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Greetings at the ending of the year. Sending our love and best wishes
by James Wiegel 13 Dec '17

13 Dec '17

At this time of year, people in Nicaragua celebrate "La Griteria", to me a combination of caroling and trick or treat. Folks walk from house to house and shout out, "What is the source of the overwhelming joy that is flooding our hearts?" And the reply is, "The Virgin has conceived!!" Then they share treats, socialize, sing together, and on to the next house. . . . keeps going until the treats are all gone. So. here's hoping, in the midst of all that is flooding your heart these days, that you recognize some overwhelming joy and, maybe even shout out, "What is the source of this overwhelming joy that is flooding our hearts?" . . . and maybe, even someone replies, and you share treats, socialize, sing together. . . . not to ignore all else that is flooding our hearts, but to recognize the joy as well. The Wiegels Jim Wiegel “That which consumes me is not man, nor the earth, nor the heavens, but the flame which consumes man, earth, and sky." Nikos Kazantzakis 401 North Beverly Way,Tolleson, Arizona 85353 623-363-3277 jfwiegel(a)yahoo.com www.partnersinparticipation.com

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Re: [Dialogue] Getting to the Bottom of ToP is finally published!
by jill＠jlpersi.com 13 Dec '17

13 Dec '17

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Death Bed
by Richard 12 Dec '17

12 Dec '17

Death Bed After being at the October Chicago ICA Celebration of the Band of 24, being my birthday (76years), I thought it would be appropriate to share some of my history. For the last 6 years I have supported ICA Chicago’s work on Accelerate 77. This first helped me to get familiar with the Southside of Chicago as Seva Gandhi (ICA Director of Programs and Partnerships) and I visited Accelerate 77 Southside partners. This familiarization helped me to take the One Earth Film Fest to the Southside. The Southside is great In working on the Southside, I discovered one of the great community organizers was Saul Alinsky. Terry Bergdall loaned me his autobiography (Let Them Call Me Rebel) that highlighted Alinsky taking on the University of Chicago and Mayor Daly. Alinsky was a master in mobilizing local people. But what really caught my attention was one of the key figures in the book is Monsignor Jack Egan who brought resources and people to the table for Alinsky’s effort. I became acquainted with Egan when I was assigned for a week to go to Trenton New Jersey to work with Egan as his facilitator for a gathering of the diocesan development coordinators. Monsignor Egan was at the University of Notre Dame, at that time, heading up the Urban Ministry Institute. He would give these great talks and then I would follow him to lead the group in strategic planning. Egan would kick them in the pants and then I would capture their new energy. So when Alinsky mentioned Egan, I looked for and found a book about Monsignor John Egan called An Alley in Chicago. I was sure there would be something in the book about ICA/EI. And there was: Egan was assigned to Presentation Parish, which is right next to 5th City. That is how he became a great friend of Joe Mathews. Then on page 269 the book tells the story of Egan being asked to come to Joe’s death bed and to hear his ‘patrimony to the world’: “We’ve tried to get the established Church to see that it’s not about peddling abstract dogma but about awakening men into life and significant engagement in the historical process so that they might truly experience the glory of life through intensification of consciousness, and intensification of engagement. Jack Egan prayed with his friend Joe Mathews, blessed him, and knelt for the blessing of this very beautiful and bright man… and to this day, I am a member of the Ecumenical Institute’s board of directors” Wow, is this not what we are still about? Ok, change men to people Dick Alton, RS-1, 1968 in Philadelphia. Richard H.T. Alton 166 N. Humphrey Ave, Apt, 1N Oak Park, IL 60302 T:1.773.344.7172 richard.alton(a)gmail.com Don't let the fear of striking out hold you back Babe Ruth

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Getting to the Bottom of ToP is finally published!
by Jo Nelson 11 Dec '17

11 Dec '17

You can order the print-on-demand book on iUniverse and also on Amazon.com. https://www.amazon.ca/Getting-Bottom-ToP-Methodologies-Participation/dp/153… The ebook version is still to come…. And, like Rob’s request for his book, reviews on Amazon are welcome. Take care, Jo -- Jo Nelson, CPF, CTF <jnelson(a)ica-associates.ca> Certified Professional Facilitator and ICA Certified ToP™ Facilitator ICA Associates, Inc. 401 Richmond Street West, Suite #405, Toronto, Canada. M5V 3A8 Ph. 1 416-691-2316, x2230 Toll-free 1 877-691-1422 Fax 1 416-691-2491 Website http://ica-associates.ca Cellphone 647 233 6910 Skype “jofacilitator” Vendor of Record: Government of Ontario Learning and Training Services #OSS00536903 Vendor of Record: ProServices Canada E60ZT-120001/826/ZT Business Consulting/Change Management Pre-qualified Vendor, Alberta Education Resource List “You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete. Richard Buckminster Fuller”

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Solar power in Machakos
by Timothy Wegner 10 Dec '17

10 Dec '17

I saw this PBS piece about solar power in Kenya and noticed it concerned Machakos. I meant to post to our lists but forgot, then Roxana reminded me, see below! Tim ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Hi, Tim -- I thought the attached might be something the broader OE Community might be interested in: Peace, Roxana https://www.pbs.org/newshour/.../in-remote-kenyan-villages- solar-startups-bring-light If you think so, too, by all means pass it on! -- *"Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree."* -- Martin Luther

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12/07/17, Vosper/Spong: A Shift in the Season: One Congregation’s Story; Spong revisited
by Ellie Stock 07 Dec '17

07 Dec '17

HOMEPAGE MY PROFILE ESSAY ARCHIVE MESSAGE BOARDS CALENDAR A Shift in the Season: One Congregation’s Story Rev. Gretta Vosper Several months ago, I wrote about the Season of Relief, those long weeks following Easter when clergy don’t have to deal with lectionary passages that fuse themselves to church doctrine. Strangely, it seems like just a few short weeks ago; but then, the cycles of doctrinal seasons in the church are just that: cycles. Another liturgical season So here we are, well into Advent, and well into the annual grating of teeth that takes place whenever we are exposed to saccharine Christmas music purring or prancing from over-decorated storefronts and selling everything from the tiniest stocking stuffer to cars. And here we are, back to those lectionary passages that bond themselves to church doctrine that gives many a church leader hives. Or indigestion. The stress of the “high holy days” seeps in. Cue the reverential organ while we light the candles on the Advent wreath – Hope. Peace. Joy. Love. Blocking the commercial clatter from our Sunday morning services, we reverently steer our congregations toward the well-worn path that leads past the overbooked inn to a lowly stable and the nativity of our Lord. Wait a holy minute, Casavant! Screeeeeeech! Wait a holy minute, Casavant! What do you mean by “the nativity of our Lord”? Are progressive Christians still able to embrace the implications of those words? Or must we examine it, like everything else, and risk losing something we have loved for so long? I’m for the latter, obviously. We help our children hang up their stockings with a twinkle in our eye, knowing that sooner or later, we’ll fill them in on the fairy tale nature of the story and their responsibilities within it. But we often neglect to fill them in on the mythical nature of the nativity as the same growth in wisdom and rational thinking emerges within them. There, we’re more likely to remain quiet, their consequent assumption being that we really believe in virgin births, stars, shepherds. and magi. Not just gathering dust There isn’t much that can or should elude the glaring light of nineteenth century scientific method and the impact it has had on everything, including biblical scholarship. Over the intervening century or so, we’ve pried loose so many previous interpretations of scripture that we likely couldn’t count them all if we wanted to. Still, we let them lie about, not only collecting dust and the disdain of critical scholars but attracting the interests of those for whom they might still offer solace or its evil twin, power. Wielded as the latter, our discarded beliefs have toppled regimes, led murderous campaigns, and denied many the dignity they deserve. Maintaining traditions for the warm, cozy feelings they bring pales in the light of the damage those traditions have promulgated in the world. And so, for us at West Hill, where the scholarly pursuit of understanding was coupled with the need for integrity in our gatherings, the challenge became clear. We had to explore our Christmas traditions more deeply in order to find what it was that truly inspired us in this liturgical season. What did we derive from the story and season of Christmas that was too important to lose and what was so problematic that losing it was a necessity? These questions were explored over several Christmas seasons, each providing an opportunity for change and the final emergence of a new tradition. Christmas traditions shift When I arrived at West Hill, the congregation had two evening Christmas services: one an early service for families with young children; the other a communion service timed to conclude at midnight. It was a pretty traditional package and offered something for everyone. Shortly after I arrived, we initiated a Blue Christmas service in the middle of December. Never very well attended, it was yet a serious attempt to acknowledge that the season wasn’t all Christmas jingle and high spirits for everyone. We went through a few riotous years when everyone in the early service was filed through the lounge on their way into the sanctuary. As they went through, they were dressed up as angels, stars, magi, shepherds, animals and, yes, members of the holy family. The whole congregation participated in a hilarious re-enactment of the Christmas story all crazily held together by a central premise – like a late night talk show or a famous comedian’s rendition of the Christmas story. It was total chaos, exhausting, and wonderful. The midnight service, for a couple of those cold years, included a labyrinth walk out of doors under the starry, starry night. Candle-lit with torches waiting in the centre, it was a beautiful embrace of an ancient tradition of a different sort. As the years went by and the work of the church evolved to create a space welcoming to believers and non-believers alike, the reading of each Christmas text was introduced with the words, “Once upon a time….” That little addition signalled that things had changed and shared the subtle but unmistakable message that these stories were just that, stories. Then, in 2010, we shifted a little bit further. Because people attending West Hill were less and less invested in the retelling of the nativity narrative – they simply did not believe it to be true – we decided to create a liturgy that built on the special nature of the season rather than the biblical stories that had inspired it. After years of honouring that tradition, we simply shifted our focus from the story of the birth of Jesus to the impact its long telling has had upon our culture; from the fictional details of a crude, stable birth, to the very real show of love and generosity and the willingness to see past our differences that is so prevalent at this time of the year. It was a shift that gave the congregation a meaningful reason to gather together in what, for us in the north, is also the coldest and darkest time of the year. We created a Longest Night event to augment our traditional services. Darkness and light The roots of the longest night reach deep into the murky past out of which our traditional Christmas stories emerged. Placed on December 25th in 336 CE by Pope Julius I, the date Jesus’ birth came to be celebrated may have been chosen to overtake the celebrations of the sun which took place on that same date. Scholars are divided as to whether these celebrations were tied to the birth of Mithras, god of the Mithraic Mystery religion prominent at the time, or existed independently. Regardless, the date has held a special place in the hearts and practices of humans long before Christianity made it a central element of its own traditions. The Christian celebration eventually won our over whatever had gone before. The Longest Night service at West Hill, celebrated on the Winter Solstice each year, was born that winter. It is a gathering that acknowledges the waning of the light and the darkness that too often prevails in our world through stories and readings that place our privilege in perspective. And it is a gathering that is also filled with beauty and wonder, as a pool of light is created, one tealight at a time, by those who recommit to making a difference. At the same time as we weave together images of light and darkness, we hold to some of the deeply formative elements of the traditional story, the significance of birth and the fragility of the dreams, and the possibilities inherent in them. Birth emerges out of darkness. Primitive communities knew this and early Christians wove stories around such truths. And so, sprinkled with all the joy and “magic” we have long associated with the season, the Longest Night became a service that reminds us of the wonder we each are, born as we are, into limitless possibility. A candlewick bracelet is slipped onto each wrist, and every participant is reminded, “You are the light of the world.” As participants disperse into the night, they take that responsibility with them and are reminded to see each person they meet as exactly the same thing: a light in the darkness, a possibility unfolding. I stand in awe In 2012, my partner, Scott Kearns, dove into the spirit of the season and wrote a new song to be sung to the tune of “O Holy Night”. “A Winter’s Night Carol” has been sung at West Hill each Longest Night since, with the congregation soaring as they sing the final lines of each verse. It has been a powerful addition to this new and beautiful tradition. A Winter’s Night Carol Tune: Cantique de Noel Traditional Song: O Holy Night Out in the night, with myri’d stars above me, I walk alone on a pathway of snow. Trees bending low, their sparkling branches laden, and all is bright ‘neath the moon’s tender glow. And hidden deep the promise of the springtime with summer’s warmth to follow in its time. Myst’ry it is – this rolling of the seasons. I stand here in awe – at the wonder of this world. I stand in awe – at life, this life sublime. Out in the night, with myri’d stars above me, I seem alone, yet there’s life all around. Creatures asleep and others now awak’ning to search for food and to care for their young. And far away in ocean depths and jungle the whole wide earth is teaming with its life. Myst’ry it is – this pageant of the living. I stand here in awe – at the wonder of this world. I stand in awe – at life, this life sublime. Out in the world, with myri’d lives around me, I’m on my own path but not all alone. Though far apart, we share this life together; the needs of one are the needs of us all. And ‘round the world are those that offer comfort, and millions lend their hands to conquer pain. Justice their cause – compassion is what moves them. I stand here in awe – at the wonder of this love. I stand in awe – at love, this love sublime. Ever may this be – the reason for our living; the wonder of life and the wonder of this love. I stand in awe – at life and love sublime. Scott Kearns © 2012 R. S. Kearns(1),(2) Light shines within us in the darkest night When we held our first Longest Night gathering in 2010, there was no intention to replace our Christmas service. But the following year, the committee responsible for our inspirational gatherings decided to discontinue the traditional celebration on Christmas Eve altogether. The Longest Night had been exceptionally well received, drawing participants from across our city and beyond. It has since become our signature seasonal celebration and Longest Night services have been popping up all over as others, within and beyond traditional congregations, find purpose in gathering on this darkest of nights. Perhaps, seventeen centuries or so after Christmas was scheduled for the darkest night in the northern hemisphere, we have once again found something else to refocus our attentions, to rekindle hope for this evolutionary experiment we call humanity. Perhaps, deep in our winters, north in December, south in June, we can find reason to remind ourselves of the light that shines within us, our own love, the full value of which is only realized when it is utterly spent. Perhaps, long, long ago, we knew that already. ~ Rev. 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. ---------------------- (1) A Winter’s Night Carol is included in the collection Sing It Forward: Traditional Hymns Recast and Rewritten for Religious and Humanist Communities, by Scott Kearns and Gretta Vosper. Copyright permissions extend to all use excluding printing for publication without permission of the copyright holder (2) Scott and I had spoken, once, about writing words that would allow the song to be sung in the Southern Hemisphere at Christmas but I’m not so sure that is the point. Maybe it is in the cold and the dark that we are most powerfully drawn together, gathering strength from one another. Maybe it is time to unmoor the importance of the return of the light from the Christian festival that has overshadowed it for so long. Question & Answer Charles T. from the Internet asks: Question: Sir, with all due respect, you shared well concerning how Jesus did not die because of sins. Please share your views on the reason or why Jesus died. Answer: Fred C. Plumer Dear Charles, I do not know the actual reason that Jesus was killed. The Bible gives us some hints when you remove some of the theology that was added over the next two hundred years in its development. It is difficult for people living in modern society to imagine the conditions the Jewish people were living under Roman rule. Most of the Jews had suffered terrible treatment by the Roman soldiers and the Romans in general. And if you lived in Galilee, a distance in those days, it could be even more difficult. The Galileans lived in a hilly area, full of big boulders and caves. The men were known to be excellent “street fighters” who would create a fracas near the city and get the soldiers to follow then into the hills and then attempt to slaughter as many of them as they could, hiding behind the boulders and in the caves. But they paid a price for these activities. Galileans were particularly hated or feared by the Roman soldiers, and as a result were treated accordingly. Also it is important to understand that when Jesus went into Jerusalem, it was during the Passover Holy day. This is was and is a very important celebration of the Jews escaping Egyptians slavery. Every year, for decades, this was one of the most turbulent times in the region. Most of the Jews were trying to eke out a living farming what land they still had and paying taxes to the Romans. Many of them had to give up owning their land and essentially becoming tenant farmers to the Empire because, in part at least, they could not pay their taxes. And here they were supposedly celebrating being freed, no longer slaves to the Egyptians but they knew they were slaves again. During these holidays, Rome would send an additional 10,000 soldiers to surround the city and they were instructed to kill anyone who did not seem like they were following orders. Do not kid yourself. There were no courts, no judges, and no leniency for the Jews, if they tangled with a Roman soldier. And finally, it is clear that the act of crucifixion was used as an intimidating tool by the Romans, as it was by the Syrians rulers before them. There were five entrances into the city that could be quickly closed off. However, the Romans would pick a spot near any of the gates for the crucifixion. They would normally let the bodies hang there for days, waiting for the men or women to die and then for the birds to eat the flesh. It is estimated that in most cases, it took days for the “criminals” to die. Death by crucifixion was, by Roman law, supposed to be reserved for those who had done a serious crime but one of the most serious crimes was insurrection, defying Roman rule. These crucifixions were done in such a way that anyone going into Jerusalem would have to pass one of those crosses. There were literally thousands of men, women and even children killed in this manner. Sadly, crucifixion was not unusual and it had been that way for hundreds of years. Jesus chose to walk into the city on this high intensity day. Did the Romans assume his being there was reason enough? Did the Romans kill him because he supposedly claimed to be the King of the Jews? Did they arrest and kill him because he would not bend his knee to the Roman rule? Was it the fracas in the Temple with coin changers? Was he part of a plot or suspected of being part of a plot to defy the Emperor? Was he just caught up in a raid of trouble makers from Galilee? I cannot tell you but I assure you if there is any truth in our Gospels, Jesus gave them plenty of reasons to be put to death. But I prefer to believe that he was not an intentional martyr but one who believed his own words, “Do not be afraid.” He risked his life on behalf of others and lost his own life. He spoke truth and loved people he tried to save. We should all live that way. I hope this helps you understand better. If you would like more details I would recommend Bandits, Prophets and Messiahs, by Richard A. Horsley with John Hanson. Trinity Press, International. 1999 ~ Fred C. Plumer Read and share online here About the Author In 1986 Rev. Plumer was called to the Irvine United Congregational Church in Irvine, CA to lead a UCC new start church, where he remained until he retired in 2004. The church became known throughout the denomination as one of the more exciting and progressive mid-size congregations in the nation. He served on the Board of Directors of the Southern California Conference of the United Church of Christ (UCC) for five years, and chaired the Commission for Church Development and Evangelism for three of those years. In 2006 Fred was elected President of ProgressiveChristianity.org (originally called The Center for Progressive Christianity - TCPC) when it’s founder Jim Adams retired. As a member of the Executive Council for TCPC he wrote The Study Guide for The 8 Points by which we define: Progressive Christianity. He has had several articles published on church development, building faith communities and redefining the purpose of the enlightened Christian Church. His book Drink from the Well is an anthology from speeches, articles in eBulletins, and numerous publications that define the progressive Christianity movement as it evolves to meet new challenges in a rapidly changing world. __________________________________________________ Bishop John Shelby Spong Revisited Making Much of What Cannot Matter Much to God I ask my readers’ indulgence this week as I roam over some of the terrain of my own ministry. My reminiscence revolves around a simple phrase: “when we would make much of that which cannot matter much to God.” These words have echoed in my mind for at least 50 years. I associated them primarily with one of my genuine heroes, a man named John Eldridge Hines, who served as the presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church from 1964 to 1973. In my opinion John Hines was the greatest Christian leader my church produced during the entire 20th century. He used these words to open almost all of his sermons. I had heard it from him so many times that I simply assumed that he had coined the phrase. A thousand times during my career as a bishop as I watched the Christian Church in operation, ‘making much of that which cannot matter much to God,” has been the phrase that immediately pops into my mind. Recently I gave a series of lectures at Christ Church in Dayton, Ohio, and met there the Rev. Gordon Price, the rector emeritus of this very impressive congregation. Gordon Price is 88 years old. He has been retired for 22 years but he is still vital, alive and his mind is as clear as a bell. He is one of those quintessential Episcopalians whose memory spans not just his own life, but through him the past seems to flow into the present. He knew personally those heroes of church life on whose shoulders the 20th century stood. This familiar phrase happened to come up at dinner and in that conversation, I attributed the words to John Hines. “I don’t think that is correct,” Gordon said immediately. “I believe Will Scarlett is the one who wrote those words.” Now non-Episcopalians might think themselves back in the world of Robin Hood, but Will Scarlett was also the name of the Episcopal bishop of Missouri in the early part of the 20th century. He was a mighty force in America as a confidant of Franklin D. Roosevelt, from the time of his bout with polio in the 1920’s until he presided over the president’s funeral in 1944. He was also a powerful exponent of what came to be called ‘the social gospel,’ and as such developed a close friendship with the influential liberal theologian Reinhold Niebuhr, who shaped mainline theology in America, as did no other figure during the decades of the depression and World War II. Will Scarlett had even offered the position of Dean of the Episcopal Cathedral in St. Louis to the non-Episcopalian, Protestant Niebuhr, a dramatically controversial if exciting step at that time. Niebuhr declined but later, with his brother H. Richard Niebuhr, German born theologian Paul Tillich and Old Testament scholar James Muilenberg all working under the deanship of Henry Pitt Van Dusen, he helped to turn Union Seminary in New York into the Mecca of theological institutions in the western world. Attributing this oft-quoted line to Bishop Scarlett made sense to me for he was John Hines’ mentor, role model and close friend. John indeed served under Bishop Scarlett’s direction early in his career when he was rector of Trinity Church in Hannibal, Missouri, the town Mark Twain made famous by using it as the setting for his popular novels about the adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn. If John Hines had gotten this prayer from Will Scarlett, it was an authentic line. However, Gordon Price was too careful a historian of oral church lore to lean only on memory and supposition so when he went home that evening he researched this line. The source turned out to be neither Hines nor Scarlett but Willard L. Sperry, the dean of the Harvard Divinity School, who was a contemporary and friend of Will Scarlett. When he presented me the next day with a complete text of the Sperry prayer, fully documented, I was delighted. It was like finding an old friend to discover the true source of a quotation that had meant so much to me for so long. I share with my readers the context in which this single, provocative line was born: “Give to us, O Lord, A right discernment between that which comes first in our faith and that which follows after. And when we would make much of that which cannot matter much to thee, recall us to the heart of our Christian profession, Jesus our Lord. Amen. I began to think anew about what those words might mean if contemporary Church life could be viewed through their lens. Sometimes the message of the Church is so inanely petty. I think of the recent dispute between a particular Catholic family whose child has an allergic reaction to wheat. This family asked their priest if their daughter might receive a communion wafer made with rice flour instead of wheat so that she could continue to receive the Sacrament. Instead of simply granting this request in a pastorally sensitive way, the pastor sent the decision up the hierarchical chain of command to the Vatican itself. From on high the ruling came down that “wheat was required for the Sacrament to be valid.” It seems that Jesus used bread made of wheat. Rice flour, presumably, cannot be the bearer of the ‘body of Christ!’ The Vatican was making much of that which cannot matter much to God. How much, do you suppose, does God get excited by proper liturgy and how God’s people worship? Yet in the history of Christianity no battles have been more emotional and drained more energy than liturgical battles. Look at the way worshipers have responded when prayer books or worship manuals have been altered or revised. Some people were quite sure that God could not be worshiped apart from the Latin language when the reformation embraced the vernacular in the 16th century and when the Roman Catholics finally gave up the Latin Mass in the 20th century. Tiny groups of Episcopalians still gather in protest worship services around the 1928 Book of Common Prayer. Many Anglicans in England stand ready to defend to their deaths the 1662 version of the Book of Common Prayer. Inside both Roman Catholicism and Anglicanism people abandoned their congregations and even their faith, in some cases, in protest over these changes. The Latin Mass is still quietly celebrated in known places in America, England, France and Italy with faithful, if aging, constituencies gathered. They claim that God must always be addressed “in the original language” of our faith. That is like the elderly lady, who is supposed to have said to the young pastor when he read the lessons in church from a modern version of the Bible, “Son, if King James’ English was good enough for Jesus, it should be good enough for you.” Is this not making much of that which cannot matter much to God? Look next at the battles that Christians have fought over denominational loyalties and those strange claims made by various groups to be “the only true church.” What divides Episcopalians, Lutherans, Presbyterians and Roman Catholics in the immigrant population of the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand today is not some great theological principle or truth but rather which country in Europe shaped our various ancestors. Episcopalians or Anglicans came originally out of an English heritage. Lutherans tend to be descended from those who migrated from Germany or Northern Europe and Scandinavia, Presbyterians generally are descendents of people from Scotland and Roman Catholics normally reflect the heritage of Ireland, Italy and Southern Europe. Jesus did not know there was an England, a Scandinavia, a Scotland, an Ireland or an Italy. But disciples of Jesus have far too often acted as if these tribal distinctions are the essence of the gospel. As Dean Sperry suggested, we have “made much of that which cannot matter much to God.” On and on we could go. Dean Sperry’s words call us to judge institutional Christian life by a very different standard from the one churches so often use. Why do we not ask, “Does this contentious issue have any ultimate significance? Does this debate serve the cause of Christ?” Do most of the things that churn our life in the Church today, from the ecumenical movement to the uninformed hostility toward gay and lesbian people not fall into the category of minor importance? Why can we not admit that no person and no church has the competence to define God? No one can tell another person who God is or what God is. That is simply not within the human capacity. All any of us can ever do is to tell another how we believe we have experienced the holy, the divine. Even then we need to face the fact that we might be delusional, for too many people seem to think they experience a God of division and violence. This also means that no church can claim that its leader is infallible or that its Bible is inerrant. No religious tradition can claim that it has cornered the market on salvation so that its adherents can say, “No one comes to the Father” but through our religious system. No one can brand those whose opinions are contrary to the traditional content of one’s faith as heretical, since nobody possesses the true faith. There is no such thing as that which the Epistle of Jude sought to establish, namely, “a faith once delivered to the saints.” Every religious war is an aberration within the human consciousness. Every heretic burned at the stake was nothing other than an act of murder. Every fundamentalism is based on idolatrous claims as its adherents identify their tiny understanding of truth with the truth of God. Every religious fanatic and every religious terrorist is finally someone who covers evil with piety. The marching orders for Christian disciples seem to be recorded in the words of Jesus when he was said to have defined his purpose. Jesus did not come to make us religious, moral or orthodox, he came to give us abundant life. That is the entire purpose of religion everywhere unless we are those who insist on “making much of that which cannot matter much to God.” Thanks, Gordon Price, for helping me identify Willard L. Sperry as the source of the words that I have quoted for years and that I believe must be the standard by which Christianity will live in the future. ~ John Shelby Spong Originally Published October 20, 2004 Announcements ProgressiveChristianity.org is a small non-profit trying to do big things ... this newsletter is one of them! Please consider supporting us during our annual campaign, every donation helps!

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Global Buzz December 2017
by ICA International 05 Dec '17

05 Dec '17

Enjoy catching up with what is happening in ICAs across the globe.....If you wish to SEND a report...send to your ICA contact person OR...go to the members section on the ICA International website Please click the link below for the latest issue of the Global Buzz Global Buzz Report: December 2017 or copy and paste this URL into your browser's address bar http://globalbuzz.icai-archives.org/7dayreport-17/2017-12-01.php ICAI Communications

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11/30/17, Plum/Spong: Back to the Forties; Spong revisited
by Ellie Stock 30 Nov '17

30 Nov '17

HOMEPAGE MY PROFILE ESSAY ARCHIVE MESSAGE BOARDS CALENDAR Back to the Forties Fred C. Plumer Well here we go again, friends, facing another Christmas. The big stores are posting huge advertisements, notifying us of major sales, playing Christmas music and of course wherever you go there is a Santa Clause. It has been that way for a couple of weeks. It seems to me that this phenomenon starts earlier every year. I cannot help but wonder what Jesus would say if he returned today and observed the way we celebrate his so-called birthday. He was born poor, was always poor, and spoke primarily to the poor. Obviously large shopping malls are fighting for every dollar they can find, now primarily for survival as the on-line competition grabs more of the sales every year. Literally hundreds of big store malls have closed in the last few years. CNN Money recently posted a report by Credit Suisse, suggesting that between 20% and 25% of American malls will close within the next five years. That kind of plunge would be unprecedented in the nation’s history. But that does not stop the internet from picking up where the big stores left off. And we cannot avoid it. It is currently impossible to go online for a simple search without contending with Christmas ads, telling us about all of the money we can save by buying more things. And beware, if you click on any of these ads, you are doomed to seeing more and more advertisements about that product, or something similar, every time you go back on your computer. We are spending more money at Christmas per capita every year accept for 2008-9 which was the lowest point in our modern depression. Consumers say they will spend an average $967.13 this year, according to the annual survey conducted by Prosper Insights & Analytics for the National Retail Federation and released this week. That’s up 3.4 percent from the $935.58 consumers said they would spend when surveyed at the same time last year. That totals somewhere around a trillion dollars consumers will spend for the Christmas season. This occurs in spite of the fact that nearly 40% of our populations is under water-if they had to pay off the credit cards, student and auto loans. The current average credit card debt is approximately $11,000 per household. We are a consumer society, there is no way of getting around it. And there is no better time to observe it than right now. And the really sad thing is most of the things we buy, will become some form of junk that needs to be disposed of in a few months. And we call Christmas a time for joy, happiness, peace on earth, and good will to all. But if it is such a happy time, why do so many people fall apart during the Christmas season. Mental health professionals refer to the holiday season as the most difficult time of year for them. People just seem to get mentally sicker this time of year. On top of whatever has caused this run away consumerism, as a progressive Christian, I have some other issues with Christmas. First, why are we celebrating Jesus’ birth on December 25th? We know he was probably born between 6 and 4BCE and we also know he was not born in December. One of the things scholars point to in order to justify a different date is from the book of Luke, Chapter 8. It states “The shepherds were in the fields keeping watch over their sheep.” There were no shepherds in hills of Israel during the winter. There were other reasons but the point is that we do not know when his birthday actually is. This may have been why the early Christians did not celebrate Jesus’ birthday until the fourth century. Up until that point, the most important holiday on the Christian Calendar was Easter. Then as Christianity began to grow in the Roman world, church leaders had to contend with a popular pagan holiday, commemorating the “birthday of the unconquered sun” (natalis solis invicti)–the Roman name for the winter solstice. At the same time, Mithraism–worship of the ancient Persian god of light–was popular in the Roman army, and the cult held some of its most important rituals on the winter solstice. It was around this time the Roman Emperor Constantine I converted to Christianity, in 312. He soon sanctioned Christianity, and more than likely instructed church leaders to appropriate the winter-solstice holidays and thereby achieve a more seamless conversion to Christianity for his subjects. So December 25 became the birthday of Jesus Christ. So the fact is, we are celebrating natalis solis invicti, not Jesus’s birth or even Santa Claus’ birth. And then there are the carols. When I go to a candle light service, which I truly hold dear in my heart, we are sometimes lucky enough to hear a decent sermon. Then we start to sing about the “virgin birth,” or the King of All, Joy to the World, or Silent Night Holy Night, or O Holy Night. Well you get the idea. Yes, I do go now and then, and I have learned to view the words symbolically not literally. I tell myself that this is just a song and some of them still stir something in my soul, even if my head is spinning. Now do not get me wrong. I love Christmas. My wife thinks I am a “Bah Humbug” kind of guy, but in most of my adult years I have struggled with many of these thoughts. What happened to the birthday of Jesus who was definitely poor and spoke intelligently of ways to survive when poor? What happened to the Jesus, the compassionate one? What happened to a simple Christmas that we have turned into a shopping frenzy? Where is the spirituality of the season or even the day? What happened to the Christmas of my youth? OK, that was a long time ago. I was reared in the early forties and fifties when we were either in a war or were trying to recover from the war. But I remember a very different kind of Christmas. My earliest memories of Christmas happened a couple of years before WWII came to halt. My father was working at Douglas Aircraft, helping build bombers, and was given a deferment as a result. Although I did not know it, I suppose we were poor, certainly by today’s standards. In the very beginning my parents would wait until Christmas Eve, after we had gone to bed, to decorate the tree. I learned much later in my dad’s life, he had made a deal with a friend at the tree lot to get a “free tree” if he waited until the last day before Christmas. My brother, sister and I always got one special present and something in our stocking. Sometimes it was a pair of jeans or possibly a whole outfit, which means we were also gifted with a matching shirt or blouse. We also knew we were going to get some candy in our stocking, along with a couple of tangerines and some nuts. We could not have been happier. But our real Christmas started when we got to my grandparents’ house. This is where my happiest Christmases happened. My mother had two sisters and a brother. She was the oldest of the four, so it seemed like every year there would be another cousin to play with. The adults had a family rule. Usually at our Thanksgiving dinner, each of the parents in our families would pull a name from a hat, with one of the other family’s name. They were to give that family a gift and that was the only one they would give to the rest of the family for Christmas each year. The kids would get little presents from the families but it was not about gift giving, it was about being together. The gift exchange did not take us very long. We would have a wonderful meal, clear the tables and sing all of the Christmas carols for at least an hour. Every one of my mom’s family were members of a church, so it was beautiful music, usually sung in two or three parts. We kids would always have a play or a song to sing for the adults. It was delightful and rewarding and I will never forget it. Most of all it was simple, with no stress. I spent every Christmas at my grandparents’ house until I was in my senior year of college. I never wanted to miss it. I still dream of a Christmas like that. So is there any way to solve my dilemma. OK, I can ignore the incorrect birthdate of Jesus. It is just a day and I just have to give up trying to bend it to my understanding of his birth. Like I said, I actually like celebrating Jesus’ birth. I guess I am just tired of the craziness that seems to go along with it. I know I am not going to change the way other people celebrate Christmas. But I do not have to spend $967.13 on gifts this year, or contribute to the trillion-dollar total that we will spend as a society. This may be the answer for a few of us but I am still having a hard time with the Jesus we are celebrating. I do not have to get involved with the Christmas chaos. I can avoid shopping malls and the Black Friday specials. Although my wife does most of our Christmas shopping, she does 90 percent of it on-line today. That is one problem solved. Secondarily, I might feel better if I got more in touch with the historical Jesus as opposed to the Christ of faith. Jesus of Nazareth was born a human and died a human. However, by the second and third centuries we turned him into a god or part of a god. Throughout the centuries, he became a multifaceted icon. He could be a soldier or a pacifist, a teacher or poet, a powerful ruler or servant of the needy. “The historical Jesus has not only been overwhelmed by the theologically inspired Christ, but for all practical purposes has been replaced by a culturally driven image.” (1) Today serious scholars and progressive Christians recognize most of the differences between the Jesus of history and Christ of faith, except around Christmas time. If we want to look seriously at the story of Jesus of history, we must first let go of the idea he was God or part of the Godhead. Only when we move toward the more real Jesus, can we begin to understand why we celebrate his name every year. Remember Jesus was a prophetic teacher and preacher, and was a man of extraordinary faith. For us to truly understand this, we have to let go of the idea that as God he would have no need for faith. But we have a pretty good idea that Jesus struggled, he doubted and he wept just like the rest of us. And when we begin to understand this, only then can we understand what an incredible thing it was for him, as a moral person, to maintain his deep faith, in spite of his difficult life. Like other Jews of his time, Jesus had to reconcile his faith in a God who promised freedom, while he was experiencing living in a hostile, occupied country. I can celebrate that. Thirdly, I need to be reminded that Jesus was poor, worked with the poor, preached and taught the poor. He set an example that can be followed today. His incredible faith carried him through some extraordinary times and events. When I was in seminary, in the early 1980s, I worked for a year and a half at the Potrero Hills Neighborhood Center. I was one of two whites, on a staff of over twenty people who worked at this very busy center. We primarily serviced the large black community that lived in the projects nearby. I became literally blind to my color, sometimes to a fault, and every day felt a sense that I was really doing something important and meaningful. I have never felt closer to Jesus. When I graduated, I was offered fulltime job at that center. I contacted one of my black friends at my seminary and told him I wanted some advice. He had observed me at work at the center, and one time when I taught a class in his mostly Black church. When I asked him what he thought I should do, he asked me if I read Malcom X’s book. I told him yes. Then he proceeded to remind me of the passage when Malcom X was talking to an interviewer. He had been asked about a negative comment Malcom X had made years before. Malcom X then said, “I wish I had told them come do what you can do but when you learn something, go back to your people and teach them what you have learned.” I got his point and proceeded to find another job opportunity. And I did teach what I had learned. There are many opportunities to work with the underprivileged and the poor. I think if I do more of that, Christmas could be more real, more productive and bring me closer to the real Jesus. And finally, when we celebrate Christmas, we celebrate a very important birth. And no matter what we have done with his story, my guess is young Jesus would have had no idea about his life, what he would achieve, or its ending. But as he evolved and moved through the stages of his life, his faith grew, his wisdom developed, and his absolute trust in whomever he perceived as God, was strengthened. Although he never intended to start a new religion, it happened. As a result we inherited a safer, more loving, and more just society. Now I can celebrate that. ~ Fred C. Plumer, President ProgressiveChristianity.org Read the essay online here. About the Author In 1986 Rev. Plumer was called to the Irvine United Congregational Church in Irvine, CA to lead a UCC new start church, where he remained until he retired in 2004. The church became known throughout the denomination as one of the more exciting and progressive mid-size congregations in the nation. He served on the Board of Directors of the Southern California Conference of the United Church of Christ (UCC) for five years, and chaired the Commission for Church Development and Evangelism for three of those years. In 2006 Fred was elected President of ProgressiveChristianity.org (originally called The Center for Progressive Christianity - TCPC) when it’s founder Jim Adams retired. As a member of the Executive Council for TCPC he wrote The Study Guide for The 8 Points by which we define: Progressive Christianity. He has had several articles published on church development, building faith communities and redefining the purpose of the enlightened Christian Church. His book Drink from the Well is an anthology from speeches, articles in eBulletins, and numerous publications that define the progressive Christianity movement as it evolves to meet new challenges in a rapidly changing world. (1) Rescuing Religion, John Van Hagen, Polebridge Press 2012 Question & Answer Janet from Adelaide, Australia writes: Question: Are there parts of the Old Testament that are said to be relevant today and why? Answer: Bishop John Shelby Spong Dear Janet, The question you pose is far too complex to lend itself to a simple yes or no answer. The Old Testament is a library that contains 39 unique and different books. These books were written over a period of perhaps a thousand years. They represent a wide variety of types of literature. Some are descriptions of tribal history. Some are filled with liturgical and ethical injunctions; some are interpreters of history; some are wisdom literature; some are poetry; some are the writings of prophets; some are protest literature. There is no doubt that parts of this body of sacred literature are eternal and therefore relevant to us today. Other parts are so clearly time bound as to be totally irrelevant to our world today. The issue is how does one separate the wheat from the chaff. The first step is not to impose a literal agenda on this literature that comes from a nation of storytellers. The second is to recognize the time span between the event being described and the description. For example, if Abraham actually was a person of history, he lived about 1850 B.C.E. but the stories about Abraham were not written for at least 800 years. Moses lived around 1250 B.C.E. but everything we know about Moses was written some 300 years later. Third, one should expect the attitudes and knowledge of the past to be reflected in ancient records. So it is that in the Bible women are inferior; women are the property of men; homosexuals are to be executed; slavery is morally possible; sickness is caused by sin; the earth is the center of the universe; God lives above the sky, etc. etc. None of these assumptions do most of us today find either relevant or edifying. But when Moses escaped his tribal identity and began to see God as a universal presence; when Hosea discovered that he loved his wife even when she had become a prostitute and recognized in that experience the love of God for his wayward nation; when Amos saw justice as the other side of worship and worship as the other side of justice, that book is profound and relevant. The Bible in this way leads us through its very human words to glimpse the reality behind all that is. Those are the moments when we hear the "word of God" in the biblical tradition. I treasure the Old Testament. I do not read it literally nor should you. I reject much of it as no longer having relevance for my life. But I read it seriously and ask what does this mean? Why was it preserved? Where does this touch life? That is how its insights emerge. ~ John Shelby Spong Originally published March 10, 2004 Read and Share Online Here __________________________________________________ Bishop John Shelby Spong Revisited Do we have the moral right to choose to die? Is death a natural and normal part of human life or is it an enemy that we must always seek to defeat? That is an issue being debated today in religious circles, pitting traditional religious groups, most notably the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church and leading Protestant Fundamentalists, against the rapidly growing movement of those who seek to secure the option that has been called "death with dignity" or "compassion in dying." Both of these are titles of organizations made up of people who advocate the legalization of physician-assisted suicide. In the state of Oregon this debate has reached the status of becoming an option guaranteed by law. Attorney General John Ashcroft has thus far made two unsuccessful attempts to overturn this decision that was ratified twice by the voters of Oregon. This is interesting behavior for a representative of an administration that claims to stand for the rights of states and consequently for decreasing the power of the federal government. One should not, however, expect consistency in politics. As medical science continues to push back the barriers of finitude and expand the possibilities of longer life, the intensity of this battle is bound to rise and these two vastly different points of view will more and more find themselves on a collision course. Let me begin this discussion by acknowledging that there is no doubt that, given the way the Judeo-Christian faith story has traditionally been understood, the religious establishment of the western world will normally be opposed to making changes in this arena. The creation story, with which the Bible opens, says that life is the property and gift of God. The decision, therefore, as to how and when a person is to die is not one, this point of view asserts, that any human being can ever take from God's hands. This theme is confirmed again and again throughout the pages of Holy Scripture in the distinct negativity that is expressed toward suicide. So, this religious mentality tells us, physician-assisted suicide can never be defended as a human choice or a human right by Christian people. That is why many religious leaders regard it as an immoral decision that must not only be avoided, but should not even be debated. As the religious argument develops, the case is made that in the Bible death is defined as God's punishment for human disobedience of the divine will that corrupted the perfect creation. In the ancient, primeval legend of the first human beings, Eve, who was presumably born to immortality, responds to the tempting serpent with these words: "God said that if we eat of the fruit of this tree, we will surely die." Death was contingent on her behavior; it was not her natural destiny. But this story proclaims that she and her husband Adam in fact did eat of this forbidden fruit and, true to God's promise, they lost eternity and entered mortality. From that day to this, says the tradition, the inevitably of death has been the punishment and fate of us all. Paul, a major architect of the early Christian faith, built on that definition when he wrote in his first Epistle to the Corinthians that death is the "last enemy" to be destroyed. Paul saw the life of Jesus as one who had, on the stage of history, taken on this enemy and defeated it, thus breaking the power of death that had plagued human life from the dawn of creation. As Christian theology developed, these ancient Hebrew narratives, which Paul viewed as literal events in history, came to be thought of as founding myths or legends, but their hold on truth was still not disputed. The Church almost universally taught that people were born with the stain of Adam and Eve's "original sin," and it was our destiny to endure its consequences. So all were to be victimized by death. That is still today bedrock, traditional Christian thinking. Christian baptism was developed to wash away the damning stain of 'original sin' into which each newborn infant was born, and thus to enable each baptized Christian to participate in Christ's victory over death. That is why the Church taught for centuries that the unbaptized baby was doomed though all eternity. It was a very effective fear tactic that the Church used to enhance its power. The fourth century theologian Augustine gave this concept of original sin its ultimate power, when he used it to develop what most people still regard as traditional Christian doctrine. The fact that all human beings died was proof to Augustine that all lives were lived in the sin of Adam, with no capacity to save themselves. He then portrayed Jesus as the divine rescue operation, sent from God to accomplish what only God could do. Jesus' death on the cross became the moment when the price of sin was paid, and the story of Jesus' resurrection became the sign that the punishing power of death had, in fact, been broken. The Eucharist, the Lord's Supper or the Mass became the liturgical re-enactment of this drama of salvation, which had been effected on Good Friday and Easter. Each generation could, in worship, newly appropriate the salvation that God had wrought. It was a neat and consistent system and it gave order to western religion for almost 2000 years. It has only one major problem, but it is of such magnitude that it now renders this whole theological viewpoint both dated and inoperative. This understanding of the origin of evil is simply not true either literally or metaphorically. We were not created perfect; we have rather evolved from lower forms of life. We did not fall into sin; we are rather just not yet fully human. We do not need to be rescued from a fall that never happened, nor can we be restored to a status we have never possessed. Life is naturally mortal. Immortality is not something that human beings have lost. The unique thing about human life is that we live in the constant knowledge that it is our natural destiny to die. If Christianity is going to survive in a generation with a very different consciousness, it must address these key issues. Today, it is easy for us to understand how ancient people related to the ever-present specter of death. It was a constant reality. No one seemed to die in his or her old age. Death always seemed premature whether it came in battle or by way of sickness. In a world that knew nothing of germs or tumors, death was always interpreted as a punishing visitation from God. Sickness was treated in those days with prayers and sacrifices to appease an angry Deity. It is hard for us to step into these presuppositions of our ancestors; so profoundly different is our understanding of the world. Slowly over the centuries, sickness and disease have been both demystified and secularized. If germs cause sickness, antibiotics are developed to counter the germs. If tumors grow abnormally in our bodies, we discover them with x-rays or MRIs, then we shrink them with radiation, treat them with chemotherapy or excise them with surgery. If our blood becomes infected, we transfuse the whole system or cleanse that blood outside the body. If kidneys fail, we hook the body up to a dialysis machine to do their work. In these processes we have pushed death not out of life but at least to the edge of life, where we might look at it with more objectivity than our ancestors were able to do. The result is a radical transformation in the way modern people think of death and this has tempered our long-standing obsession with and fear of death. The first conclusion we have to draw is that St. Paul was surely wrong about death. Death is not an enemy, not even the last enemy. Death is an inevitable part of life and even of creation, which is called good. It is not the first time, nor the only time, that Paul has been declared wrong although those, who have turned the Bible into a semi-divine inerrant book, are always bothered and defensive about such charges. Nonetheless, in the western world today, it is widely assumed that Paul was wrong about women and wrong about homosexuality. He is also now seen as wrong about death being punishment and thus the final enemy to be defeated. Death is in fact the power that gives life its urgency, its ultimate meaning. It is a natural and normal part of the life cycle that must be embraced as a friend not resisted as an enemy. As the shadow side of life, death walks with us from the moment we are born. Death pressures life, making it imperative that we not postpone saying "I love you," or fail to rush to heal a broken relationship. It urges us to struggle now, not tomorrow, to build a better world. Death rings the bell on all our procrastination. It keeps life from being what someone called "an endless game of shuffleboard." We rejoice when medicine pushes back the domain of death and expands the length and quality of our days. When the skills of modern medicine, however, reach the edges of their competence, they cease this noble task and begin only to postpone the inevitability of our natural dying. That is a very different reality. It is this reality that makes it necessary to face radically new choices and to make radically different decisions. This is the frontier that modern men and women are now confronting, and it is the source of the tension in the current religious debate. When life meets its ultimate limits and is threatened with a choice between unbearable pain and a meaningless state of existence, it should be, I believe, the patient's choice to embrace death by directing the doctors to end that existence. Those of us, who have taken from the hand and mind of God the power to expand life's boundaries so dramatically, must now also discover the appropriateness of taking from God's hand the right to decide how and when we will die. It is a salute to life's beauty; a tribute to life's sacredness, and that makes it, in my mind, a profoundly ethical decision. It is a decision based on the definition of life as holy, while still taking seriously the new consciousness to which human life is only now awakening. The right to end one's life with dignity and with appropriate medical assistance is still a minority opinion opposed by most religious systems. However, I believe it is destined to become a majority opinion that will be embraced by the people of God, newly emancipated from fear. I welcome it. ~ John Shelby Spong Originally published October 6, 2004 Announcements It’s easy to become disheartened by the injustice, tragedies and natural disasters unfolding in our communities and around the world… join the FREE online Vision 2020 Summit, presented by The Shift Network — December 5-7, 2017 — where you’ll discover a laboratory for the future, an incubator of genius, a catalyst for birthing new possibilities to create a world that works for ALL. You’ll find more than 60 leaders — including Dolores Huerta, Marianne Williamson, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, Sister Jenna, Stephen Dinan, Rev. angel Kyodo williams, Joan Blades, Shariff Abdullah, Michael Lerner, Andrew Harvey and many others — revealing bold visions and strategies for shifting our world, scaling up our influence and impact and making new possibilities as attractive, successful and imitation-worthy as possible. 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Death of Yap Kim Hao
by Dharmalingam Vinasithamby 16 Nov '17

16 Nov '17

DearColleagues, Yap KimHao, the man who provided the Ecumenical Institute the umbrella for itsactivities in Malaysia in the 60s and 70s , died at the age of 88 in Singaporethis morning. He became the first Asian bishop of the Methodist church inMalaysia and Singapore in 1968.Those of us who worked in Malaysia and Singaporein those years will know how important his support was to us. Thanks to him, wewere able to use Rev Kjell Knutsen’s residence as the KL Religious House. Hewas a progressive thinker in a denomination stuck in the two-storey universe.He spent the last few decades of his retirement in Singapore where he workedwith various groups such as the Inter Religious Organisation and those fightingfor gay rights. Dharmalingam

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Forrester/Spong: Participating in the Song of Life; Spong revisited
by Ellie Stock 16 Nov '17

16 Nov '17

HOMEPAGE MY PROFILE ESSAY ARCHIVE MESSAGE BOARDS CALENDAR Participating in the Song of Life Kevin G. Thew Forrester, Ph.D. ...After days of labor, …mute in my consternations, I hear my song at last, and I sing it. As we sing, …the day turns, the trees move. ………………“I go among trees and sit still,” Wendell Berry The first lines of John’s gospel proclaim that “in the beginning was the Word,” and that “all things came into being through the Word.” We can hear these words literally as an historical assertion claiming that at some distant point in ancient times – the initiation of time – the Word (whatever that might mean) came into being as a kind of medium through which all else that has come to be was created. My sense is that misses the poetic thrust of this mystical writer. Rather, I understand John to have experienced that not only in the beginning of each and every experience we have, but in the middle and culmination as well, there is this mystery he identifies as “the Word.” But for most of us, most of the time, the beginning, middle and end of our experience is not experienced as of some mysterious Word (again, whatever that might mean). Rather the vast majority of our experiences are generated by, sustained by, and understood in terms of, fear (that is usually unconscious). Fear cannot only paralyze us, fear can thrust us into fight or spur us into a hasty retreat. Peter Levine, in his magisterial and at times elegantly written book on trauma, In An Unspoken Voice: How the Body Releases Trauma and Restores Goodness, offers a testament in part to the power of fear to compel and compromise us, body and soul. When some animals are threatened with death by a predator, such as an opossum, we commonly describe their paralyzed reaction as “playing dead.” But there is no play involved here at all. The overwhelmed nervous system is thrown into a last resort for survival, and all but shallow breathing shuts down as the brain stem takes control. Sometimes it works, and the predator loses interest. Sometimes it fails, and the opossum is some other creature’s meal. More often, the last-ditch survival mechanism of paralysis is not necessary. Rather, as the large and swift savannah cat attacks its prey, the hearts of the antelopes accelerate their beat, sweat pours forth, breathing becomes rapid, pupils dilate, and the animals instinctively run or actively defend. As humans, when our nervous systems become overwhelmed we can become catatonic. We don’t choose to become immobile. Rather, our system shuts down as a last-ditch effort to survive. As with our evolutionary relatives existing on the Serengeti, more often than not, such extreme reaction isn’t necessary. But all too often we experience our interactions of day-to-day life as if we were still striving to survive in the wild; at least that is how our experiences register in our nervous system. We have an interaction with our boss; we have an argument with our spouse; our daughter fails to arrive at home with the family car by 11 pm and now it is 2 in the morning; our parent is suffering from dementia. More often than not, before we are even aware, our hearts have quickened, our breathing stopped or accelerated, we sweat, our head aches, and we are primed to flee or quarrel. We feel compelled to at least do something to change what we currently experience as untenable. Fear, whether manifesting as flight or fight, expresses itself in and through the compulsion “to do” something to change what is. Ironically, we would rather die than not do, because we experience our non-doing as a kind of death by being overwhelmed by life. And so, fear compels us to find something we can do to change the circumstances we find to be too much to handle. We don’t know how to receive what life is presenting us. To take this one step further, fear, which surrounds and imbues our experience, has us convinced that the mystery we call God is not present in our frightening condition. We feel compelled to act in some way in order to get to a place where we hope God will be present. If God were present, fear-controlled reason concludes, then we would able to rest and let be where we are. To begin to get a sense of how pervasive fear is in Western culture, we need to recognize how thoroughly we have become a society of doers. We are utterly convinced that thru doing will we be saved. As I said, we would rather die than not do. To fail to do – and to not do does register in our beings as failure – is to leave us in the seemingly intolerable position of vulnerability and at the apparent whim of a capricious universe. Even more, in our fear, which compels us to be beings who try to control life, we reduce the mystery of God, the Beloved, into a divine-doer; just like us, only much bigger and much stronger, and invulnerable. All of which brings us back to the reforming experience and spiritual insight of the community in which the gospel of John was written. This vulnerable group, feeling besieged in a turn-of-the-century culture whose seams are somewhat frayed, somehow realizes that before fear, and more profound and powerful than fear, is their experience of the Word, holding everything they are undergoing: threat from Imperial Rome, discord with the Jewish Synagogue, tense relations with other fledgling communities of the early Christ movement. But what is meant by “the Word”? We hear that phrase and it sounds like some “thing.” In the beginning was some thing, some object, called “the Word.” This is an instance where way too much is lost in translation. The Hebrew dabar and the Greek logos connote not some thing, but a dynamic and vibrant mystery. We would do much better to say that “in the beginning was wording.” But that is so clumsy in English and still misses the mark. We draw closer by saying, “in the beginning was speaking.” Using the gerund, which is both a noun and a verb, helps us approach what John’s community was touching upon – a dynamic presence in their lives, always there. We can draw even closer to the true nature of this dynamic by expressing the realization poetically: “in the beginning there was singing from out of the Absolute depths.” When the Divine depths express, what arises is song. Life, John’s gospel is proclaiming, is a singing forth of Being. If you consider a note of music, we can perceive it as an inanimate mark of notation on a page. But as physics reminds us, any thing we observe can be appreciated as a particle or as a wave, so too a note of singing. Each note of life is a divine wave of Being. We, each and every creature, are notes of vibrant music. Creation itself is a symphony Being spontaneously composes moment-to-moment. The intimate quality of this music, however, invites us to experience this singing, so loving and so tender in its true nature, as divine cooing; like a mother humming softly and sweetly to her infant. Neither is really doing anything. They are not doers. They are fluidly participating in one another’s being as the song that is their common life resonates throughout their bodies. The opening words of John’s gospel are an invitation to grow into the wisdom of participating in life as song. Each and every creature that exists is a pulsating note; all things come into being as a wave of divine presence manifesting in unique sonorous beauty. We never know what movement will arise on the breath of the next intonation – a tragedy of Wagner, the joy of Beethoven, the mourning and loss of a Fitzgerald, the playful love of Ellington. We have no control over life’s spontaneous unfoldment. But however Being manifests, the breath of each note is a wave of Boundless Love; the presence within each note is always a tenor of Undying Compassion. The invitation we receive, regardless of the movement of the song, is to learn to participate in, is to learn how to sing, the irreplaceably unique song that is us. ~ Kevin G. Thew Forrester, Ph.D. Read online here About the Author Kevin G. Thew Forrester, Ph.D. is an Episcopal priest, a student of the Diamond Approach for over a decade, as well as a certified teacher of the Enneagram in the Narrative Tradition. He is the founder of the Healing Arts Center of St. Paul’s Church in Marquette, Michigan, and the author of five books, including “I Have Called You Friends“, “Holding Beauty in My Soul’s Arms“, and “My Heart is a Raging Volcano of Love for You” and “Beyond my Wants, Beyond my Fears: The Soul’s Journey into the Heartland“. Question & Answer Sharon via the Internet, writes: Question: An Alabama politician just compared Judge Roy Moore’s “dating” of teenagers to the relationship of an adult Joseph to a teenaged Mary. What does the Bible actually say about Joseph and Mary’s ages? Answer: By Rev. David Felten Dear Sharon, The short answer is, “Nothing.” True, the historical and anthropological evidence suggests that people got married at younger ages back in the day. But outside the brief stories describing how each of them dealt with Mary’s unexpected pregnancy (Luke for Mary and Matthew for Joseph), the Gospels just don’t say much about Joseph and Mary’s everyday lives. But just because there’s nothing in the Bible about their ages hasn’t stopped theologians from speculating on the matter – especially when there are wobbly early church doctrines in need of shoring up. As early as the 2nd century CE, a developing reverence for the figure of Mary led to the creation of the doctrine of her “perpetual virginity,” the idea that Mary was always a virgin, before, during and after the birth of Jesus. This may seem all fine and good, but there’s a fly in that ointment. In Mark 6:3 and Matthew 13:55–56 (along with Galatians and 1 Corinthians), there are clear references to “Jesus’ brothers and sisters.” So, if the church was going to defend the idea of the perpetual virginity of Mary, they had a problem. Where did Jesus’ brothers and sisters come from? Easy. Make Joseph an older man who had children from a previous marriage! Voila! These notions were bolstered by various non-canonical gospels written in the early centuries of the Church. The Protoevangelium of James, probably written around the end of the 2nd century, is one source of the stories suggesting that Joseph was older. At first, Joseph refuses to marry the girl, saying, “I have children, and I am an old man, and she is a young girl. It also makes mention of Joseph’s sons: “And [Joseph] found a cave there, and led [Mary] into it; and leaving his two sons beside her, he went out to seek a midwife in the district of Bethlehem." Add to that the Gospel of Peter and other sources referring to an older, previously married Joseph and whew, Mary’s perpetual virginity is preserved. This narrative not only designates Jesus’ “brothers and sisters” as step-kin, but in a pre-Viagra age, also suggests that a decrepit old Joseph would have been unlikely to even have the capacity to compromise Mary’s virginal state. And that’s the mindset of many conventional Christians to this day. Ironically, most Conservative Christians would condemn the Protoevangelium of James and The Gospel of Peter as illegitimate non-canonical writings, not to be trusted. And yet the only mention of Joseph being an older guy with kids from a previous marriage is from these texts, NOT the New Testament. Oops. But none of this matters for pious blowhards who pronounce pompous claims about the Bible with the expectation that their political power naturally extends to grant them exalted theological credibility, as well. As you’ve mentioned, the latest example of pious blowhardery is one of Judge Roy Moore’s compatriots, Alabama State Auditor, Jim Zeigler. Yes, it’s true. He defended Moore by comparing the beleaguered candidate to Joseph, who he believes was a noble older man who took unto himself the teenaged Mary. So, says he, there’s no problem with Moore’s actions, claiming that it’s all “much ado about nothing,” even if the accusations are true. (?!?) So, despite what appears to be Moore’s increasingly obvious guilt, Zeigler and his ilk leave me asking a question that frequently comes to mind: just how gullible are self-proclaimed Conservative Christians? At the very least, how gullible do the people who claim to represent Conservative Christians think their constituents are? This is not a prejudiced generalization. According to the Tuscaloosa News, Zeigler was the former Chair of both the Conservative Christians of Alabama AND the conservative League of Christian Voters. He has officially, publicaly, and without question, been an official spokesperson for Conservative Christians. So let me ask one more question. How many of these conservative, Bible-believing Christians in Alabama are going to call out Jim Zeigler for misquoting the Bible for his own political gain? I reckon not many. Why? Because, although they claim to revere the Bible and follow its “inerrant truth,” they clearly don’t read it. Well, maybe Revelation. Daniel and John, too. OK, and parts of Genesis – and the juicy bits they claim are about how bad homosexuals are. But the rest? Not so much. The bottom line is that they don’t know enough about the Bible or history or theology to correct Jim Zeigler in his blatant, ignorant, child-molestation-supporting pomposity. He’s a white Republican male in a position of power. In Alabama, it’s clear that they can say or do whatever they want without consequences – even if what they say or do is demonstrably contrary to the very faith they claim to embrace (cf additional scandals involving the Governor and Speaker of the House). And while it now appears that Roy Moore’s wife faked continued support from 50 Alabama pastors, the silence from hapless Conservative Christians and their leaders is deafening. Suffice it to say that Jim Zeigler has absolutely no idea what he’s talking about. Is he just another callous politician making a “hail Mary” reference to what he thinks is in the Bible in order to appeal to his low-information Conservative Christian base? After all, this guy’s stock-in-trade has been, in large part, his Christian bona fides. Unfortunately, whatever he thinks Christianity is about seems a far cry from what Jesus demonstrated in his teaching and actions. When it comes to the alleged molestation of teen girls, Zeigler can’t even seem to muster the empathy inherent in the Golden Rule, let alone a grasp of what the Bible actually says about Joseph and Mary. So here we have yet another cautionary tale supporting my conviction that if you don’t know what’s in your Bible, people like Jim Zeigler can (and will!) take advantage of you. They will make up anything they want about “what’s in the Bible” to support their own narrow political and cultural prejudices. And with no help from their totally compromised and culturally-accommodated pastors, people simply don’t know enough to call #BS or #fakenews. In situations like these, my dream is that some earnest reporter would know enough to ask a follow-up question like, “Mr Ziegler. Your statement claims to suggest that Joseph was an older man in a relationship with a teenage girl. That’s actually nowhere in the Bible. As a Conservative Christian, would you like to comment on why it’s OK to perpetuate something that’s not in the Bible for your own political gain?” Ahh, to dream. Ziegler says of Moore’s situation, “There’s just nothing immoral or illegal here. Maybe just a little bit unusual.” That’s right, just another example of the unusual dynamics of pious Conservative Christians misrepresenting the Bible and defending the authority of older white men to do whatever they want without consequence. I can only hope that Judge Roy Moore’s run for Senate is doomed. Even before the latest revelations of alleged molestation and sexual assault, Moore’s record is a debris-field of oppression, exclusion, and prejudice that lays bare his reactionary, theocratic, and hateful agenda. I suspect that someone like Alabama State Auditor, Jim Zeigler, is too far down the rabbit hole to ever be anything but what he is. But the people of Alabama – especially the Conservative Christians of Alabama – still have a voice. Rejecting such obvious unchristian behavior and hypocrisy seems like a no-brainer. But it will take courage from pastors and others to rise above partisan politics and take a stand for basic human dignity. Thanks for your question – and don’t forget to vote (early and often!) on December 12th! ~ Rev. David Felten Read and share online here About the Author David Felten is a full-time pastor at The Fountains, a United Methodist Church in Fountain Hills, Arizona. David and fellow United Methodist Pastor, Jeff Procter-Murphy, are the creators of the DVD-based discussion series for Progressive Christians, “Living the Questions”. A co-founder of the Arizona Foundation for Contemporary Theology and also a founding member of No Longer Silent: Clergy for Justice, David is an outspoken voice for LGBTQ rights both in the church and in the community at large. David is active in the Desert Southwest Conference of the United Methodist Church and tries to stay connected to his roots as a musician. You’ll find him playing saxophones in a variety of settings, including appearances with the Fountain Hills Saxophone Quartet. David and his wife Laura, an administrator for a large Arizona public school district, live in Phoenix with their three often adorable children. ___________________________________________________ Bishop John Shelby Spong Revisited Were there twelve disciples? – Was Mary Magdalene one of them? Dear Friends, Sometimes I receive a question that requires a whole column to answer. Such was the case with a question received late this summer. I am happy to devote this column to the answer and hope that you find it worthwhile. ......................................................~ John Shelby Spong John Schwally, a journalist film maker in New York City, currently doing research for a film on the future of Christianity writes: “In my research, I have come across some pretty wild propositions regarding Mary Magdalene as Jesus’ wife and apostle. Some of them are quite convincing. Your June 9 column entitled “The Ultimate Source of Anti-Semitism,” seems to have solved a mystery of sorts for me. The Church does not recognize Mary Magdalene as part of the “original 12″ apostles. Well, I have been trying to reconcile the claims that Mary Magdalene was in fact an apostle but how does that work when the number 12 has been consistent in all the writings through the centuries. The answer: Judas is a fiction! By writing Judas into the scenario, the early Jewish Christians were able to separate themselves from the Orthodox Jews under attack from the Romans. At the same time, they were able to relieve themselves of the embarrassment of having a woman, Mary Magdalene, as a leader in their community, all the while keeping with the number of 12 Apostles of Jesus! I was wondering if you thought this theory has any validity.” Dear John, Your theory makes so many assumptions that I need to separate them out and deal with them one by one. First, Mary Magdalene is clearly a significant figure in the Jesus movement. Without doubt she was the leader of the women disciples. The women disciples were not visible in the New Testament until the story of the crucifixion and resurrection scenes where they suddenly emerge, perhaps because we are told that all “the (male) disciples have forsaken him and fled.” However, the texts of Mark (15:41), Matthew (27:55) and Luke (23:49) all attest that these women have followed Jesus ‘all the way from Galilee.’ That is, they have always been part of his movement, but, as was the fate of women in that patriarchal society, they were not thought worthy of mention until they became unavoidable. The second thing needing to be examined is what kind of women are these that they were following an itinerant band of men led by an itinerant teacher. Under the prevailing social norms of that place and time, these women could be only one of two things: the wives of the men or prostitutes. Third, Mary Magdalene is certainly portrayed in the gospels, written between 70 and 100 C. E., as a major force in the Jesus Movement. She is the only person that all four gospels agree was at the tomb at dawn on the first day of the week. The Fourth Gospel, which is the only gospel that claims to be based on a first hand eye witness account, says that she was the only mourner at the tomb. This gospel also portrays her as having immediate access to Peter and the other disciples, who were presumably hiding for their own safety after the crucifixion. She knows where they are, goes immediately to them and is granted entrance. Fourth, in this Gospel of John, Mary Magdalene is said to have referred to Jesus with two rather familiar forms of address. To the angels she was said to have answered their question of why she was weeping with the words, “They have taken away ‘my Lord’ and I do not know where they have laid him.” ‘My Lord’ was the title of respect a rabbinic student might use for a revered rabbi. It is also a common title a Jewish woman might use in reference to her husband. Later, when she believed herself to be confronting the Risen Christ, she is said to have responded to him with the title ‘Rabboni’ which is once again the kind of intimate respectful title a woman might use for her revered husband. Fifth, also in John’s Gospel, Mary Magdalene is portrayed as demanding from the person she thinks to be the gardener, not just access but ownership of the body of the deceased Jesus. “Sir, if you have taken him away, tell me where you have laid him and I will go and take him away.” Once again, in Jewish society of the first century, for a woman to demand access to the deceased body of a Jewish male would be quite out of bounds unless she was the nearest of kin. When I put these things together, I think they point to a strong possibility that Mary Magdalene might have been the wife of Jesus, an idea that I published in a book entitled Born of a Woman: A Bishop Rethinks the Virgin Birth and the Place of Women in a Male Dominated Church. This book came out ten years before the Da Vinci Code! There is also some reason for thinking that such an idea would be increasingly uncomfortable when the Church began to move into the dualistic world of Greek thinking that regarded bodies and flesh as something generally evil, and the body and flesh of a woman particularly evil. From the earliest days there was increasing theological pressure on Christian thinkers to see Jesus as the sinless one who, like the sacrificed lamb in the ritual of the Jewish Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur, would be the perfect sacrifice to God. That is Jesus, like the sacrificial lamb, had to be physically perfect with none of his bones broken and morally perfect or, as it would be written about him in the Epistle to the Hebrews, he was “tempted in all things and yet without sin.” Perhaps this assumption is what helped to create the story from the cross, which states that Jesus’ legs were not broken because he had already died. These same expectations would also lead to the suppression of any knowledge about his marriage to Mary Magdalene should they have been married. I think a strong case can be made for the fact that Mary Magdalene’s authority came from her relationship with Jesus as his wife and that is why she was close to his disciples. The next assumption that I think needs to be challenged is that there were ever twelve apostles. That number is certainly present in the tradition and is reflected in the gospels, but as we shall see it was always a rather unstable tradition. Was that an historic memory or was it an apologetic attempt to portray Jesus as the founder of a new Israel, a title by which many in the early church began to call the Jesus Movement? The old Israel had twelve tribes who were said to have been formed by the twelve sons of Jacob, whose name had been changed to Israel after he wrestled with an angel by the river Jabbok. So the New Israel must also have twelve patriarchs who were the disciples of their founder, Jesus. There are many other traditions in the ancient world where religious leaders had twelve disciples who may have been likened to the twelve signs of the zodiac. I am therefore suspicious of the historicity of the number twelve. Even in the New Testament there is confusion about that number for two primary reasons. First the gospels do not agree on who the twelve were. Mark (3:13 -19) and Matthew (10: 1-4) have one list while Luke (6:12-16) and Acts (1:12-14) have another. John never says who the twelve were but has names like Nathaniel who was closely identified with the Jesus movement but who was not on anybody else’s list. In John’s last resurrection story (Chapter 21) he lists only seven disciples. Both Luke and John make reference to a disciple named Judas who was ‘not Iscariot.’ Matthew and Mark seem to know of no such person. If the earliest records we have do not agree on who constituted the twelve apostles, one is forced to wonder about the historicity of the number itself. If the number twelve was added to the tradition after the fact then confusion as to who constituted the twelve would be understandable. John may well have been leaning on an earlier tradition when he used the number seven instead of twelve. My second reason for being suspicious of this number is that even when we have a list of twelve, at least half of them are included by name only. The only apostolic details that we have that would give us any biographical data would be on Peter, Andrew, James, John, Matthew and Thomas. All of the rest are faceless names, necessary to round out the number twelve but not essential to any gospel story line. So I would feel no need to count Magdalene as a disciple in order to restore the number to twelve after the defection of Judas, as if that number had some real meaning. It is worth noting that Luke, writing in the Book of Acts, does say that Judas had to be replaced and that was done by the choice of Matthias, but we need to keep in mind that the Book of Acts was not written until the 10th decade at the very earliest. Given the social norms and the way women were defined in first century Jewish society, it is hard to see how a woman might become part of a male group of disciples. Recall that Mark in chapter six, refers to Jesus’ brothers by name but only says he also had ‘sisters.’ That plural word means more than one but the sisters were deemed not important enough to have their names recorded. Thank you for your question and your interest. I hope you will find these comments helpful in your pursuit of a new understanding of this woman whom the Church has tended to trash throughout history. There is no biblical evidence that Mary Magdalene was ever a prostitute unless you assume that all of these camp following women were prostitutes. I don’t think that case can be made historically. ~ John Shelby Spong Originally posted September 22, 2004 Announcements How would you like to receive a Digital Version of Bishop John Shelby Spong's book The Birth of Jesus for free? ProgressiveChristianity.org, our partner organization that administer's this weekly newsletter, is offering a free copy to anyone who donates $25 or more - now through Thanksgiving as part of their annual campaign. Click here and receive your free copy when you help support ProgressiveChristianity.org's mission to be a portal for all spiritual believers and the authors, scholars, theologians and liturgists who share their resources for the progressive spiritual journey.

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