometimes people don't Talk to you; They Do to you."

Nteasee Elder Levi 🏔️♒

[lgcyab]

Understanding the Role of Elders in Guiding the Congregation

Setting: Ezekiel and Barnabas, affectionately called “Barney” when he says something especially silly, are relaxing at a sunny lakeside park. Children play on the nearby swings, ducks glide across the water, and a gentle breeze rustles the leaves of the surrounding trees. Jeremiah sits nearby, seemingly lost in thought. Ezekiel: [leaning back on the picnic blanket] You know, Barney, I’ve been…

[preacherpollard]

Keeping On Track Until He Comes Back

Wednesday’s Column: Third’s Words I Thessalonians 5.12-13a — Church Leadership Helps Keep Us on Track We have to recognize their value because elders are a critical part of setting the tone of a church family.  Because of their work, God expects us to consider them the MVPs of our congregations.  God will personally reward elders who do good work (I Pt 5.4; Hb 13.17; Acts 20.32).  God…

[boyslushie]

eldershipping commission for @nekona-the-geokitty!!!

[cyberwulf]

Rest and Recharge

Family functions are tiring, and Grandpa needs a lie down. Maybe Delia can perk the professor up?

[cyberwulf]

"...Delia?"

Professor Oak didn't wait for her to answer before entering the room, closing the door softly behind him. "It's time."

Delia swallowed, rubbing her sweaty palms against her white trousers and hoping, too late, that they wouldn't leave a stain. She knew it was time. It was time ten minutes ago. Just like it was time fifteen years ago, back when she was the one wearing the dress. Except today, she couldn't move, couldn't even stand, much less walk down the aisle.

Oak frowned slightly, bushy eyebrows drawing together. He was greyer and his boutonniere was a different colour, but Delia wouldn't be surprised if he was wearing the same tux.

"What's wrong?"

"...I can't do this."

Her voice cracked and she choked back a sob. She was so stupid, doing this now at the eleventh hour, the twelfth hour, she'd been fine all through the run-up and the planning and the rehearsal dinner, why now, Jessie was waiting -

"It's all right."

Oak slid onto the bench next to her. His hands were warm and rough around her own.

"You don't have to," he murmured.

Delia shook her head.

"But everything -"

"You don't have to," Oak interrupted gently. He fished a couple of tissues from the nearby box (thank goodness James had thought to leave some in both dressing rooms) and pressed them into her hand. "Second, there's no need to worry. James has convinced Jessie to be fashionably late."

Delia couldn't help but chuckle at that. She wiped her eyes and looked up at him. Oak smiled and pulled her into a hug.

"Let's you and I figure this out," he suggested.

Delia took a deep breath and let it out. She held onto him, breathing in the aftershave he only wore on special occasions. He'd been her teacher, her support system, her crush (very briefly), a mentor to her son, and most of all her friend. A friend who knew what it was like to marry young, divorce young, and raise kids alone.

"I'm scared," she mumbled. "I love Jessie - Sam, I love her so much - but I loved Jack. I loved Jack and Ash and I weren't enough for him and -"

Oak cut her off before she could spiral any further. "Okay, let's be scientific about this." He pulled back slightly to look at her. "You and Jack were eighteen, and you were..."

"Pregnant," Delia finished.

"And you'd known each other..."

"Six months," Delia answered, understanding what he was getting at. "And now I'm thirty -" she coughed - "and very much not, and we've been a couple for years." She sighed. "I know all that, Sam. It's not helping."

Oak shrugged.

"Fine, forget science," he agreed. "Tell me why you want to get married."

"Jessie really wants to," Delia murmured, gazing down at her engagement ring. "She's dreamed of a big wedding ever since she was a little girl. And I want her to be happy, so..."

"Ah, ah," Oak chided with a smile. "That's a Mom answer. Tell me why Delia Ketchum wants to get married."

Delia paused, the clock ticking softly as she thought back over her relationship with Jessie.

"It doesn't feel right saying 'girlfriend' anymore," she replied.

"You could call her your partner," Oak suggested.

Delia shook her head. "James was her partner. It sounds... Team Rocket-y." Though he did have a point, she had to admit. "...I want us to be a real family."

He cocked an eyebrow. "You aren't a family now?"

Also a point. She and Jessie and Ash were a family. And yet...

"I love how she and Ash spend time together," Delia murmured. "I know they had a rocky start, but..." She looked up at him. "...I swear, Jessie misses him more than I do. She pretends she doesn't, but as soon as she knows he's coming home, everything has to be perfect. And she's the first person he talks to about his adventures. Until she pushes him to go talk to me." Her fear and anxiety continued to wane the more she thought about it. Ash and Jessie talking snake Pokémon (shudder), arguing over who would take the fall over her ruined garden, shamefacedly confessing their daddy-daughter-drag-double battle adventure. Jessie moved to tears by Ash's Father's Day gift. The pair of them exchanging a brief look before Ash explained away his bandaged leg as a bike accident. "I want us to be together forever. And..." She swallowed. "...if anything happens to me... I want them to have each other."

Oak squeezed her shoulder.

"Then I think you should get married," he replied with a smile. "But it doesn't have to be now, or like this."

Delia looked away, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

"Well yeah, but... everyone's here... and there's a great buffet that'll go to waste... and you and I are both wearing tuxedos..."

Oak chuckled.

"For what it's worth," he remarked, "I was against your first marriage. I'm not against this one."

He rose and offered her his hand.

"Walk me down the aisle?" Delia asked. "Again?"

He smiled.

"It would be my pleasure."

last ask made me think about a jessie/delia wedding and delia lowkey freaking out/almost getting cold feet

old fears about marriage coming up uh ohhhh

[hymnrevival]

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[moonmoonthecrabking]

something i find so fascinating about grace chasity’s brand of christianity is that there’s not much sexism in it? let me explain what i mean.

i come from a christian background and a denomination which, in my state, has allowed women in eldership positions for my whole life. i’m friends with other christians whose denominations Don’t have that and also us christian fundamentalism is very sexist, i know bc have access to social media.

aside from mark’s job being mentioned and karen’s not, as well as her doing the cooking, there’s not a real sense of gender hierarchy in the christian circles in hatchetfield. this applies greatly to the purity culture that pervades abstinence camp and npmd, with the jerris saying that “this is a progressive ministry. we believe men and women should just say no!” often, in fundamentalist circles, while men are encouraged to wait until marriage, so much more pressure is put on the women to “stop the men from stumbling” (yes, it’s bad, this isn’t a post about the horrors of purity culture).

however, in npmd (and even ac to an extent), grace is the one at risk of “stumbling” and blames men. in npmd she very much blames max for her corrupted purity (from her perspective) and that is her motivation for revenge, even before she has sex with his ghost. the responsibility is not on her to “gouge out her own eye”, so to speak, at least not without a greater risk to max. even in ac, she makes tiny sweaters for their Jesus status, which reminds me of when i would scroll down to the comments of a youtube video bc i was scared of being attracted to people (1. not a purity culture thing 2. id like to say that this was a me being scared of liking women thing, and to an extent it was, but i also remember doing it to men. 2017 was a weird time and something was probably awakening in me ngl).

as slightly more proof, she is the only one advocating for removing homecoming in npmd, and in ac she ends as the sole leader of the camp. now, an evangelical’s view of women in ministry varies on person to person (source: like two weeks ago when i was desperately trying to not get myself into a debate with other christian women), unless she’s in an ultra-conservative environment (which she isn’t, it’s middlingly conservative frankly), she would be able to do these on her own. however, this is theatre, it’s a demonstration of her desire for power and acquisition of it. she does not view herself as needing to be subservient to a man. also i think northern baptists (my hc for her) are a little less Bad than southern baptists but anyway.

the interesting thing about this, to me, is that she does share views that i would put in those less “yay women” denominations (yes this about the catholic line i guarantee you it annoys me even more when i encounter it in the real world). there’s the (internalised) homophobia. but not the internalised misogyny. this could be related to the respect given to trans identities by the depictions of idontwannabang and the chasitys in hatchetfield, creating the sense of a more egalitarian Biblical perspective than complimentarian.

like grace has this terrible relationship with purity culture, yeah, but she’s the active agent in it, and she shames the passive object of her affections, the man. that doesn’t happen that often. there are countless videos of “what women should wear to be modest” but men can go to the gym shirtless if they so choose. maybe it’s only interesting to me but still

[cardo-de-comer]

Man, I gotta say it!

I really like your drawing of Mr. Qi from Stardew Valley! Whether it's a pixel painting or an oil painting-like texture, the mysterious purple halo that perfectly blends cold tones, I have to say that you really get it! It perfectly demonstrates Mr. Qi's sense of eldership and mystery... If it weren't for bedtime, I could continue to praise...👏🏻

thank you! <3 mr.qi is the best honestly. Here's a quick old sketch for y'all fellow qi fans

[qtellerr]

Greetings.

An online Discovery Event on Friday 15th November at 7pm.

The Zoom details are on the flyer attached. The event is for people who want to know more about the Understanding Eldership program. The idea of occupying the space and role of an Elder is a significyouant role & responsibility. However, just the sound of the word, creates, uneasiness. This the work I have devoted my time to. A role that needs brave people, those of integrity.

This is our personal invitation to you.

Stay blessed.

[preacherpollard]

The Local Preacher (Part One)

The Local Preacher (Part One)

Thursday’s Column: Captain’s Blog Carl Pollard When taking a look at the book of Acts, many insights can be found about the church. From the Lord’s supper to the appointing of elders, there are many things that can be learned about the Lord’s Church and how it should act. Today there are far too many churches that have left and strayed away from the original design. Since we have one Bible,…

[bonefall]

i personally was always confused as to how shellheart and rainflower, two very gray cats, had two brown kittens?? like i understand warriors doesnt really try with genetics but. Huh?

i tried to use your riverclan tree as a reference when seeing which cat could have honor sired and. Not caused later issues when it came to future kits/relationships and the only one I see who could possibly be viable is probably... timberfur? it would explain the sudden brown kittens, unless youve changed colors around?

i would suggest rainflower mightve used queens rights and had an honor sire (i guess) from outside the clan (passing loner or a barn cat or something) but rainflower's character comes across to me as someone who'd never do that.

You guys know that Honor Siring doesn't just have to be a rogue or loner, right? She could have gotten a leader. Like Raggedstar.

That's a fine solution to her seeming like a sort of person who wanted her kits to come from greatness. She wouldn't be able to openly brag that her kids belong to the deputy, but that seems less important than her just having very valuable kits.

But also PLEASE understand that 75% of the time, I don't pick an "actual" father in honor siring cases. It's only when it's plot relevant to a character's motivations, like now.

Anyway, I could also do deputy shuffles.

Rainflower could be the new deputy instead, and get a fiery demotion when she starts mistreating her son

I could make Timberfur the deputy instead, and have Crookedstar choose someone else as his first deputy (or just make Oakheart his first)

Stormpaw is also going to get a new mentor-- a cat called Magpiesky. She's over on the family tree, a cat who comes from the barn repurposed into a RiverClan warrior. She also brings Storm there when he's threatened by early Eldership because of his inability to hunt at first.

[sunset-peril]

Social Makeup Study - Hateno Village (HFS, TotK)

Village Structure

Leadership system: Eldership and a monarchy-like structure both appear to be used at once. An electoral system has become popular with some citizens, and Hyrule's monarchy has begun to restore itself, both further complicating the matter. Traditionally, Hateno used an eldership system exclusively, but Hyrule's sudden destruction 100 years ago brought elements of a monarchy (primarily that there is one leader who inherits the position).

Leader/Ruler: Reede Imperial (leader/mayor, under dispute), Link Hyrule (elder, under dispute, King of Hyrule)

Economy: As a former land of exile, Hateno is traditionally non-exporting. However, the village became known for agriculture and dye production after the Age of Burning Fields. Recently, the village has become a hub for textiles such as clothing and hats. The past century has brought significant changes in this area, which has also brought unease.

Demographics: Historically was 100% Pedigreed Wolfbred, although the modern village has a makeup of approximately 50% Wolfbred/Wolfbred Hybrid and 50% Hylian. This shift was also brought about in the last 100 years.

Beliefs and Afterlife: A Hylia-worshipping village. Wolfbred mythology depicts them having been created by the Twilight's interaction with their ancestor and believe that the Twilight became heritable through his line. Although the Twilight Realm is not an afterlife realm (nor was it intended to be), the Wolfbred still believe their ghosts will be returned to the Realm when their bodies fail because of their own Twilight, and believe that Midna created the Celaeno Orientalis constellation (a wolf-like constellation that appears over Hateno) as a replacement for the Mirror of Twilight to help their souls return "home". Due to the Mirror of Twilight's destruction, there is no way to confirm or deny this belief; however, it appears to have been reinforced by Link's successful command of both Wolfbred-like spirits and Hylia's Honor Guard (souls of past heroes) in battle.

Citizens

Link (Imperial) Hyrule: The last documented male Wolfbred, and the last Wolfbred born under exile. For this reason, he’s referred to as the last “Pedigreed Wolfbred”.  Champion of Hyrule/Hylians, despite not technically being Hylian, and beloved mate of Princess Zelda. Died during the Great Calamity, but not before becoming King of Hyrule. The first Wolfbred King since Kakku. Cause of death: fatal battle wounds. He was resurrected 100 years after his death, and reigns over Hyrule today with his beloved. The Sheikah crowned him King Sovereign before Calamity Ganon was sealed for good, as the throne would pass to whichever of King Rhoam's heirs/relatives was found alive first. Called "Grandpa" (sometimes written "Grandpaw") by his extended family. Has developed blindness in one eye as well as joint pain, two common signs of a Wolfbred's aging, and is technically retired from all soldiering.

Zelda (Esmerelda) Hyrule: The first Hylian to marry into the tribe in 10,000 years due to the exile, and mother of Hyrule's first (chronologically-speaking) Wolfbred-Hylian hybrid: Zelda Ivee. Said to be the only true Hylian who could speak the Wolfbred tongue fluently before the Calamity. The Sheikah's crowning of Link restarted the Kingdom of Hyrule, so this Princess hasn't seen a need to rush her ascension to the Queen's throne. Her temper was found to be of Wolfbred descent, as she is Karu’s descendant. A beloved teacher at the newly build Hateno Schoolhouse.

Zelda Ivee Hyrule: King Link and Princess Zelda’s beloved little girl and the new Princess Zelda. She is the first Wolfbred hybrid since her distant ancestor Karu, and her soul is over a century old despite her age of five. Her upbringing will likely shape the future of Hyrule, as her parents come from such different backgrounds. Current studies regarding her aim to identify whatever might trigger the aggressive tendencies her family tree is infamous for, so her exposure to such triggers can be limited. 

Reede Imperial: Leader of Hateno Village and descendant of Sydnei (Link's sister). He retains a strong desire to stay in tune with his heritage and prides himself on keeping Hateno just the way it was during the exile: a safe haven for the Wolfbred. He inherited the antagonistic tendencies of his family. Although he is generally a very peaceful, vegetable-loving man, he has recently begun to display aggressive behavior, and has gotten in a few fights. (Now that the villagers think about it, so has Link.)

Clavia Imperial: Reede's wife and the mother of Karin. Clavia is Hylian, but has been accepted into the Clan as if she was Wolfbred. While her daughter is in school, she spends time at Link and Zelda's, often helping tidy the place so the half-blind Link can keep his last good eye on his pup. Besides, she believes it does Link good to have someone other than Zelda to talk to.

Karin Imperial: Reede and Clavia's daughter, and a pupil of Zelda's. Currently, Karin is not affected by her family's tendencies. Purah aims to prevent exposing both her and Zelda Ivee to whatever causes those tendencies to develop. Although, considering how riled up their fathers have suddenly gotten, Purah and her fellow researchers may have to work fast to identify the cause and isolate it from the girls.

Sophie and Cece: A pair of Wolfbred-Hylian sisters. Cece is eldest. Their existence greatly influences modern Wolfbred-Hylian relations as Sophie is considered legally Wolfbred, while Cece is the first hybrid to not be legally Wolfbred, at least within the village. Surprisingly, Sophie is the more docile of the two. Cece recently moved back in after traveling the world to study fashion. Village opinions are mixed. Link and Sophie are friends. Link and Cece are not.

Ivee: Daughter of the family who runs East Wind General Store. It's rumored that she was actually named after Zelda Ivee, as Hateno thought she'd been killed in-utero during the Great Calamity.

Pruce, Amira and Azu: Family of Ivee, runs East Wind. Ancestor was a dear friend of Ordon, which strengthens the rumors about the origins of Ivee's name. Father, mother and younger brother, respectively. Azu has taken fondly to "protecting" the village, a tendency that often develops in Wolfbred males as they approach and reach puberty.

Tamana: A former Cucco rancher, and Teebo's mother.

Teebo: A very polite Wolfbred pup and Tamana's son. Has shown an immense interest in weapons and the warrior arts since he was very young, and now fills a slot on the day-shift Hateno guard. His apparently innate interest in warrior arts and protection have brought him and Link into a mentor-mentee relationship.

Medda: A tomato-raising farmer, and Aster's father. His wife passed many years ago, but he and his daughter seem to be doing well.

Aster: Medda's daughter. Loves tomatos and froggies, and recently moved next door to Link and Zelda.

Dantz, Koyin: A family of Wolfbred who live outside the town on a farm in the forest, completely devoted to the ways of their ancestors. Father and daughter, respectively.

Sayge, Senna and Sefaro: Family running the Kochi Dye Shop. Sayge and Senna are devoted artisans, who are thriving with Hateno's new textile based market. Sefaro, however, is a much more studious soul who prefers to read history books at the schoolhouse. He's tried to badger Link into teaching him more sensitive history like the Great Calamity, Wolfbred Exile and Sheikah Fallout; currently to little-to-no avail. Perhaps when the little historian is older... or when other tensions in the village smooth over....

Prima: Said to be the prettiest Wolfbred after Midna Marie. May be related to Linky due to the strong facial resemblance to his mother, but is clearly not of the Imperial family.

Worten: Prima's husband. A Wolfbred-Hylian hybrid like his wife, which was seen as a milestone for the species (as hybrids had become distant enough to interbreed again)

Uma: An elderly Wolfbred-Hylian. One of the first hybrids to be born, and has lived since the Age of Burning Fields. Full of knowledge about the village and its history, with a priceless ability to see multiple perspectives for almost any conflict in the village. She usually attempts to soothe Link and Reede when they are riled, often with more success than their wives.

Hyrule's Final Stand Masterlist

[cyberwulf]

The Rough With The Smooth

The upside to sleeping with an older man is, he's not afraid to go down on you.

The downside to sleeping with an older man is, he doesn't know anything about skincare.

[ceekbee]

Very happy indeed, having a new cargo of essays for you, arriving in this second volume: here is one of them: Sojourn. DW

SOJOURN

is what we all do, every day of our restless lives: arrive, stay a while and then move on. Sojourn captures that simultaneous sense of recent arrival, intriguing stay, and adventurous departure necessary to the underlying joy and happiness of our human essence. Sojourn is a word that melds the three tenses of past, present and future together. We are creatures of the sudden hello, the getting to know and the long or the short goodbye, but sojourn is also a word that understands that even in our briefest stays we are changing and being changed by what we stay with. Staying with something is to change and deepen whatever we are staying with; staying itself is a journey that always leads to altering our further departures. Sojourn takes its definition by being a stay between journeys that is also a journey in itself.

Human beings love the idea and the ideal of the eternal and the unchanging, but seem to meet that eternal only in the never ending invitation to see and experience the underlying unstoppable and changing nature of existence. We intuitively understand that we conspire in this state of affairs, we are both helpless witnesses and unconscious engines of change every moment of our day, witnessing and causing trouble even in our simple passing through. Indeed, there is no trouble-making change agent to match our very own bodies, which moves on without our asking or without a bye or leave, through the thresholds of maturation without a stop or a halt. By the agency of some hidden, unstoppable driver of change, the body makes its pilgrim way through childhood, into adolescence, into adulthood, into eldership, into the sudden realisation that our next journey is into our own disappearance all accompanied, we hope, by our own noble attempt at a brave goodbye. The body we realise, seeing in that one single glance in the mirror, the youth we were, the person we are now and the elder we are about to become, is the ultimate sojourner.

Whether we are world travellers or home bound stick-in-the-muds, we are creatures just traveling through: our essence and our attention caught, even as we sit in our arm chairs gazing at our screens, by mythological images that mirror our traveling nature: that stranger at the door asking for alms and hospitality, that handsome traveller at a bar asking not so innocently for a good time, that good Samaritan on the road offering to help, that ultimate pilgrim of the restless, Clint Eastwood, turning his horse toward the sunset, having freed the town from awful predators, all of us, believers or not, vicarious travellers in great and timeless religious images inherited from our past: Christ entering Jerusalem, St Paul struck down on the road to Damascus, Basho’s narrow road to the far north; all of us, caught imaginatively whether we go or not, by the pilgrim roads of the world: the road to Varanasi, the road to Santiago the road to Graceland, the trackless roads across the oceans our ancestors explored: all beckoning us on to some place where something wonderful already happened and where something wonderful, something beyond my present, might well happen to me.

The underlying undertow of existence, even in our most rested state is restless, tidal change, and our agency and context for this restless travel is longing in all its forms: physiological and psychological: even Zen students, refusing to move, sitting stock still in their black robes, on their black cushions, travel invisibly on the road of longing: the longing, strangely, to be free of the restless mind, in order to be at rest with the true, underlying restless movement of the world. Each of us, sojourners all, even when we seem to be as quiet and as still as a mouse, journeying on into some other, longed for spaciousness, every step of our restless way.

From Consolations II

The Solace, Nourishment and Underlying Meaning of Everyday Words

David Whyte

Now Available in Preorder Signed by the Author

https://davidwhyte.com/store/book/consolations-ii/

Consolations II was written in something of an intense delirium between January and the end of July this year. I wrote sixty essays in those seven months, fifty two of which are included in this volume. It was such a physically intense experience that in the hours of daily writing, I began to undergo all kinds of strange psychological phenomena, many of which folded back into and magnified the depth and reach of the later essays. The essay entitled 'Time' most especially, propelled me into a full blown, out -of-body experience in the room in which I was writing, overlooking the Italian countryside. As in my life in general, the essays in this second volume are a little more intense, a little edgier, and ask a little more of the reader than the first volume. I hope you enjoy them while being challenged and being invited a little further than you might have contemplated wanting to go... DW