June 2017 - Dialogue - lists.wedgeblade.net

8/11/16, Spong: The Unlikely Honored Guest at the Democratic National Convention
by Ellie Stock via Dialogue 31 Jul '18

31 Jul '18

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He was surrounded in that reserved and exclusive seating area by the power-elite of the Democratic Party: A former President, the sitting Vice-President and the “second lady,” the spouses and children of the nominees, as well as those especially invited guests, who were uniquely and politically related to the convention’s eventual nominee. This unlikely guest was in his own way quite unique. He was a Republican, one who had been elected to a state-wide office as a candidate of the opposition party. He served as the governor of Virginia from 1970 – 1974 and was the first Republican governor of Virginia since 1869 in the last days of reconstruction. Later he sought his party’s nomination to the Senate of the United States, losing to another Republican, John Warner, who served with distinction from 1979 until he retired in 2008. The name of this mystery quest is Abner Linwood Holton. He is now, and has been since the day I first met him, an extraordinary man. People, unaware of the history of the Democratic Party in Virginia, find it strange that the man I regarded as the best governor of Virginia during the years I lived in that state would be a Republican. Let me tell you his story.</p> <p>Linwood Holton was born in 1923 in Big Stone Gap, Virginia, a town deep in the heart of Appalachia. He was a Republican from the moment of his birth. He was also bright and ambitious. Being a Republican in Virginia in those days was to be part of a distinct minority, perhaps even an endangered one! The Democrats of Virginia were the only cohesive political force in the state. This majority party was run by Virginia’s senior United States Senator, Harry Flood Byrd, who after serving a term as governor from 1926 to 1930, effectively ran the state until he died in 1966. It was said of Harry Byrd that he and a few of his closest political advisors would sit on the porch at his home in Berryville, Virginia, and pick the candidates for every political vacancy in Virginia from governor on down. The electorate was deliberately kept small by poll taxes, which effectively discouraged both blacks and poor whites from voting. A Byrd loyalist was in every county seat in Virginia to run the party. Racism was deep and “States Rights” was a holy slogan designed to make racism seem socially acceptable. Virginia was a one party state. Frequently the Republicans would not even nominate candidates and, even when they did, no one paid much attention to them because whoever won the Democratic primary seldom even campaigned in the general election, since Republicans simply did not win in this state! Linwood Holton made it his life’s ambition to establish two-party politics in Virginia.</p> <p>He graduated from Washington and Lee in Lexington, Virginia, and then entered the law school at Harvard University. Along the way he married a Roanoke girl, named Virginia Rogers, who went by the name of Jinks. She was the daughter of Frank Rogers, an upright, but ultra-conservative, successful and well-connected Roanoke citizen, who was the grandson of the first Episcopal Bishop in Southwestern Virginia. In his mind, the two greatest virtues were to be a conservative Episcopalian and a loyal Byrd Democrat. Jinks, the more rebellious of Rogers’ two daughters, chose to marry a Republican and a Presbyterian! Supported by this remarkable woman, Linwood began his life’s task of strengthening Virginia’s Republican Party. This party’s base, such as it was, had always been in the mountains of the western part of Virginia. As a force in opposition to Byrd Democrats, the Virginia Republican party tilted slightly leftward. There was no room to the right of the Byrd machine. The Virginia Republicans were known for their party’s efforts to improve education statewide and to develop better state mental health facilities. Linwood’s organizational efforts were so successful that in 1965 he was the Republican nominee for governor opposing the Southside, Virginia, Byrd Democrat, Mills Godwin, who had emerged as the new leader of the Democratic Party. The sickness, retirement and subsequently the death of Senator Byrd meant that the torch of party leadership had to be passed to the next generation. It is interesting that Harry Byrd, Jr., always known as “Little Harry,” who was appointed to succeed his father in the Senate, did not succeed him in the leadership of the statewide Democratic Party. Holton was defeated in that first run for the governor’s office, but he garnered a respectable total of votes and succeeded in introducing himself to the state. The day after the defeat, he began planning for his second run in 1969. The governorship in Virginia, we need to note, is limited by the Constitution to a single term.</p> <p>National issues soon began to erode the Byrd majorities. Poll taxes were declared unconstitutional in 1964. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 opened the ballot to people of color. The feminist movement began to galvanize women into an effective political force. A national- thinking Virginia Democrat, named Henry Howell, began to build a liberal political base made up of labor unions, blacks, women and young people. His challenge to the Byrd machine resulted ultimately in his election as Lt. Governor in 1971, but he could go no farther. He remained anathema to Byrd Democrats. In the Democratic Primary of 1969, the Byrd candidate, William Battle, the son of former Governor John Battle, defeated Henry Howell in a bitter contest. The party could not heal this division, so in the General Election, Linwood Holton, supported by many of Howell’s still angry voters, rode to victory with a 65,000 vote majority.</p> <p>In his inaugural address, Holton called for an end to Virginia’s pattern of racial discrimination and its racist politics. No Virginia Governor had ever uttered such words before. Words, however, were not enough. People looked for actions. They would follow soon.</p> <p>In the most dramatic step imaginable, the new governor and his wife made the decision not to put their children in the church-related or independent private schools of Richmond, where all governors’ children had previously attended, but to enroll them in Richmond’s public schools which were at that time about 80% black. It was such a startling action for a Virginia politician that the New York Times covered it with a front page story and a picture of Virginia’s Governor Holton escorting one of his daughters into a school surrounded by a host of black faces smiling broadly. In a state where the official response of the ruling Democratic machine to “Brown vs. the Board of Education,” had been to call for “massive resistance to the law of the land,” a state in which some counties chose to close their public schools rather than to integrate them, here was the highest elected official in the state escorting his children into the majority black public schools of Richmond, Virginia. No action could have announced better that a new day was dawning in what had once been the capital of the Confederacy. One of those Holton children entering those public schools on that day was their oldest daughter, Anne.</p> <p>The white population of Virginia was shocked. They believed and stated that their new governor was sacrificing his children on the “altar of integration.” Many suggested that the “inferior education” that his children would receive in those heavily black schools would cripple them for life. It was a strange argument that gave the lie to the previous white claim that all of its racially segregated schools were “separate, <em>but equal</em>.” Anne, in her early teens, would be an exemplary student. She received a fine education and upon graduation from high school would be admitted to Princeton University, from which she graduated <em>magna cum laude</em>. She seemed not to have been penalized at all in her educational achievements. After Princeton she was accepted into the class of 1983 at the Harvard Law School, from which she now holds a doctor of Jurisprudence degree. From there she went into a legal career that in time would include being a domestic relations judge and Virginia’s Education Secretary.</p> <p>While at Harvard she met, fell in love with and married a fellow law student, who was born in Minnesota and educated at the University of Missouri. His name was Tim Kaine. She lured him back to Richmond, where his earlier life experiences, including his Jesuit high school education, his year as a volunteer missionary to Honduras and his mastery of the Spanish language, prepared him to begin his Richmond law practice as a civil rights attorney. Then responding to an expressed community need, he entered politics at the most local of levels, running for a seat on Richmond’s nine-member City Council. In a majority black city, Tim not only won that seat, but was also later elected by that majority-black city council to be Richmond’s Mayor. Two years later, in 2001 he moved to the state level, being elected Virginia’s Lieutenant Governor. In 2005, he won the governor’s office. His wife, Anne Holton, became the first person to be at one time living in the governor’s mansion as the child of a Republican governor and then a second time as the state’s first lady and wife of a Democratic governor. In 2012, Tim Kaine won a seat in the United States Senate. In 2016, with two years remaining in his first term as senator, he was chosen by the presidential nominee, Hillary Clinton, to be her vice-presidential running mate. Anne Holton was there with him, waving to the crowd on the final night. As Hillary Clinton raised Tim Kaine’s hand high, former president Bill Clinton was at her side and Anne Holton was at Tim Kaine’s side. The crowd roared with approval.</p> <p>In the VIP section of that vast Philadelphia arena sat the former Republican Governor Linwood Holton, now 92 years old, with his wife Jinks, both still vibrant and attractive, watching their daughter being introduced to the nation. There is sometimes a reward for integrity. Linwood and Jinks Holton, who would not allow their lives to be twisted by the prejudice of racism, challenged the distorting and debilitating social structures of his generation in Richmond, Virginia. Doing what is right sometimes carries with it intimations of transcendence and even immortality. To this day he remains one of my heroes.</p> <p>John Shelby Spong</p> <p>Read the essay online <a target="_blank" style="color: #4487cf;font-weight: normal;text-decoration: underline;" href="http://johnshelbyspong.us2.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=b51b9cf441b059bb2…">here</a>.</p> </div> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> <table border="0" cellpadding="20" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td valign="top"> <div style="color: #000000;font-family: Georgia;font-size: 16px;line-height: 150%;text-align: left;"><h2 style="color: #4487cf;display: block;font-family: Georgia;font-size: 30px;font-weight: normal;line-height: 100%;margin-top: 0;margin-right: 0;margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 0;text-align: left;">Question & Answer</h2> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Alberto Mejia Aguilera from Mexico writes via the internet:</span></p> <h4 style="color: #4487cf;display: block;font-family: Georgia;font-size: 22px;font-weight: normal;line-height: 100%;margin-top: 0;margin-right: 0;margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 0;text-align: left;"> Question:</h4> <p>I am from Mexico and I would like to know your opinion about Liberation Theology. Do you think that this theology is still an inspiration for the struggle against the social injustice?</p> <h4 style="color: #4487cf;display: block;font-family: Georgia;font-size: 22px;font-weight: normal;line-height: 100%;margin-top: 0;margin-right: 0;margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 0;text-align: left;">Answer:</h4> <p>Dear Alberto,</p> <p>Liberation theology was, I believe, was born in Latin America, so you should be especially proud of it. I associate the name of Leonardo Boff, primarily, with it, but there were others like the murdered Bishop Oscar Romero. It was born in an attempt to apply the principles of the gospel not just to individuals, but also to the structures of our society, which so often drive the masses into poverty. It identifies God with the poor. For those reasons it tended to be resisted in ecclesiastical circles, especially by the leaders of the Roman Catholic during the years of Popes John Paul II and Benedict, both of whom were so politically conservative that they saw it as another manifestation of Communism. I think they were both wrong in this judgment. Liberation theology, I believe, constituted a call to Christianity to see that its alliance with power, both in Europe and the new world, had corrupted the essential justice that Christianity requires.</p> <p>Christianity was born among the poor and the outcasts. It rose to dominate society and so became the religion of kings. Liberation Theology was a necessary correction.</p> <p>I wish you well.</p> <p>John Shelby Spong <a target="_blank" style="color: #4487cf;font-weight: normal;text-decoration: underline;" href="http://johnshelbyspong.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b51b9cf441b059bb23…">Read and Share Online Here</a></p> </div> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> <table border="0" cellpadding="20" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td valign="top"> <div style="color: #000000;font-family: Georgia;font-size: 16px;line-height: 150%;text-align: left;"><h2 style="color: #4487cf;display: block;font-family: Georgia;font-size: 30px;font-weight: normal;line-height: 100%;margin-top: 0;margin-right: 0;margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 0;text-align: left;">Announcements</h2> <div style="text-align: center;color: #000000;font-family: Georgia;font-size: 16px;line-height: 150%;"><a target="_blank" style="color: #4487cf;font-weight: normal;text-decoration: underline;" href="http://johnshelbyspong.us2.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=b51b9cf441b059bb2…"><img align="none" height="262" style="width: 350px;height: 262px;margin: 0px;border: none;font-size: 14px;font-weight: bold;line-height: 100%;outline: none;text-decoration: none;text-transform: capitalize;display: inline;" width="350" src="https://gallery.mailchimp.com/b51b9cf441b059bb232418480/images/e67ac6a0-334…"></a></div> <h2 style="color: #4487cf;display: block;font-family: Georgia;font-size: 30px;font-weight: normal;line-height: 100%;margin-top: 0;margin-right: 0;margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 0;text-align: left;"><span style="font-size:26px"><span style="color:#000000">Bishop Spong at the Episcopal Diocese of Northern Michigan September 10th & 11th</span></span></h2> <strong>Schedule:</strong> Saturday, September 10, 2016 1:00 pm at the Reynolds Recital Hall, Northern Michigan University 7:00 pm at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Marquette Sunday, September 11, 2016 2:00 pm at the Memorial Union Building , Michigan Technological University At each location, there will be an opportunity for Q&A and book signing.</div></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr><tr><td align="center" valign="top"> </td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></center><center><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" id="aolmail_canspamBarWrapper" style="background-color:#FFFFFF; border-top:1px solid #E5E5E5;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" valign="top" style="padding-top:20px; padding-bottom:20px;"> </td></tr></tbody></table></center></div> </div> <style type="text/css">#AOLMsgPart_2_1c149769-41d3-4c3b-8300-eaccdde19ae7 td{color: black;} @media only screen and (max-width: 480px){ .aolReplacedBody table[id="canspamBar"] td{font-size:14px !important;} .aolReplacedBody table[id="canspamBar"] td a{display:block !important; margin-top:10px !important;} } </style>

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Lunch today
by James Wiegel via Dialogue 30 Jun '17

30 Jun '17

Judy and I had lunch today with Joe and Marilyn Crocker at their place in Wells, ME. Met the Crocker's dog, and sort of spontaneously burst into song . . . Goodby my Coney Island Baby, Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow, I Don't Know Why, More, . . . Grand finale was the Poverty Song (Come Walk with Francis . . Had to dig out the words for that one. .). Any other strange outbursts happening lately?? Jim Wiegel 401 North Beverly Way, Tolleson, Arizona 85353 Tel. 011-623-936-8671 or 011-623-363-3277 jfwiegel(a)yahoo.com www.partnersinparticipation.com This Is Just To Say BY WILLIAM CARLOS WILLIAMS I have eaten the plums that were in the icebox and which you were probably saving for breakfast Forgive me they were delicious so sweet and so cold

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6/29/17, Wolsey/Spong: Making Friends with Silence; Spong Revisited: Terrible Texts, Pt. V
by Ellie Stock via Dialogue 29 Jun '17

29 Jun '17

HOMEPAGE MY PROFILE ESSAY ARCHIVE MESSAGE BOARDS CALENDAR Making Friends with Silence By Rev. Roger Wolsey Most of my attempts to connect and relate to God – involve silence. And most frequently, not much more than that. I sometimes wonder if there’s really much difference between seeking to connect to God – and not seeking to. Similar experience and results. That said, while similar, they’re not exactly the same. They’re very close, almost too close. So close that atheists (and agnostics, and struggling believers like myself) don’t tend to see meaningful difference. But, at times, I do feel the difference. I suspect many, most?, people have a similar experience if they’re being honest. And if we’re being honest, most all of us, including introverts, tend to not be a-okay with silence. Not with pure silence. It makes us aware of ourselves. Too aware. Of our struggles, of our hurts, our wounds, and how we tend to squirm in the midst of it. It’s especially hard in our go-go busy, be productive, need to do things, need for instant gratification, self-avoidant, God-averse culture. Two movies come to mind. Martin Scorsese’s new film adaptation of the Shusako Endo novel “Silence” and how it depicts God working patiently through the created order (including us and our human imposed chaos and traumas) to bring about Divine intentions – to woo love, hope, truth, forgiveness, mercy, justice, peace, serenity, and beauty into this broken world. God is at work in the subtle. We notice and appreciate the subtle by spending time in situations that are conducive to such noticing. There’s also an excellent Australian film, “Charlie’s Country” that’s currently on Netflix. It depicts the quiet life of an Aboriginal man and the tensions involved with his interface with, and oppression by, Western society. He and his people naturally spend much of their days just being – in silence. Yes, there are times of festivity, ritual, and dance, but mostly – just being – in silence. Westerners may look at such a life as a dismal existence – without merit or value. As a parasitic leech on society. And yet, we’d do well to see that this natural state of theirs can also be ours. That we work hard in order to be able to take vacations in order to strive for such states, but we rarely get there due to our habituated lifestyles. Our default state in life is not to simply be. We are more human doings than human Be-ings. In a way, dabbling in centering prayer or other contemplative practices, is harder, and more cruel, than to simply enter into a month or more long immersion experience. It’s like two teenagers or previously chaste newly-weds exploring sex together for the first few times. It takes time for the couple to learn to communicate, trust, and give themselves to each other in ways that are satisfying and enriching instead of feeling awkward, self-centered, or conflicted. Another analogy, it’s a lot easier, to get physically fit at a summer long Marine Corps Boot Camp, than to try to do it from the casual luxury of our usual routines – from our own homes in the midst of our normal lives. It’s challenging for me to have a daily yoga practice. So I don’t. I do it about 2-3 times per week – and always with others. I simply cannot do it by myself. I was at my yogic best however, when I did a 10 day stay at an ashram where I did yoga twice a day with others – as well as ate high quality vegetarian meals in community too. I can, however, sit in silence with God 10 minutes a day. I can do it an hour a day. I just tend not to. In reality, it’s more like 4 – 40 minute sessions per week on average. I can relate to everyone’s struggles with this. “Loneliness expresses the pain of being alone and solitude expresses the glory of being alone.” – Paul Tillich I take some solace in the proverbial story told about Mother Teresa. Reporter: “What do you say when you pray?” Mother Teresa: “Nothing, I just listen.” Reporter: “Well, then, what does God say to you when you pray?” Mother Teresa: “Nothing, He just listens… if you don’t understand that, I can’t explain it.” Sitting with God in silence feels absurd sometimes. Sometimes scary. Sometimes boring. Sometimes blessed. And occasionally – deeply moving. I do notice that the days that I partake in Centering Prayer, I tend to be slightly more aware of God’s presence with me through-out the rest of the day. I’m slightly more inclined to notice and help people in need. My “God radar” is more sensitive. I tend to be kinder. More patient with people. More present. That said, in truth, I notice God’s silence more than Her presence. I notice His silence more than him speaking to me. And that makes it hard. Frankly, it has made me angry. We’re supposed to feel something amazing – right?!? Such feelings of anger and frustration stem from expectations not being realized. As Antonio Banderas insightfully put it, “Expectation is the mother of all frustration.” It would seem that a fair bit of Judeo-Christian theology and culture has contributed some of these unrealistic expectations. And Yet … there are certain moments in my life when I’ve encountered the “expected” unexpectedly. Such experiences lead to a new layer of frustration as – on the one hand, we’d do well to shed expectations of profound encounter with the Divine; and then on the other hand… there are times when I feel Divine presence or Divine message. Sometimes both. Example: My call to ministry was a profoundly mystical, visceral experience where I sensed a physical and auditory presence – The Presence. Aside from that instance, the messages I receive are rarely more than a sense of warmth or a feeling of being loved, of being accepted, of grace, of non-judgment. And to be honest, it’s often hard to feel that’s enough. It’s perhaps a bit like the tiny amounts of “manna” that the ancient Hebrews depended upon as food during the Exodus. Sufficient, but not particularly satisfying. Yet, as the Rolling Stones put it, “You can’t always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, you get what you need.” Metaphorically, I think it may be a bit like Georgia O’Keefe and her relationship with “The Pedernal” – a certain mesa (flat-top mountain) in New Mexico that she loved to paint. She said “if she painted it enough times, it might become hers.” It’s hers. … I reckon I have something similar going on with God through centering prayer. If I intentionally “be still” and sit in God’s presence often enough, if I put myself in the situation where my mind drifts a thousand times in 30 minutes, and a thousand times I say my prayer word and “return to center,” if I do this enough times over enough years… I might get God. I may come to get that “a sense of warmth or a feeling of being loved, of being accepted, of grace, of non-judgment” – it isn’t a consolation prize, it isn’t second best, it’s not something to have to make do with, — it’s everything. What more could we really want? It’s easier as I age to be open to silence, to sit with stillness, to embrace the lack of lightening, to patiently wait for a still small voice, to be content with discontent, and make friends with the blessed terror and gift of holy silence. The Sound of Silence – can be “disturbing.” And that’s okay. Questions for reflection: What is your relationship with Silence? What’s it like? How does it feel? What does it cause you to do? If we share, maybe we’ll all hear, and maybe even experience, different slices of God. ~ Roger Wolsey About the Author Rev. Roger Wolsey is an ordained United Methodist pastor who directs the Wesley Foundation at the University of Colorado at Boulder, and is author of Kissing Fish: christianity for people who don’t like christianity; The Kissing Fish Facebook page; Roger’s Blog on Patheos “The Holy Kiss” Read the essay online here. Question & Answer A Reader from the Internet, writes: Question: I am interested in your thoughts about Atheism, God, Religion as an Institution and Reincarnation. Answer: By Gretta Vosper Why does an atheist need God? I don't think an atheist does need God. My colleagues who identify as non-theists or post-theists or panentheists need the word ‘god’, but not the traditional understanding. They need the word because, as the late scholar Marcus Borg believed, if we lose our exclusive Christian language, we will lose Christianity. Clergy who continue to use a word that is understood by most people in church pews and beyond to mean “a supernatural, theistic being who can intervene in human affairs if it wants to” may well be working to preserve Christianity but are already, I believe, far outside what that is generally assumed to mean. Indeed, I think if we had been required to come up with a new word to describe what we believed each time our understandings evolved, we may have a stronger church today for our efforts and those who have left because they think we are still talking about that interventionist god we call God may not have needed to do so. I am willing to lose Christianity if it means saving the future for our children. Because of that, I am willing to sacrifice traditional language to transfer the ethos of my denomination – its ground-breaking justice work and its compassionate call to honour the dignity inherent in all living beings – to generations excluded by that language. It is the ethos of the progressive and liberal churches that defines us, not our language, and it is our ethos that most needs to be shared with the wider world and the world to come. What is your definition of God? The definition of god that got me through my theological education and the first several years of my ministry was more about what we create when we build relationships of respect and love with ourselves, others, and the world and less about the stereotypical god of the Bible. Much as Martin Buber wrote in his I, Thou, we have the opportunity to desecrate the relationships we build or to make them beautiful. When we make them beautiful, I believe we create a bond that offers us strength, courage, dignity and invites us to act compassionately in a broken and hurting world. That is what I once called god. But I no longer use the term as I found it terribly confusing for people. They usually thought I meant the Wikipedia definition of a supernatural being with interventionist capabilities in whom moral authority was grounded. I don't believe that and I believe that is a very dangerous premise. Why should religion be institutionalized? I wish it weren't, actually. I once argued that a spiritual experience, no matter what it was or how described, once transmitted becomes religion. We are, unfortunately, only able to share our experiences with others through our own interpretation of them. As soon as we interpret, the experience is no longer pure; it is confined by our limited perspective. Institutionalized religion is the hardening of those shared experiences. It is as though the ones who had the experience insist upon everyone having it and that they will be able to, or should be able to barring any failings on the recipient's part, to recreate the experience. Other than for the reason of our meagre attempts to share uplifting moments with one another, the only reason I can think religion needs to be institutionalized is to manage the power associated with claims to truth. And that, too, is a very dangerous premise. Do you believe in reincarnation? I do not believe in reincarnation but I am an agnostic when it comes to the nature of reality. I may be pleasantly, or horribly surprised! ~ Gretta Vosper About the Author Read and share online here The Rev. Gretta Vosper is a United Church of Canada minister who is an atheist. Her best selling books include With or Without God: Why The Way We Live is More Important Than What We Believe, and Amen: What Prayer Can Mean in a World Beyond Belief. She has also published three books of poetry and prayers. ______________________________________________ Bishop John Shelby Spong Revisited The Terrible Texts: The Attitude of the Bible Toward Women – Part V "The women should keep silence in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but should be subordinate as even the Law says. If there is anything they desire to know, let them ask their husbands at home, for it is shameful for a woman to speak in church" (I Cor. 14:34-36) ......................."The head of the woman is her husband."(I Cor. 11:3) Much of my professional life as a priest and a bishop has been spent watching my church respond to the evil that has been done to women by quoting such terrible texts as these above. Somehow the fact that these words were found in the Bible gave them legitimacy, so to work for the full emancipation of women meant that you were opposing "the Word of God!" The result of this has been that both the Church and the Bible have been a force in encouraging a subhuman status for half of the human race. The time has surely come to oppose this vigorously and to refuse to listen to those who continue to defend the sins of sexism and patriarchy with appeals to Holy Scripture. "The sacred tradition of the Church" must no longer be identified with practices that issue in the abuse or diminution of women. Because of definitions imposed on women in antiquity, the pursuit of education, entry into the professions and the inability both to divorce and to prosecute abusive husbands has been denied to them. In the darkest moments of Christian history women have even had to endure periodic witch-hunts. These texts can no longer be spared because embarrassed Church leaders claim that the Bible has been misunderstood. If a tree produces evil fruit, we must stop pretending that the tree is not itself actually evil. I remember hearing Dr. Phyllis Trible, former Professor of Hebrew Language and Literature at Union Seminary in New York, argue that Adam was not actually a man until God took the woman out of him, so that the man and the woman were created together and, of course, equal. She defended this exegesis as "not a literal but a close reading of the text." I appreciate what this great lady was trying to do but find it to be an unhelpful attempt to defend the indefensible. One cannot escape the fact that the creation story has God seek to create a proper friend for Adam by making all of the animals. Only when the animals do not satisfy the male does God resort to plan B and create a human-like, but not fully human, creature out of the man. Nor can one expunge from this Bible the definition "helpmeet," imposed by this text on that woman. Second class status has plagued the woman from that moment to this. In the sacred Torah women are regarded as property even in that quintessential part of the law that we call the Ten Commandments. The last commandment enjoins the males of Israel, to whom the Torah is addressed, "Not to covet your neighbor's house nor his wife, nor his slave, nor his ox nor his ass, nor anything that is your neighbor's." It even lists the male neighbor's possessions in order of value: the house first and only then the wife, followed by the slave, ox, ass and other 'things.' The seventh commandment, designed to govern sexual behavior in a polygamous society, enjoined the males not to violate the woman who is the property, i.e., the wife of another male. To violate sexually an unmarried woman in this time was not adultery but the crime of diminishing her father's net worth. The unmarried woman was her father's property until some man paid the bride price and became her husband and new owner. If the woman was no longer a virgin, the bride price was lowered. Terrible texts need to be exposed and defeated and, when that is done, the claim that the book, in which these terrible texts are included, is somehow the "Word of God" needs to be countermanded in the name of truth, dignity and humanity. One has only to listen to the irrational claims that ecclesiastical males have made over the centuries in the attempt to keep their sexist prejudices intact, to know that anything less than a revolutionary approach to defeat this biblical claim will never work. I recall well the words of a former Episcopal Presiding Bishop, the Right Reverend John Maury Allin, speaking out of his emotional opposition to women becoming priests in the Episcopal Church in the mid seventies. "Women," he said, "can no more be priests than they can be fathers." It was a fascinating claim, a version of which is still offered by the Roman Catholic and Orthodox branches of the Christian Church to support an all-male priesthood. Perhaps that claim should be examined outside ecclesiastical circles for its irrationality. Women are certainly not equipped physiologically to be fathers. Women's bodies do not produce sperm nor possess the equipment necessary to inject that sperm into the fertile womb of a potential mother. But does it follow that this means that women cannot be priests? That leap in the argument makes the mind blink with astonishment. What does the male organ have to do with ordination to the priesthood? The traditional answer, given time after time through the centuries, has been that the ordained person must reflect the image of God, the assumption being that a woman's body is somehow deficient and cannot do that. People, from the Pope on down, have repeated that argument so frequently that we have become immune to its irrationality. What part of a male body is so essential that without it the image of God is not present? To expose this strange argument, I propose a simple test to illumine this hypothesis. To determine where the woman's is deficient, one needs only to stand a man and a woman in front of you. Then strip away from that man's body everything he has in common with the woman physiologically. Remove his hair, eyes, nose, ears, mouth, esophagus, vocal chords, heart, lungs, intestines, kidneys, pancreas, liver, stomach, hips, thighs, kneecaps, legs, ankles, heels and finally his toes. When everything the man has in common with the woman is removed, am I supposed to conclude that the image of God lies in the male organs that remain? That is what this strange argument implies. The claim being made by the Church's hierarchy is that one cannot be ordained if one does not possess the "godlike" organs of scrotum, testicles and penis! It surely becomes obvious that something strange is at work here, something beneath the level of consciousness, since this argument enters the world of the absurd. An all male priesthood is not a sacred tradition of the Church; it is an expression of the Church's sexist oppression. Ending it is not to counter the expressed will of God, ending it is to counter 2000 years of sexist violence against women. There is no more time for debate. Irrationality is never ended by rational debate. When John Paul II, defending sexism in the Catholic Church's all male priesthood said, "Jesus did not choose any women to be his disciples," the irrationality was once again present. It is an absurd argument. I want to reply, with all the respect that prejudiced rhetoric deserves, " I notice, Holy Father, that Jesus did not choose any Poles to be disciples either! Somehow that did not close the door to your distinguished career in the life of the Church's ordained! Jesus did not choose any Irish or Italians either. I have not noticed that the Roman Catholic priesthood has been limited to Jewish fishermen with an occasional tax collector thrown in!" This claim is incompetent on another level. Scholars today are not certain who Jesus' disciples actually were. Perhaps the Pope's advisors are not aware of this. The earliest list of the Twelve comes from Mark's Gospel, which was not written until the early years of the 8th decade or some forty years after the earthly life of Jesus had come to an end. Almost half of those on Mark's list, even in the text of this Gospel, carry no biographical detail other than their names. Matthew copies Mark's list with no changes. Luke's list of 12 disciples, however, differs. To complicate the picture even more, John never lists the names of the twelve disciples at any point. Key figures like Nathaniel, who appear to be at the center of the Jesus movement in John's Gospel, are never mentioned anywhere else in the New Testament as part of the Twelve. To destabilize this data even more, both John and Luke refer to a disciple of Jesus who is named Judas, but who is not Iscariot. This person is apparently unknown or at least he is not mentioned in either Matthew or Mark. So to argue about who Jesus picked to be his disciples is a shaky argument at best since even the Gospels do not appear to agree on who Jesus' disciples were. The number twelve might indeed be a literary rather than a literal number read back into the Jesus story by those who were intent on seeing the Christian Church as the new Israel thus making it necessary to have twelve disciples to be reminiscent of the twelve tribes of Israel. There is also evidence suggesting that female disciples were indeed part of the Jesus story. These women disciples are all but invisible until we come to the final episodes of crucifixion and resurrection. Why is that? One reason might be that, according to Mark, when Jesus was arrested all of his male disciples forsook him and fled. The women were the only ones left. But when we read the texts of each of the Synoptic Gospels closely, we discover that every writer records that these female disciples were with Jesus all the way from Galilee (see Mk. 15:41, Mt. 27:58 and Lk. 23:55). They were always part of the Jesus movement. The image of Jesus wandering around Galilee with twelve male disciples is an erroneous assumption based on a patriarchal prejudice. The accurate biblical picture is that Jesus roamed through Galilee supported by both a band of men and a band of women. Peter seems to be the leader of the male band because his name is normally written first. But the women also seem to have had a leader; whose name is Magdalene, for her name is also normally written first. She is a flesh and blood person at Jesus' side, during his life, a far more significant figure in the Jesus movement than the Virgin Mary ever was, as a brief look at a Bible Concordance will quickly reveal. She is also portrayed as the chief mourner at his tomb in his death. According to John's Gospel, she meets the test of apostleship in that she is said to be a witness of the Resurrection. The Church cannot continue to claim to be the body of Christ, while still denigrating fifty percent of the human race. Debilitating prejudices can no be sustained on the basis that change will destroy the "Unity of the Church." Unity built in the service of prejudice is a vice not a virtue. It is no longer acceptable to argue that the preservation of sexist prejudices is necessary to further ecumenical cooperation. Ecumenical cooperation in continued oppression cannot be squared with the definition of discipleship that proclaims, "By this shall people know that you are my disciples, that you love one another." Let no one suggest that love can ever be present where the Church's prevailing definitions of any human being cast him or her by nature into the role of a second-class citizen or an inferior Christian. The time for patience is over! ~ John Shelby Spong Originally posted January 28, 2004 Announcements A Mindful Life - eCourse July 3rd - July 28th Offered by Spirituality & Practice, join Donald Altman, a psychotherapist, award-winning author, former Buddhist monk, and international teacher and trainer to see how mindfulness can change your life for the better, one moment at a time. One wonderful aspect of mindfulness is how ideally suited it is for integration into daily living. In fact, you’d almost think this ancient 2,500 year-old spiritual practice had been especially created and developed as a healing antidote for those of us living in the future-oriented, fast-paced, and digitally distracted 21st century! READ ON...

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EI/ICA Booklist - With Editing Setting
by Beret Griffith via Dialogue 27 Jun '17

27 Jun '17

https://docs.google.com/document/d/17QcaLxtcvKUoRZqTpxyQZ6cS8_DveB-QvMx9tek… With Tim's help have now set the document so you can edit.

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EI/ICA Colleague Book Collection
by Beret Griffith via Dialogue 27 Jun '17

27 Jun '17

An update of the EI/ICA Colleague Book Collection is in progress. Please add books/publication dates/correct information. https://docs.google.com/document/d/17QcaLxtcvKUoRZqTpxyQZ6cS8_DveB-QvMx9tek… Please note edits in *bold blue.* Thanks, Beret

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Re: [Dialogue] [Oe List ...] The Order and Oaxtapec
by Carleton Stock via Dialogue 25 Jun '17

25 Jun '17

George, thanks for telling the incredible tale of your journey with the Order. It was truly real and uplifting and redeeming. And it reminded me of what an incredible bunch of people I have been blessed to be a part of lo these many years! Carleton Stock St. Louis -----Original Message----- From: zbarley via OE <oe(a)lists.wedgeblade.net> To: George Holcombe <geowanda1(a)me.com>; Order Ecumenical Community <oe(a)lists.wedgeblade.net>; ICA/OE List Serves <dialogue(a)lists.wedgeblade.net> Sent: Sat, Jun 24, 2017 4:29 pm Subject: Re: [Oe List ...] The Order and Oaxtapec George Thanks so much for sharing your story. Where we went and who we continued to be are indeed as much a part of the Order as our times together. I can't imagine anyone who's life wasn't radically changed even if only by new methods of understanding and engagement in daily life. Zoe Sent from my Verizon Wireless 4G LTE smartphone -------- Original message -------- From: George Holcombe via OE <oe(a)lists.wedgeblade.net> Date: 06/24/2017 5:03 PM (GMT-05:00) To: ICA/OE List Serves <oe(a)lists.wedgeblade.net>, ICA/OE List Serves <dialogue(a)lists.wedgeblade.net> Subject: Re: [Oe List ...] The Order and Oaxtapec As Lingo used to say everyone in the Order has their own story and take on it. I’ve appreciated the replies to Epps email and his thoughts. Mine is slightly different, though I can identify with much that has been said. We came to the Order from Louisiana. We had been working with Civil Rights, helped start a project in South Baton Rouge that was one of the first Poverty Programs to get funded and took OE courses and participated in the New Orleans cadre. The turning point came for us when our Bishop decided to assign us to a church in North Louisiana where part of the leadership were officers in the KKK and we didn’t exactly hit it off with them. In fact they had a file on us. We were focused on finding ways to empower people who were on the outside. So we went to Chicago, principly for the learning of and participation in 5th City. That did not immediately come true but eventually got to work in 5th City. Learned a lot from George West and so many others. Then assigned to Asia, Mowanjum, stateside in Uptown and then back to Asia for a number of projects. We departed from the order in 1980, intending to return, but we were broke and extended family needs were needing to be addressed. We pulled our daughter out of the student house upon learning of the abuse there. By the time we were able to return, the order had changed and appeared to us not to be doing anything more than we were at the time. I was not enthused by our turning away from the human development projects and the turn to the corporations. I had appreciated the work done on the LENS, the NRM and the Social Process and benefited from them all. In the meantime we were sought out by Bishop in the Philippines to help out in a new Seminary, village development and Peace with Justice work in the Philippines through the GBGM. We worked there for several years. We were asked by GBGM to coordinate Mission work in Asia and returned to the US in 2000. All this while our Order experience was at the base of what we did. Through all this I did learn that their was not a general acceptance of the hard work and time it took to train and assist a village into practicing the methods. Folks were more looking for their own success. And this even short changed some of our endeavors in the Order, but particularly so in the denomination. I do appreciate that where the methods got a footing good things happened and people grew much beyond what many thought possible. I remember being in Manila in the 1990’s when a knock came at the door and there stood a fellow from Taiwan. We didn’t at first make the connection but he was from Hai Ou. Someone had told him where we were. He had been a young man when ICA was there. He had learned from the Prawn project and had built a business establishing fish and prawn farms in Indonesia, Vietnam, Philippines, etc. He wanted to thank us. Even to this day folks who were kids then find us on Facebook and email (how I don’t know). A couple of kids from Kwangyan Il are now US citizens living in Illinois. Some didn’t have good water or electricity back in the day and now they’re using computers. We have much to be thankful for and our colleagueship with what ever negatives you want to throw at it, has been sustaining and meaningful. I doubt that any of us can really account for the impact the Order has had on so many. The creative lives of those that peopled the Order continue to amaze me. George Holcombe geowanda1(a)me.com "Whatever the problem, community is the answer. There is no power greater than a community discovering what it cares about." Margaret Wheatley On Jun 22, 2017, at 5:58 PM, Jean Long via OE <oe(a)lists.wedgeblade.net> wrote: jean long - John & Robyn - As in Neihbor's "church as the sensitive and responsive ones in each organization" I continue to look for and love the church as they search for a way to care for the growing suffering of neighbor and globe. I remember Joe saying when the time comes when there is no longer a common mission- go home. It is only our passion for an agreed upon way to alleviate human suffering that allows us to accept each others' warts and bruises and sons of bitchedness and work together day after day in profound forgiveness. That had begun to happen in Denver before the house was sold out from under us by some sons of bitchedness and we became the caring community in dispersion. The Order is alive and well in the persons of our ICA staff people. They hunger for the spirit dimension that they sense in us old Orderly people. And they go after it in our Archives. They found Brian Stanfield's Courage to Care with its end of chapter reflections and use it now as the spirit intro for many of their meetings with the 77Neighborhoods and the agency folks. Bless Tim Wegner, MIke Tippett, John Cock who maintain our structural connectedness - and our master ITs, Wendell Rafior, Doug Druckenmiller, Steve Eddiger - who lives in intentional community on the seventh floor - and all the rest of us working with the Global Archives who have sweat blood and underwritten the creation of the ICA Global Archives through which to make our methods available to those who may be searching for them as resources with which to deal with the suffering of these times. You will be getting info soon about the Week of October 8-13 when the Archives Sojourn week will host three tracks - 1. The Celebration of the Band of the 24; 2. The ongoing work and unveiling of the Archives Website; and 3. Tagging committee whose task it will be to, after identifying the communities we interact with, list the tags (labels) that they might use to find our documents. Right now we have 2000 scanned and ready to drop into the website, but without relevant tags after their document name on a spreadsheet in the database, they will probably never connect to "The New Religious Mode" - or as I see it "The New Mode of the Religious". We are having the joyous task of calling many of you who were in the projects to make you aware of this wonderful week of celebration and giving our methods to the future. Any questions, call me at 720-633-5008. Only costs, your time, air/carfair and board and room - $30/single, $45/double on the 8th floor - $10/day food. After rooms go, hotel rooms and friends/relatives guest rooms. The Order is, indeed, alive and well and doing our damdest to get our methods into the future. To you all I can say, Grace and Peace., Jean Long Global Archives Chicago On Sun, Jun 18, 2017 at 2:07 AM, John & Robyn Hutchinson via OE <oe(a)lists.wedgeblade.net> wrote: Dear John and Dharma and all, So well said. To this day we are part of the spirit movement – the order ecumenical – the crimson line - and always will be. We are grateful that this spirit dynamic could never be called out of being, and is still so alive today. When we speak about this with others, who are not part of this particular order – occasionally – they do understand what that means. There are so many people today, who are part of this wider spirit movement. All this is what energizes us to keep at ‘the mission’ until we can no more. Dharma, the question that JWM asked me (John) 50 years ago was: DO YOU LOVE THE CHURCH? (repeated 3 x) The question and answer is no different today (albeit the words are secular), and we see people asking and answering that question in so many practical secular ways, undergirded by spirit – the invisible/visible order we are a part of – standing between the no longer and the not yet. The new 40 year timeline has started again with profound new questions and responses to be created. Grace and Peace, John PS John and Dharma, this seems like the beginning of a good secular-religious article for Winds and Waves on medium.com!!!??? Robyn From: OE [mailto:oe-bounces@lists.wedgeblade.net] On Behalf Of Dharmalingam Vinasithamby via OE Sent: Friday, 16 June 2017 10:14 AM To: Catherine Welch; John Epps; Order Ecumenical Community; Order Ecumenical Community Subject: Re: [Oe List ...] The Order and Oaxtapec Thank you John for initiating this fabulous discussion that I have long wanted to have. Yes, no one can call this community out of being. It was not man-made but by spirit. Only the grave after the inevitable greying will put an end to us. The Order was an overwhelming part of my identity. It is still there but in the background. Now it is those whom I meet or work with face to face who are my community. As we say, change begins in the local. But there are moments when I am at a meeting - either at my workplace or with a community group - when I look at the people around the table and think "This is a community, a profound reality, but it is not aware of itself." We were not like that because we had learnt a discipline. We knew what was happening and had the language to discuss it. So that is where part of our non-ending mission is. I remember three things that JWM said. We had a 40-year task and when it was done, we would call ourselves out of being. Another was that when we met, we would expect the other to expect me to be plugging away at that one task that I had decided was important. And finally, he said when he died and went to heaven, he would stand outside waiting for us to show up. One question I have John and others who know. What do you remember that JWM said that you feel relates to the time after our 40-year task? regards Dharma On Friday, 16 June 2017, 2:35, Catherine Welch via OE <oe(a)lists.wedgeblade.net> wrote: Thank you, John, for articulating the “life after Oaxtapec” so well. Catherine Welch From: John Epps via OE Sent: Wednesday, June 14, 2017 3:57 PM To: Order Ecumenical Community Subject: [Oe List ...] The Order and Oaxtapec It has long been claimed that at the Oaxtapec gathering, the Order was called out of being. That assertion has long troubled me, and it seems time to clear the air. IMHO, the statement is both sociologically and theologically inaccurate. A more accurate formulation of what happened in Mexico was that we went from a structured to a dispersed form. Something was definitely dissolved at Oaxtapec, but it was not the Order, only a particular form of the Order. On the sociological side, there is still a lively “we” that once went under the name “Order Ecumenical.” This list-serve and the archives workshops represent some manifestations, but more significant are the personal collegial relationships that persist despite great demographic, cultural, and geographic differences. “We” continue to communicate and to celebrate the life milestones of each other. “We” continue to engage in the mission of catalyzing and caring for those who care – in multiple sectors and with far greater impact than a single organization could have managed. Some examples include the ToP Network, the IAF, ICA community development work in India, Nepal, Australia, and South America, and environmental preservation efforts in the USA. “We” have published a good number of books making insights available to a wide audience. Colleagues could fill out the list. Theologically, the Order is a historical dynamic that we’ve been privileged to participate in. It is not something we can disband, even if we wanted to. Just as Niebuhr described the Church as the “sensitive and responsive ones…” that takes many forms, so also is the Order composed of those awakened and catalytic ones who care for those who care. The notion that some of us could dissolve that dynamic confuses the form from the content (the baby from the bathwater to use a less abstract metaphor). I’ve come (reluctantly) to see that we were led to dissolve a particular structure so that the historical dynamic might continue in an enhanced fashion. Why does this matter? Is it simply a verbal difference having little to do with anything except the neurosis of an old theologian? It matters because thinking that there is no longer an Order prevents us from wrestling with pertinent questions: How can we remain in touch with the Profound Mystery? How can we continue to access our common insights? What rites and celebrations are appropriate to a dispersed body? How can we account to each other and support each other? How can we stay on the religious and secular edge? What (if any) forms are appropriate for the global and diverse participants in this historical dynamic? In a time when hatred and fear of differences is so rampant, what new experiments might make a difference? What might we learn from Journey to the East? Collegial comments, clarifications, corrections, and additions are most welcome. Thanks for reading this. John Epps _______________________________________________ OE mailing list OE(a)lists.wedgeblade.net http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net _______________________________________________ OE mailing list OE(a)lists.wedgeblade.net http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net Virus-free. www.avast.com _______________________________________________ OE mailing list OE(a)lists.wedgeblade.net http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net _______________________________________________ OE mailing list OE(a)lists.wedgeblade.net http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net _______________________________________________ OE mailing list OE(a)lists.wedgeblade.net http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net

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Re: [Dialogue] [Oe List ...] The Order and Oaxtapec
by George Holcombe via Dialogue 24 Jun '17

24 Jun '17

As Lingo used to say everyone in the Order has their own story and take on it. I’ve appreciated the replies to Epps email and his thoughts. Mine is slightly different, though I can identify with much that has been said. We came to the Order from Louisiana. We had been working with Civil Rights, helped start a project in South Baton Rouge that was one of the first Poverty Programs to get funded and took OE courses and participated in the New Orleans cadre. The turning point came for us when our Bishop decided to assign us to a church in North Louisiana where part of the leadership were officers in the KKK and we didn’t exactly hit it off with them. In fact they had a file on us. We were focused on finding ways to empower people who were on the outside. So we went to Chicago, principly for the learning of and participation in 5th City. That did not immediately come true but eventually got to work in 5th City. Learned a lot from George West and so many others. Then assigned to Asia, Mowanjum, stateside in Uptown and then back to Asia for a number of projects. We departed from the order in 1980, intending to return, but we were broke and extended family needs were needing to be addressed. We pulled our daughter out of the student house upon learning of the abuse there. By the time we were able to return, the order had changed and appeared to us not to be doing anything more than we were at the time. I was not enthused by our turning away from the human development projects and the turn to the corporations. I had appreciated the work done on the LENS, the NRM and the Social Process and benefited from them all. In the meantime we were sought out by Bishop in the Philippines to help out in a new Seminary, village development and Peace with Justice work in the Philippines through the GBGM. We worked there for several years. We were asked by GBGM to coordinate Mission work in Asia and returned to the US in 2000. All this while our Order experience was at the base of what we did. Through all this I did learn that their was not a general acceptance of the hard work and time it took to train and assist a village into practicing the methods. Folks were more looking for their own success. And this even short changed some of our endeavors in the Order, but particularly so in the denomination. I do appreciate that where the methods got a footing good things happened and people grew much beyond what many thought possible. I remember being in Manila in the 1990’s when a knock came at the door and there stood a fellow from Taiwan. We didn’t at first make the connection but he was from Hai Ou. Someone had told him where we were. He had been a young man when ICA was there. He had learned from the Prawn project and had built a business establishing fish and prawn farms in Indonesia, Vietnam, Philippines, etc. He wanted to thank us. Even to this day folks who were kids then find us on Facebook and email (how I don’t know). A couple of kids from Kwangyan Il are now US citizens living in Illinois. Some didn’t have good water or electricity back in the day and now they’re using computers. We have much to be thankful for and our colleagueship with what ever negatives you want to throw at it, has been sustaining and meaningful. I doubt that any of us can really account for the impact the Order has had on so many. The creative lives of those that peopled the Order continue to amaze me. George Holcombe geowanda1(a)me.com "Whatever the problem, community is the answer. There is no power greater than a community discovering what it cares about." Margaret Wheatley > On Jun 22, 2017, at 5:58 PM, Jean Long via OE <oe(a)lists.wedgeblade.net> wrote: > > jean long - > John & Robyn - As in Neihbor's "church as the sensitive and responsive ones in each organization" I continue to look for and love the church as they search for a way to care for the growing suffering of neighbor and globe. > > I remember Joe saying when the time comes when there is no longer a common mission- go home. It is only our passion for an agreed upon way to alleviate human suffering that allows us to accept each others' warts and bruises and sons of bitchedness and work together day after day in profound forgiveness. > > That had begun to happen in Denver before the house was sold out from under us by some sons of bitchedness and we became the caring community in dispersion. > > The Order is alive and well in the persons of our ICA staff people. They hunger for the spirit dimension that they sense in us old Orderly people. And they go after it in our Archives. They found Brian Stanfield's Courage to Care with its end of chapter reflections and use it now as the spirit intro for many of their meetings with the 77Neighborhoods and the agency folks. > > Bless Tim Wegner, MIke Tippett, John Cock who maintain our structural connectedness - and our master ITs, Wendell Rafior, Doug Druckenmiller, Steve Eddiger - who lives in intentional community on the seventh floor - and all the rest of us working with the Global Archives who have sweat blood and underwritten the creation of the ICA Global Archives through which to make our methods available to those who may be searching for them as resources with which to deal with the suffering of these times. > > You will be getting info soon about the Week of October 8-13 when the Archives Sojourn week will host three tracks - 1. The Celebration of the Band of the 24; 2. The ongoing work and unveiling of the Archives Website; and 3. Tagging committee whose task it will be to, after identifying the communities we interact with, list the tags (labels) that they might use to find our documents. Right now we have 2000 scanned and ready to drop into the website, but without relevant tags after their document name on a spreadsheet in the database, they will probably never connect to "The New Religious Mode" - or as I see it "The New Mode of the Religious". We are having the joyous task of calling many of you who were in the projects to make you aware of this wonderful week of celebration and giving our methods to the future. > > Any questions, call me at 720-633-5008. Only costs, your time, air/carfair and board and room - $30/single, $45/double on the 8th floor - $10/day food. After rooms go, hotel rooms and friends/relatives guest rooms. > > The Order is, indeed, alive and well and doing our damdest to get our methods into the future. > > To you all I can say, Grace and Peace., > > Jean Long > Global Archives > Chicago > > On Sun, Jun 18, 2017 at 2:07 AM, John & Robyn Hutchinson via OE <oe(a)lists.wedgeblade.net <mailto:oe@lists.wedgeblade.net>> wrote: > Dear John and Dharma and all, > > So well said. To this day we are part of the spirit movement – the order ecumenical – the crimson line - and always will be. We are grateful that this spirit dynamic could never be called out of being, and is still so alive today. > > > > When we speak about this with others, who are not part of this particular order – occasionally – they do understand what that means. There are so many people today, who are part of this wider spirit movement. All this is what energizes us to keep at ‘the mission’ until we can no more. > > > > Dharma, the question that JWM asked me (John) 50 years ago was: DO YOU LOVE THE CHURCH? (repeated 3 x) The question and answer is no different today (albeit the words are secular), and we see people asking and answering that question in so many practical secular ways, undergirded by spirit – the invisible/visible order we are a part of – standing between the no longer and the not yet. The new 40 year timeline has started again with profound new questions and responses to be created. > > Grace and Peace, John > > > > PS John and Dharma, this seems like the beginning of a good secular-religious article for Winds and Waves on medium.com <http://medium.com/>!!!??? Robyn > > > > From: OE [mailto:oe-bounces@lists.wedgeblade.net <mailto:oe-bounces@lists.wedgeblade.net>] On Behalf Of Dharmalingam Vinasithamby via OE > Sent: Friday, 16 June 2017 10:14 AM > To: Catherine Welch; John Epps; Order Ecumenical Community; Order Ecumenical Community > Subject: Re: [Oe List ...] The Order and Oaxtapec > > > > Thank you John for initiating this fabulous discussion that I have long wanted to have. Yes, no one can call this community out of being. It was not man-made but by spirit. Only the grave after the inevitable greying will put an end to us. > > > > The Order was an overwhelming part of my identity. It is still there but in the background. Now it is those whom I meet or work with face to face who are my community. As we say, change begins in the local. But there are moments when I am at a meeting - either at my workplace or with a community group - when I look at the people around the table and think "This is a community, a profound reality, but it is not aware of itself." We were not like that because we had learnt a discipline. We knew what was happening and had the language to discuss it. So that is where part of our non-ending mission is. > > > > I remember three things that JWM said. We had a 40-year task and when it was done, we would call ourselves out of being. Another was that when we met, we would expect the other to expect me to be plugging away at that one task that I had decided was important. And finally, he said when he died and went to heaven, he would stand outside waiting for us to show up. > > > > One question I have John and others who know. What do you remember that JWM said that you feel relates to the time after our 40-year task? > > > > regards > > Dharma > > > > On Friday, 16 June 2017, 2:35, Catherine Welch via OE <oe(a)lists.wedgeblade.net <mailto:oe@lists.wedgeblade.net>> wrote: > > > > Thank you, John, for articulating the “life after Oaxtapec” so well. > > > > Catherine Welch > > > > From: John Epps via OE <mailto:oe@lists.wedgeblade.net> > Sent: Wednesday, June 14, 2017 3:57 PM > > To: Order Ecumenical Community <mailto:oe@wedgeblade.net> > Subject: [Oe List ...] The Order and Oaxtapec > > > > It has long been claimed that at the Oaxtapec gathering, the Order was called out of being. That assertion has long troubled me, and it seems time to clear the air. > > IMHO, the statement is both sociologically and theologically inaccurate. A more accurate formulation of what happened in Mexico was that we went from a structured to a dispersed form. Something was definitely dissolved at Oaxtapec, but it was not the Order, only a particular form of the Order. > > On the sociological side, there is still a lively “we” that once went under the name “Order Ecumenical.” This list-serve and the archives workshops represent some manifestations, but more significant are the personal collegial relationships that persist despite great demographic, cultural, and geographic differences. “We” continue to communicate and to celebrate the life milestones of each other. > > “We” continue to engage in the mission of catalyzing and caring for those who care – in multiple sectors and with far greater impact than a single organization could have managed. Some examples include the ToP Network, the IAF, ICA community development work in India, Nepal, Australia, and South America, and environmental preservation efforts in the USA. “We” have published a good number of books making insights available to a wide audience. Colleagues could fill out the list. > > Theologically, the Order is a historical dynamic that we’ve been privileged to participate in. It is not something we can disband, even if we wanted to. Just as Niebuhr described the Church as the “sensitive and responsive ones…” that takes many forms, so also is the Order composed of those awakened and catalytic ones who care for those who care. The notion that some of us could dissolve that dynamic confuses the form from the content (the baby from the bathwater to use a less abstract metaphor). I’ve come (reluctantly) to see that we were led to dissolve a particular structure so that the historical dynamic might continue in an enhanced fashion. > > Why does this matter? Is it simply a verbal difference having little to do with anything except the neurosis of an old theologian? > > It matters because thinking that there is no longer an Order prevents us from wrestling with pertinent questions: How can we remain in touch with the Profound Mystery? How can we continue to access our common insights? What rites and celebrations are appropriate to a dispersed body? How can we account to each other and support each other? How can we stay on the religious and secular edge? What (if any) forms are appropriate for the global and diverse participants in this historical dynamic? In a time when hatred and fear of differences is so rampant, what new experiments might make a difference? What might we learn from Journey to the East? > > Collegial comments, clarifications, corrections, and additions are most welcome. > > > > Thanks for reading this. > > John Epps > > _______________________________________________ > OE mailing list > OE(a)lists.wedgeblade.net <mailto:OE@lists.wedgeblade.net> > http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net <http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net> > _______________________________________________ > OE mailing list > OE(a)lists.wedgeblade.net <mailto:OE@lists.wedgeblade.net> > http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net <http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net> > > > > <https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campai…> Virus-free. www.avast.com <https://www.avast.com/sig-email?utm_medium=email&utm_source=link&utm_campai…> <x-msg://4/#m_-5569319134808935950_DAB4FAD8-2DD7-40BB-A1B8-4E2AA1F9FDF2> > _______________________________________________ > OE mailing list > OE(a)lists.wedgeblade.net <mailto:OE@lists.wedgeblade.net> > http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net <http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net> > > > _______________________________________________ > OE mailing list > OE(a)lists.wedgeblade.net > http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net

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Fwd: Memoir of Rev. William Raymond Bailey
by Marianna Bailey via Dialogue 23 Jun '17

23 Jun '17

Len, Lynda Cock suggested You might be interested in putting Bill's memoir in Order archive.Lynda has also sent it to Jean Long. It was requested by the Northern Illinois United Methodist Church. Grace&Peace, Marianna Sent from my iPad Begin forwarded message: > From: Lynn <liveandlearn.lynn(a)gmail.com> > Date: June 19, 2017 at 6:39:42 AM EDT > To: wmbailey(a)charter.net > Subject: FW: Memoir of Rev. William Raymond Bailey > > > > From: Lynn [mailto:liveandlearn.lynn@gmail.com] > Sent: Monday, June 19, 2017 6:16 AM > To: 'lturner(a)umcnic.org' <lturner(a)umcnic.org> > Cc: wmbailey(a)charter.net > Subject: Memoir of Rev. William Raymond Bailey > > Dear Lameise, > > Attached is the memoir for my dad. I am sending it in both PDF and Word doc. > > Please let me know if you have any questions or if you need anything else. Thank you so much for everything. > > Grace and Peace, > > Lynn Brailsford > >

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6/22/17, Vosper/Spong: The Little Denomination that Could Have; Spong revisited: Terrible Texts, Pt IV
by Ellie Stock via Dialogue 22 Jun '17

22 Jun '17

HOMEPAGE MY PROFILE ESSAY ARCHIVE MESSAGE BOARDS CALENDAR The Little Denomination that Could Have By Gretta Vosper It’s been four years since I decided to publicly identify as an atheist. After the manner of time’s calming influence upon things about which we were once so passionate, my perspective on the wisdom of the decision has altered. And as we so often do, I revisit that decision from time to time and wonder if, given the opportunity to relive those days, I would make it again. Considering one result of my choice is the likelihood that I will lose my credentials and so, too, my vocation, it is easy to consider the choice to call myself an atheist reckless. Having been very clear and very public about my lack of belief in a divine, supernatural, interventionist god called God for many years prior, it seemed a simple act of solidarity with a group of people I did not know, but whose lives were at stake because they were atheists. I later learned that they did not identify themselves as atheists but had been so labelled as a way to incite violence and hatred against them. I have learned that even in my progressive denomination, The United Church of Canada (UCCan), many are quick to encumber an atheist with a whole host of characteristics, none of which, in fact, reflect what the theological term means. And so, over the past years, I have seen myself represented as arrogant, angry, and spiteful, and despite consistent clarification and qualification of my beliefs and interests regarding religion, Christianity, and my denomination, I am described as someone who wants to make the whole denomination atheist (even my own congregation is not “atheist”), to destroy religion in all its iterations, and to win the world for those who would sneer at and spit on all people of faith. It’s a pretty ugly picture but it reminds me how easy it is for people to turn others into the enemy, especially those they do not know. But before you get too quickly critical of either me or my United Church, let me explain it to you and share with you why I thought the challenge I presented fit perfectly within the mandate of my denomination and why I have given my life – so far – to it. In the late 19th and early 20th century a softening of Christian dedication was well underway as a persistent critique of contemporary religion blossomed. Inside the church, theologians pressed themselves to grapple with new ideas about god that took them far beyond traditional theism. Outside the church, Albert Schweitzer left off his exhaustive review of treatises on Jesus with the conclusion that no matter who you were or how learned, your quest for the real, historical Jesus always ended up describing a man who looked just like you. Clergy, confronted with Darwin’s great ideas by parishioners, were asked to account for themselves and their beliefs. And popular literature began to depict and normalize the unbelieving clergyman. Against this secularization of the church emerged a strident conservatism. Tales of miracles surfaced regularly in Protestant churches that had previously taught that the age of miracles had died with the Apostles. The popular Niagara Bible Conference launched the idea of five essential Christian beliefs. * A few years later, the Stewart brothers published a book on each of the so-called “fundamentals” and the concept went mainstream. Liberal churches faced a growing dilemma: how to maintain their privileged position in society while attendance dwindled and increasing numbers of clergy grew uncomfortable pressing home beliefs and admonishments they questioned themselves. How could they inspire whole communities to return to their pews and re-embrace the threatened Christian narrative? The answer settled itself in the dirt, soot, and escalating economic disparity of the newly industrialized world. As the captains of industry amassed vast fortunes, most of it built upon the sweat, labour, and lives of factory and mine-bound lower-classes, the Kingdom of God descended from heaven and took its place among the downtrodden. No more the evasive hope of an afterlife perfection, the new Kingdom of God shone out of the salvation of the world as well as the salvation of the soul. As cities grew and poverty and distress multiplied exponentially within them, the Social Gospel and its kinder, more practically accessible Kingdom, coalesced in their midst. Here was a Kingdom of God liberal Christians could get their hearts around. Rather than belief in a heavenly afterlife, a belief fast becoming suspect, a bigger, brighter vision of the Kingdom of God could be preached as something to be made manifest on earth through acts of compassion, social justice, organizing against the elites, and raising up the downtrodden. If church goers could be convinced to have enough faith and undertake sufficient good works, they could bring the Kingdom about in the lives of the innocent victims of the industrial revolution. As the liberal church grappled with the demise of biblical inerrancy, it no longer preached a heavenly realty, popular with increasingly fewer buyers, and sold instead the vision of a world made right. Against the harsh realities of urban industrialization, this new interpretation of the old, old story promised to provide the liberal church a mandate far, far into the future. Amidst all this upheaval, three Canadian denominations came together to proclaim this new idea of the Kingdom and its champion, the down-to-earth, historical and compassionate Jesus. The United Church of Canada was born in 1925 to bring the country to Christ and to live out the Social Gospel that was its foremost theology. It almost didn’t happen. Clergy from each of the three amalgamating denominations were unwilling to give up beliefs they had professed at their ordinations to embrace the Articles of Faith wrestled into being over the course of the previous decade. At the last minute, a clergyman from the Congregationalist churches – dissenters, one and all – suggested that clergy only be required to be in “essential agreement” with the statements. That would allow them to embrace union but continue to preach what they’d been taught in their own denominations. Under such a condition, no one really needed to believe the entire statement; they could believe or not as long as, basically, they were in agreement with the gist of the thing. It was a great idea with ramifications those who voted in favour of it might never have imagined. I’m one of those ramifications. For all clergy who came into the UCCan from the founding denominations on the day of Union in 1925, essential agreement worked as the founders had intended. Subsequent to that date, however, it took on a new energy as committees across the country began interviewing candidates for ordination. Theological colleges continued to challenge long-held doctrine with emerging scholarship and churned out candidates whose doctrinal beliefs often failed to square with the Articles of Faith the three denominations had hammered out. Without an express definition of essential agreement included in the denomination’s polity, however, each committee had to interpret what the term meant for themselves in order to examine the beliefs of candidates who came before them. As a result, more progressive areas gave the candidates more leeway and ordained more progressive clergy; and more conservative areas retained more literal interpretations of the statement and ordained more conservative clergy. And as theological colleges and scholars who trained clergy continued to embrace ever more critical contemporary scholarship, that tapestry grew to include the most progressive perspectives on Christianity the world had ever seen. The key element within this history lesson is this: with the intention and determination of an increasingly progressive clergy and laity, the United Church found itself regularly refusing the biblical imperative in favour of a compassionate one. It refused the law of the word if it compromised the law of love. When asking whether women be ordained when the Bible said they should not, the denomination voted “Yes.” Should divorced clergy be able to remain in the pulpit despite the biblical injunction against divorce? Again, “Yes.” Were women able to decide what happens to their bodies, particularly when they are carrying an unwanted pregnancy? “Yes.” “Yes,” “Yes,” “Yes.” Over and again, the UCCan chose its own moral imperatives, grounding “essential agreement” in a compassionate and just love and preferring it to the biblical imperatives most Christian denominations follow. And while many liberal, mainline denominations headed off down the same path, the UCCan seemed more able to stay the course, deciding decades before other denominations to ordain LGBTQ leaders into the ministry, defying one of the most widely supported condemnations heard in twentieth century Christianity. These may seem like old arguments from this vantage point, but my point is that the UCC consistently cleared the way for change in the social mores in innumerable communities – large and small – across the country long before those same issues were common in the public space. And it led the wider Christian community as struggles between biblical “truths” and human relationship continued to rage. Because the UCCan regularly stepped out in front of its peers on issues of social, environmental, economic, sexual, and gender justice, its leaders were encouraged to preach on these issues even when the biblical texts linked to them provided little support. Rather, the prevalent desire for love lived out in acts of justice and compassion, proof of our Social Gospel pedigree, challenged the biblical text where it was found wanting and prevailed. The UCCan established itself as the leader in progressive interpretations of Christianity, keeping pace in its seminaries with the rise of secularism throughout the twentieth century. But in contrast to its emergent theologies, the language and rituals of faith proved to have a profound hold upon UCCan clergy. Across the denomination, they refused to leave behind ecclesial language made incomprehensible to the general public and many in its own pews through “reclaiming” and “reinterpretation”. It retained a privileged but increasingly irrelevant text. And a claim originally questioned decades before the denomination had even been born, that Jesus was the answer to all life’s perplexing questions, retained a visible presence in Sunday gatherings. And so, as generations of Canadians eschewed the same doctrinal beliefs UCCan clergy had questioned and refuted themselves, the denomination abdicated its responsibility to them, unable to embrace the work for which its first decades had seemed to richly prepare it, that of realizing the full secularization of Christianity. It was within this context that I took the label “atheist” to describe my belief that there is no supernatural god called “God” who is able to intervene in human and earthly events at whim. My error, I believe, was in not accurately assessing the strength of my denomination’s determination to reject the course it had charted itself, one accessible to those inside and outside the church but that led beyond the boundaries of traditional Christianity. My consolation is that, were I to have recognized the UCCan’s desire to return to a more traditional Christianity, my choices would have been the same for I remain convinced of the importance of non-doctrinal elements of religion for the cohesiveness of community and the wellbeing of the individuals within it. And I remain convinced, too, that those individuals who are strengthened by the gifts such communities provide them are the very ones who will change the world as The United Church of Canada I have known and loved has so powerfully done. ~ Gretta Vosper Read the essay online here. About the Author The Rev. Gretta Vosper is a United Church of Canada minister who is an atheist. Her best selling books include With or Without God: Why The Way We Live is More Important Than What We Believe, and Amen: What Prayer Can Mean in a World Beyond Belief. She has also published three books of poetry and prayers. Question & Answer Sandra from Leeds, writes: Question: What are your feelings about singing hymns in churches where salvation requires the portrayal of Jesus as a sacrifice who shed his blood to cleanse us from our sins? Are these ideas still meaningful to anyone? Answer: By Cassandra Farrin Dear Sandra, What a tough question. Perhaps you have similar experiences to mine of these dear old hymns: As a child I used to travel into the Idaho foothills with my parents, grandparents, and the many aged members of my grandparents’ Presbyterian congregation for an Easter sunrise service where we sang hymns like “The Old Rugged Cross” and “Amazing Grace” by heart. On a hill far away, stood an old rugged Cross The emblem of suff'ring and shame And I love that old Cross where the dearest and best For a world of lost sinners was slain So I'll cherish the old rugged Cross Till my trophies at last I lay down I will cling to the old rugged Cross And exchange it some day for a crown Many years later, while I was teaching English in Japan, I expressed an admittedly nostalgic wish to my friends there to watch the sunrise for Easter. They introduced me to the Japanese version of watching the sunrise—staying up all night, singing karaoke!—and then led me to an empty Tokyo canal as the sun rose between the skyscrapers. Huddled with my friends on the sloping concrete, I explained the double meaning of “sunrise” in the Christian tradition, taught them how to sing Amazing Grace, and we shared a beautiful moment together. Amazing Grace! How sweet the sound That saved a wretch like me I once was lost but now am found Was blind but now I see Are these hymns, by default, morally wrong simply because their content reflects an earlier era? For the individual person who feels a sense of connection and affinity for a hymn, no, I do not believe so. These hymns speak to all-too-human experiences such as failure and redemption, loss and renewal, loyalty and standing up for what is right. Indeed, many of these hymns have long histories that also make them special to us in a more personal way, such as my memories of my grandparents and friends. Should we jettison a hymn simply because it reflects the beliefs of its era? I think that’s not fair, any more than we should stop reading books like Huckleberry Finn or Shakespeare’s plays (which are unbelievably raunchy, by the way). These classics all reflect outmoded ways of thinking, yet we still love them. Incidentally, some literary curmudgeons do argue we should no longer read these works, lest you think this is a problem confronted by religious types only! However, it is the responsibility of each generation to create new works of art that reflect our realities and our values and, let’s be honest, our foibles. If our message is not more compelling than “Amazing Grace” and the “Old Rugged Cross,” how is anyone going to believe it is “good news” (gospel)? It’s hard work to convince people to accept new songs to love, but the effort is worth the challenge. I’ll close with a few lines from one of my favorites, a Unitarian Universalist hymn “Blue Boat Home” by Peter Mayer: I was born upon the fathoms Never harbor or port have I known The wide universe is the ocean I travel And the earth is my blue boat home ~ Cassandra Farrin Read and share online here About the Author Cassandra Farrin is a poet, writer and editor of nonfiction books on the history of religion. She recently launched the blog Ginger & Sage on religion, culture, and the land. Her writing can be found on the Westar Institute and Ploughshares websites, along with a poetic retelling of "On the Origin of the World" forthcoming in Gender Violence, Rape Culture, and Religion (Palgrave Macmillan). A US-UK Fulbright scholar, she has more than ten years' experience with cross-cultural and interfaith engagement. Cassandra can be reached at welovetea(a)gmail.com. ________________________________________________ Bishop John Shelby Spong Revisited The Terrible Texts: The Attitude of the Bible Toward Women – Part IV "Now the serpent was more subtle than any other wild creature the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God say, 'You shall not eat of any tree of the garden'?" And the woman said to the serpent, "we may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden; but God said, 'You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die' "But the serpent said to the woman, "You will not die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves aprons (Gen: 3: 1-7, RSV). The ancient Hebrew myth, which opens the Book of Genesis, describes the biblical understanding of many things, one of which is how evil entered the world. Since a man undoubtedly framed these legends, it is not surprising that a woman was depicted as the villain. In the man's world women have been blamed for many things from that day to this. If a man rapes a woman, it is because she tempted him. If a man abuses a woman, it is because she irritated him. If a man divorces a woman, it is because it was no longer tolerable to live with her. It is always the woman's fault. Male putdowns are everywhere. If a woman is competent at playing the man's game in business, she is at best a hussy and at worst a bitch. If she resorts to feminine wiles to achieve her goal, she is said to be "playing the female thing for all she is worth." Nothing has changed since the Garden of Eden. Eve, says the Bible, was the reason for humanity's downfall. In the beginning God, viewing the world, pronounced it good. Creation was finished so God could take a day off to rest from the divine labors and thus to establish the Sabbath. In that perfect world God placed Adam and his helpmeet Eve to be God's stewards. They were to live in Eden, where all their needs were supplied. There was ample water, gold and even onyx, vegetables, fruit trees, everything that human beings could want. There was no separation since God lived in a perfect relationship with Adam and Eve, which was symbolized by the fact that God walked with Adam and Eve each day in the cool of the evening. There was but one rule in this garden. A tree stood in its midst, the fruit of which was forbidden to human beings. It was called the "Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil." It did not become an apple tree until Jerome translated the scriptures into Latin in the early years of the fifth century. Jerome's clever designation has enriched our language by designating the nervous cartilage that vibrates in the throats of some men as "Adam's apple." Apparently, the forbidden fruit was stuck permanently in the throats of some of the Sons of Adam. Adam and Eve accepted this prohibition and began their life together in the Garden of Eden. Forbidden fruit casts a peculiar spell when it enters our fantasies. One gets the impression that in the first family this tree was the topic of conversation and mouth-watering anticipation. Nonetheless, Adam and Eve remained faithful to the divine command, until one day when the woman was circling the tree alone. As Eve stared at that fruit, the story says, a serpent walked up to her on two legs, for that was the way snakes walked in those days. "Miss Eve." said the snake, "did God really say you could not eat the fruit of this tree?" "Yes, Mr. Snake," Eve responded, "God said that if we eat the fruit of this tree, we will surely die!" "You won't die, Miss Eve," said the snake, "God knows that if you eat of this tree, you will be as wise as God. God doesn't want his creatures to compete with the Holy One!" "You, Eve, can be as wise as God!" That was an intriguing idea to Eve and it offered her a vision of being something more than any of her dreams or fantasies had yet been able to create, and as such was a determinative temptation. She succumbed and ate the fruit. Then she called Adam over and urged him to try it. He did. The deed was done. God's perfect creation was wrecked. Disobedience had entered the human arena through the woman, the weak link in God's creation. After they ate, the story told us their eyes were opened. They discovered they were naked. They felt ashamed. They scurried to cover their nakedness with fig leaf aprons. Suddenly, they realized that it was nearing the time for God's evening stroll through the Garden. Before their disobedience, God was their friend whose presence they looked forward to with pleasure. After their disobedience, God was their judge, the elicitor of their guilt whom they feared. They decided that they could not endure the divine presence so, in an act of wonderful naiveté. ~ John Shelby Spong Originally published January 21, 2004 Announcements Job Opportunity with Westar Institute Executive Assistant: Marketing and Events Management Westar is a non-profit religious research and educational institute whose mission is to foster collaborative scholarly research in the study of religion and to communicate the results of that scholarship to a broad, non-specialist public. Interested and qualified candidates may apply online at Westar Institute For questions, please email: dgalston(a)westarinstitute.org Important Dates: • Application Deadline: June 30, 2017 • Start Date: August 28, 2017

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Standing Rock: 9/5 minute video summary regarding Standing Rock
by Ellie Stock via Dialogue 19 Jun '17

19 Jun '17

Hi Folks, Check out the communications below and 9.5 minute video summary of Standing Rock from the Lakota People's Law Project. Click on the picture for the video. Ellie elliestock(a)aol.com >From the Lakota People's Law Project: The short video gives a larger history and context to the events at Standing Rock. Danny Sheehan continues to provide courageous and clear perspectives on Standing Rock and other less known events in our nation's history. He also teaches at the University of Santa Cruz. Many of his interviews, lectures and his courses are available on line... From: "Chase Iron Eyes, Lakota People's Law Office" <info(a)lakotalaw.org> Subject: BREAKING: Judge Rules DAPL Needs Environmental Review Date: June 14, 2017 9:35:33 PM EDT To: "Miriam MacGillis" <threeriversmm(a)gmail.com> Reply-To: info(a)lakotalaw.org We just received breaking news that US District Court Judge James Boasberg ruled that the environmental review of the controversial Dakota Access pipeline (DAPL) was insufficient and must be reconsidered. Your persistence and dedication to this cause over the past few months paved the way for this important decision, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart. Now, you can ensure that our movement to stop this pipeline and defend the rights of water protectors moves forward with strength by making a donation today. After many defeats on the #NoDAPL front, we are beginning to see rays of hope that the Trump Administration/oil industry alliance can be unraveled. Judge Boasberg’s decision comes on the heels of explosive revelations published by investigative reporters from The Intercept. They shed light on wartime tactics employed by pipeline security painting our #NoDAPL movement as a dangerous insurgency and branding water protectors as criminals and terrorists. Leaked documents show that the Blackwater-style paramilitary firm TigerSwan, Inc. surveilled the members of our movement, stole equipment from our camps, spread disinformation online, and framed water protectors by torching cars and blaming their actions on us. Make no mistake: Our country is under attack from within. You can be part of the movement to expose the corporate-sponsored, state-executed violence at Standing Rock by donating to our legal defense fund today. My people have been here for thousands of years, but this land does not belong only to us. It is your homeland too. I hope you will create a respect relationship with the rivers and creeks and streams that flow through this beautiful nation and never fail to stand strong in her defense. Wopila—I thank you for your care and support at this crucial time in our nation's history. Chase Iron Eyes Lakota Law lead counsel P.S. Today’s ruling is a beacon of hope, as nothing less than the fabric—the heart and soul of our very democracy—is at stake. You can stand with us as our resistance continues in the courts. Our battle for water has become the defense of freedom. Join us by donating to our legal defense fund today. It is imperative that we act together. We cannot do this without you. Lakota People's Law Office 522 7th St Ste 218 Rapid City, SD 57701 United States If you believe you received this message in error or wish to no longer receive email from us, please unsubscribe.

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