August 2012 - OE - lists.wedgeblade.net

Four ? parts of worship
by Herman Greene 08 Aug '12

08 Aug '12

I can't believe I can't remember this, but what are the four parts of worship? Confession, praise, commitment . . . ??? _____________________________________________ Herman Greene 2516 Winningham Drive Chapel Hill, NC 27516 919-929-4116 (h) 919-624-0579 (c) 919-942-4358 (f) Skype: hgreene-nc hfgreene(a)mindspring.com

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Re: [Oe List ...] OE Digest, Vol 4, Issue 23
by Richard and Maria 08 Aug '12

08 Aug '12

Hi Could someone put Common Worship in the Life of the Church on the Wedgeblade website? It's a great document. As I have gone on through the years, I have reflected more on the confession aspect. In the light of the way the Gospel and letters of Paul describe the people of faith, our present "unworthiness" is not emphasised, but the greatness of what we have received, which was not earned. We are a "new Creation", made "friends with God" (See 2 Corinthians 5:16ff for example). To me the confession is more about the shock of discovering my/our having forgotten this wonderful gift over and over. The thanksgiving is in rediscovering it, having it reaffirmed and sensing the power within and among us to live it out. I recognise that for some in our community what I have just written might be controversial, and for others illuminating, and I welcome all responses. Best wishes Richard You are right: there are four parts of worship: Thanksgiving, Confession,Praise and Dedication or commitment. We never began worship without direct acknowledgement of who we pray, then confession of our unworthiness for all we have received, which leads us to remember not only the goodness of our own lives but the amazing creative love of God, which in turn calls for our dedication or commitment. -- Transforming organisations and individuals towards a future worth living now Tel: 02 9896 3839, Fax: 02 9896 3904 Mail: 18 Sturdee St, Wentworthville NSW 2145, Australia

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In case missed the "Rolling Stone" article by McKibben ...
by John Cock 08 Aug '12

08 Aug '12

Go to > http://rejourney.blogspot.com/2012/08/too-much-to-bear.html on our blog > and the very significant article link included, or go straight to the > article at > http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/global-warmings-terrifying-new-m > ath-20120719 by Bill McKibben, brought to our attention by Ellie Stock on > the list recently. > > Best general article on where we are as Earth community re global warming, > and who the biggest enemies are--knowing we all are the enemy. Never had > "economic tyrant," "allied political," and "impotent cultural" so well > brought home--grounded existentially (existence-ly)--and also the "7th > generation." > John > John P. Cock > >Daily "Journey Reflections" on ... > Google: www.reJourney.blogspot.com > Google Plus: https://plus.google.com/u/0/114307312715975337692/posts > Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/transcribebooks > Twitter: https://twitter.com/transcribebooks > >Web Page: www.transcribebooks.com > >Amazon Author (+books): http://tinyurl.com/n467ka >

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Minor explotions
by Mary D'Souza 06 Aug '12

06 Aug '12

Dear colleagues, There were 5 explosions in the city of Pune. One person has been hurt. One bomb was detonated. All the people we know are well and safe. Mary On Wed, Aug 1, 2012 at 6:19 AM, George Holcombe <geowanda1(a)me.com> wrote: > Del went home today and is recooping from her surgery. If anyone wants to > send her an encouragement her email address is delhmor(a)wamail.net. > > George and Wanda Holcombe > 14900 Yellowleaf Tr. > Austin, TX 78728 > Mobile 512/252-2756 > geowanda1(a)me.com > > Hope appeareth, but it is not your Hope—you do not have anything to do > with it. It just appeareth. It comes as a stranger, as an alien—it > just appeareth! You do not even know why you hope. How in the world could > you hope when there is absolutely nothing to justify any hope? ~Joseph > W. Mathews > > > > _______________________________________________ > Dialogue mailing list > Dialogue(a)lists.wedgeblade.net > http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/dialogue-wedgeblade.net > >

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8/02/12, Spong: "Think Different-Accept Uncertainty" Part XIV: Analyzing the Miracles Attributed to Jesus
by Ellie Stock 02 Aug '12

02 Aug '12

HOMEPAGE MY PROFILE ESSAY ARCHIVE MESSAGE BOARDS CALENDAR "Think Different—Accept Uncertainty" Part XIV: Analyzing the Miracles Attributed to Jesus When most people think of the miracles included in the gospels, they usually think of a broad series of apparently supernatural acts. They tend not to be familiar with the intimate details of the biblical narrative. When those details are revealed, questions are inevitably raised as to the purpose the gospel writer had in mind when he was writing, and the possibility that these stories were never meant to be taken literally rises substantially. Allow me to illustrate that with some easily discovered biblical data. I begin with the most miraculous of the biblical claims. Did Jesus literally raise people from the dead? A search of the gospel texts reveals these biblical facts. The gospels suggest that three different people are called by Jesus from death into life, but only one of those stories occurs in more than one of the gospels. That is the account of the raising of Jairus’ daughter. It makes its first appearance in Mark (5:21-24, 35-43), a book written in the early seventies. The details in this original narrative tell us that Jairus was a “ruler of the synagogue,” who comes to Jesus beseeching him to heal his daughter “who is at the point of death.” Jesus begins to move toward Jairus’ home. As he does so, there is another healing miracle, the story of the woman with an issue of blood, inserted by Mark to take up the time during which they were on the way to Jairus’ house. Having completed that episode the journey continues only to be interrupted by Jairus’ servants coming to inform the synagogue ruler that the child has died and he is not to trouble the “teacher” any longer. Jesus, apparently unmoved by this report, speaks to Jairus telling him not to be fearful, but to believe and so the journey continues. Arriving at the house, Jesus is greeted by a host of mourners, who are weeping and wailing. He asks them why they are mourning, informing them that the child “is not dead but sleeping.” The mourners laugh at him. Closing the door on the mourners, Jesus goes with the child’s parents and his disciples into the child’s room. He takes the child’s hand and commands her to rise. She does. Mark then tells us that she is twelve-years-old. Jesus orders them to give her food and departs leaving behind him a trail of wonder and amazement. That same story is told next with only slight variations by Matthew (9:18-26) writing in the mid-eighties and then once again by Luke (8:40-56) writing in the late 80’s to early 90’s. Both Matthew and Luke incorporated substantial portions of Mark into their gospels and so we are not surprised to find the story not only repeated in each, but in exactly the same context of events, that is the message of the child’s sickness, the journey, the healing of another on the way and then word of the child’s death. It is obvious that in these three accounts we have a single story in three slightly different versions. For help in understanding this story we turn to a remarkably similar episode that was said to have occurred in the life of the prophet Elisha recorded in the book of II Kings (4:8-36). In that story, Elisha raises a child of about twelve from the sleep of death. The only difference is that for Elisha the child is a boy not a girl. In each story, there is a message sent to the “healer” while he is a long distance away. In both stories, the healer continues to the child’s house, goes directly into the room where the child is lying on the bed. Elisha is said to have done mouth to mouth resuscitation, stretching himself on the body of the child. Jesus is portrayed as taking her hand and speaking the word of healing. In each story, the child is restored to health. Could it be that this Jesus story was originally nothing more than a re-telling of an Elisha story as if it had occurred in Jesus’ life as a way of relating Jesus to the tradition of the Hebrew Scriptures and claiming for him the status of being a new Elisha? I think that is highly likely. The only other raising from the dead story that occurs in the synoptic gospels is told in Luke (7:11-17). In this miracle account the only son of a widow is restored to life by Jesus in the village of Nain. There is little doubt that this man is dead, for his body is on the funeral bier in a procession toward his place of burial. Yet once again by looking at an older Elijah story (I Kings 17:24), we find remarkable similarities. There we discover that Elijah was also said to have raised the only son of a widow from the dead. We also know that Luke will draw on more than one occasion from the Elijah stories to relate his understanding of Jesus. Is that what this raising of the dead story, found only in Luke, is all about? I believe it is. There is only one other raising from the dead story in the gospels and it is the very dramatic account of the raising of Lazarus recorded only in the Fourth Gospel, a work that is generally dated at the end of the first century, ca. 95-100 or 65-70 years after the crucifixion. The details are these: It is a public not a private act. Jesus’ disciples, his friends and even his enemies are present. The person, who is to be raised, is not only dead, but he has been buried for four days. John’s text even warns Jesus that there will be an odor if the tomb is opened. Jesus, nevertheless, orders the stone covering the mouth of the cave to be removed and then he literally calls Lazarus out of the grave. Lazarus comes like a walking mummy, bound by the grave cloths in which he has been wrapped and from which he must be freed. If such a credibility-stretching episode had really occurred, ask yourself whether it is likely that no one in that public gathering would mention it for more than three generations before John writes it down. I will return to this story in this series next week, but suffice it now to say that no biblical scholar today regards the account of the raising of Lazarus as history. So this brief analysis reveals that the three gospel stories of Jesus raising someone from the dead might mean something quite different from that arrived at by reading them as literal history, an insight confirmed again and again as we look at the miracles of Jesus more closely. The next category of miracles, attributed to Jesus, is what we call “nature” miracles: Jesus walking on water, stilling the storm and feeding the multitude with loaves and fishes. A close look at these narratives also yields new possibilities for non-literal interpretation. Most people are not aware, for example, that there are six separate versions of the feeding of the multitude story in the four gospels. There are two in Mark, two in Matthew, one in Luke and one in John. Since Mark and Matthew are older than Luke and John, it looks like the multiple accounts of the feeding stories are the earlier tradition. So we look first at Mark and Matthew. The symbols present in these narratives then begin to pop out of the text. In Mark, Jesus, on the Jewish side of the lake, feeds 5000 men (plus women and children) with five loaves and two fish. Afterwards twelve baskets of fragments are gathered up so that “nothing is lost.” Then Jesus moves to the Gentile side of the lake and proceeds to replicate the experience, but this time he feeds 4000 people with seven loaves and a few fish and afterwards seven baskets of fragments are collected. The numbers employed: five loaves, 5000 people and twelve baskets of fragments on the Jewish side of the lake and seven loaves, 4000 people and seven baskets of fragments on the Gentile side of the lake scream at us not to read these narratives as literal history, but as symbolic feedings, perhaps as early Eucharists. By the time we get to John’s gospel those eucharistic connections are clear since John has Jesus liken his flesh to the manna that fell on the starving Israelites in the wilderness, making it clear that these stories are related to the Moses accounts in which God feeds the children of Israel with heavenly bread. Thus it becomes apparent that these feeding stories are not to be understood as literal happenings, but as interpretive narratives being retold about Jesus, the “New Moses.” I wonder how many people who sit in the pews have ever been invited to view miracles from this non-literal perspective. Moving on to the miracles of healing, let me illustrate this same non-literal approach by looking at just one narrative, the restoration of sight to a blind man from Bethsaida (Mark 8:22-26). This miracle story is unique because the first application of the hands of Jesus on the eyes of this blind man was not successful, at least not completely. After Jesus anointed this man’s eyes with clay and spittle the blind man can see only “trees walking.” Only with the second laying on of hands was his sight fully restored. If this is really a miracle story then why was Jesus’ power inadequate the first time? The literal mindset is buffeted by these questions, but a look at the context in which this story appears in Mark offers a powerful clue. Mark places this story just before the account of Peter’s confession at Caesarea Philippi. In Peter’s confession he says the right words “You are the Christ,” but he clearly does not know what they mean. When Jesus begins to tell him what the Christ role is to be – suffering, rejection and death — Peter objects eliciting from Jesus the stern rebuke: “Get thee behind me Satan, for you are not on the side of God, but of men.” Peter is surely portrayed as a blind man who begins to see, but not clearly, and a second experience must precede his full entry into both faith and sight. It should not come as a surprise when we discover Peter hails from Bethsaida. Is this then really a miracle story, the account of a supernatural healing of a blind man? I do not think so, nor do I think that this is what Mark intended us to understand as we read his gospel. Mark is rather writing a parable about the conversion of Peter, a blind man who has to be led to seeing and thus to faith in stages. There are many more things that I can say about the miracle stories of the gospels, but I will devote only one more column to this subject to allow me to deal more fully with the fascinating story of the raising of Lazarus. For now let me say bluntly that I no longer think that the miracles of the gospels have anything to do with what we once called the miraculous. ~John Shelby Spong Read the essay online here. Question & Answer Jude, via the Internet, writes: Question: In my grandmother’s church growing up, there were all sorts of people making lots of different choices, sometimes at odds with each other and sometimes with values that did not overlap much. It occurred to me recently that although they went to the same service and said the same prayers, they were all worshiping a slightly different face of God. Do you make a distinction between the religion of each individual, i.e. the sort of conversation we have with God and how we perceive God and interpret God’s will, and the collective religion we claim to follow en masse? I’m in Alcoholics Anonymous where we each choose our own higher power. Answer: Dear Jude, There may be one God, but the deity people worship is perceived as differently as there are people perceiving. That is certainly not something new. The religion of the ancient tribe was corporate but the religion of each of the individual tribal members was distinctive. This does not mean that there are not large cultural patterns. It does mean that individuals relate to those cultural patterns in unique ways. I had 130 congregations when I was the Bishop of Newark. All of them were Episcopal churches and yet within that single diocese we had traditional churches, catholic churches, evangelical churches, folksy churches, liberal churches, conservative churches, Anglo churches, Hispanic churches, Korean churches, Haitian churches, West Indian churches and American black churches. Our diocese was one of a hundred dioceses in the American branch of the Anglican Church. Those dioceses varied as widely and perhaps more widely that the individual congregations in our single diocese. This was never much of a concern for me. I do not believe that the mind of any human being or any human institution can embrace the totality of the meaning of God. I regard it as a manifestation of idolatry when that claim is made by any religious tradition. I think the Christian faith is a pathway that I walk into the mystery and wonder of God. I do not believe human beings can walk directly into the abstract mystery of God. We have to start where we are. For me that is the Christ path, but to walk it faithfully is to transcend all religions in general and Christianity in particular. God is ultimate, Christianity is not. ~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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emerging collaboration
by Terry Bergdall 01 Aug '12

01 Aug '12

Last week, Carlton Stock posted a message on the listserv about attending a new training program with the Transition movement at 4750 in Chicago. For those who might be interested, below is a link to Transition US's current newsletter with their story and photos about the same. http://transitionus.org/stories/transitioners-all-over-country-convene-chic… During their week at 4750, Transition trainers also met for their annual planning. At Transition's invitation, this was facilitated by Marti Roach and Rachel Hefte of the ToP Network. As you see at the end of the story, a strong collaborative relationship is emerging between the Transition movement and ICA in the United States. This national connection, with international implications, is a key complement to the intensive work we are currently doing with the "Accelerate 77" program in Chicago -- which will culminate on September 25 with the city-wide "Sharing Approaches That Work" event.

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Email correction
by Sarah H. Buss 01 Aug '12

01 Aug '12

Email should be shb.poetry(a)gmail.com NOT a double o in poetry as first indicated. You can see why I am getting out of the "distribution" business. Sarah Sent from my iPad

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August Deadline Poetry Book Purchase
by Sarah Buss 01 Aug '12

01 Aug '12

Colleagues, If you want one of my Poetry Books NOW is the time to order. AUGUST is the last month I will be able to handle the distribution, currently at $12 per copy plus shipping and handling, and tax if inTexas. I cannot promise but the book might eventually be put on consignment at Book People in Austin, Texas in which case the price will probably be $19.95 plus the usual. So if you want a personal copy or to order for Christmas gifts now is the time to order by e-mail to shb.pooetry@gmail. com with your name address telephone # I will then send the book with invoice inclosed. If your have already ordered, you should have received your book with INVOICE enclosed. If you have sent your payment, thank you. If not payment is due NOW. If you ordered, but have not received the book phone me ASAPa 512/899-2500. You can see the cover in this forwarded e-mail below. Let me know if you are interested. Peace, Sarah Begin forwarded message: > From: Sarah H Buss <shb.poetry(a)gmail.com> > Date: July 16, 2012 10:14:24 AM CDT > To: Sarah Buss <sbuss(a)austin.rr.com> > Subject: Fwd: bk cvr > > > > Sent from my iPad > > Begin forwarded message: > >> From: Rebecca Bretz <rbretz(a)ginnysprinting.com> >> Date: July 16, 2012 9:28:49 AM CDT >> To: shb.poetry(a)gmail.com >> Cc: Terry Sherrell <tsherrell(a)ginnysprinting.com> >> Subject: bk cvr >> >> > >> >> Rebecca Byrd Bretz >> Graphics | Book Cover Designer >> 512.454.6874 x309 >> 512.483.6112 direct >> rbretz(a)ginnysprinting.com >> >> Ginny's Printing >> 8410-B Tuscany Way | Austin, Texas 78754 >> www.ginnysprinting.com >> >> >> >> >> >>

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Del Morril update
by George Holcombe 01 Aug '12

01 Aug '12

Del went home today and is recooping from her surgery. If anyone wants to send her an encouragement her email address is delhmor(a)wamail.net. George and Wanda Holcombe 14900 Yellowleaf Tr. Austin, TX 78728 Mobile 512/252-2756 geowanda1(a)me.com Hope appeareth, but it is not your Hope—you do not have anything to do with it. It just appeareth. It comes as a stranger, as an alien—it just appeareth! You do not even know why you hope. How in the world could you hope when there is absolutely nothing to justify any hope? ~Joseph W. Mathews

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