July 2012 - Dialogue - lists.wedgeblade.net

Re: [Dialogue] "How do we assist in accelerating sustainability in every community around where we live?"
by David Walters 09 Jul '12

09 Jul '12

Since I started this thread about asking the right question let me jump in here. Another bit of wisdom to go along with asking the right question is that the the external situation is never the major contradiction. Sustainability IS the external situation. The right question that needs to be asked must be related how can we engage people to do the necessary deed relative to concretely dealing with sustainability in a non-abstract fashion. -David Walters 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 <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 _______________________________________________ Dialogue mailing list Dialogue(a)lists.wedgeblade.net http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/dialogue-wedgeblade.net

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Re: [Dialogue] "How do we assist in accelerating sustainability in every community around where we live?"
by Richard Alton 09 Jul '12

09 Jul '12

Now that is what I call a question! Maybe it is the question and the answer. Dick Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile -----Original Message----- From: Karen Snyder <karen.snyder10(a)gmail.com> Date: Sun, 8 Jul 2012 20:50:27 To: <dialogue(a)wedgeblade.net> Subject: [Dialogue] "How do we assist in accelerating sustainability in every community around where we live?" 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 <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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“How do we assist in accelerating sustainability in every community around where we live?”
by Karen Snyder 08 Jul '12

08 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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Marking a Birthday.
by Robert True 07 Jul '12

07 Jul '12

Dear Friends, July 2 marks Sandra True¹s 70th birthday. I ran across this picture and it triggered a welcome memory. We had just spent the day going door to door to get out the vote in Pennsylvania, an important swing state. We bused there from New Jersey with Tim Lush and Rebecca Nichols. The emphasis of our canvassing was on women¹s rights and engagement. We felt empowered, alive and joyful in the exchanges of the day. Sandra cared deeply for the empowerment of women and this thread ran throughout her life in her work, friendships, and family. She had a special collegiality with the strong women of the Movement and Order. She loved standing shoulder to shoulder with local women in communities around the world. So, please join me in a birthday remembrance. Bob

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A story with a corporate ending
by Jim & OliveAnn Slotta 06 Jul '12

06 Jul '12

Hello, John, This is, I feel, a tribute to your blog and to our movement's corporateness. A few days ago, a close second cousin of mine (our grandpas were brothers) responded to my email telling of our fall travel plans. Georgeann has come, over the last few years, to love my haikus, for some reason. She shared a sad bit of news with me, and then made a strange request that I decided not to ignore. Here's her sad news: ===== We have a little bad news. Our older brother Michael, my mom and dad's firstborn, has recently been diagnosed with inoperable cancer. It is everywhere. He has 2 tumors in the chest, one on the lung, one in his groin and a huge sore on his face. He can not weigh more than 70 or 80 pounds. He has refused treatment until last Monday when little sister, Georgeann (me) could not stand it any longer and ventured to New Castle PA where he lives and convinced him to be admitted to the hospital. He must not have much time because the doctors say treatment is not an option, a feeding tube is not an option, etc. It is very sad. I think he has just given up. I felt so much better when I got a priest to come and give him last rites. After all, he was born and raised Catholic, regardless of the many sad turns his life has taken. It is a much longer story but I don't want to burden you with too much sadness. Please keep him in your prayers. He is 74, same age as Clark and my husband, Jerry, but looks 90. What little time he has, I hope God will spare him much suffering. Thanks for listening. I recently heard a song that says "funny when you're gone how people start listening. . . " How true. Best regards, Georgeann (You KNOW I need a haiku) Here's where corporateness enters front stage. So taking Georgeann's comment seriously, my thoughts somehow turned to your blog as a possible source of solace. I recalled the July 4 blog based on a 7/1 email exchange between (Jack and Dorothea): ===== Dorothea: I like Nancy’s phrase “the cyclic reality of the two” (life and death)…. If life is good, then death must be, also.* Jack: Dorothea, I find it helpful to see the cycle as “birth and death” and life as the constant which takes form…. So we have two cycles, birth and death, form and [formlessness].* Nez: Fine poetry. Finally, everyone has poetry for the journey, but is it profound poetry, that motivates? Namaste. * e-mail dialog, 7/1/12 ===== Here's the resulting haiku: From: jslotta(a)earthlink.net Subject: haiku response for you and Michael the eldest-now in my prayers haiku: the 'all is good' journey * birth and death cycle life the constant which takes form form and formlessness * from an e-mail dialog, 7/1/12 ===== Thanks, colleagues! Jim Slotta in Denver

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7/5/12, Spong: "Think Different-Accept Uncertainty" Part XIII: Miracles As Signs to Be Interpreted
by Ellie Stock 05 Jul '12

05 Jul '12

HOMEPAGE MY PROFILE ESSAY ARCHIVE MESSAGE BOARDS CALENDAR "Think Different—Accept Uncertainty" Part XIII: Miracles As Signs to Be Interpreted Today, as a part of the overall series entitled “Think Different–Accept Uncertainty,” I want to begin to press this mini-unit on the miracle stories of the gospels toward a conclusion. My concern has been to show modern readers that these miraculous narratives found in the gospels were always symbolic, interpretive stories rather than supernatural accounts arising out of the lack of knowledge present in that pre-modern world, filled as it was with fear and superstition. The first thing we noted was that the miracles attributed to Jesus in the New Testament fell into three distinct categories: nature miracles, raising of the dead miracles and making people whole miracles. Our next insight came from looking at the miracle stories found in earlier traditions in the Hebrew Scriptures. There we noted that, for the most part, miracles in the Bible were centered in three cycles of stories. First, there was the Moses-Joshua cycle where the miracle stories all seemed to involve power over the forces of nature. Here we found such things as the plagues on Egypt, the splitting of the Red Sea to allow safe passage across the water for the fleeing slaves and the raining down of heavenly bread called manna. These “natural miracles” dominate the Moses cycle of stories. When we arrived at the Joshua cycle we found additional feats of natural power that included the splitting of the waters of the Jordan River, the collapsing of the walls of Jericho and the stopping of the sun in the sky in its journey around the earth to allow more daylight for Joshua’s troops to massacre more of his enemy’s soldiers on the battlefield. Then looking at the nature miracles attributed to Jesus in the gospels we saw in them echoes of these Moses-Joshua stories. Jesus also was said to have had power over water. He did not split seas and rivers, but he could calm the storm and walk on the water. Like Moses, Jesus could also feed the multitude in the wilderness with finite amounts of food, which could expand to any needed dimensions and the supply never be exhausted just like manna in the wilderness. The power of nature was thus depicted in the gospels as subservient to the power of Jesus. Like Moses, Jesus could command the forces of nature to do his will. The second cycle of miracle stories in the Bible was found in the accounts that gathered around the persons of Elijah and Elisha, who were thought of as those who started the prophetic movement. Here most of the miracles were once again nature miracles. Both Elijah and Elisha could part the waters of the Jordan River and they could both expand the food supply so that it did not give out. They could also control the weather and even call down fire from heaven to serve their purposes. Two dramatically new miraculous powers, however, were added to the accounts of Elijah and Elisha. Both were said to have been able to raise the dead. Elijah raised from the dead the only son of a widow. Elisha raised from the dead the twelve-year-old daughter of a wealthy woman who had befriended him. Elisha was also the first person in the Bible who was said to have performed a healing miracle. He healed the leprosy of a foreigner, a man named Naaman the Syrian. We looked earlier in this series at the relationship between these Elijah-Elisha stories and the gospel narratives and began to see the close connections. Jesus, like Elijah, raised from the dead a widow’s only son, a story told only in Luke. Jesus, like Elisha, raised from the dead a child in a narrative recorded in Mark, Matthew and Luke. I might also add that Luke alone told the story of Jesus cleansing the leprosy of ten people, but that story turned on the fact that one of them was a foreigner, a Samaritan, and he, like Naaman the Syrian, was the only one to recognize the source of healing power. The Elijah-Elisha stories appear to have shaped these gospel narratives dramatically. Most of the best-known miracle stories in the gospels that surround Jesus, however, had to do with healing individuals or making them whole. Jesus was portrayed with some frequency as being able to give sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, the ability to leap and walk to those with lame or withered limbs, and to enable the mute to speak or sing. What do we make of these stories? Well, the fact is that they too grow out of the Hebrew Scriptures and were presented in the gospels as signs that Jesus was the appointed messiah. For this analysis, we have to go to I Isaiah (Isaiah 1-39). Someone must have asked this eighth century BCE prophet how people would recognize and know just when the Kingdom of God on earth was beginning. In Jewish mythology to inaugurate the Kingdom was the primary role assigned to the figure they called the messiah. I Isaiah wrote his response to this question in the 35th chapter of his book in beautiful and poetic language. You will know that the Kingdom of God is at hand and that the messianic age is beginning, he said, when these things occur: First, water will begin to flow in the desert enabling the crocuses to bloom there and the gift of life will be celebrated from Mt. Carmel to Sharon. The second sign will be just as dramatic: Human wholeness will begin to replace human brokenness. “The eyes of the blind will be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then shall the lame man leap like a hart and the tongue of the dumb sing for joy” (Is. 35:5-6). That specific messianic tradition was lifted out of I Isaiah quite intentionally by the interpreters of Jesus and its content placed into the gospel tradition by the authors of both Matthew and Luke when they re-introduced John the Baptist into their narratives. According to this story, John had been imprisoned by Herod for his preaching against Herod’s illegal marriage. While John was in prison, these two gospel writers tell us, John’s confidence began to waver as to whether or not Jesus really was “the one who was to come,” that is, the expected messiah, or whether John and his followers must begin to look for another. With these doubts motivating him, John the Baptist sent messengers to Jesus asking him to clarify his messianic status. Jesus did not answer John’s question directly. Instead he told the messengers to return to John and tell him what they had seen and heard and let him draw his own conclusions. Then, he referred them quite specifically to this Isaiah text. The blind that came in touch with Jesus were enabled to see; the deaf were enabled to hear; the lame could walk and leap, and the mute could talk and sing. The signs of the messianic age were in fact breaking out all around Jesus. In this narrative, Matthew and Luke were making specific claims about Jesus as messiah and they were quoting this passage from Isaiah to demonstrate that Jesus indeed was the expected one, “the one who was to come.” If healing were to accompany the inauguration of the Kingdom of God and if Jesus was believed to have been that promised one, then he had to be portrayed as the bringer of wholeness. This means that miracle stories had to be attached to the memory of Jesus in all three of the Old Testament categories: Moses stories, Elijah- Elisha stories and messianic expectation stories. Jesus was messiah was their claim and for supporting data for this claim they cited stories that demonstrated that he commanded the forces of nature, he raised the dead and he was the one who could and did bring wholeness to the brokenness of human life. That is what those miracle stories were employed to communicate and that is why they need to be read as interpretive symbols, not as supernatural acts. That was also why no miracles were connected with the memory of Jesus until the eighth decade. It took that long for this interpretive process to get established. That is why Paul seems to know nothing of Jesus as a miracle worker. Miracles were an eighth decade addition to the Jesus story, introduced first by Mark, then copied within a decade or so with no additions by Matthew. By the time Luke wrote in the late 80’s to early 90’s, more Elijah-Elisha stories were added to the memory of Jesus. That is why only in Luke did Jesus like Elisha, heal not one, but ten lepers. Only in Luke did Jesus raise from the dead the only son of a widow just as Elijah did. When Luke arrived at the climax of his gospel he once again adapted an Elijah story, magnified it and then retold it as a Jesus story. That is why, only in Luke, did Jesus ascend into heaven, just as Elijah did, except that Luke says that Jesus did it without the help that Elijah received from a magical, fiery chariot drawn by magical fiery horses and propelled by a divine whirlwind. Jesus, as the new Elijah, could ascend without any supernatural aids. After Elijah ascended, he was said to have poured out a double portion of his powerful, but still human spirit on his single disciple, Elisha. In Luke’s climactic narrative, Jesus, the “new Elijah, poured out the enormous gift of God’s Holy Spirit in sufficient quantities to transform the entire community and to last throughout the centuries. In the telling of these Ascension and Pentecost stories, Luke tipped his hat overtly to the Elijah source from which he was drawing his material. He even took the whirlwind that propelled Elijah’s chariot heavenward and he turned it into the mighty rushing wind that filled the upper room on the day of Pentecost. He took the fire from the magical chariot and horses and turned it into tongues of fire that were said to have lighted on the heads of the disciples as a sign of the presence of the Holy Spirit. A close examination of the miracle stories of the New Testament thus reveals that they were not written as the memory of literal events. They were, rather, created as interpretive narratives presenting Jesus as the new Moses, the new Elijah and the expected messiah. They are to be read not as supernatural tales, but as interpretive symbols. Suddenly the miracles begin to look very different and we are able to read the gospels in a new manner. To see this, however, we must “think different” and “accept uncertainty.” We will continue this series next week. ~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 Juan, from San Diego, writes: Question: I just finished reading a book, Leaving Church: A Memoir of Faith by Barbara Brown Taylor, formerly a priest of the Episcopal Church. She left her church just the way you left the Episcopal Church. After reading her book, this is what I wrote on the last page of her book “Barbara Taylor is free as a bird now after she left the Episcopal Church and took a teaching job at Piedmont College. She left the Episcopal Church but never left her God.” My question is: Is this the direction you want your readers to follow? Answer: Dear Juan, You really don’t know much about me if you think I have left the Episcopal Church. I treasure my church. Every Sunday that I am home, I am at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Morristown. I frequently teach an adult class there. I fill in for our wonderful clergy whenever they need help. The largest portion of my charitable giving goes to that church. I am still a bishop with seat, voice and vote in the House of Bishops of the Episcopal Church. I believe very deeply that Christianity itself needs to be reformed radically if it hopes to live into the 21st century, but I do not believe it can be reformed except by those who love it, who are deeply part of it and who are committed to it. I know and admire Barbara Brown Taylor who, it seems to me, still practices her ministry and her Christian faith in very creative ways. What she has said no to are some of the structures and formulations of traditional Christianity. I have no sense that Barbara has abandoned her love for the Christ. So, I don’t know how to answer your question except to say that I want my readers to join the reformation, to help make the Christian Church live again as the light of the world. For that is what we were created to be. ~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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David's and Burna's telephone number change
by David M Dunn 04 Jul '12

04 Jul '12

Hello friends and family. Burna and I have discontinued the 720-221-4661 number listed in the current directory. Please zap that old number and add a new number Skype telephone number: 720-381-1515. Burna's cell phone (720-314-5987) and my cell phone (720-314-5991) are both active. Thanks for tracking us. David David Dunn 740 S Alton Way 9B Denver, CO 80247 -- dmdunn1(a)gmail.com 720-314-5991

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Fw: July 4--Celebrating America & Making It Interdependence Day
by Janice Ulangca 04 Jul '12

04 Jul '12

I was introduced to the interfaith Network of Spiritual Progressives by our late colleague Dick Kroeger; Dick and Amelia worked with them for several years. Then I heard Michael Lerner speak at a conference in Washington DC. He's a hero of mine - I love a couple of his books and even more what he and his colleagues are trying to do. (For example, Cornell West and Sr. Joan Chichester have been co-chairs of the Network of Spiritual Progressives.) This is one of those "networks" whose values align with ICA's. When I can I want to list some of these activist networks that I've bumped into, with a paragraph or so description of each. I would love to know what potential allies you have discovered. Whether we ever contact these other groups or not who are doing their best to contribute to the global future, good to know they are there. Janice Ulangca ----- Original Message ----- From: Tikkun/Network of Spriitual Progressives To: aulangca(a)stny.rr.com Sent: Tuesday, July 03, 2012 2:11 AM Subject: July 4--Celebrating America & Making It Interdependence Day A note from Rabbi Michael Lerner, chair, the interfaith Network of Spiritual Progressives www.spiritualprogressives.org RabbiLerner.tikkun(a)gmail.com Faced with July 4th celebrations that are focused on militarism, ultra-nationalism, and “bombs bursting in air,” many American families who do not share those values turn July 4th into another summer holiday focused on picnics, sports, and fireworks, while doing their best to avoid the dominant rhetoric and bombast. This year that kind of celebration is particularly difficult when many of us are deeply upset as we watch our government escalating its policy of drones, still fighting a pointless war in Afghanistan, running elections in which only the super-rich or their allies stand a chance of being taken seriously by the corporate media, watching as the distance between rich and poor becomes ever wider, while education and social programs for the poor get defunded, the Supreme Court reaffirms the right of corporations to on donate without limit to political campaigns, the envirionment reaches beyond the tipping point and nobody even bothers to pretend that they are going to do something to epair the ecological crisis, and the government passes legislation that in effect does away with habaeus corpus and the right of people to a trial by their peers (by legislating life imprisonment without trial for anyone the government suspects of being a foreign operative, including US citizens), and disspirited by the lack of vision of the Democratic Party, and the dis-unity and nit-picking on the Left which seems to only know what it is against but has not yet developed a coherent vision of what it is for! Oy. That's why we've developed a July 4th celebratory program that you can draw from ... to create for yourself and your friends and/or family a celebration that will have meaning to you. We wish to affirm what is good in America without ignoring its problems, and to affirm a vision of hope that transcends this moment in 2012 and its disappointments. And we can even celebrate that some people who didn't have medical coverage will now, after the Supreme Court decision last week to allow the Obamacare plan to be implented, and before the Republicans find a way to eviscerate it, have that coverage--a concrete step towards "The Caring Society--Caring for Each Other and Caring for the Planet" that is the goal of the Network of Spiritual Progressives (which is also welcoming to atheists and agnostics and anyone else who wants a world based on love and generosity). We in the Network of Spiritual Progressives believe that avoiding July 4 or turning it into nothing more than a picnic with friends is a mistake for progressives. There is much worth celebrating in American history that deserves attention on July 4th, despite the current depravity of those who lead this country, though the celebration-worthy aspects of our society are rarely the focus of the public events. We also acknowledge that in the twenty-first century there is a pressing need to develop a new kind of consciousness — a recognition of the interdependence of everyone on the planet. A new revolution is necessary — one in which our actions reflect a realization that our well-being depends on the well-being of everyone else on the planet and of the planet itself. ... This is the equivalent of a Passover Haggadah, the guide to doing a Passover Seder, only designed for an interfaith and secular humanist community like the Network of Spiritual Progressives. Please feel free to use any part of it or all of it--but also please urge your friends and family to join our Network of Spiritual Progressives at www.spiritualprogressives.org so we can afford to keep doing this kind of work!!! Guide to a Communal or Family Celebration of July 4 Inter-Dependence Day Celebrating What Is Good about the United States of America (Go around your picnic table, or your July 4th gathering and have each person read a paragraph until everyone has been able to do so, and then repeat that process till you've read aloud through this whole thing. Feel free to cut, add, or in other ways change this approach. Today hundreds of millions of Americans will celebrate all that is good in the history of the United States of America. Even though we know there is much to criticize about America (including the use of the word “America” as synonymous with the United States, thereby ignoring Canada, Mexico, and Central and South America) there is also much to celebrate. Today we mark the signing of the Declaration of Independence, a document that still inspires many Americans today. We’re going to read the declaration aloud. As we do, listen for those ideas that you find inspiring or resonant or in some other way pertinent for our lives in twenty-first-century America. Unfortunately, the high ideals expressed in the Declaration, “that all men are created equal and endowed with their creator with certain inalienable rights, among them life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” were not actually put into practice when the Constitution was created and the United States came into existence. The word “men” was applied not in a general sense to include women, but rather to only include men. And, in fact, for the first decades of our country, the only people who could vote were white men who owned property. Worse, slavery was permitted and African Americans were counted as 3/5 of a European American in the census, which determined how many people lived in a given area who deserved representation in the Congress. Native Americans — those who had survived the near genocide of European settlement — did not figure at all in these equations. Some of these distortions got rectified through the democratic process that had been set up by the founders of our country. History books focus on the people who were in power as if all change comes from those in positions of authority. The truth is, though, that much of what we love about America was created by ordinary citizens. Often they encountered resistance from those in power; sometimes they found allies in power who joined in the struggle. At this celebration, let’s give thanks for the ordinary and extraordinary Americans whose struggles brought about those changes. As I read each of the following, let’s enjoy a bite of food, raising our forks each time in celebration of their achievements! To the waves of immigrants from all parts of the world who struggled to accept each other and find a place in this country. To the escaped slaves and their allies — particularly Quakers, evangelical Christians, and freedom-loving secularists — who built the underground railroad and helped countless people to freedom. To the coalitions of religious and secular people — women and men, black and white — who built popular support for the emancipation of the slaves. To the African Americans and allies who went to prison, lost their livelihoods, and were savagely beaten in the struggle for civil rights. To the working people who championed protections like the eight-hour day, minimum wage, workers’ compensation, and the right to organize, often at great personal cost to them. To the immigrants who fought against “nativist” tendencies and refused to close the borders of this country to new groups of immigrants, and who continue to support a policy of “welcoming the stranger” just as this country opened its gates to their ancestors when they were the immigrants and strangers, and to all who fight for the safety and decent treatment of immigrants. To the women who risked family, job security, and their own constructed identities to shift our collective consciousness about men and women and raise awareness of the effects of patriarchy. To all of those who risk scorn and violence and often lose their families to lead the struggle against homophobia and for the acceptance of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered, and queer people. To those who continue to work for equal access for people with disabilities. To those who advocate for sensitivity to animals and to the earth itself. To all of the innovators and artists who have brought so much beauty and usefulness into our lives. To those who fought to extend democratic principles not only in politics but also in the workplace and in the economy. To those who developed innovations in science and technology, in literature and art, in music and dance, in film and in computer science, in medical and communication technologies, and in methods to protect ourselves from the destructive impacts of some of these new technologies. To those who developed psychological insights and increased our ability to be sensitive to our impact on others. To those who developed ecological awareness. To those who brought the insights of their own particular religious or spiritual traditions that emphasized love and caring for others and generosity toward those who had been impoverished and sought to turn those ideas not only into a call for personal charity but also into a mission to transform our economic and political systems in ways that would reflect those values. To those who fought for peace and nonviolence, and who helped stop many wars. All of that we celebrate in America involved hard-won struggles to overcome entrenched ways of thinking. Adding to the difficulty of the struggle were the struggles among groups of people working for liberation. Sometimes people in oppressed groups would say, “My suffering is more intense or more important than your suffering” to each other, undermining rather than building solidarity. Sometimes one oppressed group was used by the people with power to fight against another oppressed group. Some people in each previously oppressed group would seize their hard-won power and turn their backs on the needs of others, even discriminating against or looking down on others whose struggles had not yet been won. It was sad and shocking when people struggling for peace found that some of their allies were racist or sexist or homophobic or anti-Semitic or anti-Islamic or anti-Christian or held hateful views about all religious people or about all secular people or about all white people or about all men. Sometimes that would lead people to give up. Luckily, many others did not give up, and so the struggles for human freedom dignity, human rights, economic security, and civil liberties were not abandoned. Those struggles continue today, and it could easily take many more decades before they are fully realized. But the good news is that many people have retained their basic decency and caring for others. We are surrounded by people who care. True, it’s often hard to show that. When first approached, many people express indifference to the well-being of others. Our economic system encourages selfishness, me-first-ism, “looking out for number one,” and indifference to the ecological and ethical impacts of our activities, and acting counter to those attitudes feels not only unfamiliar but also risky. Yet underneath all that, most people yearn for a different kind of world, but they think it is “unrealistic” to struggle for what they really believe in, since they are convinced that nobody else shares that desire with them. They momentarily overcame that fear in 2008 by giving a strong majority vote for Obama — allowing themselves to believe that a Democrat who promised “change we can believe in” and told people “yes, we can [build a very different kind of world]” could himself make the difference. What we’ve learned subsequently is that no candidate within this current system is likely to stick to any transformative goals in the face of overwhelming corporate power and the power of the corporate-subservient media unless we can build a powerful movement of us ordinary people to change our system. This is part of the reason we’ve created a Network of Spiritual Progressives to support each other in building a world that really does reflect our highest values. If peace, social justice, ecological sensitivity, full implementation of human rights, and the creation of a society based on love is “unrealistic,” then we say “screw realism.” Being realistic in a deeper sense is not accepting “reality” as it is presently presented to us. We want a different kind of world, and we have to engage in nonviolent struggles to build it. And that has always been the way we have won the battles for precisely the things that make us proud of the victories of the American people: it was always people who were told that what they wanted was “unrealistic” and who essentially said “screw realism — we’re going to fight for what is right” who became the real heroes of the American story. Of course, the powerful often obscure that history, and teach us to think that all the human rights and liberties and freedoms were “given to us,” but actually it was precisely the little people like us who made the big changes that have made this country worthy of celebration. ... ,Shalom, Michael Lerner -------------------------------------------------------------------- web: www.spiritualprogressives.org email: info(a)spiritualprogressives.org Click here to unsubscribe -------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright © 2010 Network of Spiritual Progressives®. 2342 Shattuck Avenue, #1200 Berkeley, CA 94704 510-644-1200 Fax 510-644-1255 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------

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Pastor to the homeless #2
by KarenBueno＠aol.com 04 Jul '12

04 Jul '12

(This is an addition to the first email) A United Methodist pastor (a woman) accepts the assignment to minister to the poor and homeless, and is currently living on the streets. I've been studying the life of St. Francis, and I'm impressed! I sure couldn't do it! _http://www.umc.org/site/apps/nlnet/content.aspx?c=lwL4KnN1LtH&b=5847613&ct= 11178177_ (http://www.umc.org/site/apps/nlnet/content.aspx?c=lwL4KnN1LtH&b=5847613&ct=…) and now she is in jail _http://www.woai.com/news/local/story/Homeless-pastor-on-mission-arrested/k9 NhqvrIBUS5OTd6i8Agww.cspx?rss=68_ (http://www.woai.com/news/local/story/Homeless-pastor-on-mission-arrested/k9…) Karen Nelson Wright Bueno

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(no subject)
by KarenBueno＠aol.com 04 Jul '12

04 Jul '12

A United Methodist pastor (a woman) accepts the assignment to minister to the poor and homeless, and is currently living on the streets. I've been studying the life of St. Francis, and I'm impressed! I sure couldn't do it! _http://www.umc.org/site/apps/nlnet/content.aspx?c=lwL4KnN1LtH&b=5847613&ct= 11178177_ (http://www.umc.org/site/apps/nlnet/content.aspx?c=lwL4KnN1LtH&b=5847613&ct=…) Karen Nelson Bueno

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