September 2018 - OE - lists.wedgeblade.net

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by Milan Hamilton 13 Sep '18

13 Sep '18

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Invest in Student Success!
by mellowmilan2＠gmail.com 13 Sep '18

13 Sep '18

Linda and I have been for several years volunteering with a great nonprofit organization that works with communities in Tijuana and Tecate, building housing and community. We were introduced to Corazon by our friends and colleagues, Maxine and Roger Butcher. Maxine now serves as President of Corazon's board. Linda has been providing training and facilitation services and I have been providing some "tech support" as well as being Linda's assistant. One of the programs of Corazon that has captured our attention and our hearts is the student scholarship program. We have decided this year to help support four elementary to middle school students and set a goal of raising $1000 by the middle of September. The link below will give you more information and an opportunity to help us toward our goal if you so choose. We appreciate the good work all of you are doing in your own arena and welcome your help in ours as well. Milan and Linda Hamilton Every year, hundreds of students have to drop out of school because their families do not have the financial means to keep them in school. For many, they end up on the streets or working around the home with other siblings. But I want to change that for school age students, and help raise funds to finance another year of their education! This month, I want to invite you to join me in raising funds for incredible students who I volunteer with in Mexico! Providing any size of donation, will help with school books and supplies, transportation to and from school, and materials for classes! Join me as we help these sweet kiddos achieve their dreams of becoming vets, sports players, tae kwon do stars, lawyers, and "good" doctors as Naomi would say! https://corazonscholarships.funraise.org/fundraiser/linda-and-milan-hamilton

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9/13/18, Progressing Spirit: Forrester:Terrifying & Terrible Texts: Knowing the Difference between Study and Liturgy; Spong revisited
by Ellie Stock 13 Sep '18

13 Sep '18

View this email in your browser Terrifying & Terrible Texts: Knowing the Difference between Study and Liturgy Column by Kevin G. Thew Forrester, Ph.D. September 13, 2018 “I’m in Pain” Quite recently, a dear friend and colleague within a spiritual group in which we both participate raised a question, a heartfelt concern, about a book we were asked to read. This particular text, written in the middle of the last century, is a psychotherapy book that explores an energetic understanding of how the mind and body are interconnected. The book has much to commend it. However, my friend was in pain over the blatant homophobia in this piece and was wondering how I and others were experiencing the text and whether it was even appropriate for our study. I responded that I appreciated the soulful pain of which she was speaking. (In truth, my heart ached as her words landed upon me.) I found the author’s homophobia sharp as well as blatant. Why then continue reading this text? I offered that as a teacher I feel a particular need (even a responsibility) to know what have been the veins of theory upon which our teaching has drawn to take the shape it has. I would also like to understand as fully as possible how these theorists have been appropriated – what has been incorporated and shaped our teaching and what has been left, and why. I know that these are questions of mine, and I believe they will be questions asked of us and others who are spiritual teachers. Study & Liturgy It is also true, that while we are expected to study and understand these texts because of the impact they have had upon the unfoldment of psychotherapy and spirituality in the west, we would never offer these texts within the context of meditation. There are texts for study and there are texts for liturgy. Although there is much to commend it, the New Revised Common Lectionary does not fully appreciate this important distinction. As a result, too often liturgy continues to assault the hearts, minds, and bodies of those who have gathered to be guided and soulfully nurtured. (I’m focusing here on biblical texts used in liturgy. But this assault pertains equally to the inherent violence of atonement-based collects and eucharistic prayers recited each Sunday.) I raise this matter because I have lost count of the times members of my congregations and spiritual seekers with whom I work have implored why they must read aloud for liturgy the texts offered by the institution’s authorities. Although such homophobic and misogynistic verses as Rom. 1.26-27 and 1 Tim. 2.11-14, respectively, are now omitted, they continue to hear passages, which to their ears disturbingly proclaim tribal slaughter (Zeph. 1.17-18) and violence (Jer. 20.7-13), all in the supposed name of the divine. These are oppressive texts (and there are more) – painful to read and wounding to hear – and all, as a matter of course, are read as declarations of “the word of God,” for which they are told to offer “thanks.” These terrifying and terrible texts continue to compromise the capacity of Christianity to offer a meaningful message in the 21st century. A chasm is created between spiritual seekers and the truly boundless love of Being, because the dominant tradition is beholden to liturgical custom that cultically enshrines a tribal deity whose prejudices, penchants for reactive retaliation, and wholehearted embrace of violence are celebrated in the many pages of the stories regularly proclaimed as purportedly revealing the true nature of Being. Liturgy is neither the time nor the place for preachers to consistently be pressed into the act of deconstructing biblical texts so as to minimize the harm done to those desiring to hear words of life. Evolutionary Context We have yet to fully appreciate the evolutionary historical context of the cultures that produced the biblical texts which are read within our liturgies. Texts are products of human beings within specific cultural periods. Sacred texts are those for which the authors and communities make the claim that they reveal qualities or aspects or dimensions of the true nature of Being. But we must always remember it is we human beings who are making the claim for the revelatory capacity of the texts. The question we need to ask ourselves is whether any particular text is a Wisdom text – does it have the capacity to foster the soul’s growth or unfolding, helping her to realize that she is an utterly unique expression of Being that is boundless love? If not, the text isn’t suitable liturgical material. For liturgy – no longer appropriately understood as the worship of a distant tribal deity – is essentially itself a spiritual practice, wherein we gather together to experience becoming embodiments of Being in the present moment. Who makes the decision about the suitability of a text? We do. We draw from the best psychological, sociological, philosophical, theological and spiritual wisdom we have. We acknowledge the clear truth that not all biblical texts, not all scriptural stories, embody and speak to the boundless love, boundless freedom, boundless wisdom, that is Being. We acknowledge that as a species we are evolving and maturing. We realize that our ancestral tribal peoples produced these overwhelmingly tribal texts with their tribal deity. But simply the fact that they have been the community’s “canonical” texts in the past, does not warrant their use as liturgical texts for spiritual seekers today. Humans of Being There is nothing sacrosanct about the “canon” from which Sunday liturgical texts are drawn. Canon simply means texts which past authorities have given their imprimatur. Times change. Contexts change. To paraphrase the wise spiritual teacher, Richard Rohr, we do not see Being as Being is but as we are. And who are we? We aspire to no longer be a tribal people guided by a vengeful tribal deity. We aspire to no longer be a homophobic people. We aspire to no longer be a misogynistic people. We aspire to no longer be a racist people. We aspire to no longer be a vengeful people. We aspire to be simply and fully humans of Being. Terrifying and terrible texts can do terrific damage to human beings. Now is the time to distinguish between texts for study and texts for liturgy; between stories that sustain the soul, and stories (and prayers) that sunder her heart. Within liturgy, we need to hear texts that remind us of our better angels. We need stories that land upon our souls as nourishment for transformation from beings utterly captive to our survival drive, to humans of Being. There are times when authentic nourishment can be hard to swallow. Our egos are inherently defensive and resistant to dissolution – no matter how seemingly minor. There is a substantive difference, however, between a challenging text with which our souls must inevitably wrestle (like that of Jacob in Genesis) and a terrifying and terrible text. There is a proper season, a suitable place, for study of terrifying and terrible texts. But that is not within our liturgies. Within our liturgies we come to sit and receive nourishment for our hungry souls. As a nondual spiritual path at its authentic core, Christianity is an invitation to taste and know belovedness as the very fabric of existence. ~ Kevin G. Thew Forrester, Ph.D. Click here to read online and to share your thoughts About the Author Kevin G. Thew Forrester, Ph.D. is an Episcopal priest, a student of the Diamond Approach for over a decade, as well as a certified teacher of the Enneagram in the Narrative Tradition. He is the founder of the Healing Arts Center of St. Paul’s Church in Marquette, Michigan, and the author of five books, including “I Have Called You Friends“, “Holding Beauty in My Soul’s Arms“, and “My Heart is a Raging Volcano of Love for You” and “Beyond my Wants, Beyond my Fears: The Soul’s Journey into the Heartland“. Question & Answer Q: By Eleanor Kerfoot Some while ago Dr. Spong replied to a message from me in which I stated that possibly there could be some thought devoted to the idea that, “God” is both within a person and everywhere. This makes sense to me and I have been living this understanding successfully. The concept of a “Deity” or of “Deities" is well-known, documented and practiced as well as awareness of knowing truth within us. There is room for tolerance. Why are we pursuing Christianity when Jesus himself did not? Does Dr. Spong’s book “Unbelievable” take us this far? A: By Lauren Van Ham Dear Eleanor, Yes, I believe Bishop Spong’s, Unbelievable, does explore some of what you are asking. Perhaps you have already seen some of this featured here recently, in the reflections offered by Progressing Spirit’s team of authors. Some of this response may feel like a game of semantics, but it is very important to create some distinctions around how Christianity is being defined. Jesus did not pursue Christianity, but Christianity happened as a response by those who wanted to practice what Jesus modeled. And most particularly, they wanted to practice with others! Christianity was, first and foremost, a way for practitioners to study together, to pray together, to struggle, and grow and serve together. Jesus insisted upon it! He included everyone and stressed the importance of eating together, working together and being in the great grappling of Life, together. What happened after this – and we recognize it well having seen it happen many times, in many ways throughout history - is what every worthy spiritual teacher has resisted. We tried to codify it. Teachings were interpreted in different ways and used as attempts to contain and control. In the book, Spong directly questions, “Is behavior control really the purpose of the Christian faith?” And a few sentences later he writes gravely, “Christian history surely reveals that Christians of the world can be and have been prodigiously evil.” So, why pursue Christianity? It all depends on the Christianity we mean when we act, and breathe and move in the world as embodied practitioners. Spong instructs that Christianity in the time of Jesus and today (if it has any chance of surviving), is a call to universalism. A call for every one of us to go beyond our biological or self-ascribed boundaries, NOT to convert “others” to a battery of lessons and formulaic answers, but rather, in Spong’s words, “to accept them as they are, to call them to live fully, love wastefully and be all that they can be in the infinite variety of our humanity.” This can be hard work, and it will almost always be challenged. This is why spiritual community is so important. The teachings aren’t easy, but the instructions are very simple. In our togetherness, we return to the simplicity of Life and Love, Awe and Forgiveness. We provide consolation and encouragement in the face of disappointment or defeat. And we hold one another accountable, reminding everyone that we are part of one inter-related family, one interdependent planet, one Love that tries and fails to teach us this again and again and again. ~ Lauren Van Ham Click here to read and share online About the Author Lauren Van Ham was born and raised beneath the big sky of the Midwest; Lauren holds degrees from Carnegie Mellon University, Naropa University and The Chaplaincy Institute. Following her ordination in 1999, Lauren served as an interfaith chaplain in both healthcare (adolescent psychiatry and palliative care), and corporate settings (organizational development and employee wellness). Her passion and training in the fine arts, spirituality and Earth’s teachings has supported her specialization in eco-ministry, grief and loss, and sacred activism. Lauren’s work with Green Sangha (a Bay Area-based non-profit) is featured in Renewal, a documentary celebrating the efforts of environmental activism taking place in religious America. Her essay, “Way of the Eco-Chaplain” appears in the collection, Ways of the Spirit: Voices of Women. Lauren tends a private spiritual direction practice and serves as Dean for The Chaplaincy Institute in Berkeley, CA. Bishop John Shelby Spong Revisited Jesus for the Non-Religious, Part I Essay by Bishop John Shelby Spong February 15, 2006 Most Christians seem to assume that the details of their faith system dropped out of heaven in a fully developed form. Nothing could be further from the truth. The creeds began as baptismal formulas in the 3rd century and did not receive the shape we now recognize until the 4th century. Doctrines like the Trinity and Incarnation were still being formed in the 5th century. Moving closer to the life of Jesus, scholars now suggest that miracles were added to the Jesus story only in the 7th and 8th decades of the Christian era. The Virgin birth and the suggestion that resurrection meant physical resuscitation are products of the 9th decade, and the account of Jesus” ascension enters the tradition only in the 10th decade. Perhaps the biggest gap in our knowledge of Jesus, however, occurs in those years between 30 C.E. when Jesus” earthly life came to an end and 70 C.E. when gospels began to achieve written form. Today, by lining up the gospels in chronological order with Mark first (ca. 70 C.E.), then Matthew (ca. 80 C.E.), Luke (ca 90 C.E.) and finally John (ca 100 C.E.), we can see how the miraculous was heightened; the details become more graphic and supernatural activity more pronounced. If the story could grow as dramatically as it did from 70-100 C.E., is it not reasonable to assume that it also grew from 30-70 C.E.? Yet with no written sources, entering that time of oral transmission is a problem. For the past year that forty-year oral phase of Christian history has been the primary focus of my study. In a series of columns not necessarily on successive weeks, but as a theme to which I will return often during the next six months, I want to begin to share this study with my audience under the general topic of “Jesus for the Non-Religious.” How can we gain access to an oral period of history when by definition no written records exist? Is that not a dead end for research? These are valid questions, yet studies of the gospels yield numerous clues that lead us into these primitive moments in our faith story. The obvious fact is that the story of Jesus was passed on or we would not have it today. So the questions are by whom, how and in what context. Was it simply personal? Did parents convey the Jesus story to their children? Did it pass from person to person in the marketplace? The context of the gospel narratives appears far too complex and patterned to have been handed on in that personal and individual way. We need to search for a better explanation. The gospels make it clear that before the story of Jesus was written a heavy dependency on the Hebrew Scriptures was already evident. That could not have happened accidentally. Mark, for example, opens his gospel with two quotations from the Hebrew prophets, one from Malachi and the other from II Isaiah. He then builds into his narrative of Jesus image after image from the Jewish scriptures. Matthew seems to imply in his gospel that everything Jesus does is in fulfillment of the words of the prophets. He retells a story of the birth of Moses as if it actually happened to Jesus (see Exodus 1:15-22, Matthew 2:16-18). He patterns the Sermon on the Mount (Matt.5-7) on Psalm 119 portraying Jesus as the new Moses. Matthew and Luke both provide us with genealogies of Jesus that relate him to both Abraham and King David. They both quote Jesus as using texts from the Hebrew Scriptures to ward off the attacks by Satan in the story of the temptation. Luke models the life of Jesus frequently on the life of the prophet Elijah. On two occasions Luke says the role of the resurrected Jesus was to open their minds to understand the scriptures as the way to make sense out of his death. The Fourth Gospel opens with a hymn of praise to the “Logos” or the “Word” that John believes he has discovered in Jesus. This hymn was patterned on a hymn to wisdom from the book of Proverbs. John constantly has Jesus invoke the name of God, “I am,” given to Moses at the burning bush as part of his own divine claim. One cannot read the gospels without confronting the Hebrew Scriptures on every page. These facts point powerfully to the source of the oral tradition. The only setting in which this interweaving of the Jesus story with the Hebrew scriptures could have occurred was in the synagogue, since that was the only place where people heard the scriptures read and interpreted. In the first century no one owned books since few people could either read or write. There was no Gideon Society to place the sacred scriptures in hotel rooms. The books of the Jewish Bible had to be copied by hand on great scrolls. They were enormously expensive. They were the treasured possessions of the whole community, kept in the Tabernacle of the Synagogue and brought forth with great solemnity to be read aloud in public worship on the Sabbath. They were always read in order. One does not skip around with scrolls. The handles of the scrolls were laboriously turned as they were read and the male reader began the next Sabbath where he had stopped the previous Sabbath. The next problem in this interpretive process is that most people today have no idea what the liturgy of the Synagogue was like in the first century, so they have no way of imagining this setting. Fortunately, a brief description of synagogue worship included in the Book of Acts (13:13-16), gives us our next clue in this probe of the oral period of Christian history. Synagogue worship consisted of long readings from the three major sections of the Hebrew Bible. The first was a reading “from Moses,” that is from the Torah, that included the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. It was a requirement of first century Judaism that the entire Torah, as the most sacred part of the Hebrew Scriptures, be read in public worship in the synagogue over the Sabbaths of a single year. This would mean that just the first lesson “from Moses” would last at least thirty minutes each Sabbath. The second reading came from what the Jews called “The Early Prophets,” which included the books from Joshua to II Kings. There was no compulsion to complete the reading of this material in any specific time frame; hence this lesson was much shorter. The early prophets were simply read in order until completed and then the process would begin again. The third reading came from what they called “the Latter Prophets,” which were four in number: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and what was called the Book of the Twelve. Today Christians refer to this Book of the Twelve as “the minor prophets,” and list them separately as the books from Hosea to Malachi, the last book in the Old Testament. In the Jewish world, however, these twelve books were all on a single scroll and treated as a single work. Thus the four scrolls of the “Latter Prophets” tended to be read over a four-year cycle at the rate of approximately a chapter a Sabbath. One year would therefore be the Isaiah year, one the Jeremiah year, one the Ezekiel year and one the year of the twelve. In the liturgy of the Synagogue these three major readings, interspersed with prayers and Psalms would constitute the core of the worship experience. After the final reading, the leader of the Synagogue would normally inquire, as happens in Acts 13, whether anyone had a message to bring that would illumine the morning’s readings. This became the setting in which his followers told stories about Jesus, recalled the sayings and parables of Jesus and remembered and shared the developing Jesus tradition. In this fashion, over the years, the Hebrew Scriptures were wrapped around Jesus and through them Jesus was interpreted. The content of the memory of Jesus was thus organized by the liturgy of the Synagogue. To recognize this connection becomes a major breakthrough into the oral period of Christian history. By the time the gospels were written the memory of Jesus had been so deeply shaped by the Synagogue context that it is impossible now to separate history from scriptural interpretation. That is what makes the perpetual quest to find the Jesus of history so difficult. The conclusion of the scholars of the Jesus Seminar, for example, was that only 16% of the sayings attributed to Jesus in the gospels are actually authentic, accurate portrayals of what Jesus really said. The other 84% are words read into the Jesus of history by an interpreting community during the oral period. Much of what the gospels call the acts of Jesus fall into a similar statistical spread. For example, was Jesus really born in Bethlehem or was the Bethlehem birth story an attempt on the part of people during the oral period to claim for him the messianic status of being heir to the throne of David? Did Jesus really feed 5000 people in the wilderness or was that an attempt to portray him as a new Moses who also fed a multitude in the wilderness with bread called manna? Did Jesus really march triumphantly into Jerusalem on a donkey or was that an attempt to identify him with the figure of the Shepherd King in the Book of Zechariah, who also came to Jerusalem, humbly riding on a donkey (9:9-11)? Did Jesus really drive out the moneychangers from the Temple and reclaim that place as “a house of prayer for all people” or was this an early Christian attempt to show that what the prophet Zechariah said about the Messiah had been acted out by Jesus? That prophet had written that when the Day of the Lord comes, there would no longer be a trader in the House of the Lord (14:21). Did Jesus really pray for the soldiers who crucified him, as only Luke records, or was this story developed to identify Jesus with the Servant of II Isaiah (53:12), who made “intercessions for the transgressors?” On and on we could go, posing this same question in literally hundreds of different ways about hundreds of familiar stories. At the very least, this study begins to give us a glimpse of who Jesus was before gospels were written, creeds formed or doctrines developed. If we are willing to journey to this place with openness, I think we can be assured that Jesus will look very different. As this series develops I hope to show you this Jesus. Perhaps in the words of my friend Marcus Borg, we might “see Jesus again for the first time.” ~ John Shelby Spong Announcements Jacob’s Ladder Workshop LIVE or online 9-27 thru 9-20 in Redwood City, CA What if you were given a Road Map to Enlightenment? ................................* Would you take it? ................................* Follow it? ................................* Be curious about it? Our Western Wisdom tradition of Kabbalah offers a complete Road Map to Personal Enlightenment and guidance for navigating and mastering the 4 Worlds: Physical, Emotional, Spiritual and Divine. This roadmap is called JACOB’S LADDER. Click here fore more information/registration...

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9/13/18, Progressing Spirit: Forrester:Terrifying & Terrible Texts: Knowing the Difference between Study and Liturgy; Spong revisited
by Ellie Stock 13 Sep '18

13 Sep '18

View this email in your browser Terrifying & Terrible Texts: Knowing the Difference between Study and Liturgy Column by Kevin G. Thew Forrester, Ph.D. September 13, 2018 “I’m in Pain” Quite recently, a dear friend and colleague within a spiritual group in which we both participate raised a question, a heartfelt concern, about a book we were asked to read. This particular text, written in the middle of the last century, is a psychotherapy book that explores an energetic understanding of how the mind and body are interconnected. The book has much to commend it. However, my friend was in pain over the blatant homophobia in this piece and was wondering how I and others were experiencing the text and whether it was even appropriate for our study. I responded that I appreciated the soulful pain of which she was speaking. (In truth, my heart ached as her words landed upon me.) I found the author’s homophobia sharp as well as blatant. Why then continue reading this text? I offered that as a teacher I feel a particular need (even a responsibility) to know what have been the veins of theory upon which our teaching has drawn to take the shape it has. I would also like to understand as fully as possible how these theorists have been appropriated – what has been incorporated and shaped our teaching and what has been left, and why. I know that these are questions of mine, and I believe they will be questions asked of us and others who are spiritual teachers. Study & Liturgy It is also true, that while we are expected to study and understand these texts because of the impact they have had upon the unfoldment of psychotherapy and spirituality in the west, we would never offer these texts within the context of meditation. There are texts for study and there are texts for liturgy. Although there is much to commend it, the New Revised Common Lectionary does not fully appreciate this important distinction. As a result, too often liturgy continues to assault the hearts, minds, and bodies of those who have gathered to be guided and soulfully nurtured. (I’m focusing here on biblical texts used in liturgy. But this assault pertains equally to the inherent violence of atonement-based collects and eucharistic prayers recited each Sunday.) I raise this matter because I have lost count of the times members of my congregations and spiritual seekers with whom I work have implored why they must read aloud for liturgy the texts offered by the institution’s authorities. Although such homophobic and misogynistic verses as Rom. 1.26-27 and 1 Tim. 2.11-14, respectively, are now omitted, they continue to hear passages, which to their ears disturbingly proclaim tribal slaughter (Zeph. 1.17-18) and violence (Jer. 20.7-13), all in the supposed name of the divine. These are oppressive texts (and there are more) – painful to read and wounding to hear – and all, as a matter of course, are read as declarations of “the word of God,” for which they are told to offer “thanks.” These terrifying and terrible texts continue to compromise the capacity of Christianity to offer a meaningful message in the 21st century. A chasm is created between spiritual seekers and the truly boundless love of Being, because the dominant tradition is beholden to liturgical custom that cultically enshrines a tribal deity whose prejudices, penchants for reactive retaliation, and wholehearted embrace of violence are celebrated in the many pages of the stories regularly proclaimed as purportedly revealing the true nature of Being. Liturgy is neither the time nor the place for preachers to consistently be pressed into the act of deconstructing biblical texts so as to minimize the harm done to those desiring to hear words of life. Evolutionary Context We have yet to fully appreciate the evolutionary historical context of the cultures that produced the biblical texts which are read within our liturgies. Texts are products of human beings within specific cultural periods. Sacred texts are those for which the authors and communities make the claim that they reveal qualities or aspects or dimensions of the true nature of Being. But we must always remember it is we human beings who are making the claim for the revelatory capacity of the texts. The question we need to ask ourselves is whether any particular text is a Wisdom text – does it have the capacity to foster the soul’s growth or unfolding, helping her to realize that she is an utterly unique expression of Being that is boundless love? If not, the text isn’t suitable liturgical material. For liturgy – no longer appropriately understood as the worship of a distant tribal deity – is essentially itself a spiritual practice, wherein we gather together to experience becoming embodiments of Being in the present moment. Who makes the decision about the suitability of a text? We do. We draw from the best psychological, sociological, philosophical, theological and spiritual wisdom we have. We acknowledge the clear truth that not all biblical texts, not all scriptural stories, embody and speak to the boundless love, boundless freedom, boundless wisdom, that is Being. We acknowledge that as a species we are evolving and maturing. We realize that our ancestral tribal peoples produced these overwhelmingly tribal texts with their tribal deity. But simply the fact that they have been the community’s “canonical” texts in the past, does not warrant their use as liturgical texts for spiritual seekers today. Humans of Being There is nothing sacrosanct about the “canon” from which Sunday liturgical texts are drawn. Canon simply means texts which past authorities have given their imprimatur. Times change. Contexts change. To paraphrase the wise spiritual teacher, Richard Rohr, we do not see Being as Being is but as we are. And who are we? We aspire to no longer be a tribal people guided by a vengeful tribal deity. We aspire to no longer be a homophobic people. We aspire to no longer be a misogynistic people. We aspire to no longer be a racist people. We aspire to no longer be a vengeful people. We aspire to be simply and fully humans of Being. Terrifying and terrible texts can do terrific damage to human beings. Now is the time to distinguish between texts for study and texts for liturgy; between stories that sustain the soul, and stories (and prayers) that sunder her heart. Within liturgy, we need to hear texts that remind us of our better angels. We need stories that land upon our souls as nourishment for transformation from beings utterly captive to our survival drive, to humans of Being. There are times when authentic nourishment can be hard to swallow. Our egos are inherently defensive and resistant to dissolution – no matter how seemingly minor. There is a substantive difference, however, between a challenging text with which our souls must inevitably wrestle (like that of Jacob in Genesis) and a terrifying and terrible text. There is a proper season, a suitable place, for study of terrifying and terrible texts. But that is not within our liturgies. Within our liturgies we come to sit and receive nourishment for our hungry souls. As a nondual spiritual path at its authentic core, Christianity is an invitation to taste and know belovedness as the very fabric of existence. ~ Kevin G. Thew Forrester, Ph.D. Click here to read online and to share your thoughts About the Author Kevin G. Thew Forrester, Ph.D. is an Episcopal priest, a student of the Diamond Approach for over a decade, as well as a certified teacher of the Enneagram in the Narrative Tradition. He is the founder of the Healing Arts Center of St. Paul’s Church in Marquette, Michigan, and the author of five books, including “I Have Called You Friends“, “Holding Beauty in My Soul’s Arms“, and “My Heart is a Raging Volcano of Love for You” and “Beyond my Wants, Beyond my Fears: The Soul’s Journey into the Heartland“. Question & Answer Q: By Eleanor Kerfoot Some while ago Dr. Spong replied to a message from me in which I stated that possibly there could be some thought devoted to the idea that, “God” is both within a person and everywhere. This makes sense to me and I have been living this understanding successfully. The concept of a “Deity” or of “Deities" is well-known, documented and practiced as well as awareness of knowing truth within us. There is room for tolerance. Why are we pursuing Christianity when Jesus himself did not? Does Dr. Spong’s book “Unbelievable” take us this far? A: By Lauren Van Ham Dear Eleanor, Yes, I believe Bishop Spong’s, Unbelievable, does explore some of what you are asking. Perhaps you have already seen some of this featured here recently, in the reflections offered by Progressing Spirit’s team of authors. Some of this response may feel like a game of semantics, but it is very important to create some distinctions around how Christianity is being defined. Jesus did not pursue Christianity, but Christianity happened as a response by those who wanted to practice what Jesus modeled. And most particularly, they wanted to practice with others! Christianity was, first and foremost, a way for practitioners to study together, to pray together, to struggle, and grow and serve together. Jesus insisted upon it! He included everyone and stressed the importance of eating together, working together and being in the great grappling of Life, together. What happened after this – and we recognize it well having seen it happen many times, in many ways throughout history - is what every worthy spiritual teacher has resisted. We tried to codify it. Teachings were interpreted in different ways and used as attempts to contain and control. In the book, Spong directly questions, “Is behavior control really the purpose of the Christian faith?” And a few sentences later he writes gravely, “Christian history surely reveals that Christians of the world can be and have been prodigiously evil.” So, why pursue Christianity? It all depends on the Christianity we mean when we act, and breathe and move in the world as embodied practitioners. Spong instructs that Christianity in the time of Jesus and today (if it has any chance of surviving), is a call to universalism. A call for every one of us to go beyond our biological or self-ascribed boundaries, NOT to convert “others” to a battery of lessons and formulaic answers, but rather, in Spong’s words, “to accept them as they are, to call them to live fully, love wastefully and be all that they can be in the infinite variety of our humanity.” This can be hard work, and it will almost always be challenged. This is why spiritual community is so important. The teachings aren’t easy, but the instructions are very simple. In our togetherness, we return to the simplicity of Life and Love, Awe and Forgiveness. We provide consolation and encouragement in the face of disappointment or defeat. And we hold one another accountable, reminding everyone that we are part of one inter-related family, one interdependent planet, one Love that tries and fails to teach us this again and again and again. ~ Lauren Van Ham Click here to read and share online About the Author Lauren Van Ham was born and raised beneath the big sky of the Midwest; Lauren holds degrees from Carnegie Mellon University, Naropa University and The Chaplaincy Institute. Following her ordination in 1999, Lauren served as an interfaith chaplain in both healthcare (adolescent psychiatry and palliative care), and corporate settings (organizational development and employee wellness). Her passion and training in the fine arts, spirituality and Earth’s teachings has supported her specialization in eco-ministry, grief and loss, and sacred activism. Lauren’s work with Green Sangha (a Bay Area-based non-profit) is featured in Renewal, a documentary celebrating the efforts of environmental activism taking place in religious America. Her essay, “Way of the Eco-Chaplain” appears in the collection, Ways of the Spirit: Voices of Women. Lauren tends a private spiritual direction practice and serves as Dean for The Chaplaincy Institute in Berkeley, CA. Bishop John Shelby Spong Revisited Jesus for the Non-Religious, Part I Essay by Bishop John Shelby Spong February 15, 2006 Most Christians seem to assume that the details of their faith system dropped out of heaven in a fully developed form. Nothing could be further from the truth. The creeds began as baptismal formulas in the 3rd century and did not receive the shape we now recognize until the 4th century. Doctrines like the Trinity and Incarnation were still being formed in the 5th century. Moving closer to the life of Jesus, scholars now suggest that miracles were added to the Jesus story only in the 7th and 8th decades of the Christian era. The Virgin birth and the suggestion that resurrection meant physical resuscitation are products of the 9th decade, and the account of Jesus” ascension enters the tradition only in the 10th decade. Perhaps the biggest gap in our knowledge of Jesus, however, occurs in those years between 30 C.E. when Jesus” earthly life came to an end and 70 C.E. when gospels began to achieve written form. Today, by lining up the gospels in chronological order with Mark first (ca. 70 C.E.), then Matthew (ca. 80 C.E.), Luke (ca 90 C.E.) and finally John (ca 100 C.E.), we can see how the miraculous was heightened; the details become more graphic and supernatural activity more pronounced. If the story could grow as dramatically as it did from 70-100 C.E., is it not reasonable to assume that it also grew from 30-70 C.E.? Yet with no written sources, entering that time of oral transmission is a problem. For the past year that forty-year oral phase of Christian history has been the primary focus of my study. In a series of columns not necessarily on successive weeks, but as a theme to which I will return often during the next six months, I want to begin to share this study with my audience under the general topic of “Jesus for the Non-Religious.” How can we gain access to an oral period of history when by definition no written records exist? Is that not a dead end for research? These are valid questions, yet studies of the gospels yield numerous clues that lead us into these primitive moments in our faith story. The obvious fact is that the story of Jesus was passed on or we would not have it today. So the questions are by whom, how and in what context. Was it simply personal? Did parents convey the Jesus story to their children? Did it pass from person to person in the marketplace? The context of the gospel narratives appears far too complex and patterned to have been handed on in that personal and individual way. We need to search for a better explanation. The gospels make it clear that before the story of Jesus was written a heavy dependency on the Hebrew Scriptures was already evident. That could not have happened accidentally. Mark, for example, opens his gospel with two quotations from the Hebrew prophets, one from Malachi and the other from II Isaiah. He then builds into his narrative of Jesus image after image from the Jewish scriptures. Matthew seems to imply in his gospel that everything Jesus does is in fulfillment of the words of the prophets. He retells a story of the birth of Moses as if it actually happened to Jesus (see Exodus 1:15-22, Matthew 2:16-18). He patterns the Sermon on the Mount (Matt.5-7) on Psalm 119 portraying Jesus as the new Moses. Matthew and Luke both provide us with genealogies of Jesus that relate him to both Abraham and King David. They both quote Jesus as using texts from the Hebrew Scriptures to ward off the attacks by Satan in the story of the temptation. Luke models the life of Jesus frequently on the life of the prophet Elijah. On two occasions Luke says the role of the resurrected Jesus was to open their minds to understand the scriptures as the way to make sense out of his death. The Fourth Gospel opens with a hymn of praise to the “Logos” or the “Word” that John believes he has discovered in Jesus. This hymn was patterned on a hymn to wisdom from the book of Proverbs. John constantly has Jesus invoke the name of God, “I am,” given to Moses at the burning bush as part of his own divine claim. One cannot read the gospels without confronting the Hebrew Scriptures on every page. These facts point powerfully to the source of the oral tradition. The only setting in which this interweaving of the Jesus story with the Hebrew scriptures could have occurred was in the synagogue, since that was the only place where people heard the scriptures read and interpreted. In the first century no one owned books since few people could either read or write. There was no Gideon Society to place the sacred scriptures in hotel rooms. The books of the Jewish Bible had to be copied by hand on great scrolls. They were enormously expensive. They were the treasured possessions of the whole community, kept in the Tabernacle of the Synagogue and brought forth with great solemnity to be read aloud in public worship on the Sabbath. They were always read in order. One does not skip around with scrolls. The handles of the scrolls were laboriously turned as they were read and the male reader began the next Sabbath where he had stopped the previous Sabbath. The next problem in this interpretive process is that most people today have no idea what the liturgy of the Synagogue was like in the first century, so they have no way of imagining this setting. Fortunately, a brief description of synagogue worship included in the Book of Acts (13:13-16), gives us our next clue in this probe of the oral period of Christian history. Synagogue worship consisted of long readings from the three major sections of the Hebrew Bible. The first was a reading “from Moses,” that is from the Torah, that included the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. It was a requirement of first century Judaism that the entire Torah, as the most sacred part of the Hebrew Scriptures, be read in public worship in the synagogue over the Sabbaths of a single year. This would mean that just the first lesson “from Moses” would last at least thirty minutes each Sabbath. The second reading came from what the Jews called “The Early Prophets,” which included the books from Joshua to II Kings. There was no compulsion to complete the reading of this material in any specific time frame; hence this lesson was much shorter. The early prophets were simply read in order until completed and then the process would begin again. The third reading came from what they called “the Latter Prophets,” which were four in number: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and what was called the Book of the Twelve. Today Christians refer to this Book of the Twelve as “the minor prophets,” and list them separately as the books from Hosea to Malachi, the last book in the Old Testament. In the Jewish world, however, these twelve books were all on a single scroll and treated as a single work. Thus the four scrolls of the “Latter Prophets” tended to be read over a four-year cycle at the rate of approximately a chapter a Sabbath. One year would therefore be the Isaiah year, one the Jeremiah year, one the Ezekiel year and one the year of the twelve. In the liturgy of the Synagogue these three major readings, interspersed with prayers and Psalms would constitute the core of the worship experience. After the final reading, the leader of the Synagogue would normally inquire, as happens in Acts 13, whether anyone had a message to bring that would illumine the morning’s readings. This became the setting in which his followers told stories about Jesus, recalled the sayings and parables of Jesus and remembered and shared the developing Jesus tradition. In this fashion, over the years, the Hebrew Scriptures were wrapped around Jesus and through them Jesus was interpreted. The content of the memory of Jesus was thus organized by the liturgy of the Synagogue. To recognize this connection becomes a major breakthrough into the oral period of Christian history. By the time the gospels were written the memory of Jesus had been so deeply shaped by the Synagogue context that it is impossible now to separate history from scriptural interpretation. That is what makes the perpetual quest to find the Jesus of history so difficult. The conclusion of the scholars of the Jesus Seminar, for example, was that only 16% of the sayings attributed to Jesus in the gospels are actually authentic, accurate portrayals of what Jesus really said. The other 84% are words read into the Jesus of history by an interpreting community during the oral period. Much of what the gospels call the acts of Jesus fall into a similar statistical spread. For example, was Jesus really born in Bethlehem or was the Bethlehem birth story an attempt on the part of people during the oral period to claim for him the messianic status of being heir to the throne of David? Did Jesus really feed 5000 people in the wilderness or was that an attempt to portray him as a new Moses who also fed a multitude in the wilderness with bread called manna? Did Jesus really march triumphantly into Jerusalem on a donkey or was that an attempt to identify him with the figure of the Shepherd King in the Book of Zechariah, who also came to Jerusalem, humbly riding on a donkey (9:9-11)? Did Jesus really drive out the moneychangers from the Temple and reclaim that place as “a house of prayer for all people” or was this an early Christian attempt to show that what the prophet Zechariah said about the Messiah had been acted out by Jesus? That prophet had written that when the Day of the Lord comes, there would no longer be a trader in the House of the Lord (14:21). Did Jesus really pray for the soldiers who crucified him, as only Luke records, or was this story developed to identify Jesus with the Servant of II Isaiah (53:12), who made “intercessions for the transgressors?” On and on we could go, posing this same question in literally hundreds of different ways about hundreds of familiar stories. At the very least, this study begins to give us a glimpse of who Jesus was before gospels were written, creeds formed or doctrines developed. If we are willing to journey to this place with openness, I think we can be assured that Jesus will look very different. As this series develops I hope to show you this Jesus. Perhaps in the words of my friend Marcus Borg, we might “see Jesus again for the first time.” ~ John Shelby Spong Announcements Jacob’s Ladder Workshop LIVE or online 9-27 thru 9-20 in Redwood City, CA What if you were given a Road Map to Enlightenment? ................................* Would you take it? ................................* Follow it? ................................* Be curious about it? Our Western Wisdom tradition of Kabbalah offers a complete Road Map to Personal Enlightenment and guidance for navigating and mastering the 4 Worlds: Physical, Emotional, Spiritual and Divine. This roadmap is called JACOB’S LADDER. Click here fore more information/registration...

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Doris Jane Conway
by Elsa Batica 13 Sep '18

13 Sep '18

This was posted on her Facebook by her daughter. Dear Friends and Colleagues of Doris Jane Conway. I'm writing from inside mom's FaceBook account to share that Doris passed away this afternoon (Thursday, August 23). She was comfortable and relaxed, passing in her sleep. Eventually our family will hold a memorial service for Doris Jane at her church in Granville, but those plans are not developed yet. Thank you for all your positive thoughts and for sharing memories of Doris. Grace & Peace to you all, Jessica Rettig Sent from my iPhone

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Doris Conway Obituary - Granville, Ohio | Legacy.com
by Lynda C 12 Sep '18

12 Sep '18

https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/name/doris-conway-obituary?pid=190047431 Thank you, Evelyn, for sharing this very meaningful story about Doris. I had forgotten that the Rettig family was in CA. We are so thankful that she helped “call” you to this work. You and Larry, representing our younger generation, are doing amazing work around the work. Doris spotted your powerful spirit. Your sharing led me to read more about her so I searched for her obituary in Granville. It is linked above, but doesn’t tell where all they served in the USA. “Finish our work” still calls us. Journey on, Doris! Lynda Cock

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Inventory of ICA Authors Books Present at Chicago GreenRise Archives
by Beret Griffith (via Google Docs) 12 Sep '18

12 Sep '18

I've shared an item with you: Inventory of ICA Authors Books Present at Chicago GreenRise Archives https://docs.google.com/document/d/1phNKiwuyuRRM-jSfOGifRc1MiRCxlCDwOZr8NxW… It's not an attachment -- it's stored online. To open this item, just click the link above. Here is the list of books in the ICA Global Archives library. If you have written a book and want to have it available for possible use in collection research or to have it included in the on site library, please send your book to: Jean Long ICA GreenRise - Archives 4750 North Sheridan Road Chicago, IL 60 640

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2018 FALL SOJOURN invite
by Jean Long (via Google Docs) 11 Sep '18

11 Sep '18

I've shared an item with you: 2018 FALL SOJOURN invite https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ZOOgfgs4UMEtRk_Fy8-bNiJLS_teRQT0VnRYY-n… It's not an attachment -- it's stored online. To open this item, just click the link above.

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Re: [Oe List ...] Completed life of Judith Tippett
by jonzondo＠juno.com 09 Sep '18

09 Sep '18

So many blessings to you and the family. I'm lighting a candle for Judy and you all. Love and Peace.Jon Mark Elizondo ---------- Original Message ---------- From: Doris Hahn via OE <oe(a)lists.wedgeblade.net> To: Order Ecumenical Community <oe(a)lists.wedgeblade.net> Cc: Doris Hahn <dshahn31(a)gmail.com> Subject: Re: [Oe List ...] Completed life of Judith Tippett Date: Tue, 4 Sep 2018 12:22:34 -0400 Michael, we are grateful for having had your family as a part of the Order, and especially remember Judy at this time.Grace and Peace,Doris and Charles Hahn On Mon, Sep 3, 2018 at 7:08 AM Richard Howie via OE <oe(a)lists.wedgeblade.net> wrote:We celebrate Judith's wondrously completely life, giving thanks for all her care and all who cared for her.Love, Ellen and Dick Howie Richard Howie rhowie3(a)verizon.net -----Original Message----- From: Lynda C via OE <oe(a)lists.wedgeblade.net> To: OE List <OE(a)lists.wedgeblade.net> Cc: Lynda C <Lynda860(a)outlook.com> Sent: Sat, Sep 1, 2018 10:06 pm Subject: [Oe List ...] Completed life of Judith Tippett Dear Mike, Meg, Brook, Kit and family, Fifty nine years of journeys together as a family is remarkable. We hold you all in our care as you begin a new chapter with Judith’s presence with you in new ways. You, as the keeper of the memorials of our corporate body, now add your very own spouse to the list of the of those who died on the march. A sacred list! With care and sympathy, Lynda and John _______________________________________________ OE mailing list OE(a)lists.wedgeblade.net http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net_________________… OE mailing list OE(a)lists.wedgeblade.net http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net

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9/06/18, Progressing Spirit: Lauren Van Ham: A Believable Conviction amidst the Trauma of Finitude; Spong revisited
by Ellie Stock 06 Sep '18

06 Sep '18

View this email in your browser A Believable Conviction amidst the Trauma of Finitude Column by Lauren Van Ham September 6, 2018 Of the 12 theses Bishop Spong examines in his (maybe) last book, Unbelievable, Thesis 11 is, “Life After Death.” Still believable, he asks? His two-part response is an exhilarating analysis, quick to deconstruct human-adapted theology, and an open-ended invitation to apply curiosity and love in the experience of not knowing. This invitation lives LARGE in any of us brave enough to admit that we are not in ultimate control and that, beyond all the gratitude we feel about the deep understanding our species has attained regarding many things, there is still so, so much more that we do not – perhaps cannot – know. For the first 5 ½ pages, Spong unpacks “Heaven,” and “Hell,” illustrating that these categories tried to serve a purpose in early moral teachings; followers were encouraged to seek goodness and reward (& baptism!), and to rebuke ways of living that could do harm, or lead to isolation and punishment. He details certain contortions made by the church to find loopholes so that unbaptized babies would be well-held in eternal life, and so that the souls of those who had lived destructive lives would be sent to the form of hell commensurate with the sins committed. It’s ornate, rather desperate….and So Very Human!!! Do we not wish for a pleasant path? Do we not want goodness for ourselves and those we love? Do we not hunger for equality and justice? Do we not long for a life that “makes sense”? What becomes so tricky, of course, is that in the face of not knowing, we tend to freak out. Some of us more than others, and it takes different forms: we are worriers, we are warriors, we are leaders, we are healers. Some pray or meditate, others run or medicate, and many go numb, possibly hoping someone out there will find an answer. This pattern – grasping, resisting, fixing – is what the Buddha named, “suffering.” Full disclosure: my freak-out tendencies are calmer when things have names. When I can observe the spin that I’m in – grasping for control, longing to know, grieving a loss that wasn’t “supposed” to happen – I am re-membered to the phenomena of Life itself, which includes all of this (suffering) and thankfully, a lot of other things, too. How we take care of ourselves in our suffering becomes a BIG spiritual question. In the second part of his “Life After Death” exploration, Spong does a dazzling job of walking us through Deep Time, the 13.8 billion year account starting with the Flaring Forth (Big Bang), and highlighting some of the most mind-blowing moments where Life emerged, and where Life replicated itself to create more Life, and where Life differentiated so it could enter into life-sustaining relationship with itself in myriad forms. All of this keeps moving, traveling through incredible expanses of time and arriving at a moment, roughly in the last quarter million years, when self-awareness emerged. As Spong describes it, “This creature knew that life had a beginning and an ending and that he or she would die. So this creature experienced the trauma of finitude…” He continues from there quickly, but maybe it’s worth a pause right now. The trauma of finitude. At first sight, finitude is truly terrifying. We are wired for survival and capable of fighting hard to stay in the realm of living as we know it. Experts in the trauma field have been receiving a lot of attention lately, and given all that is unfolding on Earth, we are wise to pay attention. Studies emphasize that while there is a lot that we don’t yet understand (there’s that not knowing again), it is resiliency and healthy adaptation that allows humans to move from traumatic states and behaviors into places of returned balance, trust and ease. Those first explanations of reward and punishment, heaven and hell and how to live eternally were certainly attempts to adapt. They were also ways to avoid. Pretty understandable! I have equal parts compassion and frustration towards avoidance, my own, and what I perceive to be preventing others from becoming most fully themselves. What happens when we explore the trauma and stop avoiding our finitude? In elementary terms, I believe it is where we develop resiliency, but through the lens of Mystery, it is the place where we hold great treasure. It is the gift that comes from loving our miraculous body, in spite of its limitations, and endeavoring to live life in ways that end our deluded sense of separateness. Early in the chapter Spong references Jeremiah 1:5, “Before you were formed in the womb, I knew you…” He then moves to biology saying of his own conception, “I am not a product of divine planning; I am rather a product of absolute randomness.” But then, Deep Time adds dimension to this discourse between scripture and science, “Somewhere around 3.8 million years ago, on this tiny planet revolving around a midsize star, in the galaxy we now call the Milky Way, life somehow emerged. It was a new thing, but we have to say that the possibility of life must always have been present or it could not have emerged.” Brian Swimme, mathematician and cosmologist says it like this, “The center of the cosmos refers to that place where the great birth of the universe happened at the beginning of time, but it also refers to the upwelling of the universe as river, as star, as raven, as you, the universe surging into existence anew. The consciousness that learns it is at the origin point of the universe is itself an origin of the universe. The awareness that bubbles up each moment that we identify as ourselves is rooted in the originating activity of the universe. We are all of us arising together at the center of the cosmos.”(1) A new perspective on eternity and our inter-relatedness allows space for all of it to co-exist! The randomness and the finitude are in the same holy soup with the interdependence and the meaning. Thesis 11 offers us this challenge, in body, mind and spirit. And herein lies the practice. Back in the second paragraph, I mentioned the LARGE invitation that beckons those of us brave enough to admit we are not ultimately in control. That sounds judgmental at first, but I will be the first to share that I am trying to be brave. I have moments of intellectual comprehension, when this challenge of Life After Death registers as logical. I have moments of physical pain or psychological panic when I desperately want a super-power god to “make things right.” And then, there are the occasional moments of incredible courage and vast freedom where Life After Death fills me with a rush of gratitude, wonder and contentment in not having to know. I forget, and then I’m reminded. I forget again, and then remember. What helps me remember? Some of it is practice and some of it is noticing the times when I am called back into the Great Family of Belonging. In Spong’s words, “I believe that I have touched the eternal and that I share in what that means. …The only place I can hold this conviction and prepare for what comes next is in a community of seekers.” In this life, and possibly beyond, we are invited to Life After Death. It happens each time we become intimate with Life itself, our suffering, our ecstasy and our inseparable relatedness to that which is timeless and eternal. ~ Lauren Van Ham Click here to read online and to share your thoughts About the Author Lauren Van Ham was born and raised beneath the big sky of the Midwest; Lauren holds degrees from Carnegie Mellon University, Naropa University and The Chaplaincy Institute. Following her ordination in 1999, Lauren served as an interfaith chaplain in both healthcare (adolescent psychiatry and palliative care), and corporate settings (organizational development and employee wellness). Her passion and training in the fine arts, spirituality and Earth’s teachings has supported her specialization in eco-ministry, grief and loss, and sacred activism. Lauren’s work with Green Sangha (a Bay Area-based non-profit) is featured in Renewal, a documentary celebrating the efforts of environmental activism taking place in religious America. Her essay, “Way of the Eco-Chaplain” appears in the collection, Ways of the Spirit: Voices of Women. Lauren tends a private spiritual direction practice and serves as Dean for The Chaplaincy Institute in Berkeley, CA. ******************* (1) Swimme, Brian. The Hidden Heart of the Cosmos: Humanity and the New Story, 1996 ed., Orbis Books, p. 112 Question & Answer Q: By David Is there some hidden reason why you treat the issue of homosexuality so frequently? Are you gay? A: By Bishop John Shelby Spong Dear David, I am amazed that prejudice against homosexual persons is so deep that people like you think there must be some hidden agenda that would motivate a person to take up the battle for justice and full acceptance in both Church and society for gay and lesbian people. "He must have an angle," they say. "Perhaps he is a closeted homosexual." Actually, the surprising thing that we discover over and over is that some of the most vigorous religious opponents of homosexuality, including some who are bishops are in fact covering their own closeted homosexuality in their frequent attacks on homosexual persons. No David, my sexual orientation is heterosexual and is not my agenda. My agenda comes out of my understanding of the Gospel. If we take seriously the words attributed to Jesus in the 4th Gospel, "I have come that you might have life and have it abundantly," then the enhancement of life is at the center of Christian ministry. The reverse of that is true also. Anything that diminishes the life of any child of God is a violation of both the Gospel and its mission. When the Church discriminated against people of color, defining them as less than fully human and deserving of something less than equal opportunity, the Gospel was violated. So I joined in the civil rights movement and worked in my church to put an end to every vestige of racism in my church. I rejoice that today the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina, where I grew up in a segregated church, has as its elected Diocesan Bishop, the Rt. Rev. Michael Curry, an African American. When the Church discriminated against women, defining them as lesser creatures, unworthy to serve the Church except in secondary roles, which specifically excluded being bishops, priests and deacons, I joined the crusade to rid the Church of its sexist and patriarchal sin. I rejoice today that my church now has 12 female bishops and, in the diocese I served for 24 years, women constitute more than 40% of its clergy. Some other parts of the Christian Church, including Roman Catholics, the Eastern Orthodox traditions and various branches of conservative Protestantism like the Southern Baptist Convention still wallow in this prejudice of the ages, but increasingly these bodies look like apparitions from another century. When the Church, out of its own lack of understanding of sexual orientation, expresses a profound ignorance about homosexuality, it is, in my opinion, not worthy of serious attention. When church leaders violate what we now know about the Bible to employ proof texts to bolster their prejudices, they violate what it means to be "the Body of Christ." Discrimination on the part of the Christian Church against any child of God on the basis of any external difference is not a matter of a simple disagreement about which we ought to be tolerant, it is rather a dagger aimed at the very heart of the Gospel. The Church tolerates that prejudice at the peril of its own soul. The battle that goes on today in the churches of the world over this enormous moral issue regarding justice and the full acceptance for homosexual persons in both the Church and the society is a battle for the future of Christianity. I would be derelict in response to my baptismal vows "to seek Christ in every person" if I did not engage this battle until the last vestiges of homophobia have been rooted out of the Christian faith. I intend to do just that. I commend this same course of action to you. John Shelby Spong Published February 1, 2006 Click here to read and share online Bishop John Shelby Spong Revisited Facing the Abortion Issue as Mature Religious People Essay by Bishop John Shelby Spong February 1, 2006 There were many issues raised at the confirmation hearings on the nomination of Samuel Alito to serve on the Supreme Court. Yet only one of them, the issue of abortion, exerted so much power that it seemed like the proverbial “elephant in the room.” It was present from two different perspectives as senators from both parties questioned Judge Alito. Abortion politics is a major game being played out at this moment in America’s national life. Can the courts of this country change their minds? Of course they can. One has only to look at the Dred Scott case for proof of that. When that case was reversed it was to expand the rights of a citizen that had been compromised by the court. Can the courts, however, withdraw 33 years later a right they extended to the citizens in 1973? That has never happened before in our national history. Perhaps that is why this issue is so emotional. The battle lines are hard and the huge chasm that divides the two sides apparently cannot be compromised. Indeed, one of the reasons for this bitter stalemate is that too many people on both sides have a vested interest in keeping the tensions alive. Organized religion is one of those power hungry, vested interests. What neither side in the abortion conflict seems to me to recognize is that this debate is not about an idealistic moral issue. It is about real people, whose lives are deeply caught in the web of this conflict. Few abortions are casually undertaken. Almost all represent failure at some level, leaving lasting scars. Yet what is clear is that most Americans want abortions to be legal, safe and rare. No one, however, seems to know how to bring about this common goal, probably because we do not know how to assess the influence of organized religion that sees abortion as the final act separating morality from the power that religion once exercised over all of life. Banning or criminalizing abortions, prosecuting either mothers or doctors is not the way to go, no matter what the “right to life” people say. The evidence supporting this conclusion is overwhelming. Abortions were performed long before Roe v. Wade made them legal. There was a veritable abortion cottage industry in this nation, doing about 200,000 abortions a year, staffed by opportunists, who operated without standards, ready and willing to serve the needs of their clientele. The number of botched jobs was abundant and the lives of many women and fetuses were lost in the process. If the proposition to return to this were put to the voters of this country, it would be overwhelmingly defeated. If one really believes in “the right to life,” that should include at a minimum “the right to life” for frightened pregnant women. Criminalizing abortion has been tried in other parts of the world with tragic results. Throughout Latin America where abortion is almost universally a crime, the abortion rates are far higher than they are in Western Europe or in the United States. The New York Times reported recently that in Columbia, where abortions are illegal even when a woman’s life is in danger, there is on the average one abortion per woman during her fertile years. In Peru, the average is nearly two abortions per woman over the course of her reproductive years. Up to 5000 women a year die from abortions in Latin America. If one really wants to lower the number of abortions, indeed to make them rare, the attempt to criminalize the procedure is not going to accomplish that goal. The policy of the Bush administration in denying aid to family planning clinics that provide abortion counseling may have served his agenda among his religious constituency in the United States, but the facts reveal that the result was more illegal and uninformed abortions and more women who died seeking illegal abortions. Many people in America, including some of the most passionate pro-lifers, are deeply confused about what would happen if the Supreme Court actually overturned Roe v. Wade. This nation would simply revert to where it was before that 1973 ruling. Abortion was legal in some states, not in others. There would be a patchwork pattern across this nation. In non-abortion states, abortions could still be obtained legally but only by traveling to a state where the procedure was legal. Those who could travel would do so. Those who could not travel would avail themselves of the back alley clinics. I find it hard to imagine anyone on either side of this debate believing that a desirable outcome. To make abortion legally available in parts of the nation but only to those who can afford the time and expense of travel, neither addresses the moral issue, nor is it “equal protection under the law.” In the current political debate, people speak out of widely differing contexts. There are in affluent circles some who view abortion as the ultimate form of birth control. This surely trivializes pregnancy and diminishes the sacredness of life. If that is the context in which moral judgment is being made, it is easy to be condemnatory. There are, however, others living in poverty and hopelessness, who see abortion as their only chance to survive their circumstances. How can one law legislate for all? We do not want to build a society in which the life of the unborn is not valued; yet we also do not want to build a society where an unwanted pregnancy is a life sentence to poverty and degradation. Imagine yourself facing an abortion decision as a poor 12-13 year old girl, living in the squalor of an inner city ghetto, the product of a dysfunctional family structure and pregnant by your own father, an uncle or whoever slept last night with your mother. Imagine the prospect of bringing yet another life into this environment and tipping the scale of this family unit more deeply into despair and hopelessness. It is a very different decision from one made by those who see abortion as a convenient way to “rectify” a mistake. Have we reached the point in our own maturity as a society that we are able to separate our thoughts on birth control from the issue of abortion? While the Roman Catholic Church condemns both, there is a great difference between the two in the life of our society. No one is publicly debating birth control today. Family planning has become a virtue in an overpopulated world. Polls reveal no difference in the use of birth control among Catholics, Protestants, Jews, Moslems and non-believers. If we can honestly face that issue, why can we not have effective sex education in our public schools? Why are school officials still being tyrannized by religious pressure groups, both Catholic and Evangelical, who campaign relentlessly against sex education? There is no evidence that sex education encourages sexual activity. That is fear mongering on the part of religious groups who think that sexual activity can be stopped with pious campaigns that emphasize abstinence. “Just say no!” doesn’t work with swirling hormones. It never has, not even in those Middle Ages that religious people think of as their “golden age.” In the high Middle Ages, so admired by “traditionalists,” the gap between stated moral values and observable sexual practices was still enormous. A clear double standard existed. The time between puberty and marriage was no more than one to two years among the gentle-born young ladies who were the only people whose “virtue” anyone seemed anxious to protect. These future brides of the well-to-do were chaperoned scrupulously in that brief period of time until they were safely married and under the protection of their husbands. Young males in this era were never discouraged from “sowing their wild oats.” Since one cannot engage in sex without a partner, sexually active males had to find sexually active females to serve their needs. Who did they find in this age of public sexual repression? There were prostitutes but they also availed themselves of lower class girls, both white and black, who had little power to resist. That was always known but never “noticed” or morally condemned. Revelations through DNA evidence that Thomas Jefferson fathered children by his slave Sally Hemings and that Senator Strom Thurmond of South Carolina fathered a child, Elsie Washington, by a 15-year-old black servant are only the tip of an iceberg of the sexual activity that was rampant through the ages. Has not the time come for sexual honesty? Our children today enter puberty at eleven, twelve and thirteen. Because of educational opportunities many of them do not get married for 10-15 years after puberty. There is no realistic chaperone system during those years between puberty and marriage and the double standard has disappeared. How can anyone seriously argue against the necessity of publicly funded sex education in the schools of this nation? How long will we as a society allow the voice of a deeply-compromised religious system to continue to dictate our laws that result primarily in expanded welfare payments to unwed mothers and half orphan infants and that allow the family life of some 20-25% of our population to remain under impossible pressure? When will we demand that there be public responsibility through our publicly financed educational system to mandate competent sex education for all of our children? It is time to act. It is time to throw off hysterical religious systems! The present abortion debate is little more than a smokescreen designed to cover these realities. I truly hope that we will get to a place where abortion will be rare in our whole world. I believe it does cheapen the sacredness of life. Some therapeutic abortions of malformed fetuses or the products of rape and incest will always need to be protected for the sake of the living. Convenience abortions, however, should never occur in an educated society where they can be so easily prevented. We are, however, not yet at that point so abortion must be kept safe and legal. Not to do so cheapens life even more. My goal is to make abortions legal, safe and rare. I do this because I worship a God who promises life in all its fullness to both the mother and the unborn child and who calls us all to live, to love and to be as responsible adults. The time has come to stop playing “religious games” with the vulnerable people in our society. President Bush, members of Congress and Justices of the Supreme Court, I hope you are listening. ~ John Shelby Spong Announcements California Vision 2020 Conference September 20 - 22nd, Sacramento, CA We began this event last year with the recognition that California can lead the way to a world that is built on love, justice, and opportunity for all by advancing truly game-changing solutions. This conference will convene solutionaries, activists, entrepreneurs, thinkers, political leaders, and change agents who are championing new social innovations and offering visionary roadmaps to address areas from poverty to energy to education. Click here for more information.

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