November 2017 - OE - lists.wedgeblade.net

11/09/17, Felton/Spong/Fox: A New Template for Religion: A Conversation with Michael Morwood, Part 3 - Worship, Prayer, & the Other Side of the Story; Spong revisited
by Ellie Stock 09 Nov '17

09 Nov '17

HOMEPAGE MY PROFILE ESSAY ARCHIVE MESSAGE BOARDS CALENDAR A New Template for Religion: A Conversation with Michael Morwood, Part 3 Worship, Prayer, & the Other Side of the Story Rev. David Felten What follows in interview form is the final installment of three columns inspired by a presentation Michael Morwood offered at the Common Dreams Conference in Brisbane, Queensland, in 2016. In this final segment, Morwood offers a new perspective on worship and prayer – along with some concluding thoughts on religion in general and recommendations on a way forward. ____________________________________________ David Felten: We’ve moved away from using the word “worship” in our local faith community, opting for words like “celebration” or “gathering” instead. The concept of “worship” has so much baggage: all those ancient formalities and royal protocols that don’t fit post-Enlightenment ways of thinking – yet people are somehow loathe to give it up. Michael Morwood: Personally, I would stop using the word “worship,” too. The notion of “worship” belongs to an old paradigm, an outdated template for religion. I was in Canada not long ago conducting a weekend for a progressive United Church community. The audience was very on-side with what I presented. At the end of the weekend, I asked some of the community leaders, “Why, with such a progressive community, do you have the large ‘WORSHIP HERE 10:00 am SUNDAY’ sign outside the church?” I was met with puzzled looks, as if to say, “Why wouldn’t we have this sign?” So I asked some questions: .....• Worship whom? .....• For what reason? .....• What do you imagine is at the other end of your worship? A deity taking notice? A deity taking some delight in homage being paid? .....• Is your Sunday gathering for God’s sake? .....• Where did this imagination come from? I’d ask the same questions regarding “the Mass” and what Catholics imagine “Mass” is all about (but I don’t get invitations to Roman Catholic parishes these days!). Overall, I prefer to use words like “liturgy” or “service” for a new template. The roots of the word “liturgy” (leit, people; ergon, work), means the “work of the people.” For me, this understanding of liturgy expands beyond ritual to mean participation in a sacred or divine action. David Felten: So what’s the “work of the people” and the “divine action” you have in mind? Michael Morwood: I think our primary task is to gather around the story of Jesus and seek to understand its full implications for all human interactions. Our challenge is to let it reveal to us the truth of who we are, to challenge us to commit ourselves to being the best possible human expressions of the Great Mystery, and to do this as faithfully and as courageously as Jesus did. And none of this has anything to do with reception of a sacred object, with a priesthood with special powers, or being “fed” at an altar – it certainly has nothing to do with Jesus shedding his blood for the sins of the world. It has nothing to do with singing songs to or addressing prayers to a listening deity. What it does include is: .....• Remembrance of Jesus and of others who shared his vision .....• Awareness of the presence/power within us .....• Commitment to working for a better world. David Felten: So, what about the songs we sing and our liturgical prayers? What about the efficacy of the prayers we offer in our faith-sharing groups? Michael Morwood: What are we being asked to imagine when we ask God to listen? When we thank God? When we address God with personal pronouns? We know where this imagination comes from. The question is, how does this image resonate once the notion of a “God in the heavens” has been abandoned? By all means, let us sing hymns and address prayers to “God” that suggest this divine “being” is listening in and taking note. But, let us do so mindful that whatever words we use are metaphor and poetry. They’re not to be taken literally, but as a means of giving expression to longing, pain, gratitude, joy – all those movements our minds and hearts struggle to convey otherwise. Then let us embrace one of the key challenges that faces us today: to shape prayers (the hymns may take a lot longer!) that affirm a “presence” within and among us. We need a growing collection of metaphors and images that help develop our awareness that this “presence” is not only here with us in the ordinariness of our everyday lives but challenges us to live out the best possible human expression of this “Great Mystery.” David Felten: For as long as I can remember, one of my mentors, Bill Nelson, has advocated that we simply stop using the word “God” altogether. We need images that are free from so many centuries of the theistic and human-centric God that is “out there” somewhere. Michael Morwood: Exactly! In practice, stop addressing prayers to “God.” Just stop doing it. If you still practice a traditional style of spoken prayer, all it takes is the determination to not begin as if you’re speaking to a theistic God. Try it and see what happens! I resolved to do this 15 years ago. It resulted in my book, Praying a New Story which Spirituality & Practice included in its list of “Best Spiritual Books” of 2004. With regard to their own private prayer, many people ask me, “If I let go of the idea of praying to “God,” how do I pray now?” One way I think about it is remembering a Syrian monk known as “the golden speaker.” St John Damascene was born and raised in Damascus in the early 8th century, but he’s given the church words that have been carried down through the centuries: “Prayer is the raising of the mind and heart to God.” Today, if we substitute “great mystery” or “power” or other similar concepts for the word “God,” the definition still holds – understanding it to mean raising our minds and hearts to a presence here, all around us; in the depths of our being. So a key concept for any prayer becomes “awareness.” The goal of my personal prayer is to deepen my awareness, to be conscious of the reality that I embody this “great mystery” in human form. It’s also important to acknowledge that my personal prayer is not for God’s sake. It is for my sake, it is meant to change me. Someone recently asked me, “Can prayer change the world?” and I said, “Of course! If prayer is intended to change us, then we can change the world.” Otherwise we become trapped in the religious cop-out version of prayer: “Let’s leave the fate of the world in God’s hands.” I think Jesus had the same conviction about personal prayer. It’s what motivated his ministry to “the crowd.” He wanted people to become aware of the power and the presence within them and use it to change the world. That was his dream. What a pity that this fundamental stance of Jesus has been buried beneath a layer of prayer asking God to “deliver us from evil.” That’s not God’s task; it’s our task. David Felten: Well that should give the proponents of conventional Christianity heartburn. The Church has thrived for centuries convincing people that they are but loathsome sinners and depraved worms, incapable of any good without Jesus vouching for them. It sounds like your new paradigm puts some pretty high expectations on us lowly humans. Michael Morwood: The major shift in my theological thinking and prayer life in the past 25 years has stemmed from a growing – and a completely new – appreciation of what it means to be human. Much of my appreciation is grounded in the scientific story of our origins in stardust and the four billion years of atoms undergoing transformation after transformation until the 60 trillion atoms that are Michael Morwood enable me tell the story of who and what we really are. Now that’s a truly remarkable story. But what I find just as remarkable is to have discovered that throughout human history the other side of this story – without the great scientific story we have today to back it up – has made itself known. Call it “enlightenment”; call it whatever you will, but there has been this constant awareness, insight, revelation – in both religious and non-religious people – of an awareness of a power, an awesome reality beyond our imagination, within and among us, a presence that binds together everyone and everything. Rumi, the great Muslim scholar, teacher, and poet said it well 800 years ago, “You are the fearless guardian of Divine Light, so come, return to the root of the root of your own soul…”. “Why are you so enchanted by this world when a mine of gold lies within you? Open your eyes and come, return to the root of the root of your own soul.” Here is the proper focus for religion, today and in the future. Here is where religion can get beyond dogmatism, thought control, the disregard for common decency, and claims of exclusive access to the divine. Jesus is not alone in urging men and women to “return to the root of the root of your own soul” and use what is discovered there to create a profoundly better human community. And here is why the “Christ” religion needs to change its thinking about Jesus so dramatically: Jesus is not and was not a god-figure essentially different from the rest of us because only he could gain access to God’s dwelling place. Rather, he presents a movement, a presence, a reality – a great mystery – that is within every woman, man, and child. That is the good news that needs to be proclaimed and acted upon. David Felten: So what’s next? Can the Church – can we – actually change our thinking? Michael Morwood: Thirty years ago I wrote that if I were to recommend one book for Catholics to read, it would be Karl Rahner’s The Shape of the Church to Come, written in 1974. Rahner is regarded as one of the greatest Roman Catholic theologians of the 20th century – and while much of his writing is too academic for the people I had in mind, this book is a gem from such an academic. Rahner wrote: “Our present situation is one of transition … to a Church made up of those who have struggled against their environment in order to reach a personally clear and explicitly responsible decision of faith. This will be the Church of the future or there will be no Church at all.” “It seems to me that the courage to abandon positions no longer tenable means asking modestly, realistically, and insistently, whether it is always possible to take with us on this march in to the Church’s future all the fine fellows whose out of date mentality is opposed to a march into an unknown future … we shall also estrange, shock, and scandalize not a few who feel at home only in the Church as they have been accustomed to see it in the past.” And, he writes, “If we are honest we must admit that we are to a terrifying extent a spiritually lifeless Church.” Overall, Rahner lamented the failure of the Church to address the life experience and questions of the faithful. And along with this failure, he said we fail to proclaim Jesus “vigorously.” We neglect, he wrote, to start with “the experience of Jesus” and we talk about Jesus and God “without any real vitality.” Rahner’s words inspired me 30 years ago when I was naïve enough to think that institutional Roman Catholicism could and would change. The ensuing 30 years have taken me on a journey I could never have envisioned – not in my wildest dreams! I’m not so naïve now, but his words still inspire me to work for a more relevant, dynamic, realistic faith or spirituality, faithful to what Jesus really believed and was ready to die for. Theologically, I think we’re living through the greatest theological challenges the “Christ” religion has ever experienced: the old template, used for the past two thousand years, is hopelessly outdated. At the same time, I believe this new template offers a way ahead for humanity – the opportunity for vitality, for engagement with peoples’ lives and questions, for engagement with the exciting scientific knowledge we have on hand, for wonder and appreciation for being human, and a way to bring the message of Jesus – and other men and women of spiritual insight – to a world that is in desperate need of a new template to heal the harm and divisions caused by religion. I love working with this new template. It has proven to generate just the kind of excitement and challenge that opens up the possibilities and dreams that a vital future demands of us. — Rev. David Felten with Michael Morwood About Michael Morwood With over 40 years’ experience as a sought-after retreat leader and educator, Michael Morwood is well known around the world. Bishop John Shelby Spong writes: “Michael Morwood…is raising the right and obvious questions that all Christians must face. He provides fresh and perceptive possibilities for a modern and relevant faith.” With a dozen books to his name (two of which were banned before he resigned from the Catholic priesthood), Morwood brings an extensive background in spirituality to what he sees as the urgent need to reshape Christian thinking for a new millennium. Be sure to visit Michael Morwood’s website by clicking HERE. ~ Rev. David Felten About the Author David 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”. A co-founder of the Arizona Foundation for Contemporary Theology 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 and his wife Laura, an administrator for a large Arizona public school district, live in Phoenix with their three often adorable children. Read the essay online here. Question & Answer Roland from Sydney, writes: Question: How can the clergy educate its members into contemporary theology and attract back the church alumni without alienating the aging conservatives that finance the local church? Answer: By Rev. Matthew Fox Dear Roland, Thank you for your question. I think it is a very big one as it poses many issues of real importance such as the relationship between generations that is often problematic but especially in our time since we have one foot still in the modern era (most of our institutions are still there including the Reformation churches) and another foot in the postmodern era (where so many young people are located and where pre-modern wisdom is welcomed, not shunned as during modern times). Science and Education also find themselves in this ‘in between’ place today. The British Scientist Rupert Sheldrake told me recently that at Oxford and Cambridge today there is a huge gulf between the professor class and the students specifically around the topic of religion or spirituality. Most professors surrendered all interest in religion generations ago but today’s students are eager to learn more about it. I have written about the difference between modern and postmodern consciousness at the end of my short book on A New Reformation. You might find some food for thought there. It is, I think, imperative for the survival of our species that we learn anew to develop intergenerational wisdom. This means elders must wake up to their calling as elders and must learn to sit down and listen to the younger generation. The benefit will be mutual I am sure. It also means that it is past time to establish rites of passage for elders to assist elders to wake up to their responsibilities. Our secular culture likes to put elders out to pasture after they have passed the age of peak consumer capitalism and are “retired.” I insist however that we retire the obscene word “retirement” and replace it with “refirement.” What we are talking about here—recovering true eldership—could constitute a whole new example of refirement in our churches. In our book on Occupy Spirituality Adam Bucko (who worked for 15 very fruitful years with young adults living on the streets of NYC) and myself interviewed many young adults (ages 21-33) and one of the questions we asked was about elders in their lives. 98% said: “We want elders but can’t find them…..And the few we do find talk too much.” Elders have to get off the golf course and out of their couches and/or playing the stock market and make themselves available to young people. The young today are facing issues of climate change and eco-destruction and gross have/have not discrepancies that are unprecedented. A moral and survival imperative exists to radically change education, religion, politics, economics, art, farming and energy resourcing on this planet. We need all the wisdom they can get. The young and old can and need to put their heads and hearts together in this search for wisdom. In an elder rite of passage ceremony that Creation Spirituality Communities conducted a year ago the young adults assisted in creating it. Of course the young also need rites of passage (and confirmation, I’m sorry to report, rarely cuts the mustard). Our Cosmic Masses, going on now for over 23 years, have proven very valuable for bringing young and old together in a post-modern form for celebrating Liturgy, one that incorporates post-modern art forms (and pre-modern ones) including dance, dj, vj, rap and more. It is not enough that elder worshippers are “at home” or “comfortable” with their (modern) forms of worship that are pre-packaged in Liturgical books. Jesus never said “Blessed are the comfortable” (neither did the Buddha). The question is this: How will future generations—including their grandchildren and great grandchildren—pray? It will not be from merely reading from books and sitting in pews and daring the preacher to keep them awake—that is all very modern because the modern age emerged with the invention of the printing press. It must include the body; the senses; beauty; and grieving together. Yes, there is much to grieve as well as to give birth to. Our new Order of the Sacred Earth, which launches this month, is another effort to bring old and young together around a new (and ancient) vision of spirituality in practice. The book’s subtitle is “Intergenerational Love in Action.” You might check it out on line as well. Best wishes in lighting the fire, Rev. Matthew Fox Read and share online here About the Author Matthew Fox holds a doctorate in spirituality from the Institut Catholique de Paris and has authored 32 books on spirituality and contemporary culture that have been translated into 60 languages. Fox has devoted 45 years to developing and teaching the tradition of Creation Spirituality and in doing so has reinvented forms of education and worship. His work is inclusive of today’s science and world spiritual traditions and has awakened millions to the much neglected earth-based mystical tradition of the West. He has helped to rediscover Hildegard of Bingen, Meister Eckhart, Thomas Aquinas. Among his books are Sins of the Spirit, Blessings of the FleshTransforming Evil in Soul and Society, The Pope’s War: Why Ratzinger’s Secret Crusade Has Imperiled the Church and How It Can Be Saved and Confessions: The Making of a Postdenominational Priest A new school, adopting the pedagogy Fox created and practiced for over 35 years, is opening in Boulder, Colorado this September. Called the Fox Institute for Creation Spirituality it is being run by graduates of his doctoral program and will offer MA, D Min and Doctor of Spirituality degrees. See www.foxinstitute-cs.org __________________________________________________ Bishop John Shelby Spong Revisited The Bible, Corporal Punishment and Human Guilt - Part 6 If God is not a punishing and rescuing deity, then who or what is God? If the biblical explanation of the source of evil is no longer operative, then from where does evil come? What is its origin? Can the way evil is viewed be changed or transformed? Can we human beings escape our need to view ourselves negatively, which is the interior situation that makes the punishing God necessary? If the task of the Christian faith is not about rescuing and restoring the fallen sinner, then what is the task of this religious system? If behavior control is not the Church's primary social agenda, then so much of the way we portray the content of the Christian faith simply falls away. Can Christianity survive without its doctrines of Atonement, and Incarnation, both of which hang on the sin and rescue themes? Is there any other way to see the divine presence of God in the life of Jesus other than to view Jesus as the incarnate sinless one who entered from the realm of heaven into the arena of the fall to pay the price God required for our sins and thus to rescue us from that fall? Can we dismiss once and for all the ancient Christian symbol of Jesus as a blood offering, a human sacrifice required by God? I believe that we can and must. This riddance will furthermore, cut the ground out from under the manner in which violence has been justified on the basis of this religious system. It is thus a reformation eagerly to be sought. The deconstruction begins by recognizing that the story, which opens the Bible, is not an accurate interpreter of life as we know it. It is a bad, false and inoperative myth. There never was a time, either literally or metaphorically, when there was a perfect and finished creation. That was an inaccurate idea that has helped to develop a guilt producing, dependency seeking, neurotic religion. Whatever else we know about creation, we are now certain that it is an evolving and still incomplete process. So there was no perfect beginning, no Garden of Eden and no first man and woman. We have evolved. We have not fallen from perfection. 'Original Sin' must go! With it goes the superstructure of doctrine, dogma, and theology. The psalmist was wrong. We were not created a little lower than the angels. Rather, we have evolved into a status that is just a little higher than the apes. It is a vastly different perspective. There is an enormous contrast between whether we are fallen creatures or incomplete creatures. Our humanity is not fallen, it is incomplete. The fact is we do not yet know what it means to be human since that is a status we have not yet fully achieved. What human life needs is not to be saved it is to be called and empowered to enter a new being. The idea that Jesus had to pay the price of our sinfulness becomes an idea that is bankrupt. When that idea collapses, so do all of those violent, controlling and guilt producing tactics that are so deeply part of traditional Christianity. The dominos begin to topple. Baptism, understood as the sacramental act to wash from the baby the stain of that original fall, becomes inoperative. The Eucharist, developed as a liturgical act to reenact the sacrifice that Jesus made on the cross that paid the price of our sinfulness, becomes empty of meaning. Those disciplinary tactics, from not sparing the rod with our children to the use of shame, guilt and fear to control the behavior of childlike adults, become violations of our life. They apply the wrong therapy to the wrong diagnosis. The uses of afterlife symbols to motivate behavior, by promising either eternal reward or eternal punishment, lose their credibility. When the plug is pulled on the definition of human life as something infected by the sin of the fall, then the whole superstructure of Christian doctrine is revealed as a human control system. That is when we will recognize that Christianity will either change or die! If change is to be adopted, it has to be so total and so radical, that many will call it impossible. It would be easier they will say to build an entirely new religious system than it would be to seek to reform anything this totally. They may be right, but I am not yet convinced of that. The Christianity of the catacombs in the first century of the Church's life could never have envisioned its future being capable of producing either Christendom or its dominating cathedrals. Yet the Christians of the 13th century looked back and saw as their ancestors the Christians of the Catacombs. Our task is thus not to build tomorrow's church. That is something into which we have to live a day at a time. Our task is rather to face the need for radical change and take the first step necessary to erect a totally new foundation. That step, I believe, comes in the acknowledgement of our evolutionary origins and dismissing any suggestion that sin, inadequacy and guilt are the definitions with which we were born. We must also rid ourselves simultaneously of the idea that the world was created for human beings, or that the planet earth is somehow different or special in the universe. Anthropocentrism is a product of a pre-evolutionary mind set. We human beings are simply the self-conscious form of life that has emerged out of the evolutionary soup. We are kin to both the apes and the cabbages. Homo sapiens were not made to dominate the world, but to enrich it by living out our role in a radically interdependent world. We might be a dead end in the evolutionary process, like the dinosaur, destined for extinction. But we also might be the bridge to a brilliant future that none of us can yet imagine. Our task is first simply to be what we are, and then to adapt and finally to be a link to that emerging new being. That is quite different from the role generally assigned to human beings in the ongoing story of our religious teachings. Whence then comes this evil that we see it every day? It rises not from a fall, mythical or otherwise, but from the incompleteness of the evolutionary process. It is not appropriate then to wallow in our inadequacy or to accept as our due being denigrated by religion or having our behavior controlled or our guilt expanded. What we need is the power to take the next step into a new and more complete humanity, to transcend our limits, to walk beyond our insecure humanity. We need to face the trauma of self-consciousness, the self-centeredness of that hysterical struggle for survival that leads to the erection of security systems, which finally destroy our emerging humanity. We need to see the evil things we do to one another as the result of our incompleteness. This evil cannot be controlled by threats or by discipline, parental or divine. Security can never finally be built on violence. To be 'saved' does not mean to be rescued. It means to be empowered to be something we have not yet been able to be. Is there any role for Jesus in this new vision of reality? Does the Christian story finally die in this ditch? I do not think so. Jesus emerges rather as a symbol for a humanity that is not defined as fallen or sinful. It is a humanity that is portrayed as so whole, so complete; it is experienced as God infused. Jesus cannot be a divine visitor from the heavenly realm. As John A. T. Robinson argued some fifty years ago, Jesus cannot be "A cuckoo inserted into the nest of humanity." He was created out of the gene pool of humanity. Our doorway into divinity must be found on this path, since there is no other. We are beginning to understand that divinity is a human concept that can only be found in humanity. I see in Jesus one so radically human and free, so whole and complete that the power of life, the force of the Universe that I call God, becomes visible and operative in him and through him. It is a new way to travel theologically. It has been built on a new premise about the origins of life itself. It leads me ultimately back to that original assertion on which later theology would be built: somehow, in some way, through some means, God was in Christ and that this God presence can still be met in the depths of our humanity. Incarnational and Trinitarian doctrines were necessitated in traditional Christianity by the premise of the fall. God alone could overcome the fall. Jesus, perceived as the rescuer, had to be divine since he accomplished this task. When the fall is dismissed, traditional Christology cannot help but go with it and a new Christianity must emerge, as a phoenix rising from the ashes of the past. It will be based on the call to wholeness, the power of love and the enhancement of being. That is obviously not all that can be said on this subject, but it is as far as space allows me to go in this column. I am content now only to expose the negativity in the terrible texts that have for so long fed the neurotic human need to justify both suffering and violence as our due, as something earned by the fall into sin over which we had no control. There is surely a better way than this to love God with one's heart, soul, mind and strength and to love our neighbors as ourselves. There is also surely a better way to speak of Christ as the "human face of God," in whom we meet the source of life, the source of love and the ground of being. That is the Christ I seek and that is the Christ to whom I am still powerfully drawn. ~ John Shelby Spong Originally published July 21, 2004 Announcements 5-Day Intensive: The Reinvention of Work with Matthew Fox Matthew Fox leads the 5-day intensive, “The Reinvention of Work,” at the Fox Institute for Creation Spirituality in Boulder, CO - November 13th - 17th. The readings and discussions and occasional guests who have reworked their professions will examine these important questions: How do we infiltrate our work worlds with values that inspire sustainability? We will call on teachings from various spiritual traditions for their wisdom on work, its meaning and deeper purposes. Click here for more information/registration

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Report on Bishop Karen's gathering @ Lake Junaluska
by W. J. 08 Nov '17

08 Nov '17

This is a 'Report' (if I may be so bold) to the Order:Ecumenical on the 'edge' of the turmoil in the United Methodist Church from a transestablishment worm's eye perspective on the ground (or, better, 'underground') at the Council of Bishops' meeting this week at Lake Junaluska. First, why now? I'm not one to brag or anything, but it dawned on me that I was in a position to get something new, unprogrammed, and unexpected to happen here in the Southeastern Jurisdiction during the CoB meeting. (For non-United Methodists: The SEJ is the surviving 'remnant' of the old Methodist Episcopal Church, South which embraced slavery as a Biblical 'right' of white males--along with white male dominance over women--after the 1845 schism over the scandal that a Methodist bishop in Georgia owned 2 slaves. And which remains a conservative bastion of 'guns and religion' from the 1939 merger with northern and Protestant Methodists to this day. Along with the South Central Jurisdiction.) Where the shit has REALLY hit the Methodist fan is that in 2016 the Western Jurisdiction elected and consecrated as bishop Karen Oliveto, the married lesbian senior pastor of Glide UMC in San Francisco. Karen's election/consecration caused an even greater uproar (and yet-unresolved 'legal' issues with the church's rule book) that has intensified the polarization over LGBT inclusion vs. active persecution in a postmodern legalistic version of a witch hunt (over the prohibition of LGBT clergy and LGBT weddings). Once again electing an 'offensive' bishop (among many other intentionally 'offensive' and rebellious violations of denominational polity) has pushed this church to the brink of another schism. At this very moment the CoB is meeting in Executive Session to offer feedback on an interim report from their Commission on a Way Forward on how to find 'a way forward' that would deconstruct/restructure the global denomination's polity as a post-denominational reality--some kind of Wesleyan global association of church bodies that would embrace the reality of regional diversity in cultural context. (For example, polygamy is a huge issue among African Methodist clergy.) At least that's our hope and prayer: that a new, less restrictive and more permissive rule book will be adopted in the 2019 special session of the UM General Conference--where the shit will REALLY hit the Methodist fan over the determination of a rabid few alt-right/conservative US delegates plus the entire African contingent to 'hold the line' against the evil of homosexuality, etc. and force a schism. For those of you who are still with me, this moment has a LOT to do with the Mathews brothers! Our beloved late 'Bishop Jim' Mathews was a Methodist missionary in India and mission executive before his election. He and 'Brother Joe' had a practical global vision of the church as mission. An outcome of traditional missionary work in the developing world was the establishment of Methodist Central Conferences. Methodist work in India evolved into an autonomous Methodist Church, but in the Philippines and Africa, Methodist work remained under the global structure of the UMC. Now United Methodists in the USA who are pressing for change are confronting the results of a century of work by conservative missionaries in the developing world. By not spinning off regional Methodist affiliates in Africa and the Philippines and elsewhere, we must now deal with the unanticipated consequences of creating a global denomination that is resistant to cultural change, largely because its fastest-growing segment is in Africa, which has increasing numerical weight among delegates voting at the General Conference. So our beloved late Bishop Jim--who was revered among UM Bishops as their 'first among equals'--was (and is) simultaneously a giant symbolic figure representing the best of traditional Methodist missionary work and the presence of the Transestablishment in their midst: always pointing beyond Methodist institutional reductionism to call into being a more faithful global response to divine activity in our midst. Which brings me to the present moment and the CoB meeting. And to the voice of Joe Mathews--still ringing in my ears. Joe would say--and I'm sure did say--that there are kairotic moments when the invisible becomes visible. And that the role of the transestablishment is to honor the historical church, to both guard and challenge its self-understanding, including its perversions, and to pioneer and model a way forward to be the radical people in mission we are all called to be. I am very sadly aware that Bishop Karen has become a demonized, heretical cartoon character within the conservative United Methodist wing, and has received a ton of hate mail and even death threats. So, realizing that she is personally unknown in the SEJ, and that she would never be invited to speak/preach/teach here, I decided to invite her to meet with a group of UM clergy/laity for a conversation last Saturday on their ministries with LGBT people and the future of the church. As one of the very few around here who has known Karen for a quarter century, I was in a position to make this happen with the active collaboration of many allies. Of course the question of who in the hierarchy would authorize this meeting in 'hostile territory' was paramount. So, indirectly mobilizing whatever clout I had, I got a bishop to call another bishop (who had the authority to give permission), and we got the go-ahead to have a 'private' meeting with invited guests. This time around, unlike Hearts on Fire at the Lake in 2005, the KKK was not alerted! Bottom line: 43 people signed up, some driving from as far as Charlotte, Winston-Salem, and Burlington, to spend less than 90 minutes in conversation with Bishop Karen. Including a total of three bishops (one of whom is a PLC grad from long ago--remember those?). And two clergy from an urban church that dared to host a gay wedding. And one clergy from a startup congregation that's half LGBT. In the midst of the realities of our life in the UMC, there was an atmosphere of personal vulnerability, sharing of individual stories and group wisdom, and hope. People could connect with Bishop Karen's spiritual leadership and care for the whole church. And, like a tiny mustard seed in the hearts of a few, that depth of transformative experience, we trust, will percolate throughout the SEJ. I make no apologies for the length of this witness! Because context is everything. And you need to 'get' the context to understand the meaning of "the invisible becomes visible." To set a context for the meeting I did a brief ritual on brokenness and expenditure with Mary Z. Longknight. There were audible gasps as I carefully and slowly tore the three rounds of flatbread and Mary Z. announced: We stand before the Word about the way life is and declare that our life is about brokenness, period. That the world we live in is just broken. That our nation is deeply polarized. And that our church body is deeply fragmented. The Word of Life is that when we dare to take our brokenness deeply into ourselves and feast on it for the sake of all beings, we are sustained in being. And we can share that sustenance with our neighbor. At the meeting's close I had the opportunity to share the following word with the three bishops, the clergy, and the laity present. I asked them to take home and consciously 'plant' the seed of what happened today, using the image of the tiny mustard seed planted in the SEJ. And, using the game of chess as a metaphor of how bishops move diagonally, I invited all of us to pray that our bishops move toward convergence instead of divergence. And I said that now is the time to guard our episcopacy. And to support our bishops (even those with whom we seriously disagree). So that they can take on their new role as change agents and lead United Methodism into its new reality. And then I said: Mark my words! As soon as a new plan for reorganization is made public, the Council of Bishops will be attacked. That was the best I could do to embody the presence of the transestablishment. And to speak to the historical church by calling our bishops to embody a new reality of united episcopal leadership. But I did join the entire Council in their Memorial Service on Sunday. I sang hymns from the back row behind a group of African bishops. One of whom may have been Bishop Wandabula, who was sanctioned for misusing .75 million bucks in church funds. And accused of retaliating against his accusers. (I don't know how this was resolved.) But while I was aware that I don't share their perspectives on Biblical interpretation, church law, and fiscal accountability, I was so grateful to know that they are there, doing ministry to the best of their ability. One of the Order's essential life understandings is that wherever we go, we will leave! And leave behind a core of local leadership who are trained, equipped, contextualized, and enabled to to their work in collaboration with their global colleagues--but without hierarchical control/supervision. Leaving lots of room to embody and grow local integrity. So here is the bottom line of my witness: the Order:Ecumenical is still alive and well and becoming visible when and where it needs to be a witness. Amen. Marshall P.S. I couldn't resist adding that my memory is that Bob Fishel--ever the revolutionary oddball with that ironic, solemn, quirky Fishel expression--liked to pick up an entire plastic pitcher of water and just dump the whole thing out on the floor at the closing meal in RS-1. And people would gasp in shock! But he got across the image of just how radical expenditure really is. BTW the Fishels are still alive and well and hosted me in Franklin, NC during the Total Eclipse last August. On Saturday, November 4, 2017 5:37 PM, H. A. Tillinghast <rev.bud(a)mac.com> wrote: I will not be able to participate, but I am most pleased about this honouring of my friend Bishop Karen. Bless you for doing this. I’m sure that Joe, brother of a Methodist bishop, would be in the midst of this with his “Amen". Bud Tillinghast On 2 Nov 2017, at 7:44 pm, W. J. via OE <oe(a)lists.wedgeblade.net> wrote: Mary Z., Marcia, and I (among others) are hosting a gathering at Lake Junaluska to honor Bishop Karen Oliveto and her wife Robin Ridenour at the beginning of the United Methodist Council of Bishops meeting.It is in the new Welcome Center next to the building where Order members gathered for the Springboard conference a decade ago. Here is the ritual that will open the meeting: Props: _______________________________________________ OE mailing list OE(a)lists.wedgeblade.net http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net - large black plate (with 'shalom' in 3 languages). - 3 large round pieces of flatbread, rolled up on the plate - large clear glass pitcher filled with water - large clear glass cup [= chalice] - large serving tray holding the above Actions: - celebrant unrolls, elevates, and tears each piece of round bread in two, one at a time [* + ** + ***] - celebrant tears off a tiny piece of bread and eats it - celebrant pours water from the pitcher into the cup, intentionally letting it "run over" until it spills out onto the tray (without wetting the black tablecloth!) - celebrant takes a sip of water - celebrants distribute the 6 torn pieces of bread among the group to be passed and shared (as desired) Words (ad libbed):(while breaking the bread) - We stand before the Word about the way life is and declare that our life is about brokenness, period. That the world we live in is just broken.* That our nation is deeply polarized.** And that our church body is deeply fragmented.*** The Word of Life is that when we dare to take our brokenness deeply into ourselves [eats bread] and feast on it for the sake of all beings, we are sustained in being. (while pouring the water) - We stand before the Word about the way life is and declare that our life is about expenditure, period. That we can't hide from the truth that our being is just poured out so that all may have life abundant. The Word of Life is that when we dare to expend our lives to serve a human world, our cup of life runs over. And we are sustained in being [sips water]. (while offering the bread) - Bread for the journey! - Amen. Amin. Ameyn. **********************Let me know your thoughts.Marshall

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EXECUTIVE ORDER
by Lee Early 08 Nov '17

08 Nov '17

I, DENNIS LEE EARLY AM HEREBY SIGNING AN EXECUTIVE ORDER BARRING ONE DONALD J> TRUMP FROM RE-ENTEREING THE UNITED STATES UNTIL WE FIGURE WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON, . Care to join me? HA! Lee Lee Early 19230 Forest Park Dr. NE A-102 Lake Forest Park, WA 98155 lees.mail(a)comcast.net

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guns
by John Epps 08 Nov '17

08 Nov '17

This is a bit long, but represents a conversation I'm having with a friend of many years. Our church had a guest preacher yesterday -- she was a professor of preaching (homiletics) at Candler at Emory, a Methodist seminary. She was a member of the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) church, and she PREACHED a sermon. It was like poetic rap on steroids, passionate, verbally articulate and diverse, a huge number of words in a little time. The preaching courses I took were more about content than style, but she had them both. I've never before heard a congregation applaud a sermon, but this upper-middle class, mostly white church gave her a rousing ovation. Besides that, it was a profound message: "Words matter: be thankful and say so. God is good, so thank God, whatever happens." I find that hard after the Texas shooting at the church. Since Joe used to contend that to pray about something without developing a plan to deal with it was beyond useless (I think he used the phrase, "like pissing in the wind"), I've been trying to think of some effective ways to reduce the gun violence. Here's what I've come up with: 1. I'm not against gun ownership: I've owned cap pistols and water guns, a BB gun, a 22, a 4-10, and a 12 Gage, and learned to fire and dismantle an M-1 rifle. My dad and brother owned numerous types of shotguns when skeet shooting was a hobby and bird hunting was common. 2. Advocating "gun control" has not worked and does not have much likelihood of passing in the future. It's a direct tactic, and according to Sun Tzu, indirection is needed to win. 3. The control of tobacco might provide some ideas. Smoking stopped being a popular and expected behavior. 4. Suppose a curriculum were to be introduced at the grammar school level and expanded to upper grades on safe use of firearms. Even NRA might support that. It might include a module that showed assault weapons were for military use only. 5. Suppose media (TV, movies, and computer games) were to cut out shooting people as a major emphasis (as they cut out smoking years ago). Probably cowboy movies could be an exception. 6 Suppose a heavy tax were to be imposed on the sale of guns, with taxes higher for the more lethal weapons (like assault rifles), the revenue to be used for mental health upgrades. (Colorado uses marijuana tax for upgrades to infrastructure, and gambling taxes for parks and recreation). It could also be used for a buy-back scheme, such as has worked in Australia. 7. Opposition from the firearms industry could be ineffective, like opposition from the tobacco industry adapted to the no-smoking movement. Those were my initial thoughts. My friend responded: "I was visiting Memphis and we went to purchase 25 cal ammo for a pistol I > gave my son to carry while hunting. He had been unable to find it > elsewhere. Set up in a very large room there were guns of every imaginable > description, even an M1 . The rifles were not your 22 but the strange > looking weapons shown on t v after an event like Texas or L.V. (Attendees > included) a group of young men most speaking Spanish pooling their money > and buying multiple handguns. There appeared to be a table set up to > complete forms and I suppose for background computer checks so it did not > seem to be only a buy and walk out situation. Other attendees were decked > out in camo, many had beards transported in most cases to the show by > pickup truck. I could not estimate the number of assault type rifles > available. Vests with plates were abundant or Kevlar. If you could > qualify to buy then every thing you could possibly need to do what the > recent attackers have done was there, simply for the buying. And the crowd > was diverse too, not just Hispanics and beards and camo. > > "There likely is not a single answer. It was difficult to grow up in the > small town south without gun exposure but to the same type weapons you > described, not those I saw with modified clips to hold 40 or more bullets. > I frankly could think of no reason to have one of those assault types > though there is an argument others have them so I need to stay even (small > arms race). > > "Your ideas 4,5 and 6 are entirely reasonable. The problem comes when one > side says "no guns at all" or uses the word "control". Somewhere in > between with a riddance over time of the assault type outside the military > would help. Evil people can do their damage even with cars and trucks as > we have seen. > "You and I are unlikely to see an answer. If you want "gun control" you are a flaming liberal and if not you are a damned republican nra loving maniac. It is all so politicized that the truth gets buried. But I do believe if everyone could go to one gun (and knife) show, a reasonable dialogue could begin." We need to activate our "Trans establishment" posture, and work out some practical ways to curb gun violence. What are your prescriptions? >

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Re: [Oe List ...] guns
by Del Morrill 07 Nov '17

07 Nov '17

Thanks so much for this David. I’m sending it on to my own list, although I suppose we are “preaching to the choir”. One can only hope that someone is actually doing something, especially Congress. Del “It is difficult to free fools from the chains they revere.” (Voltaire) Del Hunter Morrill 3217 North Mason Avenue Tacoma WA 98407-5419 H/W: (253) 752-1506 delhmor(a)wamail.net <mailto:delhmor@wamail.net> Web site: www. hypnocenter.com From: OE [mailto:oe-bounces@lists.wedgeblade.net] On Behalf Of David Dunn via OE Sent: Tuesday, November 7, 2017 9:10 AM To: OE Lists <oe(a)lists.wedgeblade.net> Cc: David Dunn <dmdunn1(a)gmail.com> Subject: Re: [Oe List ...] guns Hi all. On Nov 7, 2017, John Epps wrote: 7. Opposition from the firearms industry could be ineffective, like opposition from the tobacco industry adapted to the no-smoking movement. 8. Highlight root causes, e.g., an imaginal presentation in today's New York Times about the inescapable correlation between the prevelence of guns and the death rate from mass shootings in America and across the world. Conclusion: it’s not a mental health problem, it’s the image, enshrined in the constitution and Americans’ minds, that citizens have a RIGHT to own guns. Not new information, but dramatically articulated and presented. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/07/world/americas/mass-shootings-us-interna… Good article. Striking graphic data. David — "Mystery, possibility, and the power to choose" [read and share on David's blog—www.spiritjourneys.org <http://www.spiritjourneys.org> ] David Dunn 740 S Alton Way 9B Denver, CO 80247 720-314-5991 dmdunn1(a)gmail.com <mailto:dmdunn1@gmail.com>

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ICAI Global Buzz November
by ICA International 07 Nov '17

07 Nov '17

Enjoy catching up with what is happening in ICAs across the globe.....If you wish to SEND a report...send to your ICA contact person OR...go to the members section on the ICA International website Please click the link below for the latest issue of the Global Buzz Global Buzz Report: November 2017 or copy and paste this URL into your browser's address bar http://globalbuzz.icai-archives.org/7dayreport-17/2017-11-01.php ICAI Communications

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Re: [Oe List ...] guns
by W. J. 07 Nov '17

07 Nov '17

Frankly, I'm so gun-phobic that my only weapon shoots rubber bands (a Christmas present from my nephew--our local assistant DA!). Not much of a defense against any idiot who decides to take me out with one well-aimed shot! So much for the merriment, this is serious.I'm willing to potentially risk my life among the gun-toting Trump voters by being an unarmed witness. And by speaking out (and acting out) in careful, strategic ways to 'seed' significant cultural transformation. Time to readTime to Topple the False God | | | | | | | | | | | Time to Topple the False God America worships a false god – the gun – and it's time to topple the idol that has received too many human s... | | | | andhttp://um-insight.net/in-the-world/global-health/bishop-calls-for-prayer… and http://um-insight.net/in-the-world/global-health/united-methodists-respondi… and (for hope-filled, helpful local pastoral strategies): https://www.umcjustice.org/documents/51 Marshall On Tuesday, November 7, 2017 11:40 AM, John Epps via OE <oe(a)lists.wedgeblade.net> wrote: This is a bit long, but represents a conversation I'm having with a friend of many years. Our church had a guest preacher yesterday -- she was a professor of preaching (homiletics) at Candler at Emory, a Methodist seminary. She was a member of the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) church, and she PREACHED a sermon. It was like poetic rap on steroids, passionate, verbally articulate and diverse, a huge number of words in a little time. The preaching courses I took were more about content than style, but she had them both. I've never before heard a congregation applaud a sermon, but this upper-middle class, mostly white church gave her a rousing ovation. Besides that, it was a profound message: "Words matter: be thankful and say so. God is good, so thank God, whatever happens." I find that hard after the Texas shooting at the church. Since Joe used to contend that to pray about something without developing a plan to deal with it was beyond useless (I think he used the phrase, "like pissing in the wind"), I've been trying to think of some effective ways to reduce the gun violence. Here's what I've come up with:1. I'm not against gun ownership: I've owned cap pistols and water guns, a BB gun, a 22, a 4-10, and a 12 Gage, and learned to fire and dismantle an M-1 rifle. My dad and brother owned numerous types of shotguns when skeet shooting was a hobby and bird hunting was common.2. Advocating "gun control" has not worked and does not have much likelihood of passing in the future. It's a direct tactic, and according to Sun Tzu, indirection is needed to win.3. The control of tobacco might provide some ideas. Smoking stopped being a popular and expected behavior.4. Suppose a curriculum were to be introduced at the grammar school level and expanded to upper grades on safe use of firearms. Even NRA might support that. It might include a module that showed assault weapons were for military use only.5. Suppose media (TV, movies, and computer games) were to cut out shooting people as a major emphasis (as they cut out smoking years ago). Probably cowboy movies could be an exception.6 Suppose a heavy tax were to be imposed on the sale of guns, with taxes higher for the more lethal weapons (like assault rifles), the revenue to be used for mental health upgrades. (Colorado uses marijuana tax for upgrades to infrastructure, and gambling taxes for parks and recreation). It could also be used for a buy-back scheme, such as has worked in Australia.7. Opposition from the firearms industry could be ineffective, like opposition from the tobacco industry adapted to the no-smoking movement. Those were my initial thoughts. My friend responded: "I was visiting Memphis and we went to purchase 25 cal ammo for a pistol I gave my son to carry while hunting. He had been unable to find it elsewhere. Set up in a very large room there were guns of every imaginable description, even an M1 . The rifles were not your 22 but the strange looking weapons shown on t v after an event like Texas or L.V. (Attendees included) a group of young men most speaking Spanish pooling their money and buying multiple handguns. There appeared to be a table set up to complete forms and I suppose for background computer checks so it did not seem to be only a buy and walk out situation. Other attendees were decked out in camo, many had beards transported in most cases to the show by pickup truck. I could not estimate the number of assault type rifles available. Vests with plates were abundant or Kevlar. If you could qualify to buy then every thing you could possibly need to do what the recent attackers have done was there, simply for the buying. And the crowd was diverse too, not just Hispanics and beards and camo. "There likely is not a single answer. It was difficult to grow up in the small town south without gun exposure but to the same type weapons you described, not those I saw with modified clips to hold 40 or more bullets. I frankly could think of no reason to have one of those assault types though there is an argument others have them so I need to stay even (small arms race). "Your ideas 4,5 and 6 are entirely reasonable. The problem comes when one side says "no guns at all" or uses the word "control". Somewhere in between with a riddance over time of the assault type outside the military would help. Evil people can do their damage even with cars and trucks as we have seen. "You and I are unlikely to see an answer. If you want "gun control" you are a flaming liberal and if not you are a damned republican nra loving maniac. It is all so politicized that the truth gets buried. But I do believe if everyone could go to one gun (and knife) show, a reasonable dialogue could begin." We need to activate our "Trans establishment" posture, and work out some practical ways to curb gun violence. What are your prescriptions? _______________________________________________ OE mailing list OE(a)lists.wedgeblade.net http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net

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Re: [Oe List ...] guns
by Wesson Gaige 07 Nov '17

07 Nov '17

In response to your friend. I think most people advocate ‘regulation’. The term ‘gun control’ is used by the Media and the gun lobby to paint that side of the debate in a worst light. It has obviously worked in the case of your friend. Another idea I think might be effective is the notion of requiring liability insurance for each gun. An AR-15 would have the highest rates. "Whatever the problem, community is the answer. There is no power greater than a community discovering what it cares about." Margaret Wheatley Wesson Gaige wesgaige(a)mac.com On Nov 07, 2017, at 10:40 AM, John Epps via OE <oe(a)lists.wedgeblade.net> wrote: This is a bit long, but represents a conversation I'm having with a friend of many years. Our church had a guest preacher yesterday -- she was a professor of preaching (homiletics) at Candler at Emory, a Methodist seminary. She was a member of the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) church, and she PREACHED a sermon. It was like poetic rap on steroids, passionate, verbally articulate and diverse, a huge number of words in a little time. The preaching courses I took were more about content than style, but she had them both. I've never before heard a congregation applaud a sermon, but this upper-middle class, mostly white church gave her a rousing ovation. Besides that, it was a profound message: "Words matter: be thankful and say so. God is good, so thank God, whatever happens." I find that hard after the Texas shooting at the church. Since Joe used to contend that to pray about something without developing a plan to deal with it was beyond useless (I think he used the phrase, "like pissing in the wind"), I've been trying to think of some effective ways to reduce the gun violence. Here's what I've come up with: 1. I'm not against gun ownership: I've owned cap pistols and water guns, a BB gun, a 22, a 4-10, and a 12 Gage, and learned to fire and dismantle an M-1 rifle. My dad and brother owned numerous types of shotguns when skeet shooting was a hobby and bird hunting was common. 2. Advocating "gun control" has not worked and does not have much likelihood of passing in the future. It's a direct tactic, and according to Sun Tzu, indirection is needed to win. 3. The control of tobacco might provide some ideas. Smoking stopped being a popular and expected behavior. 4. Suppose a curriculum were to be introduced at the grammar school level and expanded to upper grades on safe use of firearms. Even NRA might support that. It might include a module that showed assault weapons were for military use only. 5. Suppose media (TV, movies, and computer games) were to cut out shooting people as a major emphasis (as they cut out smoking years ago). Probably cowboy movies could be an exception. 6 Suppose a heavy tax were to be imposed on the sale of guns, with taxes higher for the more lethal weapons (like assault rifles), the revenue to be used for mental health upgrades. (Colorado uses marijuana tax for upgrades to infrastructure, and gambling taxes for parks and recreation). It could also be used for a buy-back scheme, such as has worked in Australia. 7. Opposition from the firearms industry could be ineffective, like opposition from the tobacco industry adapted to the no-smoking movement. Those were my initial thoughts. My friend responded: "I was visiting Memphis and we went to purchase 25 cal ammo for a pistol I gave my son to carry while hunting. He had been unable to find it elsewhere. Set up in a very large room there were guns of every imaginable description, even an M1 . The rifles were not your 22 but the strange looking weapons shown on t v after an event like Texas or L.V. (Attendees included) a group of young men most speaking Spanish pooling their money and buying multiple handguns. There appeared to be a table set up to complete forms and I suppose for background computer checks so it did not seem to be only a buy and walk out situation. Other attendees were decked out in camo, many had beards transported in most cases to the show by pickup truck. I could not estimate the number of assault type rifles available. Vests with plates were abundant or Kevlar. If you could qualify to buy then every thing you could possibly need to do what the recent attackers have done was there, simply for the buying. And the crowd was diverse too, not just Hispanics and beards and camo. "There likely is not a single answer. It was difficult to grow up in the small town south without gun exposure but to the same type weapons you described, not those I saw with modified clips to hold 40 or more bullets. I frankly could think of no reason to have one of those assault types though there is an argument others have them so I need to stay even (small arms race). "Your ideas 4,5 and 6 are entirely reasonable. The problem comes when one side says "no guns at all" or uses the word "control". Somewhere in between with a riddance over time of the assault type outside the military would help. Evil people can do their damage even with cars and trucks as we have seen. "You and I are unlikely to see an answer. If you want "gun control" you are a flaming liberal and if not you are a damned republican nra loving maniac. It is all so politicized that the truth gets buried. But I do believe if everyone could go to one gun (and knife) show, a reasonable dialogue could begin." We need to activate our "Trans establishment" posture, and work out some practical ways to curb gun violence. What are your prescriptions? _______________________________________________ OE mailing list OE(a)lists.wedgeblade.net http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net

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Fw: opening ritual for Bishop Karen's gathering
by W. J. 04 Nov '17

04 Nov '17

Mary Z., Marcia, and I (among others) are hosting a gathering at Lake Junaluska to honor Bishop Karen Oliveto and her wife Robin Ridenour at the beginning of the United Methodist Council of Bishops meeting.It is in the new Welcome Center next to the building where Order members gathered for the Springboard conference a decade ago. Here is the ritual that will open the meeting: Props: - large black plate (with 'shalom' in 3 languages). - 3 large round pieces of flatbread, rolled up on the plate - large clear glass pitcher filled with water - large clear glass cup [= chalice] - large serving tray holding the above Actions: - celebrant unrolls, elevates, and tears each piece of round bread in two, one at a time [* + ** + ***] - celebrant tears off a tiny piece of bread and eats it - celebrant pours water from the pitcher into the cup, intentionally letting it "run over" until it spills out onto the tray (without wetting the black tablecloth!) - celebrant takes a sip of water - celebrants distribute the 6 torn pieces of bread among the group to be passed and shared (as desired) Words (ad libbed):(while breaking the bread) - We stand before the Word about the way life is and declare that our life is about brokenness, period. That the world we live in is just broken.* That our nation is deeply polarized.** And that our church body is deeply fragmented.*** The Word of Life is that when we dare to take our brokenness deeply into ourselves [eats bread] and feast on it for the sake of all beings, we are sustained in being. (while pouring the water) - We stand before the Word about the way life is and declare that our life is about expenditure, period. That we can't hide from the truth that our being is just poured out so that all may have life abundant. The Word of Life is that when we dare to expend our lives to serve a human world, our cup of life runs over. And we are sustained in being [sips water]. (while offering the bread) - Bread for the journey! - Amen. Amin. Ameyn. **********************Let me know your thoughts.Marshall

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Re: [Oe List ...] Final call for corrections
by Nancy Lanphear 03 Nov '17

03 Nov '17

Hi Michael, Once again, thanks for your directory energy. I use the directory a lot, remembering each name in various ways, some are only names tht have stayed with me over the years. Just an unexpected catch up. One evening earlier this summer, my neighbor Brent called and asked me if I knew the names of Harrison and Nancy Sims. OF course, I knew their names! He said that he was bringing a 75 years old Nancy (Sims) Vermond to Songaia as she was going on the Rite of Passage Journeys Adult Vision Quest. WE spent several hours in conversation the next day, discovering that she did not remember me and wondered how I remembered she and Harrison. They left in 1970, so it must have been during the summer program that I encountered them Do you remember them? He was a black man who went to Africa with Joe in the early days. The strangeness of the event was that just that morning of Nancy's arrival, I read in the Circle of Life about Harrison on the West Side during the 68 riots. They were striking as a couple and a powerful symbol for me. Their son who was born that year was named Patrice. Our family data seems still appropriate. Enough for now. Nancy On Thu, Nov 2, 2017 at 9:43 PM, Directory Man <movementdir(a)aol.com> wrote: > > THE 2018 DIRECTORY: *Final call for Corrections* > > > > > > Dear colleagues, > > > > *I NEED YOUR CORRECTIONS OR ADDITIONS SENT TO ME ASAP* to get the *2018 > edition of The Directory* pulled together, to mail out in mid-November > > > > Please check over your entry in The 2017 Directory. Indicate below any > changes necessary. If you don’t have a 2017 Directory and want to see > your entry, please email me with your request. For those who aren’t > familiar with The Directory, it is a listing of names, addresses, phones > and emails and occupations of several hundred people who have been at one > time or another associated with the I.C.A., or the Ecumenical Institute, or > its programs and projects. If you *aren't listed, and want to be*, fill > out the form below and either mail it to me, or email it. Listing in The > Directory is free > > > > > If you want to order a directory, complete the order form and send your > check (made out to Michael B. Tippett). > > In preparation for the Directory, I need input from you. > > > > *A. In Memoriam*: > > Please let me know of any colleagues that have died since > the last Directory was published. Also, if you know the year of death > that isn’t listed for a colleague, let me know. > > > > *B. Cover for the 2018 Directory: I still need entries for > cover art work.* > > > > > > > > REPLY TO THE *DIRECTORY EMAIL ADDRESS*, WHICH IS: *movementdir(a)aol.com > <movementdir(a)aol.com>* > > > > *Individual or Family listing is FREE!* > > > > Cost of the Directory is $20.00 for either the booklet form or a CD. If > you order 2 forms, it will cost $30.00. > > > > *AGAIN THIS YEAR!! --- The Directory is available as an email > attachment!!* > > > > > > > > > > > > ************************************************************ > ****************** > > *ORDER FORM* > > NAME: ______________________________ > > > Email: ________________________ > > ADDRESS: ____________________________ > > > > > CITY/STATE/POSTAL(ZIP) CODE/COUNTRY: ___________ > _________________________ > > Please send me a copy of The Directory: [ ] Booklet > form [ ] CD [ ] Email Attachment > > > > The CD and Email Attachment will contain In Memoriam and Names and > Addresses, etc, in Microsoft Word format. > > > > *Cost of the Directory is still $20.00 for either the booklet form or the > CD. If you order 2 forms, it will cost $30.00 The email attachment > will cost only $ 15.00* > > > > I enclose $___________ (Check/Money Order made out to Michael Tippett) > > > > *Re: PayPal:* > > I’m sorry, but I can no longer accept PayPal. I’ve had too much trouble > with it in the past. Also, I can’t accept Credit Cards. I hope it isn’t > too much of an inconvenience to send a check or money order. > > > > Send orders to: Michael B. Tippett, 46 Meadow Circle > <https://maps.google.com/?q=46+Meadow+Circle+%E2%80%93+Ellenton,+FL+34222-42…>– > Ellenton, FL 34222-4224 > <https://maps.google.com/?q=46+Meadow+Circle+%E2%80%93+Ellenton,+FL+34222-42…> > USA > > Phone: (941) 417-7120 (H) 713-8626 (Cell) > > Email: MOVEMENTDIR(a)aol.com > > > > >

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