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GreenRise successes at 4750
by Terry Bergdall 21 May '13

21 May '13

Last week, I invited folks to go online and vote for the rooftop garden project coordinated by a young 21-year old member of the GreenRise Intentional Residential Community at 4750, Joseph Taylor. I am delighted to announce that, with your help, this project won the Ford Community Green Grant today at the Chicago Green Festival, A Project of Green America and Global Exchange. There are similar Festivals happening in Los Angeles (Oct 19-20), San Francisco (Nov 9-10), Washington, DC (Sept 21-22), and New York (April 19-21). The prize was for $5,000. If my attachment is successfully transmitted, you can see a photo from the awards ceremony. Joseph is the tall one in the middle surrounded by supporters. On a related note, we also received notice last week that the GreenRise Building "solar project" has been awarded a $359,000 grant from the Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation to install renewable energy panels on our rooftop. The building at 4750 Sheridan is becoming a VERY high profile embodiment of "green culture" to complement our neighborhood sustainability work across the 77 community areas of Chicago. Terry Bergdall

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Re: [Dialogue] GreenRise successes at 4750
by Singltn＠aol.com 20 May '13

20 May '13

Congratulations, Terry, to All. I'd like to see a picture of the garden. Louise Louise R. Singleton, MSPH 4 Calle Aguila Santa Fe, NM 87508-5996 505-983-7077 email: singltn(a)aol.com In a message dated 5/19/2013 7:03:12 P.M. US Mountain Standard Time, bergdall2(a)gmail.com writes: Last week, I invited folks to go online and vote for the rooftop garden project coordinated by a young 21-year old member of the GreenRise Intentional Residential Community at 4750, Joseph Taylor. I am delighted to announce that, with your help, this project won the Ford Community Green Grant today at the Chicago Green Festival, A Project of Green America and Global Exchange. There are similar Festivals happening in Los Angeles (Oct 19-20), San Francisco (Nov 9-10), Washington, DC (Sept 21-22), and New York (April 19-21). The prize was for $5,000. If my attachment is successfully transmitted, you can see a photo from the awards ceremony. Joseph is the tall one in the middle surrounded by supporters. On a related note, we also received notice last week that the GreenRise Building "solar project" has been awarded a $359,000 grant from the Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation to install renewable energy panels on our rooftop. The building at 4750 Sheridan is becoming a VERY high profile embodiment of "green culture" to complement our neighborhood sustainability work across the 77 community areas of Chicago. Terry Bergdall _______________________________________________ Dialogue mailing list Dialogue(a)lists.wedgeblade.net http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/dialogue-wedgeblade.net

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Re: [Dialogue] GreenRise successes at 4750
by coevolutionacademy＠juno.com 20 May '13

20 May '13

Priscilla, You are kind to mention this. Terry wrote to us and told us it's ok to use the name Kemper as it was our 'home'. But of course we will use the wonderful new name GreenRise from now on - except maybe sometimes with those near and dear who shared a rich history with us at Kemper. Love and Peace, Rose Anne ---------- Original Message ---------- From: Wilson Priscilla <Pris(a)TeamTechPress.com> To: Colleague Dialogue <dialogue(a)lists.wedgeblade.net> Subject: Re: [Dialogue] GreenRise successes at 4750 Date: Mon, 20 May 2013 09:55:25 -0500 I used the word Kemper when I put Terry's announcement on facebook. But I am a creature of habit...not intentionality (not totally true!) Priscilla Wilson On May 20, 2013, at 9:08 AM, R Williams wrote:As I read Terry's announcement about the good news at the 4750 Greenrise building I noticed that he did not use the name "Kemper" a single time. Thinking back, I don't think I've heard him or anyone on the staff mention that name to identify the building, as we used to, in several years. Being the imaginal educators that we are, who understand the power of symbol, I assume all this is intentional on Terry's part. Indicative, I'm sure, of the new times and the new ICA. Randy There are no passengers on Spaceship Earth. We are all crew.-Marshal McLuhan From: "coevolutionacademy(a)juno.com" <coevolutionacademy(a)juno.com> To: dialogue(a)lists.wedgeblade.net Sent: Monday, May 20, 2013 8:40 AM Subject: Re: [Dialogue] GreenRise successes at 4750 Wonderful news! We met and were married in the Great Hall of Kemper 30 years ago. It's fantastic to see the positive evolution and demonstration that sacred space has become. Well done!Blase and Rose Anne Sands---------- Original Message ----------From: Nancy Lanphear <nancy(a)songaia.com>To: Colleague Dialogue <dialogue(a)lists.wedgeblade.net>Subject: Re: [Dialogue] GreenRise successes at 4750Date: Sun, 19 May 2013 22:05:09 -0700What great news!� I remember when it seemed as if our Kemper building was to be sold.� My children were concerned -" it was the only home we had for a while".� These days, the home we had for a while is a dream ( we didn't even imagine what it was for so long) come true with so many good things happening to make it even greater!�In gratitude for the many hearts, minds and hands that have made the dream become a reality.NancyOn Sun, May 19, 2013 at 8:20 PM, Catherine Marsh <catmarsh(a)att.net>wrote:Congratulations! If you have come to help me, you are wasting your time. But if you have come because your liberation is bound with mine - then let us work together." - Unknown Aboriginal Woman --- On Sun, 5/19/13, Terry Bergdall <bergdall2(a)gmail.com> wrote: From: Terry Bergdall <bergdall2(a)gmail.com> Subject: [Dialogue] GreenRise successes at 4750 To: "Order Ecumenical Community" <oe(a)wedgeblade.net>, "Colleague Dialogue" <dialogue(a)wedgeblade.net> Date: Sunday, May 19, 2013, 9:03 PMLast week, I invited folks to go online and vote for the rooftop garden project coordinated by a young 21-year old member of the GreenRise Intentional Residential Community at 4750, Joseph Taylor.� I am delighted to announce that, with your help, this project won the Ford Community Green Grant today at the Chicago Green Festival, A Project of Green America and Global Exchange. There are similar Festivals happening in Los Angeles (Oct 19-20), San Francisco (Nov 9-10), Washington, DC (Sept 21-22), and New York (April 19-21). The prize was for $5,000. If my attachment is successfully transmitted, you can see a photo from the awards ceremony. Joseph is the tall one in the middle surrounded by supporters. On a related note, we also received notice last week that the GreenRise Building "solar project" has been awarded a $359,000 grant from the Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation to install renewable energy panels on our rooftop. The building at 4750 Sheridan is becoming a VERY high profile embodiment of "green culture" to complement our neighborhood sustainability work across the 77 community areas of Chicago. Terry Bergdall-----Inline Attachment Follows-----_______________________________________________Dialogue mailing listDialogue@lists.wedgeblade.nethttp://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/dialogue-wedgeblade.net _______________________________________________ Dialogue mailing list Dialogue(a)lists.wedgeblade.net http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/dialogue-wedgeblade.net ____________________________________________________________ Fast, Secure, NetZero 4G Mobile Broadband. Try it._______________________________________________Dialogue mailing listDialogue@lists.wedgeblade.nethttp://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/dialogue-wedgeblade.net_______________________________________________ Dialogue mailing list Dialogue(a)lists.wedgeblade.net http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/dialogue-wedgeblade.net Priscilla H WilsonPris(a)TeamTechPress.com913-432-2107www.teamtechpress.com ____________________________________________________________ Fast, Secure, NetZero 4G Mobile Broadband. Try it. http://www.netzero.net/?refcd=NZINTISP0512T4GOUT2

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Re: [Dialogue] GreenRise successes at 4750
by coevolutionacademy＠juno.com 20 May '13

20 May '13

Wonderful news! We met and were married in the Great Hall of Kemper 30 years ago. It's fantastic to see the positive evolution and demonstration that sacred space has become. Well done! Blase and Rose Anne Sands ---------- Original Message ---------- From: Nancy Lanphear <nancy(a)songaia.com> To: Colleague Dialogue <dialogue(a)lists.wedgeblade.net> Subject: Re: [Dialogue] GreenRise successes at 4750 Date: Sun, 19 May 2013 22:05:09 -0700 What great news!� I remember when it seemed as if our Kemper building was to be sold.� My children were concerned -" it was the only home we had for a while".� These days, the home we had for a while is a dream ( we didn't even imagine what it was for so long) come true with so many good things happening to make it even greater!� In gratitude for the many hearts, minds and hands that have made the dream become a reality. Nancy On Sun, May 19, 2013 at 8:20 PM, Catherine Marsh <catmarsh(a)att.net> wrote: Congratulations! If you have come to help me, you are wasting your time. But if you have come because your liberation is bound with mine - then let us work together." - Unknown Aboriginal Woman --- On Sun, 5/19/13, Terry Bergdall <bergdall2(a)gmail.com> wrote: From: Terry Bergdall <bergdall2(a)gmail.com> Subject: [Dialogue] GreenRise successes at 4750 To: "Order Ecumenical Community" <oe(a)wedgeblade.net>, "Colleague Dialogue" <dialogue(a)wedgeblade.net> Date: Sunday, May 19, 2013, 9:03 PM Last week, I invited folks to go online and vote for the rooftop garden project coordinated by a young 21-year old member of the GreenRise Intentional Residential Community at 4750, Joseph Taylor.� I am delighted to announce that, with your help, this project won the Ford Community Green Grant today at the Chicago Green Festival, A Project of Green America and Global Exchange. There are similar Festivals happening in Los Angeles (Oct 19-20), San Francisco (Nov 9-10), Washington, DC (Sept 21-22), and New York (April 19-21). The prize was for $5,000. If my attachment is successfully transmitted, you can see a photo from the awards ceremony. Joseph is the tall one in the middle surrounded by supporters. On a related note, we also received notice last week that the GreenRise Building "solar project" has been awarded a $359,000 grant from the Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation to install renewable energy panels on our rooftop. The building at 4750 Sheridan is becoming a VERY high profile embodiment of "green culture" to complement our neighborhood sustainability work across the 77 community areas of Chicago. Terry Bergdall -----Inline Attachment Follows----- _______________________________________________ Dialogue mailing list Dialogue(a)lists.wedgeblade.net http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/dialogue-wedgeblade.net _______________________________________________ Dialogue mailing list Dialogue(a)lists.wedgeblade.net http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/dialogue-wedgeblade.net ____________________________________________________________ Fast, Secure, NetZero 4G Mobile Broadband. Try it. http://www.netzero.net/?refcd=NZINTISP0512T4GOUT2

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Re: [Dialogue] GreenRise successes at 4750
by coevolutionacademy＠juno.com 20 May '13

20 May '13

Oops! I guess that's a mistake on our part - but at the time we met and were married it was Kemper. It is nice to see it continually transforming into the new. ---------- Original Message ---------- From: R Williams <rcwmbw(a)yahoo.com> To: Colleague Dialogue <dialogue(a)lists.wedgeblade.net> Subject: Re: [Dialogue] GreenRise successes at 4750 Date: Mon, 20 May 2013 07:08:11 -0700 (PDT) As I read Terry's announcement about the good news at the 4750 Greenrise building I noticed that he did not use the name "Kemper" a single time. Thinking back, I don't think I've heard him or anyone on the staff mention that name to identify the building, as we used to, in several years. Being the imaginal educators that we are, who understand the power of symbol, I assume all this is intentional on Terry's part. Indicative, I'm sure, of the new times and the new ICA. Randy There are no passengers on Spaceship Earth. We are all crew.-Marshal McLuhan From: "coevolutionacademy(a)juno.com" <coevolutionacademy(a)juno.com> To: dialogue(a)lists.wedgeblade.net Sent: Monday, May 20, 2013 8:40 AM Subject: Re: [Dialogue] GreenRise successes at 4750 Wonderful news! We met and were married in the Great Hall of Kemper 30 years ago. It's fantastic to see the positive evolution and demonstration that sacred space has become. Well done!Blase and Rose Anne Sands---------- Original Message ----------From: Nancy Lanphear <nancy(a)songaia.com>To: Colleague Dialogue <dialogue(a)lists.wedgeblade.net>Subject: Re: [Dialogue] GreenRise successes at 4750Date: Sun, 19 May 2013 22:05:09 -0700What great news!� I remember when it seemed as if our Kemper building was to be sold.� My children were concerned -" it was the only home we had for a while".� These days, the home we had for a while is a dream ( we didn't even imagine what it was for so long) come true with so many good things happening to make it even greater!�In gratitude for the many hearts, minds and hands that have made the dream become a reality.NancyOn Sun, May 19, 2013 at 8:20 PM, Catherine Marsh <catmarsh(a)att.net>wrote:Congratulations! If you have come to help me, you are wasting your time. But if you have come because your liberation is bound with mine - then let us work together." - Unknown Aboriginal Woman --- On Sun, 5/19/13, Terry Bergdall <bergdall2(a)gmail.com> wrote: From: Terry Bergdall <bergdall2(a)gmail.com> Subject: [Dialogue] GreenRise successes at 4750 To: "Order Ecumenical Community" <oe(a)wedgeblade.net>, "Colleague Dialogue" <dialogue(a)wedgeblade.net> Date: Sunday, May 19, 2013, 9:03 PMLast week, I invited folks to go online and vote for the rooftop garden project coordinated by a young 21-year old member of the GreenRise Intentional Residential Community at 4750, Joseph Taylor.� I am delighted to announce that, with your help, this project won the Ford Community Green Grant today at the Chicago Green Festival, A Project of Green America and Global Exchange. There are similar Festivals happening in Los Angeles (Oct 19-20), San Francisco (Nov 9-10), Washington, DC (Sept 21-22), and New York (April 19-21). The prize was for $5,000. If my attachment is successfully transmitted, you can see a photo from the awards ceremony. Joseph is the tall one in the middle surrounded by supporters. On a related note, we also received notice last week that the GreenRise Building "solar project" has been awarded a $359,000 grant from the Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation to install renewable energy panels on our rooftop. The building at 4750 Sheridan is becoming a VERY high profile embodiment of "green culture" to complement our neighborhood sustainability work across the 77 community areas of Chicago. Terry Bergdall-----Inline Attachment Follows-----_______________________________________________Dialogue mailing listDialogue@lists.wedgeblade.nethttp://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/dialogue-wedgeblade.net _______________________________________________ Dialogue mailing list Dialogue(a)lists.wedgeblade.net http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/dialogue-wedgeblade.net ____________________________________________________________ Fast, Secure, NetZero 4G Mobile Broadband. Try it._______________________________________________Dialogue mailing listDialogue@lists.wedgeblade.nethttp://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/dialogue-wedgeblade.net ____________________________________________________________ Fast, Secure, NetZero 4G Mobile Broadband. Try it. http://www.netzero.net/?refcd=NZINTISP0512T4GOUT2

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Re: [Dialogue] GreenRise successes at 4750
by ALICE M BAUMBACH 19 May '13

19 May '13

I am so proud of all who have worked on the GreenRise project! It is what the world needs now. Alice Terry Bergdall <bergdall2(a)gmail.com> wrote: >Last week, I invited folks to go online and vote for the rooftop garden >project coordinated by a young 21-year old member of the GreenRise >Intentional Residential Community at 4750, Joseph Taylor. > > >I am delighted to announce that, with your help, this project won the Ford >Community Green Grant today at the Chicago Green Festival, A Project of >Green America and Global Exchange. There are similar Festivals happening in >Los Angeles (Oct 19-20), San Francisco (Nov 9-10), Washington, DC (Sept >21-22), and New York (April 19-21). The prize was for $5,000. If my >attachment is successfully transmitted, you can see a photo from the awards >ceremony. Joseph is the tall one in the middle surrounded by supporters. > > >On a related note, we also received notice last week that the GreenRise >Building "solar project" has been awarded a $359,000 grant from the >Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation to install renewable energy >panels on our rooftop. The building at 4750 Sheridan is becoming a VERY >high profile embodiment of "green culture" to complement our neighborhood >sustainability work across the 77 community areas of Chicago. > > >Terry Bergdall > >_______________________________________________ >Dialogue mailing list >Dialogue(a)lists.wedgeblade.net >http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/dialogue-wedgeblade.net

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Re: [Dialogue] Vote For Rooftop Garden!
by MirjaH＠aol.com 16 May '13

16 May '13

In a message dated 5/16/2013 2:13:13 P.M. Central Daylight Time, jsloan45(a)gmail.com writes: Thomas, my kids and I did the same thing Elsa. Don't forget your smart phone also. On Thu, May 16, 2013 at 1:56 PM, Sunny Walker <_sunwalker(a)comcast.net_ (mailto:sunwalker@comcast.net) > wrote: Just FYI, the ICA write-up is not a grabber. I’ll put something in as an idea in a bit. From: _dialogue-bounces(a)lists.wedgeblade.net_ (mailto:dialogue-bounces@lists.wedgeblade.net) [mailto:_dialogue-bounces@lists.wedgeblade.net_ (mailto:dialogue-bounces@lists.wedgeblade.net) ] On Behalf Of Elsa Batica Sent: Thursday, May 16, 2013 12:51 PM To: Colleague Dialogue Subject: Re: [Dialogue] Vote For Rooftop Garden! You can vote more. In my house, I voted from my laptop and iPad, my husband's laptop and iPad, our daughter's laptop. 5 votes every day Sent from my iPad On May 16, 2013, at 12:44 PM, Jeanette Stanfield <_jstanfield(a)ica-associates.ca_ (mailto:jstanfield@ica-associates.ca) > wrote: Great Terry. It was easy to vote and I can continue to vote once a day. Cheers, Jeanette On Wed, May 15, 2013 at 4:39 PM, Terry Bergdall <_bergdall2(a)gmail.com_ (mailto:bergdall2@gmail.com) > wrote: Joseph Taylor is a member of the GreenRise Residential Community at 4750 and he asked me to forward his message to my friends. He wrote; "As part of the Green Festival at Navy Pier this weekend in Chicago my Grant proposal is in the running along with five other finalists for the Ford Community Green Grant. Online voting for the winner has begun and you can vote once per day. Vote and spread the word to help receive funding for our Community Garden!" There are no geographical boundaries for this online voting, so please consider supporting Joesph and the community roof top garden at 4750 by voting for it via the following link: http://greenfestivals.org/chi/fcgg-chi Thanks, Terry _______________________________________________ Dialogue mailing list _Dialogue(a)lists.wedgeblade.net_ (mailto:Dialogue@lists.wedgeblade.net) http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/dialogue-wedgeblade.net _______________________________________________ Dialogue mailing list _Dialogue(a)lists.wedgeblade.net_ (mailto:Dialogue@lists.wedgeblade.net) http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/dialogue-wedgeblade.net _______________________________________________ Dialogue mailing list _Dialogue(a)lists.wedgeblade.net_ (mailto:Dialogue@lists.wedgeblade.net) http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/dialogue-wedgeblade.net _______________________________________________ Dialogue mailing list Dialogue(a)lists.wedgeblade.net http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/dialogue-wedgeblade.net

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Vote For Rooftop Garden!
by Terry Bergdall 16 May '13

16 May '13

Joseph Taylor is a member of the GreenRise Residential Community at 4750 and he asked me to forward his message to my friends. He wrote; "As part of the Green Festival at Navy Pier this weekend in Chicago my Grant proposal is in the running along with five other finalists for the Ford Community Green Grant. Online voting for the winner has begun and you can vote once per day. Vote and spread the word to help receive funding for our Community Garden!" There are no geographical boundaries for this online voting, so please consider supporting Joesph and the community roof top garden at 4750 by voting for it via the following link: http://greenfestivals.org/chi/fcgg-chi Thanks, Terry

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5/16/13, Spong: Birth of Jesus, Part XIV. The Old Testament Antecedents in Luke's Story of Jesus' Birth
by Ellie Stock 16 May '13

16 May '13

HOMEPAGE MY PROFILE ESSAY ARCHIVE MESSAGE BOARDS CALENDAR Birth of Jesus, Part XIV The Old Testament Antecedents in Luke's Story of Jesus' Birth In order to understand the birth narratives found in Matthew and Luke, we need to embrace the fact that there is no way these stories were intended to be regarded as remembered history or as narratives that were literally true. That must be stated clearly. This means that there never was a star in the east or wise men who followed it. There never was a heavenly host of angels who sang to hillside shepherds. There never was a miraculous birth. These stories are memorable, engaging and fanciful, but neither Matthew nor Luke believed themselves to be recording something that actually happened at the time of Jesus’ birth. They knew that they were creating narratives in which they used symbols to interpret the adult experience the community’s leaders had had with one named Jesus of Nazareth. The proof of this is realized when we discover how much stories from the Hebrew Scriptures rather than eye witness accounts were used to provide the content of their birth narratives. Matthew’s story of the wise men, for example, was originally the creative work of an imaginative preacher, who combined Isaiah 60 with the story of the visit of the Queen of Sheba to King Solomon (1 Kings 10) with some other illusions from the story of Balaam and Balak (Numbers 22-24). When we turn to Luke’s story, we discover that time after time he drew on accounts in Genesis with other toe-dips into such sources as the books of Daniel, Exodus and Malachi. It is an exciting adventure to unravel this biblical mystery story. Luke’s narrative begins with the birth of John the Baptist and one knowledgeable of the Hebrew Scriptures will immediately see here a familiar Jewish story. First, the parents of John the Baptist are introduced. Their names are Zechariah, a priest of the order of Abijah, and Elizabeth, a “daughter of Aaron,” who was both the brother of Moses and the first high priest of the Jewish nation. Both Zechariah and Elizabeth are described as righteous people, who “followed the laws of God in a blameless way.” They were now elderly, childless and thus without an heir. This, in a typically patriarchal way, was blamed on the woman, who is called “barren.” No one knew anything in those days about low sperm counts. Readers familiar with the book of Genesis will recognize this story as a retelling of the Genesis story of Abraham and Sarah prior to the conception of Isaac. Then the story of John the Baptist unfolds. Zechariah’s division of the priesthood was on duty to perform the sacred functions in the Temple. By lot, the opportunity to burn the incense in the Holy of Holies fell to him. This was considered a moment of intense meaning and high honor. A multitude of people waited outside for this ritual to be completed. People are always drawn to moments when mystery fills the air. Inside, however, Zechariah was delayed by what we are later to learn was a revelatory vision. An angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing on the right side of the altar of incense. Typically, Zechariah fell away in fear. The angel spoke telling him not to be afraid that his prayers for a child had been heard and that Elizabeth would bear a son. This son, the angel says, will accomplish great things working “in the spirit and power of Elijah.” Zechariah is incredulous. “How shall I know that this is so? My wife and I are well advanced in years.” In Genesis, Sarah was said to have been 90 years old and “past the time of women.” Identifying himself as Gabriel, the angel gives Zechariah a sign. “You will be unable to speak until the child is born. That too elicited Jewish scriptural memories. In the eighth chapter of Daniel, Daniel also had a vision of the Angel Gabriel in the Temple and following this vision he was commanded not to speak. These stories are been replicated. This episode took up so much time that the crowd of worshipers began to wonder what was happening. What went wrong? When Zechariah finally appeared and was unable to speak, their wonder was greatly enhanced. They speculated that he must have had a vision, but its content was not disclosed to them. Zechariah then completed his priestly duties and returned to his home. There, we are told, Elizabeth conceived and hid herself for five months, while she rejoiced that the Lord has “taken away my reproach among men.” Assuming that this story is not history, we ask why was it that Luke decided to name the parents of John the Baptist Zechariah and Elizabeth. Names are always clues in interpretive tales. There are a number of Zechariahs in the Hebrew Scriptures, but the most important one is the prophet, whose work is recorded in the “Book of the Twelve,” also called the minor prophets. Zechariah is the next to last book in the Old Testament followed only by the book of Malachi. Malachi is not the name of the author of this book, but is rather a Hebrew word that means “my messenger.” “Malachi” is thus a nameless voice whose task is to be the messenger, who “prepares the way for the coming of the Lord.” The book of Malachi relates this messenger to Elijah and, as we noted earlier, the angel says to Zechariah that the promised child will come “in the spirit and power of Elijah.” If John the Baptist is thus to be identified with Malachi, the nameless messenger who prepares the way for the Lord, then why not signal that fact by giving John’s father the name Zechariah, the name of the immediate predecessor of Malachi? Luke sends a message with this name. It was not accidental. What then about his mother Elizabeth? That is a little more difficult, but not impossible to demonstrate. There is a clue in Luke’s text where Elizabeth is said to be “a daughter of Aaron.” There is only one other Elizabeth in the entire Old Testament, where the name is written not Elizabeth but Elisheba. That single Elisheba is the wife of Aaron, which also makes her a sister in-law to both Moses and his sister Miriam. Miriam plays a major role in the story of the Exodus and a song of triumph is attributed to her after the successful crossing of the Red Sea. Is Luke going to pattern the family of Jesus after the analogy of the family of Moses? I believe he does and this conviction opens up Luke’s interpretive genius. Be aware first that in Hebrew, Miriam, when translated, would be “Mary.” Next note that only in Luke in the entire New Testament is there any sense that Jesus and John the Baptist are kin. In the 14th century, John Wycliffe suggested they were cousins. The sole hint of relatedness is found in the story that Luke tells of the Annunciation by Gabriel to Mary when she learns that she is to be the mother of the Holy Child. In that annunciation, Gabriel uses these words: “your kinswoman, Elizabeth, in her old age, has also conceived a son and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren.” If Luke’s analogy for Elizabeth was Aaron’s wife, Elisheba, and if Aaron’s sister Miriam was to be Mary, then Elizabeth and Mary were going to be the mothers of these two promised children; one, the first born destined to be the forerunner, and the other, the second born, the messiah. They would then have clearly been first cousins. Luke then has Mary, pregnant with Jesus, go into the hill country of Judah to visit her “kinswoman,” Elizabeth, pregnant with John the Baptist. Here one other interpretive experience occurs. There is a fetal salute. The baby in Elizabeth’s womb leaps to salute the baby in Mary’s womb, which means that the issue of priority is settled before the birth of either. What in the world does that mean? When the gospel of Luke was written there was obviously tension between the Jesus movement and the John the Baptist movement. That tension is reflected in the book of Acts. Jesus originally was a follower of John. John had baptized Jesus according to the first three gospels. It was only when “the Baptist” was imprisoned that Jesus broke forth as a leader in his own right. Some of Jesus’ disciples had come to him after having been disciples of John. So the disciples of Jesus felt a need to establish the priority of Jesus. Luke accomplishes that by suggesting that there had been a fetal salute that established Jesus’ superiority. From where do you suppose Luke got the idea for that story? Again we turn to the Hebrew Scriptures. There is only one other story in the entire Bible in which a baby leaps in its mother’s womb in a way that meaning is attributed to that action. It too is found in the book of Genesis. In chapter 25 Rebekah, the wife of Isaac was pregnant. When the baby leaped in her womb, she went to an oracle to help her understand what this leaping meant. There she was informed that she was having twins and that the meaning of the fetal leap was to establish the fact that the first born of the twins, who would be named Esau, would actually serve the second born of the two, who would be named Jacob. Luke takes this Genesis story and transforms it. Jesus and John the Baptist are not twins but they are kin, he suggests. John was the elder by six months, Luke tells us. In this case the elder of the two, John, was to be the servant of the second born, Jesus, like the first born Esau was destined to be the servant of the second born Jacob. John, who was to prepare the way for Jesus will later be made to say about Jesus: “He must increase, I must decrease.” Luke grounded the John the Baptist story in the Hebrew Scriptures. The vision in the Temple and the inability to speak came from Daniel. The post-menopausal pregnancy comes from Abraham and Sarah. The superiority of Jesus to John, as well as their kinship, comes from the story of Jacob and Esau. Luke is mining the Hebrew Scriptures to portray Jesus’ birth. One cannot understand the birth narratives unless one sees their connections with the Hebrew Scriptures. We will continue this study of Luke’s birth narratives when this series resumes. ~John Shelby Spong Read the essay online here. Question & Answer Kevin Orr from Sydney, Australia, writes: Question: I have been reading your books and articles for many years and I find your arguments persuasive, though I do not agree with everything you say. It may be only a minor aberration but what on earth do you mean by “living wastefully”? Answer: Dear Kevin, You have misquoted me; I have never said “living wastefully.” My mantra as to the way to demonstrate the gospel of Jesus is to “live fully, love wastefully and to be all that one can be.” This threefold appeal comes out of what I call my God experience. I seek to escape the theistic definition of God as an external being, supernatural in power, who invades our world periodically in miraculous ways. That definition of God simply no longer translates to a post- Galilean, post-Newtonian and a post-Darwinian world. Indeed, I think human beings should give up their almost idolatrous attempt to define God at all. We can experience God, but we cannot define God. So most religious God talk is nonsensical. We can, however, define our experience of God, recognizing that what we call “a God experience” may well turn out to be a subjective delusion, but I do not think it is, at least not in most cases. So when I try to make sense of what I believe is my experience of the transcendent, I use three concepts. I experience God as “the Source of life” empowering me to “live fully.” I experience God as “the Source of love” freeing me to “love wastefully,” by which I mean to love without stopping to count the cost; without pausing to determine whether the recipient of that love is an appropriate recipient. I experience God as “the Ground of all Being,” who gives me the courage to be all that I can be. If that is what God means to me then I worship this God by “living fully, loving wastefully and being all that I am capable of being.” My mission as a Christian is not “to convert the heathen” as we once asserted, it is rather to assist in the task of helping all people “to live fully, to love wastefully and to be all that they are capable of being.” This is a Christianity grounded in a radical understanding of humanity. The reason I call it Christian and the reason I claim my identity as a Christian is that when I look at Jesus, I see in him a life fully lived, a love wastefully given and the courage to be himself in all circumstances, even when people are seeking to make him their king on Palm Sunday or when they were seeking to put him to death on Good Friday. So Jesus is the human life through whom the meaning and the presence of God is mediated to me. I can then join with St. Paul in the assertion that God was in Christ. I invite you to open yourself to this insight and to these possibilities. If you do, I do not believe that you will then ask “what do you mean by living fully or by loving wastefully?” ~John Shelby Spong Announcements Bishop Spong's New Book: The Fourth Gospel: Tales of a Jewish Mystic is now available to Pre-Order Recapture the Original Message of The Fourth Gospel! Pre-Order The Fourth Gospel Today! John Shelby Spong, bestselling author and popular proponent of a modern, scholarly and authentic Christianity, argues that this last gospel to be written was misinterpreted by the framers of the fourth-century creeds to be a literal account of the life of Jesus when in fact it is a literary, interpretive retelling of the events in Jesus' life through the medium of fictional characters, from Nicodemus and Lazarus to the "Beloved Disciple." The Fourth Gospel was designed first to place Jesus into the context of the Jewish scriptures, then to place him into the worship patterns of the synagogue and finally to allow him to be viewed through the lens of a popular form of first-century Jewish mysticism.In The Fourth Gospel, John Shelby Spong reveals the subversive, mystical teachings of the writer of the Gospel of John and how his teachings can point us forward in the 21st century.The result of this intriguing study is not only to recapture the original message of this gospel, but also to provide us today with a radical new dimension to the claim that in the humanity of Jesus the reality of God has been met and engaged. “We now approach our scriptures with a literalism that is unparalleled in the history of religion. This new and imaginative book by John Shelby Spong will liberate many people from this unnecessary complication of the religious life.” — Karen Armstrong, author of A History of God: The 4,000-Year Quest of Judaism, Christianity and Islam “No one has done more to articulate a vibrant, post-mythic vision of Christianity than John Shelby Spong. Bishop Spong’s masterful interpretation is destined to become a classic.” — Michael Dowd, Author of Thank God for Evolution: How the Marriage of Science and Religion Will Transform Your Life and Our World “Spong is always readable and informative, but this book reads like a cross between a detective story and an adventure saga that is founded on excellent scholarship. I could not put it down.” — Fred C. Plumer, President of ProgressiveChristianity.Org Any questions or concerns, please contact us at support(a)johnshelbyspong.com or 503-236-3545. Copyright © 2013 ProgressiveChristianity.org, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you have a membership at our website. Our mailing address is: ProgressiveChristianity.org 3530 SE Hawthorne Blvd. Unit 1 Portland, OR 97214 Add us to your address book

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Re: [Dialogue] "Safe emailing" off topic
by Del Morril 15 May '13

15 May '13

If I get an e-mail that I cannot be sure of, I cut/paste the address of the sender and put it into a new e-mail, asking the sender if they sent it. It will go nowhere if it isn't legit. I did this with the stuff from UPS, the IRS and people whose names I know, especially if there is no personal message from the sender that indicates the e-mail is legit. I NEVER use an address link that is the only thing in the e-mail message section. Almost always a clear indication of something to be leery of. Del Del Hunter Morrill 3217 North Mason Avenue Tacoma WA 98407-5419 H: (253) 752-1506; W: (253) 383-5757 <mailto:delhmor@wamail.net> delhmor(a)wamail.net Web site: www. hypnocenter.com The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek. (Joseph Campbell) _____ From: dialogue-bounces(a)lists.wedgeblade.net [mailto:dialogue-bounces@lists.wedgeblade.net] On Behalf Of Janice Ulangca Sent: Wednesday, May 15, 2013 3:25 AM To: Colleague Dialogue Subject: Re: [Dialogue] "Safe emailing" off topic Hurray for the Pope! Sometimes a firm hand is a relief. Helpful realism & alternative way to share. Thanks, Tim. Janice ----- Original Message ----- From: Timothy Wegner <mailto:tim@tswegner.net> To: Colleague Dialogue <mailto:dialogue@lists.wedgeblade.net> Sent: Tuesday, May 14, 2013 11:10 PM Subject: [Dialogue] "Safe emailing" off topic In my self-appointed role of benevolent dictator (who has actual power over the list, heh heh!), I would like to mildly suggest that the current discussion of safe email practice, while initially useful, is off topic going forward. My reasons are: 1. It's a huge topic, and while everyone here should be interested, if we gave the topic of email safety the thoroughness it deserved, we'd be flooded with that subject forever, and the purpose of the list would be thwarted. 2. Even though most of the suggestions in this thread have been good, let's face it, while some of us know more than others, nobody here is an expert on computer security. Even though none of us would attempt brain surgery (except those of us who are brain surgeons), it seems like most of us become security experts at the drop of of hat, and pass on all kinds of security information that might or might not be accurate. The one exception to this "mild suggestion" is that occasionally when dangerous messages actually appear on the list itself, some brief instructions or suggestions might need to be posted to mitigate risk. In such cases brevity is appreciated. What I suggest is this. I will create a topic at wiki.wedgeblade.net on email safety. Anybody with an account (who can overcome the existential dread of posting on a wiki) can add material to their heart's content. I will start it with some of the messages that were posted here, and let you know when I do. A wiki is better than email for this purpose because it can be edited in case any errors creep in. (I will not ask anyone's permission to repost their messages on email security, but will happily take them down if asked.) I cannot fail to add the following (highly off topic) comment (since hypocrisy is the style of the day in our country), that hotmail was earlier maligned by one of my esteemed colleagues. This prejudice had a basis in fact once but is wrong now. Microsoft has totally redone it's email and hotmail (a.k.a outlook.com) now rivals Google'd gmail(which I use and like - tswegner.net is hosted at Google). Hotmail is a very reasonable full-featured email host now. Angry (or not) rejoinders to this haughty pontification welcome to me personally, off the list of course! Tim _____ _______________________________________________ Dialogue mailing list Dialogue(a)lists.wedgeblade.net http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/dialogue-wedgeblade.net

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