October 2014 - Dialogue - lists.wedgeblade.net

9/25/14, Spong: Part XXIX Matthew: Did Jesus Really Walk on Water? Of Course Not!
by Ellie Stock via Dialogue 06 Oct '14

06 Oct '14

HOMEPAGE MY PROFILE ESSAY ARCHIVE MESSAGE BOARDS CALENDAR Part XXIX Matthew Did Jesus Really Walk on Water? Of Course Not! Sandwiched between Matthew’s two stories of Jesus feeding the multitude is another popular tale in the gospels. It is the account of Jesus walking on the water. Interestingly enough, in each of the four gospels this walking on the water story is coupled with the feeding of the multitudes. All of the gospel writers will treat these two stories as a pair. That is the first clue to their meaning. It is clear that among the early followers of Jesus these stories were deeply linked. If the feeding of the multitude accounts reflects an updated version of Moses providing manna in the wilderness to the Children of Israel, is it possible that the walking on the water story is an updated version of Moses splitting the Red Sea? I think that this is highly probable and it is exactly this connection, which opens the story of Jesus walking on the water to its original Jewish meaning. It is a narrative that was never meant to be read literally. These two Jesus stories correspond then to the two great events in Moses’ life. Earlier in this Matthew series we saw how the baptism of Jesus was made to re-enact Moses’ Red Sea experience. We then noted that the account of Jesus’ forty days of being tempted in the wilderness was paralleled with Moses’ forty years in the wilderness, indeed the crises Moses faced were almost identical with the temptations that Jesus faced. In the folklore of the Jewish people, the power of Moses over water was clearly and regularly established. Jesus, if he was to fulfill the messianic image of being the “New Moses,” needed to have a similar story in which power over water was attributed to him. The ability to walk on water served that purpose very well. The close connection of Jesus feeding the multitudes and walking on water with Moses sending “mamma” in the wilderness and splitting the “Red Sea” screams at us to open our eyes to their original Jewish meaning. For Matthew, neither the feeding of the multitude nor Jesus walking on the water was meant to be read as a miracle story. They were Moses stories. Only later Gentiles, unaware of their Jewish meaning, would ever have thought of either one as a supernatural act that had actually taken place in real history. Jesus refused, time after time, to provide a “sign” to his critics. Indeed that kind of activity was overtly rejected in Matthew’s temptation narrative. Being the messiah does not mean putting God to the test with daring acts of supernatural power, like hurling ones self off the pinnacle of the Temple. The walking on the water story is itself memorable. Like few biblical tales, it has insinuated itself into the life of our culture. Even those who never go to church will know this story. There are thousands of golf jokes that turn on Jesus’ or God’s ability to walk on water. Most clergy have heard them all! My favorite walking on the water story comes, however, not out of golf, but out of baseball. It involves people deep in the history of the New York Yankees, a team to which I am more than just a little bit devoted. This story happened some time ago when the owner of the Yankees, George Steinbrenner, was still alive and at the height of his power. The Yankees had acquired from the Kansas City Royals in a trade a promising outfielder named Lou Piniella. Arriving in the Bronx to join his new team, Piniella appeared with long hair and a heavy beard. When he was told that it was Yankee policy for players to have their hair short and to restrict facial hair to a neat moustache, Piniella objected. He was then told that he would have to speak to Mr. Steinbrenner about that, since only the owner could exempt a player from this team policy. So a time was set for this long-haired, bearded Piniella to talk with Yankee owner, George Steinbrenner. It would be their first meeting. “I don’t see why I have to cut my hair and shave my beard just to play for the Yankees,” Piniella told the owner. Then, trying to strengthen his case, Piniella added, “Jesus Christ, the greatest person who ever lived, had long hair and a beard.” George Steinbrenner invited his balky left-fielder to go with him outside Yankee Stadium to where the East River was flowing lazily through New York City. Then Mr. Steinbrenner spoke and said, “Lou, Jesus Christ could walk on water. Now if you can walk on the top of this river, then you can keep your hair and your beard!” Piniella went to the barber for a shave and a haircut and then he went on to become a crucial part of Yankee success for years, finally finishing his career as one of baseball’s finest managers in New York, Cincinnati, Seattle, Tamps Bay and Chicago. While the story of Jesus walking on the water has become part of our cultural landscape, is there any reason to believe that it ever happened? I do not think so. Those like Matthew, who were familiar with the Jewish Scriptures and with the Jewish story-telling tradition, recognized this narrative for what it was, an interpretive Moses story. Moses had power over water. He could split the Red Sea. To portray Jesus as walking on the water would assert that Jesus also had power over water. That was the purpose of this narrative. To be more specific, the story of Jesus walking on the water was a Red Sea story magnified and repeated about Jesus. It comes in Matthew’s gospel between the feeding of the 5000 and the feeding of the 4000. When the first feeding story was complete, Matthew had Jesus send the disciples in a boat across the lake ahead of him while he dispersed the crowds. Then Matthew says that Jesus “went up the mountain alone to pray.” By this time the boat, carrying the disciples, was “many furlongs from the land” (Matt. 14:24). Their boat, however, had encountered a storm and it was being beaten by the waves. The wind was also against it. So, “in the fourth watch of the night” (that would be between 3:00 and 6:00 am) Matthew says, “Jesus came to them walking on the water” (Matt 14:25). Matthew’s clear message to the church of his day was that Jesus always comes when life’s struggles are the hardest. The disciples seeing him, however, thought they were seeing a ghost. Is this a hint of their later Easter experience? Possibly. Jesus speaks, identifying himself, telling them not to fear. Then Matthew adds a wrinkle to his story, found nowhere else in any New Testament book. Peter seeks further identification of this ghost-like figure. Peter is always in a struggle to understand Jesus in this gospel. He believes and then he does not believe. He confesses that Jesus is the Christ and then he completely misunderstands what the Christ function is. He pledges his undying loyalty and then when his life is at risk he denies ever knowing Jesus. So Peter in this Matthean episode steps forward to test his senses and his perception. “Lord, if it is you,” he is clearly not convinced, “bid me to come to you on the water.” That would be a good proof of identification. Jesus bids him to come; Peter steps out of the boat and he too walks upon the water! The power of Jesus can be the power of the disciples. That is the message and it was a timely one when Matthew was writing and Jesus’ followers were under the great pressure of persecution. As soon as Peter saw the waves and felt the wind, however, he became afraid and began to sink. “Lord, save me!” he cried out. Jesus extended his hand to Peter, held him up and said: “O man of little faith, why did you doubt?” Then they both got into the boat and at that moment the winds ceased. Matthew added to his text the story’s purpose, namely that those in the boat now “worshiped him” and confessed him to be “the Son of God” (Matt: 14:33). Once again, just like the feeding stories, this is a parable, not a literal event. No one defies nature and gravity to walk on water or to enable five loaves to feed a multitude. Matthew’s readers knew that. So what he is doing is portraying Jesus as possessing Moses-like power. Moses had the power to split the water so that he could form a path through it on dry land. Jesus’ power was even greater. He could navigate the water by walking on its surface. In this story the message was that the disciples saw God in Jesus in a new and powerful way. They then did what Jews would do only to God: They worshiped him, thus acknowledging him to be part of who God is. Jesus’ divine nature was so apparent, Matthew was suggesting, that the people sought just to be in his presence in a crisis and to see a vision of him coming to them when they were in distress. Matthew was describing the disciples’ faith in Jesus, not an event that actually happened. Remember, that when we put this story into its literal history, Jesus was yet to be betrayed, to be denied and to be abandoned by the members of the Twelve. Matthew was rather portraying the growing faith of the Christians at the time he was writing some 55 years after the crucifixion. The idea of messiah as a “God presence” was still evolving. As the post-Jesus Christian community endured the storms of life and their times of trial, sometimes their confidence disappeared. Like children stepping out from the security of their parents’ home, they were not sure they could make it without Jesus being physically present. Matthew assures us, however that they will reach the security of the shore. When they do arrive there, however, they find the Pharisees and the Scribes have descended to a new level of religious trivia. Their chief worry concerned why the disciples were abandoning the religious traditions: they did not wash their hands before eating nor honor their elders. Jesus and his disciples, they charged, were making “void” the literal word of God. Jesus is then made to call his critics hypocrites. He talks about the difference between external religious forms and internal religious faith. Peter, above all, still doesn’t get it. Nothing seems to work for Peter. Even seeing Moses’ power in Jesus was not sufficient. Those who cling to religious rules for their meaning will never know a change of heart. The story then moves on to one of the great iconic figures in this gospel’s narrative. She is a Canaanite woman. The boundaries of religion are about to be expanded anew. Stay tuned. John Shelby Spong Read the essay online here. Question & Answer Ed Branthaver, via the Internet, writes: Question: In November I will be 76 years old. I grew up in one of the historic Peace churches – the Church of the Brethren, which I attended from childhood through my adult years. The congregations I attended were conservative, but not of the “Literalist” bent. Even during my college years and beyond I was unable to understand the gospels. None of my considerable studies proved to be of significant help. Not until I accidentally found your book: Why Christianity Must Change or Die? did I find a ray of light and an individual who wrote in a fashion that I could understand. Since then, I have purchased almost everything you have written and I subscribe to your weekly e-messages. You have helped me immeasurably to make sense of what has been a mystery to me for a long time. Thank you. In your article “Christ and the Body of Christ” in the 2000 issue of “The Once and Future Jesus,” you write “God is real for me, a mythical, indefinable presence which I can experience but never explain.” Further in THE FUTURE OF THE CHRISTIAN TRADITION (“Beyond Theism but not Beyond God”) you identify God with the real and present “life force” in the universe (love). My very good friend, a former fundamentalist Christian turned atheist, claims that because you do not define God as a deity or Supreme Being, you are in fact an atheist (according to the dictionary definition) even though you said you could accept the label Christian Humanist. Could you explain to me and to my atheist friend how you can maintain your status as a Christian while at the same time meet the “dictionary definition” of an atheist? Answer: Dear Ed, Thank you for your letter and congratulations on 76 years. I am happy to respond to your inquiry. For me it is simple: the dictionary definition of the word “atheist” is wrong. An atheist is not literally one who says there is no God. An atheist is one who says there is no God who can be defined in theistic terms! That is a crucial difference. Theism is not God; Theism is a human definition of God, one which defines God as a “being, supernatural in power, dwelling somewhere outside the world and capable of invading human history in miraculous ways.” It is this theistic deity who died in the intellectual revolution that began with Copernicus and Galileo, who were the first to introduce us to the dimensions of space and, in the process, destroyed the idea of a three-tiered universe in which the theistic God was conceived. God’s dwelling place outside this world was simply removed. Next the work of Isaac Newton showed us how the laws of the universe operated with such mathematical precision that the realm in which the theistic God was thought to operate began to shrink perceptibly. The things we once called miracles and magic are now explained without reference to supernatural causes. The weather and human sickness were both demystified and we understood the causes of hurricanes, earthquakes, floods and drought on one side and coronary occlusions, strokes, cancer and infections on the other. The prayers for rain and for sickness, which grew out of a theistic definition of God, were dropped and replaced. Instead of praying for rain we now consult the meteorologists. Instead of asking God to heal us or our loved ones we turn to antibiotics, surgery, chemotherapy and radiation. In time, Charles Darwin taught us about the origins of both the universe and life and his insights challenged the way Christians once postulated their primary way of telling the Christian story. That traditional story involved us in asserting that there was an original perfection, followed by a fall into sin, which then required the need for a rescuing act of redemption, which was presumably accomplished in Jesus. Jesus thus became the incarnation of the theistic deity. It was a fascinating way to tell the Jesus story, but it was quite pre-modern. That kind of religious language no longer translates into reality for us, but most Christians never learned that there was any other language that we could use. Freud and Einstein then added their unique insights to our expanding knowledge and all of these things together meant that the human definition of God that we call “theism” became irrelevant to our educated minds. The question then is does God die when theism dies? I don’t think so. The theistic definition of God is a human construct and all human constructs ultimately die. It also means that, much more than we once thought, claims once believed to be absolutely necessary to religion, will also inevitably die. I refer to such irrational ideas as the concept of infallible Popes and inerrant scriptures and whether or not there is “one true faith” and “one true church.” It means we have to recognize that the human mind can never define or contain the ultimate mystery to which human beings refer when they say the word “God.” It means that our God language will become less concrete and more mystical. It will mean, inevitably, that we will be less certain and, shall I say, “vaguer” in the God language we use. It means that concepts like “Christian atheist” or “believing non-theist” will not be seen as oxymorons. Ultimately it means that the death of the theistic definition of God will not mean the death of God. Today, theologians speak of God as a human symbol pointing to a reality that words cannot capture. They will say things like “God is dead” and still be drawn in worship. They look at Jesus, but not in the way that causes us to think that Jesus is related to God in the same way that Clark Kent is related to superman. Divinity becomes an aspect of humanity and is found in Jesus because his was a human life that escaped the boundaries of the human and thus reflected and channeled the reality of God to us and for us. It is a fermenting, frightening, creative time in the theological world. A new explanation is underway. I believe I can experience God, but I can no longer define God in theistic terms. That makes me a non-theist believer, but not one who denies the reality of God. I pursue God inside the parameters of Christianity because that has always been my doorway, but not because I am convinced it is the only doorway. This makes me a Christian by my definition, but I do not believe Christianity itself can contain the wonder of God and my journey will always lead me beyond the boundaries of Christianity. Into what I do not yet know, but it will be a step into a new dimension of reality for which I do not have words. Christianity has always been evolving. This will simply be the next, but not the last stage in that evolution. I claim my role in this evolution, specifically as a Christian. This kind of radical reformation of our faith story has happened before, but perhaps in not so total a way. Christianity was born in a Jewish world and then had to translate itself into a Platonic-thinking Greek world in order to survive. A man named Augustine, the bishop of Hippo did that for us in the Fourth century. When Aristotle’s thought replaced Plato’s in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries as the dominant way of perceiving truth then Western theology once more had to adapt. Christianity did so by translating itself anew into Aristotelian terms. A man named Thomas Aquinas did that for us. When the age of the Enlightenment emerged, there was a great need for Christianity to be translated into the categories of new scientific learning and into the emerging new humanism. The Protestant Reformation sought to accomplish that. The jury is still out on how successful that was. Today, the knowledge on which the modern world is based, both its intellectual knowledge and its technological knowledge, cries out for what I have called “A New Christianity for a New World.” Developing that “New Christianity” is an ongoing work in progress. There are some who believe that Christianity will die if it has to change and adapt and so they resist change and entrench themselves in the formulas of yesterday. We call them fundamentalists and they come in both a Catholic and Protestant variety. There are also some who think that Christianity in none of its forms will ever be able to live in this modern world and so they abandon it altogether. We call them secular humanists. I call myself “A Believer in Exile.” Both words are important. I am a believer. God is infinitely real to me even though I cannot define that reality. I am also in exile from the traditional understanding of my religious past. I will never abandon my Christian roots, but I do see Christianity as an evolving force and I want to be part of that evolution. So I gather with my community of faith in worship each week. I sing the hymns that reflect our journey through history. I listen to and pray prayers that are still largely addressed to a theistic understanding of God. I listen to sermons that help me explore a new interior reality. I participate in educational activities that force me into a dialogue between faith and knowledge. In my own way, I see my life as a journey into the mystery of God. In that journey, I am not able to pursue or even to contemplate that journey’s end, but I believe I walk in God and with God and that God lives in me and through me. Perhaps I am delusional, but I don’t think so. Perhaps God is the journey and not the destination. It is from this perspective that I write not only my books, but this weekly column and because so many seem to be willing to walk with me, I never feel that I walk alone. Thank you for your letter. John Shelby Spong Announcements This month, at ProgressiveChristianity.org, we continued our discussion on Sacred Community as we delved into the topic of Teaching and Preaching. Read It Here! Sign up for our free monthly eBulletin here. Any questions or concerns, please contact us at support(a)johnshelbyspong.com or 253-507-8678. Copyright © 2014 ProgressiveChristianity.org, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you have a membership at johnshelbyspong.com. Our mailing address is: ProgressiveChristianity.org 708 Broadway Suite 105 Tacoma, WA 98402 Add us to your address book If you are a paying subscriber, you may login and cancel your account.

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Winds and Waves December Issue - This is your invitation to contribute
by Robyn Hutchinson via Dialogue 06 Oct '14

06 Oct '14

To read in your browser click here Dear ICA and many other colleagues around the world, We have had quite a lot of exciting feedback from the Back to the Future edition of Wind and Waves. We hope you saw it, and other previous issues (see here) We are constantly exploring how we can make this magazine more user friendly and accessible to as wide an audience as possible, and are always delighted to have your suggestions. Now we prepare for the December issue. ICA's PLEASE FOWARD THIS INVITATION, or similar, TO ALL YOUR MEMBERS, for their contribution, and that of their networks, as appropriate. "Image shift through coaching and mentoring" The Wind and Waves team invites submission of articles for the next edition of Wind and Waves Magazine. We hope that each ICA would take responsibility for sourcing relevant articles from members and non-members for each edition. December WW Theme working title is: "Image shift through coaching and mentoring Sharing a wide range of practice in the field of coaching and mentoring across the globe stories and examples of processes and practices help to change peoples lives please see attachment for more ideas and aspects of mentoring and coaching that you might like to consider writing about. See here Winds and Waves format: 1. In-depth leading topic article 2. Supporting articles on theme 3. Other theme related items 4. Reports, stories, events, works in progress (Guidelines see here) For the December edition featuring COACHING and MENTORING, we are looking for items from: * those involved in this work, in a paid or voluntary capacity, and its impact * personal stories from colleagues around the world who have experienced life change through practical application of these processes and methods, and the future potential * anyone involved in other exciting human development works in progress Contributions could include reports, poems, images, songs, and stories about the people and organisations that you are working with, the breakthroughs that you have had, your learnings and insights, and your thoughts on future directions. We also want to include reports and notices from ICAs and other organisations of initiatives, programs, significant events and dialogues taking place anywhere in the globe. Does your ICA, individual members, or someone you know have a story to share? Please forward an invitation as appropriate to your networks. TIME FRAME for WIND AND WAVES - December edition Leading Topic: Image Shift Coaching and mentoring Indication of article to be sent: by Friday, October 3 (send to Isabel, Peter, Robyn) Finished article deadline: Friday, October 24, 2014 (send to Isabel, Peter, Robyn) Publication: December, 2014 By October 3, Please let us know these details on the article you / other person plans to write: 1. Title - subject line: story proposal........ 2. In the email body: 2 SIMPLE sentences not "paragraph-sentences" a. The story to share is about: .......... b. The point of the story for the reader is:....... 3. Estimated length............ 4. The number of photos, diagrams, images, that will accompany the article.... 5. Your name and author's name....email addresses for both Please send the above information to Isabel, Robyn and Peter Ellins, by October 3. Some guideline tips for your attention, include: - avoiding jargon; remembering that this is a public magazine; - audience is ICA and many others - Items can be in English and Spanish. With many thanks in anticipation, Robyn Hutchinson: hutchinsonsydney13(a)gmail.com Isabel de la Maza: isadelamaza(a)vtr.net Contributions Coordinators, for the W&W team Please send cc to Peter Ellins, peter(a)icai-members.org If you did not receive a copy or notice of the last edition of the magazine, please contact: Peter Ellins: Email: peter(a)icai-members.org; or Robyn Hutchinson: Email: hutchinsonsydney13(a)gmail.com

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Fwd: GMCA Update Oct 01
by David Zahrt via Dialogue 05 Oct '14

05 Oct '14

*WED OCT 01* *Bellevue to Edison Woodland Preserve, New Berlin, OH* The first day of October! Seven months on the March; only one month left! Overnight was a reminder that fall is here. The overnight temperature must have gotten down into the 50’s. The morning sky was covered with clouds; no way to see the sun. I saw a sign at 10:30am that registered the temperature at 68º. Today was a 23-mile day. I did get Sarah’s directions by email but found the route directions confusing and so probably did 28 miles of riding. There was a town along the way that was Thomas Edison’s birthplace. I probably could have spent an afternoon there. I had the long-sleeved Camarillo CERT shirt on under the maroon long-sleeved knit shirt that Heidi sent me. It kept me warm but when I got to camp the CERT shirt was soaking wet with sweat. During my ride I had a brainstorm about all the things that must change if we’re to have a livable future. I came up with something the March could do: Start Dave Finnegan’s program *Climate Change Is Elementary* <climatechangeiselementary.org> across the nation—North/South/East/West. It would mean gridding the nation and training facilitators for each section. It would put an enormous burden on Dave, but it would spread the program across the nation. We are staying in a 1,300-acre preserve that was once slated to be a site of a nuclear power plant. Because it was such a long March day, and I got to camp before those Marching, Kai asked me to help get the vegetables chopped for stir fry, and set up the stoves in the amphitheater. It’s been a long time since I was asked to work in the ‘kitchen’. The afternoon cools off and the sun starts to set earlier. Dinnertime went into dusk. There were a string of Christmas lights across part of the amphitheater. Someone plugged them in and JJ put up a tablet of newsprint and started a presentation on Extinction. He lectured from his Laptop computer. The amphitheater was crowded because we have had new people join us. I wasn’t able hear or see the presentation. Someone had erected the Taj Mahal tent. I put my sleeping gear in the tent and went to bed. -- Peace, David

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Very Brief Ferguson Update from Saturday/Sunday 10/4-5: check out Powell Hall Concert demonstration.
by Ellie Stock via Dialogue 05 Oct '14

05 Oct '14

Below are brief Ferguson updates from Saturday and Sunday. Check out the link to the Powell Hall Concert demonstration. Saturday, October 4: Three Abrahamic traditions today: Christian Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, Jewish Yom Kippur, and Islamic Holy Day Eid al-Adha--the day of Sacrifice at the end of the Hajj Pilgrimage. After returning from a meeting around 9:30pm, we saw on TV that there had been a "flash mob" of about 50 people who staged a demonstration in Powell Hall at the end of the evening concert's intermission just before the orchestra was to begin a Brahms Requiem. One person stood up and started singing and then others gradually joined the revised spiritual: "Which side are you on, friends? Which side are you on? Justice for Mike Brown friends, justice for us all. Three banners were hung over the rail from the balcony: a picture of Michael Brown, "Black Lives Matter" and "Requiem for Michael Brown". Paper hearts with Requiem for Michael Brown written on them were also thrown over the balcony rail. After about 5 minutes of singing, the protestors, who had paid for their tickets, left, chanting "Black lives matter." The Requiem banner was left hanging, the other two taken by the singers. Some members of the audience, orchestra. and concert choir applauded. Then, after that brief delay, the Brahms Requiem began--with perhaps a new meaning? The demonstration was musical, creative, solemn, coordinated with the requiem theme, peaceful, tasteful, interracial, and didn't interrupt music already in progress. Michael Brown Protest Interrupts Orchestra in St. Louis [VIDEO] mashable.com/2014/10/05/michael-brown-protest-orchestra/ 7 hours ago ... The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra was getting ready to resume its show on Saturday night at Powell Hall in St. Louis, Missouri, when ... Michael Brown supporters interrupt orchestra performance with ... thegrio.com/2014/.../michael-brown-supporters-orchestra-flash-mob/ 15 hours ago ... ... slain Missouri teen Michael Brown launched a peaceful protest during a St. Louis Symphony Orchestra performance at Powell Symphony Hall... ... of Michael Brown on August 9 in the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson, Missour Ferguson protesters interrupt St. Louis Symphony with their ... www.dailydot.com/news/ferguson-protesters-st-louis-symphony/ 6 hours ago ... "Justice for Mike Brown is justice for us all." ... Ferguson protesters interrupted a performance Saturday night at Powell Hall in St. Louis, Missouri. ... According to a spokesperson for the St. Louis Symphony, the Mike Sunday, October 5: At Sunday Forum, the pastor gave an update on the 10/10-13 Weekend of Resistance. Google: fergusonoctober . She also shared how she and a lawyer helped to get protesters out of jail who had been arrested and double fined by the Ferguson police last Thursday night. Protesters said they had followed Highway patrol officer Ron Johnson's instructions re where to stand on the sidewalk. After this incident, the County Police took over protestor security from the Ferguson police. Plant for Peace participants planted 500 trees in the St. Louis area, a peaceful response to Michael Brown's death.

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Fwd: GMCA Update Sept 30
by David Zahrt via Dialogue 04 Oct '14

04 Oct '14

*TUE SEP 30* *Fremont, to Parks & Recreation Center in Bellevue, OH* Last night I slept well on the bed. Once again, I put my sleeping bag out on top of the blanket so I didn’t use their sheets or the pillow. There had been no announcements at last night’s dinner about when we planned to leave. I went out to pack my things in the truck and discovered that it had started raining, a sprinkle not a downpour. I had everything packed up by 6:30am and went to the Retreat kitchen. There were very few looking for breakfast. I got granola and yogurt out of the kitchen truck and ate my breakfast. Ed came along later and made pancakes. I didn’t need any more breakfast. It rained intermittently. I asked JJ if he had a rider. He said “No”. I asked if I could ride with him if it continued to rain. He said, “Yes”. I surveyed the weather and decided that the rain had gone away. I decided to ride my bike. I got route info down on paper from someone. As I was getting ready Shira approached me and indicated we should ride together. We got Jim, one of the hosts, to instruct us on how to get to the Trail that runs from Fremont to Bellevue. Shira and I got on our bikes and rode off. It was chilly and as soon as I started to sweat I was hot and cold. The atmosphere was clear but the clouds completely blocked the sun. Shira decided to ride at my pace. We took both lanes and in 15 miles had only 2 cars to watch out for. We conversed as we rode. I discovered that we have some common interests: she makes apple cider in the fall, and she is a beekeeper. Interesting how we had a chance to share in our ‘side-conversation’. When we’re busy attending to March practics those conversations aren’t appropriate. We got to Bellevue and asked how to find the library. It was on the way to the Parks and Recreation Center where we were to camp. We stopped and used the library’s computers for email, then went to the campsite. I had used Rod’s needle and thread in Elmore to fix one of the tie-downs on my bike backpack. I put the needle back in the spool of thread and when he opened the spool container, he couldn’t find the needle. Since I had time I went to a Dollar Store and bought him a package of needles. Dinner was late. There was an All-Camp meeting. The topic was “What do you want the March to do in the last month and how should it empower us to act when it concludes?” There were many suggestions. Sean was the facilitator and will gestalt the brainstorm for us to begin work on. It will be interesting to see what the follow-up achieves. -- Peace, David

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Fwd: GMCA Update Sept 29
by David Zahrt via Dialogue 03 Oct '14

03 Oct '14

*MON SEP 29* *Elmore to Fremont, OH* Although it was announced that the March would leave at 9am I put the stoves away and folded up the solar panels and hit the trail a little after 8am. The route from Elmore to Fremont was a trail. I think it’s meant to go all the way across Ohio. I believe it’s the Trail we were directed to when we left Montpelier. This portion of the trail is a blacktop surface at least 7 foot wide. It’s nice to ride a trail. The walnuts and oak acorns provided some bumps in the road. Once again it was foggy. I got to Fremont in time to visit the bicycle shop. The side of the rim on the back tire is splitting. The split allows the brakes to work but it makes the brakes go bump, bump, bump. There is no air in the tire so I don’t have to worry about a blow-out. The mechanic suggested that I continue to ride it. Then I found my way to the library. I sent a journal to Lin and a note to Shari, the secretary for the March in the Des Moines office. I’m volunteering to drive the Gear truck from WDC to Des Moines. I’ll have to wait and see what transpires. We’re staying in another Convent—Our Lady of the Pines Retreat Center. They offered some rooms inside the Center. I picked a room and took a shower. Before dinner we had a Toledo engineer, one who was at the Saturday Protest/ Demonstration of BP in Toledo, give us the technical details of fracking. From the details he gave it’s clear that there are some who care nothing about the earth, its population, and the future of all its species. Their only concern is accumulating income. The dinner crew worked on dinner but the major part of it was donated by the Retreat Center. There was nothing planned after dinner. I relaxed in my room then went to bed. -- Peace, David

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Liberal heresy
by via Dialogue 03 Oct '14

03 Oct '14

This seems like a liberal answer with structural fixes. From John Cock's blog: http://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2014/sep/26/8-innovations-e… Seems like anyone who isn't extremely right or left is a threat to both polarized extremes. I was talking to someone in the millennial generation, who said he always thought Hippies were heroes, but he absolutely hated Occupy Wallstreet. Figure that one out. Jann

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Fwd: GMCA Update Sept. 28
by David Zahrt via Dialogue 02 Oct '14

02 Oct '14

*SUN SEP 28* *Toledo to Elmore, OH* I went through the breakfast/lunch routine, packed up and was ready to go. After breakfast I asked Sarah about the route. She had sent it out to the Marcher list the night before. I had my phone connected to the Jetpack that the March has procured to give the March constant connection to the Internet. She sent it again while we were conversing, but it didn’t arrive. Then she texted me and I got it. The email she sent didn’t arrive until I got to Elmore and hooked up to a WiFi in a local restaurant. We were informed that we were to get our trucks out of the parking lot by 8am. People were still bringing their luggage down from 4th floor of the convent. The Gear truck was congested. When we had a workshop on the Qualities we would like to see the March incorporate, I should have contributed “being punctual”, or punctuality! At dawn the atmosphere seemed clear, but by 8am the atmosphere was filled with fog. On the way to Elmore there were times when it covered the sun. It was like a white night. By the time I got to Elmore the fog was gone. We camped in the park that Elmore has established as a memorial to their Railroad Depot. It’s a relic. It even has the telegraph system intact. We set up the kitchen in a tiny amphitheater. Most of the Marchers put up their tents. I found a porch with a nice roof to sleep under. I sat under the ‘kitchen’ amphitheater and did some journaling. The Marchers straggled in. A local Toledo woman volunteered to serve dinner. Some Marchers helped her get the meal ready. After dinner people were doing their own thing. I went to bed. -- Peace, David

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Re: [Dialogue] [Oe List ...] Wrong about social change??
by Bill Parker via Dialogue 02 Oct '14

02 Oct '14

Nancy, Sorry for the delay. I just now saw your request for a "little more" on the fallacy of the liberal form of doing. Years ago John Epps presented a paper on the "liberal heresy". It is archived so you can get access to it. He described the dynamic very well. Today I see and experience a type of this "heresy" broadly among some liberal and progressive people. They see the problem, understand what causes it, grasp that it is systemic in nature, find who to blame for it, then resort to symbolic gestures of outrage, to themselves and sometimes to whomever is to be blamed. They then go on with their lives as normal because of the symbolic gesture they feel like they have addressed the issue. They do this without any effort, or even commitment, to dealing with the systemic situation underlying the problem, building transitional models, or acknowledging a movement is essential before anything can happen to alter and sustain the situation. Hope this adds a little to the phrase. Bill ----- Original Message ----- From: "Nancy Trask" <nancytrask(a)rocketmail.com> To: "James Wiegel" <jfwiegel(a)yahoo.com>; "Colleague Dialogue" <dialogue(a)lists.wedgeblade.net>; "Order Ecumenical Community" <oe(a)lists.wedgeblade.net>; "Bill Parker" <bparker175(a)cox.net> Sent: Monday, September 29, 2014 12:37 PM Subject: Re: [Dialogue] [Oe List ...] Wrong about social change?? Hey Bill - Say a little more about "This is the fallacy of the "liberal" form of doing." Nancy Trask -------------------------------------------- On Mon, 9/29/14, Bill Parker via Dialogue <dialogue(a)lists.wedgeblade.net> wrote: Subject: Re: [Dialogue] [Oe List ...] Wrong about social change?? To: "James Wiegel" <jfwiegel(a)yahoo.com>, "Colleague Dialogue" <dialogue(a)lists.wedgeblade.net>, "Order Ecumenical Community" <oe(a)lists.wedgeblade.net> Date: Monday, September 29, 2014, 11:10 AM If only it were that simple. Doing social change work and getting social change done are two very different realities. Social change comes out of a movement toward a different future which shows up from a multitude of independent faces from the human community. Holding elected representives accountable is certainly one aspect of that but its "tail is not large enough to wag the dog." Also, social change is more than just change but it is change that cannot be reversed as soon as people's interest moves on to something else. This is the fallacy of the "liberal" form of doing. ----- Original Message ----- From: James Wiegel via OE To: Colleague Dialogue ; Order Ecumenical Community Sent: Sunday, September 28, 2014 1:17 PM Subject: [Oe List ...] Wrong about social change?? "I've been doing social change work for more than 40 years, and I know that organizing people to hold our elected officials accountable is the only thing that actually makes change." Wenonah Hauter. True or false. Please comment Jim Wiegel Those who have the most rigorously tested answers will not drive the future of learning; those who pursue the most meaningful questions will. Mathew Abrams 401 North Beverly Way, Tolleson, Arizona 85353 Tel. 011-623-936-8671 or 011-623-363-3277 jfwiegel(a)yahoo.com www.partnersinparticipation.com Upcoming public course opportunities: ToP® Facilitation Methods: Sep 9-10, Nov 18-19, 2014 Click to watch video. ToP® Strategic Planning: Oct 7-8, 2014 Click to learn more. Facilitation Mastery: The Mastering the Technology of Participation program begins in Oakland on Nov 12-14, 2014 Click to watch video. For online registration go to http://www.top-training.net The AZ ToP® Community of Practice meets the 1st Friday, 1-4 pm, starting again on Sept 5th at ACYR, 648 N. 5th Avenue, Phoenix, AZ 85003 AICP Planners: 14.5 CM for all ToP® courses _______________________________________________ OE mailing list OE(a)lists.wedgeblade.net http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net -----Inline Attachment Follows----- _______________________________________________ Dialogue mailing list Dialogue(a)lists.wedgeblade.net http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/dialogue-wedgeblade.net

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Fwd: GMCA Sept 26-27
by David Zahrt via Dialogue 01 Oct '14

01 Oct '14

*FRI SEP 26* *Maumee to Toledo, OH* While I waited for the scrambled eggs, I made my lunch for the day. I chose a route north along the west side of the river to Toledo. We’re staying in an abandoned Convent at Good Shepherd Catholic Church. It was abandoned when the elevator stopped working. We have to climb the outside stairs 4 ½ flights to get to the Convent. The facilities are nice. I claimed a room and then went to the local library. In the afternoon we were shuttled to a community garden placed on a 1/8 acre lot in East Toledo—we had to cross the river to get there. The garden is somehow in violation of the city ordinance! Kat led an introductory conversation—around the circle; name and concern prompted by Climate Change—and then we broke into groups to discuss particular interests. The group I chose focused on solar electricity. It’s one thing to get solar panels up; it’s yet another to get access to the electricity produced because of the utility companies. Then a retired engineer gave a short presentation. He has a chart of the way we (human civilization) have used up Mother Earth <www.cs4us.org>. I haven’t looked at his website but I think his prediction is that humanity will use up Mother Earth and we will not be able to inhabit it at that point: Humankind will become extinct! But Mother Earth will rebound. We were shuttled back across the river for dinner offered to us by a church that closed and has become a Homeless Shelter. Talk about humility and gratitude! We were able to walk back to the Convent. At the evening meeting Deb led a workshop focused on the qualities that the participants would like to have the March embody. As I recall she did this workshop earlier in New Mexico. I think she re-instated it because we have some new Marchers. It was meant to be a brainstorm that would be gestalted. It turned into a discussion and lasted until 9:30pm with the need to continue the conversation. *SAT Sep 27 *It was a leisurely morning. I ate breakfast and took a shower. At 9am there was an All-Camp meeting. This one was to allow members of the March to express opinions that they might have been harboring—“I” statements. Then we were to gather at 11am to be shuttled to a BP (British Petroleum) processing plant to demonstrate against the way BP is poisoning the Toledo environment. There were very few locals that joined us in the shuttle. We found a parking lot and there were a few more people there. We Marched back to a place that would put a labeled BP storage tank in the background (for filming). Several local folks made presentations as did several Marchers. At the end of the presentations there were Marchers that collapsed on the ground. The rest of us wore face masks to symbolize the pollution that the processing plant is leaving in the atmosphere. Then we Marched back to the parking lot where one of the local women provided bagels and cream cheese. We ate lunch and shuttled back to the Convent where once more dinner was provided by the Homeless Shelter. There was a Prayer Vigil scheduled at one of the local churches. I missed going with our group and I didn’t know the directions through the neighborhood. Since the neighborhood was said to be dangerous after dark, I decided not to go and returned to the Convent to pack up and get ready for the Sunday March. -- Peace, David

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