July 2012 - OE - lists.wedgeblade.net

7/12/12, Spong: On Baptizing Hadden
by Ellie Stock 12 Jul '12

12 Jul '12

HOMEPAGE MY PROFILE ESSAY ARCHIVE MESSAGE BOARDS CALENDAR On Baptizing Hadden It 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 pitch fork 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 Read the essay online here. Bishop Spong's Summer Session at the Pacific School of Religion! Re-Claiming the Bible in a Post-Christian World Instructor: John Shelby Spong Dates and Times: One week: July 16-20, 9am - 1pm Description: Can the Bible, written 2000-3000 years ago, speak in any meaningful way to the 21st century? If it cannot, then is Christianity at an end? If it can, will Christianity look anything like what we have known in the past? Since creeds and doctrines are all constructed on the basis of what was believed to be "Biblical Truth," can any of the current formularies stand? Since liturgy is based on biblical definitions of sin, salvation and God, none of which make much sense to 21st century people, can Christianity tolerate the revolution that it faces? This class will be taught by one who has been a priest and bishop for 56 years with one foot in the institutional church and the other in the academic world of new insights. It is specifically designed for clergy and questing lay people. Course Credits & Cost: 1.5 credits - $990; audit - $495; 2.0 CEUs - $350 Course Number: BS-2117 (credit); BS-0003 (CEUs) Required Text: John Shelby Spong, Re-Claiming the Bible for a Non-Religious World, 2011 HarperCollins, San Francisco. Purchase here. Syllabus: Re-Claiming the Bible in a Post-Christian World Register Question & Answer Michael from Hamilton, New Zealand, writes: Question: This is not a question, rather a message of appreciation of what you have achieved for one family. My wife and I were hugely encouraged and relieved to read your book, Rescuing the Bible from Fundamentalism after it was published. I have attended most of your public lectures in Hamilton. As a Methodist Lay Preacher for 50 years and also a Presbyterian elder (for reasons of geographic location, I have been involved with farming all my life), I used to struggle with much of the doctrine I was taught. I was, however, fortunate to have clergy of progressive thinking to stimulate and encourage the questions. However, the main point of this note is to tell you that my 97 year old mother is still probably the most radical member of our family. Each of your newsletters I print in a bold 20 font so she can read them. At 90 she said, I am glad to have lived this long because I keep learning more and more. In the 60’s she was the first to read J. A. T. Robinson with the encouragement of our then minister Rev. Dr. (now Dame) Phyllis Guthardt. During World War II, she and my father were persecuted for their Christian pacifist stand, so she knows what fires of faith mean. Today, I received an e-mail from one of our sons who is a PhD in engineering, was NZ young manager of the year some years ago and was recently made redundant when the government dept he headed was amalgamated with another. His comments reflect I believe many of our younger generation, in Richard’s case he has found a church where his intelligence and leadership skills are appreciated and his beliefs stimulated. Your newsletter he refers to is the one concerning Barabbas. I send these on to all of my family. “Always a delight to read and see what a truly clear mind and impeccable scholarship can bring to scripture. I always feel like slapping my head and crying “How obvious, when Spong lifts the scales from my eyes. Thanks for keeping me in touch with someone (like you and Mum) who makes me proud to call myself a Christian.” - Love, Richard Answer: Dear Michael, Some time ago when I was being interviewed on a radio station in Johannesburg, South Africa, the interviewer asked me what country I would most look forward to visiting again and I replied without hesitation, New Zealand. We have been there on nine different occasions and treasure the friends we have in that country, starting with one who is almost a national monument, Dr. Lloyd George Geering, who was one of the original voices of progressive religious thought in the world and who paid for it by being put on trial for heresy by the Presbyterian Church in New Zealand. Dr. Geering was exonerated, but the Presbyterian Church was revealed as so limited and closed-minded that it has never been the same since. New Zealand surely has it share of small-minded religious zealots and one of them follows me around when I’m there and hands out tracts to those attending my lectures so that they will be able to resist “the onslaught of the Devil.“ I am sure that he thinks he is serving God and the cause of truth, but any God who has to be defended by that kind of person is clearly sick unto death. New Zealand’s Anglican clergy have also included some great leaders. I think of Paul Reeves, David Coles, Dean Peter Beck of Christ Church and Glynn Cardy, the vicar of St. Matthew-in-the-City in Auckland. There were, of course, other Anglicans who will die of boredom long before the courageous ones die of controversy. When I think of New Zealand, I think of things like beautiful landscapes, Kiwi fruit and Kiwi birds, ripe avocadoes picked off the tree and spread on toast for breakfast, the Franz Joseph Glacier, the Abel Tasman Park, the Milford Track, a wonderful international religious leader in the world council of Churches, named Dr. Brash, now deceased, and his two children, Don and Lynn, now themselves impressive adults and last but not least two of our closest personal friends, Geoff Robinson, the voice of New Zealand, and his wonderful wife Liz, who is a theological rebel with a cause. Thank you for your letter and please give my love to your 97-year-old mother. ~John Shelby Spong Announcements Read what Bishop Spong has to say about A Joyful Path Progressive Christian Spiritual Curriculum for Young Hearts and Minds: "The great need in the Christian church is for a Sunday school curriculum for children that does not equate faith with having a pre-modern mind. The Center for Progressive Christianity has produced just that. Teachers can now teach children in Sunday school without crossing their fingers. I endorse it wholeheartedly. Subscribers, please remember that your subscription is automatically renewed. You can unsubscribe at any time. Simply login to access your profile page and cancel your account. Login to be able to comment directly on the website. Join in the discussion! Look for Bishop Spong on Facebook and LIKE the Facebook page for ProgressiveChristianity.org You can also follow Bishop Spong on Twitter. Thank you for taking this journey with us! Any questions or concerns, please contact us at support(a)johnshelbyspong.com or 503-236-3545. Copyright © 2012 ProgressiveChristianity.org, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you have a membership at our website. Our mailing address is: ProgressiveChristianity.org 4916 Pt Fosdick Dr, NW #148 Gig Harbor, WA 98335 Add us to your address book .

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Lake Karachay, Russia, focus for Earth Healing Day
by LAURELCG＠aol.com 12 Jul '12

12 Jul '12

It is time for us to work the magic of open and loving hearts, as we join together, becoming so much more than the sum of our parts. Is this email not displaying correctly? _View it in your browser_ (http://us4.campaign-archive2.com/?u=a941b36eee19691502bef4bc2&id=5f30e80974…) . (http://earthhealingday.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=a941b36eee19691502…) Earth Healing Day July 22, 2012 Focus: Lake Karachay in Russia Lake Karachay, known to be the most polluted lake on the planet, lies south of Siberia and east of the Ural Mountains in Russia. Used as a reservoir for nuclear waste from the Mayak atomic weapons complex, its toxic waters are now mostly covered in concrete. Scientist who visited Lake Karachay in 1990 measured the radiation on the shore and the needles of their Geiger counters determined that a lethal dose would be received in only one hour. The radioactive fallout of three nuclear disasters _read more..._ (http://earthhealingday.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=a941b36eee19691502… &id=ec143331e5&e=6d667c7521) Pagoda Meditation & White Light Meditation Additional meditations which seem timely ~ _The Pagoda practice_ (http://earthhealingday.us4.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=a941b36eee1969150…) helps lift the dense energy from an area and _The White Light meditation_ (http://earthhealingday.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=a941b36eee19691502… 013440&e=6d667c7521) can be practiced to help fortify the body to resist radiation. This is a tragic situation and the scope of what needs addressing is staggering. It will take much dedication by many to overcome the levels and layers that need to be addressed. ____________________________________ For more information on Lake Karachay please see: _Damn Interesting_ (http://earthhealingday.us4.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=a941b36eee1969150… 4bc2&id=4b6fd61ddb&e=6d667c7521) and _World Catastrophe Map_ (http://earthhealingday.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=a941b36eee19691502… fc531ef9a&e=6d667c7521) _Friend on Facebook_ (http://earthhealingday.us4.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=a941b36eee1969150…) _Follow on Twitter_ (http://earthhealingday.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=a941b36eee19691502…) _Forward to a Friend_ (http://us4.forward-to-friend.com/forward?u=a941b36eee19691502bef4bc2&id=5f3…) Let Us Come Together to Aid Lake Karachay Again we ask that you add your energy to the Healing Wave on July 22nd from Noon to 1:00, your time zone, as we circle the globe in a blanket of love to heal Lake Karachay and all planetary waters. _Click here_ (http://earthhealingday.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=a941b36eee19691502…) for the meditation to aid in the healing of this precious body of water. To download a PDF of this meditation _Click here _ (http://earthhealingday.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=a941b36eee19691502… =6d667c7521) ____________________________________ Thank you for the gift of your heart and your efforts. _follow on Twitter_ (http://earthhealingday.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=a941b36eee19691502…) | (http://earthhealingday.us 4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=a941b36eee19691502bef4bc2&id=4faf2cd3e8&e=6…) _friend on Facebook_ (http://earthhealingday.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=a941b36eee19691502… 21) | _forward to a friend_ (http://us4.forward-to-friend.com/forward?u=a941b36eee19691502bef4bc2&id=5f3…) (http://us4.forward-to-friend.com/f orward?u=a941b36eee19691502bef4bc2&id=5f30e80974&e=6d667c7521) Copyright © 2012 Earth Healing Day, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you opted in at our website or asked to be added to the list via email. Our mailing address is: Earth Healing Day 5 Bisbee Ct., #109-240 Santa Fe, NM 87508 _Add us to your address book_ (http://earthhealingday.us4.list-manage1.com/vcard?u=a941b36eee19691502bef4b…) (http://www.mailchimp.com/monkey-rewards/?aid=a941b36eee19691502bef4bc2&afl=1)

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Charles and Doris Hahn Reflect
by Michael May 10 Jul '12

10 Jul '12

Friends, The following Video Clips and Message have been added to www.storywarrior.net<http://e2ma.net/go/12740088776/214088368/229202536/42140/goto:http://www.st…>. These will have specific interest to those who shared in the life of the Ecumenical Institute or the Order Ecumenical or have interest in this history. Please Register<http://e2ma.net/go/12740088776/214088368/229202537/42140/goto:http://www.st…> for the site if you have not already done so (there is no cost). Feature Video Clips: I Am One with All (Charles Hahn)<http://e2ma.net/go/12740088776/214088368/229202538/42140/goto:http://www.st…> Will Trees Continue in History? (Doris Hahn)<http://e2ma.net/go/12740088776/214088368/229202539/42140/goto:http://www.st…> Or view the full interview.<http://e2ma.net/go/12740088776/214088368/229202540/42140/goto:http://www.st…> On the journey…... Michael Michael D. May Interior Mythos Journeys Nurturing the Infinite Addiction www.storywarrior.net 210 East Gilbert Drive Bloomington, IN 47408 (812)606-7152 cell michael(a)storywarrior.net

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Invitation to participate in Peace and Governance Theme of the Nepal Conference Jam
by Jean Watts 10 Jul '12

10 Jul '12

Please join Wayne Ellsworth, Catherine Tornbom, and some of the ToP facilitators in brainstorming provocative questions for the synchronistic and asynchronistic virtual meetings in what we call a "Jam session" on July 19, 9:00 am EDT, 8:00 am CDT, 7:00 am MDT, and 6:00 am PDT. We will be prioritizing the factors or conditions that assure the success of peace programs or projects and brainstorming provocative questions in preparation for the Peace and Governance Theme of the Nepal Conference. To join Login to GoToMeeting for AUDIO: https://www3.gotomeeting.com/join/227825654 You can use your microphone and speakers (VoIP) - a headset is recommended. Or, call in using your telephone. Dial +1 (773) 897-3014 Access Code: 227-825-654 Audio PIN: Shown after joining the meeting Meeting ID: 227-825-654 For VISUAL Login to Adobe Connect Pro: http://top.adobeconnect.com/peaceandgovernance/ For questions email me at jeanwatts(a)cox.net or phone 504 913 7828 or Catherine Tornbom at catherine(a)interfuseassociates.com - phone 520.289.7117 Your participation would be appreciated. Let one of us know if you plan to participate so we know how many to expect. Thanks

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Re: [Oe List ...] OE Digest, Vol 4, Issue 12
by David Flowers 09 Jul '12

09 Jul '12

Lately I've been chanting the slogan; abundance - equity - sustainability. I don't see sustainability as the external situation - rather I see it as a paradigm describing alignment with creation itself. But .... yes that includes the external....hmmm. external, internal, - its all the same matter. I heard a wise person say the other day - "we act as if we are these special conscious beings operating in a Universe of dead things" On Mon, Jul 9, 2012 at 11:40 AM, <oe-request(a)lists.wedgeblade.net> wrote: > Send OE mailing list submissions to > oe(a)lists.wedgeblade.net > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > oe-request(a)lists.wedgeblade.net > > You can reach the person managing the list at > oe-owner(a)lists.wedgeblade.net > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > than "Re: Contents of OE digest..." > > > Today's Topics: > > 1. Re: [Dialogue] ?How do we assist in accelerating > sustainability in every community around where we live?? (Ellie > Stock) > 2. Re: [Dialogue] ?How do we assistin accelerating > sustainability in every community around wherewe live?? > (David Walters) > 3. Re: [Dialogue] "How do we assistin accelerating > sustainability in every community around wherewe live?" > (Herman Greene) > 4. (no subject) (jbames10(a)aol.com) > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Message: 1 > Date: Sun, 8 Jul 2012 17:32:18 -0400 (EDT) > From: Ellie Stock <elliestock(a)aol.com> > To: dialogue(a)lists.wedgeblade.net, oe(a)lists.wedgeblade.net > Subject: Re: [Oe List ...] [Dialogue] ?How do we assist in > accelerating sustainability in every community around where we > live?? > Message-ID: <8CF2B6848D56A21-29BC-2D7B8(a)webmail-m063.sysops.aol.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" > > > Thanks, Karen--very helpful. > Ellie > > > -----Original Message----- > From: Karen Snyder <karen.snyder10(a)gmail.com> > To: Colleague Dialogue <dialogue(a)lists.wedgeblade.net> > Sent: Sun, Jul 8, 2012 4:27 pm > Subject: [Dialogue] ?How do we assist in accelerating sustainability in > every community around where we live?? > > > Whatif the question of our time is ?How do weassist in accelerating > sustainability in every community around where we live?? Here is a summary > of the journey ofworking with colleagues in Chicago to answer this question > ? colleagues new andold, colleagues in non-profit organizations, public > agenices and for-profitcompanies, colleagues young and old. Participating > in the journey to date, the following comes to mind. > Inthis century at the ICA office in Chicago, sustainability has surfaced > asimportant for the future direction of ICA services. Intriguing stories > surfaced about global movements wherepeople have been engaged for five to > forty years in rethinking community to include the earth and all > itsresources, plants, animals and mineral life (e.g., Transition Movement, > GlobalVillage Movement, Natural Step). Aswe considered creating yet > another demonstration of community in Uptown, simultaneouslywe asked > ourselves what would it take to create demonstrations in everycommunity of > Chicago, applying to Transition US to be recognized as Transition > Chicago(listed as #83 of 119 official Transition US initiatives ? seehttp:// > transitionus.org) > Thestory evolved as we began talking with people across the city, asking > them toidentify sustainable initiatives that they are a part of or know > about. It quickly became clear that aremarkable revolution of change and > empowerment is happening, often unrecognizedwithin the community or even > the people actually engaged in the initiative andbelow the media radar. We > foundthat instead of doing another demonstration, what was needed was to > ?listen andlearn? what is going on, assist in highlighting success that is > alreadypresent, and then discern roles needed to help in acceleration. It > could be said that all Chicago communities are already in transition > towards a new future. > Theyear-long Identifying Phase of ?listening and learning? began last > summer asstudent interns from Oklahoma City University documented two > communities. In the fall a professor at DePaulUniversity involved his two > classes (55 students) in researching sustainableinitiatives in fifteen > communities. By January five other Chicago universities had 150 students > researching 38communities. This summer fortystudents from six Chicago > universities, three community colleges, and eightnational universities have > spent the last seven weeks collecting informationfrom the remaining 22 > Chicago communities. > Tomorrowis the launch of the Connection Phase, an exciting time of > inviting community peopleengaged in sustainable initiatives to participate > in accelerationthrough highlighting their achievements, sharing, networking > and participatingin the September 15th Sharing Approaches that Work event > in Chicago. After the Share Fair, the Engaging Phase will focus on the > question of acceleration. > Whathave we learned? 500 sustainableinitiatives were identified by June > 1st with yet another500 since identified or yet undiscovered. Community > gardens are cropping upeverywhere. New LEED certifiedbuildings (police, > fire stations, schools, homes) have been built ? orretrofitted. Businesses > arechanging their practices to be more energy efficient, more resourceful. > Restaurants are being recognized forbeing ?green? as they provide > healthier food choices. Schools are creating curriculums thatteach > children ? who teach their parents ? about sustainability. Youth grow > andsell food they raise, create and lead workshops in eating healthy. > Incredible blessings for thefuture are hidden like gems for those who have > the eyes to see, the ears tohear, the questions to ask, and the answers > remembered! > Theyouth through elders engaged in identifying and connecting initiatives > work out of the ICA buildingwhere people are dreaming about what it will > look for the building to be off the grid by2020. In the past colleagues > addedenergy efficient windows, a ?green? bricked parking lot, and > transformed theLumumba Room into a green space. In 2012 six wind turbines > are being added to the roof, sensor lightinghas been added throughout the > building, the second story roof has beenresurfaced to be ?green?, a new > kitchen creates community spirit, and food is being grown in the > kitchengreenhouse and conference room window. The building serves as one of > the Uptown community's sustainable initiatives. > PersonallyI am joy-filled as I participate in this work. While on a > learning curve, I am in the midst of unlearningmuch of the past. As a > facilitator, I am learning to use less paper and fewer procedures while > being challenged to use more visuals and tell motivating stories. I am > impatient with my personal slowchange in habits to make a smaller earth > footprint (e.g., when asked at thegrocery store, ?Do you want paper or > plastic?? I again agonize knowing I wantneither ? but the bags I brought > for bagging are in the car!) The student interns visiting communities when > it is 100 degrees are aninspiration in their intelligence and commitment to > this work. There is a sense of being surrounded byThose Who Care. > Thisis all to say that I perceive that just as important as raising the > ?right? question(s)for our time is to reveal where the question is already > abundantly beinganswered - as well as tell how we are participating in > creative and significantresponses to it. Some researchers saythat the best > way to change hearts and change behavior is to point to what ispossible! > Peace, > Karen > > _______________________________________________ > Dialogue mailing list > Dialogue(a)lists.wedgeblade.net > http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/dialogue-wedgeblade.net > > >

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(no subject)
by jbames10＠aol.com 09 Jul '12

09 Jul '12

http://tas.org.rs/dfpois.html?iatak=jgqfkpi

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Re: [Oe List ...] [Dialogue] “How do we assistin accelerating sustainability in every community around wherewe live?”
by David Walters 09 Jul '12

09 Jul '12

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Re: [Oe List ...] [Dialogue] “How do we assist in accelerating sustainability in every community around where we live?”
by Ellie Stock 08 Jul '12

08 Jul '12

Thanks, Karen--very helpful. Ellie -----Original Message----- From: Karen Snyder <karen.snyder10(a)gmail.com> To: Colleague Dialogue <dialogue(a)lists.wedgeblade.net> Sent: Sun, Jul 8, 2012 4:27 pm Subject: [Dialogue] “How do we assist in accelerating sustainability in every community around where we live?” Whatif the question of our time is “How do weassist in accelerating sustainability in every community around where we live?” Here is a summary of the journey ofworking with colleagues in Chicago to answer this question – colleagues new andold, colleagues in non-profit organizations, public agenices and for-profitcompanies, colleagues young and old. Participating in the journey to date, the following comes to mind. Inthis century at the ICA office in Chicago, sustainability has surfaced asimportant for the future direction of ICA services. Intriguing stories surfaced about global movements wherepeople have been engaged for five to forty years in rethinking community to include the earth and all itsresources, plants, animals and mineral life (e.g., Transition Movement, GlobalVillage Movement, Natural Step). Aswe considered creating yet another demonstration of community in Uptown, simultaneouslywe asked ourselves what would it take to create demonstrations in everycommunity of Chicago, applying to Transition US to be recognized as Transition Chicago(listed as #83 of 119 official Transition US initiatives – seehttp://transitionus.org) Thestory evolved as we began talking with people across the city, asking them toidentify sustainable initiatives that they are a part of or know about. It quickly became clear that aremarkable revolution of change and empowerment is happening, often unrecognizedwithin the community or even the people actually engaged in the initiative andbelow the media radar. We foundthat instead of doing another demonstration, what was needed was to ‘listen andlearn’ what is going on, assist in highlighting success that is alreadypresent, and then discern roles needed to help in acceleration. It could be said that all Chicago communities are already in transition towards a new future. Theyear-long Identifying Phase of ‘listening and learning’ began last summer asstudent interns from Oklahoma City University documented two communities. In the fall a professor at DePaulUniversity involved his two classes (55 students) in researching sustainableinitiatives in fifteen communities. By January five other Chicago universities had 150 students researching 38communities. This summer fortystudents from six Chicago universities, three community colleges, and eightnational universities have spent the last seven weeks collecting informationfrom the remaining 22 Chicago communities. Tomorrowis the launch of the Connection Phase, an exciting time of inviting community peopleengaged in sustainable initiatives to participate in accelerationthrough highlighting their achievements, sharing, networking and participatingin the September 15th Sharing Approaches that Work event in Chicago. After the Share Fair, the Engaging Phase will focus on the question of acceleration. Whathave we learned? 500 sustainableinitiatives were identified by June 1st with yet another500 since identified or yet undiscovered. Community gardens are cropping upeverywhere. New LEED certifiedbuildings (police, fire stations, schools, homes) have been built – orretrofitted. Businesses arechanging their practices to be more energy efficient, more resourceful. Restaurants are being recognized forbeing ‘green’ as they provide healthier food choices. Schools are creating curriculums thatteach children – who teach their parents – about sustainability. Youth grow andsell food they raise, create and lead workshops in eating healthy. Incredible blessings for thefuture are hidden like gems for those who have the eyes to see, the ears tohear, the questions to ask, and the answers remembered! Theyouth through elders engaged in identifying and connecting initiatives work out of the ICA buildingwhere people are dreaming about what it will look for the building to be off the grid by2020. In the past colleagues addedenergy efficient windows, a ‘green’ bricked parking lot, and transformed theLumumba Room into a green space. In 2012 six wind turbines are being added to the roof, sensor lightinghas been added throughout the building, the second story roof has beenresurfaced to be ‘green’, a new kitchen creates community spirit, and food is being grown in the kitchengreenhouse and conference room window. The building serves as one of the Uptown community's sustainable initiatives. PersonallyI am joy-filled as I participate in this work. While on a learning curve, I am in the midst of unlearningmuch of the past. As a facilitator, I am learning to use less paper and fewer procedures while being challenged to use more visuals and tell motivating stories. I am impatient with my personal slowchange in habits to make a smaller earth footprint (e.g., when asked at thegrocery store, “Do you want paper or plastic?” I again agonize knowing I wantneither – but the bags I brought for bagging are in the car!) The student interns visiting communities when it is 100 degrees are aninspiration in their intelligence and commitment to this work. There is a sense of being surrounded byThose Who Care. Thisis all to say that I perceive that just as important as raising the ‘right’ question(s)for our time is to reveal where the question is already abundantly beinganswered - as well as tell how we are participating in creative and significantresponses to it. Some researchers saythat the best way to change hearts and change behavior is to point to what ispossible! Peace, Karen _______________________________________________ Dialogue mailing list Dialogue(a)lists.wedgeblade.net http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/dialogue-wedgeblade.net

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Wedding announcement
by jonzondo＠juno.com 07 Jul '12

07 Jul '12

For those of you who know me (Jon, son of Tony and Ellery Elizondo) I am sharing the following announcement... I'm getting married. At this time, due to health concerns, it looks like my mother and father will not be able to make the wedding. We are honored to have some Order/ICA friends... I'm grateful for everyone's prayers and wishes. Especially for my mother and father. Wedding Celebration of Love Grace Elisabeth Bell and Jon Mark Elizondo July 7, 2012 Leavenworth, Washington, Planet Earth If you are interested in correspondence, my address is: Grace Bell and Jon Elizondo 17102 Brentwood PL NE Lake Forest Park, WA 98155 By request, I'm adding our Wanderable website address. www.wanderable.com/hm/GraceAndJon Walk in Beauty, Jon ____________________________________________________________ Credit Company Breach LifeLock Ultimate&#8482protects your identity from the effects of data breach. http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL3141/4fdd68b2eb0055c3b41st02vuc

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WHAT IS THE RIGHT QUESTION THESE DAYS?
by James Wiegel 06 Jul '12

06 Jul '12

WHAT IS THE RIGHT QUESTION THESE DAYS? Over coffee, this morning, i recopied the emails from this thread and tried to narrow down to just the questions that were posed. I think i missed an email that Lee Early was responding to in his message. A couple of reflections: Randy, in yours, i was struggling with the phrase "in peace", wondering, a bit like the word "church" or "religious" what that might point to that would seem true to life vs. sort of an ideal future. Wayne, your response that there may not be "a" question, but many and we each have to figure out our own for ourselves got me to reflecting on the evident complicatedness of things in a systemic or interconnected world. My auto mechanic was explaining to me how to simply fix the health care system in the US, and your comment came up for me, and i said that is a good idea, but i think we are looking too often for simple silver bullet solutions when thngs are actually much more complicated. And that made sense to both of us and moved the conversation on. Jim Baumbach's question put me back on my heels . "How do I get you to change your mind and do what I think is right?" then, when in linking it with Bill Parker's notion that none of this is new, and why haven't we all woken up? Got me thinking, at least on the liberal or progressive side, whether the new religion arising is the religion of human rights . . . Progressives, at least, seem to hold these as sacred and as a moral obligation to be enforced. I could go on, but my eggs are getting cold, and the slice of cantelope from Judy's garden is calling. THE GIST AS I SEE IT Mary Hampton: Enough, all ready, its too good to miss and I am not ready to edit. Good stuff, folks! Ken Gilgren: why am I here? What am I doing? How am I being? What quickens the current action of my soul? what was the question again? Wayne Nelson: What are the pivotal moral issues of our moment? I think there are likely to be several. Of course there are many, many but there are probably some major ones. To reduce it to a single one makes it too abstract and denies the obvious complexity. We all have to name 'the moral issue of our time.' There's not likely to be one for everyone. It's a job we all have to do. Bill Parker: What are the warning signs of the destruction and endangerment of the entire human community? Then ask, what is the underlying question to be addressed and how it can be addressed. Why are people not being awakened to the clear, obvious truth of our crisis? Secondly, what methods must we develop or employ to radically reveal this all encompassing truth? John Cock: My take: If it does not have something like "on behalf of a transformed Earth community" in the statement, it is the WRONG right question, moral issue, or vocation. Lee Early: "Who is Tiger Woods?", What is his mission? Can we re-answer the second question? Mission, social pioneer, church, college, league, crimson line and movement? The answer to the question of mission will carry the first of who. (At least here in the West.) Sometimes the question of mission changes. Sometimes by chance and sometimes on purpose. What is our mission TODAY? Randy Williams: In reflecting on the dialogue around what is "the question," I realized we really were assuming two questions. How may "we" (all species) live together on this planet in peace, in a way that secures life for future generations? What is the new face, form and mission of the "movement" (the religious, the invisible college, the church with a little"c," ) and what stories, style and symbols will sustain it? Jan Sanders: What are the key images of the future of evolution? Steve Harrington: You had to say it, eh? What does it look like to be the Sensitive & Responsive. To what concerns? where? Karen Bueno: "How do we motivate the sensitive and reponsive ones who understand that the survival of the people of the earth and the earth itself depends on our working together to make that survival possible?" I like the idea of striving for a T-shirt phrase, like "Be one of those who dare to live the future now.", as someone suggested. David Walters: in the midst of a malaise of helplessness and an established / controlling economic and political elite, what can we do to support and help to form the emerging groups and movements (both the Tea Party and the Occupy movement) to be both effective and inclusive? Jack Gilles: Given the stance that "History rides on the back of the religious" that we embodied and lived..... "Who are the 'religious' today, where would you look to find them, what are the marks that tell you so, and what might we share (and how) with them so that they are empowered and connected?". The "we" in the question should refer to "those of us who are scattered" and who will take seriously the answers. Janice Ulangca: In this 50th year of EI/ICA, some of the questions to live with: Considering what we were/are/might be, what is our calling? What are we called to know/do/be? What are some of the important partnerships the future needs? Missed the name: What was Neibhur's line? (and how do you spell his name?) Something about the sensitive and something ones. Nancy Lanphear: What is " MY GREAT WORK (IS) WHERE MY OWN GREAT JOY INTERSECTS WITH EARTH'S GREAT NEED" ....perhaps EARTH could be stretched to all my relations, the universe, life .... Jan and Steve: Considering what we were/are/might be, what is our calling? What are we called to know/do/be? Jan: What are some of the important partnerships the future needs? Jim Baumbach: "How do I get you to change your mind and do what I think is right?" Karen Bueno: "How are we to live together and preserve this planet for the future?" Jim Wiegel Jfwiegel(a)yahoo.com “One cannot live in the afternoon of life according to the program of life’s morning; for what was great in the morning will be of little importance in the evening, and what in the morning was true will at evening have become a lie.” – Carl Jung Partners in Participation Upcoming public course opportunities: ToP Facilitation Methods, Sept 11-12, 2012 ToP Strategic Planning, Oct 9-10, 2012 The AZ Community of Practice meets the 1st Friday- Sept 7, 2012 Facilitation Mastery : Our Mastering the Technology of Participation program is available in Phoenix in 2012-3. Program begins on Nov 14-16, 2012 See short video http://partnersinparticipation.com/?page_id=55 and website for further details.

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