September 2019 - Dialogue - lists.wedgeblade.net

Re: [Dialogue] [Oe List ...] Spirit of the 20's
by Ellie Stock 02 Sep '19

02 Sep '19

Hi John, Thanks for this thoughtful piece--still pondering... We continue to work with many others at the local level in our communities, and local, regional, national, and global levels through the church and other NGOS, specifically on issues related to the environment, racial justice/white privilege, immigration, root causes of poverty/hunger, indigenous rights--trying connect as many dots/movements as possible--hoping and trusting that all such work from every corner of the globe will eventually create a groundswell of action and change. Sometimes, it is just overwhelming. My mantra is to work toward the vision of what needs to be, rather than focusing on being against whatever/whomever we don't like. Not always easy. It just may take millions of people to take to the streets to change the tide, before it is too late--for us, our grandchildren or to the seventh generation. Looking forward to reading responses from folks. Ellie Stock :)elliestock@aol.com -----Original Message----- From: John Epps via OE <oe(a)lists.wedgeblade.net> To: Order Ecumenical Community <oe(a)wedgeblade.net> Cc: John Epps <jlepps39(a)gmail.com> Sent: Wed, Aug 28, 2019 4:36 pm Subject: [Oe List ...] Spirit of the 20's The Spirit of the 20’s John Epps, August2019The categories for determining the spirit of a decadesupposedly come from Kierkegaard: An External Situation creates an InternalCrisis which raises an Existential Question from which we try to Escape. I’veused them in trying to assess the situation since the 60’s. Here we go again:The Prevailing Spirit: Our External Situation is best characterized as one of THREAT.Economically, health care costs are rising astronomically, the move away fromfossil fuels and the trade war with China have put markets in turmoil and talkof recession is in the air. Politically, we have cut off alliances and findRussia, N. Korea, and Iran all upgrading their nuclear capabilities. USACongress seems unable to act. Culturally, we are besieged with increasednumbers of immigrants and mass shootings now appear commonplace. Andencompassing all this chaos is the Earth’s environment which appears to beundergoing dangerous changes due to global warming.All this has generated or contributed to an Internal Crisisof FEAR. We increasingly fear those who differ from us, whether by race,gender identification, nationality, or ideology. Everything different seems athreat, and we fear the changes already in progress. Compromise seems weak, andwe’re increasingly in a black or white situation: agree or fight. The Existential Question in this situation is HOW CAN WESURVIVE? With the environment collapsing and threats at every turn, whatcan we do? Problems seem too big to tackle, and local action, while effective,remains local while the issues are larger. Institutions we developed to addresslarger issues appear paralyzed: CONGRESS, UN, NATO, NAFTA, ASEAN, Treaties withIran and the Paris Accords for Climate all appear ineffective in providingremedies. Attempts to inact gun control legislation, despite agreement fromboth parties, cannot move through Congress. We Escape through BLAMESTORMING; we look forscapegoats for each issue, then cast them as enemies toward which hatred is theonly suitable relation. We demonize NRA, GOP, “Moscow Mitch,” Trump, Kim, Putin,Refugees, Democrats, Immigrants, Socialists, and many others. Extreme hostilitytakes the guise of radical nationalism attempting to band “us” against “them”or in too many cases, mass shootings aimed at eliminating “them.” Towards an Authentic Response: This is where we meet the question of God today: wrestling with thequestion of responding to threats to our existence. Local action may be the most we can do, and since that makesa difference, should be pursued with vigor. Maybe, over time, the mass changesneeded can come from local people. The threats are real. The status quo cannot and will notsurvive. The future is really open and unpredictable. We can, however, have ahand in inventing it.Your comments, additions, corrections, and insights are most welcome. _______________________________________________ OE mailing list OE(a)lists.wedgeblade.net http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net

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Fw: A Journey of Beginnings published on Amazon
by W. J. 01 Sep '19

01 Sep '19

Subject: A Journey of Beginnings published on Amazon I am very pleased to announce that Jim Campbell's new memoir,A Journey of Beginnings: The Making of a Lifehas just been published on Amazon.com. And that Jim has generously offered his friends and colleagues in the ICA, the Ecumenical Institute, the Order:Ecumenical, and the IAF a time-limited introductory price of just $7.50 for his 300-page book. Frankly, at this price Jim is making a profit of just a nickel per copy. Or, if you prefer, you can download the book on Kindle here for just $3.99. Or for free after your $5 Kindle credit! Or when you buy the paperback, get your Kindle edition for just $.99 and share it with others. Buy multiple copies now to share with family members as Christmas gifts! Or pay full price ($14.98) after the introductory discount disappears. This is Jim's intimate story of his personal Journey to the East. It's a story that many of us shared in our common Life Together. Woven throughout with the poetry of Kazantzakis, Tillich, Hesse, Bonhoeffer, Niebuhr, Joe Mathews, Joseph Campbell, D.H. Lawrence, Robert Frost, and St. Teresa of Avila. And it's the story of Jim's profound gratitude and appreciation for his life in the Order:Ecumenical and all that led him up to that fateful moment when he first showed up in Chicago. He frankly shares his profound distress and grief over the dissolution of the Order, as well as the new life he forged in its aftermath. Whether we trekked with Jim through snowstorms in 5th City, or slogged with him through the mud of Kawangware, or slashed our way through the jungle around Bananeiras with him, or enjoyed his hospitality at ICA:Brussels' wayside inn, Jim's story is in so many ways our story as a people with a common vocation. And this story is compelling--particularly for those who were actually there! Not to mention hilarious at times! Jim tells of "trying to help my colleague over a very high snow drift in the middle of 5th Avenue.... I managed to flip her over the top, and she rolled down the other side. Since she was a very formable lady, I was more than a little intimidated by her, but aside from some slightly damaged dignity and snow in the wrong places, no harm was done." You'll just have to guess who she was, since Jim's not telling! One of my favorite stories is about the nuns on the bus to The Other World in Avila. (Yes, that Avila, the home of St. Teresa.) Jim's book is about the Magic of New Beginnings. To quote Herman Hesse, A magic dwells in each beginning and protecting us it tells us how to live. Or, to quote Chief Dan George in Little Big Man, Sometimes the magic works, and sometimes it doesn't. (Or, as Sigmund Freud would suggest, "Sometimes a lighthouse is just a lighthouse.") Jim's memoir is more about being transformed by the people he worked with across four continents than it is about transforming those communities. There is evidence of that in his chapter on "My Communion of Saints" where he reflects on what he learned about profound humanness from his Meditative Council. You may READ Jim's Introduction in the .pdf attachment below! And then order the book here on Amazon.com. To find out more, you'll just have to get the book! And then write your own memoir of your life's journey of new beginnings. In gratitude for our life together,Wayne Marshall Jones, editor*****Beginning with his childhood in the hills of rural western Pennsylvania, master process facilitator and author James M. Campbell shares his life experiences to discover how his personal history has shaped his relationships with others and his care for the world. Nothing about Jim’s life has been ordinary, from his birth in 1940 to his retirement in 2013 in Colombia. Over and over again he found himself setting out into a new chapter with new demands and new challenges. Jim shares what he has learned about the world and himself through this journey of beginning again and again. In his introduction to A Journey of Beginnings, Jim writes: “I believe that everyone has a vocation.” And so Jim takes us on the journey of his life fulfilling his vocational vision: caring for the innocent human suffering of this world. As Jim shares the making of his life, four great themes emerge that reveal the depth and power of what Jim was able to create. The first is simply that making a life requires profound trust in life. Jim writes, “If we don’t trust, what is the basis of our relation to our life—suspicion and distrust? How can you affirm your life if you relate to it with distrust?” The second is that making a life requires moving beyond the familiar and deeply trusting in new beginnings. It is only as we dare to leave our familiar ground behind us that life opens before us and new vistas emerge; and in these new vistas we find new power and possibility. The third is that making a life happens when we engage with others who share our vision. The power of our passion is released when it is harnessed with that of others in a community that dares to act out their lives in service to the disinherited of this earth. And finally, making a life means trusting that all life is open to transformation and that, in surrendering ourselves and risking all, we can truly bring about a new day. Making a life of service means creating hope where it did not exist before. Jim discovered his vocation on a train in Southern Chile in 1962. All human beings have a vocation; Jim considers himself fortunate to have found his as a young adult and to have found the community that gave him the knowledge and skills to truly BE his vocation. In the conclusion, Jim reminds us of William Ernest Henley’s words: It matters not how strait the gate, How charged with punishments the scroll, I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul. This book tells us of one man’s living of those words.

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Re: [Dialogue] [Oe List ...] Spirit of the 20's
by Ellie Stock 01 Sep '19

01 Sep '19

>From a Christian perspective, Tillich was a good next step in articulating the reality of "sin". For me another definition from the Christian perspective makes more sense: The reality is that everything is connected and interrelated. "Sin" is thinking, acting, living "as if" we were separated from the primal Energy of Life, humanity, and all creation which leads to destructive patterns of behavior towards all life. Love/compassion is the antidote. The call to demonstrate inclusive, unconditional love through our knowing, doing, and being is based on the interconnectedness/interrelatedness of All and therefore builds up rather than tears down. Ellie elliestock(a)aol.com -----Original Message----- From: Robertson Work via Dialogue <dialogue(a)lists.wedgeblade.net> To: Order Ecumenical Community <oe(a)lists.wedgeblade.net>; dialogue(a)lists.wedgeblade.net <dialogue(a)lists.wedgeblade.net> Cc: Robertson Work <warkers(a)msn.com> Sent: Thu, Aug 29, 2019 06:20 PM Subject: Re: [Dialogue] [Oe List ...] Spirit of the 20's #yiv4270718136 P {margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;}Dear A.M., Now that is a deep question, friend. Thank you. Would love to hear your and other's answers. A few of my thoughts: If a contradiction is that which is blocking a vision, what is the vision? If the vision is of humanity realizing its full potential to love all beings (all people and all nature), then what is blocking that from being realized? From my point of view, the human contradiction is the illusion that the self is a separate, independent, unchanging entity that must be protected and promoted at the expense of any and every other reality. This is based on ignorance of the true nature of the self as interdependent, impermanent, and in a state of suffering. That statement is from a Buddhist perspective. A Christian perspective on the contradiction seems to be very similar. Human beings are in a state of sin, which Paul TIllich clarifies as: "sin is separation from self, others, and the ground of being." This fundamental error of perception of the self is that which pits the self against all others and even its own nature. This is a tragic ontological narcissism and solipsism - the belief that "I" am all that matters or even exists, and therefore I can and must do whatever I need to do to subjugate other beings to my will and my glory. What do you think? In solidarity, Rob................................................................................................ Recent book: A Compassionate Civilization: The Urgency of Sustainable Development and Mindful Activism - Reflections and Recommendations https://www.amazon.com/dp/1546972617 Blog: https://compassionatecivilization.blogspot.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robertsonwork/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/compassionatecivilization/ From: OE <oe-bounces(a)lists.wedgeblade.net> on behalf of A.M. Noel via OE <oe(a)lists.wedgeblade.net> Sent: Thursday, August 29, 2019 8:01 AM To: Order Ecumenical Community <oe(a)lists.wedgeblade.net> Cc: A.M. Noel <anthonymarianoel(a)gmail.com> Subject: Re: [Oe List ...] Spirit of the 20's We always knew when we are able to articulate the contradiction. We could come up with what is possible, Are we willing to articulate what is the human contradiction? A.M. Noel On Thu, Aug 29, 2019 at 7:31 AM Jack Gilles via OE <oe(a)lists.wedgeblade.net> wrote: John and Colleagues, You have laid out the classic analysis of the existential crisis the world is facing very well. Indeed, the collective threat to our human and planetary existence is before us. What is obvious is that the pain will increase; for all of us. There will be no escape. We will all weep at the destruction of the planet and the dehumanization forces react to the fear they feel. Let these tears cleanse our hearts and clear the dust from our minds. We will rejoice at the signs of possibilities that so many will demonstrate daily, even though they also face the wind that can blow out the candles of hope. Cruelty will grow, greed will flourish and the beast will roar. Courage will be in big demand. So many years ago, amazingly we saw it coming, although we had no idea of the particulars. You can remember and resonate to the words of wisdom that were spoken then. “Without a NRM there will be no NSV”. “Although we are engaged in the campaigns of Awakenment and Demonstration, the day after tomorrow we will only be doing the Third Campaign, Caring for those who Care.” “Discerning the Contradiction is the key to creative change”. “Never attack directly, indirection is the way”. And wow, all the learnings we amassed! We failed at replication, but now we know why. We failed at expanding Religious Houses, but now we know why. We failed at renewing the historical Christian church, but now we know why. And that wisdom needs to be collected and shared. Thus the mission of the Living Archives. It is now time to share that wisdom, but not just everyone, but with the newly awakened ones, those who discovered the Second Mountain, as David Brooks describes it. With those who have discovered the primacy of the local but have done so in partnership with the living Earth. We can trust the Mystery to raise up stones in amazing ways. New life will fill “dem bones”. New poetry, stories, songs and symbols will left hearts and strengthen spines. Enough of the words. Practically what do we do? Most of us are long-in-the tooth, so we must discern our elder role and develop the strategy to make it happen. Time is short to do so. Maybe the ICA’s is the vehicle, maybe not. We lost something when we shifted from Global language to National language. The nation state is a social vehicle that will not work, it is dead, but sure does look at act alive (I mean it doesn’t represent the way life is anymore). So start with our Grid. Watch the TED talk on the 50 Urban Nodes that have emerged (these are the Areas from our Grid). Listen to the wisdom of Larry Ward and Peggy Rowe (see Larry’s short TED talk). Become fluent in speaking of what we called the NRM. See how it is indeed the absolute requirement to lead in the creation of the NSV. Understand the dynamics of the creative process and how our Socilal Process work reveals the wisdom of how it happens and review the Pressure Points and Whistle Points for their relevance today and have they shifted? Grasp the dynamics and forms of The Wayside Inn and how it can function. And so much more. Perhaps we need a forum to On Aug 28, 2019, at 16:36, John Epps via OE <oe(a)lists.wedgeblade.net> wrote: The Spirit of the 20’s John Epps, August 2019 The categories for determining the spirit of a decade supposedly come from Kierkegaard: An External Situation creates an Internal Crisis which raises an Existential Question from which we try to Escape. I’ve used them in trying to assess the situation since the 60’s. Here we go again: The Prevailing Spirit: Our External Situation is best characterized as one of THREAT. Economically, health care costs are rising astronomically, the move away from fossil fuels and the trade war with China have put markets in turmoil and talk of recession is in the air. Politically, we have cut off alliances and find Russia, N. Korea, and Iran all upgrading their nuclear capabilities. USA Congress seems unable to act. Culturally, we are besieged with increased numbers of immigrants and mass shootings now appear commonplace. And encompassing all this chaos is the Earth’s environment which appears to be undergoing dangerous changes due to global warming. All this has generated or contributed to an Internal Crisis of FEAR. We increasingly fear those who differ from us, whether by race, gender identification, nationality, or ideology. Everything different seems a threat, and we fear the changes already in progress. Compromise seems weak, and we’re increasingly in a black or white situation: agree or fight. The Existential Question in this situation is HOW CAN WE SURVIVE? With the environment collapsing and threats at every turn, what can we do? Problems seem too big to tackle, and local action, while effective, remains local while the issues are larger. Institutions we developed to address larger issues appear paralyzed: CONGRESS, UN, NATO, NAFTA, ASEAN, Treaties with Iran and the Paris Accords for Climate all appear ineffective in providing remedies. Attempts to inact gun control legislation, despite agreement from both parties, cannot move through Congress. We Escape through BLAMESTORMING; we look for scapegoats for each issue, then cast them as enemies toward which hatred is the only suitable relation. We demonize NRA, GOP, “Moscow Mitch,” Trump, Kim, Putin, Refugees, Democrats, Immigrants, Socialists, and many others. Extreme hostility takes the guise of radical nationalism attempting to band “us” against “them” or in too many cases, mass shootings aimed at eliminating “them.” Towards an Authentic Response: This is where we meet the question of God today: wrestling with the question of responding to threats to our existence. Local action may be the most we can do, and since that makes a difference, should be pursued with vigor. Maybe, over time, the mass changes needed can come from local people. The threats are real. The status quo cannot and will not survive. The future is really open and unpredictable. We can, however, have a hand in inventing it. Your comments, additions, corrections, and insights are most welcome. _______________________________________________ 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 _______________________________________________ Dialogue mailing list Dialogue(a)lists.wedgeblade.net http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/dialogue-wedgeblade.net

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20s
by Lawrence Philbrook 01 Sep '19

01 Sep '19

Great dialogue John thank you for stimulating it. I can't keep up with all of it but I really am enjoying trying I agree with Dick Alton describing it all as a failure is limiting our understanding and choices Rob you keep expanding my thinking and perception of the systemic connections we are dealing with Jo’s comment on Authentic communication also resonates with my experience Jack your analysis of the connection the NRM and NSV I need to think about for a while. I was in Hong Kong last week and had several dialogues about how to hold the space for deeper exploration as a way to build common understanding. It requires not assuming a decision to be the result of the dialogue. it is like when we tell people in the ORID conversation Decisional Level does not have to be an action it can be a declaration of where we are now that this conversation was held. it can be deeper than agree to disagree - agree to hold the understanding of all parties as far as they have been able to articulate them so far. or using a different language Contradictions are present from self to the system - this is one of the tests in a contradictions workshop - when I name this do I see how I contribute? Then I always have the power to start the change because if I change my behavior/contribution the contradiction is weakened. I am heading into a dialogue this week with the IAF, ICA Asia Pacific and old colleagues from Malaysia I find this a great context for the exploration please keep the flow going With respect, Larry

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