July 2012 - Dialogue - lists.wedgeblade.net

Any ICA Academy Deans Still Alive?
by steve har 16 Jul '12

16 Jul '12

Wondering if anyone knows -when the last Academy was taught? -when the last ITI was taught? -are there any Academy Deans & 1sts still alive? -anyone have any Academy tapes, photos, notes? Share some details please? -- Steve Harrington

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7/12/12, Spong: On Baptizing Hadden
by Ellie Stock 12 Jul '12

12 Jul '12

HOMEPAGE MY PROFILE ESSAY ARCHIVE MESSAGE BOARDS CALENDAR On Baptizing Hadden It is a rare treat in the life of a bishop in general and in the life of a retired bishop in particular to participate in a pastoral act like a baptism. It normally has to come at the invitation of a family member or a very close friend. Seven years ago I married a couple, the groom of which had been such a friend, growing up together with my stepson Brian and, therefore, very close to my wife Christine, close enough indeed that all of his life he had called her “Mom.” When he became engaged to a lovely young woman named Cushman they asked if I could perform their marriage ceremony at a summer chapel, named All Saints by the Sea on the coast of Maine. His family had spent every summer season of his childhood vacationing on this lovely island. I accepted this invitation and so I shared in that transition moment with them and their respective families. When this couple’s first baby arrived it seemed important to them for me to baptize this young lady at the same summer chapel in Maine. It is a church that is open only in the summer season and to which worshipers can and do arrive on Sundays both by boat and car. I agreed to do so and back to Maine we went for this happy occasion. Preparing for this baptism I read over the baptismal liturgy from my church’s prayer book and I embraced once more just how antiquated and even offensive some of its language still is. I began to wonder how a child being baptized would hear those words, if that child had the ability both to listen and to understand. If in the baptismal service we had the ability to allow the child to speak in reaction to those words, I wondered what she might say. With my imagination engaged I decided that for the sermon at this service I would try to frame just how this baby might react and respond to the words being used in the church’s baptismal liturgy. The result of that exercise follows: TO THE MEMBERS ALL SAINTS BY THE SEA CHURCH IN SOUTHPORT, MAINE Dear Friends: Today, July 1, 2012, I was baptized in this church. My family and friends gathered from as far away as Texas, Virginia, North Carolina, Vermont and New Jersey to be present for this occasion. It was a happy day for me – and I hope it was for others of you who attended. Let me tell you, however, that it was also a strange day in many ways. In that baptism service you said some words that sounded pretty weird to me. You asked my parents and godparents to renounce some things in my name. They had to renounce the world, the flesh and the devil. How can you renounce the world when it is July in Maine – the sky is blue, the sea is calm, the temperature is moderate and the world seems to be wonderful? How can you renounce the flesh when it is through the flesh that we experience the world – our fleshly eyes see its beauty, our fleshly ears hear its sounds, our fleshly taste buds enable us to savor the wonders of the sea? With our fleshly arms we embrace one another and with our fleshly lips we kiss those we love. Who among us really wants to renounce the flesh? How can you renounce the devil? Is there a real creature with horns, tail and pitch fork who is responsible for all that is evil? Is that not some form of projection? We can’t even agree on what color the devil is – at Duke University they think of him as blue, but if you are a hockey fan in New Jersey we think of him as red! For me to renounce the world the flesh and the devil sounds like I’m being programmed to be a nun! Is that really your intention? You also said in the baptismal liturgy that you were baptizing me for the forgiveness of sins. I’m not old enough to have done much! So what are my sins? I have never robbed a bank; I have not committed adultery; I have not been willfully disobedient or talked back to my parents. I understand that babies can sometimes be inconvenient, but are we sinful? Someone once said that all babies are born with loud speakers on one end and no sense of responsibility on the other, but does that make us blameworthy? Let me suggest to you that what you have done in the baptism service is to literalize some ancient biblical stories and you have drawn some conclusions from those stories that I suggest you might want to revise and even to challenge. One of those biblical stories was about how God created the world in just seven days. That story emphasizes that God created a perfect world, so perfect that when God finished God looked out on all that God had made and said: “This is a good world.” Human beings were part of that goodness and that story goes on to say that we human beings were created “male and female” in God’s image. Why would one be called evil when we are created in God’s image? That story also states that when the work of creation was ended, God not only pronounced it good, but also complete – so complete that God could take a day off and that is how the Sabbath was created. It is hard to understand why one should be asked to renounce the world that God pronounced complete. Is there something profoundly wrong with the baptismal liturgy? There is a second story in the book of Genesis, however, in which the biblical writers sought to account for the presence of evil. They did not understand that in the biology of every living creature there is a drive to survive. It is that drive that makes life appear to be self-centered. If survival is my highest value then I will organize my life around my survival agenda. I will not always be consciously aware of this drive, but it will always be present. One strategy we human beings seem to use to accomplish this is build ourselves up by tearing someone else down. This destructive behavior is not rooted in something sinful; it is rooted in our biology. That is the source out of which prejudice arises; that is the source of religious persecution. That is the reason we are prone to hate and fear people who are different. Evil does not originate in human misdeeds. It is not, as this second ancient story says, something we do because one of our ancestors was disobedient and ate of the forbidden fruit, which resulted in our banishment from the Garden of Eden. It was out of this story, however, that we developed the strange idea that human life is fallen, sinful, evil, distorted and broken. I must tell you that it sounds very strange to me to listen to a worship service in church that tells me over and over again how evil I am, that I am a miserable sinner, that I am not worthy to gather up the crumbs under the divine table, that there is no health in me and that I must spend lots of time in church begging God to have mercy on me. How many times does one have to beg God to have mercy in a Sunday service? How many times do you have to tell me that I am fallen, infected with original sin? Have you ever known anyone to be helped by being told how terrible they are? Why do you think God’s greatness is affirmed by denigrating our humanity? You can’t even sing about how amazing God’s grace is without reminding yourselves that God’s grace is amazing only because it saves a wretch like you or me. Am I a wretch? Are you wretches? Is that what Christianity has come to. Perhaps we have distorted our faith story far more than most of us realize. Did Jesus come to make us religious? Did he come so that God could control our behavior through guilt? Is guilt ever life-giving? Does guilt help to make us religious? Can religion save the world? There is lots of religion in this world today, but is not most of it distorted? Have you not heard of religious wars, religious persecution, the Inquisition? Have you not observed how religious Catholics and religious Protestants react to each other in Ireland or how religious Shiites and religious Sunnis react to each other in Iraq? I do not think that Jesus came to make us righteous either. People who are very, very moral and very, very righteous seem to know a great deal about judgment, but almost nothing about loving. Jesus also did not come to give us the “True Faith” – to make certain that our religion is better than any other, that my faith is the only true faith, my church the only true church and that no one can come to God except by my pathway. People who think that they have the “True Faith,” always seem to put their wagons in a circle and start shooting at those with whom they disagree. In John’s gospel Jesus suggests a very different purpose that perhaps the framers of the baptismal liturgy somehow missed. Jesus says: “I have come that they might have life and have it abundantly.” That is, I believe, what Christianity should be all about – giving life. So as I identify with this faith tradition today in baptism I ask you to help me to become fully human, help me to live fully, to love wastefully and to be all that I can be. May I suggest that this is the church’s vocation and therefore your vocation. Your task is to give abundant life, and not only to me, but to every person who is a child of God. Thank you for listening to my letter and thank you for loving me just as I am. Hadden Charlotte Brinegar And because she is a good little Episcopal girl she ends her letter with AMEN. Has the time to come to bring the liturgy of baptism into dialogue with all that we now know about human life? I believe it has. ~John Shelby Spong Read the essay online here. Bishop Spong's Summer Session at the Pacific School of Religion! Re-Claiming the Bible in a Post-Christian World Instructor: John Shelby Spong Dates and Times: One week: July 16-20, 9am - 1pm Description: Can the Bible, written 2000-3000 years ago, speak in any meaningful way to the 21st century? If it cannot, then is Christianity at an end? If it can, will Christianity look anything like what we have known in the past? Since creeds and doctrines are all constructed on the basis of what was believed to be "Biblical Truth," can any of the current formularies stand? Since liturgy is based on biblical definitions of sin, salvation and God, none of which make much sense to 21st century people, can Christianity tolerate the revolution that it faces? This class will be taught by one who has been a priest and bishop for 56 years with one foot in the institutional church and the other in the academic world of new insights. It is specifically designed for clergy and questing lay people. Course Credits & Cost: 1.5 credits - $990; audit - $495; 2.0 CEUs - $350 Course Number: BS-2117 (credit); BS-0003 (CEUs) Required Text: John Shelby Spong, Re-Claiming the Bible for a Non-Religious World, 2011 HarperCollins, San Francisco. Purchase here. Syllabus: Re-Claiming the Bible in a Post-Christian World Register Question & Answer Michael from Hamilton, New Zealand, writes: Question: This is not a question, rather a message of appreciation of what you have achieved for one family. My wife and I were hugely encouraged and relieved to read your book, Rescuing the Bible from Fundamentalism after it was published. I have attended most of your public lectures in Hamilton. As a Methodist Lay Preacher for 50 years and also a Presbyterian elder (for reasons of geographic location, I have been involved with farming all my life), I used to struggle with much of the doctrine I was taught. I was, however, fortunate to have clergy of progressive thinking to stimulate and encourage the questions. However, the main point of this note is to tell you that my 97 year old mother is still probably the most radical member of our family. Each of your newsletters I print in a bold 20 font so she can read them. At 90 she said, I am glad to have lived this long because I keep learning more and more. In the 60’s she was the first to read J. A. T. Robinson with the encouragement of our then minister Rev. Dr. (now Dame) Phyllis Guthardt. During World War II, she and my father were persecuted for their Christian pacifist stand, so she knows what fires of faith mean. Today, I received an e-mail from one of our sons who is a PhD in engineering, was NZ young manager of the year some years ago and was recently made redundant when the government dept he headed was amalgamated with another. His comments reflect I believe many of our younger generation, in Richard’s case he has found a church where his intelligence and leadership skills are appreciated and his beliefs stimulated. Your newsletter he refers to is the one concerning Barabbas. I send these on to all of my family. “Always a delight to read and see what a truly clear mind and impeccable scholarship can bring to scripture. I always feel like slapping my head and crying “How obvious, when Spong lifts the scales from my eyes. Thanks for keeping me in touch with someone (like you and Mum) who makes me proud to call myself a Christian.” - Love, Richard Answer: Dear Michael, Some time ago when I was being interviewed on a radio station in Johannesburg, South Africa, the interviewer asked me what country I would most look forward to visiting again and I replied without hesitation, New Zealand. We have been there on nine different occasions and treasure the friends we have in that country, starting with one who is almost a national monument, Dr. Lloyd George Geering, who was one of the original voices of progressive religious thought in the world and who paid for it by being put on trial for heresy by the Presbyterian Church in New Zealand. Dr. Geering was exonerated, but the Presbyterian Church was revealed as so limited and closed-minded that it has never been the same since. New Zealand surely has it share of small-minded religious zealots and one of them follows me around when I’m there and hands out tracts to those attending my lectures so that they will be able to resist “the onslaught of the Devil.“ I am sure that he thinks he is serving God and the cause of truth, but any God who has to be defended by that kind of person is clearly sick unto death. New Zealand’s Anglican clergy have also included some great leaders. I think of Paul Reeves, David Coles, Dean Peter Beck of Christ Church and Glynn Cardy, the vicar of St. Matthew-in-the-City in Auckland. There were, of course, other Anglicans who will die of boredom long before the courageous ones die of controversy. When I think of New Zealand, I think of things like beautiful landscapes, Kiwi fruit and Kiwi birds, ripe avocadoes picked off the tree and spread on toast for breakfast, the Franz Joseph Glacier, the Abel Tasman Park, the Milford Track, a wonderful international religious leader in the world council of Churches, named Dr. Brash, now deceased, and his two children, Don and Lynn, now themselves impressive adults and last but not least two of our closest personal friends, Geoff Robinson, the voice of New Zealand, and his wonderful wife Liz, who is a theological rebel with a cause. Thank you for your letter and please give my love to your 97-year-old mother. ~John Shelby Spong Announcements Read what Bishop Spong has to say about A Joyful Path Progressive Christian Spiritual Curriculum for Young Hearts and Minds: "The great need in the Christian church is for a Sunday school curriculum for children that does not equate faith with having a pre-modern mind. The Center for Progressive Christianity has produced just that. Teachers can now teach children in Sunday school without crossing their fingers. I endorse it wholeheartedly. Subscribers, please remember that your subscription is automatically renewed. You can unsubscribe at any time. Simply login to access your profile page and cancel your account. Login to be able to comment directly on the website. Join in the discussion! Look for Bishop Spong on Facebook and LIKE the Facebook page for ProgressiveChristianity.org You can also follow Bishop Spong on Twitter. Thank you for taking this journey with us! Any questions or concerns, please contact us at support(a)johnshelbyspong.com or 503-236-3545. Copyright © 2012 ProgressiveChristianity.org, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you have a membership at our website. Our mailing address is: ProgressiveChristianity.org 4916 Pt Fosdick Dr, NW #148 Gig Harbor, WA 98335 Add us to your address book .

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(no subject)
by singltn＠aol.com 12 Jul '12

12 Jul '12

http://primatefitness.com.au/ropnvb.html?bjp=xviyrpbg

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WHAT IS THE RIGHT QUESTION THESE DAYS?
by James Wiegel 11 Jul '12

11 Jul '12

WHAT IS THE RIGHT QUESTION THESE DAYS? Over coffee, this morning, i recopied the emails from this thread and tried to narrow down to just the questions that were posed. I think i missed an email that Lee Early was responding to in his message. A couple of reflections: Randy, in yours, i was struggling with the phrase "in peace", wondering, a bit like the word "church" or "religious" what that might point to that would seem true to life vs. sort of an ideal future. Wayne, your response that there may not be "a" question, but many and we each have to figure out our own for ourselves got me to reflecting on the evident complicatedness of things in a systemic or interconnected world. My auto mechanic was explaining to me how to simply fix the health care system in the US, and your comment came up for me, and i said that is a good idea, but i think we are looking too often for simple silver bullet solutions when thngs are actually much more complicated. And that made sense to both of us and moved the conversation on. Jim Baumbach's question put me back on my heels . "How do I get you to change your mind and do what I think is right?" then, when in linking it with Bill Parker's notion that none of this is new, and why haven't we all woken up? Got me thinking, at least on the liberal or progressive side, whether the new religion arising is the religion of human rights . . . Progressives, at least, seem to hold these as sacred and as a moral obligation to be enforced. I could go on, but my eggs are getting cold, and the slice of cantelope from Judy's garden is calling. THE GIST AS I SEE IT Mary Hampton: Enough, all ready, its too good to miss and I am not ready to edit. Good stuff, folks! Ken Gilgren: why am I here? What am I doing? How am I being? What quickens the current action of my soul? what was the question again? Wayne Nelson: What are the pivotal moral issues of our moment? I think there are likely to be several. Of course there are many, many but there are probably some major ones. To reduce it to a single one makes it too abstract and denies the obvious complexity. We all have to name 'the moral issue of our time.' There's not likely to be one for everyone. It's a job we all have to do. Bill Parker: What are the warning signs of the destruction and endangerment of the entire human community? Then ask, what is the underlying question to be addressed and how it can be addressed. Why are people not being awakened to the clear, obvious truth of our crisis? Secondly, what methods must we develop or employ to radically reveal this all encompassing truth? John Cock: My take: If it does not have something like "on behalf of a transformed Earth community" in the statement, it is the WRONG right question, moral issue, or vocation. Lee Early: "Who is Tiger Woods?", What is his mission? Can we re-answer the second question? Mission, social pioneer, church, college, league, crimson line and movement? The answer to the question of mission will carry the first of who. (At least here in the West.) Sometimes the question of mission changes. Sometimes by chance and sometimes on purpose. What is our mission TODAY? Randy Williams: In reflecting on the dialogue around what is "the question," I realized we really were assuming two questions. How may "we" (all species) live together on this planet in peace, in a way that secures life for future generations? What is the new face, form and mission of the "movement" (the religious, the invisible college, the church with a little"c," ) and what stories, style and symbols will sustain it? Jan Sanders: What are the key images of the future of evolution? Steve Harrington: You had to say it, eh? What does it look like to be the Sensitive & Responsive. To what concerns? where? Karen Bueno: "How do we motivate the sensitive and reponsive ones who understand that the survival of the people of the earth and the earth itself depends on our working together to make that survival possible?" I like the idea of striving for a T-shirt phrase, like "Be one of those who dare to live the future now.", as someone suggested. David Walters: in the midst of a malaise of helplessness and an established / controlling economic and political elite, what can we do to support and help to form the emerging groups and movements (both the Tea Party and the Occupy movement) to be both effective and inclusive? Jack Gilles: Given the stance that "History rides on the back of the religious" that we embodied and lived..... "Who are the 'religious' today, where would you look to find them, what are the marks that tell you so, and what might we share (and how) with them so that they are empowered and connected?". The "we" in the question should refer to "those of us who are scattered" and who will take seriously the answers. Janice Ulangca: In this 50th year of EI/ICA, some of the questions to live with: Considering what we were/are/might be, what is our calling? What are we called to know/do/be? What are some of the important partnerships the future needs? Missed the name: What was Neibhur's line? (and how do you spell his name?) Something about the sensitive and something ones. Nancy Lanphear: What is " MY GREAT WORK (IS) WHERE MY OWN GREAT JOY INTERSECTS WITH EARTH'S GREAT NEED" ....perhaps EARTH could be stretched to all my relations, the universe, life .... Jan and Steve: Considering what we were/are/might be, what is our calling? What are we called to know/do/be? Jan: What are some of the important partnerships the future needs? Jim Baumbach: "How do I get you to change your mind and do what I think is right?" Karen Bueno: "How are we to live together and preserve this planet for the future?" Jim Wiegel Jfwiegel(a)yahoo.com “One cannot live in the afternoon of life according to the program of life’s morning; for what was great in the morning will be of little importance in the evening, and what in the morning was true will at evening have become a lie.” – Carl Jung Partners in Participation Upcoming public course opportunities: ToP Facilitation Methods, Sept 11-12, 2012 ToP Strategic Planning, Oct 9-10, 2012 The AZ Community of Practice meets the 1st Friday- Sept 7, 2012 Facilitation Mastery : Our Mastering the Technology of Participation program is available in Phoenix in 2012-3. Program begins on Nov 14-16, 2012 See short video http://partnersinparticipation.com/?page_id=55 and website for further details.

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Better to have Qs with "shape" to find your calling, more like these
by Steve Har 11 Jul '12

11 Jul '12

http://www.forbes.com/sites/jessicahagy/2012/06/26/20-ways-to-find-your-cal… Message from: Steve's iPad in Chicago Skype: consultharrington Social Media: LinkedIn, FaceBook

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"Emergence" and "Leaderless Revolutions"
by Lee Early 10 Jul '12

10 Jul '12

Both books you mention - - "The Leaderless Revolution" and "Blessed Unrest" go into great and accurate detail of all the things that are falling apart. I for one don't need to rehearse those all over again. Both authors use this preamble to point to the fact that "something" must be done. We can all agree on that point. Ross points to the leaderless revolution in Spain at the beginning of WWII as an example of how effective and pure anarchy can and should be. He points to Gandhi and the Salt March as another example. He later admits that WWII probably had more to do with ending the Raj than the Salt March but that's another point. Anarchy can, did and does work in a small urban community. Some such communities exist not 15 miles from here and others we know exist in Mexico. I'm not sure either would point to the Spanish Revolution as their role model however. Self sufficiency, self reliance and self confidence are great principles for these communities. They just are not sustainable in an urban setting, in a very diverse population, value systems and "self" needs. Anarchy, in it nicest form, is not a workable model in our urban, secular, profane and consumerable age. Overturning the Federal Reserve, turning corporations into co-ops and anointing us all "agents", as Hawken suggests, will not happen. That is an illusion. The mini-movements Hawken talks about, all wrapped up together is "The Movement". One, that is not possible - - wrapping them all up into one movement, even in your head, is not possible and two, Hawken himself says that the word movement is not an accurate word. Movements require leaders and organization with which to plan strategy and reach objectives. He does not have, what he calls, a cognitive antecedent. Lacking one, he reverts back to the word "movement". There are many responses to what is going on. There are many leaders and organizations and strategies and objectives in those responses. I do not believe Hawken or anyone else will pull them together to do anything other that what they themselves decide to do and more power to them. Occupy might be the best current example of a leaderless un- co-opted movement. The Tea Party started as a grass roots movement and was bought and paid for by the Koch brothers. Occupy has avoided that fate so far. It is leaderless although there are some long winded speakers. It is not organized in an organized sort of way - - General Assemblies as an example. They do indeed have strategies. Some are weird, indirect and some might say ineffective. But, they are there and more power to them. Where does the ICA fit into all this? My first answer is to facilitate anything that moves in the hope of finding that pony in the midst of all this shit. There has got to be one in there somewhere. In more familiar terms - - facilitate anything that moves in order to see, nurture, form, encourage and grow up the sensitive and responsive part of every society (corporation, organization, family, community and human groupings) you can find - - and - - charge money for it. $1.98 LENS for Koch Industries will not get us the time of day. Get their attention and value your skill - - start with $75,000 and go up to $125,000. I could never get the courage to get $135,000 out of my mouth. Some say that the ICA is not about facilitation. Facilitation is not the mission of the ICA. Facilitation is a tool. I agree. The mission is the sensitive and responsive part and facilitation is the tool. We should facilitate everything that moves. Oh, yeah, that sensitive and responsive part is what one of those RS1 dudes called the church wasn't it? And another thing, if it doesn't move, invite it to lunch and when it finally moves, hit the facilitate button. Looking around, waiting on something to emerge so we can go help is not in my DNA. Sorry. And, I don't see that many organizations asking the ICA to impart any of its wisdom other that to facilitate something. In my opinion we were relatively successful in the DoD when they didn't know what to do with the collapse of the Soviet Union. There was a vacuum of vision, contradiction and strategy and we happened to be in the neighborhood. Where the ICA today might be very effective is facilitating the collapse of communities. I mean total wiped out communities. DesMoines, I think, was a good example. Where a natural disaster strikes we should be the "Second Responders". So, in conclusion - - let the movements or non-movements move. I do not hear much of a cry for our help. Facilitate our little (and not so little) asses off. Look for destroyed communities to facilitate a human face on the one to replace it. Now, aren't you glad you asked? Lee On Jul 10, 2012, at 4:10 AM, R Williams wrote: > (I'm sharing with the listserv this latest installment of a running conversation that Lee Early and I have been having for the last, well, several years really. For a couple of days we've been talking about "emergence," Paul Hawken's "mini-movements" and the "leaderless revolution." Those who know Lee and me beyond casual acquaintance may well decide to hit "delete" at the outset. Otherwise, please do join in the conversation. It's neither private nor personal.) > > Lee, > > I know you hate it when I quote books too much, and I'm sure my propensity to "appeal to authority" in this way is just a manifestation of my own insecurity, but let me try one more. Think of this in the context of Paul Hawken's thousands of mini-movements, although it's not a Hawken quote: > > "If individuals begin...to act themselves to produce desired political results, cooperating and negotiating directly with others affected--then a new dispensation will emerge, something that we may not yet be able to describe. This is the phenomenon of 'emergence,' a key characteristic of complexity: that from the combined actions of many agents, acting according to their own microcosmic preferences and values, a new condition may emerge from the bottom up, almost unconsciously, and certainly without imposition by government, god or anyone else." (my underlining) > > I have been hearing and tossing around the word "emergence" for some time but had never associated it with complexity theory. This quote is from The Leaderless Revolution, and is probably an apt description, 150 pages in, of what author Carne Ross is pointing to with that phrase. Here's my paraphrase of Ross's "emergence" of a "leaderless revolution"--something that happens that, over time, brings about significant, lasting change, without any particular person(s) or group(s) being "in charge" and without any obvious, predictable or planned "cause and effect" sequence of events, but which, if it comes, always comes spontaneously from the bottom up. > > Please give me your considered response to what this guy is saying, with perhaps an emphasis on the possible practical implications for people who still want to get something done in this world. This ought to be right in our wheel house. He's talking about how we can overcome being victimized by all these economic and political entities who purport to be acting on behalf of "the people" but who in fact are too isolated and insulated to know what people want or need--which raises the question, "On whose behalf are they acting?" > > Randy > > "Listen to what is emerging from yourself to the course of being in the world; not to be supported by it, but to bring it to reality as it desires." > -Martin Buber (adapted) > _______________________________________________ > Dialogue mailing list > Dialogue(a)lists.wedgeblade.net > http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/dialogue-wedgeblade.net Lee Early LE Associates 19230 Forest Park Drive, NE, A102 Lake Forest Park, WA 98155 Office: 206-922-3182 Mobile: 425-212-7997 Email: leassociates(a)me.com

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"Emergence" and "Leaderless Revolutions"
by R Williams 10 Jul '12

10 Jul '12

(I'm sharing with the listserv this latest installment of a running conversation that Lee Early and I have been having for the last, well, several years really. For a couple of days we've been talking about "emergence," Paul Hawken's "mini-movements" and the "leaderless revolution." Those who know Lee and me beyond casual acquaintance may well decide to hit "delete" at the outset. Otherwise, please do join in the conversation. It's neither private nor personal.) Lee, I know you hate it when I quote books too much, and I'm sure my propensity to "appeal to authority" in this way is just a manifestation of my own insecurity, but let me try one more. Think of this in the context of Paul Hawken's thousands of mini-movements, although it's not a Hawken quote: "If individuals begin...to act themselves to produce desired political results, cooperating and negotiating directly with others affected--then a new dispensation will emerge, something that we may not yet be able to describe. This is the phenomenon of 'emergence,' a key characteristic of complexity: that from the combined actions of many agents, acting according to their own microcosmic preferences and values, a new condition may emerge from the bottom up, almost unconsciously, and certainly without imposition by government, god or anyone else." (my underlining) I have been hearing and tossing around the word "emergence" for some time but had never associated it with complexity theory. This quote is from The Leaderless Revolution, and is probably an apt description, 150 pages in, of what author Carne Ross is pointing to with that phrase. Here's my paraphrase of Ross's "emergence" of a "leaderless revolution"--something that happens that, over time, brings about significant, lasting change, without any particular person(s) or group(s) being "in charge" and without any obvious, predictable or planned "cause and effect" sequence of events, but which, if it comes, always comes spontaneously from the bottom up. Please give me your considered response to what this guy is saying, with perhaps an emphasis on the possible practical implications for people who still want to get something done in this world. This ought to be right in our wheel house. He's talking about how we can overcome being victimized by all these economic and political entities who purport to be acting on behalf of "the people" but who in fact are too isolated and insulated to know what people want or need--which raises the question, "On whose behalf are they acting?" Randy "Listen to what is emerging from yourself to the course of being in the world; not to be supported by it, but to bring it to reality as it desires." -Martin Buber (adapted)

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“How do we assist in accelerating sustainability in every community around where we live?”
by Karen Snyder 10 Jul '12

10 Jul '12

What if the question of our time is “How do we assist in accelerating sustainability in every community around where we live?” Here is a summary of the journey of working with colleagues in Chicago to answer this question – colleagues new and old, colleagues in non-profit organizations, public agenices and for-profit companies, colleagues young and old. Participating in the journey to date, the following comes to mind. In this century at the ICA office in Chicago, sustainability has surfaced as important for the future direction of ICA services. Intriguing stories surfaced about global movements where people have been engaged for five to forty years in rethinking community to include the earth and all its resources, plants, animals and mineral life (e.g., Transition Movement, Global Village Movement, Natural Step). As we considered creating yet another demonstration of community in Uptown, simultaneously we asked ourselves what would it take to create demonstrations in every community of Chicago, applying to Transition US to be recognized as Transition Chicago (listed as #83 of 119 official Transition US initiatives – see http://transitionus.org) The story evolved as we began talking with people across the city, asking them to identify sustainable initiatives that they are a part of or know about. It quickly became clear that a remarkable revolution of change and empowerment is happening, often unrecognized within the community or even the people actually engaged in the initiative and below the media radar. We found that instead of doing another demonstration, what was needed was to ‘listen and learn’ what is going on, assist in highlighting success that is already present, and then discern roles needed to help in acceleration. It could be said that all Chicago communities are already in transition towards a new future. The year-long Identifying Phase of ‘listening and learning’ began last summer as student interns from Oklahoma City University documented two communities. In the fall a professor at DePaul University involved his two classes (55 students) in researching sustainable initiatives in fifteen communities. By January five other Chicago universities had 150 students researching 38 communities. This summer forty students from six Chicago universities, three community colleges, and eight national universities have spent the last seven weeks collecting information from the remaining 22 Chicago communities. Tomorrow is the launch of the Connection Phase, an exciting time of inviting community people engaged in sustainable initiatives to participate in acceleration through highlighting their achievements, sharing, networking and participating in the September 15th Sharing Approaches that Work event in Chicago. After the Share Fair, the Engaging Phase will focus on the question of acceleration. What have we learned? 500 sustainable initiatives were identified by June 1st with yet another 500 since identified or yet undiscovered. Community gardens are cropping up everywhere. New LEED certified buildings (police, fire stations, schools, homes) have been built – or retrofitted. Businesses are changing their practices to be more energy efficient, more resourceful. Restaurants are being recognized for being ‘green’ as they provide healthier food choices. Schools are creating curriculums that teach children – who teach their parents – about sustainability. Youth grow and sell food they raise, create and lead workshops in eating healthy. Incredible blessings for the future are hidden like gems for those who have the eyes to see, the ears to hear, the questions to ask, and the answers remembered! The youth through elders engaged in identifying and connecting initiatives work out of the ICA building where people are dreaming about what it will look for the building to be off the grid by 2020. In the past colleagues added energy efficient windows, a ‘green’ bricked parking lot, and transformed the Lumumba Room into a green space. In 2012 six wind turbines are being added to the roof, sensor lighting has been added throughout the building, the second story roof has been resurfaced to be ‘green’, a new kitchen creates community spirit, and food is being grown in the kitchen greenhouse and conference room window. The building serves as one of the Uptown community's sustainable initiatives. Personally I am joy-filled as I participate in this work. While on a learning curve, I am in the midst of unlearning much of the past. As a facilitator, I am learning to use less paper and fewer procedures while being challenged to use more visuals and tell motivating stories. I am impatient with my personal slow change in habits to make a smaller earth footprint (e.g., when asked at the grocery store, “Do you want paper or plastic?” I again agonize knowing I want neither – but the bags I brought for bagging are in the car!) The student interns visiting communities when it is 100 degrees are an inspiration in their intelligence and commitment to this work. There is a sense of being surrounded by Those Who Care. This is all to say that I perceive that just as important as raising the ‘right’ question(s) for our time is to reveal where the question is already abundantly being answered - as well as tell how we are participating in creative and significant responses to it. Some researchers say that the best way to change hearts and change behavior is to point to what is possible! Peace, Karen

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Charles and Doris Hahn Reflect
by Ellie Stock 09 Jul '12

09 Jul '12

Charles and Doris, I'm beginning to catch up on emails from a couple months ago. Thank you for your video reflections--very pertinent to the current listserve conversation. Ellie Stock I Am One with All (Charles Hahn) Will Trees Continue in History? (Doris Hahn)

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(no subject)
by jbames10＠aol.com 09 Jul '12

09 Jul '12

http://goro-design.site50.net/wrehge.html?ratk=msnjjg

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