<div style="color:black;font: 10pt Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Back issue: 10/24/19<br>
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<span class="yiv7615541282mcnPreviewText" style="display:none;font-size:0px;line-height:0px;max-height:0px;max-width:0px;overflow:hidden;visibility:hidden;">Churchianity Specifically.</span>
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"> <a title="" class="yiv7615541282" href="https://ProgressiveChristianity.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b51b9cf441b059bb232418480&id=c2dd2d6dc2&e=edb736c2ad" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> <img width="559" align="middle" class="yiv7615541282mcnImage" style="
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<h1 style="
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The Church Must Die - Part 1</h1>
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line-height:150%;text-align:left;"> <span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="font-family:georgia, times, times new roman, serif;">Essay by
Rev. Jessica Shine<br>
October 24, 2019</span></span>
<div style="margin:10px 0;
padding:0;
color:#202020;
font-family:Helvetica;
font-size:16px;
line-height:150%;text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="font-family:georgia, times, times new roman, serif;">The
church isn’t just dying.
In many parts of the
United States, it is
already dead.<br>
<br>
At least, its impact is.
The pews are still warm,
the offering plates
clanking with coins, and
the bodies are present.
However the church itself
is wasting away and has
become irrelevant. It has
become a hall to rent or a
historic building. And
that must die.<br>
<br>
The Church must die.
Churchianity<a name="_ftnref1" title="" style="
color:#007C89;
font-weight:normal;
text-decoration:underline;" href="#_ftn1" rel="noopener noreferrer">[1]</a>
specifically. The elevatin
g of an
organization or
institution, and its
importance over that of
Jesus, is what I mean by
churchianity. Often in
America, the words church
and churchianity are
virtually interchangeable.
And this gospel of its
death is really good news.<br>
<br>
I know, I know, ‘<em>but
my denomination
is part of the fastest growing
evangelical groups.</em>’
‘<em>America is Laodicea
(an oft misquoted
reference to Revelation
3), when will we wake up</em>!’
<em>‘But the </em>c<em>hurch
is growing outside of
North America.’</em><br>
<br>
And yet, since 1990 The
Pew Research Center
reports that Americans
have dropped from 92% to
70% reporting they believe
in God. Not a Christian
God only, as this
statistic includes
Judaism, Hinduism,
Buddhism, and other faith
groups. “The recent
decrease in religious
beliefs and behaviors is
largely attributable to
the “nones” – the <a style="
color:#007C89;
font-weight:normal;
text-decoration:underline;" href="https://ProgressiveChristianity.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b51b9cf441b059bb232418480&id=e769405157&e=edb736c2ad" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">growing
minority</a> of
Americans, particularly in
the Millennial generation,
who say they do not belong
to any organized faith.”<a name="_ftnref2" title="" style="
color:#007C89;
font-weight:normal;
text-decoration:underline;" href="#_ftn2" rel="noopener noreferrer"><sup><sup>[2]</sup></sup></a>
Often considering
themselves spiritual but
not religious because
Churchianity doesn’t align
with a current
understanding of social
issues, including
homosexuality. The church
in North America is
following suit behind its
predecessors in Europe,
where the demise of the
mainline institution was
exacerbated by its lack of
relevance and over
emphasis on a constructed
building rather than human
presence. In other words,
crusades ended and life
kept moving and nobody
missed the church. Too
often it seems the church
is creating another
crusade to prove its
relevance, only distancing
those who really want to
know more about Jesus and
encounter the Teacher.<br>
<br>
Before you roll your eyes,
understand I love the
Church and what she has
given me: rich experiences
of building community,
fellowship in other
countries, a deeper
understanding of
scripture, the challenges
(and blessings) of
building community in
suburbia as a woman of
color, the collegiality of
(a few) brothers (and more
sisters) in ministry who
are able to show mutual
support. And yet, I could
write a third testament on
what Jesus never actually
said, but Churchianity has
made a dividing line or
test of fellowship.<br>
<br>
For example:</span></span></div>
<ol>
<li><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="font-family:georgia, times, times new roman, serif;"><strong>Jesus
never intended to
start an institution
or another religion
apart from Judaism. </strong>Spoiler
alert: Jesus was a brown
Jewish person from north
east Africa. (Feel free
to argue, but there is
no ‘middle east’ state,
country, or continent.
That label is for
oppressive religious,</span></span>
<span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="font-family:georgia, times, times new roman, serif;">political
and economic purposes).</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="font-family:georgia, times, times new roman, serif;"><strong>Jesus
never intended to
compete with other
mystical viewpoints of
the Divine.</strong>
I.e. Jesus’ primary
audience was his Jewish
communities and
occasionally their
immediate captors (the</span></span>
<span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="font-family:georgia, times, times new roman, serif;">Roman
empire), not Buddhists,
not Hindus, not that
weird church down the
street you keep getting
postcards from.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="font-family:georgia, times, times new roman, serif;"><strong>Jesus
really is the point,
not churchianity. </strong>In
the gospels and the
scriptures that follow,
Jesus invited his
community to two simple
practices.<font color="#ffffff"> </font>These
were echoes from the
Tanakh (Jewish
scriptures most
Christians, including
progressives, harmfully
label as the old
testament). The two
pillars of Jesus'
community were gathering
together for meals and
the
sharing of resources
(communion), and baptism
(regular ritual
cleansing).</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="font-family:georgia, times, times new roman, serif;"><strong>The
Church is not a
building or an
institution.</strong>
It’s people and we’re
messy.</span></span></li>
</ol>
<font face="georgia, times,
times new roman, serif"><span style="font-size:14px;"> </span></font><br>
<font face="georgia, times,
times new roman, serif"><span style="font-size:14px;">Churchianity
must die because it is a
tool of the modern
supremacist empire crafted
by political powers who want
a system to control rather
than commune. It is ancient,
but emigrated along with
Christianity to this
continent under the guise of
fallacies like manifest
destiny. Churchianity
emphasizes things Jesus
never said (or did).
Churchianity has bought into
the empire ideology that
bigger is better, and that
we must have more</span></font>
<font face="georgia, times, times
new roman, serif"><span style="font-size:14px;">in
order to prove our relevance
or importance. I recently
saw a billboard advertising
a ‘christian’ event that
included the word ‘conquer’
in the title. Paul and Jesus
had plenty to say about
‘conquering’ ourself and our
ego, yet the church has
taken these and other
teachings and created a
mandate for us to ‘fix’ each
other, or make each other
into an image of godliness
the church says is sacred.
Stuff Jesus never said.</span></font><br>
<font face="georgia, times,
times new roman, serif"><span style="font-size:14px;"> </span></font><br>
<font face="georgia, times,
times new roman, serif"><span style="font-size:14px;">And
yet….</span></font><br>
<font face="georgia, times,
times new roman, serif"><span style="font-size:14px;"> </span></font><br>
<strong style="font-family:georgia, times, times new roman, serif;font-size:14px;">We need
connection with each other.</strong><font face="georgia, times, times
new roman, serif"><span style="font-size:14px;"> We
need to sit across from each
other at meal time, to laugh
together, walk together,
talk together. Jesus knew
this and surrounded himself
with people who would never
willingly choose to eat
together, even with someone
like him. Jesus often
honored and challenged the
community that raised him.
Honoring his mother’s
request for wine at a
wedding party or inviting
himself to dinner with a tax
collecting traitor. Jesus
inserted himself into
uncomfortable spaces because
he understood the value of
communing together. And yet,
we face a loneliness
epidemic in North America
that includes a stark
disconnection to the
communal spirituality of our
ancestors. In fact, most
Americans aren’t even
conscious of how their
ancestors viewed the Divine.</span></font><br>
<font face="georgia, times,
times new roman, serif"><span style="font-size:14px;"> </span></font><br>
<font face="georgia, times,
times new roman, serif"><span style="font-size:14px;">Friendship
expert, Shasta Nelson says,
“We know more people in
history, and yet we feel
like we have no one to
confide in… modern day
loneliness is not because we
need to interact more, it’s
because we need more
intimacy. Frientimacy is a
relationship where both
people feel seen in a safe
and satisfying way</span></font><a name="_ftnref3" title="" style="font-family:georgia, times, new serif;
font-size:14px;
color:#007C89;
font-weight:normal;
text-decoration:underline;" href="#_ftn3" rel="noopener noreferrer"><sup><sup>[3]</sup></sup></a><font face="georgia, times, times
new roman, serif"><span style="font-size:14px;">.”
Unfortunately, Churchianity
defines how we see each
other, and horrifically also
defines how we navigate
friendship. And yet,
according to Nelson, the
single greatest factor for
life expectancy is
meaningful relationship. Not
diet, exercise, or social
issues like smoking or
drinking. Let that sink in.
Jesus commanded his
followers to love radically,
yet Churchianity insists we
must modify our behavior
before we can have
community. The church has
lost its relevance as
community and within
community, and so it will
die.</span></font><br>
<font face="georgia, times,
times new roman, serif"><span style="font-size:14px;"> </span></font><br>
<strong style="font-family:georgia, times, times new roman, serif;font-size:14px;">We need
connection with the Divine.</strong><font face="georgia, times, times
new roman, serif"><span style="font-size:14px;">
Beyond the science that
proves meditative and
prayerful practices actually
help our healing, we
inherently have an openness
to God, Wonder, Awe (the
Divine who has many names or
no name). Writers of
Progressive Christian
children’s curriculum know
this and often invite more
of that curiosity forward to
help kids become learners,
rather than receptacles of
pre-decided information. We
are born with an inherent
awareness and desire for
communion with God, yet so
little of our daily routine
fosters that. Within the
church, connection to the
Divine can feel even more
narrow and difficult. Stuff
Jesus never said or did in
his own life</span></font>
<font face="georgia, times, times
new roman, serif"><span style="font-size:14px;">has
been used to keep us within
the confines of Churchianity
and out of the realm of
communion.</span></font><br>
<font face="georgia, times,
times new roman, serif"><span style="font-size:14px;"> </span></font><br>
<font face="georgia, times,
times new roman, serif"><span style="font-size:14px;">In
the tradition I came from, I
was inspired by nature based
awareness and practices of
pioneers like John Harvey
Kellogg, who founded
sanitariums (and invented
modern breakfast cereal).
Kellogg and others wrote
about the benefits of fresh
air, exercise, moderation.
Spiritual teachers embraced
this ancient wisdom in a
time when our air was being
poisoned by gun powder and
factory exhaust. The founder
of the denomination that
ordained me often advocated
for fresh, whole foods,
adequate sleep, and avoiding
extremes.</span></font><br>
<font face="georgia, times,
times new roman, serif"><span style="font-size:14px;"> </span></font><br>
<font face="georgia, times,
times new roman, serif"><span style="font-size:14px;">Our
modern American society
hasn’t been built by people
who want to make us happy or
holy. It’s been built and is
still maintained by people
who want to produce more
faster, and who have taught
us that our worth depends on
what we produce.
Unfortunately, like many
dying corporations, the
church baptized itself in a
meritocracy mindset. And
now, we are reaping the
consequences of those
‘founding fathers’ as well
as the Jesus movement (birth
of modern evangelicalism)
and the Jesus seminar alike.
This is something I’ll be
unpacking in an upcoming
article, please keep
reading.</span></font><br>
<font face="georgia, times,
times new roman, serif"><span style="font-size:14px;"> </span></font><br>
<font face="georgia, times,
times new roman, serif"><span style="font-size:14px;">And
yet, the Jesus of the
gospels stands in stark
contrast to production (and
deconstruction) as a means
to a fulfilled life. For
example, in the book
attributed to Matthew, Jesus
goes to the desert after a
show stopping baptism,
complete with descending
dove and heavenly
proclamation. Instead of
engaging cheering crowds he
retreats.</span></font><br>
<font face="georgia, times,
times new roman, serif"><span style="font-size:14px;"> </span></font><br>
<font face="georgia, times,
times new roman, serif"><span style="font-size:14px;">What?!?</span></font><br>
<font face="georgia, times,
times new roman, serif"><span style="font-size:14px;"> </span></font><br>
<font face="georgia, times,
times new roman, serif"><span style="font-size:14px;">Then,
when he returns to
civilization, Jesus turns
down an invitation to power
and instead spends time with
the homeless, prostitutes,
and is accused of being
drunk. Imagine what would
happen in your city if
Christians did what Jesus
did? He loves his small
community, this band of
misfits and mismatched
beings. Then the strangest
twist… HE DIES.</span></font><br>
<font face="georgia, times,
times new roman, serif"><span style="font-size:14px;"> </span></font><br>
<font face="georgia, times,
times new roman, serif"><span style="font-size:14px;">Jesus
doesn’t ascend the lectern
and deliver a speech to the
religious leaders motivating
them for the next general
assembly or offer a vision
of evangelism for the next
10 decades. He dies. And he
makes sure his community
knows how much he loves
them. He offers them bread,
wine, and his body. Jesus
makes sure his mother has
community, that his brother
has community</span></font><a name="_ftnref4" title="" style="font-family:georgia, times, new serif;
font-size:14px;
color:#007C89;
font-weight:normal;
text-decoration:underline;" href="#_ftn4" rel="noopener noreferrer"><sup><sup>[4]</sup></sup></a><font face="georgia, times, times
new roman, serif"><span style="font-size:14px;">. In
how he dies and in how he
lives, Jesus honors the deep
need we all have for
communion with each other
and with God.</span></font><br>
<font face="georgia, times,
times new roman, serif"><span style="font-size:14px;"> </span></font><br>
<font face="georgia, times,
times new roman, serif"><span style="font-size:14px;">And
when Jesus is resurrected</span></font>
,<font face="georgia, times, times
new roman, serif"><span style="font-size:14px;"> he
STILL doesn’t establish
himself on a throne or
political banner (I don’t
actually care if you believe
the resurrection part
because it’s not important
to my point or the point of
the story). Instead, Jesus
does weird stuff like
sneaking up on two of his
friends walking and
grieving, but he hides his
identity</span></font><a name="_ftnref5" title="" style="font-family:georgia, times, new serif;
font-size:14px;
color:#007C89;
font-weight:normal;
text-decoration:underline;" href="#_ftn5" rel="noopener noreferrer"><sup><sup>[5]</sup></sup></a><font face="georgia, times, times
new roman, serif"><span style="font-size:14px;">! He
hides who he is and asks
them questions so he can be
with them in their grief. He
invites them to be
vulnerable, and in their
vulnerability to invite
community.</span></font><br>
<font face="georgia, times,
times new roman, serif"><span style="font-size:14px;"> </span></font><br>
<font face="georgia, times,
times new roman, serif"><span style="font-size:14px;">Then
he shows up while his
community is actually doing
what he modeled for them and
gives one mandate: peace</span></font><a name="_ftnref6" title="" style="font-family:georgia, times, new serif;
font-size:14px;
color:#007C89;
font-weight:normal;
text-decoration:underline;" href="#_ftn6" rel="noopener noreferrer"><sup><sup>[6]</sup></sup></a><font face="georgia, times, times
new roman, serif"><span style="font-size:14px;">. ‘</span></font><em style="font-family:georgia, times, times new roman, serif;font-size:14px;">Do all of what
you have seen and experienced
,
and trust that the same spirit
that empowered me is
empowering you.’</em><font face="georgia, times, times
new roman, serif"><span style="font-size:14px;">
Jesus says this to a room of
mixed races, religions, and
sexes. To a room of people
without theological training
or certificates, or
linguistic and exegetical
prowess. These are the
people (not plutocracy) to
whom Jesus entrusts the
‘good news.’ People who have
serious doubts about each
other, and will argue with
each other, and may even
despise each other. And when
one of them can’t believe it
because he wasn’t actually
there, Jesus shows up again
and offers peace! What would
happen if the church offered
peace in the midst of doubt?
If those who profess to
follow Jesus shared a
greeting of peace with those
in turmoil? Most of us don’t
actually need answers in our
doubt, we need communion. To
know we are not alone.</span></font><br>
<font face="georgia, times,
times new roman, serif"><span style="font-size:14px;"> </span></font><br>
<font face="georgia, times,
times new roman, serif"><span style="font-size:14px;">And
yet, the Church in North
America is dying. And the
good news is that it must
die. Churchianity must die
because it isn’t the way of
Jesus. In many ways the
church has usurped the place
of Jesus in importance. A
building, an institution,
and a theology have taken
the focus rather than the
way of peace. In an effort
to make things cleaner,
decisions easier, and more
streamlined, the wrestling
and messiness has been
replaced by committees and
mandates. In some ways, that
has been helpful. However,
it has also prioritized
uniformity over unity, and
created competition amongst
denominations rather than
communal compassion for a
mutual mission: to further
the peace the Teacher
offered. In doing so, the
church has also marginalized
those varied people that
Jesus brought together and
trampled on the peace that
was tantamount to those
communal gatherings.</span></font><br>
<font face="georgia, times,
times new roman, serif"><span style="font-size:14px;"> </span></font><br>
<font face="georgia, times,
times new roman, serif"><span style="font-size:14px;">So
here’s the really hard part
(if you’re still reading
this</span></font>
)<font face="georgia, times, times
new roman, serif"><span style="font-size:14px;">. For
those of us who </span></font><strong style="font-family:georgia, times, times new roman, serif;font-size:14px;"><em>do</em></strong><font face="georgia, times, times
new roman, serif"><span style="font-size:14px;"> love
the church, where does that
leave us? Not just the idea
of church, but also the
people.</span></font><br>
<font face="georgia, times,
times new roman, serif"><span style="font-size:14px;"> </span></font><br>
<font face="georgia, times,
times new roman, serif"><span style="font-size:14px;">As
ministers, we must help
midwife a transition. In
North America, this means
owning the complacency and
complicit behavior of the
church, which, through the
guise of evangelism,
enslaves people of color and
indigenous people to white
Anglo-Saxon language and
culture, and robs them of
their legitimate heritage</span></font><a name="_ftnref7" title="" style="font-family:georgia, times, new serif;
font-size:14px;
color:#007C89;
font-weight:normal;
text-decoration:underline;" href="#_ftn7" rel="noopener noreferrer"><sup><sup>[7]</sup></sup></a><font face="georgia, times, times
new roman, serif"><span style="font-size:14px;">. By
leading our congregations to
do this difficult work,
first internally, then as a
community</span></font>
,<font face="georgia, times, times
new roman, serif"><span style="font-size:14px;"> we
can help midwife this
transition of death. We must
own the white-washing of
Jesus that we inherited from
Romanism, Europeans, and
those early pioneers who
weaponized it against Native
Indigenous people.</span></font><br>
<font face="georgia, times,
times new roman, serif"><span style="font-size:14px;"> </span></font><br>
<font face="georgia, times,
times new roman, serif"><span style="font-size:14px;">We
must midwife the church to
die a good death by living
differently in our world.
Not just driving less, or
driving a different car, but
by detaching ourselves from
a narcissist capitalist
system that keeps us in debt
and addicted to what we do
not need to be happy. Rather
than industrializing the
church, we as clergy, must
help make the church smaller
and more relevant. We must
be willing to return to our
prophetic calling of living
in commune with each other
and the Divine, as Jesus
did. We must be willing to
live as Jesus lived, and die
as Jesus died, not as a
martyr but as a person
opposed to a system of
oppression who offers
themselves up fully.</span></font><br>
<font face="georgia, times,
times new roman, serif"><span style="font-size:14px;"> </span></font><br>
<font face="georgia, times,
times new roman, serif"><span style="font-size:14px;">The
church and Churchianity must
die. And thank God, it is,
so that what can be reborn,
or resurrected, is a new
Community. Messy,
meaningful, community. I
believe when the
churchianity of North
America dies, or implodes,
it will make way for small
organic, messy communities
to gather like they did
after Jesus death. Much like
Jesus gathered to himself.
Much like they have in
villages and tribes for
centuries. In homes, in
coffee shops, and in nature
we will gather because we
are yearning to connect with
each other and with the
Divine. We will share each
other’s joys and burdens,
without need for an employed
minister or an institutional
affiliation. Egalitarian
community was the vision of
Jesus and is rising up now
in our midst through Black
Lives Matter and occupy
movements. This uprising is
among the greatest fears of
the empire of Churchianity.</span></font><br>
<font face="georgia, times,
times new roman, serif"><span style="font-size:14px;"> </span></font><br>
<font face="georgia, times,
times new roman, serif"><span style="font-size:14px;">The
late prophet, Rachel Held
Evans wrote, “Death is
something empires worry
about, not something
gardeners worry about. It’s
certainly not something
resurrection people worry
about.</span></font><a name="_ftnref8" title="" style="font-family:georgia, times, new serif;
font-size:14px;
color:#007C89;
font-weight:normal;
text-decoration:underline;" href="#_ftn8" rel="noopener noreferrer"><sup><sup>[8]</sup></sup></a><font face="georgia, times, times
new roman, serif"><span style="font-size:14px;">”
Death is part of the life
cycle, yet so many
christians are in denial
about the church’s impending
death, and even fewer want
to believe that it must die.
I was too, until I realized
that there was no room for
me in the Church. Not for my
whole self. What hurt even
more was realizing that
there isn’t room in the
church for the people Jesus
called community. Which
meant there probably isn’t
much room for Jesus. I
wonder how the Gardener will
lovingly tend and prune
those thorny branches that
seem bent on destroying the
vine and roots.</span></font><br>
<font face="georgia, times,
times new roman, serif"><span style="font-size:14px;"> </span></font><br>
<font face="georgia, times,
times new roman, serif"><span style="font-size:14px;">Perhaps
when the church dies, then
we will return to our
Communal roots as an
ecological partner and child
of this planet, along with
our relatives the trees, and
winged, and swimming beings.
Maybe then we will be true
students of creation ever
growing in community.
Communing with each other
and with God.</span></font>
<div style="margin:10px 0;
padding:0;
color:#202020;
font-family:Helvetica;
font-size:16px;
line-height:150%;text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="font-family:georgia, times, times new roman, serif;">~ Rev.
Jessica Shine</span></span></div>
<div style="margin:10px 0;
padding:0;
color:#202020;
font-family:Helvetica;
font-size:16px;
line-height:150%;text-align:left;"><br>
<span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="font-family:georgia, times, times new roman, serif;">Read
online <a style="
color:#007C89;
font-weight:normal;
text-decoration:underline;" href="https://ProgressiveChristianity.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b51b9cf441b059bb232418480&id=9267796cb0&e=edb736c2ad" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">here</a><br>
<br>
<strong>About the Author</strong><br>
Reverend Jessica Shine
earned degrees in theology
and divinity, but still
hasn’t figured out how to
walk on water. Despite
this, she was ordained to
ministry by the
Seventh-day Adventist
church and continues
offering spiritual care as
a clergy member of The CHI
Interfaith Community
(based in Berkeley, CA).
With two decades of
experience serving church
communities, police
officers, hospital staff,
and teenagers, Shine has a
passion for people and a
skill for communicating in
transformative ways. Her
spirituality began in
childhood, was influenced
by Jimmy Swaggart and
Mother Theresa, and
continues in the Pacific
Northwest where she
resides on Kalapuya land.</span></span><br>
</div>
<div>
<hr width="33%" size="1" align="left">
<div id="yiv7615541282ftn1"><span style="font-size:12px;"><span style="font-family:georgia, times, times new roman, serif;"><a name="_ftn1" title="" style="
color:#007C89;
font-weight:normal;
text-decoration:underline;" href="#_ftnref1" rel="noopener noreferrer">[1]</a> I
first heard this term
from The Rev Deshna
Charron, who graciously
cited The Rev Dr Megan
Wagner, PhD. Perhaps
there are others who
have also identified
this term.</span></span></div>
<div id="yiv7615541282ftn2"><span style="font-size:12px;"><span style="font-family:georgia, times, times new roman, serif;"><a name="_ftn2" title="" style="
color:#007C89;
font-weight:normal;
text-decoration:underline;" href="#_ftnref2" rel="noopener noreferrer"><sup><sup>[2]</sup></sup></a>
US Public Becoming Less
Religious, Article, Web:
<a class="yiv7615541282moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.pewforum.org/2015/11/03/u-s-public-becoming-less-religious/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://www.pewforum.org/2015/11/03/u-s-public-becoming-less-religious/</a></span></span></div>
<div id="yiv7615541282ftn3"><span style="font-size:12px;"><span style="font-family:georgia, times, times new roman, serif;"><a name="_ftn3" title="" style="
color:#007C89;
font-weight:normal;
text-decoration:underline;" href="#_ftnref3" rel="noopener noreferrer"><sup><sup>[3]</sup></sup></a>
Nelson, Shasta <em>Frientimacy:
How to Deepen
Friendships for
Lifelong Health and
Happiness.</em> Seal
Press, 2016. Print.</span></span></div>
<div id="yiv7615541282ftn4"><span style="font-size:12px;"><span style="font-family:georgia, times, times new roman, serif;"><a name="_ftn4" title="" style="
color:#007C89;
font-weight:normal;
text-decoration:underline;" href="#_ftnref4" rel="noopener noreferrer"><sup><sup>[4]</sup></sup></a>
John 19:25-27</span></span></div>
<div id="yiv7615541282ftn5"><span style="font-size:12px;"><span style="font-family:georgia, times, times new roman, serif;"><a name="_ftn5" title="" style="
color:#007C89;
font-weight:normal;
text-decoration:underline;" href="#_ftnref5" rel="noopener noreferrer"><sup><sup>[5]</sup></sup></a>
Luke 24:13-35</span></span></div>
<div id="yiv7615541282ftn6"><span style="font-size:12px;"><span style="font-family:georgia, times, times new roman, serif;"><a name="_ftn6" title="" style="
color:#007C89;
font-weight:normal;
text-decoration:underline;" href="#_ftnref6" rel="noopener noreferrer"><sup><sup>[6]</sup></sup></a>
John 20:19-29</span></span></div>
<div id="yiv7615541282ftn7"><span style="font-size:12px;"><span style="font-family:georgia, times, times new roman, serif;"><a name="_ftn7" title="" style="
color:#007C89;
font-weight:normal;
text-decoration:underline;" href="#_ftnref7" rel="noopener noreferrer"><sup><sup>[7]</sup></sup></a>
Deep Gratitude to my
friend and teacher,
Patricia St. Onge, and
her offerings. Here is a
helpful beginning guide
for congregations:
<a class="yiv7615541282moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.yesmagazine.org/issues/make-it-right/indigenous-rituals-heal-us" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://www.yesmagazine.org/issues/make-it-right/indigenous-rituals-heal-us</a></span></span></div>
<div id="yiv7615541282ftn8"><span style="font-size:12px;"><span style="font-family:georgia, times, times new roman, serif;"><a name="_ftn8" title="" style="
color:#007C89;
font-weight:normal;
text-decoration:underline;" href="#_ftnref8" rel="noopener noreferrer"><sup><sup>[8]</sup></sup></a>
Evans, Rachel Held. <em>Searching
for Sunday: Loving,
Leaving, and Finding
the Church.</em>
Nelson Books, 2015.
Print.</span></span></div>
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letter-spacing:normal;text-align:left;"><span style="font-family:georgia, times, times new roman, serif;">Question
& Answer</span></h1>
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<div style="margin:10px 0;
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line-height:150%;text-align:left;"><span style="font-family:georgia, times, times new roman, serif;"><strong><span style="font-size:18px;">Q: By
Susan</span></strong><br>
<span style="font-size:14px;"><em>I
am changing from beliefs
I was taught all my
young life as the
daughter of a minister
with Southern Baptist
Church. Though I do
think my Dad wanted to
“step outside of the
box” of traditional
beliefs. Ever since
being “missionaries “ to
West Africa back in 80’s
and 90’s and I returned
back to US I haven’t
been the same as far as
my “traditional beliefs”
go. I didn’t fit into
any Baptist Church
anymore. I have wrestled
with this for 20 years.
Didn’t think I could
talk to anyone I knew
fearing I would lose
their friendship. I read
most of Dr Spong’s book
“Unbelievable “ and
realized I identified
with most of his
thoughts and beliefs.
But still how can I be
honest and share what I
believe with the people
I grew up with? Don’t
think they will speak to
me again. And some are
my family members. How
do I share my new
beliefs when discussions
come up?</em></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family:georgia, times, times new roman, serif;"><strong><span style="font-size:18px;">A:
By Toni Reynolds</span></strong></span></h3>
<br>
<a style="
color:#007C89;
font-weight:normal;
text-decoration:underline;" href="https://ProgressiveChristianity.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b51b9cf441b059bb232418480&id=027021b284&e=edb736c2ad" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><img width="150" height="187" align="left" style="border:0px;
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" src="https://gallery.mailchimp.com/b51b9cf441b059bb232418480/images/02dcdb50-c876-4cbc-b8dd-dde5054df860.jpg"></a><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="font-family:georgia, times, times new roman, serif;">Dear Susan,</span></span>
<div style="margin:10px 0;
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font-family:Helvetica;
font-size:16px;
line-height:150%;text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="font-family:georgia, times, times new roman, serif;">What a
delicate and powerful
question. I can empathize
with you in some ways. My
parents were raised
Southern Baptist and I
have found myself
struggling with the same
question as I continue to
find myself more settled
in a set of traditions
that often feel like 180
degrees and half a plant
away from Christianity. I
have noticed in myself
that I had to get clear
about my motivation to
share my beliefs with my
family, and with others in
general. I had to decide
if I was more interested
in being right, or being
understood. Or, if I was
more interested in
changing their minds, to
help them “evolve” like
me, or, if I just truly
longed to speak with them
about a piece of my
spiritual life that was
enlivened for me at that
time.<br>
<br>
That clarity of intention
matters greatly. People
know when we’re engaging
with them for ulterior
motives, such as changing
them or judging them. For
matters like this, where
it can feel like
relationships are at
stake, it is so important
to move with certainty
about why you’re sharing
such a deeply intimate
piece of information. In
my own experience, when I
offer my new thoughts as
less of my own and more as
other ideas that exist in
the world, things have
gone more smoothly. If I
enter a conversation and
take the posture of “I
know this better” or some
such, it has not gone
well. This seems basic,
but it’s a subtlety that
changes the tone of a
meaningful conversation.
Know why you want to say
what you want to say.<br>
<br>
Another aspect that has
mattered greatly for me is
adjusting what I expect of
my family. I wouldn’t go
to Dunkin Donuts and
expect to order a Big Mac.
As we grow and change we
have to continuously check
in about what we need and
where we’re able to get
it. If talking theology
and spirituality enlivens
you, and you don’t feel
safe sharing those truths
about yourself with your
family, it may help to
find some place to share
your spiritual truths. If
that’s the case, it will
be important to properly
mourn what it means that
you’re family can no
longer offer that for you.
It need not mean that you
disengage with them, but
that you become more
careful with yourself
about how and what you
share with them.<br>
<br>
We’re all on different
journeys. Even that truth
can be difficult to say in
certain company. Still,
when I can remind myself
that everyone has the
freedom to journey as they
see fit, it helps me
respect that mine may not
be so well understood by
others. So, when I find
myself in conversations
like the one you have in
mind, I imagine finding a
way to be “the curious
one” in the conversation.
Instead of answering their
questions about what I
believe, I often try and
hear more from them about
why they think and feel
what they do. Are there
things <em>they </em>believe
that cause them to feel
they’d be outcast if they
said them out loud? Have
they ever experienced
something unexplainable?
Something that doesn’t
quite fit the traditional
understanding of what’s
possible or “allowed” by
their faith tradition.
Underneath the scripts and
narratives they’ve
memorized, are their
differing
thoughts, experiences that
cause them to question. By
centering my family in
those conversations I have
found that they share more
similar feelings to me
than I expected. And, I
can leave the conversation
with a better sense of the
boundaries, what else
actually <em>can </em>be
talked about. A latent
effect of this centering
of their perspective every
once in a while is that
they have learned quite a
bit about me, without my
need to say anything
specific. They have
gathered enough
information about my
growth from my questions.
Every once in a while they
even surprise me with an
intuitive read of where
I’m located on a certain
issue. It seems that we’re
always learning about one
another, even if it’s not
explicit in a
conversation.<br>
<br>
Susan, another challenging
reality may be that you
aren’t able to share your
beliefs with your family.
That may be a territory
that you explore with a
different set of select
people in your
life, people who “get you”
in a way that your family
used to. It may be that
you only suspend this type
of sharing with family for
a short while. Change is
happening all the time,
they may be the next
person you know to read <strong><a style="
color:#007C89;
font-weight:normal;
text-decoration:underline;" href="https://ProgressiveChristianity.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b51b9cf441b059bb232418480&id=4011941885&e=edb736c2ad" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Unbelievable</em></a></strong> and
want to talk to you about
it. Until then, ask
yourself some questions
about how you can feel
like yourself without
exposing so much of
yourself that you lose
precious relationships.
Every relationship goes
through seasons, and has
its own set of expiration
dates and limitations. It
is possible, and normal,
for this to happen between
you and your family.<br>
<br>
I hope this was helpful in
the midst of an
uncomfortable aspect of
human growth. I wish for
you to find a way forward
with your family that
doesn’t jeopardize your
emotional safety or
integrity. There is
definitely a way forward,
I trust it will emerge
smoothly</span></span></div>
<div style="margin:10px 0;
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color:#202020;
font-family:Helvetica;
font-size:16px;
line-height:150%;text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="font-family:georgia, times, times new roman, serif;">~ Toni
Reynolds<br>
<br>
Read and share online <a style="
color:#007C89;
font-weight:normal;
text-decoration:underline;" href="https://ProgressiveChristianity.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b51b9cf441b059bb232418480&id=b94a27be8a&e=edb736c2ad" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">here</a><br>
<br>
<strong>About the Author</strong><br>
Minister Toni Anne
Reynolds is committed to
singing flesh onto the
bones of the Christian
tradition by incorporating
recently found texts of
the ancient world into
liturgy, sermons, and
poetry. Toni’s
Christianity forms a holy
trinity with the
psychological medicine of
Tibetan Buddhism and the
eternal Life found in
Yoruba traditions.
Balanced in an eclectic
faith and focused in
theology, Toni’s ministry
offers a unique
perspective on life,
theology, and
spirituality.</span></span></div>
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<h1 style="
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line-height:125%;letter-spacing:normal;"><span style="font-family:georgia, times, times new roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:20px;">Bishop
John Shelby Spong
Revisited</span></span></h1>
<h3 style="
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<h3 style="
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Universe, the Star of
Bethlehem<br>
and Professor Alex
Filippenko</span></span></h3>
<br>
<span style="font-family:georgia, times, times new roman, serif;"><span style="font-size:14px;">Essay
by Bishop John Shelby Spong<br>
April 30,2008</span></span>
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" src="https://gallery.mailchimp.com/b51b9cf441b059bb232418480/images/04b13df4-30aa-453a-a039-38434e2e4eb8.jpg">Whether
I am on the lecture
circuit, where I spend
most of my time, or in my
home a normal day for me
starts about 6:00 a.m.,
when I go either to the
hotel’s “fitness room” or
to the first floor of our
home to spend an hour or
more on a treadmill. It
would no longer be
accurate to describe what
I do there as “running”
since, except for my warm
up and cool down periods,
I average a pace of
somewhere between four and
five miles per hour. My
minimum goal each day is
four miles and I rarely go
beyond five. My other
ambition is to burn over
700 calories each morning.
Together my wife and I put
over 2500 miles a year on
a treadmill. I am
confident that I would not
keep up this long standing
routine were it not for a
second factor. While
working on that treadmill,
I am listening to books or
lectures that come to me
via tapes and CDs, or
viewing and listening to
university courses via
DVDs.<br>
<br>
Reading books on tape has
been a passion of mine
since 1976, when I became
aware existentially that
the life of a bishop
required an inordinate
amount of time in an
automobile. That was when
I discovered that I could
rent books on tape from a
company in Long Beach,
California, or get them
free from my public
library. The process
transformed driving from
drudgery into sheer
pleasure. In those years I
“read” on tape an average
of 80 books a year. I am
not a devotee of fiction,
though I did read the
complete works of Charles
Dickens on tape about 20
years ago. My tastes
rather run to history,
biography, philosophy,
science and studies in the
fields of art and music. I
like to read the classics
that everyone knows about,
but few have read in their
entirety. I think of
Charles Darwin’s “Notes
from the Voyage of the
Beagle” and his On the
Origin of Species By Means
of Natural Selection. I
have also read the
multi-volumes series such
as The Story of
Civilization by Will and
Ariel Durant and The
Second World War by
Winston Churchill.
Gibbon’s Decline and Fall
of the Roman Empire was
another reading adventure.<br>
<br>
When I retired in 2000 my
time in the car diminished
so I transferred my
passion for learning
through recorded books to
a treadmill, to long walks
that I take with my wife
and even to my hobby of
cooking. To bake a
strawberry-rhubarb pie
while listening to a book
being read on tape is a
double source of joy. I
carry a tape player with
me like a piece of
clothing.<br>
<br>
About a decade ago, I
discovered through my
public library something
called The Teaching
Company. This company
searches out the best
professors in America at
universities and colleges,
large and small, and
contracts with them to put
their courses on tape, CDs
or DVDs, so that people
like me can sit at the
feet of the best teachers
in this land, in effect
returning to the
university classroom. In
this series I have taken
such courses as the
“Religions of the World”
with Diana Eck of Harvard;
the history of music, the
history of opera, a course
on the symphonies of
Beethoven, the works of
Mozart and the operas of
Verdi all with Robert
Greenberg of the San
Francisco Conservatory of
Music, perhaps the finest
teacher to whom I have
ever listened; the “Great
Artists of the Italian
Renaissance,” taught by
William Kloss of the
Smithsonian Institution;
“Shaping Philosophers of
Western Civilization,” a
course that began with
Plato and Aristotle and
journeyed through
Augustine and Aquinas,
before winding up with
John Locke, David Hume,
Benedict Spinoza, Emmanuel
Kant, Rene Descartes,
Blaise Paschal and many
others, taught by Alan
Kors of Princeton of the
University of
Pennsylvania. All have
been thrilling
breakthroughs for me in
both acquiring knowledge
and gaining insight. It is
this learning experience
that keeps me dedicated to
the routine of daily
exercise on my treadmill
or in the hotel.<br>
<br>
I just recently completed
the lectures, I think
there were 48 in this
series, entitled
“Understanding the
Universe,” taught by
Professor Alex Filippenko
of the University of
California at Berkeley.
Seldom have I experienced
a more expansive vision of
the size and majesty of
the universe and of our
place within it. Professor
Filippenko is relatively
young, obviously brilliant
and clearly in love with
his subject. He travels
the world to view full
eclipses. He follows every
space probe, from the moon
landing to the unnamed
spacecraft that took
pictures of Jupiter, with
the glee of a schoolboy
eating a banana split. He
relates the debates among
astronomers over such
topics as whether Pluto
should be called a planet
or not with the same
passion that marks the
Yankee-Red Sox rivalry in
baseball. He uses models
to illustrate the
relationships between
various heavenly bodies.
He explains why the
consensus among
astronomers is that the
moon was created early in
the earth’s history by a
collision with the earth
of a giant heavenly body
about the size of Mars.
This collision sent a
massive chunk of the
earth’s material into
orbit around this planet,
first as debris, but over
an expanse of time, this
debris formed itself into
a heavenly body called the
moon. <a style="
color:#007C89;
font-weight:normal;
text-decoration:underline;" href="https://ProgressiveChristianity.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b51b9cf441b059bb232418480&id=c705bd7411&e=edb736c2ad" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>Read
On...</strong></a></span></span></div>
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text-decoration:underline;" href="https://ProgressiveChristianity.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b51b9cf441b059bb232418480&id=a803dd2e11&e=edb736c2ad" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><img width="600" height="205" align="middle" style="border:0px;
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outline:none;
text-decoration:none;
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line-height:125%;letter-spacing:normal;"><span style="font-family:georgia, times, times new roman, serif;"><strong>Aquinas
@ Orvieto with Matthew Fox</strong></span></h2>
<div style="text-align:left;"><span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="font-family:georgia, times, times new roman, serif;">Deepen
your own spiritual journey
as mystic and prophet with
a </span></span><strong style="font-family:georgia, times, times new roman, serif;font-size:14px;">5-Day
Retreat, July 5-10, 2020 in
Orvieto, Italy</strong><span style="font-family:georgia, times, times new roman, serif;font-size:14px;"> with
Matthew Fox, Claudia
Picardi, Meschi Chavez, and
Gianluigi Guglielmetti –
Featuring a Special Visit by
Rupert Sheldrake.</span></div>
<br>
<span style="font-size:14px;"><span style="font-family:georgia, times, times new roman, serif;">Study the
spiritual teachings of one
of the greatest minds of
Western civilization–Thomas
Aquinas– with a preeminent
scholar of Christian
spirituality, <strong>Matthew
Fox</strong>, in the
amazing Italian town of <a style="
color:#007C89;
font-weight:normal;
text-decoration:underline;" href="https://ProgressiveChristianity.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b51b9cf441b059bb232418480&id=f97632f043&e=edb736c2ad" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>Orvieto</strong></a>,
famous for its views and
art, where Aquinas himself
taught and preached. Orvieto
is located two hours from
where Aquinas was born in
Roccasecca, and where he
died at Fossanova Abbey. And
90 minutes from Rome or
Assisi!<br>
<span style="color:#A52A2A;"><strong>Register
by October 31, 2019 for
early bird price of
$995. </strong></span><a style="
color:#007C89;
font-weight:normal;
text-decoration:underline;" href="https://ProgressiveChristianity.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b51b9cf441b059bb232418480&id=4657aeaa60&e=edb736c2ad" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><strong>READ
ON ...</strong></a></span></span>
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