April 2017 - OE - lists.wedgeblade.net

8/11/16, Spong: The Unlikely Honored Guest at the Democratic National Convention
by Ellie Stock via OE 01 Aug '18

01 Aug '18

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He was surrounded in that reserved and exclusive seating area by the power-elite of the Democratic Party: A former President, the sitting Vice-President and the “second lady,” the spouses and children of the nominees, as well as those especially invited guests, who were uniquely and politically related to the convention’s eventual nominee. This unlikely guest was in his own way quite unique. He was a Republican, one who had been elected to a state-wide office as a candidate of the opposition party. He served as the governor of Virginia from 1970 – 1974 and was the first Republican governor of Virginia since 1869 in the last days of reconstruction. Later he sought his party’s nomination to the Senate of the United States, losing to another Republican, John Warner, who served with distinction from 1979 until he retired in 2008. The name of this mystery quest is Abner Linwood Holton. He is now, and has been since the day I first met him, an extraordinary man. People, unaware of the history of the Democratic Party in Virginia, find it strange that the man I regarded as the best governor of Virginia during the years I lived in that state would be a Republican. Let me tell you his story.</p> <p>Linwood Holton was born in 1923 in Big Stone Gap, Virginia, a town deep in the heart of Appalachia. He was a Republican from the moment of his birth. He was also bright and ambitious. Being a Republican in Virginia in those days was to be part of a distinct minority, perhaps even an endangered one! The Democrats of Virginia were the only cohesive political force in the state. This majority party was run by Virginia’s senior United States Senator, Harry Flood Byrd, who after serving a term as governor from 1926 to 1930, effectively ran the state until he died in 1966. It was said of Harry Byrd that he and a few of his closest political advisors would sit on the porch at his home in Berryville, Virginia, and pick the candidates for every political vacancy in Virginia from governor on down. The electorate was deliberately kept small by poll taxes, which effectively discouraged both blacks and poor whites from voting. A Byrd loyalist was in every county seat in Virginia to run the party. Racism was deep and “States Rights” was a holy slogan designed to make racism seem socially acceptable. Virginia was a one party state. Frequently the Republicans would not even nominate candidates and, even when they did, no one paid much attention to them because whoever won the Democratic primary seldom even campaigned in the general election, since Republicans simply did not win in this state! Linwood Holton made it his life’s ambition to establish two-party politics in Virginia.</p> <p>He graduated from Washington and Lee in Lexington, Virginia, and then entered the law school at Harvard University. Along the way he married a Roanoke girl, named Virginia Rogers, who went by the name of Jinks. She was the daughter of Frank Rogers, an upright, but ultra-conservative, successful and well-connected Roanoke citizen, who was the grandson of the first Episcopal Bishop in Southwestern Virginia. In his mind, the two greatest virtues were to be a conservative Episcopalian and a loyal Byrd Democrat. Jinks, the more rebellious of Rogers’ two daughters, chose to marry a Republican and a Presbyterian! Supported by this remarkable woman, Linwood began his life’s task of strengthening Virginia’s Republican Party. This party’s base, such as it was, had always been in the mountains of the western part of Virginia. As a force in opposition to Byrd Democrats, the Virginia Republican party tilted slightly leftward. There was no room to the right of the Byrd machine. The Virginia Republicans were known for their party’s efforts to improve education statewide and to develop better state mental health facilities. Linwood’s organizational efforts were so successful that in 1965 he was the Republican nominee for governor opposing the Southside, Virginia, Byrd Democrat, Mills Godwin, who had emerged as the new leader of the Democratic Party. The sickness, retirement and subsequently the death of Senator Byrd meant that the torch of party leadership had to be passed to the next generation. It is interesting that Harry Byrd, Jr., always known as “Little Harry,” who was appointed to succeed his father in the Senate, did not succeed him in the leadership of the statewide Democratic Party. Holton was defeated in that first run for the governor’s office, but he garnered a respectable total of votes and succeeded in introducing himself to the state. The day after the defeat, he began planning for his second run in 1969. The governorship in Virginia, we need to note, is limited by the Constitution to a single term.</p> <p>National issues soon began to erode the Byrd majorities. Poll taxes were declared unconstitutional in 1964. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 opened the ballot to people of color. The feminist movement began to galvanize women into an effective political force. A national- thinking Virginia Democrat, named Henry Howell, began to build a liberal political base made up of labor unions, blacks, women and young people. His challenge to the Byrd machine resulted ultimately in his election as Lt. Governor in 1971, but he could go no farther. He remained anathema to Byrd Democrats. In the Democratic Primary of 1969, the Byrd candidate, William Battle, the son of former Governor John Battle, defeated Henry Howell in a bitter contest. The party could not heal this division, so in the General Election, Linwood Holton, supported by many of Howell’s still angry voters, rode to victory with a 65,000 vote majority.</p> <p>In his inaugural address, Holton called for an end to Virginia’s pattern of racial discrimination and its racist politics. No Virginia Governor had ever uttered such words before. Words, however, were not enough. People looked for actions. They would follow soon.</p> <p>In the most dramatic step imaginable, the new governor and his wife made the decision not to put their children in the church-related or independent private schools of Richmond, where all governors’ children had previously attended, but to enroll them in Richmond’s public schools which were at that time about 80% black. It was such a startling action for a Virginia politician that the New York Times covered it with a front page story and a picture of Virginia’s Governor Holton escorting one of his daughters into a school surrounded by a host of black faces smiling broadly. In a state where the official response of the ruling Democratic machine to “Brown vs. the Board of Education,” had been to call for “massive resistance to the law of the land,” a state in which some counties chose to close their public schools rather than to integrate them, here was the highest elected official in the state escorting his children into the majority black public schools of Richmond, Virginia. No action could have announced better that a new day was dawning in what had once been the capital of the Confederacy. One of those Holton children entering those public schools on that day was their oldest daughter, Anne.</p> <p>The white population of Virginia was shocked. They believed and stated that their new governor was sacrificing his children on the “altar of integration.” Many suggested that the “inferior education” that his children would receive in those heavily black schools would cripple them for life. It was a strange argument that gave the lie to the previous white claim that all of its racially segregated schools were “separate, <em>but equal</em>.” Anne, in her early teens, would be an exemplary student. She received a fine education and upon graduation from high school would be admitted to Princeton University, from which she graduated <em>magna cum laude</em>. She seemed not to have been penalized at all in her educational achievements. After Princeton she was accepted into the class of 1983 at the Harvard Law School, from which she now holds a doctor of Jurisprudence degree. From there she went into a legal career that in time would include being a domestic relations judge and Virginia’s Education Secretary.</p> <p>While at Harvard she met, fell in love with and married a fellow law student, who was born in Minnesota and educated at the University of Missouri. His name was Tim Kaine. She lured him back to Richmond, where his earlier life experiences, including his Jesuit high school education, his year as a volunteer missionary to Honduras and his mastery of the Spanish language, prepared him to begin his Richmond law practice as a civil rights attorney. Then responding to an expressed community need, he entered politics at the most local of levels, running for a seat on Richmond’s nine-member City Council. In a majority black city, Tim not only won that seat, but was also later elected by that majority-black city council to be Richmond’s Mayor. Two years later, in 2001 he moved to the state level, being elected Virginia’s Lieutenant Governor. In 2005, he won the governor’s office. His wife, Anne Holton, became the first person to be at one time living in the governor’s mansion as the child of a Republican governor and then a second time as the state’s first lady and wife of a Democratic governor. In 2012, Tim Kaine won a seat in the United States Senate. In 2016, with two years remaining in his first term as senator, he was chosen by the presidential nominee, Hillary Clinton, to be her vice-presidential running mate. Anne Holton was there with him, waving to the crowd on the final night. As Hillary Clinton raised Tim Kaine’s hand high, former president Bill Clinton was at her side and Anne Holton was at Tim Kaine’s side. The crowd roared with approval.</p> <p>In the VIP section of that vast Philadelphia arena sat the former Republican Governor Linwood Holton, now 92 years old, with his wife Jinks, both still vibrant and attractive, watching their daughter being introduced to the nation. There is sometimes a reward for integrity. Linwood and Jinks Holton, who would not allow their lives to be twisted by the prejudice of racism, challenged the distorting and debilitating social structures of his generation in Richmond, Virginia. Doing what is right sometimes carries with it intimations of transcendence and even immortality. To this day he remains one of my heroes.</p> <p>John Shelby Spong</p> <p>Read the essay online <a target="_blank" style="color: #4487cf;font-weight: normal;text-decoration: underline;" href="http://johnshelbyspong.us2.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=b51b9cf441b059bb2…">here</a>.</p> </div> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> <table border="0" cellpadding="20" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td valign="top"> <div style="color: #000000;font-family: Georgia;font-size: 16px;line-height: 150%;text-align: left;"><h2 style="color: #4487cf;display: block;font-family: Georgia;font-size: 30px;font-weight: normal;line-height: 100%;margin-top: 0;margin-right: 0;margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 0;text-align: left;">Question & Answer</h2> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Alberto Mejia Aguilera from Mexico writes via the internet:</span></p> <h4 style="color: #4487cf;display: block;font-family: Georgia;font-size: 22px;font-weight: normal;line-height: 100%;margin-top: 0;margin-right: 0;margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 0;text-align: left;"> Question:</h4> <p>I am from Mexico and I would like to know your opinion about Liberation Theology. Do you think that this theology is still an inspiration for the struggle against the social injustice?</p> <h4 style="color: #4487cf;display: block;font-family: Georgia;font-size: 22px;font-weight: normal;line-height: 100%;margin-top: 0;margin-right: 0;margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 0;text-align: left;">Answer:</h4> <p>Dear Alberto,</p> <p>Liberation theology was, I believe, was born in Latin America, so you should be especially proud of it. I associate the name of Leonardo Boff, primarily, with it, but there were others like the murdered Bishop Oscar Romero. It was born in an attempt to apply the principles of the gospel not just to individuals, but also to the structures of our society, which so often drive the masses into poverty. It identifies God with the poor. For those reasons it tended to be resisted in ecclesiastical circles, especially by the leaders of the Roman Catholic during the years of Popes John Paul II and Benedict, both of whom were so politically conservative that they saw it as another manifestation of Communism. I think they were both wrong in this judgment. Liberation theology, I believe, constituted a call to Christianity to see that its alliance with power, both in Europe and the new world, had corrupted the essential justice that Christianity requires.</p> <p>Christianity was born among the poor and the outcasts. It rose to dominate society and so became the religion of kings. Liberation Theology was a necessary correction.</p> <p>I wish you well.</p> <p>John Shelby Spong <a target="_blank" style="color: #4487cf;font-weight: normal;text-decoration: underline;" href="http://johnshelbyspong.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b51b9cf441b059bb23…">Read and Share Online Here</a></p> </div> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> <table border="0" cellpadding="20" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td valign="top"> <div style="color: #000000;font-family: Georgia;font-size: 16px;line-height: 150%;text-align: left;"><h2 style="color: #4487cf;display: block;font-family: Georgia;font-size: 30px;font-weight: normal;line-height: 100%;margin-top: 0;margin-right: 0;margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 0;text-align: left;">Announcements</h2> <div style="text-align: center;color: #000000;font-family: Georgia;font-size: 16px;line-height: 150%;"><a target="_blank" style="color: #4487cf;font-weight: normal;text-decoration: underline;" href="http://johnshelbyspong.us2.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=b51b9cf441b059bb2…"><img align="none" height="262" style="width: 350px;height: 262px;margin: 0px;border: none;font-size: 14px;font-weight: bold;line-height: 100%;outline: none;text-decoration: none;text-transform: capitalize;display: inline;" width="350" src="https://gallery.mailchimp.com/b51b9cf441b059bb232418480/images/e67ac6a0-334…"></a></div> <h2 style="color: #4487cf;display: block;font-family: Georgia;font-size: 30px;font-weight: normal;line-height: 100%;margin-top: 0;margin-right: 0;margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 0;text-align: left;"><span style="font-size:26px"><span style="color:#000000">Bishop Spong at the Episcopal Diocese of Northern Michigan September 10th & 11th</span></span></h2> <strong>Schedule:</strong> Saturday, September 10, 2016 1:00 pm at the Reynolds Recital Hall, Northern Michigan University 7:00 pm at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Marquette Sunday, September 11, 2016 2:00 pm at the Memorial Union Building , Michigan Technological University At each location, there will be an opportunity for Q&A and book signing.</div></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr><tr><td align="center" valign="top"> </td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></center><center><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" id="aolmail_canspamBarWrapper" style="background-color:#FFFFFF; border-top:1px solid #E5E5E5;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" valign="top" style="padding-top:20px; padding-bottom:20px;"> </td></tr></tbody></table></center></div> </div> <style type="text/css">#AOLMsgPart_2_1c149769-41d3-4c3b-8300-eaccdde19ae7 td{color: black;} @media only screen and (max-width: 480px){ .aolReplacedBody table[id="canspamBar"] td{font-size:14px !important;} .aolReplacedBody table[id="canspamBar"] td a{display:block !important; margin-top:10px !important;} } </style>

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GREETINGS FROM WASHINGTON, DC!; Fwd: TODAY People's Climate March live More . . .
by Ellie Stock via OE 06 May '17

06 May '17

<div id="AOLMsgPart_1.1.2_a8a0e47c-a32d-44f7-b0c2-595197b1ddf6"><div id="aolmail_role_body" style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; COLOR: #010101" class="aolReplacedBody"><font id="aolmail_role_document" color="#010101" size="3" face="Arial"> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Hi Folks,</p><p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </p><p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Greetings from Washington, DC, where shortly, we will be participating in the People' Climate March. If you are not able to join a local msrch, Democracy Now is live streaming the event--see link below.</p><p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </p><p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">We arrived last week to participate in Ecumenical Advocacy Days, this year's theme based on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s speech on Vietnam that focused on the triplets of racism, militarism, and materialism. We also participated in the DC March for Science--about 120,000 in the rain, but it was a good event. Monday was Lobby Day--visiting congressional offices.</p><p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </p><p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">While here we gave a presentation on The Doctrine of Discovery at the Oblates Residence with their Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation Committee. Also doing PC (USA) Earth Care presentations at Potomac PC and Westminster PC, Marie Sharp's church. </p><p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </p><p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Off to the march--hopefully connecting with Dick Alton and Sally Yost who will also be there.</p><p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </p><p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Ellie Stock ☺</p><p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">elliestock(a)aol.com</p><p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </p><p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">See below for live streaming of march...</p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><font color="#000000"> </font></b></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><font color="#000000">Opportunity to watch The People's Climate March life today; a selection of informative articles, some disturbing/some encouraging; practical things we can do.</font></b></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><font color="#000000"> </font></b><font color="#000000"> </font></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font color="#000000"> </font></p> <table class="aolmail_MsoNormalTable" style="WIDTH: 100%; BORDER-COLLAPSE: collapse; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 0in 0in" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%" border="0"> <tbody> <tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 0; mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes"> <td style="BORDER-TOP: #f0f0f0; BORDER-RIGHT: #f0f0f0; BORDER-BOTTOM: #f0f0f0; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-TOP: 9pt; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; BORDER-LEFT: #f0f0f0; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" valign="top"> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 22pt"><font color="#000000">TODAY Watch the People's Climate March Live</font></span></b></p> <table class="aolmail_MsoNormalTable" style="WIDTH: 100%; BORDER-COLLAPSE: collapse; MARGIN: auto -2.25pt; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 0in 0in; mso-table-anchor-vertical: paragraph; mso-table-anchor-horizontal: column; mso-table-left: left" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%" align="left" border="0"> <tbody> <tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 0; mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes"> <td style="BORDER-TOP: #f0f0f0; BORDER-RIGHT: #f0f0f0; BORDER-BOTTOM: #f0f0f0; PADDING-BOTTOM: 9pt; PADDING-TOP: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0.25in; BORDER-LEFT: #f0f0f0; PADDING-RIGHT: 0.25in; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" valign="top"> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 125%; mso-outline-level: 3"><b><span style="FONT-SIZE: 18pt; FONT-FAMILY: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; LINE-HEIGHT: 125%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA"><font color="#000000">Saturday, April 29, 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. ET</font></span></b></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 150%"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 13pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA"><font color="#000000">Democracy Now!'s Amy Goodman and team will provide special live coverage of the People’s Climate March in Washington, D.C. </font></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; DISPLAY: none; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-hide: all"><font color="#000000"> </font></span></p> <table class="aolmail_MsoNormalTable" style="WIDTH: 100%; BORDER-COLLAPSE: collapse; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 0in 0in" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%" border="0"> <tbody> <tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 0; mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes"> <td style="BORDER-TOP: #f0f0f0; BORDER-RIGHT: #f0f0f0; BORDER-BOTTOM: #f0f0f0; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-TOP: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; BORDER-LEFT: #f0f0f0; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" valign="top"> <table class="aolmail_MsoNormalTable" style="WIDTH: 100%; BORDER-COLLAPSE: collapse; MARGIN: auto -2.25pt; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 0in 0in; mso-table-anchor-vertical: paragraph; mso-table-anchor-horizontal: column; mso-table-left: left" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%" align="left" border="0"> <tbody> <tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 0; mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes"> <td style="BORDER-TOP: #f0f0f0; BORDER-RIGHT: #f0f0f0; BORDER-BOTTOM: #f0f0f0; PADDING-BOTTOM: 9pt; PADDING-TOP: 9pt; PADDING-LEFT: 0.25in; BORDER-LEFT: #f0f0f0; PADDING-RIGHT: 0.25in; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent"> <table class="aolmail_MsoNormalTable" style="WIDTH: 100%; BACKGROUND: #515050; BORDER-COLLAPSE: collapse; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184; mso-padding-alt: 13.5pt 13.5pt 13.5pt 13.5pt" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%" border="0"> <tbody> <tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 0; mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes"> <td style="BORDER-TOP: #f0f0f0; BORDER-RIGHT: #f0f0f0; BORDER-BOTTOM: #f0f0f0; PADDING-BOTTOM: 13.5pt; PADDING-TOP: 13.5pt; PADDING-LEFT: 13.5pt; BORDER-LEFT: #f0f0f0; PADDING-RIGHT: 13.5pt; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" valign="top"> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 125%; mso-outline-level: 3" align="center"><b><span style="FONT-SIZE: 18pt; FONT-FAMILY: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; COLOR: white; LINE-HEIGHT: 125%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA">Watch LIVE tomorrow starting at 10 a.m. ET at</span></b><b><span style="FONT-SIZE: 18pt; FONT-FAMILY: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; COLOR: #fdfcfc; LINE-HEIGHT: 125%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA"> <a title="http://democracynow.us2.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=7c55dbbfa32e54174906…" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://democracynow.us2.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=7c55dbbfa32e54174906…"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: normal; COLOR: #6dc6dd; LINE-HEIGHT: 125%; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt">democracynow.org</span></a>. </span></b><b><span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; COLOR: white; LINE-HEIGHT: 125%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA">Or tune in live on:</span></b><b><span style="FONT-SIZE: 18pt; FONT-FAMILY: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; COLOR: #fdfcfc; LINE-HEIGHT: 125%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA"></span></b></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 125%; mso-outline-level: 3" align="center"><b><span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; COLOR: white; LINE-HEIGHT: 125%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA">FSTV (Dish Network 9415 & DirecTV Ch. 348)</span></b><b><span style="FONT-SIZE: 18pt; FONT-FAMILY: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; COLOR: #fdfcfc; LINE-HEIGHT: 125%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA"> </span></b><b><span style="FONT-SIZE: 14pt; FONT-FAMILY: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; COLOR: white; LINE-HEIGHT: 125%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA">Link TV (Dish Network 9410 & DirecTV Ch. 375) WHUT-TV (Ch. 32.1 & 32.2 in Washington D.C.)</span></b><b><span style="FONT-SIZE: 18pt; FONT-FAMILY: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; COLOR: #fdfcfc; LINE-HEIGHT: 125%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA"> </span></b><b><span style="FONT-SIZE: 13pt; FONT-FAMILY: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; COLOR: white; LINE-HEIGHT: 125%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA">Check your local Democracy Now! station for listings.</span></b><b><span style="FONT-SIZE: 18pt; FONT-FAMILY: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; COLOR: #fdfcfc; LINE-HEIGHT: 125%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA"></span></b></p></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font color="#000000"> </font></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font color="#000000"> </font></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font color="#000000"> </font></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font color="#000000"> </font></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 16pt"><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2017/04/27/100-clean-energy-bill-laun…"><font color="#0000ff"></font></a><font color="#0000ff"><a href="https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2017/04/27/100-clean-energy-bill-laun…" target="_blank">https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2017/04/27/100-clean-energy-bill-laun…</a></font></span></b></p> <h1 style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0in 0in 3pt; mso-line-height-alt: 12.0pt" align="center"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 22pt; FONT-FAMILY: "Arial","sans-serif""><font color="#000000">100% Clean Energy Bill Launched by Senators and Movement Leaders</font></span></h1> <p style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" align="center"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 18pt; FONT-FAMILY: "Arial","sans-serif"; COLOR: black">Legislation comes ahead of Peoples Climate March on April 29th</span></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font color="#000000">27 April 2017</font></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font color="#000000"> </font></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font color="#000000"> </font></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font color="#000000"> </font></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font color="#000000"> </font></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><font color="#000000"> </font></b></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://www.ecowatch.com/salt-lake-city-makes-historic-commitment-to-100-per…"><font color="#0000ff"></font></a><font color="#0000ff"><a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/salt-lake-city-makes-historic-commitment-to-100-per…" target="_blank">http://www.ecowatch.com/salt-lake-city-makes-historic-commitment-to-100-per…</a></font></b></p> <h1 style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 22pt"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 22pt; FONT-FAMILY: "Arial","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><font color="#000000">Salt Lake City Makes Historic Commitment to 100% Renewables by 2032</font></span></h1> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font color="#000000">14 July 2016</font></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font color="#000000"> </font></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font color="#000000"> </font></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font color="#000000"> </font></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font color="#000000"> </font></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><font color="#000000"> </font></b></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2017/3/27/14922516/trump-executiv…"><font color="#0000ff"></font></a><font color="#0000ff"><a href="http://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2017/3/27/14922516/trump-executiv…" target="_blank">http://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2017/3/27/14922516/trump-executiv…</a></font></b></p> <h1 style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 12pt 0in 3pt"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 22pt; FONT-FAMILY: "Helvetica","sans-serif""><font color="#000000">Trump’s big new executive order to tear up Obama’s climate policies, explained</font></span></h1> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font color="#000000">27 March 2017</font></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font color="#000000"> </font></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font color="#000000"> </font></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font color="#000000"> </font></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font color="#000000"> </font></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font color="#000000"> </font></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/176269/tomgram%3A_michael_klare%2C_do_afric…"><font color="#0000ff"></font></a><font color="#0000ff"><a href="http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/176269/tomgram%3A_michael_klare%2C_do_afric…" target="_blank">http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/176269/tomgram%3A_michael_klare%2C_do_afric…</a></font></b></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" align="center"><b><span style="FONT-SIZE: 22pt; BACKGROUND: white"><font color="#000000">Tomgram: Michael Klare, Do African Famines Presage Global Climate-Change Catastrophe?</font></span></b></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font color="#000000">20 April 2017</font></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font color="#000000"> </font></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font color="#000000"> </font></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font color="#000000"> </font></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font color="#000000"> </font></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font color="#000000"> </font></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/04/20/dapl-developer-spills-drilling…"><font color="#0000ff"></font></a><font color="#0000ff"><a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/04/20/dapl-developer-spills-drilling…" target="_blank">https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/04/20/dapl-developer-spills-drilling…</a></font></b></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-outline-level: 1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-line-height-alt: 12.0pt"><b><span style="FONT-SIZE: 22pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt"><font color="#000000">DAPL Developer Spills Drilling Fluids Into Wetlands While Constructing Another Pipeline</font></span></b></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 20pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA"><font color="#000000">The latest incident is just another ding on Energy Transfer Partners' spotty record</font></span></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font color="#000000">20 April 2017</font></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font color="#000000"> </font></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font color="#000000"> </font></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font color="#000000"> </font></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font color="#000000"> </font></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font color="#000000"> </font></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/04/20/trumps-buy-american-order-look…"><font color="#0000ff"></font></a><font color="#0000ff"><a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/04/20/trumps-buy-american-order-look…" target="_blank">https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/04/20/trumps-buy-american-order-look…</a></font></b></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-outline-level: 1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-line-height-alt: 12.0pt"><b><span style="FONT-SIZE: 22pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt"><font color="#000000">Trump's "Buy American" Order Looks Weak as DAPL Company Pushes Back</font></span></b></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA"><font color="#000000">"As with Trump's campaign promises, the executive order is full of loopholes that are designed to protect Wall Street interests and multinational corporations—at the expense of American workers and communities."</font></span></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font color="#000000">20 April 2017</font></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font color="#000000"> </font></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font color="#000000"> </font></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font color="#000000"> </font></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font color="#000000"> </font></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font color="#000000"> </font></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><b><span style="COLOR: #2a2a2a"><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2017/04/06/scient…"><font color="#0000ff"></font></a><font color="#0000ff"><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2017/04/06/scient…" target="_blank">https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2017/04/06/scient…</a></font></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"></b></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" align="center"><b><span style="FONT-SIZE: 22pt"><font color="#000000">Climate change is literally turning the Arctic ocean inside out</font></span></b></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font color="#000000"> </font></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font color="#000000">6 April 2017</font></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font color="#000000"> </font></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font color="#000000"> </font></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font color="#000000"> </font></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font color="#000000"> </font></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font color="#000000"> </font></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 22pt"><font color="#000000">On the release of Methane</font></span></b></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/39957-release-of-arctic-methane-may-be-a…"><font color="#0000ff"></font></a><font color="#0000ff"><a href="http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/39957-release-of-arctic-methane-may-be-a…" target="_blank">http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/39957-release-of-arctic-methane-may-be-a…</a></font></b></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><font color="#000000"> </font></b></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.greenoptimistic.com/giant-methane-release-20170401/%23.WQCERb3W…"><font color="#0000ff"></font></a><font color="#0000ff"><a href="https://www.greenoptimistic.com/giant-methane-release-20170401/#.WQCERb3WHIV" target="_blank">https://www.greenoptimistic.com/giant-methane-release-20170401/#.WQCERb3WHIV</a></font></b></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><font color="#000000"> </font></b></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font color="#000000"> </font></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font color="#000000"> </font></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font color="#000000"> </font></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font color="#000000"> </font></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/40311-great-barrier-reef-reaches-termina…"><font color="#0000ff"></font></a><font color="#0000ff"><a href="http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/40311-great-barrier-reef-reaches-termina…" target="_blank">http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/40311-great-barrier-reef-reaches-termina…</a></font></b></p> <h2 style="BACKGROUND: white; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 39.6pt"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 22pt; FONT-FAMILY: "Arial","sans-serif"; FONT-STYLE: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-style: italic"><font color="#000000">Great Barrier Reef Reaches "Terminal Stage" as CO2 Levels Rise at Record Rate</font></span></h2> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font color="#000000">24 April 2017</font></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font color="#000000"> </font></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 20pt"><font color="#000000">Also</font></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 16pt"><font color="#000000"> on Great Barrier Reef - </font><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.newscientist.com/article/2127170-mass-bleaching-hits-great-barr…"><font color="#0000ff"></font></a><font color="#0000ff"><a href="https://www.newscientist.com/article/2127170-mass-bleaching-hits-great-barr…" target="_blank">https://www.newscientist.com/article/2127170-mass-bleaching-hits-great-barr…</a></font></span></b></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 16pt"><font color="#000000"> </font></span></b></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 16pt"><font color="#000000"> </font></span></b></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" align="center"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><font color="#000000">* * * * * * * * * * * * *</font></b></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 16pt"><font color="#000000"> </font></span></b></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 16pt"><font color="#000000"> </font></span></b></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 22pt"><font color="#000000">From a recipient - helpful reminders on some of the things we can personally do, or help convince our governing structures to do. </font></span></b></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><font color="#000000"> </font></b></p> <p style="MARGIN-TOP: 0in"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: "Arial","sans-serif"; COLOR: black">The fossil fuel industry receives a lot of criticism these days, and rightfully so. But in the final analysis, we are the ones who support the energy industry and it is our standard of living that will need to change. So contemplate what you can do for the cause</span></p> <p><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: "Arial","sans-serif"; COLOR: black">Personal Actions</span></b><span style="FONT-FAMILY: "Arial","sans-serif"; COLOR: black"> End our love affair with the automobile Ride more trains and buses Car pool Walk and bike more Turn off the air conditioner in the summer and dial the thermostat down in winter Become vegetarians or vegans Refill plastic bottles with tap water Discontinue using aluminum cans with and without carbonation Maximize use of reusable bags and products Recycle junk mail Forego fast junk food Go to “slow food”; Recycle maximally, especially aluminum cans Drive and accelerate more slowly Climb more stairs Plant more trees Forego use of spray cans Ride more trains and buses Repair, mend and alter as much as possible Buy solar panels Compost as much as possible Last person out of the room turn off the lights Eat and farm organic Ride more trains and buses Fly fewer planes Promote conference calls and web cams, fewer meetings Use manual tools instead of power tools Share more Use rakes rather than leaf blowers Decrease use of bottled water and refill plastic bottles with tap water Maximize reusable bags and products Push rather than power small mowers Replace lawns with vegetable gardens Stop fertilizing and mowing lawns Compost as much as possible Minimize use of disposables (Pampers, Ikea furniture); Maximize high efficiency LED and solar powered lighting; Limit endless gadgets Use motion lighting, where appropriate</span></p> <p><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: "Arial","sans-serif"; COLOR: black">Local Government Actions</span></b><span style="FONT-FAMILY: "Arial","sans-serif"; COLOR: black"> Reorganize cities, building taller residences with a smaller footprint (the end of suburbia) Institute a carbon tax Promote car pooling subsidize and expand mass transit Expand bike paths Have shareable (zip) cars Ban electric outdoor signs; Eat and farm organic Promote conference calls and web cams, fewer meetings Eliminate approximately 50% of all street lighting and office lighting in unoccupied buildings eliminate “fast junk food”; go to “slow food replace</span></p> <p><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><span style="FONT-FAMILY: "Arial","sans-serif"; COLOR: black">Federal Government Actions</span></b><span style="FONT-FAMILY: "Arial","sans-serif"; COLOR: black"> Ban gasohol Rein in the militaries for defense only and outlaw war Discontinue night baseball Make electronics, house wares, furniture, etc to be as durable and long-lived as possible Recycle maximally Make appliances to be as energy efficient as possible Discontinue aluminum cans Ban electric outdoor signs Maximize solar and wind power; Change from petroleum based fertilizers to regenerative agriculture Reverse deforestation, plant more trees Restrict spray cans Promote conference calls and web cams, fewer meetings Promote zero population growth with free condoms and family planning world-wide End yearly auto model changes; Proscribe junk mail Scrap the mission to Mars</span></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 16pt"><font color="#000000"> </font></span></b></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" align="center"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><font color="#000000"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 22pt">~ Bonus ~</span></font></b></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><font color="#000000"> </font></b></p> <h1 style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 3pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 12pt"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: "Arial","sans-serif""><font color="#000000">This Is What It Will Look Like [projected] <span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></font><font color="#000000">When Mar-A-Lago Disappears Under Rising Seas . . . </font></span></h1> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><font color="#000000"> </font></b></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" align="center"><font color="#000000"><img border="0" width="621" height="326" id="aolmail_MA1.1493466781" src="https://mail.aol.com/webmail/getPart?uid=30306200&partId=1.2&scope=STANDARD…"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"></b></font></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 16pt"><font color="#000000"> </font></span></b></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 16pt"><font color="#000000"> </font></span></p> <p class="aolmail_MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font color="#000000"> </font></p></font></div> </div>

6 5

"Journey Reflection" Blog Posts (April 2017) most read
by John C via OE 30 Apr '17

30 Apr '17

1 0

Re: [Oe List ...] GREETINGS FROM WASHINGTON, DC!; Fwd: TODAY People's Climate March live More . . .
by via OE 29 Apr '17

29 Apr '17

Thank you, Ellie, for being there on our behalf. I talked to my congressman's office this week. (Devin Nunes himself). as well as offices of Senators Boxer and Harriis. Have a meditation group coming this afternoon to pray and meditate on behalf of our Mother Earth. Eighty-two degrees here today. I watched the movie, "In the Light of Reverence" last night, a documentary about sacred sites of Lakota (Devil's Tower in the Lakota Black Hills), Mt. Shasta in the Winnemem Wintu tribal area, and the Four Corners of the Hopi in northern Arizona. Peabody Coal Co. has had a pipeline from there taking coal slurry to Los Angeles since before 2001, when the movie was made. The desecration shown in the movie and "resource" extraction are done deals. The last words of the commentator were, "Technology is going to destroy humanity." Blessings, Jann McGuire -----Original Message----- From: Ellie Stock via OE <oe(a)lists.wedgeblade.net> To: dialogue <dialogue(a)lists.wedgeblade.net>; oe <oe(a)lists.wedgeblade.net> Sent: Sat, Apr 29, 2017 8:03 am Subject: [Oe List ...] GREETINGS FROM WASHINGTON, DC!; Fwd: TODAY People's Climate March live More . . . Hi Folks, Greetings from Washington, DC, where shortly, we will be participating in the People' Climate March. If you are not able to join a local msrch, Democracy Now is live streaming the event--see link below. We arrived last week to participate in Ecumenical Advocacy Days, this year's theme based on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s speech on Vietnam that focused on the triplets of racism, militarism, and materialism. We also participated in the DC March for Science--about 120,000 in the rain, but it was a good event. Monday was Lobby Day--visiting congressional offices. While here we gave a presentation on The Doctrine of Discovery at the Oblates Residence with their Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation Committee. Also doing PC (USA) Earth Care presentations at Potomac PC and Westminster PC, Marie Sharp's church. Off to the march--hopefully connecting with Dick Alton and Sally Yost who will also be there. Ellie Stock ☺ elliestock(a)aol.com See below for live streaming of march... Opportunity to watch The People's Climate March life today; a selection of informative articles, some disturbing/some encouraging; practical things we can do. TODAY Watch the People's Climate March Live Saturday, April 29, 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. ET Democracy Now!'s Amy Goodman and team will provide special live coverage of the People’s Climate March in Washington, D.C. Watch LIVE tomorrow starting at 10 a.m. ET at democracynow.org. Or tune in live on: FSTV (Dish Network 9415 & DirecTV Ch. 348) Link TV (Dish Network 9410 & DirecTV Ch. 375) WHUT-TV (Ch. 32.1 & 32.2 in Washington D.C.) Check your local Democracy Now! station for listings. https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2017/04/27/100-clean-energy-bill-laun… 100% Clean Energy Bill Launched by Senators and Movement Leaders Legislation comes ahead of Peoples Climate March on April 29th 27 April 2017 http://www.ecowatch.com/salt-lake-city-makes-historic-commitment-to-100-per… Salt Lake City Makes Historic Commitment to 100% Renewables by 2032 14 July 2016 http://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2017/3/27/14922516/trump-executiv… Trump’s big new executive order to tear up Obama’s climate policies, explained 27 March 2017 http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/176269/tomgram%3A_michael_klare%2C_do_afric… Tomgram: Michael Klare, Do African Famines Presage Global Climate-Change Catastrophe? 20 April 2017 https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/04/20/dapl-developer-spills-drilling… DAPL Developer Spills Drilling Fluids Into Wetlands While Constructing Another Pipeline The latest incident is just another ding on Energy Transfer Partners' spotty record 20 April 2017 https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/04/20/trumps-buy-american-order-look… Trump's "Buy American" Order Looks Weak as DAPL Company Pushes Back "As with Trump's campaign promises, the executive order is full of loopholes that are designed to protect Wall Street interests and multinational corporations—at the expense of American workers and communities." 20 April 2017 https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2017/04/06/scient… Climate change is literally turning the Arctic ocean inside out 6 April 2017 On the release of Methane http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/39957-release-of-arctic-methane-may-be-a… https://www.greenoptimistic.com/giant-methane-release-20170401/#.WQCERb3WHIV http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/40311-great-barrier-reef-reaches-termina… Great Barrier Reef Reaches "Terminal Stage" as CO2 Levels Rise at Record Rate 24 April 2017 Also on Great Barrier Reef - https://www.newscientist.com/article/2127170-mass-bleaching-hits-great-barr… * * * * * * * * * * * * * >From a recipient - helpful reminders on some of the things we can personally do, or help convince our governing structures to do. The fossil fuel industry receives a lot of criticism these days, and rightfully so. But in the final analysis, we are the ones who support the energy industry and it is our standard of living that will need to change. So contemplate what you can do for the cause Personal Actions End our love affair with the automobile Ride more trains and buses Car pool Walk and bike more Turn off the air conditioner in the summer and dial the thermostat down in winter Become vegetarians or vegans Refill plastic bottles with tap water Discontinue using aluminum cans with and without carbonation Maximize use of reusable bags and products Recycle junk mail Forego fast junk food Go to “slow food”; Recycle maximally, especially aluminum cans Drive and accelerate more slowly Climb more stairs Plant more trees Forego use of spray cans Ride more trains and buses Repair, mend and alter as much as possible Buy solar panels Compost as much as possible Last person out of the room turn off the lights Eat and farm organic Ride more trains and buses Fly fewer planes Promote conference calls and web cams, fewer meetings Use manual tools instead of power tools Share more Use rakes rather than leaf blowers Decrease use of bottled water and refill plastic bottles with tap water Maximize reusable bags and products Push rather than power small mowers Replace lawns with vegetable gardens Stop fertilizing and mowing lawns Compost as much as possible Minimize use of disposables (Pampers, Ikea furniture); Maximize high efficiency LED and solar powered lighting; Limit endless gadgets Use motion lighting, where appropriate Local Government Actions Reorganize cities, building taller residences with a smaller footprint (the end of suburbia) Institute a carbon tax Promote car pooling subsidize and expand mass transit Expand bike paths Have shareable (zip) cars Ban electric outdoor signs; Eat and farm organic Promote conference calls and web cams, fewer meetings Eliminate approximately 50% of all street lighting and office lighting in unoccupied buildings eliminate “fast junk food”; go to “slow food replace Federal Government Actions Ban gasohol Rein in the militaries for defense only and outlaw war Discontinue night baseball Make electronics, house wares, furniture, etc to be as durable and long-lived as possible Recycle maximally Make appliances to be as energy efficient as possible Discontinue aluminum cans Ban electric outdoor signs Maximize solar and wind power; Change from petroleum based fertilizers to regenerative agriculture Reverse deforestation, plant more trees Restrict spray cans Promote conference calls and web cams, fewer meetings Promote zero population growth with free condoms and family planning world-wide End yearly auto model changes; Proscribe junk mail Scrap the mission to Mars ~ Bonus ~ This Is What It Will Look Like [projected] When Mar-A-Lago Disappears Under Rising Seas . . . _______________________________________________ OE mailing list OE(a)lists.wedgeblade.net http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net

1 0

4/27/17: Wolsey: Is Jesus the Only Way?; Spong revisited: The Word Of God?
by Ellie Stock via OE 27 Apr '17

27 Apr '17

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target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://johnshelbyspong.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b51b9cf441b059bb23…">Homepage</a> <a style="color: #4487cf;text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://johnshelbyspong.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b51b9cf441b059bb23…">My Profile</a> <a style="color: #4487cf;text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://johnshelbyspong.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b51b9cf441b059bb23…">Essay Archive</a> <a style="color: #4487cf;text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://johnshelbyspong.us2.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=b51b9cf441b059bb2…">Message Boards</a> <a style="color: #4487cf;text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://johnshelbyspong.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b51b9cf441b059bb23…">Calendar</a></h5></td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="center" valign="top"> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="600" id="aolmail_templateBody"> <tbody><tr> <td valign="top" class="aolmail_bodyContent" style="background-color: #ffffff;"> <table border="0" cellpadding="20" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td valign="top"> <div style="color: #000000;font-family: Georgia;font-size: 16px;line-height: 150%;text-align: left;"><h1 style="color: #003d4a;display: block;font-family: Georgia;font-size: 34px;font-weight: normal;line-height: 100%;margin-top: 0;margin-right: 0;margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 0;text-align: left;">Is Jesus the Only Way?</h1> <h3 class="aolmail_null" style="color: #4487cf;display: block;font-family: Georgia;font-size: 26px;font-weight: normal;line-height: 100%;margin-top: 0;margin-right: 0;margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 0;text-align: left;">By Roger Wolsey</h3> <p><a style="color: #4487cf;font-weight: normal;text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://johnshelbyspong.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b51b9cf441b059bb23…"><img align="left" alt="roger_wolsey copy" class="aolmail_wp-image-49773 aolmail_alignleft" height="156" style="border: 0px;width: 115px;height: 156px;margin: 0px 10px 0px 0px;font-size: 14px;font-weight: bold;line-height: 100%;outline: none;text-decoration: none;text-transform: capitalize;display: inline;" width="115" src="https://johnshelbyspong.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/roger_wolsey-copy.jpg"></a>As a progressive Christian pastor and author I frequently receive critical pushback from conservative and fundamentalist Christians who adamantly declare that <em>the only</em> way to experience salvation is by giving intellectual assent to certain specific truth claims about the life of Jesus. Scratch that, they don’t generally care about his <em>life</em>, their focus is primarily upon Jesus’ <em>death and his resurrection</em>. Their message boils down to <strong>“Unless you believe that Jesus died for your sins and that he physically rose from the grave, you are a heretic, and will go to hell when you die.”</strong></p> <p>There are numerous problems with this line of thinking from a progressive Christian perspective. <strong>1.</strong> The lack of emphasis upon Jesus’ 30-33 years of <em>life</em> – his way, teachings, and example. <strong>2.</strong> Reducing the faith to a cerebral matter of what individuals accept as accurate information. <strong>3.</strong> The view that salvation is largely a matter of where we’ll go when we die. <strong>4.</strong> The idea that it is Jesus’ death on the cross that allows anyone to experience salvation. And <strong>5.</strong> The notion that hell is even a Christian concept – it isn’t.</p> <p>I addressed all of these matters in full and in depth in my book <a style="color: #4487cf;font-weight: normal;text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://johnshelbyspong.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b51b9cf441b059bb23…"><em>Kissing Fish</em></a>. I’ve frankly avoided addressing these matters as a blog as they are complicated and require, and are worthy of, much back-story, nuance, and sophisticated discourse. However, it’s become clear that there’s a need for a briefer synopsis. So the following is my attempt to put this all into a nutshell.</p> <p>Here we go. Re: points 1 & 2, <strong>It’s a damn shame and tragedy that so many Christians focus on Jesus’ death and not on his life.</strong> Mel Gibson’s movie <em>The Passion of the Christ</em> is a keen example of this distortion of authentic Christianity. The idea that simply accepting X, Y, and Z about Jesus’ person, death, and resurrection is what matters – and not focusing on his <em>teachings</em> in the Sermon on the Mount, and looking at his actual <em>ways of practicing</em> his religion in <em>interacting with and relating to</em> people – is missing the forest for the trees (and only a tiny number of trees at that). It’s an epic adventure in missing the point. <strong>One can <em>believe</em> “all the right things” and not be able to love their way out of a wet paper bag. It’s <em>loving</em> that matters.</strong> (<a style="color: #4487cf;font-weight: normal;text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://johnshelbyspong.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b51b9cf441b059bb23…">1 Corinthians 13</a>)</p> <p>Re: 3 & 4, in Hebrew, <em>salvation</em> means healing, wholeness, and well-being. To remind us, Jesus was a Jew who practiced Judaism. Yet conservative Christians disregard (don’t even seem to know) that and instead distort salvation to believing or accepting certain intellectual assertions. Jesus saved (provided salvation to) numerous people long before he was killed – it’s right there in the Gospels, <em>read</em> them for gosh sake. This reality clearly undermines the conservative premise that no-one is saved but for Jesus’ blood shed on a cross. In the Gospels, salvation is experienced when someone accepts God’s healing, grace and love and responds in ways that show it. Jesus also referred to this state of being as experiencing “abundant/eternal life” and living in “the kingdom of God.”</p> <p>Conservative and fundamentalist Christians subscribe rigidly to the <strong>substitutionary</strong> or <strong>penal theories of the atonement</strong> – that Jesus died as our proxy/substitute and took on a the violent death that each of us should receive, and/or that Jesus received the punishment that’s intended for each of us “wretched sinners.” First of all, there has never been a Church Council that has declared that any one theory of the atonement is “the one, true, right one.” Second, the theology that is associated with those theories of the atonement posits an angry, judgmental, wrathful, blood thirsty God & understands humans as incapable of anything but sin and evil. Put me on record as rejecting that pagan god – 100% percent. Yes, I’m aware that there are parts of the Bible that might suggest such a view of God. To which I’d remind us that a) God didn’t write the Bible, b) it consists of 66 books, written by many people over many years, and c) not a few of the verses within some of those books contain bad theology that reflect pagan influences of the cultures that surrounded those ancient peoples (e.g., Babylonian, Egyptian, Greek, Roman).</p> <p>Finally, there are numerous other theories of the atonement that are biblically based and have been embraced by Christians since the very birth of the faith. Most progressive Christians tend to embrace the Christus Victor or the <a style="color: #4487cf;font-weight: normal;text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://johnshelbyspong.us2.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=b51b9cf441b059bb2…">Moral Influence</a>/Moral Exemplar theories of the “at-one-ment.” I prefer the latter, i.e., that Jesus is our model who shows us how to truly live a Godly life and thus experience and know salvation wholeness and abundant/eternal life here and now – and beyond. It is by loving others and receiving their love; forgiving others and receiving their forgiveness; by treating others justly and receiving their just treatment; and by being reconciled with others – that we know and experience salvation. <strong>Salvation is a Divine-human co-creation that we receive and participate in.</strong></p> <p>What prompted today’s essay was coming across the following image/meme on social media. It reads “CONTRADICT They can’t all be true. – John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life, no man cometh unto the Father but by me.’</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><img alt="john 14 6" class="aolmail_wp-image-49848 aolmail_size-medium aolmail_alignleft" height="120" width="300" style="border: none;font-size: 14px;font-weight: bold;height: auto;line-height: 100%;outline: none;text-decoration: none;text-transform: capitalize;display: inline;" src="https://johnshelbyspong.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/john-14-6-300x120.png"></p> <p>The person who posted that meme went on to add: <em>“All the religions of the world are true because they’re all basically the same.” This refrain, commonly repeated by people, reflects a fundamental ignorance of the world’s religions. The religions are not the same because their core beliefs contradict each other. Here are a few examples: -most Hindus believe in the existence of an atman (i.e. soul) that is reincarnated after death; Buddhism denies this – Islam teaches that Jesus Christ never died on a cross; Christianity teaches that if Jesus never died and rose again, the whole Christian faith is worthless (1 Corinthians 15) -Hinduism affirms (or permits) the worship of many gods; Judaism strictly prohibits this and requires that only one God be worshiped. Given the contradictions in the world religions, all of them cannot be true. The most important question then becomes which, if any of them, accurately describe the true nature of reality?”</em></p> <p>That person runs an evangelical “apologetics” platform which seeks to defend and explain “the Christian faith” to non-believers. The short description on their About page humbly states “A place to explore the ultimate questions of life from a Christian worldview.” Fair enough, it is *a* Christian worldview.</p> <p>And yet, the page’s true colors come out in the General Description “…defense of the Christian worldview.” Yep, he thinks he’s championing THE Christian perspective. Not so humble – or accurate. Okay, let’s address the points made in his post. Yes, there are some factual differences among and between the major world religions. The points chosen to highlight are tellingly ones that reflect his idealized Christo-centric priorities — what various religions teach that pertains to Jesus’ death and resurrection. Sure, Muslims don’t think Jesus was killed, and Buddhists and Hindus don’t believe in resurrection. And Hindus have many gods to worship and Jews only one. So what? Those are hardly what Jesus and his message are all about. In other words, <strong>the things that conservative Christians tend to think are the essential foundations – aren’t. Christians are called to follow the religion of Jesus – not the religion <em>about</em> him.</strong></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><img alt="coexist" class="aolmail_wp-image-49849 aolmail_size-medium aolmail_alignleft" height="110" width="300" style="border: none;font-size: 14px;font-weight: bold;height: auto;line-height: 100%;outline: none;text-decoration: none;text-transform: capitalize;display: inline;" src="https://johnshelbyspong.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/coexist--300x110.jpg"></p> <p style="text-align: left;">The graphic featured is one that is an obvious play and attack on the many variations of the symbolic COEXIST slogan featured on bumper-stickers across the land.</p> <p>Such bumper-stickers are meant to convey a sense of appreciating the diversity of world religions and a deep valuing of all of them – including the common ground among them. They’re an invitation to remind us of a higher calling to “pray well with others.”</p> <p>The meme at hand, however, seeks to convey that the members of the various religions are at odds with each other and can’t play well in the sandbox of life together. Indeed, he’s saying that they’re “contradictory and in opposition to the Truth.” And yet, many of us who live in the 21st century know full well that seemingly contradictory things can both be true – at the same time. It’s called <strong>paradox</strong> – something that conservative and fundamentalist Christianities can’t fathom due to their still operating via the mindset of the modern era.</p> <p>Light, for instance, can be understood as being a particle — or as a wave. Both perceptions are true – at the same time – even if they seem contradictory. Similarly, one can see that each of the major world religions are true, and one can understand that famous/infamous passage where Jesus is presented as saying <strong>“I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me”</strong> (John 14:6) as celebrating the uniqueness and distinctiveness of Jesus *and* also celebrating the universal common ground that exists among many religions.</p> <p>Progressive Christianity is the post-modern-influenced evolution of historic mainline Liberal Christianity. While not to be equated with postmodernism, it honors contemporary people’s capacities to see and honor multiple truths at the same time.</p> <p>One might say that <strong>from a progressive Christian perspective, Jesus <em>is</em> “the way, the truth, and the life,” and all who follow Jesus’ way, teachings, and example — <em>the way of unconditional love, of radical hospitality, of loving-kindness, of compassion, of mercy, of prophetic speaking truth to power, the way of forgiveness, of reconciliation, and the pursuit of restorative justice</em> – by whatever name, and even if they’ve never even heard of Jesus, are fellow brothers & sisters in Christ and his Way.</strong></p> <p>To the extent that other world religions are about instilling, fostering, and nurturing those universal values – we see Christ in them. This is also true for secular NGOs. We might also say that <strong><em>on a surface level, all of the major world religions are the same. On a deeper level, all of those religions are very different. And on a still deeper level, all of those religions are the same.</em></strong> That said, we’re rather enamored by the uniqueness of the Jesus story and we invite others to join us in sharing in that specific life-giving journey — even if we feel no dire need to convert anyone. It is this non-exclusive approach to our faith that many young adults find compelling. So <strong>progressive Christianity is evangelistic even as it’s not.</strong></p> <p>Evangelical platforms such as this one seem to be motivated by anxiety. They’re concerned about many of the people “going to hell” and they’re concerned about Christianity dying.</p> <p>Progressive Christians, instead, invite us to simply be as faithful as we can <a style="color: #4487cf;font-weight: normal;text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://johnshelbyspong.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b51b9cf441b059bb23…">and not worry about “the Church dying.</a>” We have no fear of death for we follow a savior who gave it all up for the sake of others – and who invites us to pick up our cross and follow him – and be willing to die. Indeed, if we do anything to “attract” people out of desperation on our part, it’ll be fruitless. It’s like dating someone who is insecure and anxious — not attractive.</p> <p>Let’s just boldly (and paradoxically) be who were are — and maybe even more so — yes, more so.</p> <p><em>~ Rev. Roger Wolsey</em>, Director, Wesley Foundation at University of Colorado – Boulder</p> <p>p.s., In my book <a style="color: #4487cf;font-weight: normal;text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://johnshelbyspong.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b51b9cf441b059bb23…"><em>Kissing Fish</em></a>, I stated that <strong>“each of the major world religions are like wells, and if you go deep enough into any of them, you’ll hit the same aquifer and Source.</strong>” I firmly believe that. However, I’m particularly drawn to the well of Christianity. I don’t literally think that all religions are *<em>exactly</em>* the same. German, English, Korean, or Swahili are all valid, effective, languages, but they aren’t exactly the same. The same is true for the major world religions. There are differences to be sure among the religions – but to the extent that they each seek to foster increased love, compassion, justice, mercy, etc – they’re doing the same work and helping people connect with themselves, each other, and beyond.</p> <p>That said, IMO, those various religions have differing capacities and histories in doing those particular things. Christianity, at its best, is a particularly effective vehicle for helping people become more loving and just. One of the key reasons that I’m a Christian is because of its long history of prophetically speaking truth to power and seeking to challenge and change unjust social systems. Many of the Asian religions (Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism) have tended to avoid saying that there is right and wrong or good or bad. Such a philosophy can reduce personal suffering via letting go of certain mindsets. That said, they also tend to result in moral quietude in the face of mass injustice and end up fostering increased social suffering. Case in point, the many centuries of the oppressive caste system in India.</p> <p>However, Buddhism does have a strong vein of fostering compassion and, like Thomas Merton before me, I’m a better Christian by seeking to weave in the best of Buddhism into my practices. Christians would do well to humbly concede that Christianity doesn’t have a monopoly on compassion, loving, truth, or justice – and indeed, there are many, many places where the Church as shown noted patterns of falling far short of our aspirations.</p> <p>The meme discussed here presents <strong>a polarized either/or perspective. It’s the sort of non-spiritual, non-mystical, unrealistic, and dysfunctional mindset that progressive Christianity seeks to help people place in the dustbin of history.</strong></p> <p>Read the essay online <a target="_blank" style="color: #4487cf;font-weight: normal;text-decoration: underline;" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://johnshelbyspong.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b51b9cf441b059bb23…">here</a>.</p> </div> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> <table border="0" cellpadding="20" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td valign="top"> <div style="color: #000000;font-family: Georgia;font-size: 16px;line-height: 150%;text-align: left;"><hr> <h2 style="color: #4487cf;display: block;font-family: Georgia;font-size: 30px;font-weight: normal;line-height: 100%;margin-top: 0;margin-right: 0;margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 0;text-align: left;">Question & Answer</h2> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Georgina of Leland, Lancashire, U.K. writes:</span></p> <h4 style="color: #4487cf;display: block;font-family: Georgia;font-size: 22px;font-weight: normal;line-height: 100%;margin-top: 0;margin-right: 0;margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 0;text-align: left;"> Question:</h4> <p>"How can I help other people have the experience of a living relationship with God?"</p> <h4 style="color: #4487cf;display: block;font-family: Georgia;font-size: 22px;font-weight: normal;line-height: 100%;margin-top: 0;margin-right: 0;margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 0;text-align: left;">Answer: By Gretta Vosper</h4> <p><a style="color: #4487cf;font-weight: normal;text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://"><img alt="Gretta Vosper" class="aolmail_wp-image-49753 aolmail_alignleft" height="144" style="border: 0px;width: 116px;height: 144px;margin: 0px 10px 0px 0px;float: left;font-size: 14px;font-weight: bold;line-height: 100%;outline: none;text-decoration: none;text-transform: capitalize;display: inline;" width="116" src="https://johnshelbyspong.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Gretta-Vosper-copy-2…"></a>Hi Georgina,</p> <p>The most enduring challenge faced by those who want to help others have the experience of a living relationship with God is our utter refusal to come up with a succinct definition of god that everyone will agree upon. Further complicating the challenge provided by the sheer number of ideas we are left with about the god we call God, is our assumption that everyone else shares the same idea we have. I think it was Peter Jennings, in a convocation address to Carleton University, who named our penchant for assuming that even people we know nothing about believe exactly the same way that we do, “the Vanna White Syndrome”.</p> <p>I don’t usually think in terms of a relationship with God; rather, I would consider relationships to either increase the god in the world or destroy it. My beliefs about god are wrapped up in that which, by virtue of my humanity, I am compelled to create in the world. It is the goodness that is mine to bring about, the delight that is mine to share, the healing that is mine to commence, the justice that is mine to demand. When I do these things, I create god in the world. The relationship aspect of it is what is built between me and myself, another person, the planet, or a generation I will never live to meet. When what we create in relationship with one another or ourselves is sacred, by which I mean something so crucial to the dignity of our humanity that we cannot risk denigrating or losing it, then we have created god. Relationships that honour the beauty and human dignity of the other are relationships that increase god. And, goodness knows, we need more of those relationships.</p> <p>It isn’t too hard to figure out what the opposite of those relationships would be like. Any time we refuse to bring love, caring, compassion, we refuse to create god in those relationships. It may be that you cannot be compassionate with someone else because being compassionate with yourself is the priority at that moment. Honour that. But when we choose to use someone for our own purposes or put someone down because they are not like us, then, using my definition, we reduce the god in the world. Or, in secular terms, we reduce the good in the world. We can ill afford to diminish good in the world.</p> <p>Living beauty, goodness, and truth into all the relationships you possibly can would, in my opinion and experience, be the perfect way to provide a living – in a very real sense – relationship with God for another. The strength of what you create together will provide lasting benefit to you both in situations you may never realize. It is a win win situation for both of you. And the world. A win, win, win!</p> <p>I don’t use the word “god” with many people in my life anymore. I’ve mostly added the extra “o” and moved onto the use of “good”. It makes it easier to explore, especially when understandings of what constitutes good diverge. When they do, we are much less sensitive about exploring our different understandings than we are when those differences are couched in ideas about the god called God.</p> <p>I would encourage you, Georgina, to continue to place goodness – god, if you must – in your relationships but carefully consider what the consequence of demanding that your family, friends, or acquaintances think and speak and order their universes as do you. Have a vibrant conversation about what good might be, but let that enrich your relationships without the requirement of language that discomforts many people. I think that, if you do, you will not only witness the strengthening of “go(o)d” in your own world, you will witness it strengthening the lives of those around you.</p> <p>~ Gretta Vosper</p> <p>Read and Share Online <a target="_blank" style="color: #4487cf;font-weight: normal;text-decoration: underline;" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://johnshelbyspong.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b51b9cf441b059bb23…">Here</a></p> <p><strong>About the Author</strong></p> <p>The Rev. Gretta Vosper is a United Church of Canada minister who is an atheist. Her best selling books include <a style="color: #4487cf;font-weight: normal;text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://johnshelbyspong.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b51b9cf441b059bb23…"><em>With or Without God: Why The Way We Live is More Important Than What We Believe</em></a>, and <a style="color: #4487cf;font-weight: normal;text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://johnshelbyspong.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b51b9cf441b059bb23…"><em>Amen: What Prayer Can Mean in a World Beyond Belief</em></a>. She has also published three books of poetry and prayers.</p> <p>_________________________________________________</p> <p> </p> <h2 style="text-align: center;color: #4487cf;display: block;font-family: Georgia;font-size: 30px;font-weight: normal;line-height: 100%;margin-top: 0;margin-right: 0;margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 0;"><strong>Bishop John Shelby Spong Revisited</strong></h2> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:28px"><span style="font-family:georgia,times,times new roman,serif"><strong>The Word of God? </strong></span></span></p> <p> </p> <p><img alt="Spong" class="aolmail_wp-image-49832 aolmail_alignleft" height="107" style="border: 0px;width: 101px;height: 107px;margin: 0px 10px 0px 0px;float: left;font-size: 14px;font-weight: bold;line-height: 100%;outline: none;text-decoration: none;text-transform: capitalize;display: inline;" width="101" src="https://johnshelbyspong.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Spong-283x300.jpg"></p> <p>“This is the word of the Lord”</p> <p>That is the liturgical phrase used in Christian churches to mark the end of a reading from the Bible. It is a strange, even a misleading, phrase. Yet Sunday after Sunday it is repeated, reinforcing in the psyches of worshipers a rather outdated attitude toward Holy Scripture.</p> <p>In many of its details, the Bible is simply wrong! Epilepsy is not caused by demon possession. David did not write the Psalms. The earth is not the center of the universe. On other issues of great public concern, the Bible is no longer even regarded as moral. Its verses have been used to affirm war, slavery, segregation and apartheid. It defines women as inferior creatures and suggests that homosexual persons be put to death.</p> <p>Church people try to ignore or suppress these biblical deficiencies, but when the Scriptures are read to a listening congregation the response is increasing incredulity. Still they respond, “This is the word of the Lord.”</p> <p>Outside the church, this presumed authority of Scripture is generally ignored. Secular people live in a post-religious world where the idea that a literary work, written between 1000 B.C.E. and 135 C.E., can be “the Word of God,” is simply too far-fetched to believe. This obvious ecclesiastical power play is no longer even passively accepted as benign. One has only to chart the evil and pain that many people have endured in history because someone regarded the Bible as the “Word of God.” That claim is no longer regarded as valid.</p> <p>In a series of essays that will appear periodically over the next few months in this column I will examine some of the more frightening examples of these tragedies. My purpose will be quite specific. I will be seeking to call the Christian Church in all of its forms to look closely at what it is, overtly and covertly, teaching its people about the Bible and at the enormous gap that exists between what biblical scholars know and what the leaders of the churches actually say to their congregations. If our clergy do not really believe what they are saying, and if our liturgies affirm things that the scholars universally reject, then something is clearly amiss in contemporary Christianity that does not augur well for a Christian future.</p> <p>First, we need to state some basic biblical facts.</p> <p>The people who wrote the books in the Bible did not think they were writing “The Word of God.” That is a quite elementary but singularly important place to begin.</p> <p>In regard to the first five books of the Bible, called the Torah or the Books of Moses, scholars have known since the 19th century, that they are not the work of a single hand. They are rather a compilation of at least four strands of Jewish writing that were composed over a period of some 500 years. Those strands were first, the Yahwist document, written in the tenth century B.C.E. and sometimes called the Hebrew Iliad, which reflects the national history of the Southern Kingdom of Judah. The second was the Elohist document, written in the 9th century B.C.E. and sometimes called the Hebrew Odyssey, which reflects the national history of the Northern Kingdom of Israel.</p> <p>After the fall of the Northern Kingdom to the Assyrians in 721 B.C.E., these two national stories were woven together into a single narrative. The third document was the product of one known as the Deuteronomic writer, composed in the late 7th century B.C.E., and consisting of the book of Deuteronomy and a general editing of the newly merged national Jewish story. The fourth source of the Torah was not so much a document as it was an expansive editorial commentary applied to the entire faith story by those called the Priestly Writers and written during the Babylonian Exile somewhere between 586 and 450 B.C.E. That is the process, briefly described, that produced the oldest part of the biblical story.</p> <p>One can identify the places where these versions of the story were woven rather inexactly together, producing many of the conflicting details in the Torah itself. The Sabbath day law, for example, developed during the Exile, is read back into the manna in the wilderness story to make sure that the miraculous food was not gathered on the seventh day in violation of the Sabbath. The ritualistic laws governing sacrifices were used to alter the Noah story so that during the 150 days on the ark, Noah could offer the proper sacrifices without destroying that species.</p> <p>Finally, there are three versions of the Ten Commandments in the Torah. The oldest one, from the Yahwist document, is found in Exodus 34. The version with which most of us are familiar, found in Exodus 20, comes from the Elohist document but was significantly doctored by the Priestly Writers. The third version is in Deuteronomy 5 and though close to Exodus 20 has some revealing differences. The Deuteronomic version of the 4th Commandment makes the reason for rest on the Sabbath, not that God rested from the work of creation and thus hallowed that day, but that the Jews should remember that they were once slaves and that even slaves need a day of rest. The seven-day creation story, with which the Bible now opens, was written by the Priestly Writers well after the Deuteronomic document had been completed.</p> <p>The idea that the Bible came into being in some sort of miraculous way and is either the literal dictation of God or even the “inspired message of God” is simply not supportable on its face. The Bible is a profoundly human, deeply flawed, tribal history that has created as much pain as blessing in our world.</p> <p>Moving on to the Hebrew prophets, this analysis produces a similar difficulty. The prophets tended to explain every disaster that befell the chosen people as the direct result of their laxity in obeying God’s laws or in their inability to worship God properly. God seemed to have little more to do than to organize the whole universe so as to teach the chosen people how to be faithful or to demonstrate the dreadful price that unfaithful ones would have to pay.</p> <p>When we turn to the first part of the New Testament to be written, we need to register the fact that Paul’s letters were just that, letters. They are time bound and time specific. They express irritation at and praise for the behavior of the actual recipients. They were composed in a dialogical manner in order to address real issues bothering real people in real time. When Paul wrote in anger, “I hope those who bother you will mutilate themselves,” was that the Word of God? Surely it was nothing more than the word of Paul!</p> <p>Similarly, when Paul suggested that a woman’s head must be covered in public worship, he was expressing a cultural norm not a universal principle. When Paul said, “I forbid a woman to have authority over a man” or when he suggested that those who do not worship God properly would have their sexual identities confused, does one really want to suggest that this badly dated bit of human ignorance is to be reverenced as the voice of God?</p> <p>Later the Gospel writers would violently twist out of context the writings of the prophets to prove such things as the literal accuracy of the Virgin Birth or to demonstrate that the ancient prophets supported the doctrinal and creedal development of the 4th and 5th Centuries of the Common Era. Jerry Falwell, in a published book, has suggested that the divine nature of Jesus is “proved” by the fact that he fulfilled in a very specific way, the messianic expectations of the prophets. That attitude, however, has been revealed by modern biblical scholarship to be nothing less than profound ignorance. The idea that a God, living somewhere above the sky, would drop hints into the texts of writers, some 800 years before the birth of Christ, determining exactly what Jesus would do in the 1st century, is fanciful enough. But when one adds that God would need to guard these divine hints through the centuries when these texts were copied by hand, protect them from destruction in war and guide the minds of Jewish decision makers centuries later to include these prophetic works in the Jewish Canon of Scripture, the elements of miracle and magic become heightened to incredibly superstitious levels.</p> <p>Next, one needs to understand, that contrary to the way Christian theology has interpreted the Gospels from the 2nd century on, Jesus did not miraculously live out these prophetic expectations. It was exactly the other way around. The story of Jesus was crafted some 40 – 70 years after that earthly life came to an end, to make it conform to the biblical expectations! Micah, for example, did not predict that the birth of Jesus would occur in Bethlehem. That was the way that later Christians interpreted Micah. Jesus’ birth, which probably occurred in Galilee, was shifted to Bethlehem in order to make the birth of Jesus fulfill this expectation.</p> <p>The story of Jesus’ crucifixion was, likewise, deliberately and liturgically shaped by their authors who had Psalm 22 and Isaiah 53 in front of them as they wrote the passion narrative. We forget, conveniently I would suggest, that the earliest Gospel, Mark, says that when Jesus was arrested, all of the disciples “forsook him and fled.” Jesus died alone with no eyewitnesses. The Gospel writers later wrote the story of his death to “reveal the fulfillment of Scripture.”</p> <p>A great part of the crisis in faith today derives from the fact that the authority once claimed for the Bible cannot and should not be sustained in the light of modern knowledge. How important then is this traditional view of the Bible to the future of Christianity. Can this view of Scripture be abandoned without Christianity, as we have known it, not also collapsing? That question remains to be answered but it will be the present in the background of many columns written during the coming year. Stay tuned!</p> <p>~ John Shelby Spong Originally Published July 16, 2003</p> </div> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> <table border="0" cellpadding="20" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td valign="top"> <div style="color: #000000;font-family: Georgia;font-size: 16px;line-height: 150%;text-align: left;"><hr> <h2 style="color: #4487cf;display: block;font-family: Georgia;font-size: 30px;font-weight: normal;line-height: 100%;margin-top: 0;margin-right: 0;margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 0;text-align: left;">Announcements</h2> <div style="text-align: center;color: #000000;font-family: Georgia;font-size: 16px;line-height: 150%;"><a style="color: #4487cf;font-weight: normal;text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://johnshelbyspong.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b51b9cf441b059bb23…"><img align="center" height="161" style="border: 0px;width: 500px;height: 161px;margin: 0px;font-size: 14px;font-weight: bold;line-height: 100%;outline: none;text-decoration: none;text-transform: capitalize;display: inline;" width="500" src="https://gallery.mailchimp.com/b51b9cf441b059bb232418480/images/78e0e30e-518…"></a> <strong>May 4 - 6, 2017 </strong>people from all over the world will gather in Portland, Oregon to share knowledge and wisdom, learn from each other, celebrate, be inspired, and find the tools needed to create and enliven local movements within our communities. Together we will explore sacred oneness, Christ Consciousness, Buddha Nature, eco-spirituality, social justice and the way of universal and personal transformation that honors the Divine in all. </div> <h3 class="aolmail_null" style="text-align: center;color: #4487cf;display: block;font-family: Georgia;font-size: 26px;font-weight: normal;line-height: 100%;margin-top: 0;margin-right: 0;margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 0;"><strong><span style="color:#008080"><span style="font-size:24px">3 Day In-city Festival Event Including:</span></span></strong></h3> <div style="text-align: left;color: #000000;font-family: Georgia;font-size: 16px;line-height: 150%;">Presentations by over 30 Leaders, Teachers, Authors, Theologians, and Activists Live Art, Music and Performance Ceremony and Ritual Celebration, Dance, Entertainment Sacred Community Social Gathering Networking Learning/Workshops/Breakouts Yoga, Qi Gong, Meditation, Dance, Drum circles Village Marketplace with art, music, books, crafts, and more!</div> <p style="text-align: center;"><a style="color: #4487cf;font-weight: normal;text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://johnshelbyspong.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b51b9cf441b059bb23…"><img height="128" style="border: 0px;width: 300px;height: 128px;margin: 0px;font-size: 14px;font-weight: bold;line-height: 100%;outline: none;text-decoration: none;text-transform: capitalize;display: inline;" width="300" src="https://gallery.mailchimp.com/b51b9cf441b059bb232418480/images/5e2d0853-408…"></a> <a style="color: #4487cf;font-weight: normal;text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://johnshelbyspong.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b51b9cf441b059bb23…"><img height="280" style="border: 0px;width: 500px;height: 280px;margin: 0px;font-size: 14px;font-weight: bold;line-height: 100%;outline: none;text-decoration: none;text-transform: capitalize;display: inline;" width="500" src="https://gallery.mailchimp.com/b51b9cf441b059bb232418480/images/c0d8ce24-9e1…"></a></p> </div> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="center" valign="top"> <table border="0" cellpadding="10" cellspacing="0" width="600" id="aolmail_templateFooter" style="background-color: #FDFDFD;border-top: 0;"> <tbody><tr> <td valign="top" class="aolmail_footerContent"> <table border="0" cellpadding="10" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td colspan="2" valign="middle" id="aolmail_social" style="background-color: #FAFAFA;border: 0;"> <div style="color: #707070;font-family: Arial;font-size: 12px;line-height: 125%;text-align: center;"></div></td></tr><tr><td colspan="2" valign="middle" id="aolmail_utility" style="background-color: #FDFDFD;border: 1px dashed #d3d3d3;"><div style="color: #707070;font-family: Arial;font-size: 12px;line-height: 125%;text-align: center;"><div class="aolmail_vcard"><div class="aolmail_adr"><div class="aolmail_street-address"></div></div></div></div></td></tr><tr><td colspan="2" valign="middle" id="aolmail_utility"><div style="color: #707070;font-family: Arial;font-size: 12px;line-height: 125%;text-align: left;"></div></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></center><center> </center></div> </div> <style type="text/css">#AOLMsgPart_2_28d8e90f-ab5d-431e-bdfc-209c2cdc85cb td{color: black;} @media only screen and (max-width: 480px){ .aolReplacedBody table#aolmail_canspamBar td{font-size:14px !important;} .aolReplacedBody table#aolmail_canspamBar td a{display:block !important; margin-top:10px !important;} } </style>

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Global Buzz reminder
by ICA International via OE 25 Apr '17

25 Apr '17

Reminder for entries This reminder is for the Global Buzz that will be published May 5th. 2017 (Please send your entries at least a day ahead) Please send all your entries by regular e-mail to: inform(a)ica-international.org with your entry as an attatchment. Send details of news items, training programmes, your peer to peer connections with other ICAs, any concerns you may have and of any events that are coming up at your location. Your report can be long or short, but remember that all other ICAs would really like to know about the things that matter where you are, and what you are doing as an ICA. Peter, for ICAI Communications Pour les entrées de rappel Ce rappel est à la Global Buzz qui sera publié le 5 Mai 2017 (Veuillez envoyer vos entrées au moins une journée à l'avance) Veuillez envoyer toutes vos entrées maintenant par courriel ordinaire à : inform(a)ica-international.org avec votre entrée comme un attatchment. Envoyer les détails des articles de nouvelles, des programmes de formation, vos connexions peer to peer avec d'autres CIAS, de toute préoccupation que vous pourriez avoir et de tous les événements qui sont à venir à votre emplacement. Votre rapport peut être longue ou courte, mais rappelez-vous que toutes les autres CIAS aimerait vraiment savoir à propos de choses qui importe où vous êtes et ce que vous faites comme une ICA. Recordatorio de las entradas Este aviso es para el Global Buzz que se publicarán 5 Mayo 2017 (Favor de enviar sus entradas al menos con un día de antelación) Por favor envíe todos sus entradas ahora por correo electrónico a: inform(a)ica-international.org con su entrada como un archivo adjunto. Enviar detalles de noticias, programas de capacitación, el peer to peer las conexiones con otros convenios o acuerdos internacionales, las preocupaciones que usted pueda tener y de los eventos que se aproximan en su ubicación. El informe puede ser a corto o largo, pero hay que recordar que todos los demás convenios quisiera saber realmente sobre lo que realmente importa, y lo que están haciendo una ICA.

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A footnote to the Lent–Easter journey
by David Dunn via OE 21 Apr '17

21 Apr '17

A footnote to the Lent-Easter Journey To the extent that we grow into the Genesis affirmation that all creation is good, the Lenten-Easter journey is transformed and transforming. Jesus’s “Lenten Journey” was toward Jerusalem and a confrontation of history, politics, and spirit at the Cross. He wasn’t practicing giving up stuff or penitence for his human frailty. He was practicing discernment of his own life calling and seeking the courage to offer his life to that mission. Lent is about discovering our highest and best selves and the focus of our engagement. It’s a time of opening to what is emerging within us and a season of exploring what keeps us from wholehearted self-offering. Easter is the joyous celebration of the eye-popping inner realization that the Power of Being Itself—the God-Christ-Spirit Word that brought matter to life with energy at the moment of creation—is behind and within all opening, exploration, discovery, and becoming. Lent is the practice of discerning how Creation is transforming our lives and Easter is the celebration of Creation’s infinite grace-filled supply of uplifting and life-giving spirit within flesh. April 18, 2017 David — "Mystery, possibility, and the power to choose” David Dunn 740 S Alton Way 9B Denver, CO 80247 720-314-5991 dmdunn1(a)gmail.com

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11/20/17, Spong/Vosper: The Season of Relief; Spong: Insights from Finland
by Ellie Stock via OE 20 Apr '17

20 Apr '17

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target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://johnshelbyspong.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b51b9cf441b059bb23…">Homepage</a> <a style="color: #4487cf;text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://johnshelbyspong.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b51b9cf441b059bb23…">My Profile</a> <a style="color: #4487cf;text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://johnshelbyspong.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b51b9cf441b059bb23…">Essay Archive</a> <a style="color: #4487cf;text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://johnshelbyspong.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b51b9cf441b059bb23…">Message Boards</a> <a style="color: #4487cf;text-decoration: none;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://johnshelbyspong.us2.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=b51b9cf441b059bb2…">Calendar</a></h5></td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="center" valign="top"> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="600" id="aolmail_templateBody"> <tbody><tr> <td valign="top" class="aolmail_bodyContent" style="background-color: #ffffff;"> <table border="0" cellpadding="20" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td valign="top"> <div style="color: #000000;font-family: Georgia;font-size: 16px;line-height: 150%;text-align: left;"><h1 style="color: #003d4a;display: block;font-family: Georgia;font-size: 34px;font-weight: normal;line-height: 100%;margin-top: 0;margin-right: 0;margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 0;text-align: left;">The Season of Relief</h1> <h3 class="aolmail_null" style="color: #4487cf;display: block;font-family: Georgia;font-size: 26px;font-weight: normal;line-height: 100%;margin-top: 0;margin-right: 0;margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 0;text-align: left;">By Gretta Vosper</h3> <p><a style="color: #4487cf;font-weight: normal;text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://"><img align="left" alt="Gretta Vosper" class="aolmail_wp-image-49753 aolmail_alignleft" height="154" style="border: 0px;width: 125px;height: 154px;margin: 0px 10px 0px 0px;font-size: 14px;font-weight: bold;line-height: 100%;outline: none;text-decoration: none;text-transform: capitalize;display: inline;" width="125" src="https://johnshelbyspong.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Gretta-Vosper-copy-2…"></a>The calendars we give and receive as Christmas gifts – Sudoku-a-Day desk tear-offs, or expensive, hang-on-the-wall art photography – don’t pay much heed to the Christian calendar aside from noting its two largest festivals – Christmas and Easter – and helping retailers take advantage of a few minor ones – Valentine’s, St. Patrick’s, and Hallowe’en. Denominational church calendars fill in more of the blanks, but we all know that the year we follow starts on the first of January, a bleak and dreary date in the northern hemisphere and a riot of colour and beauty in the southern. I don’t know anyone who hangs up a calendar that starts the first day of Advent and marks their year in the way Christians once did long ago. Of course, I don’t know any monks. Perhaps they do.</p> <p>The Christian calendar moves the church through a series of festivals and seasons beginning with Advent at the very end of November or the beginning of December and concluding three hundred and sixty-some days later with the celebration of the Reign of Christ. And then it starts all over again. Whether the calendar was established to deepen the faith and devotion of the simple Christian or came into being as an elaborate, guided tour through the narratives and, thus, the theology of the Christian faith, there are others better equipped to discuss than I. Bishop Spong, for that matter, has explored liturgy – Christian and Hebrew – on many occasions and drawn rich conclusions regarding the story behind the story, revelations that most Christians do not know. <em>Liberating the Gospels: Reading the Bible with Jewish Eyes: Freeing Jesus from 2,000 Years of Misunderstanding</em> is an engaging exploration of the rolling back of the gospel stories over the Hebrew liturgical calendar. It is a fascinating read.</p> <p>Technically, as many of you may know, Easter is so much more than Easter Sunday. We merely enter the <em>season</em> of Easter on that day. After that, we fall victim to the stronghold commercial calendars have on the naming of the year and live as though Easter’s over and done with. Oddly, considering the potential for extended chocolate sales, the commercial world never alludes to the fact that Easter lasts for fifty days and covers seven Sundays. Indeed, until mainline denominations began to show more interest in liturgy in the mid-seventies, I don’t think many self-respecting Protestants would have been able to tell you how long Easter lasts, even if they did notice the absence of a Prayer of Confession for several weeks.</p> <p>Is the Meaning of Easter Getting a Little Fuzzy?</p> <p>I recall driving some years ago past this clever quip on the sign outside a church not far from my own. Word on the street now has it that the church, the local outlet of another mainline denomination, is within months, if not weeks, of closing. Who knew the sign would prove to be more ironic than clever? The use of one of the classic attacks on liberal Christianity by her conservative big brothers – that it isn’t doctrinally pure enough – may very possibly be what has resulted in the congregation’s own demise. As liberal Christianity moved further and further away from literal belief in the stories that framed its original doctrine, a journey that kept pace with its social embrace of reason, younger generations no longer found Sunday mornings in church services still couched in classical theology a meaningful use of their time. Church closures at the dying edge of too many missing generations are one of the more obvious results.</p> <p><strong>Seasonal Mania</strong></p> <p>I know Easter preparation and survival well and I know the challenges of leaning into liturgies with which I do not resonate and trying to infuse them with new life. Lent isn’t just about penitence and seeking forgiveness. It isn’t just about wandering through the wilderness and seeking a new way. It is the great prelude to Holy Week. To Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, and Good Friday. It is about building the drama and coming up with new ways to make it come alive. It is about (sometimes real) donkeys and crosses and all the lead-up to rolled away stones. There’s a lot of drama building during Lent. For clergy creatives, it was as bad as Christmas, which simply means “a disaster waiting to happen.” One of my church secretaries used to get so high-strung during these periods in the Christian calendar that I stopped requiring bulletins for any of the extra services. It didn’t help. Her anxiety was most likely a manifestation of my own.</p> <p>I remember a Good Friday service that had gone on longer than expected. The organist took it upon himself to speed it up a bit, playing “O Sacred Head, Sore Wounded” at a pace faster than any Christian hymn I’ve ever heard. He literally trilled his way through it. I was devastated. The service had been perfect right down to the very last piece. He had destroyed the whole thing.</p> <p>And then there was the Maundy Thursday Tenebrae service during which the hall was reverently stripped of all decoration and the lights completely extinguished, perfectly in synch with trays of candles previously imbued with deep meaning. I’d marked the light switches carefully so that the last spotlight glared baldly down on the thirty-foot-tall steel cross suspended above the congregation. But one whole bank of lights, I realized too late, didn’t have a switch on the inside of the hall. You needed to be outside to turn that bank off. So the when it got down to the last minute, instead of the drama of a single light illuminating the cross and then, bam, utter darkness, it was the cross illuminated and then, bam, one side of the sanctuary still bathed in light. I wept all the way home.</p> <p>I spent one whole season of Lent developing an art installation that grew and changed each week. Starting with two plain purple banners, I first added black vines with twisted paper on each, then joined them across the space in between. Eventually, thorns appeared on the vines and then, the whole thing was draped in black for Good Friday. Easter morning, I had to stand outside the building as the installation was completed. I was so nervous, I thought I was going to throw up. Two brave volunteers tore the black drape from the wall to reveal golden banners covered with Sunday School crafted lilies. Nothing crashed to the floor. Everything went as planned. But I was a wreck. The next year, a permanent fabric sculpture was installed. You have no idea the relief I felt.</p> <p><strong>Maniac Analysis </strong></p> <p>What was all that about? Why the need to be ever more dramatic, ever more artistic, ever more ever more? My craziness came down to one simple reality, as much of our craziness often does. It was easier to worry about the art installation or the choreography or the music than it was to face the truth. I didn’t believe the Easter story. It was that simple. I created huge distractions so that no one, not even I, would notice that, when it came to the biblical story, the lengthy reading of the passion narrative, the Easter hymns, the rock and the empty tomb, I believed none of it.</p> <p>For my liberal and progressive colleagues, surviving Easter is a major dilemma. We’ve studied critical contemporary theology and been challenged by all the big Christian festivals to line up a poorly-known human Jesus alongside the biblical claims made about his divine alter-ego. These high holy days eat holes in clergy consciences, though many struggle as I did, oblivious to the underlying source of their anxiety. Stress levels skyrocket, diversionary tactics abound, and congregations swell and disappear with the Christmas and Easter crowds who leave delighted by the fanfare and often none the wiser.</p> <p><strong>Brought to Our Knees</strong></p> <p>Most of the time, the biblical narrative is not an issue. Much of it shares ageless wisdom about how we should live (though much of that is very wrong) and the rest lays a people’s history alongside the passage of ancient time. But Christmas and Easter are particularly difficult because at these very crucial moments in the Christian calendar, the biblical narrative lines up literally alongside doctrine many of us no longer embrace. So when Easter is all over, we sink to our knees, not in prayer, but in mental and emotional exhaustion and move, gratefully, into the longest and newest season on the Christian calendar: the Season of Relief. There, we get to relax through the many weeks between Easter and the renewed challenges of Christmas.</p> <p>The dissonance with which leaders in liberal and progressive branches of Christianity live exacts a great cost to themselves, their congregants, and Christianity in general. Held fast by expectations we believe our congregations have, we neglect the very real human narratives that underlie the biblical story of passion, death, and resurrection. In the decades of our doing so, we have driven ourselves near crazy, watched generations abandon the church and us (let’s face it, we take that personally), and compromised the very real good our faith tradition might have continued to do. We have sealed our own passion away. It’s time that tomb broke open.</p> <p><strong>An Endless Season</strong></p> <p>It took more than a few deep breaths, no small amount of naivete, and an engaged and educated congregation to get me through the shift that freed me of the stress of my high holy perfectionism and allows me to lead every Sunday, all year long, in the Season of Relief. Together with my congregation, we explored and unearthed the human drama of Easter – dream, celebration, devastation, new dream – and tell it each year, still a bit manic on the production side, but lived without any sense of dissonance or delusion.</p> <p>Turning ourselves into love for the world is too great and all-consuming a task to compromise it by perceived obligation to the images, stories, and metaphors a people, long ago, used to inspire that very same work. We are to create our own stories, our own rituals, our own narratives of passion for our own time. Only in the Season of Relief, away from suffocating expectation, do we have the perspective and the space to consider how we might better do that.</p> <p>Welcome to that season and to this exhilarating work.</p> <p>~Gretta Vosper</p> <p>Read Online <a target="_blank" style="color: #4487cf;font-weight: normal;text-decoration: underline;" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://johnshelbyspong.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b51b9cf441b059bb23…">Here</a> <strong>About the Author</strong></p> <p>The Rev. Gretta Vosper is a United Church of Canada minister who is an atheist. Her best selling books include <a style="color: #4487cf;font-weight: normal;text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://johnshelbyspong.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b51b9cf441b059bb23…"><em>With or Without God: Why The Way We Live is More Important Than What We Believe</em></a>, and <a style="color: #4487cf;font-weight: normal;text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://johnshelbyspong.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b51b9cf441b059bb23…"><em>Amen: What Prayer Can Mean in a World Beyond Belief</em></a>. She has also published three books of poetry and prayers.</p> </div> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> <table border="0" cellpadding="20" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td valign="top"> <div style="color: #000000;font-family: Georgia;font-size: 16px;line-height: 150%;text-align: left;"><hr> <h2 style="color: #4487cf;display: block;font-family: Georgia;font-size: 30px;font-weight: normal;line-height: 100%;margin-top: 0;margin-right: 0;margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 0;text-align: left;">Question & Answer</h2> <p><span style="font-size:18px">Andrea from Atlanta, GA writes:</span></p> <h4 style="color: #4487cf;display: block;font-family: Georgia;font-size: 22px;font-weight: normal;line-height: 100%;margin-top: 0;margin-right: 0;margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 0;text-align: left;">Question:</h4> <p>How does the death of Jesus 2000 years ago save me? What is the substitutionary doctrine of the atonement?</p> <h4 style="color: #4487cf;display: block;font-family: Georgia;font-size: 22px;font-weight: normal;line-height: 100%;margin-top: 0;margin-right: 0;margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 0;text-align: left;">Answer: <span style="font-size:20px">By Cassandra Farrin</span></h4> <p><img alt="Cassandra Farrin" class="aolmail_size-full aolmail_wp-image-49713 aolmail_alignleft" height="125" style="border: 0px;width: 125px;height: 125px;margin: 0px 10px 0px 0px;float: left;font-size: 14px;font-weight: bold;line-height: 100%;outline: none;text-decoration: none;text-transform: capitalize;display: inline;" width="125" src="https://johnshelbyspong.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Cassandra-Farrin.jpg">Dear Andrea,</p> <p>Thanks for this challenging question! The standard definition of substitutionary atonement is that Jesus, as God’s son, fully human and fully divine, took the sin and corruption permeating the world upon himself and was sacrificed on the cross like a lamb on the altar. He did this as a radical act of divine intervention to rescue the world from darkness.</p> <p>If you go hunting in the Bible for the explanation I just gave, you won’t really find it there. It is an amalgamation of many different statements and stories from the sacred texts of the Christian and Jewish traditions. Actually one of the best places to read and thoroughly understand the Christian concept of substitutionary atonement, ironically, is John Bunyan’s 17th-century work <em>Pilgrim’s Progress</em>, or the children’s version, <em>Dangerous Journey</em>, as abridged by Oliver Hunkin in 1985. A man named Christian embarks on a journey to remove a terrible burden, which only leaves him after the following encounter as recounted in <em>Dangerous Journey</em>:</p> <p><span style="color:#FFFFFF">.<em>.........</em></span><em>At the foot of a hill, he passed an open tomb. Then up again, <span style="color:#FFFFFF">..........</span>upon a little knoll, he found himself beneath a wayside cross. <span style="color:#FFFFFF">..........</span>And as its shadow fell across him, so suddenly the burden, <span style="color:#FFFFFF">..........</span>slipping from his shoulders, fell from off his back. It tumbled <span style="color:#FFFFFF">..........</span>down the hill, it tumbled into the mouth of the tomb. It was <span style="color:#FFFFFF">..........</span>never seen again.</em></p> <p>The vision continues from there, but it’s important to see that this idea of atonement is not due to the work of the person but is envisioned as a gift freely given to those who seek it. All Christian had to do was set out on his journey, and once he did, the relief from his burden came almost as a surprise—an unforeseen event. Christian’s journey is not even close to finished at this point in the narrative, as he still has to make his way to the heavenly city without returning to the old life with the old burdens (sin), but it is clear that the moment of freedom was not the result of his own actions.</p> <p>When I was a teenager attending a Pentecostal church, one of our youth ministers created a vivid “choose your own adventure” game based on this and the works of C. S. Lewis to help instill the message in our young minds. Do I believe in this anymore? Well, no. I hate that it requires God to be so rigid and punishing, an old-world being that demands an old-world sacrifice in blood. Also, I think it fundamentally misunderstands corruption. Decay is a natural element of creation. Decay is an underpinning of life. We literally are born out of the destruction of what came before us, carrying with us the energy of the past lives of other entities, both living and nonliving. I think our biggest mistake (like the Apostle Paul) is in collapsing <em>moral</em> corruption with <em>physical</em> corruption. That’s a necessary assumption of atonement theology, and I can’t go along with it.</p> <p>What I do believe and <em>will</em> carry forward from this childhood belief I held, is that we can find relief from our burdens in this life. We do not have to cling to and carry our vices and our failures as <em>burdens</em> with us into every new relationship and situation. We can carry them in other ways, such as a commitment to do better next time, but we don’t have to remain shackled. And sometimes, amazingly and wonderfully, we are unshackled by free acts of love done on our behalf by others. If we can be that person for someone else, too, we should.</p> <p>~ Cassandra Farrin</p> <p>Read and Share Online <a target="_blank" style="color: #4487cf;font-weight: normal;text-decoration: underline;" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://johnshelbyspong.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b51b9cf441b059bb23…">Here</a></p> <p><strong>About the Author</strong></p> <p>Cassandra Farrin is the marketing director of the <a style="color: #4487cf;font-weight: normal;text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://johnshelbyspong.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b51b9cf441b059bb23…">Westar Institute</a> and the editor of Polebridge Press. Her poetic retelling of the Nag Hammadi text On the Origin of the World is forthcoming in <em>Gender Violence, Rape Culture, and Religion</em> (Palgrave Macmillan). A US-UK Fulbright Scholar with more than ten years' experience with cross-cultural and interfaith engagement, she has an M.A. in Religious Studies from Lancaster University (England) and a B.A. in Religious Studies from Willamette University.</p> <hr> <h3 class="aolmail_null" style="text-align: center;color: #4487cf;display: block;font-family: Georgia;font-size: 26px;font-weight: normal;line-height: 100%;margin-top: 0;margin-right: 0;margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 0;"> <strong>Bishop John Shelby Spong Revisited</strong></h3> <div style="text-align: center;color: #000000;font-family: Georgia;font-size: 16px;line-height: 150%;"><strong><span style="font-size:24px"><span style="font-family:georgia,times,times new roman,serif">Insights from Finland</span></span></strong> </div> <div style="text-align: left;color: #000000;font-family: Georgia;font-size: 16px;line-height: 150%;"><img align="left" height="106" style="border: 0px;width: 100px;height: 106px;margin: 0px 10px 0px 0px;font-size: 14px;font-weight: bold;line-height: 100%;outline: none;text-decoration: none;text-transform: capitalize;display: inline;" width="100" src="https://gallery.mailchimp.com/b51b9cf441b059bb232418480/images/84fbd945-363…">Finland is a beautiful country, bounded on the west by Scandinavia, the east by Russia, the north by the Arctic Circle and the south by the Baltic Sea. Its five million ethnically diverse people include Laplanders, central Europeans and Russians. The Finnish language is closely related to the language of Hungary. Historically Finland has been a pawn, passing back and forth between the ancient kingdoms of Sweden and Russia. As a relatively new independent state, it has always been a social democracy. Women now serve this EU member state as prime minister, president and chief justice. I had a chance to visit Finland this past month. It was exciting for me for two reasons. First, Finland has always projected a favorable image. It was extolled as “the only nation in the world that repaid its World War I loans,” and it won my boyish admiration when its brave army, whose soldiers fought on skis in white camouflaged uniforms designed to blend into the snow, held off the army of the Soviet Union in 1939. Second this trip to Finland offered me an opportunity to test a proposition that I had long suspected about the vitality of the Christian Church. Part of the Church’s propaganda about itself is that it seeks unity in obedience to Jesus’ high priestly prayer recorded in the 17th chapter of John’s Gospel, “that they all may be one as you, Father, and I are one.” However, my reading of Church History suggests that when the church is monolithic it spawns things like the Inquisition that sought to remove any non-conformist idea. Heretics were burned at the stake to preserve the myth of unity. When that monolithic power was broken in the Reformation the first effect was a century of religious wars as Protestants and Catholics tried to recover their dream of religious unity by imposing a single religious system, their own, on all people whether they wanted it or not. A willingness to tolerate diversity was quite impossible with each side claiming to be the “only true Church of God.” Given the wide range of human personalities, tastes, cultures and life styles, I always wondered why there could not be multiple paths by which people could walk into the mystery of God. My reading of history also suggested to me that wherever the Christian Church spoke with a single voice it became less vital, less alive and more corrupt. I had earlier had an opportunity to test this proposition in the monochromatic Roman Catholic country of Belgium. Now Finland was going to offer me the opportunity to test that premise in a monochromatic Protestant country. Observing Christianity’s decline, especially in the West, it seems to me that this decline is most pronounced in those nations where there are no competing voices. At the invitation of a Roman Catholic monastic, I went to Belgium last year to meet with his order, to lecture at the University of Ghent and to have conversations with teachers on a theological faculty where Roman Catholic priests were trained. In Belgium the Roman Catholic Church is dominant to the point of exclusivity. So powerful is its Catholic identity that religion was the principle reason that the Netherlands and Belgium became separate nations in the 19th century. Belgium could unify its Dutch speaking Catholic constituency with its French speaking Catholic constituency far more easily than the nation could combine Dutch-speaking Catholics with Dutch-speaking Protestants. What I found, however, in this religiously uniform nation was a dying church. The four churches nearest to the University of Ghent, that had once been vital and filled, were today almost empty and their congregations quite elderly. Few priests remain to serve even these small numbers. The average age of the priests and nuns in Belgium has moved above 70. The theological college, where I met with faculty who trained future priests, had not graduated a single ordinand since 1998. At that moment there was not a candidate for ordination in the entire pipeline. The theological faculty was thus, for all practical purposes, unemployed, though they continued to draw their stipends from the State. By every measure the Christian Church in Belgium was dying and the depression among its leaders was palpable. The rest of Europe revealed a similar picture in other monolithic Roman Catholic nations. Germany, on the other hand, divided generally between the Roman Catholic South and the Protestant North, has in the last century produced world-class theologians and biblical scholars such as Rudolf Bultmann, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Paul Tillich, Emil Bruner and Hans Kung. The Netherlands has tension between its Protestant and Catholic constituencies and traditionally has encouraged freethinking and debate. The Vatican keeps trying to suppress this rebellious quality expressed in such people as radical New Testament Catholic Scholar Edward Schillebeekx, who though actually a citizen of Belgium enjoys the protection of the more open Dutch Catholic Church. The United Kingdom has religious divisions that are real with Presbyterian Scotland, Anglican England and the religious tensions in Northern Ireland, where Protestants seeks to remain on the island that Catholics believe belongs to them. Yet within England, even with its established Church, there is a vibrant Roman Catholic and Free Church presence, to say nothing of growing numbers within the immigrant population, who are adherents of Islam, Buddhism and Hinduism. Charles, the Prince of Wales, created an enormous public debate several years ago when he announced that as king he hoped to be “the defender of faiths not the defender of The Faith.” I think it is fair to say that Christianity is more vital in these nations where religious pluralism exists than it is in Belgium where religion is uniform and monolithic. So Finland which claims a 96 per cent identity with Lutheranism, intrigued me. Does being a monolithic Protestant country make a difference? If the same problem that I saw in Belgium is also present in Finland, would it not say something negative about religious uniformity, no matter what the dominant religion is? Finnish Lutheran leaders told me that the Lutheran Church of Finland is in a serious decline. Less than 4% of Finland’s citizens ever darken the church doors. That 4%, I was later told, included worshippers who attended weddings, funerals and baptisms, reducing the Sunday worshippers to something closer to 1%. The Lutheran Bishops were portrayed to me as managers of a declining institution. With one notable exception, their primary concern, I was told, was preserving the unity of their decreasing membership. That still observant core reflected a rather conservative fundamentalist attitude, and were greatly disturbed at the prospect that someone might actually challenge their presuppositions and think outside the box of their particular dogmatism. I discovered that merely my presence, plus the fact that I had been invited to address something called “Church Days,” an annual event of the Lutheran Church of Finland, was a source of great controversy in the religious press weeks before my arrival. I was amazed first, that I was even known and, secondly, that I was considered controversial and threatening to the religious status quo. None of my books had yet been translated into Finnish, yet before my plane had landed, the debate was real. The result was intense media coverage, including a twenty-minute interview on Finland’s version of “Good Morning America” or similar programs in England, Australia, Canada and New Zealand. When I addressed the Lutheran “Church Days” audience, it was three times the usual gathering. The Sunday morning church attendance where I preached was far larger than usual. Tension obviously creates vitality and interest. Controversy is not destructive, it is a life sign. That was my learning. The primary difference between the dying monolithic Catholicism of Belgium and the dying monolithic Protestantism of Finland was not that one was less dead than the other. On that score there was little difference. It was rather that in Protestant Finland, which was less autocratic and less punitive of deviation, it was demonstrably easier to challenge a moribund hierarchy in a Protestant setting than it is in a Catholic setting. There is in the Protestant system less ability to stifle discussion or to penalize those who want to chart a different vision. In Belgium I found a defeated theological faculty who appeared to have no options. They complained of powerlessness but did nothing. In Finland I found a feisty group of minority voices unwilling to watch their faith die without a struggle and people whose vision for a revitalized, engaged Lutheran church would not allow their silence. My conclusions thus challenge the common wisdom of church people. Dominance is not a virtue. Unity is not a desirable goal. Competitive voices for Christ are a sign of hope that give rise to visions that will challenge old stereotypes. The quest for unity is revealed as little more than an institutional power game. It is not a sign of life. Controversy is a necessary gateway into growth. Diversity is resisted only when security and not truth has become the unconscious goal of entrenched religious systems. What wonderful insights to be gained from a brief visit to beautiful Finland. ~John Shelby Spong Originally published June 11, 2003</div> </div> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> <table border="0" cellpadding="20" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td valign="top"> <div style="color: #000000;font-family: Georgia;font-size: 16px;line-height: 150%;text-align: left;"><hr> <h2 style="color: #4487cf;display: block;font-family: Georgia;font-size: 30px;font-weight: normal;line-height: 100%;margin-top: 0;margin-right: 0;margin-bottom: 10px;margin-left: 0;text-align: left;">Announcements</h2> As we count down to <a target="_blank" style="color: #4487cf;font-weight: normal;text-decoration: underline;" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://johnshelbyspong.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b51b9cf441b059bb23…">Embrace Festival</a> think about joining your friends at ProgressiveChristianity.org for one day, two or just an evening of socializing! <div style="text-align: center;color: #000000;font-family: Georgia;font-size: 16px;line-height: 150%;"><a style="color: #4487cf;font-weight: normal;text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://johnshelbyspong.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b51b9cf441b059bb23…"><img height="333" style="border: 0px;width: 500px;height: 333px;margin: 0px;font-size: 14px;font-weight: bold;line-height: 100%;outline: none;text-decoration: none;text-transform: capitalize;display: inline;" width="500" src="https://gallery.mailchimp.com/b51b9cf441b059bb232418480/images/0fe13b45-6a5…"></a></div> <p style="text-align: center;">Click here to go to Embrace Festival <a target="_blank" style="color: #4487cf;font-weight: normal;text-decoration: underline;" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://johnshelbyspong.us2.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=b51b9cf441b059bb2…">website</a>/sign up for <a target="_blank" style="color: #4487cf;font-weight: normal;text-decoration: underline;" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="http://johnshelbyspong.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b51b9cf441b059bb23…">email list</a></p> </div> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="center" valign="top"> <table border="0" cellpadding="10" cellspacing="0" width="600" id="aolmail_templateFooter" style="background-color: #FDFDFD;border-top: 0;"> <tbody><tr> <td valign="top" class="aolmail_footerContent"> <table border="0" cellpadding="10" cellspacing="0" width="100%"> <tbody><tr> <td colspan="2" valign="middle" id="aolmail_social" style="background-color: #FAFAFA;border: 0;"> <div style="color: #707070;font-family: Arial;font-size: 12px;line-height: 125%;text-align: center;"></div></td></tr><tr><td colspan="2" valign="middle" id="aolmail_utility" style="background-color: #FDFDFD;border: 1px dashed #d3d3d3;"><div style="color: #707070;font-family: Arial;font-size: 12px;line-height: 125%;text-align: center;"><div class="aolmail_vcard"><div class="aolmail_adr"><div class="aolmail_street-address"></div></div></div></div></td></tr><tr><td colspan="2" valign="middle" id="aolmail_utility"><div style="color: #707070;font-family: Arial;font-size: 12px;line-height: 125%;text-align: left;"></div></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></center><center><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%" id="aolmail_canspamBarWrapper" style="background-color:#FFFFFF; border-top:1px solid #E5E5E5;"><tbody><tr><td align="center" valign="top" style="padding-top:20px; padding-bottom:20px;"> </td></tr></tbody></table></center></div> </div> <style type="text/css">#AOLMsgPart_2_614aa880-b533-4ddd-a7e7-2bc1cac79b46 td{color: black;} @media only screen and (max-width: 480px){ .aolReplacedBody table#aolmail_canspamBar td{font-size:14px !important;} .aolReplacedBody table#aolmail_canspamBar td a{display:block !important; margin-top:10px !important;} } </style>

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Easter Reflections
by John Epps via OE 19 Apr '17

19 Apr '17

Coming to terms with the meaning of the Easter story for us is difficult since times and world-views have changed. We find it difficult even to grasp what it meant for those who first told it, much less for us. Yet we are compelled to try by Paul’s admonition, “If Christ is not raised, then our faith is in vain.” (I Cor. 15:14) One factor in the story must be recognized: this is a tale of a bodily resurrection, not a “spiritual” one. The risen one takes pains to force people to touch his wounds and so dispel the notion of an ectoplasmic appearance. Whatever the implications, they are physical, this worldly. The second factor is that stories of dying and rising gods (or superheroes) were widespread throughout the Ancient Near East and ancient Greece. So what unique implications can we draw from the story that are important today? Another way to ask it is “Where today do we experience death and resurrection?” Both occur at the individual, natural, and corporate levels. A word about each: Lately I have “died” when the classes I have taught for 15 years were cancelled; I was “raised” when the University called on me for 3 new classes. The slow and painful death of a dear aunt was followed by a celebration honoring her life that brought back the wonder of her artistry and love. These may seem trivial examples but dramatize the dynamics in the story: Death/Resurrection happens to us all. In nature, “Resurrection” has long been a metaphor for the return of plant life in the Spring, at least in the Northern hemisphere. And certainly, the emergence of leaves on barren trees, of green in brown fields, and flowers from “dead” plants seem quite miraculous. At the corporate level, the death and dying dynamic seems much more obvious that does resurrection. Many of our hopes and dreams died with the November election. The horrors and complexity of the Middle East conflicts and the appearance of global warming both represent a death to life as we have known it. What resurrection will look like remains to be seen. Numerous efforts taken for environmental protection certainly mark an awakening to the need for change, but are faint heralds of a resurrected life. Numerous conferences aimed at achieving some sort of resolution of Middle East conflicts so far remain fruitless. As the story goes, it’s God who does the raising, not us. And when it occurs, it’s far beyond our expectations. As I have said elsewhere, “Humankind has unimaginable capacities to screw things up; yet Mystery generates unaccountable wonders out of our messes.” (*Theology of Surprise*, p. 39) Our current situation brings to mind a sermon that we heard in the Philippines during the last days of Marcos. It was entitled “It feels like Friday, but Sunday is A-Coming!” Whether we’re enmeshed in the death or the resurrection part of the dynamic, both are operative. That’s what Easter celebrates.

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Easter
by Margaret Aiseayew via OE 18 Apr '17

18 Apr '17

I am always slow. My life is circumscribed by demands that don't fit the normal weekly schedule of most. I struggle with my small congregations and am intent on speaking to them of the reality of their faith in the world we live in. This was my Easter witness. If you are not interested, please delete. If you find theological error, please help me. Margaret Living in Christ Grace be unto you and Peace from God our Creator and the Lord Jesus Christ. This has been a week of formidable challenges. We have been compelled to live our lives in Jerusalem. Have you found yourself focusing on yourself in this journey or focusing on others and how they were managing the journey? For me, there has been some whiplash in this week. I am focusing on myself and then Peter denies Jesus. I really struggle with this one. If you try to think of what might have happened if he had not denied Jesus, I quickly end up in a morass where I wonder if we would even be here in the Church. Then again, denying Jesus? I have to wonder how I have denied Jesus this week-in every week? Am I a proclaimer or denier? It felt a bit to me this week like we got to watch the crucifixion first hand, and then thanks to the cameras in everyone's phone we got to watch it over and over. Do you know what I am talking about? The characters are almost all the same. Instead of the perfidious Roman government you have a business giant named United Airlines. This overly sanctified organization decided that four of its passengers must leave the plane. Three leave and one stays. He says he is a doctor and has patients to see the next morning. Just as the priests handed Jesus over to the Romans, so the pilot or stewards of the flight handed the passenger who said no over to the Chicago Police. The doctor was battered and drug off the plane. The passengers took pictures and screamed that it should stop, that the airline shouldn't be doing this. (If you listen carefully to all the replays you can hear more than one person saying, "Oh God! Oh, my God.") Some passengers were in tears. It has been said that some of the passengers became ill. The doctor ended up in the hospital. Were people praying to God? Were they cursing God for letting this happen? What were they saying with their "Oh God! Oh, my God." No one stood up and said, "Take me." No one said, "Here I am Lord, send me?" None of the officials of the airline suggested reconsidering the arrangement. The good doctor was left alone after he was drug to the lobby and he came back to the plane-bleeding profusely from his face. He stood holding on to the divider between the first and regular class sections of the plane. Did you hear what he said? "Just kill me." He stood there holding on to the partition and begging, "Just kill me." Then he was drug off a second time. No one of sound mind intervened. No one volunteered to bring any rationality to the situation. In the story we know, the people were given the option of choosing to release a different prisoner. They all chose to release Barabbas rather than Jesus. What does abba mean in the Bible? (Father) What does bar mean? (son of) They chose to release the son of God. How could it be that no one on that plane could see the doctor as a Child of God? How is it that no one found the courage to take responsibility for a situation they knew was wrong, negative, divisive and dehumanizing? A situation that was hurting everyone on the plane. At what point do we say, "Not my will, but thine?" At what point do we stand up to the Romans? What are we waiting for to know that it is time to stand up to the priests and Pharisees? You may be more than ready to say that I have carried this analogy too far. You may want to say that the doctor did not die. You may be wanting to remind me that the doctor has acquired a lawyer to sue the airlines. Imagine your life after this has happened to you. There have been millions of views through news organizations and You Tube. Once you are out of the hospital do you imagine that you can just go home and start seeing patients again? How do you get home? Do you have enough nerve to get on another airplane? I want to assure you that the crucifixion and resurrection are real. They are present in our world today. If we are moving through the world with our eyes open, we will see them. We have the opportunity to participate at any moment. We can say no (and yes) to the crucifixion through intervention. We can enable the resurrection, by being the neighbor prepared to lift another up. We need to see God in each person we meet. We need to love the God in ourselves so very much that we are not stopped by fear or anxiety or even the thought of what others might think. We need to love our Creator so completely that we are compelled to protect the God in others. Look around. This is where the journey to Jerusalem leads us. The challenges will always be formidable. Let us embrace God's blessings and face them together. In the times we are apart, pray for one another.

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