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ICA International Winds and Waves magazine December 2013
by ICA International 22 Dec '13

22 Dec '13

Any problem reading this message please click or paste this URL in your browser's address bar http://ica-international.org/windswaves-mag/2013-december/vol-3-december-20… Greetings, ICA International is delighted to present the December 2013 edition of the ICA global magazine, 'Winds and Waves'. published 3 times a year and now finishing its third year. This is a growing and organic global project, and is making many connections. You will find that this month's magazine is equally as informative again being filled with reports and stories from the many ICAs around the world. We now have a readership of well over 1400 folk. Winds and Waves is available through the ICA International website in several formats to download or to read on line, (compatible with tablets and smart phones), also a high resolution PDF to download for printing. We encourage you to send Wind and Waves on to your networks. and to contact the authors of the stories you read, to learn more, and to become more involved. If and author's email address is not included with the story, send an email to: rjhutchinson(a)optusnet.com.au. Please follow this link: Winds and Waves Volumes 3 No.3 December 2013 saludos, ICA Internacional se complace en presentar la edición de la Revista de ICA Global denominada "Vientos y Olas" del mes de Diciembre 2013. Esta es publicada 3 veces al año y hasta la fecha se encuentra en su tercer año. A través de esta revista nos encontramos forjando un proyecto global que ha ido creando muchas y nuevas conexiones. Usted encontrará que la revista de este mes es nuevamente muy informativa mostrando los reportes e historias de los diversos ICA alrededor del mundo. Ahora tenemos más de 1.400 lectores de nuestra revista. La Revista "Vientos y Olas" está disponible en el sitio WEB de ICA Internacional en varios formatos para descargar o leer en línea, también hay disponible un versión de alta resolución en PDF para descargar e imprimir. Anímense y envíen la Revista "Vientos y Olas" a sus redes. Por favor, siga este enlace: vientos y olas Volúmenes 3 N º 3 Diciembre 2013 Bonjour, ICA International est heureux de pouvoir vous présenter l'édition du magazine global de l'ICA pour le mois de décembre 2013, 'Winds and Waves,' qui est publié trois fois par an, et qui est maintenant dans sa troisième année.Il s'agit là d'un projet organique à croissance rapide, qui accomplit de nombreuses voies de communication. Vous constaterez que l'édition de ce mois est tout aussi informative et stimulante. Elle est remplie de nombreux rapports et d' histoires qui proviennent de grand nombre d' ICAs autour du monde. A l'époque nous avons un lectorat de plus de 1400 personnes... 'Winds and Waves' est accessible par l'intermédiaire du site web de l'ICA International et est disponible en différents formats: Vous pouvez le télécharger ou lire en ligne; vous pouvez aussi télécharger un PDF à haute résolution en vue d'une éventuelle impression. Nous vous encourageons d'envoyer 'Wind and Waves' en utilisant vos propres réseaux. Veuillez suivre ce lien: WINDS AND WAVES, volume 3 No. 3 Décembre 2013 http://ica-international.org/windswaves-mag/2013-december/vol-3-december-20… Published by The Institute of Cultural Affairs International, 655 Queen Street East, Toronto, Ontario M4M 1G4, Canada. All rights reserved. For more information or to unsubscribe, email: subscriptions(a)ica-international.org

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12/19/13: Spong: Matthew introduces Joseph - The Earthly Father of Jesus
by Ellie Stock 19 Dec '13

19 Dec '13

HOMEPAGE MY PROFILE ESSAY ARCHIVE MESSAGE BOARDS CALENDAR Part IV Matthew Matthew Introduces Joseph - The Earthly Father of Jesus Matthew’s opening genealogy of Jesus is now complete with the intriguing idea that the line which produced Jesus of Nazareth, traveled not only through the royal family of the house of David, but also through four “tainted’ women: Tamar, who engaged in incest; Rahab, who was called a prostitute; Ruth, who achieved her goals through seduction, and Bathsheba, who was an adulterer. After this provocative introduction Matthew then moves on to introduce the rest of the cast of characters who will star in the drama he is about to write! The first of these characters is named Joseph. In the genealogy he was said to be both the son of Jacob and the man who was betrothed to Mary, the mother of Jesus. His role, as defined by Matthew, will be to act as the male protector of the Christ Child and thus to name him, which in Jewish society served to legitimize him. With this Matthean introduction, the character of Joseph enters the Christian tradition and he has remained deep in our affections from that day to this. He is immediately recognized as a strong silent presence standing behind Mary and the baby in a manger in the crèche scenes. We turn our focus now to Joseph, the earthly father of Jesus. I begin this look at Joseph with some biblical facts. First, Joseph as the name of Jesus’ presumptive father had never been mentioned before in any Christian source of which we are aware. Joseph received no mention in Paul, who died before any gospel had been composed. He received no mention in Mark, the earliest gospel. He was not mentioned in Q or the gospel of Thomas, both of which some people argue were written prior to Mark (I am not one of them!). So Matthew is the first person ever to refer to one called Joseph as the father of Jesus. Second, as soon as the birth narratives are complete, Joseph disappears from the Christian scriptures forever. Luke stretches his birth narrative out long enough to relate the account of the boy Jesus, at age twelve, going up to Jerusalem with Mary and Joseph. That is the closest Joseph comes to appearing in the adult life of Jesus and that Lucan story, which seems to be based on a story drawn from the life of Samuel, is widely questioned. The fact is, however, that Joseph never again appears in any gospel account. When I was a child attending Sunday school in my evangelical Episcopal Church in Charlotte, North Carolina, this absence of Joseph from any mention in the life of the adult Jesus was explained by suggesting that Joseph probably died while Jesus was still a lad. The tradition of this early death was reinforced by the nativity scenes painted by the master artists through the centuries. All portray Joseph as a much older man, thus enforcing the possibility of his death in Jesus’ childhood. Joseph’s elderly depiction, however, came into Christianity primarily through a late second century apocryphal gospel known as the Proto-Gospel of James. This narrative purported to tell of the early life of the mother of Jesus, prior to her introduction in the gospel tradition as the bearer of the messiah. This obviously mythological Proto-Gospel of James reflected much later and highly developed ideas about Mary’s virginity, but it became popular as it filled in the gaps of what was at that time thought of as a literal story. In this late second century work, Mary at her birth was handed over to some holy women to raise so that she would be prepared to serve as the vessel in whose womb the Christ Child would be formed. So Mary was not just protected in these early years, she was also formed in holiness. When she reached the age of puberty, however, Jewish society required that she have a male protector. There was no father of Mary in the story, who might have served in this role so these holy women set up a process by which they would choose a proper husband for Mary and thus bring a male protector into the picture. There was one problem, however. Mary’s virginity would have to be honored and protected by whoever was to become her husband. Thus these holy women decided to look only at older men, perhaps widowed men with grown children, and thus presumably too old to be interested in sex. I don’t know how old that is, but it is old! So the pursuit of the perfect husband for Mary was conducted and through a series of miraculous signs, such as his staff sprouting flowers, Joseph became the one chosen. With this story in the tradition, Joseph was forever afterwards portrayed as elderly. So, it was said, his absence in the adult life of Jesus might well be explained by his death early in Jesus’ life. There is, however, another possibility to which I have already hinted, which I would like to examine in more detail. Perhaps Joseph was a literary character created by Matthew to fill a role in the miraculous drama that he was creating about the birth of Jesus to a virgin mother. In his scenario, there was no father to name the baby Jesus and to serve as his protector. Without this protective male presence, this child would have had to deal with the enormous prejudice and social hostility that accompanied one whose paternity was in question. Let me urge you not to resist this idea on first hearing, but to hold your judgment until the evidence is presented. If Matthew was going to create a literary character to serve as the earthly father of Jesus, is there some compelling reason why Matthew would choose to name him Joseph? Well, yes, there is, but one would not know this unless one was aware of Jewish history, as both Matthew, an obvious Jewish writer, and the community for which Matthew wrote, certainly were. The Hebrew people had always been divided into two camps. After the reign of King Solomon, these people split into two competitive nations, Judah in the south and Israel, which came to be known as the Northern Kingdom, in the North. This division of the Hebrew people, however, was far older than even that. Biblical folklore accounted for it by saying that while Jacob, whose name was changed to Israel, was the common father of all the Hebrew people, the two segments of this nation had had separate mothers. Recall the Genesis story in which Jacob was tricked into marrying Leah, the sister of the woman, Rachel, for whose hand in marriage he had worked for seven long years. Leah then became the mother of Judah, whose progeny formed the nation of Judah, while Rachel became the mother of Joseph, whose progeny formed the Northern Kingdom. Recall that the heirs of Levi, who was also a son of Leah, did not form a tribe, but became the Levites, the holy people who crossed all tribal boundaries. So to keep the number of the tribes of the Hebrew people at twelve, Joseph was given two tribes named for his two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh. The other Hebrew tribes were gradually melded into these Joseph tribes. So dominant was the tribe of Ephraim in the North that the Old Testament actually uses the name Ephraim as a synonym for the nation called Israel. So the two major patriarchs in Jewish history were Judah and Joseph. Hebrew folklore portrayed them always as rivals. This is revealed in the Genesis story of Joseph’s favoritism reflected in his coat of many colors, while his brother Judah was portrayed as the one suggesting that he be sold into slavery. Part of the messiah’s task, according to Matthew, was to bring the covenant people together which meant that messiah must unite the tribe of Judah with those of Joseph making a single whole. In the genealogy Matthew had just traced, Jesus’ lineage through David and Solomon to the kings of Judah, which secured Jesus’ connection with the Judah part of the Hebrew nation. To make Joseph the name of the earthly father of Jesus would bring the other half of that nation into the picture. So the heir of the Judean King David was protected and legitimized by a father named Joseph. It was a perfect solution. Judah and Joseph were brought together in this first story of the birth of the messiah. So in Jesus at his birth, Matthew was claiming, that the divided “chosen” nation had become once more in this messiah, one people. Now, if you have journeyed with me this far, let me explore a second question. If Matthew is the creator of the character Joseph, who serves as Jesus’ earthly father, from where did Matthew get the biographical data that he used to build this literary figure? To answer this we look at the details provided for us in Matthew 1 and 2, which are the only places in scripture where we are told anything about this Joseph. There we discover three things. First, Joseph has a father whose name is Jacob. Second, according to Matthew, God only speaks to Joseph in dreams. In a dream God tells Joseph to take his wife for the child within her is holy. In a dream Joseph is warned to escape the wrath of King Herod. In a dream he is told when it is safe to return to their home in Bethlehem. In a dream, he is directed to move the messianic child from Bethlehem to the safety of Nazareth in Galilee. Everywhere in Mathew’s narrative his Joseph is associated with dreams. Last, the role that Matthew assigns to Joseph in this drama is to save the life of the messianic child by taking him down to Egypt. Now go back to the story of the patriarch Joseph in the book of Genesis (37-50) and see what biographical details we can learn about this earlier Joseph. We discover there three things. First, this Joseph has a father named Jacob. Second, this Joseph is overwhelmingly identified with dreams. He is called “the dreamer” and he rises to political power in Egypt by interpreting the dreams of the Pharaoh. Third, his role in the drama of salvation is to save the people of the covenant from death in a famine and he does this by taking them down to Egypt. Do you think these things are coincidental? Or are you beginning to understand the interpretive clue that unlocks the gospels. The gospels are Jewish books that weave the stories of the Hebrew Scriptures around Jesus of Nazareth as the primary means of claiming that he is the expected messiah. To read the gospels literally is to misunderstand them totally. Literalism is a Gentile heresy! The gospels are Jewish books that must be read with Jewish eyes. Nothing reveals this more clearly than the story of Joseph, the earthly father of Jesus. So Joseph is established in the birth narrative. The holy child is born to Mary and when this series resumes, we will turn to the star in the east and the journey of the Magi. ~John Shelby Spong Read the essay online here. Question & Answer Pedro van Marissing, via the Internet, writes: Question: I should like to know how you understand the biblical text about whether is said that Jesus died either for all or for many. In a paper to the German bishops of the Catholic Church a year or so ago the then pope Benedictus XVI authoritatively stated that this text was to be understood to read “for many” and not “for all." Answer: Dear Pedro, I read the four page statement of Benedict XVI to the German bishops in which he sought to settle a dispute among the bishops as to the meaning of this text when it came out. He instructed them in his typical authoritarian style that from henceforth the words of the Eucharist shall not be that Christ died “for all” but “for many.” I must say that I found his argument convoluted and his biblical exegesis in which he states that “Jesus revealed himself as the Servant of God from Isaiah 53….and that Jesus identified himself as the form that the word of the prophet was expecting,” not to be scholarship, but little more than ecclesiastical propaganda. My reading of his words that the "many” stand for the “all,” is something only a Roman Catholic, who is convinced that there is only one true religion and that is Christianity and that there is only one true form of Christianity and that is the Roman Catholic Church, could utter. He has interpreted the text to justify his power. Since I dismiss that kind of language as ecclesiastically nonsensical, it is simply not an important issue to me. I find the paper to be so insignificant that I would not bother to engage his argument. If, however, I believed that I, or the church I represented, possessed the complete truth and must, therefore hold it in its perfect and pristine form, then I suppose that the need for me to control every liturgy, every creed and every part of scripture would be imperative. I regard that stance, however, as delusional first, and as idolatrous, second. It is the language of an out-of-touch religious hierarchy. It is not the language or the tactic of one who lives in and wishes to engage the real world from a Christian perspective. Christianity is a journey through Christ into the mystery of God. If we get to that goal, we will have left Christianity behind, not because it was wrong, but because God transcends the limits of every religious system. Thank you for your question. ~John Shelby Spong Announcements We wish you a Christmas season full of love, laughter and light! This months free eBulletin from ProgressiveChristianity.org is on Winter Liturgy and Mysticism. Sign up here. You may also enjoy this beautiful rendition of Sugar Plum Fairy by GlassDuo, Poland:

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Doug Wilson's wife wrote
by Richard 19 Dec '13

19 Dec '13

Doug Wilson"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us......" In the deepest sorrow I write to inform you that the love of my life, Doug Wilson is dead. Doug fought cancer with courage and gr... 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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Fwd: TOC LoveLetters Xmas
by Sarah H Buss 14 Dec '13

14 Dec '13

Colleagues, If you would like to receive Love Letters to a Mirage in the Desert for a Xmas gift or to sustain your quiet time after, ORDER NOW. Phone Book People 512/472-5050 800/853-9757 Table of Contents is attached. Sarah Sent from my iPad Begin forwarded message: > From: "Sherrell, Terry" <Terry.Sherrell(a)1touchpoint.com> > Date: December 5, 2013 at 6:52:08 PM CST > To: Sarah Buss <sbuss(a)austin.rr.com> > Subject: TOC >

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2014 Directory Delivery late
by Jayandem2＠aol.com 13 Dec '13

13 Dec '13

Dear Colleagues: I imagine if you ordered a copy of the 2014 Directory, you are wondering what has happened to it. We moved over the Thanksgiving week, and with all the preparations, selling our home and buying another one, my computer was down,etc, etc. I am almost ready to take it to the printer, so hopefully you will have it by Christmas. I'm sorry for the delay. For the 15+ years I've been doing this, you got it by the end of November, if you ordered when I first put out the call. By the way, after 13 years at our home in Bradenton, Florida, we moved about 13 miles northeast to Ellenton, Florida. We are now living in Richwood Meadows, a 55+ community of single family homes, and I'm really happy to be in a place where there is a real sense of community, where people are so friendly and helpful. (Remember I was one of the ones who really enjoyed living in "Kemper"!) -- But no elevator to run.... Our new address is 46 Meadow Circle - Ellenton, FL 34222. Our new phone number is (941) 417-7120 Hope you get your Directory soon. Grace and Peace, Mike Tippett

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words to 'Those who wait on the Lord'.
by jsanders＠bconnex.net 11 Dec '13

11 Dec '13

Trish, ask me if I could remember the words to the song, Those Who Wait on the Lord. See her request below. Can someone please fill in some of the verses? Jan Sanders >From Trish: There is a song that Tom liked that we are trying to get the words to. We seem to have other versions but not the one Im looking for. It goes like this: Those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up on wings as angels, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint. Help us, Lord, help us Lord in thy way. Then other verses start with phrases like those who die on the march. . . etc. Im sure you recall how we used to sing that in old EI days. Thanks and love, Trish

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Fwd: Tom Broersma's Passing
by Holcombe Wanda 11 Dec '13

11 Dec '13

Dear ICA/Order Colleagues, I am passing this email message below onto you per Trish's Broersma's request. I remember visiting with Tom a few years ago when we were at the ICA building for the ICA Archives. We have a long history with both Trish and Tom from our ICA/Order days and then again in San Antonio and it is with great sadness that I pass on this email from Trish. As per Trish's last paragraph: The service for Tom is Monday Dec 16 at 11 am at the UCC Church at the corner of Siskiyou and Morton in Ashland......what spoke to him were words of appreciation, so we are planning to deliver a good many of those, (as in fact we have been doing for a long while now). If you’d like to send me words to share with people then, my email address is epohna(a)aol.com. Grace & Peace Wanda Begin forwarded message: > From: Trish Broersma <epohna(a)aol.com> > Subject: Tom Broersma's Passing > Date: December 10, 2013 at 10:36:13 AM CST > To: Wanda Holcombe <wandah70(a)gmail.com> > > Dear Wanda: I don’t seem to have access to a listserv for ICA folks. If there is one, would you please post this? Thank you, Trish > > > Dear Friends: > > Friday morning upon awakening we discovered that Tom (my ex-husband or “wasbund” as he called himself, me the “fife”) made his final transition peacefully in his sleep in the early morning hours. He has been living here at Rice Park with me, our daughter and two grandchildren for the past 5 months. It has been a beautiful time where he helped care for the grandchildren and was in a wonderfully peaceful and happy time of his life, enjoying excellent health. We are all torn with sorrow right now, but at the same time so grateful that we have experienced these happy past few months with him. In recent weeks he has talked of moving on with his work, speaking to us of how peaceful and content he felt about that. > > This photo was taken of him recently with little Gweni who turned two years old a couple of weeks ago. It shows that happiness just perfectly. > > The service for Tom is Monday Dec 16 at 11 am at the UCC Church at the corner of Siskiyou and Morton in Ashland. He recently told us when we were discussing the “languages of Love” that instead of touch, or works of service, or the words “I love you”, that what spoke to him were words of appreciation, so we are planning to deliver a good many of those, (as in fact we have been doing for a long while now). If you’d like to send me words to share with people then, my email address is epohna(a)aol.com. > > In love and friendship, Trish > > > >

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Passing of Rose Anne's grandson
by Lynda Cock 11 Dec '13

11 Dec '13

With permission of Rose Anne, I am posting this very sad notice on our OE list and Colleague Dialogue. Some of you may have seen it on Facebook, but some of us don't see that but would want to be aware of it to share our care with this family. Contact Addresses listed below. With care and prayers, Lynda Cock ------------------ From: coevolutionacademy(a)juno.com [mailto:coevolutionacademy@juno.com] Sent: Tuesday, December 10, 2013 8:42 PM To: llc860(a)triad.rr.com Subject: For the list serve Dear Friends and Colleagues, Blase and I are so deeply heartbroken by the passing away of our precious grandson, Aaron Pena. He died Thursday or Friday, not sure. Angela Boone Kelley, my daughter found him Saturday morning in his room, thinking he was just asleep. He just had his 19th birthday on Monday, December 2. Our family is crushed by this. Aaron was/is very special. His Uncle Ben Sands said, " He was a shining star whose light was too bright for this world." Matthew Sands is also his uncle. Our colleague and close friend Debra Harris said, "Aaron had a HUGE heart. He cared very deeply about the world and other people. And (despite teenage angst) he was destined to be of lifelong service to the planet. At a young age he used to talk about the problems of the world and what needed to be done in a very comprehensive way. He was very spiritual and compassionate- yet private. A very beautiful soul and sensitive young man. We and especially our son Michael, will miss him very deeply. The world will miss the fine gifts and deep service, his capacity to give fully of himself. Namaste Aaron, your light shown too briefly on this sojourn. We bow to you. Until we meet again, Journey on in Spirit- your light still shines fully on the other side of the veil." Our friend Lee said, "We remember the gift of meeting him, touched and inspired by the strength of his sensitivity and receptivity to the unfolding spirit within him, clearly walking strongly on a radiantly rich spiritual path. Such a b...eautiful soul, gifted in many ways and with a very bright future. The future, however, is Now. Even now there is not one mis-taken step from his perspective, and it is our challenge to remain in synch with the unfolding, perfect Plan, to align our hearts with what is Real and True, and to support Aaron - as he comforts us - in a divine Plan which quite easily and understandably our hearts might initially resist. We are all spirit, all of the time, and our interconnection is eternal in the bond of Love, irrespective of whether we are wearing a body or not. We pray for all those who love Aaron, hoping that the Wonder and Vision that are now his, unimpeded, may be felt similarly reflected in our own lives, and that in Love and a confidence born of that Love, we will continue to walk our pathway Home together. " ---Lee Horseman John Boone is also his grandfather and Aaron Boone is his uncle. John's address is in the directory. Aaron's address is: 2242 Custer Lane Covington, KY 41017 He's on Facebook as is Angela and Ben and Matt. Aaron's service will be in Houston on Saturday at Santana Funeral Home. Saturday 12/14 2pm Santana Funeral Home 713-880-2828 5352 Katy Freeway. Blase Sands will be performing the service. Angela's contact info is: Angela Boone-Kelley 14907 Walters Rd. Houston, Tx 77068 email:Kelleya@sbcgloabl.net Blase and my email address is: coevolutionacademy(a)juno.com Our new address in Washington State is: 181 Delmary Rd. Chehalis, WA 98532 I'm giving these because Lynda asked me to. We are off the list serv because we have been consumed with moving and setting our new house up. Aaron was going to come and live with us here in Washington on the river. He loved eagles and I so wanted him to see the bald eagles flying down the river here. He loved Nature. I don't know what to say about flowers, etc. It's still too new and we are still very raw with grief and I don't want to ask Angela right now so If you feel like sending a card or a message or flowers do what you want - or make a donation to an ecological project - Aaron would like that. I felt a need to let you know. Many of you have already sent beautiful, loving messages on facebook and I deeply appreciate that. Much love, Rose Anne Sands ____________________________________________________________ <http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL3142/52a7c320bb2e643201711st03vuc> $29 Cheap Car Insurance Cheapest US Car Insurance Rates! Lowest Rates Start At $28.99/Month UsAutoInsuranceNow.com <http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL3142/52a7c320bb2e643201711st03vuc>

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A Christmas musical treat--beautiful!
by Ellie Stock 10 Dec '13

10 Dec '13

Fwd from a colleague--beautiful! Ellie Here's an wonderful example of the short-term transformation of a temple devoted to earthly power can be changed into a temple devoted to the Mystery's grace and peace. The joy evident on the faces of those who experienced it in person is evidence enough. Joy to the world! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIoSga7tZPg

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15 of Nelson Mandela's best quotes
by Ellie Stock 09 Dec '13

09 Dec '13

Subject: 15 of Nelson Mandela's best quotes http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2013/12/05/nelson-mandela-quo…

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