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Kitty Cole
by Terry Bergdall 16 Jun '22

16 Jun '22

I just spoke to Kitty’s daughter, Brenda, and learned that Kitty completed her life’s journey a week ago on June 8th. I first worked with Kitty in Osaka, Japan, during the summer of 1976 and then for many years in Chicago. She was a great spirit and will be greatly missed. Funeral arrangements are still in process of being made and I will post more information as I learn about it. Grace and peace, Terry

7 6

6/16/2022, Progressing Spirit: Rev Deshna Shine: Transitions; Spong revisited
by Ellie Stock 16 Jun '22

16 Jun '22

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screen and (max-width:480px){#yiv5500745417 #yiv5500745417templateBody .yiv5500745417mcnTextContent, #yiv5500745417 #yiv5500745417templateBody .yiv5500745417mcnTextContent p{font-size:14px !important;line-height:150% !important;}}@media only screen and (max-width:480px){#yiv5500745417 #yiv5500745417templateFooter .yiv5500745417mcnTextContent, #yiv5500745417 #yiv5500745417templateFooter .yiv5500745417mcnTextContent p{font-size:12px !important;line-height:150% !important;}} | | | | View this email in your browser | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Transitions | | | | | | | | | | Essay by Rev. Deshna Shine June 16, 2022My wife’s Beloved grandmother lays in the hospital bed, a tiny sliver of a former dancer and child actor, long and thin, frail and still beautiful. When I walk into the room, her eyes light up and her mouth opens into a toothless smile. She stumbles slightly over words of comfort, of gratitude and yes, goodbyes.“I loved your wedding so much.”“Thank you so much for coming. Thank you for loving Jessica the way you have.”“Thank you for being there for her,” she says to me. “Please take care of her.”“I know no other way,” I tell her. “She is my Beloved. My one true love.” Tears. “How are you feeling? Are you feeling scared?” Yes,” she admits, “but I’m OK.“I just wanna get it over with,” she says. Ah, yes, I know that feeling. The impatient, fear fueled drive to get through the scary part and onto whatever is on the other side.How many times do we die and are reborn into our lives?When we retire, when we age, when we leave a marriage, when we lose a loved one, when we graduate, when we awaken to our darkest shadows, when we leave home, when we become parents or grandparents, when we learn to speak our truth.When these major shifts happens it’s the in-between stage that’s the hardest, scariest, and squishiest for me. The place where I have left something major behind but I have not fully arrived at the new Me.I myself am in the in-between now. In-between one home and another, in between one stage of my life and the next. It is an uncomfortable place to be.As I slowly pack boxes over the three month long “in between walk” of my journey, I think about how I finally found a home and a partner that I have dreamed about for years. And yet I am exiled to the thin place still. My new home and new life awaits me but I am here in transition witnessing my daughter as she prepares to graduate high school. I am clinging to both the past and the future and attempting to be present in the now. I have one foot here and one foot there and I wonder if that’s what it feels like in some ways to be in the process of dying?These major shifts often also remind me of childbirth. Truly there is nothing you can do to fully prepare for it. You can’t know what you’ll need or what you’ll feel or what you’ll experience until you are there, until you have fully arrived to that moment. At a certain point you have to surrender to the experience and trust your body will know what to do. Birth is the in-between as well. Birth, Death, Rebirth.Seeing my baby, this little person whom I have raised, get to the point in her life when it is up to her now how she lives and proceeds is such a strange, strange experience. She is not quite there yet, still my baby girl. But she is not quite what she used to be. She is becoming, unfolding. She is in the in-between, the space where the veil is thin and life is raw.I began to see a pattern that applied not just to babies, but to all human beings at all stages of their life! It reminded me of the hourglass. Imagine the hourglass and that you are held as a tiny piece of sand at the top. Things are moving slow and at a comfortable steady pace. You can see your surroundings, you know where you are, it’s familiar and safe. You, this little being of sand held at the top of the hourglass gently moving toward whatever is next. But then you get closer to the funnel part of the hourglass, you get closer to the change and the shift and what happens? Everything begins to move faster and you realize you’re about to drop in to something new. You are falling! You realize you have no control, actually, it was an illusion! You are about to leave behind what was and you don’t know what it’s going to be like on the other side. So, naturally, you feel scared. Scared of the unknown, scared of the squishiness.Scared to be trapped in the narrow part, of being stuck in the in-between, not being able to see where you will land or what awaits you. So naturally you try to work your way back up to the top… “no, no I’m not ready for that yet.”But life does not allow you to go backwards. The Mystery of Life only allows us to move forward. No matter how much we cling to what was or how much we resist, change is inevitable.One of the key teachings in Tibetan Buddhism is impermanence. The only real thing is change. Everything shifts. Everything around us is always changing. Our bodies, our cells are constantly dying and becoming new cells. Our physical form is incessantly mutating. Nature around us is evolving, dying and being reborn into something new.Does the tree fear the winter? Does the owl fear leaving her nest? I’m afraid. I’m afraid of my own death, I’m afraid of my parents’ death. I’m afraid of losing my beloved partner. And I can hardly speak of the fears I have for my daughter. For to speak them out loud somehow makes them more real. I find myself now in the squishy in-between and I’m afraid.I wonder what Jesus felt when he gathered his disciples for his last supper and he knew that everything was about to change. He knew what was upon him and that rebirth would come. He knew two days before Passover. He knew when Mary anointed him with her oil. Was he afraid? Was he grieving? Is there anything he regretted?What did he do in that moment, the in-between, when faced with imminent betrayal, loss and death? He leaned in. He surrendered. He offered his twelve disciples to drink and eat of his body. What more can I give, he must have wondered? What more can I leave them with? Have I done enough? He gave thanks. He ate, drank, served and sang.He leaned in with full acceptance and trust.He had more to give, even in that most fearful, desperate moment. His last evening, his last supper, he offered wisdom and grace.And finally when the hour was near, he prayed. He grieved in sorrow. Grief is the in-between as well.“Sit here while I go over there and pray.” 37 He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. 38 Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”39 Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”One thing is very clear — he walks toward the change. He doesn’t rush it or try to control it. He doesn’t cling to what was. He does not waste time with denial. He sees things with clarity and walks toward it. He calls his betrayer, friend. He declares what is real, he doesn’t resist it. He sits with the truth of his death and all the feelings that brings him.“From now on you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven,”And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.And where is he now? On the other side? In another human? In the arms of God? Held? New? I don’t know. We don’t know.That is the greatest mystery of the human experience. And the greatest illusion is that we think we know what’s on the other side of all the changes and transitions in our life but in truth, it’s never as we think it will be.So I am here. I sit in the unknowing. I sit in the squishy discomfort and I practice being present with these edgy, heavy feelings and these fears. And at the same time I hold the truth of knowing that I will be OK. This too shall pass. On the other side of this will be something new and, because this is what I always do, I will make it beautiful and, because this is how I have always been, I will find my joy no matter what lies ahead.I often turn to Nordic Runes for guidance when I am in or heading into a transition. Today as I write this column and I think so deeply about the holy space of transitions and shift, I asked, “What wisdom do I need to see now?”Getting centered and present, I held this question in my mind as I grazed my fingers lightly over the Runes until I felt a small zing in my finger when I touched one. I pulled Algiz, the Rune of Protection, Sedge and The Elk. The first line of this rune goes like this,“Control of the emotions is at issue here. During times of transition, shifts in life course and accelerated self-change, it is important not to collapse yourself into your emotions, the highs as well as the lows.”“Remain mindful that timely right action and correct conduct are your only true protection. If you find yourself feeling pain, observe the pain, stay with it. Do not try to pull down the veil and escape from life by denying what is happening. You will progress; knowing that is your protection.”Oooohh, I could get deep into that right now! (You too? Let’s talk!)But what really struck me was these two teachings coming from different times, places and peoples of ancient wisdom saying the same thing. Jesus did not go into denial or resistance to the inevitable death and he trusted that there would be a rebirth. He let go. He did exactly as this ancient Rune wisdom divined and I am guessing what his ancient Jewish teachings taught him as well.We cannot pull down the veil to escape from life, from change, from pain. We must sit with it and be with the difficult feelings, the grief, the sorrow, anguish, and the fear. We must lean in to shift and practice trust in a Loving Supportive Presence, in Life. Transitions are our great teachers. Listen.~ Rev. Deshna Shine Read online here About the Author Rev. Deshna Shine is Project Director of ProgressiveChristianity.org’s Children’s Curriculum. She is an ordained Interfaith Minister, author, international speaker, and visionary. She grew up in a thriving progressive Christian church and has worked in the field for over 13 years. She graduated from UCSB with a major in Religious Studies and a minor in Global Peace and Security. She was Executive Director of ProgressiveChristianity.org, Executive Producer of Embrace Festival and has co-authored the novel, Missing Mothers. Deshna is passionate about sacred community, nourishing children spiritually and transforming Christianity through a radically inclusive lens. | | | | | | | | Question & Answer Q: By Carol We were having a discussion at church last night about theism and worship. How is the Eucharist relevant if theism is taken away, or more appropriately, how can our liturgy and worship change to reflect the loss of theism? A: By Rev. Brandan Robertson Dear Carol,Thanks for this important question. I believe that the Eucharist is perhaps the most central and important ritual of the Christian faith- and I don’t believe you need to be a theist to experience it as a transformative ritual. At it’s core, the Eucharist is a reminder for Christians of two things: the reality of what Jesus endured in the Gospel stories for his resistance to Empire, and the way we commit to live as followers of Jesus’ way. As you know, there are many atheists who still honor and learn from the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. When they come to the Eucharistic table, the invitation for them is the same as the invitation for the most devout theist- to come and reflect on the remarkable sacrifice that Jesus and many others after him offered in their attempt to create a more just and equal world. To reflect upon the brokenness of the systems of our world that respond to calls for grace and justice with injustice and murder. And ultimately, to ask how they might emulate Jesus’ example in their own life, breaking open their hearts and pouring themselves out for the healing of their world. The Eucharist has always been, first and foremost, a memorial meal to commemorate the life and death of Jesus. One doesn’t need to believe in the theological claims of the Christian faith to meaningfully participate and be transformed by reflecting and remembering the sacrifice of Christ. ~ Rev. Brandan Robertson Read and share online here About the Author Rev. Brandan Robertson is a noted spiritual thought-leader, contemplative activist, and commentator, working at the intersections of spirituality, sexuality, and social renewal and the author of Nomad: A Spirituality For Travelling Light and writes regularly for Patheos, Beliefnet, and The Huffington Post. He has published countless articles in respected outlets such as TIME, NBC, The Washington Post, Religion News Service, and Dallas Morning News. As sought out commentator of faith, culture, and public life, he is a regular contributor to national media outlets and has been interviewed by outlets such as MSNBC, NPR, SiriusXM, TIME Magazine, Newsweek, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and The Associated Press. He leads Metanoia, a digital spiritual community at MetanoiaCenter.org | | | | | | | | Please continue to send us your feedback… we are listening. We aim to give voice to many different perspectives that are relevant and inspiring along this spiritually progressing path. We are not here to tell you what to believe or how to act. We are here to support your journey, to share and learn together.Thank you for being a part of this community - join us on Facebook! | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | As a non-profit ProgressiveChristianity.org/Progressing Spirit rely heavily on the good will of our donors to help us continue to bring individuals and churches the messages of progressive Christians, Weekly Newsletters, along with the many other resources we provide. For years, the majority of our fundraising came at the end of the year. Looking at various ways to create a more reasonable amount of cash flow we decided rather than having a BIG ask at the end of each year, our more frequent asks give folks a chance to contribute when their funds are more flexible. We think that's a win for everyone. We also want to highlight the opportunity to become a sustaining supporter. If you are looking for the best way to help us continue to provide progressive Christian resources, become a sustaining supporter by choosing Recurring Donation. Help keep ProgressiveChristianity.org online and going strong - click here to donate today! * Another way to support us is to leave a bequest in your Will and/or Trust designating us a beneficiary. | | | | | | | | | | | Don't miss the next Episode of PC.org's Executive Directors Mark and Caleb on: The Moonshine Jesus Show - every Monday at 4:30pm Eastern Time – watch live on Facebook,, YouTube, Twitter, Podme | | | | | | | | | Bishop John Shelby Spong Revisited On Baptizing Hadden Essay by Bishop John Shelby Spong July 12, 2012It is a rare treat in the life of a bishop in general and in the life of a retired bishop in particular to participate in a pastoral act like a baptism. It normally has to come at the invitation of a family member or a very close friend. Seven years ago I married a couple, the groom of which had been such a friend, growing up together with my stepson Brian and, therefore, very close to my wife Christine, close enough indeed that all of his life he had called her “Mom.” When he became engaged to a lovely young woman named Cushman they asked if I could perform their marriage ceremony at a summer chapel, named All Saints by the Sea on the coast of Maine. His family had spent every summer season of his childhood vacationing on this lovely island. I accepted this invitation and so I shared in that transition moment with them and their respective families. When this couple’s first baby arrived it seemed important to them for me to baptize this young lady at the same summer chapel in Maine. It is a church that is open only in the summer season and to which worshipers can and do arrive on Sundays both by boat and car. I agreed to do so and back to Maine we went for this happy occasion. Preparing for this baptism I read over the baptismal liturgy from my church’s prayer book and I embraced once more just how antiquated and even offensive some of its language still is. I began to wonder how a child being baptized would hear those words, if that child had the ability both to listen and to understand. If in the baptismal service we had the ability to allow the child to speak in reaction to those words, I wondered what she might say. With my imagination engaged I decided that for the sermon at this service I would try to frame just how this baby might react and respond to the words being used in the church’s baptismal liturgy. The result of that exercise follows: TO THE MEMBERS ALL SAINTS BY THE SEA CHURCH IN SOUTHPORT, MAINE Dear Friends: Today, July 1, 2012, I was baptized in this church. My family and friends gathered from as far away as Texas, Virginia, North Carolina, Vermont and New Jersey to be present for this occasion. It was a happy day for me – and I hope it was for others of you who attended. Let me tell you, however, that it was also a strange day in many ways. In that baptism service you said some words that sounded pretty weird to me. You asked my parents and godparents to renounce some things in my name. They had to renounce the world, the flesh and the devil. How can you renounce the world when it is July in Maine – the sky is blue, the sea is calm, the temperature is moderate and the world seems to be wonderful? How can you renounce the flesh when it is through the flesh that we experience the world – our fleshly eyes see its beauty, our fleshly ears hear its sounds, our fleshly taste buds enable us to savor the wonders of the sea? With our fleshly arms we embrace one another and with our fleshly lips we kiss those we love. Who among us really wants to renounce the flesh? How can you renounce the devil? Is there a real creature with horns, tail and pitchfork who is responsible for all that is evil? Is that not some form of projection? We can’t even agree on what color the devil is – at Duke University they think of him as blue, but if you are a hockey fan in New Jersey we think of him as red! For me to renounce the world the flesh and the devil sounds like I’m being programmed to be a nun! Is that really your intention? You also said in the baptismal liturgy that you were baptizing me for the forgiveness of sins. I’m not old enough to have done much! So what are my sins? I have never robbed a bank; I have not committed adultery; I have not been willfully disobedient or talked back to my parents. I understand that babies can sometimes be inconvenient, but are we sinful? Someone once said that all babies are born with loud speakers on one end and no sense of responsibility on the other, but does that make us blameworthy? Let me suggest to you that what you have done in the baptism service is to literalize some ancient biblical stories and you have drawn some conclusions from those stories that I suggest you might want to revise and even to challenge. One of those biblical stories was about how God created the world in just seven days. That story emphasizes that God created a perfect world, so perfect that when God finished God looked out on all that God had made and said: “This is a good world.” Human beings were part of that goodness and that story goes on to say that we human beings were created “male and female” in God’s image. Why would one be called evil when we are created in God’s image? That story also states that when the work of creation was ended, God not only pronounced it good, but also complete – so complete that God could take a day off and that is how the Sabbath was created. It is hard to understand why one should be asked to renounce the world that God pronounced complete. Is there something profoundly wrong with the baptismal liturgy? There is a second story in the book of Genesis, however, in which the biblical writers sought to account for the presence of evil. They did not understand that in the biology of every living creature there is a drive to survive. It is that drive that makes life appear to be self-centered. If survival is my highest value then I will organize my life around my survival agenda. I will not always be consciously aware of this drive, but it will always be present. One strategy we human beings seem to use to accomplish this is build ourselves up by tearing someone else down. This destructive behavior is not rooted in something sinful; it is rooted in our biology. That is the source out of which prejudice arises; that is the source of religious persecution. That is the reason we are prone to hate and fear people who are different. Evil does not originate in human misdeeds. It is not, as this second ancient story says, something we do because one of our ancestors was disobedient and ate of the forbidden fruit, which resulted in our banishment from the Garden of Eden. It was out of this story, however, that we developed the strange idea that human life is fallen, sinful, evil, distorted and broken. I must tell you that it sounds very strange to me to listen to a worship service in church that tells me over and over again how evil I am, that I am a miserable sinner, that I am not worthy to gather up the crumbs under the divine table, that there is no health in me and that I must spend lots of time in church begging God to have mercy on me. How many times does one have to beg God to have mercy in a Sunday service? How many times do you have to tell me that I am fallen, infected with original sin? Have you ever known anyone to be helped by being told how terrible they are? Why do you think God’s greatness is affirmed by denigrating our humanity? You can’t even sing about how amazing God’s grace is without reminding yourselves that God’s grace is amazing only because it saves a wretch like you or me. Am I a wretch? Are you wretches? Is that what Christianity has come to. Perhaps we have distorted our faith story far more than most of us realize. Did Jesus come to make us religious? Did he come so that God could control our behavior through guilt? Is guilt ever life-giving? Does guilt help to make us religious? Can religion save the world? There is lots of religion in this world today, but is not most of it distorted? Have you not heard of religious wars, religious persecution, the Inquisition? Have you not observed how religious Catholics and religious Protestants react to each other in Ireland or how religious Shiites and religious Sunnis react to each other in Iraq? I do not think that Jesus came to make us righteous either. People who are very, very moral and very, very righteous seem to know a great deal about judgment, but almost nothing about loving. Jesus also did not come to give us the “True Faith” – to make certain that our religion is better than any other, that my faith is the only true faith, my church the only true church and that no one can come to God except by my pathway. People who think that they have the “True Faith,” always seem to put their wagons in a circle and start shooting at those with whom they disagree. In John’s gospel Jesus suggests a very different purpose that perhaps the framers of the baptismal liturgy somehow missed. Jesus says: “I have come that they might have life and have it abundantly.” That is, I believe, what Christianity should be all about – giving life. So as I identify with this faith tradition today in baptism I ask you to help me to become fully human, help me to live fully, to love wastefully and to be all that I can be. May I suggest that this is the church’s vocation and therefore your vocation. Your task is to give abundant life, and not only to me, but to every person who is a child of God. Thank you for listening to my letter and thank you for loving me just as I am. Hadden Charlotte Brinegar And because she is a good little Episcopal girl she ends her letter with AMEN. Has the time to come to bring the liturgy of baptism into dialogue with all that we now know about human life? I believe it has.~ John Shelby Spong | | | | | | | | Announcements Conference on Death, Grief and Belief LIVE IN Portland, OR or register for just the recording July 15 – 17, 2022A weekend of shared wisdom, fearless exploration and community support for unpacking toxic religious beliefs that can be harmful when facing loss and grief. READ ON ... | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

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Good Audio books
by James Wiegel 13 Jun '22

13 Jun '22

Judy and I are thinking of some cross-country travel the next couple of months -- any good Audio books to recommend?? sites to see??places to camp?social demonstrations to visit? Jim Wiegel Theunknown is what is. And to be frightened of it is what sends everybodyscurrying around chasing dreams, illusions, wars, peace, love, hate, allthat. Unknown is what is. Accept that it's unknown, and it's plainsailing. John Lennon 401 North Beverly Way,Tolleson, Arizona 85353 623-363-3277 jfwiegel(a)yahoo.com www.partnersinparticipation.com

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6/09/2022, Progressing Spirit, Rev. Mark Sandlin: Jesus – Queer Theology Incarnate; Spong revisited
by Ellie Stock 09 Jun '22

09 Jun '22

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!important;padding-bottom:9px !important;}}@media only screen and (max-width:480px){#yiv7687564931 .yiv7687564931mcnTextContent, #yiv7687564931 .yiv7687564931mcnBoxedTextContentColumn{padding-right:18px !important;padding-left:18px !important;}}@media only screen and (max-width:480px){#yiv7687564931 .yiv7687564931mcnImageCardLeftImageContent, #yiv7687564931 .yiv7687564931mcnImageCardRightImageContent{padding-right:18px !important;padding-bottom:0 !important;padding-left:18px !important;}}@media only screen and (max-width:480px){#yiv7687564931 .yiv7687564931mcpreview-image-uploader{display:none !important;width:100% !important;}}@media only screen and (max-width:480px){#yiv7687564931 h1{font-size:22px !important;line-height:125% !important;}}@media only screen and (max-width:480px){#yiv7687564931 h2{font-size:20px !important;line-height:125% !important;}}@media only screen and (max-width:480px){#yiv7687564931 h3{font-size:18px !important;line-height:125% !important;}}@media only screen and (max-width:480px){#yiv7687564931 h4{font-size:16px !important;line-height:150% !important;}}@media only screen and (max-width:480px){#yiv7687564931 .yiv7687564931mcnBoxedTextContentContainer .yiv7687564931mcnTextContent, #yiv7687564931 .yiv7687564931mcnBoxedTextContentContainer .yiv7687564931mcnTextContent p{font-size:14px !important;line-height:150% !important;}}@media only screen and (max-width:480px){#yiv7687564931 #yiv7687564931templatePreheader{display:block !important;}}@media only screen and (max-width:480px){#yiv7687564931 #yiv7687564931templatePreheader .yiv7687564931mcnTextContent, #yiv7687564931 #yiv7687564931templatePreheader .yiv7687564931mcnTextContent p{font-size:12px !important;line-height:150% !important;}}@media only screen and (max-width:480px){#yiv7687564931 #yiv7687564931templateHeader .yiv7687564931mcnTextContent, #yiv7687564931 #yiv7687564931templateHeader .yiv7687564931mcnTextContent p{font-size:16px !important;line-height:150% !important;}}@media only screen and (max-width:480px){#yiv7687564931 #yiv7687564931templateBody .yiv7687564931mcnTextContent, #yiv7687564931 #yiv7687564931templateBody .yiv7687564931mcnTextContent p{font-size:14px !important;line-height:150% !important;}}@media only screen and (max-width:480px){#yiv7687564931 #yiv7687564931templateFooter .yiv7687564931mcnTextContent, #yiv7687564931 #yiv7687564931templateFooter .yiv7687564931mcnTextContent p{font-size:12px !important;line-height:150% !important;}} | | | | View this email in your browser | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Jesus – Queer Theology Incarnate | | | | | | | | | | Essay by Rev. Mark Sandlin June 9, 2022 In his book Radical Love: An Introduction to Queer Theology, the Rev. Dr. Patrick Cheng says, “God is the very manifestation of a love that is so extreme that it dissolves existing boundaries.” So, it seems to me, living a life that dismantles existing boundaries is the very definition of being in relationship with God. In the life and teachings of Jesus, we are provided with part of a road map to growing this radical relationship of love with God. It even turns out that the person the Gospel writers and the early church understood Jesus to be contained the seeds of queerness. Now, for those who might have been just a bit uncomfortable with me saying that about Jesus and “queerness,” let's very quickly talk about what I mean when I use the word "queer" like that. Many of us grew up in a time when “queer” was an insult. The word felt wrong in our mouths and we avoided it. It was meant to hurt people and regardless of what the children's rhyme says, words can truly hurt you, because they frequently are loaded with piercing judgement and soul-crushing baggage. Well, things have changed since then and much like the terms “gay” and “black,” “queer” has been reclaimed by the very people it initially intended to hurt. The way I see it, that's a beautiful thing. The work came out of the LGBTQIA+ community itself, particularly in the field of Queer Theory which built on the work of Gay and Lesbian theory as well a Liberation theory and others. The important part, in terms of understanding how I'm using the word, is what the meaning of the word has expanded to contain. In looking at how LGBTQIA+ folx were marginalized by a dominant society, themes began to emerge, particularly in regard to societal “norms” and expectations. Queerness, in part, became a critique of those false, binary boundaries that tried to normalize everything to the dominate society. While it started off as primarily challenging traditional understandings of sex and sexuality, in conversation with other groups who experienced the the heavy-hand of false binaries that marginalized them (groups like Black Theology, Liberation Theology, Feminist Theology, and several others), it expanded to become a call to deconstruct those false binary narratives in all categories and to dismantle the systems that support them and it was built on a radical sense of love and inclusion. With that understanding, let's go back to my statement that “in the person the Gospel writers and the early church understood Jesus to be contained the seeds of queerness.” Within the context of what I've just shared with you, hear my statement to say, in the person the Gospel writers and the early church understood Jesus to be you can clearly see an understanding that he was a person who sought to break through and to breakdown all of our assumed binary boundaries and barriers, opening us up to a more boundless faith. In some small ways, it has allowed me to regain an appreciation for what are frequently considered foundational understandings of our faith. There are parts of our faith that we are to claim whose traditional understandings that fly in the face of modern, scientific minds. Things like Jesus being “God incarnate.” Over the years, I've certainly developed my own understandings of how to incorporate these beliefs into my life. For me, the language of “God incarnate” became symbolic language pointing to the Divine within all of us. It felt very true for me, but sometimes it felt like it was a bit overworked just to make it work. Queer Theology provides a much more satisfying theological approach to many of these “foundational understandings of our faith.” For instance, it sees the story of Jesus as the beginning of a change to the understood boundaries between the Divine and humanity. Traditionally, the Church has understood the Gospels to tell the story of God incarnate, God came down, the Divine becoming human. Whether you believe it as literal or as symbolic, we are left with an understanding of a god that breaks one of the ultimate false binaries: divine and human. As I understand it, within Queer Theology, the story of Jesus places the Human/Divine relationship on a continuum that has no 'either or' boundaries. It forever changes the relationship between humanity and the divine. They are no longer like oil and water. They mix and mingle together in the person of Jesus and open that potential, that reality, to us all. Among other things, it means God is no longer this ineffable thing so far removed from us that we can never be in full relationship with it. Rather, God is also within us, within humanity. In our modern world, humanity can feel like it is working overtime to keep us all in a bound-up, meaningless place. There are so many deepening divisions and those divisions are almost always based on some kind of dividing line in the sand, some kind of defining boundary or border created by the dominant culture in an effort to implicate someone as “other,” dangerous, unworthy, “not like me,” in order to marginalize the “other” and to further protect the power of the majority. Frequently, religious texts (or, at least, religious contexts) are used to justify those mostly binary boundaries of division – “if you aren't like us, you are bad.” At times, they are even backed by scripture, but rarely is that scripture ever taken fully in context within the larger theology of the overall text. Those of us who attempt to follow the teachings of Jesus should take particular offense to this. These binary boundaries of division are the defining lines of injustice and the use of our sacred texts to try to justify injustice is unjustifiable. As a matter of fact, it is downright blasphemy. It's interesting, looking at the life of Jesus through a queer lens has also helped me in my understanding of “sin.” Up until now, my best understanding of sin had involved the concept of “missing the mark” when it came to expressing love through my words and actions. That's not a bad understanding, but it does call into question what those “actions” might look like. I believe Queer theology gives us a more pragmatic understanding to work from. I do still see sin as “missing the mark” of expressing love, but now I see it as being specifically done by refusing to dismantle or reinforcing borders and boundaries that separate us from others. Dismantling borders and boundaries in response to and as a result of radical love is at the heart of Queer Theology and at the heart of what it looks like to follow the life and teachings of Jesus. Dr. Cheng says, “God is the very manifestation of a love that is so extreme that it dissolves existing boundaries.” As it turns out, that solves another one of those “foundational understandings of our faith” that I've struggled with: being “saved.” There's really no theology about it that I can get completely onboard with. As a matter of fact, I find most of them to be somewhat ghastly. Until now. Now my understanding is that pulling down the boundaries that have separated us from each other, Creation, and God is how Jesus “saves” us. And that is not only a theology I expect we can all get behind, but it is also the way we begin to save each other and the world.~ Rev. Mark Sandlin Read online here About the Author Rev. Mark Sandlin is an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA) from the South. He currently serves at Presbyterian Church of the Covenant. Mark also serves as the President and Co-executive Director of ProgressiveChristianity.org. He is a co-founder of The Christian Left. His blog, has been named as one of the “Top Ten Christian Blogs.” Mark received The Associated Church Press’ Award of Excellence in 2012. His Podcast The Moonshine Jesus Show is on Mondays at 4:30pm ET. Follow Mark on Facebook and Twitter @marksandlin. | | | | | | | | Question & Answer Q: By Amy “My church says they are progressive and “Open and Affirming” but as a queer person, I don’t see any real progressiveness. Do you have any advice?” A: By Rev. Deshna Shine Dear Amy,Yes, I understand and as a queer person myself, I have seen this way too often. This is a fascinating moment in time when churches are either dying or they are transforming. Is your church open to transforming? You can find out pretty quickly if you bring your concerns and desires to the leadership. Do they get defensive and talk about all the ways they are progressive or some major change or some social justice movement they participated in many years ago? Or are they curious and want to know more? Do they ask you questions and for your ideas? Do they ask for you to share your experience and do they affirm and try to understand your experience?Unfortunately, many churches put a rainbow flag out, say they are progressive, march in a couple of marches, add a feminine pronoun for God and think they are done. They are not. To be progressive means to continually grow and progress. To continually rethink and re-ask how can we be more radically inclusive the way Jesus taught us? How can we offer a radical welcome to anyone who comes through our doors? Do they want you to conform to what they think a christian should be, look like and act like, or do they celebrate you in all your authentic uniqueness, just as you are?If they are open, I suggest sharing with them what you are experiencing. Use “I” statements and be clear about what you need. For example, “when I walk into this church, I feel like an outsider and lonely. I need this church to have liturgies that represent me as well, to have images that represent me as well, and to be a learning community open to change.” Keep pushing for the liturgies to evolve, the symbols, the language. Ask the church to center, listen and learn from black, brown, indigenous women of color and queer folx. Ask the church to be honest and accountable to the harm it has caused so they don’t repeat the same white supremacist patterns. Ask for contemporary inclusive music and for the leadership to reflect the diversity and inclusion the church claims to have or want.At the heart of Christianity is a wild hope and I believe in your ability to see clearly and make a positive change in your community. And, if they are not willing to change, well, let them go and begin your search for a community that is willing to grow and to love, accept and celebrate you just as you are. There are some gems out there, it is possible.~ Rev. Deshna Shine Read and share online here About the Author Rev. Deshna Shine is Project Director of ProgressiveChristianity.org’s Children’s Curriculum. She is an ordained Interfaith Minister, author, international speaker, and visionary. She grew up in a thriving progressive Christian church and has worked in the field for over 13 years. She graduated from UCSB with a major in Religious Studies and a minor in Global Peace and Security. She was Executive Director of ProgressiveChristianity.org, Executive Producer of Embrace Festival and has co-authored the novel, Missing Mothers. Deshna is passionate about sacred community, nourishing children spiritually and transforming Christianity through a radically inclusive lens. | | | | | | | | Please continue to send us your feedback… we are listening. We aim to give voice to many different perspectives that are relevant and inspiring along this spiritually progressing path. We are not here to tell you what to believe or how to act. We are here to support your journey, to share and learn together.Thank you for being a part of this community - join us on Facebook! | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | As a non-profit ProgressiveChristianity.org/Progressing Spirit rely heavily on the good will of our donors to help us continue to bring individuals and churches the messages of progressive Christians, Weekly Newsletters, along with the many other resources we provide. For years, the majority of our fundraising came at the end of the year. Looking at various ways to create a more reasonable amount of cash flow we decided rather than having a BIG ask at the end of each year, our more frequent asks give folks a chance to contribute when their funds are more flexible. We think that's a win for everyone. We also want to highlight the opportunity to become a sustaining supporter. If you are looking for the best way to help us continue to provide progressive Christian resources, become a sustaining supporter by choosing Recurring Donation. Help keep ProgressiveChristianity.org online and going strong - click here to donate today! * Another way to support us is to leave a bequest in your Will and/or Trust designating us a beneficiary. | | | | | | | | | | | Don't miss the next Episode of PC.org's Executive Directors Mark and Caleb on: The Moonshine Jesus Show - every Monday at 4:30pm Eastern Time – watch live on Facebook,, YouTube, Twitter, Podbean | | | | | | | | | Bishop John Shelby Spong Revisited A Salute to the United Church of Christ Essay by Bishop John Shelby Spong July 26, 2012Sometimes, as one goes about the normal duties of one’s professional life, a pattern of activity slowly becomes visible until one wonders why this had not been seen before. When that happens, it is good to stop, to notice, to put the pieces together, to seek to understand and then to formulate the new insight so that it can become common knowledge. This was my experience in the first part of this year when I was invited to a number of churches in what might be called the heartland of America. In every incidence, the church to which I was asked to deliver lectures stood out in its community like a beacon of light. It was always the church in that community that engaged the issues of the day. It was the congregation in that community that encouraged people to think and to study. It was a church more interested in genuine education than it was in ecclesiastical propaganda. It was a congregation willing to be controversial, willing to stand up for truth in the public marketplace. It was a church that did not require that the brains of its people be checked at the door prior to worship. It was a congregation whose members cared about their world, their community, themselves and their pastor. These churches also projected vitality and they were all growing. The revelation that ultimately emerged, however, was that each one of these congregations was a part the United Church of Christ-Congregational denomination. This fact was so consistent that I concluded it could not be just a coincidence and that something about the United Church of Christ must be at least in part responsible and so my appreciation for this denomination soared. Perhaps, I thought, this church can be the one Christian denomination that will inspire, bring about and participate in the necessary reformation required to break the Christian faith out of its dying patterns, its no longer believable theological understandings and its medieval worship practices. Maybe this can be the church that will break the traditional Christian paradigm based on human depravity and transform it to a paradigm based on human wholeness. Until these aspects of Christianity are faced, engaged and changed, there is, I believe, little realistic hope for a Christian future. Let me briefly tell you, my readers, the story of these four individual UCC congregations: The first one was the Plymouth United Church of Christ in Wichita, Kansas. Under the enlightened and competent leadership of its senior pastor, Donald Olsen, and his able staff, Plymouth Church has gathered to itself a group of members who are individually and corporately stepping beyond traditional religious formulas to build a church for tomorrow. Gifted young adults, well-educated and in positions of local and national authority, are finding the integrity of a new religious dimension for themselves by their participation in this church’s life. No one is fighting yesterday’s wars against Darwin, the equality of women or the oppression of gay and lesbian people. The Bible is not seen as a cudgel to be used in debate to shore up the conclusions of a long dead past. They appear to enjoy their life together and, during the time I was there to deliver these lectures, they also brought in a spectacular aCapella male singing group named Cantu for the joy and entertainment of those attending the lecture series. Cantu was magnificent and the combination of lectures and entertainment was a memorable experience for me and for that congregation. The second one was the First Congregational-United Church of Christ in Greeley, Colorado. This small Colorado city, founded by Horace Greeley in the 19th century, is the home of a community college that has grown into being the University of Northern Colorado and is now the third or fourth largest university in the state of Colorado. In a state where Colorado Springs has become the national headquarters for many right wing fundamentalist groups such as James Dobson’s “Focus on the Family,” this church in Greeley has accepted the vocation of speaking to this university with an understanding of the Christian faith that is well informed and not dedicated to the perpetuation of biblical ignorance. Its senior pastor, Nathan Miller, is respected as a leader in the entire community and one of this church’s most active members is the recently retired president of the University of Northern Colorado. The third church was in Norman, Oklahoma, the location of the University of Oklahoma, where former Democratic Governor and Senator, David Boren, is now the highly-regarded president. A small group of people led by an urologist formed a new Congregational Church to fill a vacuum in Norman, where fundamentalists and evangelical Protestants are the overwhelming majority. They were assisted in this birth by the UCC pastor at the Mayflower Church in Oklahoma City, Robin Meyers, who is one of America’s brilliant new religious leaders. They contracted with a retired UCC minister on a part time basis to lead this new congregation, which has no more than twenty-five members. Undaunted by their newness and their smallness, they organized a public lecture on progressive Christianity to be held in the University of Oklahoma’s Museum of Natural History. This was their way of announcing their presence in the city. I was invited to deliver that lecture and also to speak to the members of this congregation at their regular meeting place on Saturday morning. The public lecture attracted over 400 people. It was also the first time I have ever spoken with a mastodon on display immediately behind me! In their own worship space on Saturday, which seated less than seventy people, the two lecture seminar was sold out and every available chair was filled. This new congregation is dedicated to finding ways to serve the larger community and even the world. One program, organized by the urologist and including his two sons, both of whom are planning careers in medicine, has them volunteering for medical missionary duty in some of the deprived parts of the world. Vitality and the hope of good things to come mark this congregation. Finally, there was the First Congregational-UCC Church of Hendersonville, North Carolina, served so ably by its senior pastor, Richard Weidler. Hendersonville is a small town in the mountains of Western North Carolina, about 30 minutes south of Asheville. Calls to repent, invitations to be saved and warnings to prepare to meet your God are painted on signs on almost every nearby highway. Three crosses adorn the countryside in more than one field. A visit on the radio dial will reveal a steady diet of evangelical preaching, punctuated only by the ranting of Rush Limbaugh. Yet because of Hendersonville’s wonderful summer climate, it has attracted many retirees to that area who are left looking mostly in vain for a church if they do not want fundamentalism. Into that vacuum, this church has moved led by its former, now retired, pastor, David Kelly. About a decade ago a layman, named Walter Ashley, taught an adult Bible class in that church and it had been an erudite and transformative experience for many. A “Classics Scholar” with a degree from Oxford University in the UK, he had opened that congregation to a whole new way of being a Christian. They became the one church in town that was a haven for thinking Christians. When Walter died, his widow Jo Ann, an attorney well into her eighties, endowed a lectureship in memory of her husband. Twice each year, a well-known Christian scholar is invited to do the Ashley Lectures in this church in Western North Carolina. John Dominic Crossan, Marcus Borg, Amy-Jill Levine and I have all been among those visiting lecturers. The event attracts people from miles away and has helped to identify this church as something quite different. Recently in North Carolina, there was a statewide referendum to ban gay marriage by a constitutional amendment. It seemed like every preacher in the state from Billy Graham on down came out in support of this amendment, identifying it with the Bible and the will of God. This was not true, however, of the First Congregational-United Church of Christ in Hendersonville. Instead they bought and ran a large advertisement in the local newspaper every other day for a period of time prior to that vote stating their opposition to North Carolina’s “Marriage Amendment.” In this ad they stated first the historical tradition of the United Church of Christ as a supporter of social justice and civil rights. They reminded readers that their forebears were Pilgrims who came to this country in 1620 seeking freedom from restrictions imposed in Europe. They recalled the history of their denomination, telling the newspaper’s readers that in 1785 the UCC ordained Lemuel Haynes, America’s first African-American pastor; in 1853 the UCC ordained Antoinette Brown, America’s first female pastor; in 1972 the UCC ordained Bill Johnson, America’s first openly-gay pastor. Now this church, representing this denomination, called on all to reject this prejudiced marriage amendment. This ad dramatically lifted this church into public awareness causing them to be attacked and ridiculed by almost every other church in the area, but it also caused the religiously disenfranchised to discover a new possibility for their religious lives. So, new people began to show up at their doors on Sunday Mornings. These four churches I have described so briefly had several things in common. They each had a well-trained and well-educated senior pastor. Each was linked to a national denomination that encouraged them to press the edges. Each had drunk deeply of that denomination’s courage in the public arena on the right side of the cultural issues of our day. If the United Church of Christ is represented locally by the churches I have encountered in Wichita, Greeley, Norman and Hendersonville, they must be doing something right. So to these churches and to the leadership of the National United Church of Christ, I first raise my hand in salute for your courage and your dedication. Second, I stand before you in awe for what you have meant in my life and in the life of Christianity itself. Third, I bow my head and my heart in thanksgiving for your witness to the Truth.~ John Shelby Spong | | | | | | | | Announcements We are gathering from across the nation to demand this nation do MORE to live up to its possibilities: READ ON ... | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

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Re: [Dialogue] [Oe List ...] George West Memorial, YouTube link and comments Plus George's Book
by Lynda C 07 Jun '22

07 Jun '22

Also in the ICA Archives under Publications is George’s book about Building Community. Books by colleagues are listed alphabetically by last names. A great deal of that book can be read on line. Our church in Davidson is sponsoring two Afghan refugee families. Interestingly, the page I turned to in George’s book was about the importance of starting a literacy/language program as one small step in creating community among new arrivals. I’m hoping I can find in our archives some of the wonderful Language Teaching Manuals that were created in various Human Development Projects. Or that some of you might have one in your files. With care as we remember George and his gifts to our community and the world. Lynda and John From: OE <oe-bounces(a)lists.wedgeblade.net> on behalf of OE List <oe(a)lists.wedgeblade.net> Reply-To: OE List <oe(a)lists.wedgeblade.net> Date: Tuesday, June 7, 2022 at 1:05 PM To: OE List <oe(a)lists.wedgeblade.net> Cc: Karen Snyder <karen.snyder10(a)gmail.com>, Order Ecumenical <oe(a)wedgeblade.net>, ICA Dialogue List <dialogue(a)lists.wedgeblade.net> Subject: Re: [Oe List ...] George West Memorial, YouTube link and comments Some of George West’s spirit talks are available in the Global Archives: *. The Other World: Trek I: https://icaglobalarchives.org/collections/exploring-inner-life/the-other-wo… *. New Religious Mode: Knowing, Doing and Contemplation: https://icaglobalarchives.org/collections/exploring-inner-life/new-religiou… *. Spirit Conversations: https://icaglobalarchives.org/collections/exploring-inner-life/introduction… *. Model Building under Academy Life Methods: Social Methods: https://icaglobalarchives.org/collections/spiritmovement/academy/methods-cu… Enjoy! Peace, Karen Snyder Troxel Living on the land of the Council of the Three Fires: the Ojibwe, Odawa, and Potawatomi with representatives from 100 nations living in what is now called Chicago.

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George West Memorial, YouTube link and comments
by Terry Bergdall 07 Jun '22

07 Jun '22

An edited recording of George’s Memorial held last Saturday is now available on this YouTube link: https://youtu.be/K-kkIbccq5c <https://youtu.be/K-kkIbccq5c>. It is 47 minutes long. Additionally, please find below (1) a link to Larry Ward's spirit reflection that couldn't be inserted into the zoom program in a timely fashion, (2) Dick Alton's spirit reflection that couldn't be heard due to technical problems with his audio, and (3) stories and comments received after the event. Finally, there are (4) links to the music that was a part of the Memorial. They were not included in the edited version for YouTube due to "zoom distortions.” Take care, Terry ++++++++++++++++++++ From Larry Ward Hello Beloved Ones A few words of gratitude about George West: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1EE_rdJQSROxu55TiGdQBeuwvbKYvXITk/view?usp=… <https://drive.google.com/file/d/1EE_rdJQSROxu55TiGdQBeuwvbKYvXITk/view?usp=…> Grace and Peace, ++++++++++++++ "What I planned to say" about Death by Dick Alton, Chicago: I would like to take a moment to reflect on death- it seems to be my constant companion. In fact, I am fascinated with death. Want to share two reflections with you today. First, although Larry Ward could not be with us, I would like to share some of his new book and then a final reflection. Just read Larry’s new book, “America Racial Karma”, at the end of the book he talks of practices that enables one to act with integrity in the present. He starts every day when he wakes up with the Buddha’s 5 Remembrances. He reads the 5 lines and after each line takes a breath. I am going to read a line and if you could take a short breath afterwards. · I am of the nature to grow old. Breath · I am of the nature to have ill health. Breath · I am the nature to die. Breath · All that is dear to me and everyone I love are of the nature to change. Breath · My actions are my only belongings. Breath In the face of great loss, no words convey the sadness we feel for those who loved George West. Yet we dare to say Death is neither a curse nor a blessing, an end, or a beginning, but only that it is a wondrous, frightening and redemptive reality. It is a step into the Unknown Unknown. It is sacred, and it is good. Even though Death is universal, it is also unique---because every life is unrepeatable. It arrives in its own time and is always shocking, even when it is anticipated. It can be painful or peaceful, timely or not, tragic or strangely welcome, or all of the above at once. We don’t choose the manner or the moment and can only respond by acknowledging its finality and trusting what was, is and will be. We go on. Whether you celebrate death as a Home Going or as a finality that prevents you from being with your loved one physically, acknowledging death is important. We accompany you in your grief. We pray for you in your journey. We hope for your experience of being accompanied by the Divine Spirit. May it sustain you in your sorrow. Our hearts are with you. +++++++++++++++ From Marilyn Crocker What a lovely tribute to the life and service of George. I, like Martha, remember the power of George’s Spirit Conversations. Many of us learned the process well enough to lead meaningful reflections and touch on “the profound” with topics like “tears,“ or “fire”, or “birth,” but George was able to “bleed profound meaning” out of something as inanimate as “a pentel pencil”. The latter was a tool of the mission he carried in his shirt pocket always, loaded with the .7 size lead — just perfect for building 4 X 4 charts. Another memory that holds for me his willingness to experiment to create "something out of nothing” was his hydroponic garden on his porch in Litibu, laden with juicy tomatoes, hanging upside down. And finally, I am embarrassed to admit like others, I can’t remember the year George and Donnamarie were married and I should, because Joe and I were asked to stand in as “his parents” and give the family blessing, as it were. This was comical to me, because although Joe was 5 years older than George, I was 10 years younger. From then on I felt I had permission to say, “Now son, I need to share this with you…..” to which his eyes would twinkle and he would quietly chuckle. ++++++++++++++++ From Karen Snyder: Thank you for taking the leadership on providing this reflective time together in celebrating George’s life!! He was such an influence on my life in our Litibu years together. Here are some links to add to the compiled memories from the Memorial Service today. · What More Could We Ask For? Donnamarie West’s book: https://wedgeblade.net/files/archives_assets/16987.pdf <https://wedgeblade.net/files/archives_assets/16987.pdf> · Creating Community: Finding Meaning in the Place We Live. George West’s book: https://wedgeblade.net/files/archives_assets/22231.pdf <https://wedgeblade.net/files/archives_assets/22231.pdf> · Their mission news article: https://wedgeblade.net/files/archives_assets/21391.pdf <https://wedgeblade.net/files/archives_assets/21391.pdf> ++++++++++++++ From Lynda Cock: When we were interning in Chicago, we moved into the Wests apt. at 314 S. Trumbull. (I think that was the address….near the Preschool). It was pretty rough, but a move up from the bunk beds and a desk in the dorm side of the building (above Room E side). They had knocked a hole in between studs with some remodeling in process, giving Johnny a little space of his own. We had a big double sized loft bed with desks underneath and a sofa with broken springs that practically sank to the floor. But with their Picasso print of the Blue Man, I thought we were in Hippy Heaven. I think they had left for the Urban Academy. Later John was in Cano Negro with George for the consult. We remember George as a very quiet man, full of wisdom and care for local people. His book on community building was a real gift to us all. +++++++++++++++++ From Jack Gilles: I have two stories to tell about George. One is about our conversations together and the other is about Transportation. No one spoke more with George as I did for all the years he was here. The fact that he enjoyed pipes was revealed to me as I often visited while smoking mine. He would comment on it and I would inform him a bit of the history of that particular one and the tobacco I smoked. Our conversations were either one of two topics; either Theology or Politics. George was always reading a book. Usually it was a book of one of the sources we had through RS-I file Bonhoeffer or Tillich pr One of JWM's talks from his two volume set. I would listen to his insights and then comment on them myself. We always enjoyed the discussions. The second area of conversation was Politics. He was a fan on Rachel Maddow, and I watched Morning Joe.. This was the long run-up to the 2000 election that led to Donald Trump. Right up until the result was in I was sure that Hillary Clinton would win and he kept worrying that Trump would. Like so many Liberals I thought that Hillary would come through it. But she didn't. I had to apologize to George for being wrong and we would talk and talk about it. The second item about George was his transportation. George was a horseman. In the early days of building his house he owned a horse and kept it in the village. Finally he had to give it up as it was costing him to much! His second mode of transportation was a four wheeler that Mike Stringer gave to him many years ago. Right up to the year of his death George would find time to use the 4 wheeler to go and get thigs from the Village. Finally there was the car, a 1985 Oldsmobile made in 1988. I believe Donna Marie's father gave it to them. George babied that car every time he drove it. It had such good shocks that the bumpy road had no affect on. We called it the "Float-mobile" . As George aged he used it less and less until finally he had to sell it to the mechanic in Higuera.. It is still sitting their waiting for repair. That is all I have to say about this topic. +++++++++++++++ From Bill Schlesinger: George was – I think – my first ‘First Teacher’ in RS-1 ‘out.’ I was probably 23 or 24 and feeling pretty young. George said something like, “Fix yourself in your mind that you’re 35.” I still do! ++++++++++++++ Here is a link to the two songs Lela sang during the memorial: https://photos.app.goo.gl/k89TXCPZVYGYpqg87 <https://photos.app.goo.gl/k89TXCPZVYGYpqg87> Below is a link to the instrumental music at the end of George's memorial from the Anders Widmark Trio, "Lov, Ära Och Pris:" https://open.spotify.com/track/1gu3jSUEeEf0BXmdsk23HF?si=48cacadb41244f8e <https://open.spotify.com/track/1gu3jSUEeEf0BXmdsk23HF?si=48cacadb41244f8e>

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LINK: George West memorial
by Terry Bergdall 04 Jun '22

04 Jun '22

June 4, 2022, 12:00 PM Mountain Time (US and Canada) - 18:00 UCT/GMT (adjust accordingly) https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81496436195?pwd=UnE0anVFbEpZaUl4SGlqeXBTU1J4QT09 <https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81496436195?pwd=UnE0anVFbEpZaUl4SGlqeXBTU1J4QT09> This will be a one-hour event. Here is the planned program, “God willing and the wifi don’t crash:" Call to Attention: Celebrating Life’s Journey in Song: “The Courage to Care” Sacred Poetry: "The Prologue" from the Saviors of God Spirit Reflection: Stories Celebrating George’s Life; - Family by a designated representative - EI/OE/ICA by a designated representative - Litibu EcoVillage by a designated representative - Friends, Family, and Colleagues - an open invitation to share Celebrating Life’s Journey in Song: "Morning of Freedom” Benediction

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Re: [Dialogue] Songs for Collapsing Times . . . I got distracted . . . that happens a lot
by James Wiegel 03 Jun '22

03 Jun '22

A couple of thoughts: 1. Did you notice that the ICA-USA annual report referenced a song, and even embedded a link to the words? I wonder about (my archive hat is on here . . .) a small contest to identify those songs from our history still worth singing and then, maybe we could figure out how to attach a video or audio file to capture the experience.2. There is your work and Ellie's -- I wonder who else is creating and what they are creating?3. A gift of ours has been to find stuff in the culture around us and either take it directly because it nourishes or tweak (not twerk) it a bit to reveal something.4. I wonder about poetry. Working on this "Last Chapter", the small collection "Poetry" (that was used in the CS-1 course and that we "borrowed" as well for the Imaginal Education Colloquy) has come back to me -- "Buffalo Bill's defunct, who used to . . ."; "Those that go searching for love . . ."; "The mosquito knows . . . " After 20 minutes or so with a group of people over breakfast and that poetry, everyone in the room knew what it was like to be living in the 20th Century. What if we shared around and gathered a new collection of poems aimed to welcome people into the adventure of this century? Jan Sanders and Lauren Brika Liga put together a session for the ToP annual gathering last March and started with a little activity that just got the whole group attending inside of the reality we are facing and acknowledging it . . . 5. Ken Kinney, one of the leaders in the effort to mobilize the ICA"s across Africa to focus on climate change, shared a poem he had found that might be a candidate. I will pull it out. 6. this is really on a different topic, but I spent the last hour listening to Ben Sasse making his case for the future of the conservative movement / republican party. a lot of food for thought. "build a the self-confidence of the American people to navigate this brave new world we are in" A Time for Choosing with Senator Ben Sasse | | | | | | | | | | | A Time for Choosing with Senator Ben Sasse | | | Jim Wiegel Theunknown is what is. And to be frightened of it is what sends everybodyscurrying around chasing dreams, illusions, wars, peace, love, hate, allthat. Unknown is what is. Accept that it's unknown, and it's plainsailing. John Lennon 401 North Beverly Way,Tolleson, Arizona 85353 623-363-3277 jfwiegel(a)yahoo.com www.partnersinparticipation.com On Friday, June 3, 2022, 05:31:31 PM MST, Milan Hamilton <mellowmilan2(a)gmail.com> wrote: Thanks Jim. MM Sent from my iPad On Jun 3, 2022, at 3:40 PM, James Wiegel <jfwiegel(a)yahoo.com> wrote: MILAN -- THIS IS WONDERFUL!!! Jim Wiegel Theunknown is what is. And to be frightened of it is what sends everybodyscurrying around chasing dreams, illusions, wars, peace, love, hate, allthat. Unknown is what is. Accept that it's unknown, and it's plainsailing. John Lennon 401 North Beverly Way, Tolleson, Arizona 85353 623-363-3277 jfwiegel(a)yahoo.com www.partnersinparticipation.com On Monday, May 23, 2022, 07:43:43 PM MST, Karenbueno via Dialogue <dialogue(a)lists.wedgeblade.net> wrote: The lyrics are attached. Thank you, Milan! Great composition, great pictures on the you tube. Karen Bueno Here is the link to Homo Colossus Lament: https://youtu.be/5X2MJwJFY40 -----Original Message----- From: Ellie Stock via Dialogue <dialogue(a)lists.wedgeblade.net> To: oe(a)lists.wedgeblade.net <oe(a)lists.wedgeblade.net>; dialogue(a)lists.wedgeblade.net <dialogue(a)lists.wedgeblade.net> Cc: Ellie Stock <elliestock(a)aol.com>; mellowmilan2(a)gmail.com <mellowmilan2(a)gmail.com> Sent: Mon, May 23, 2022 12:58 pm Subject: Re: [Dialogue] [Oe List ...] Songs for Collapsing Times Thanks for sharing your video song, Milan--that says it all. Could you please post/email the lyrics in poetry form? Time for an Ecozoic acoustic folk music revolution. Karen Snyder has some ideas about this. Folks, send your songs to the list serves! Ellie :) -----Original Message----- From: Milan Hamilton via OE <oe(a)lists.wedgeblade.net> To: ORDER LISTSERVE <oe(a)lists.wedgeblade.net>; ORDER LISTSERVE <oe(a)wedgeblade.net> Cc: Milan Hamilton <mellowmilan2(a)gmail.com> Sent: Mon, May 23, 2022 1:18 pm Subject: [Oe List ...] Songs for Collapsing Times I've been pondering for some time how those who care in these times of failing systems and "great unraveling" sustain themselves. We always had the singing whenever we gathered. I've wondered if singing can still be a sustaining dynamic in these diasporate times. I've turned to writing poetry after running out of prose, finding it a bit too prosaic. And recently, after listening to Ellie Stock's "Let the Earth Breathe" several times, begun to think and feel after a way to have some 'singable' songs, to both take in the seriousness of our predicament, and to try to lighten the load as we grieve our way through the great transition we are surely well into. Thanks to Ellie and her crew, Michael Dowd and his Post Doom, Post Gloom work, and William Catton and his "Overshoot," introducing us to the Homo Colossus we have become as a result of our industrial revolution. This song, "Homo Colossus Lament" was also inspired by the song I remember singing back in the 1950s at summer camp, "Oh They Built the Ship Titanic." The lyrics I wrote follow the P.M. Adamson version of that tune, found on YouTube. My guitar picking fingers are a little more still and my singing voice is not as pure as it once was. So maybe Ellie or one of you musicians could have made a better singable cover of it. I hope there might be more "Singalongs for Collapsing Times" to come.----Milan Hamilton Here is the link to Homo Colossus Lament: https://youtu.be/5X2MJwJFY40 _______________________________________________ OE mailing list OE(a)lists.wedgeblade.net http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net _______________________________________________ Dialogue mailing list Dialogue(a)lists.wedgeblade.net http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/dialogue-wedgeblade.net _______________________________________________ Dialogue mailing list Dialogue(a)lists.wedgeblade.net http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/dialogue-wedgeblade.net

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Re: [Dialogue] [Oe List ...] Songs for Collapsing Times
by Ellie Stock 03 Jun '22

03 Jun '22

Thanks for sharing your video song, Milan--that says it all. Could you please post/email the lyrics in poetry form? Time for an Ecozoic acoustic folk music revolution. Karen Snyder has some ideas about this. Folks, send your songs to the list serves! Ellie :) -----Original Message----- From: Milan Hamilton via OE <oe(a)lists.wedgeblade.net> To: ORDER LISTSERVE <oe(a)lists.wedgeblade.net>; ORDER LISTSERVE <oe(a)wedgeblade.net> Cc: Milan Hamilton <mellowmilan2(a)gmail.com> Sent: Mon, May 23, 2022 1:18 pm Subject: [Oe List ...] Songs for Collapsing Times I've been pondering for some time how those who care in these times of failing systems and "great unraveling" sustain themselves. We always had the singing whenever we gathered. I've wondered if singing can still be a sustaining dynamic in these diasporate times. I've turned to writing poetry after running out of prose, finding it a bit too prosaic. And recently, after listening to Ellie Stock's "Let the Earth Breathe" several times, begun to think and feel after a way to have some 'singable' songs, to both take in the seriousness of our predicament, and to try to lighten the load as we grieve our way through the great transition we are surely well into. Thanks to Ellie and her crew, Michael Dowd and his Post Doom, Post Gloom work, and William Catton and his "Overshoot," introducing us to the Homo Colossus we have become as a result of our industrial revolution. This song, "Homo Colossus Lament" was also inspired by the song I remember singing back in the 1950s at summer camp, "Oh They Built the Ship Titanic." The lyrics I wrote follow the P.M. Adamson version of that tune, found on YouTube. My guitar picking fingers are a little more still and my singing voice is not as pure as it once was. So maybe Ellie or one of you musicians could have made a better singable cover of it. I hope there might be more "Singalongs for Collapsing Times" to come.----Milan Hamilton Here is the link to Homo Colossus Lament: https://youtu.be/5X2MJwJFY40 _______________________________________________ OE mailing list OE(a)lists.wedgeblade.net http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net

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6/02/2022, Progressing Spirit: Rev. Brandan Robertson: When Progressive Christianity Runs Dry; Spong revisited
by Ellie Stock 02 Jun '22

02 Jun '22

| | | | View this email in your browser | | | | | | | | | | | | | | When Progressive Christianity Runs Dry | | | | | | | | | | Essay by Rev. Brandan Robertson June 2, 2022 I, along with many other progressive Christian ministers I know, have grown increasingly cynical about our faith. We no longer feel that the faith that we’ve evolved to embrace has much of a bearing on our daily lives or an impact on the world. Rather than a deep spiritual sense of grounding that faith promises, we feel aloof and disconnected from any sense of inherent meaning or a system of values and beliefs about our lives and the nature of the world. This obviously impacts the way we teach and minister, and oftentimes, our congregations begin to feel the same cynicism about their religious identity and will leave the church. This combination of personal cynicism and congregational apathy is leading many progressive ministers to walk away from ministry altogether. I know at least a half dozen young progressive clergy who walked away from their churches in the last year, and all of them would cite either one or both realities as driving their exodus from religious ministry. I’ve been tempted to walk away from my sense of vocation and progressive faith altogether many times for these reasons. But instead of walking away, I’ve stubbornly stuck around to reflect upon why it is that my own progressive faith and that of many in my community had dried up. I’ve wanted to know why progressive people of faith are leaving churches and even ceasing to identify with their religious tradition altogether. While I’ve not arrived at any sure answers to this question, I do want to explore one of the primary reasons I think progressive Christian faith in particular is failing to deliver a robust and meaningful spirituality to the next generation of spiritual seekers. For me, the answer to this question has become obvious when I explore why other religious communities seem to be flourishing- in our embrace of the values of modernity, like skepticism, biblical criticism, and anti-supernaturalism, we’ve rid our religion of all the meaningful aspects of a religion. The reason religion exists is, in part, to help root people in a worldview and common story that they put faith in and live their lives according to, which helps give shape and meaning to their daily lives. But for many progressive Christians, rather than embracing as true the narratives of the Christian story by faith, we’ve spent our time picking apart the historic veracity of these stories, which, while deeply interesting, provides little inspiration or foundation for us to live our lives. The Danish Philosopher Kierkegaard is famous for his exploration of the idea of the existential anxiety that all humans face- and his remedy to this angst was to suggest that people take a leap of faith and buy wholesale into a set of religious stories, rituals, values, and community, which then provides meaning and peace in their lives. What Kierkegaard was not advocating for was intellectual dishonesty or blind faith- rather, he accurately understood that the point of religion throughout the ages hasn’t been to actually provide objective answers to the big questions of life, but rather to provide a subjective way for different communities and cultures to view the world with common language, rituals, and values, thus, manufacturing a sense of wellbeing , comfort, and purpose in the life of the members of the community. In other words, while we progressive Christians are good at doing critical studies of the Bible and our traditions, eventually, our faith evolves into nothing more than an intellectual curiosity– which is extremely important and valuable- but ultimately doesn’t provide the experiential sense of meaning and groundedness that religion is intended to provide. This is why progressive Christian communities are often described as “dry” and “lifeless”- when there’s no shared buy-in to a common story, common beliefs, common practices, and common hope at some deeply emotional level but rather a common intellectual curiosity and critique, it’s hard to feel much excitement or inspiration from one’s faith and begs the question why faith is important at all. So, what am I proposing? I think progressive ministers and people of faith should rethink how we speak about, teach, and believe our own religious faith. We need to overcome our fear of being perceived as naive or unevolved for seeking to experience the Divine or for adhering to the collective Christian story. We should still be skeptical, we should still embrace intellectual curiosity and honesty, but we should also recognize that there is a time for everything- and sometimes, it’s just good to suspend our skepticism and just allow ourselves to experience the mystery and possibility that our faith provokes within us. Instead of placing caveats around the stories we tell or the spiritual practices we perform, perhaps we can take an imaginative leap of faith, and act as if the stories and claims of our faith are true. In many other progressive religious traditions, we see this displayed in profound ways. I have many friends who are progressive Rabbis and Imams. They too are skeptical and willing to critique the objective truthfulness of their traditions and stories- but at the end of the day, when they celebrate their high holy days or speak about the stories of their faith, they appear to be as devout as the most orthodox of believers. They participate in an ongoing story that may not be factually true and may have aspects that should be critiqued or reformed but is embraced nonetheless deeply true and experienced in a visceral way by them and their communities. There are times and places for critical discussion and analysis of their faith- but there are also times to embrace their traditions, stories, and theology as deeply true and allow that to provide hope, stability, and way to interpret their lives and the world. If we are to be progressive Christians, it’s important that we stop neglecting the unique Christian religious tradition we’re a part of. (I’m writing to myself as much as to anyone else.) We must allow our faith to become experiential and emotional once again, and we must dare to take the leap in our minds to believe that the Christian story and worldview is true. For me, this means believing- feeling as if it’s true- that there is a God, revealed in Christ, who has come to redeem the world. That God is actively at work in my life and in the world, and that everything is moving towards God’s vision of wholeness and holiness. This may not be the theological paradigm that you embrace, but I do encourage you to embrace some paradigm that requires an experiential faith and challenges the way you think and live. This simple shift in how we think and speak about our faith, I believe, will have a profound impact on our lives and our communities. To encourage the embrace and value of faith might just be the spark that helps us see the value of religion and religious community once again, but more than that, can provide a deeply felt hope and stability in our increasingly unstable and scary world. ~ Rev. Brandan Robertson Read online here About the Author Rev. Brandan Robertson is a noted spiritual thought-leader, contemplative activist, and commentator, working at the intersections of spirituality, sexuality, and social renewal and the author of Nomad: A Spirituality For Travelling Light and writes regularly for Patheos, Beliefnet, and The Huffington Post. He has published countless articles in respected outlets such as TIME, NBC, The Washington Post, Religion News Service, and Dallas Morning News. As sought out commentator of faith, culture, and public life, he is a regular contributor to national media outlets and has been interviewed by outlets such as MSNBC, NPR, SiriusXM, TIME Magazine, Newsweek, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and The Associated Press. He leads Metanoia, a digital spiritual community at MetanoiaCenter.org | | | | | | | | Question & Answer Q: By A Reader Do you consider anything a sin? I once had a minister who told me that sin is anything that gets between you and God. A: By Rev. David M. Felten Dear Reader, Seriously? In these last few days, as we reel from yet another greed-induced, politically endorsed massacre of school children, shake our heads at the ineptitude and evil of the Southern Baptist Convention’s non-response to its sexual abuse crisis, as state legislatures sprint to pass ever-more-punitive anti-LGBTQ laws and gut reproductive rights, as states revel in their power to execute prisoners, as oil companies make money hand-over-fist while accusing the government of deliberately raising gas prices, as teachers are simultaneously demonized for teaching Critical Race Theory AND put forward as potential armed defenders of their children, as pastors gin-up Christian Nationalist White Supremacist sentiments in their churches, and as politicians consciously frighten and manipulate unsophisticated voters with increasingly deranged conspiracy theories, can you POSSIBLY be serious? How about a list of sins? - Facilitating or doing conscious harm to others — especially the vulnerable who can’t defend themselves (including people/animals/creation itself) - Lying to defend institutional wrongdoing and embracing greed and power as ultimate virtues, - Killing people to show how much we hate killing people, - Corporate welfare for the privileged while countless fellow citizens go bankrupt or die without affordable healthcare, housing, & education. I’d go on but there’s just too much. What breaks my heart all the more is that those who justify harming others (by commission OR omission) often do so through misdirection, namely, blaming the victims. “Women who are seeking abortions obviously got pregnant because they were promiscuous. SINNER!” “People on death row (never mind the racial and socio-economic disparity of those sentenced to death) obviously committed a crime and deserve to die. SINNER!” “Transgender people are perverts seeking ways to groom and assault our children. DANGEROUS SINNERS!” What is wrong with this picture? Namely, American-style Christianity has been reduced to a narcissistic purity culture of obeying certain rules (no drinking, no dancing, no cards, no movies, no sex!) It’s all about the righteous being promised heaven and sinners threatened with hell. Never mind that, taken as a whole, Jesus seemed to be concerned with the details of individual lives only insofar as they had a bearing on the broader life of the community as a whole. Jesus was striving to bring about the kingdom for ALL of humanity — and that meant calling out injustice in the social order. As far as sin being defined as “anything that gets between you and God,” that old chestnut just plays into the hyper-individualized propaganda of conventional pop Christianity. Frankly, it’s probably counterproductive to even get God involved in the definition of sin. The Judeo-Christian God is a known and well-documented practitioner of genocide, misogyny, racism, and religious violence. So, I’m happy to “get between” God and those kinds of behaviors. If that makes me a sinner (or the manifestation of sin itself), then hurrah! Somebody needs to stand up for humanity against an obviously inept, often complicit, and more-often-than-not AWOL Divinity. Look, doing the “not good” or “not right” is part of the human condition. But the time is long since past for us to stop being distracted by an obsession over individual “sin” and focus on the institutional “not goodness” and systemic injustice that is laying waste to our world and its inhabitants. To ignore these evils may be the biggest sin of all. ~ Rev. David M. Felten Read and share online here About the Author Rev. David M. 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” and authors of Living the Questions: The Wisdom of Progressive Christianity. A co-founder of Catalyst Arizona 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 is the proud father of three reliably remarkable human beings. Visit his website here. | | | | | | | | Please continue to send us your feedback… we are listening. We aim to give voice to many different perspectives that are relevant and inspiring along this spiritually progressing path. We are not here to tell you what to believe or how to act. We are here to support your journey, to share and learn together.Thank you for being a part of this community - join us on Facebook! | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | As a non-profit ProgressiveChristianity.org/Progressing Spirit rely heavily on the good will of our donors to help us continue to bring individuals and churches the messages of progressive Christians, Weekly Newsletters, along with the many other resources we provide. For years, the majority of our fundraising came at the end of the year. Looking at various ways to create a more reasonable amount of cash flow we decided rather than having a BIG ask at the end of each year, our more frequent asks give folks a chance to contribute when their funds are more flexible. We think that's a win for everyone. We also want to highlight the opportunity to become a sustaining supporter. If you are looking for the best way to help us continue to provide progressive Christian resources, become a sustaining supporter by choosing Recurring Donation. Help keep ProgressiveChristianity.org online and going strong - click here to donate today! * Another way to support us is to leave a bequest in your Will and/or Trust designating us a beneficiary. | | | | | | | | | | | Don't miss the next Episode of PC.org's Executive Directors Mark and Caleb on: The Moonshine Jesus Show - every Monday at 4:30pm Eastern Time – watch live on Facebook,, YouTube, Twitter, Podme | | | | | | | | | Bishop John Shelby Spong Revisited "Think Different—Accept Uncertainty" Part XIII: Miracles As Signs to Be Interpreted Essay by Bishop John Shelby Spong July 5, 2012 Today, as a part of the overall series entitled “Think Different–Accept Uncertainty,” I want to begin to press this mini-unit on the miracle stories of the gospels toward a conclusion. My concern has been to show modern readers that these miraculous narratives found in the gospels were always symbolic, interpretive stories rather than supernatural accounts arising out of the lack of knowledge present in that pre-modern world, filled as it was with fear and superstition. The first thing we noted was that the miracles attributed to Jesus in the New Testament fell into three distinct categories: nature miracles, raising of the dead miracles and making people whole miracles. Our next insight came from looking at the miracle stories found in earlier traditions in the Hebrew Scriptures. There we noted that, for the most part, miracles in the Bible were centered in three cycles of stories. First, there was the Moses-Joshua cycle where the miracle stories all seemed to involve power over the forces of nature. Here we found such things as the plagues on Egypt, the splitting of the Red Sea to allow safe passage across the water for the fleeing slaves and the raining down of heavenly bread called manna. These “natural miracles” dominate the Moses cycle of stories. When we arrived at the Joshua cycle we found additional feats of natural power that included the splitting of the waters of the Jordan River, the collapsing of the walls of Jericho and the stopping of the sun in the sky in its journey around the earth to allow more daylight for Joshua’s troops to massacre more of his enemy’s soldiers on the battlefield. Then looking at the nature miracles attributed to Jesus in the gospels we saw in them echoes of these Moses-Joshua stories. Jesus also was said to have had power over water. He did not split seas and rivers, but he could calm the storm and walk on the water. Like Moses, Jesus could also feed the multitude in the wilderness with finite amounts of food, which could expand to any needed dimensions and the supply never be exhausted just like manna in the wilderness. The power of nature was thus depicted in the gospels as subservient to the power of Jesus. Like Moses, Jesus could command the forces of nature to do his will. The second cycle of miracle stories in the Bible was found in the accounts that gathered around the persons of Elijah and Elisha, who were thought of as those who started the prophetic movement. Here most of the miracles were once again nature miracles. Both Elijah and Elisha could part the waters of the Jordan River and they could both expand the food supply so that it did not give out. They could also control the weather and even call down fire from heaven to serve their purposes. Two dramatically new miraculous powers, however, were added to the accounts of Elijah and Elisha. Both were said to have been able to raise the dead. Elijah raised from the dead the only son of a widow. Elisha raised from the dead the twelve-year-old daughter of a wealthy woman who had befriended him. Elisha was also the first person in the Bible who was said to have performed a healing miracle. He healed the leprosy of a foreigner, a man named Naaman the Syrian. We looked earlier in this series at the relationship between these Elijah-Elisha stories and the gospel narratives and began to see the close connections. Jesus, like Elijah, raised from the dead a widow’s only son, a story told only in Luke. Jesus, like Elisha, raised from the dead a child in a narrative recorded in Mark, Matthew and Luke. I might also add that Luke alone told the story of Jesus cleansing the leprosy of ten people, but that story turned on the fact that one of them was a foreigner, a Samaritan, and he, like Naaman the Syrian, was the only one to recognize the source of healing power. The Elijah-Elisha stories appear to have shaped these gospel narratives dramatically. Most of the best-known miracle stories in the gospels that surround Jesus, however, had to do with healing individuals or making them whole. Jesus was portrayed with some frequency as being able to give sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, the ability to leap and walk to those with lame or withered limbs, and to enable the mute to speak or sing. What do we make of these stories? Well, the fact is that they too grow out of the Hebrew Scriptures and were presented in the gospels as signs that Jesus was the appointed messiah. For this analysis, we have to go to I Isaiah (Isaiah 1-39). Someone must have asked this eighth century BCE prophet how people would recognize and know just when the Kingdom of God on earth was beginning. In Jewish mythology to inaugurate the Kingdom was the primary role assigned to the figure they called the messiah. I Isaiah wrote his response to this question in the 35th chapter of his book in beautiful and poetic language. You will know that the Kingdom of God is at hand and that the messianic age is beginning, he said, when these things occur: First, water will begin to flow in the desert enabling the crocuses to bloom there and the gift of life will be celebrated from Mt. Carmel to Sharon. The second sign will be just as dramatic: Human wholeness will begin to replace human brokenness. “The eyes of the blind will be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then shall the lame man leap like a hart and the tongue of the dumb sing for joy” (Is. 35:5-6). That specific messianic tradition was lifted out of I Isaiah quite intentionally by the interpreters of Jesus and its content placed into the gospel tradition by the authors of both Matthew and Luke when they re-introduced John the Baptist into their narratives. According to this story, John had been imprisoned by Herod for his preaching against Herod’s illegal marriage. While John was in prison, these two gospel writers tell us, John’s confidence began to waver as to whether or not Jesus really was “the one who was to come,” that is, the expected messiah, or whether John and his followers must begin to look for another. With these doubts motivating him, John the Baptist sent messengers to Jesus asking him to clarify his messianic status. Jesus did not answer John’s question directly. Instead he told the messengers to return to John and tell him what they had seen and heard and let him draw his own conclusions. Then, he referred them quite specifically to this Isaiah text. The blind that came in touch with Jesus were enabled to see; the deaf were enabled to hear; the lame could walk and leap, and the mute could talk and sing. The signs of the messianic age were in fact breaking out all around Jesus. In this narrative, Matthew and Luke were making specific claims about Jesus as messiah and they were quoting this passage from Isaiah to demonstrate that Jesus indeed was the expected one, “the one who was to come.” If healing were to accompany the inauguration of the Kingdom of God and if Jesus was believed to have been that promised one, then he had to be portrayed as the bringer of wholeness. This means that miracle stories had to be attached to the memory of Jesus in all three of the Old Testament categories: Moses stories, Elijah- Elisha stories and messianic expectation stories. Jesus was messiah was their claim and for supporting data for this claim they cited stories that demonstrated that he commanded the forces of nature, he raised the dead and he was the one who could and did bring wholeness to the brokenness of human life. That is what those miracle stories were employed to communicate and that is why they need to be read as interpretive symbols, not as supernatural acts. That was also why no miracles were connected with the memory of Jesus until the eighth decade. It took that long for this interpretive process to get established. That is why Paul seems to know nothing of Jesus as a miracle worker. Miracles were an eighth decade addition to the Jesus story, introduced first by Mark, then copied within a decade or so with no additions by Matthew. By the time Luke wrote in the late 80’s to early 90’s, more Elijah-Elisha stories were added to the memory of Jesus. That is why only in Luke did Jesus like Elisha, heal not one, but ten lepers. Only in Luke did Jesus raise from the dead the only son of a widow just as Elijah did. When Luke arrived at the climax of his gospel he once again adapted an Elijah story, magnified it and then retold it as a Jesus story. That is why, only in Luke, did Jesus ascend into heaven, just as Elijah did, except that Luke says that Jesus did it without the help that Elijah received from a magical, fiery chariot drawn by magical fiery horses and propelled by a divine whirlwind. Jesus, as the new Elijah, could ascend without any supernatural aids. After Elijah ascended, he was said to have poured out a double portion of his powerful, but still human spirit on his single disciple, Elisha. In Luke’s climactic narrative, Jesus, the “new Elijah, poured out the enormous gift of God’s Holy Spirit in sufficient quantities to transform the entire community and to last throughout the centuries. In the telling of these Ascension and Pentecost stories, Luke tipped his hat overtly to the Elijah source from which he was drawing his material. He even took the whirlwind that propelled Elijah’s chariot heavenward and he turned it into the mighty rushing wind that filled the upper room on the day of Pentecost. He took the fire from the magical chariot and horses and turned it into tongues of fire that were said to have lighted on the heads of the disciples as a sign of the presence of the Holy Spirit. A close examination of the miracle stories of the New Testament thus reveals that they were not written as the memory of literal events. They were, rather, created as interpretive narratives presenting Jesus as the new Moses, the new Elijah and the expected messiah. They are to be read not as supernatural tales, but as interpretive symbols. Suddenly the miracles begin to look very different and we are able to read the gospels in a new manner. To see this, however, we must “think different” and “accept uncertainty.” We will continue this series next week. ~ John Shelby Spong | | | | | | | | Announcements Queering Christian Leadership – A LOVEboldly Webinar How do LGBTQIA+ Christian leaders understand and interpret leadership? 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