December 2019 - OE - lists.wedgeblade.net

Re: [Oe List ...] A very happy holiday to you
by Gail West 25 Dec '19

25 Dec '19

Sending best wishes to you all for a Merry Christmas and new year full of creativity and fulfillment in 2020. In gratitude for what has been, is now, and for what is yet to come! Dick and Gail West in Taiwan On Tue, Dec 24, 2019 at 4:47 AM Del Morrill <delhmor(a)wamail.net> wrote: > > > > > The world is in pain and confusion; may we choose not to lie in misery > with it, but to find beauty in it and hear the music around us. Remembering > the meaning of this season, > > > > [image: en00242_] > > > > *Justin and Del* > > *Your life, your love and your friendship are the real gifts of this > season.* > > > -- *Gail West, ICA* *3F, No. 12, Lane 5, Tien Mou W RdTaipei, Taiwan 111Ph) 8862) 2871-3150* email) icataiw(a)gmail.com Skype) gwestica www.icatw.com

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My 2020 be blessed with New Directions
by Judi White 24 Dec '19

24 Dec '19

*[image: img20191031_18021200_0002.jpg]**2019: A Soolstice Year[image: img20191031_18021200_0002.jpg]* The year 2019 is coming to its natural end. This is the Winter Solstice. According to Celtic Mythology, the Sun will begin its return from deep within the good earth as it does every year at this time, and as it does every day. This year 2019 has been a year of ongoing Solstice miracles. A week at my home with my daughter’s family, arriving at 75 and moving onto 76, watching a Friday the 13th full moon rise together with family, an Order of Interbeing retreats in Tanpa and OKC, and Chairing a hugely successful Holiday Tour of Homes. I also saw a fifteen year venture in creating a labyrinth become a reality and formed a sangha to meditate together with others right here where I live. The pain of being alone slowly melted away into oblivion as the year progressed. As I look back on it all, I am feeling like this year has been a success ad an endless Solstice cycle. Believe me when I say I am not oblivious to this suffering planet. Every day’s meditation has included asking for a way to actually make a difference, to contribute to the collapse of that which is so unjust and destructive to humankind and to pioneer with others a new social vehicle founded on the Oneness of all creation. For my whole adult life I lived that kind of life of service. It has been at the cost of deep human connections. This year, attention to the people I love, the place Where I live, and the life I want to be had its day in the Light of the Solstice Sun. In 2020, I will have learned some valuable lessons about how to balance these otherwise conflicting dynamics. May I, in 2020, trust the decisions I make. May these decisions connect human hearts in loving focus on care for this planet’s well being. I am free to be guided by an open Heart and clear Mind. *[image: img20191031_18021200_0002.jpg]**I dance in the Sacred Circle of the Solstice cycle.** [image: img20191031_18021200_0002.jpg]* -- *Judi White* *"Take pleasure in the excellence of others, Shanti Deva**h <http://circlefireflydance.blogspot.com>ttp://anandasmantra.wordpress.com <http://anandasmantra.wordpress.com>* http://porchtimechats.blogspot.com

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New book available
by John Epps 21 Dec '19

21 Dec '19

My latest book,* Meanderings 2*, is hot off the press! It's another series of "Mundanity Spins": that use my experiences to disclose the Other World in This World. If you've seen the first volume, you'll certainly want the second. If not, both are available from <www.lulu.com/spotlight/JohnLEpps>. John

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12/19/19, Progressing Spirit: 10 Things Smart Progressive Churches Know About Worship, Part 1; Spong revisited
by Ellie Stock 19 Dec '19

19 Dec '19

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.yiv5405409708mcnTextContent, #yiv5405409708 #yiv5405409708templateHeader .yiv5405409708mcnTextContent p{ font-size:16px !important;line-height:150% !important;} }@media only screen and (max-width:480px){ #yiv5405409708 #yiv5405409708templateBody .yiv5405409708mcnTextContent, #yiv5405409708 #yiv5405409708templateBody .yiv5405409708mcnTextContent p{ font-size:14px !important;line-height:150% !important;} }@media only screen and (max-width:480px){ #yiv5405409708 #yiv5405409708templateFooter .yiv5405409708mcnTextContent, #yiv5405409708 #yiv5405409708templateFooter .yiv5405409708mcnTextContent p{ font-size:12px !important;line-height:150% !important;} } | | | | View this email in your browser | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 10 Things Smart Progressive Churches Know About Worship, Part 1 | | | | | | | | | | Essay by Rev. Fran Pratt December 19, 2019I have been a worship leader, liturgist, and musician in various church contexts for nearly 20 years, and I have ideas about how we, who are re-imagining faith and church, can proceed. In particular, progressive clergy, worship leaders, and liturgists need to re-imagine, redefine, and reclaim the concept and practice of Worship. Regardless of our tradition of origin, whether we consider ourselves ex-Evangelical, Mainline, Christian Mystic, or otherwise, we have an opportunity to think critically about our worship practices as we move forward.Church no longer has a corner on the market of spirituality; this is a truth the church must admit if it is to survive. But we don’t need it! We don’t have ego skin in games of hierarchy. So we’re free to be creative, to break rules, and to think outside the accepted boxes. And I encourage us all to re-think what we typically call “worship” in our gatherings. We can craft liturgies and gatherings that are meaningful and attentive to the times and our authentic experience. We can create space for spiritual awakening and growth. Toward that end, I offer you 10 things smart progressive churches know about worship: 1) The “Worship Wars” are over; We can opt out. This style is not better than that style. We know that musical style depends on the audience/congregation, and we’ll use whatever style of music works best as a formational tool and to create space for authentic experience of the Divine and of community. Ideally, style should shift as the congregation shifts, and should reflect the mission and values of the community. Style should also reflect the diversity of a community. This means, preachers and leaders, that sometimes you’re going to have to sacrifice your preferred aesthetic. A handful of leaders should not hold the musical style of a community hostage - the style should be reflective of the range of ages and ethnicities in the seats. The music should serve them, not force them to serve it. The style should also be sensitive to the lived experience of your people. For instance, in my community we have a lot of people who are making a last-ditch effort at church and are coming out of a lot of evangelical spiritual trauma. They are resistant to anything that feels emotionally manipulative. Some super-emotive modern songs just don’t work for them; they bring up too much harmful history. So I try not to offer songs that might trigger trauma. Instead I offer them emotional and intimate moments within songs rich with theology and missional purpose. To this end, I’ve found that a mix of traditional and new works well in my community. Pastors and Worship Leaders don’t have to take sides in the Traditional vs Contemporary debate. It’s dualistic and ego-driven anyway. We can draw from a wide variety of styles and traditions (being mindful of avoiding cultural appropriation) and time-periods to synthesize a meaningful, soul-nourishing, ear-pleasing blend of well-loved, shared liturgy. 2) A well-rounded gathering reflects a variety of spiritual postures. It offers congregants opportunities to express more than just joy, praise, or exaltation - expressions we might judge to be “positive.” There are other important songs we need to sing: songs of justice and resistance to evil, songs of peacemaking and forgiveness, songs of confession, songs of hopefulness, songs of thankfulness, songs of lament and grief, and so on. And these postures aren’t only constrained to songs. The liturgy as a whole can create space for this spectrum of feeling and expression. The rituals we imagine together to help us process change can tap into this variety. Yes, by all means go to church to get the joy, but don’t pretend your people aren’t also dealing with pain. Acknowledge and facilitate your community’s process as you look at your gatherings holistically. 3) A well-rounded gathering presents a variety of elements. If we are coming out of Evangelicalism, gone are the days of “5 songs and a sermon” - there is more to do together. If we are coming from traditional denominations, Black Church traditions, or other specific cultural lineages, perhaps we are more familiar with certain liturgical streams or other expectations. We all have our version of The Way Things Are Done. But creativity is part of our Imago Dei, the Church is well-placed to trail-blaze that truth, particularly in our gatherings. We don’t serve our traditions; our traditions must serve us. So now is the time to examine whether it’s working. Some questions for thought: - Are we providing a nourishing communal spiritual space for our congregations? (Hint: ask people how they feel about this) - Are we offering a balance of intellectual and emotional space and physical integration? (a balance of Doing, Thinking, and Feeling?) - Do we need to add ritual or liturgical elements? - What are we resistant to? New music? New Technology? Fresh liturgy? - Is the diversity of people (age, race, education history, etc.) gathered being considered? - Are we addressing real-time issues in our liturgy and offering helpful space to process them? Thankfully, there are plenty of formational tools available to us. In addition to music and teaching moments, we have many options for meaningful gatherings. Consider these: - Contemplative forms of prayer ..................-..Lectio Divina and Visio Divina ..................-..Guided Meditation and Imagery ..................-..Examen ..................-..Centering Prayer - Litany - Rituals of various kinds (including Eucharist) - Prayers of the People (or other communal prayer moment) - Poetry (and Slam Poetry) - Video - Drama - Silence - Communal Meals - Embodied movement Our teams finds it helpful to frame our work in planning services and gatherings as Making Sacred Art. This opens us up to a wider expression of creativity and energy. We are making sacred art in our communal meetings, and embodying the creativity of the Divine in our space. 4) Intentional liturgy works better. I pay a great deal of attention to the lyrics I ask my congregation to sing. I want them to be able to sing a song like they mean it, and I want the lyrics to be deeply meaningful to them. The best response I can get from my community is when they tell me things like: “that song brought me to tears” or, “I can’t get that song out of my head” or “that song is on repeat in my car.” I want the songs and liturgy to be deeply resonant to my people’s experience and nourishing to their souls. Here are characteristics I look for in songs I introduce into my repertoire: - Singability - Is the melody catchy and memorable? Can novice singers reproduce it? Is it keyed (or can it be keyed) accessibly? Overly complex melodies discourage participation, as do overly boring and simplistic ones. Look for beautiful middle-ground melodies. - Theological robustness - Is it true? Does it avoid theological gray areas? Does it teach us things we need to remember about the goodness of God or the complexity of human experience? - Beauty - Do we like it? Is it pleasant to hear and sing? Do people hum the melody while cleaning up after service? - Missionality - is the lyrical theme reflective of our collective mission and theology? For instance, if we believe, as Christ said, that the Kingdom of God is near at hand, do our songs reflect that? Do they encourage peacemaking? Do they bolster our justice work? - Stance/Address - Are we singing TO God, rather than only ABOUT God? Are we singing like we believe God is present in the room. Whenever possible I look for songs that directly address God because I want to encourage Divine interaction. 5) The best kind of congregational singing is loud and a little off-key. Worship leaders should be solid singers, but should encourage communities to sing enthusiastically regardless of skill level. Song are liturgy and singing is a communal work; no one is barred from participating. This should be stated regularly. You are discouraging your folks from singing IF: - Your songs require classical vocal training or a 2-octave range to sing - Your song are keyed too high (like most hymnals) or low for an average person to sing along with - Your melodies are so complex that they can’t be memorized in a few tries - You don’t repeat songs enough for people to become familiar with them And that’s bad, because singing together is like congregational glue. Here’s something I say to my folks so regularly that they can recite it with me: Singing is a physical act that helps us access our spiritual selves. Melody and lyrics do more than spoken word alone - there is an alchemy to music that strikes human hearts and minds more deeply, accessing our memory and emotional centers more readily. Because of this, music is a valuable teaching and formational tool. But it’s also a tool for comforting and soothing broken or discouraged hearts.Every human society we know of produces/d some kind of melodic or rhythmic music. It’s innate to human experience and expression. We need great music in our gatherings, and whatever we can do to encourage our folks to sing and participate should be done: Change styles? Sing simpler songs? Key songs lower? Find better songs? Whatever it is, do it. (Hint: you can even hire me to consult with you about it.)But wait, there’s more! Look for Part 2 of this article to appear in the coming weeks. ~ Rev. Fran Pratt Read online here About the Author Rev. Fran Pratt is a pastor, writer, musician, and mystic. Making meaningful and beautiful liturgy to be spoken, practiced, and sung, is at the heart of her creative drive. Fran authored of a book of congregational litanies, and regularly creates and shares modern liturgy on her website and Patreon. Her prayers are prayed in churches of various sizes and traditions across the globe. She writes, speaks, and consults on melding ancient and new liturgical streams in faith and worship. Fran is Pastor of Worship and Liturgy at Peace of Christ Church in Round Rock, Texas. | | | | | | | | Question & Answer Q: By A Reader What do you consider the Bible to be? Is it uniquely inspired by God? Is it different from other literature? Is it authoritative? If it is not all authoritative, how do you determine the parts that are? If the Bible is not divinely inspired, where do moral truths come from? Are moral values eternal and universal for all cultures? A: By Rev. Lauren Van Ham Dear Reader,John Scotus Eriugena (815 – 877 AD), a great Irish theologian, philosopher, and poet said that God speaks to us through two books, “One is the book of 'scripture,' physically little. The other is the big book, the book of 'creation,’ as vast as the universe.” It’s from this understanding that I’m responding to your good and important questions. Our primary operating instructions are in the living system around us, the 13.7 billion year story of which we are a part. The story of the universe – how we got here and all of the interdependencies that make our life possible – is an incredible story! It is intricate, numinous, simple and complex. Creation, therefore, is our primary authority (and those who live near to the Earth teach us this again and again and again…). Written texts, while secondary, are also vital. There is so much to learn after all, and we have within us many learning styles and ways to comprehend information. Throughout time, a variety of interpreters have offered multiple ways to better understand the story (or parts of the story) so that we can both appreciate it with the awe and reverence it deserves, while also living honorably and justly within it. These interpreters are biologists, poets, theologians, ethicists and mystics. Western civilization credits the Bible with a lot of authority. This isn’t true everywhere and other parts of the world regard other and additional texts to be profound and instructive interpretations of how to live well within Creation and with one another. When words are “revealed” to the interpreters (and this happens through mystical experiences as well as dedicated scholarship and inspired acts of creativity), the authors, I want to believe, are doing their absolute best to record truths as they understand them (in that moment) for their readers. Some truths are highly useful in a triage situation (i.e., how to stay safe in an epidemic or natural disaster), and other truths hold deep revelations that may require the patience of contemplation. In the later instance, relevance can remain for generations to come – consider for instance, the writings of the Christian mystics, or the Sufi saint Rumi. Poets like Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman, or scientists like Carl Sagan, are a few examples of those we reference when we’re trying to describe concepts difficult to convey with words. So, is the Bible inspired by God? Yes, definitely…and so are other texts that attempt to express the teachings of Creation so that we might understand and practice them well. You have asked how to discern which parts of the Bible are authoritative. Like many of the sacred texts written before and around this period, the Bible was a response to the political situation and societal practices of the time. The writing always invites the reader to consider many ways to receive the teaching – metaphorical, historical, cosmological, and psychological. If you are interested in learning more about this, you may enjoy reading, The Bible and Human Transformation by Walter Wink. Over time, moral truths have been attributed to the Bible, the Torah, the Qu’ran, the Bhagavad Gita, the Pali Canon, the Popol Vuh, and etc. Each of them, a divinely inspired set of phrases, has done its very best to record origin stories and legacies as well as to provide guidance for how we might best live in peaceful, integrated and honorable relationship with all beings. While it is most certainly true that certain ecosystems require ways of living that do not apply universally, it is also true that Creation’s teachings are reliable and trustworthy. It is a lifelong endeavor to learn the Big Book of Creation. We are most successful when we undertake our studies with the support of others in spiritual community and/or spiritual direction, as well as tending our prayer, dreams and other contemplative practices, and of course, becoming intimate with Creation itself. May the Big Book and the little books be sources of nourishment for you on your journey! ~ Rev. Lauren Van Ham Read and share online here About the Author Rev. Lauren Van Ham, MA was born and raised beneath the big sky of the Midwest, she 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). Lauren’s passion for spirituality, art and Earth's teachings have supported her specialization in eco-ministry, grief & loss, and sacred activism. Her essay, "Way of the Eco-Chaplain," appears in the collection, Ways of the Spirit: Voices of Women; and her work with Green Sangha is featured in Renewal, a documentary celebrating the efforts of religious environmental activists from diverse faith traditions across America. Her ideas can be heard on Vennly, an app that shares perspectives from spiritual and community leaders across different backgrounds and traditions. Currently, Lauren tends her private spiritual direction and eco-chaplaincy consulting practice; and serves as guest faculty for several schools in the San Francisco Bay Area. | | | | | | | | Please continue to send us your feedback… we are listening. We aim to give voice to many different perspectives that are relevant and inspiring along this spiritually progressing path. We are not here to tell you what to believe or how to act. We are here to support your journey, to share and learn together.Thank you for being a part of this community! | | | | | | Join our FB community today! Spread the word, share with friends. Thanks! | | | | | | | | Bishop John Shelby Spong Revisited Origins of the Bible, Part XI: The Meaning of the Prophets Essay by Bishop John Shelby Spong September 4, 2008 If one takes the Book of Daniel out of the Old Testament, a much clearer view of the prophets of Israel becomes visible. Daniel, written during the time of the Maccabees and not during the Persian period, as it pretends to be, really doesn't fit. The fact is the Book of Daniel should be in the Apocrypha, not in the Old Testament, but that would upset those people who like to predict the end of the world by quoting from this source. If one excises Daniel, the remaining prophetic works of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and what was originally called the Book of the Twelve, but what we now call the "minor prophets", including everything from Hosea to Malachi, can be looked at through a number of lenses. First of all, if we treat the Book of the Twelve as a single volume, which is the way the Jews regarded them, we note that along with Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel they are about the same length. The reason for this has nothing to do with the profundity of the content, but with the length of the scroll on which the words were written. That also helps us to understand why new writings, judged worthy of inclusion in the sacred texts, were simply added to an available scroll if there was space. Jeremiah and Ezekiel seem to be authentic wholes written by a single author, but Isaiah and obviously the Book of the Twelve are not. Isaiah has been identified as the work of at least three writers who are separated in time by as much as three hundred years. The Book of Zechariah, one of the Twelve, is today viewed as the work of at least two writers (1-8 and 9-14), separated in time by a minimum of at least a century. There is even widespread speculation that the final book of the Twelve, Malachi, is really III Zechariah (which would make it chapters 15-18) and that this is why this book has no name, Malachi being a word that means "my messenger". I go into these preliminary explanations to set the stage for our consideration of the content of these various books of the Bible called the Prophets, more specifically, the Writing Prophets, whose work was incorporated into the Sacred Scriptures of the Jewish people. The prophet's role had been a part of Jewish life since the days of Samuel, who lived in the 11th Century BC. Samuel, however, was more the last of the judges of Israel than the first of the prophets. He was, nonetheless, a pivotal figure in Jewish history. Earlier in this series, I related the story of Nathan and the role he played in the history of the Jewish prophetic movement. By confronting King David, in the name of the moral law of God, Nathan established the prophet's true identity. It was and is to speak for God outside the structures of ecclesiastical authority, but inside the citadels of national power. Elijah and Elisha continued Nathan's understanding and earned for themselves and for the prophets of the future the title bestowed on Elijah by King Ahab: "The troublers of Israel" (I Kings 18:17). There is no such thing as a self-proclaimed prophet, a fact that is widely misunderstood by religious folk. To be "a prophet in residence" is not a role for which one can apply, nor can anyone study for a prophetic career. The designation of prophet is bestowed by history alone and normally well after the end of the potential prophet's career. Prophets are recognized in retrospect and posthumously. Are there any modern day prophets who might help us to understand the role more adequately? One thinks immediately of two: Martin Luther King, Jr. and Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. King spoke from outside the power structures of both church and state when he became the voice of America's black population, segregated from the mainstream of society and wrapped in the cocoon of prejudice and fear. King confronted the political world with the unwillingness of the black population to continue accepting the status of outcasts. He confronted the leaders of the ecclesiastical establishment in his letter from a Birmingham jail. He was regularly arrested by local police, vilified by local politicians and newspapers, spied on with telephone taps by none less than J. Edgar Hoover, the closeted homosexual director of the FBI and ultimately he was murdered when he sought to lead the garbage workers' strike in Memphis. Click here to read full essay. ~ John Shelby Spong | | | | | | | | Announcements Read On... | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

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Re: [Oe List ...] Death Team
by Margaret Aiseayew 17 Dec '19

17 Dec '19

I was very fortunate that when my father died he had written everything down. He had also made his own casket and made sure we knew the barn in which it was hanging. My step mom was not quite so organized. I had felt since the time of my father’s death and several experiences I had with parishioners that this was my calling upon retirement from the UMC. I left the day after Dorothy died for a class and got back in time for her funeral. I came back a Certified Death Midwife. We search diligently for assistance with other signal events in our life—like the birth of a child. We pretend we need no help with the next greatest event in our life. Dorothy’s funeral was the second worst funeral I ever attended and it was largely because there was no objective third party to mediate between the family and the minister. The worst was due to a weak, misguided minister and bad theology. As you can probably tell, I still struggle with some guilt about Dorothy’s send off, but Dorothy knew what I was planning to do and thought it was right for me. She told me she didn’t intend to get in the way of my training and that I should go no matter what happened in the next few days. I would like very much to participate with the Death Team. Thanatopsis has been my favorite poem since I first encountered it in a book of my grandmothers. At one time, I had the whole poem memorized. It isn’t just short term memory that suffers with age. Blessings to all, Margaret

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Birthday Witness
by Richard Alton 17 Dec '19

17 Dec '19

*Death up Close* It has been a rough year. Late in 2018 I fell off my bike and headed to the doctor to make sure I was okay. From a CT scan discovered two lung spots- four months of CT scans, a PET scan and a biopsy, (which caused a collapsed lung) to find out it was nothing the doctors were concerned about. But it generated a lot of thinking about my end of life, and death. Even went to a Church class on sharing what you have done or need to do to get ready for your funeral. Then Jim Stovall, Sally’s brother (10 years in the Order), came down with stage 4 cirrhosis of the liver. They worked on a liver replacement, but Jim’s body became toxic and he died in April of this year. Then in May, Sally (significant other for 14 years) had a major stroke and died- just to give you a feel for this death up close: Sally, nothing basically wrong...just general 70-year health problems... a little issue with high blood pressure but controlled by pills. She was getting ready for a meeting and I came into the bedroom and she was on the bed- said she got dizzy in the bathroom and just barely made it to the bed. She said she had a headache (her speech was a little slurred) and wanted two aspirins- I gave them to her and left her on the bed for 15 minutes- came back and she wanted to eat something- sure- but she could not get up except her left arm- I grabbed her arm but she was not able to make it up- I called ambulance-we got to the hospital- she had a massive stroke with major brain bleeding... from local Western Suburban Hospital took her downtown by ambulance to Rush (Chicago stroke Hospital). Arrived at Hospital by 10:30pm and they determined she had lost most of her brain function. We kept her on a breathing tube until her sister and daughter arrived the next day and pulled tube after a prayer service with her pastor Marti, Pam Bergdall, Carol (sister), Teresa (daughter), George Emerick (Teresa’s father) and myself. Sally lasted about 15 minutes. In a way it was great, it was quick. She was unconscious almost immediately at 730pm Monday night and pronounced dead at 4:27pm the next day, May 21st.. a great life But I wasn’t prepared for the HOLE that was blown in my life with the loss of my partner of 14 years. And in the midst of this emotional loss, I have had to spend the last 7 months taking care of the aftereffects of Sally’s death and re-organizing my life. So, my learnings from these 3 death experiences (I count my lung problem as a near death): 1. 1) In all 3 events I was struck how unprepared we are for death both in handling others deaths or our own. We are overwhelmed by the loss of our loved one to deal with what is the most important event of our or their lives. How can we pay so little attention to expressing the meaning and purpose of this glorious life we have had? 2. 2) Second, death is usually hidden and then burst into our lives. Death is wicked how fast it comes and how it is all consuming and leaves little room for preparation or even thought. Sally’s stroke was unannounced, and she was gone in less that 12 hours. Jim Stovall was in a hospital fighting a losing battle for his life and Sally and his family were totally consumed with his care. It is hidden in that we do not want to even consider this end or admit to our finitude and mortality. The hiddenness from death, from this final power cuts us off from our journey leaves us shocked and disoriented in thinking/preparing to have a meaningful ending 3) What happens is professionals that deal a lot with death step in and organize the readings, the message, the music, the witness, the reception as the family and friends are frozen in losing a beloved one. When you read Matthew’s The Time My Father Died and Matthews gets mad at what the funeral home had done to his father. The issue is not the funeral home but rather Joseph had not thought through his father’s death. [image: page2image6769664] In the case of Sally, since I had been thinking about my own death- I asked ICA’s Seva Gandhi to do one of the Memorial Services witnesses to Sally’s life. I asked her to reflect on Sally’s time in the Order, the Ecumenical Institute and Institute of Cultural Affairs. Seva did a great job capturing Sally’s thankfulness for being in a religious community and how she engaged herself as being part of a global servant force that was out to care for the poorest of the poor. I was so pleased that it seemed to hold the depth, wonder and uniqueness of her existence; - Sally loved the religious house and the community, interaction, structures it brought her life. - - Sally loved the town meetings and her engaging the small towns across Utah. She had an amazing memory of those small town meetings and especially the songs. - - It was clear that Sally had found purpose in her life and was sent to make a difference in this world. Others sensed this too. Was pretty obvious when she died on a Tuesday and the next day, Wednesday, we held a prayer service with 100 people showing up and talked and talked about what Sally meant to their lives. And then that Saturday at her Memorial Service 250 people showed up many unknown to us... people were standing in the Church aisles But my lesson learned through all of this is that we need to take ownership of our death and the message (word) it brings to others. I have worked on my funeral: like to have the Daily Office liturgy, DH Lawrence’s Not I, Not I But a New Wind Blowing Through Me read, decided what I like to have read from the NT and the OT and who and what would like have sung plus a witness-one being the ICA. For Sally’s Memorial Service her children pulled together a slide show that was fabulous. Need to do that. I think the basic message is that we need to get our deaths thought through. So 3 deaths (actually Sally’s sister died the year before) and a funeral class has made death up close as a reality. Overwhelming experience; need to bring intentionality and attentionally to our deaths and the death needs to speak the “Word”. So from this experience and dialogue I have joined with others to form a “Death Team” (Pam Bergdall and Seva Gandhi- who says death is always on her mind), We are proposing a quarterly death webinar or more like a death sharing circle to get our deaths in shape...it has been said that facing up to death also makes for a better life. What think you? Dick Alton, RS-1, 1968, born December 14, 1941 -- Richard H. T. Alton One Earth Film Fest ( OEFF) Green Community Connections Interfaith Green Network T: 773.344.7172 richard.alton(a)gmail.com **Save the Date! One Earth Film Festival 2019, March 1-10* http:www.oneearthfilmfestival.org Make Plain the Vision, Habakkuh 2:2

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Re: [Oe List ...] Birthday Witness
by Del Morrill 15 Dec '19

15 Dec '19

My dear Dick, I don’t know where I was in May, but must have been MIA when Sally died so suddenly. Though I am late with it, I grieve with you and celebrate with you her life and your life together. I appreciated your profound reflections on death; something everyone needs to think about for themselves, sooner than later. Some years ago I wrote a letter to Justin and my daughters about my feelings about death and where I would like my ashes to be scattered, etc. Once I did so, I never feared my death, despite a pulmonary embolism and two strokes. After I experienced the P.E. in January, I edited this letter, including my granddaughters this time, thinking more about a memorial service. I included poetry from which to choose, style of service and how I wish to be remembered. At the end, I included some practics – important phone numbers, contacts, etc. Seemed to me that it would take a lot of the burden off the rest of the family, at a time when they would be most stressed, although it was not required they follow any of it. For instance, some of my family feel more strongly about being in a church, while I couldn’t care less where it is, as long it is a celebration; some would prefer a service of some kind, while I would prefer to stay clear of such. So, my suggestions are not etched in stone, but meant to make it easier on the family. If you haven’t done something like this, I urge you to not just think about it; write it down! After all, you never know when you become unable to. I was feeling very healthy–best ever, when I experienced each of those life-threatening incidents, plus a heart attack when I was a whole lot younger, and cancer. If any of you would like a copy please let me know. Del Del Hunter Morrill 3217 North Mason Avenue Tacoma WA 98407-5419 H/W: (253) 752-1506 delhmor(a)wamail.net <mailto:delhmor@wamail.net> Web site: www. hypnocenter.com “We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty.” – Maya Angelou From: OE <oe-bounces(a)lists.wedgeblade.net> On Behalf Of Richard Alton via OE Sent: Saturday, December 14, 2019 2:58 PM To: Order Ecumenical Community <oe(a)lists.wedgeblade.net>; ica-dialogue(a)igc.topica.com Cc: Richard Alton <richard.alton(a)gmail.com> Subject: [Oe List ...] Birthday Witness Death up Close It has been a rough year. Late in 2018 I fell off my bike and headed to the doctor to make sure I was okay. From a CT scan discovered two lung spots- four months of CT scans, a PET scan and a biopsy, (which caused a collapsed lung) to find out it was nothing the doctors were concerned about. But it generated a lot of thinking about my end of life, and death. Even went to a Church class on sharing what you have done or need to do to get ready for your funeral. Then Jim Stovall, Sally’s brother (10 years in the Order), came down with stage 4 cirrhosis of the liver. They worked on a liver replacement, but Jim’s body became toxic and he died in April of this year. Then in May, Sally (significant other for 14 years) had a major stroke and died- just to give you a feel for this death up close: Sally, nothing basically wrong...just general 70-year health problems... a little issue with high blood pressure but controlled by pills. She was getting ready for a meeting and I came into the bedroom and she was on the bed- said she got dizzy in the bathroom and just barely made it to the bed. She said she had a headache (her speech was a little slurred) and wanted two aspirins- I gave them to her and left her on the bed for 15 minutes- came back and she wanted to eat something- sure- but she could not get up except her left arm- I grabbed her arm but she was not able to make it up- I called ambulance-we got to the hospital- she had a massive stroke with major brain bleeding... from local Western Suburban Hospital took her downtown by ambulance to Rush (Chicago stroke Hospital). Arrived at Hospital by 10:30pm and they determined she had lost most of her brain function. We kept her on a breathing tube until her sister and daughter arrived the next day and pulled tube after a prayer service with her pastor Marti, Pam Bergdall, Carol (sister), Teresa (daughter), George Emerick (Teresa’s father) and myself. Sally lasted about 15 minutes. In a way it was great, it was quick. She was unconscious almost immediately at 730pm Monday night and pronounced dead at 4:27pm the next day, May 21st.. a great life But I wasn’t prepared for the HOLE that was blown in my life with the loss of my partner of 14 years. And in the midst of this emotional loss, I have had to spend the last 7 months taking care of the aftereffects of Sally’s death and re-organizing my life. So, my learnings from these 3 death experiences (I count my lung problem as a near death): 1. 1) In all 3 events I was struck how unprepared we are for death both in handling others deaths or our own. We are overwhelmed by the loss of our loved one to deal with what is the most important event of our or their lives. How can we pay so little attention to expressing the meaning and purpose of this glorious life we have had? 2. 2) Second, death is usually hidden and then burst into our lives. Death is wicked how fast it comes and how it is all consuming and leaves little room for preparation or even thought. Sally’s stroke was unannounced, and she was gone in less that 12 hours. Jim Stovall was in a hospital fighting a losing battle for his life and Sally and his family were totally consumed with his care. It is hidden in that we do not want to even consider this end or admit to our finitude and mortality. The hiddenness from death, from this final power cuts us off from our journey leaves us shocked and disoriented in thinking/preparing to have a meaningful ending 3) What happens is professionals that deal a lot with death step in and organize the readings, the message, the music, the witness, the reception as the family and friends are frozen in losing a beloved one. When you read Matthew’s The Time My Father Died and Matthews gets mad at what the funeral home had done to his father. The issue is not the funeral home but rather Joseph had not thought through his father’s death. <blob:https://mail.google.com/2de48982-8225-4439-8a0a-fc8810a32a63> In the case of Sally, since I had been thinking about my own death- I asked ICA’s Seva Gandhi to do one of the Memorial Services witnesses to Sally’s life. I asked her to reflect on Sally’s time in the Order, the Ecumenical Institute and Institute of Cultural Affairs. Seva did a great job capturing Sally’s thankfulness for being in a religious community and how she engaged herself as being part of a global servant force that was out to care for the poorest of the poor. I was so pleased that it seemed to hold the depth, wonder and uniqueness of her existence; * Sally loved the religious house and the community, interaction, structures it brought her life. * * Sally loved the town meetings and her engaging the small towns across Utah. She had an amazing memory of those small town meetings and especially the songs. * * It was clear that Sally had found purpose in her life and was sent to make a difference in this world. Others sensed this too. Was pretty obvious when she died on a Tuesday and the next day, Wednesday, we held a prayer service with 100 people showing up and talked and talked about what Sally meant to their lives. And then that Saturday at her Memorial Service 250 people showed up many unknown to us... people were standing in the Church aisles But my lesson learned through all of this is that we need to take ownership of our death and the message (word) it brings to others. I have worked on my funeral: like to have the Daily Office liturgy, DH Lawrence’s Not I, Not I But a New Wind Blowing Through Me read, decided what I like to have read from the NT and the OT and who and what would like have sung plus a witness-one being the ICA. For Sally’s Memorial Service her children pulled together a slide show that was fabulous. Need to do that. I think the basic message is that we need to get our deaths thought through. So 3 deaths (actually Sally’s sister died the year before) and a funeral class has made death up close as a reality. Overwhelming experience; need to bring intentionality and attentionally to our deaths and the death needs to speak the “Word”. So from this experience and dialogue I have joined with others to form a “Death Team” (Pam Bergdall and Seva Gandhi- who says death is always on her mind), We are proposing a quarterly death webinar or more like a death sharing circle to get our deaths in shape...it has been said that facing up to death also makes for a better life. What think you? Dick Alton, RS-1, 1968, born December 14, 1941 -- Richard H. T. Alton One Earth Film Fest ( OEFF) Green Community Connections Interfaith Green Network T: 773.344.7172 richard.alton(a)gmail.com <mailto:richard.alton@gmail.com> *Save the Date! One Earth Film Festival 2019, March 1-10 http:www.oneearthfilmfestival.org <http://www.oneearthfilmfestival.org> Make Plain the Vision, Habakkuh 2:2

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Re: [Oe List ...] [Dialogue] Fwd: Birthday Witness
by Ellie Stock 15 Dec '19

15 Dec '19

Hi Dick, Thank you for your birthday witness, pondering your death experiences--what a year it has been for you. The news of Sally's death came as a shock, as we had seen you both the summer before. So many ways to ponder death...whether it be the loss of a beloved, the violence held up in the daily news, the slow deaths of friends and family members suffering from terminal illness, the suffering of others and Earth itself or dying to the self in servanthood--all hold a mirror to the fragility of our own lives and ask the question: how shall we then live? I recall reading Castaneda--death being a friend, looking over our shoulder...death bringing life into sharp focus. I also remember Matthews saying if you can't picture yourself on a cold cement slab, you won't be able to risk or give yourself to anything. So we are ultimately talking about life... So your sharing catalyzes pondering in all of us... A reflection from 1967... life deathfears not death.deathfears not dying—ordying fears livingandliving fears birthandbirth fears loveandlove fears knowingthenlove is not loveandfree is not freeandknowing fears sensesandsense rewombs in isolationandsenseless perpetuationonpumiced islandswheregreen and rednolonger bear fertile brownbutmiscarry zebra-striped lava,charringwild blossoms of sensitivityand intelligibilityrootedin destructivity,andpoof! and perhaps pow!sizzling,sinking, and ominous silence sealawatery sepulchermournedby black and blue—ifdeath fears dying. ejh Grace and peace ~ Ellie :)elliestock@aol.com -----Original Message----- From: Richard Alton via Dialogue <dialogue(a)lists.wedgeblade.net> To: Colleague Dialogue <dialogue(a)lists.wedgeblade.net> Cc: Richard Alton <richard.alton(a)gmail.com> Sent: Sat, Dec 14, 2019 4:59 pm Subject: [Dialogue] Fwd: Birthday Witness Death up Close It has been a rough year. Late in 2018 I fell off my bike and headed to the doctor to make sure I was okay. From a CT scan discovered two lung spots- four months of CT scans, a PET scan and a biopsy, (which caused a collapsed lung) to find out it was nothing the doctors were concerned about. But it generated a lot of thinking about my end of life, and death. Even went to a Church class on sharing what you have done or need to do to get ready for your funeral.Then Jim Stovall, Sally’s brother (10 years in the Order), came down with stage 4 cirrhosis of the liver. They worked on a liver replacement, but Jim’s body became toxic and he died in April of this year. Then in May, Sally (significant other for 14 years) had a major stroke and died- just to give you a feel for this death up close:Sally, nothing basically wrong...just general 70-year health problems... a little issue with high blood pressure but controlled by pills. She was getting ready for a meeting and I came into the bedroom and she was on the bed- said she got dizzy in the bathroom and just barely made it to the bed. She said she had a headache (her speech was a little slurred) and wanted two aspirins- I gave them to her and left her on the bed for 15 minutes- came back and she wanted to eat something- sure- but she could not get up except her left arm- I grabbed her arm but she was not able to make it up- I called ambulance-we got to the hospital- she had a massive stroke with major brain bleeding... from local Western Suburban Hospital took her downtown by ambulance to Rush (Chicago stroke Hospital). Arrived at Hospital by 10:30pm and they determined she had lost most of her brain function. We kept her on a breathing tube until her sister and daughter arrived the next day and pulled tube after a prayer service with her pastor Marti, Pam Bergdall, Carol (sister), Teresa (daughter), George Emerick (Teresa’s father) and myself. Sally lasted about 15 minutes. In a way it was great, it was quick. She was unconscious almost immediately at 730pm Monday night and pronounced dead at 4:27pm the next day, May 21st.. a great lifeBut I wasn’t prepared for the HOLE that was blown in my life with the loss of my partner of 14 years. And in the midst of this emotional loss, I have had to spend the last 7 months taking care of the aftereffects of Sally’s death and re-organizing my life. So, my learnings from these 3 death experiences (I count my lung problem as a near death): - 1) In all 3 events I was struck how unprepared we are for death both in handling others deaths or our own. We are overwhelmed by the loss of our loved one to deal with what is the most important event of our or their lives. How can we pay so little attention to expressing the meaning and purpose of this glorious life we have had? - 2) Second, death is usually hidden and then burst into our lives. Death is wicked how fast it comes and how it is all consuming and leaves little room for preparation or even thought. Sally’s stroke was unannounced, and she was gone in less that 12 hours. Jim Stovall was in a hospital fighting a losing battle for his life and Sally and his family were totally consumed with his care. It is hidden in that we do not want to even consider this end or admit to our finitude and mortality. The hiddenness from death, from this final power cuts us off from our journey leaves us shocked and disoriented in thinking/preparing to have a meaningful ending3) What happens is professionals that deal a lot with death step in and organize the readings, the message, the music, the witness, the reception as the family and friends are frozen in losing a beloved one. When you read Matthew’s The Time My Father Died and Matthews gets mad at what the funeral home had done to his father. The issue is not the funeral home but rather Joseph had not thought through his father’s death. In the case of Sally, since I had been thinking about my own death- I asked ICA’s Seva Gandhi to do one of the Memorial Services witnesses to Sally’s life. I asked her to reflect on Sally’s time in the Order, the Ecumenical Institute and Institute of Cultural Affairs. Seva did a great job capturing Sally’s thankfulness for being in a religious community and how she engaged herself as being part of a global servant force that was out to care for the poorest of the poor. I was so pleased that it seemed to hold the depth, wonder and uniqueness of her existence; - Sally loved the religious house and the community, interaction, structures it brought her life. - - Sally loved the town meetings and her engaging the small towns across Utah. She had an amazing memory of those small town meetings and especially the songs. - - It was clear that Sally had found purpose in her life and was sent to make a difference in this world. Others sensed this too. Was pretty obvious when she died on a Tuesday and the next day, Wednesday, we held a prayer service with 100 people showing up and talked and talked about what Sally meant to their lives. And then that Saturday at her Memorial Service 250 people showed up many unknown to us... people were standing in the Church aisles But my lesson learned through all of this is that we need to take ownership of our death and the message (word) it brings to others. I have worked on my funeral: like to have the Daily Office liturgy, DH Lawrence’s Not I, Not I But a New Wind Blowing Through Me read, decided what I like to have read from the NT and the OT and who and what would like have sung plus a witness-one being the ICA. For Sally’s Memorial Service her children pulled together a slide show that was fabulous. Need to do that.I think the basic message is that we need to get our deaths thought through. So 3 deaths (actually Sally’s sister died the year before) and a funeral class hasmade death up close as a reality. Overwhelming experience; need to bring intentionality and attentionally to our deaths and the death needs to speak the “Word”. So from this experience and dialogue I have joined with others to form a “Death Team” (Pam Bergdall and Seva Gandhi- who says death is always on her mind), We are proposing a quarterly death webinar or more like a death sharing circle to get our deaths in shape...it has been said that facing up to death also makes for a better life. What think you?Dick Alton, RS-1, 1968, born December 14, 1941 -- Richard H. T. AltonOne Earth Film Fest ( OEFF)Green Community ConnectionsInterfaith Green NetworkT: 773.344.7172richard.alton(a)gmail.com*Save the Date! One Earth Film Festival 2019, March 1-10http:www.oneearthfilmfestival.org Make Plain the Vision, Habakkuh 2:2 _______________________________________________ Dialogue mailing list Dialogue(a)lists.wedgeblade.net http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/dialogue-wedgeblade.net

2 1

Re: [Oe List ...] OE Digest, Vol 93, Issue 12
by Lawrence Philbrook 15 Dec '19

15 Dec '19

Dick Thank you for this witness I am sorry I left without stopping to see you You and Sally have been a joy to be friends and colleagues and also important to my journey Sally and I were together in Salt Lake the year before I left for India and our families have bee friends even longer. Seva Lloyd Evelyn Lela and I were having a conversation about the death course just before Sally died. I would appreciate joining in With love and respect, Larry >From Beijing On Sun, Dec 15, 2019, 10:44 <oe-request(a)lists.wedgeblade.net> wrote: > Send OE mailing list submissions to > oe(a)lists.wedgeblade.net > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > oe-request(a)lists.wedgeblade.net > > You can reach the person managing the list at > oe-owner(a)lists.wedgeblade.net > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > than "Re: Contents of OE digest..." > Today's Topics: > > 1. Birthday Witness (Richard Alton) > 2. Re: Birthday Witness (Robertson Work) > 3. Re: [Dialogue] Birthday Witness (Jack Gilles) > 4. Re: Birthday Witness (McCabe, Diann A) > 5. Re: [Dialogue] Fwd: Birthday Witness (Ellie Stock) > > > > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > From: Richard Alton <richard.alton(a)gmail.com> > To: Order Ecumenical Community <oe(a)lists.wedgeblade.net>, > ica-dialogue(a)igc.topica.com > Cc: > Bcc: > Date: Sat, 14 Dec 2019 16:57:57 -0600 > Subject: [Oe List ...] Birthday Witness > > *Death up Close* > > It has been a rough year. Late in 2018 I fell off my bike and headed to > the doctor to make sure I was okay. From a CT scan discovered two lung > spots- four months of CT scans, a PET scan and a biopsy, (which caused a > collapsed lung) to find out it was nothing the doctors were concerned > about. But it generated a lot of thinking about my end of life, and death. > Even went to a Church class on sharing what you have done or need to do to > get ready for your funeral. > > Then Jim Stovall, Sally’s brother (10 years in the Order), came down with > stage 4 cirrhosis of the liver. They worked on a liver replacement, but > Jim’s body became toxic and he died in April of this year. Then in May, > Sally (significant other for 14 years) had a major stroke and died- just to > give you a feel for this death up close: > > Sally, nothing basically wrong...just general 70-year health problems... a > little issue with high blood pressure but controlled by pills. She was > getting ready for a meeting and I came into the bedroom and she was on the > bed- said she got dizzy in the bathroom and just barely made it to the bed. > She said she had a headache (her speech was a little slurred) and wanted > two aspirins- I gave them to her and left her on the bed for 15 minutes- > came back and she wanted to eat something- sure- but she could not get up > except her left arm- I grabbed her arm but she was not able to make it up- > I called ambulance-we got to the hospital- she had a massive stroke with > major brain bleeding... from local Western Suburban Hospital took her > downtown by ambulance to Rush (Chicago stroke Hospital). Arrived at > Hospital by 10:30pm and they determined she had lost most of her brain > function. We kept her on a breathing tube until her sister and daughter > arrived the next day and pulled tube after a prayer service with her pastor > Marti, Pam Bergdall, Carol (sister), Teresa (daughter), George Emerick > (Teresa’s father) and myself. Sally lasted about 15 minutes. In a way it > was great, it was quick. She was unconscious almost immediately at 730pm > Monday night and pronounced dead at 4:27pm the next day, May 21st.. a great > life > > But I wasn’t prepared for the HOLE that was blown in my life with the loss > of my partner of 14 years. And in the midst of this emotional loss, I have > had to spend the last 7 months taking care of the aftereffects of Sally’s > death and re-organizing my life. So, my learnings from these 3 death > experiences (I count my lung problem as a near death): > > 1. > > 1) In all 3 events I was struck how unprepared we are for death both > in handling others deaths or our own. We are overwhelmed by the loss of our > loved one to deal with what is the most important event of our or their > lives. How can we pay so little attention to expressing the meaning and > purpose of this glorious life we have had? > 2. > > 2) Second, death is usually hidden and then burst into our lives. > Death is wicked how fast it comes and how it is all consuming and leaves > little room for preparation or even thought. Sally’s stroke was > unannounced, and she was gone in less that 12 hours. Jim Stovall was in a > hospital fighting a losing battle for his life and Sally and his family > were totally consumed with his care. It is hidden in that we do not > want to even consider this end or admit to our finitude and mortality. The > hiddenness from death, from this final power cuts us off from our journey > leaves us shocked and disoriented in thinking/preparing to have a > meaningful ending > > 3) What happens is professionals that deal a lot with death step in > and organize the readings, the message, the music, the witness, the > reception as the family and friends are frozen in losing a beloved one. > When you read Matthew’s The Time My Father Died and Matthews gets mad at > what the funeral home had done to his father. The issue is not the funeral > home but rather Joseph had not thought through his father’s death. > > [image: page2image6769664] > > In the case of Sally, since I had been thinking about my own death- I > asked ICA’s Seva Gandhi to do one of the Memorial Services witnesses to > Sally’s life. I asked her to reflect on Sally’s time in the Order, the > Ecumenical Institute and Institute of Cultural Affairs. Seva did a great > job capturing Sally’s thankfulness for being in a religious community and > how she engaged herself as being part of a global servant force that was > out to care for the poorest of the poor. I was so pleased that it seemed to > hold the depth, wonder and uniqueness of her existence; > > - Sally loved the religious house and the community, interaction, > structures it brought her life. > - > - Sally loved the town meetings and her engaging the small towns > across Utah. She had an amazing memory of those small town meetings and > especially the songs. > - > - It was clear that Sally had found purpose in her life and was sent > to make a difference in this world. Others sensed this too. Was pretty > obvious when she died on a Tuesday and the next day, Wednesday, we held a > prayer service with 100 people showing up and talked and talked about what > Sally meant to their lives. And then that Saturday at her Memorial Service > 250 people showed up many unknown to us... people were standing in the > Church aisles > > But my lesson learned through all of this is that we need to take > ownership of our death and the message (word) it brings to others. I have > worked on my funeral: like to have the Daily Office liturgy, DH Lawrence’s > Not I, Not I But a New Wind Blowing Through Me read, decided what I like to > have read from the NT and the OT and who and what would like have sung plus > a witness-one being the ICA. For Sally’s Memorial Service her children > pulled together a slide show that was fabulous. Need to do that. > > I think the basic message is that we need to get our deaths thought > through. > So 3 deaths (actually Sally’s sister died the year before) and a funeral > class has > > made death up close as a reality. Overwhelming experience; need to bring > intentionality and attentionally to our deaths and the death needs to speak > the “Word”. So from this experience and dialogue I have joined with others > to form a “Death Team” (Pam Bergdall and Seva Gandhi- who says death is > always on her mind), We are proposing a quarterly death webinar or more > like a death sharing circle to get our deaths in shape...it has been said > that facing up to death also makes for a better life. What think you? > > Dick Alton, RS-1, 1968, born December 14, 1941 > > -- > Richard H. T. Alton > One Earth Film Fest ( OEFF) > Green Community Connections > Interfaith Green Network > T: 773.344.7172 > richard.alton(a)gmail.com > **Save the Date! One Earth Film Festival 2019, March 1-10* > http:www.oneearthfilmfestival.org > > Make Plain the Vision, Habakkuh 2:2 > > > > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > From: Robertson Work <warkers(a)msn.com> > To: Order Ecumenical Community <oe(a)lists.wedgeblade.net>, " > ica-dialogue(a)igc.topica.com" <ica-dialogue(a)igc.topica.com>, " > dialogue(a)lists.wedgeblade.net" <dialogue(a)lists.wedgeblade.net> > Cc: > Bcc: > Date: Sun, 15 Dec 2019 00:58:22 +0000 > Subject: Re: [Oe List ...] Birthday Witness > My dear brother Dick, > > Blessings on you, Dick, in your grief and gratitude, over the passing of > your beloved Sally. It is so very hard. My Mary passed away 16 years ago > and it is forever fresh. I love your proposal of a "Death Team." Count me > in. > > What I am saying these days is that I want to make Death my friend, to > remind me every second that every second counts. How do we each live life > to the fullest each and every moment and day? The greatest memorial we can > have is not a memorial service but a lifetime of service for people and > planet, especially at this critical moment in history and evolution when > humanity and many of our fellow Earthlings are threatened with extinction. > Civilizations are born and die. Planets are born and die. Impermanence is > part of the very essence of being a living being in this mysterious > universe. > > Much love to all, > > Rob > > > > ................................................................................................ > > Recent book: *A Compassionate Civilization: The Urgency of Sustainable > Development and Mindful Activism - Reflections and Recommendations* > https://www.amazon.com/dp/1546972617 > > Blog: https://compassionatecivilization.blogspot.com/ > <https://compassionatecivilization.blogspot.com/> > <https://compassionatecivilization.blogspot.com/> > > LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robertsonwork/ > > Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/compassionatecivilization/ > > ------------------------------ > *From:* OE <oe-bounces(a)lists.wedgeblade.net> on behalf of Richard Alton > via OE <oe(a)lists.wedgeblade.net> > *Sent:* Saturday, December 14, 2019 5:57 PM > *To:* Order Ecumenical Community <oe(a)lists.wedgeblade.net>; > ica-dialogue(a)igc.topica.com <ica-dialogue(a)igc.topica.com> > *Cc:* Richard Alton <richard.alton(a)gmail.com> > *Subject:* [Oe List ...] Birthday Witness > > > *Death up Close* > > It has been a rough year. Late in 2018 I fell off my bike and headed to > the doctor to make sure I was okay. From a CT scan discovered two lung > spots- four months of CT scans, a PET scan and a biopsy, (which caused a > collapsed lung) to find out it was nothing the doctors were concerned > about. But it generated a lot of thinking about my end of life, and death. > Even went to a Church class on sharing what you have done or need to do to > get ready for your funeral. > > Then Jim Stovall, Sally’s brother (10 years in the Order), came down with > stage 4 cirrhosis of the liver. They worked on a liver replacement, but > Jim’s body became toxic and he died in April of this year. Then in May, > Sally (significant other for 14 years) had a major stroke and died- just to > give you a feel for this death up close: > > Sally, nothing basically wrong...just general 70-year health problems... a > little issue with high blood pressure but controlled by pills. She was > getting ready for a meeting and I came into the bedroom and she was on the > bed- said she got dizzy in the bathroom and just barely made it to the bed. > She said she had a headache (her speech was a little slurred) and wanted > two aspirins- I gave them to her and left her on the bed for 15 minutes- > came back and she wanted to eat something- sure- but she could not get up > except her left arm- I grabbed her arm but she was not able to make it up- > I called ambulance-we got to the hospital- she had a massive stroke with > major brain bleeding... from local Western Suburban Hospital took her > downtown by ambulance to Rush (Chicago stroke Hospital). Arrived at > Hospital by 10:30pm and they determined she had lost most of her brain > function. We kept her on a breathing tube until her sister and daughter > arrived the next day and pulled tube after a prayer service with her pastor > Marti, Pam Bergdall, Carol (sister), Teresa (daughter), George Emerick > (Teresa’s father) and myself. Sally lasted about 15 minutes. In a way it > was great, it was quick. She was unconscious almost immediately at 730pm > Monday night and pronounced dead at 4:27pm the next day, May 21st.. a great > life > > But I wasn’t prepared for the HOLE that was blown in my life with the loss > of my partner of 14 years. And in the midst of this emotional loss, I have > had to spend the last 7 months taking care of the aftereffects of Sally’s > death and re-organizing my life. So, my learnings from these 3 death > experiences (I count my lung problem as a near death): > > 1. > > 1) In all 3 events I was struck how unprepared we are for death both > in handling others deaths or our own. We are overwhelmed by the loss of our > loved one to deal with what is the most important event of our or their > lives. How can we pay so little attention to expressing the meaning and > purpose of this glorious life we have had? > 2. > > 2) Second, death is usually hidden and then burst into our lives. > Death is wicked how fast it comes and how it is all consuming and leaves > little room for preparation or even thought. Sally’s stroke was > unannounced, and she was gone in less that 12 hours. Jim Stovall was in a > hospital fighting a losing battle for his life and Sally and his family > were totally consumed with his care. It is hidden in that we do not > want to even consider this end or admit to our finitude and mortality. The > hiddenness from death, from this final power cuts us off from our journey > leaves us shocked and disoriented in thinking/preparing to have a > meaningful ending > > 3) What happens is professionals that deal a lot with death step in > and organize the readings, the message, the music, the witness, the > reception as the family and friends are frozen in losing a beloved one. > When you read Matthew’s The Time My Father Died and Matthews gets mad at > what the funeral home had done to his father. The issue is not the funeral > home but rather Joseph had not thought through his father’s death. > > [image: page2image6769664] > > In the case of Sally, since I had been thinking about my own death- I > asked ICA’s Seva Gandhi to do one of the Memorial Services witnesses to > Sally’s life. I asked her to reflect on Sally’s time in the Order, the > Ecumenical Institute and Institute of Cultural Affairs. Seva did a great > job capturing Sally’s thankfulness for being in a religious community and > how she engaged herself as being part of a global servant force that was > out to care for the poorest of the poor. I was so pleased that it seemed to > hold the depth, wonder and uniqueness of her existence; > > - Sally loved the religious house and the community, interaction, > structures it brought her life. > - > - Sally loved the town meetings and her engaging the small towns > across Utah. She had an amazing memory of those small town meetings and > especially the songs. > - > - It was clear that Sally had found purpose in her life and was sent > to make a difference in this world. Others sensed this too. Was pretty > obvious when she died on a Tuesday and the next day, Wednesday, we held a > prayer service with 100 people showing up and talked and talked about what > Sally meant to their lives. And then that Saturday at her Memorial Service > 250 people showed up many unknown to us... people were standing in the > Church aisles > > But my lesson learned through all of this is that we need to take > ownership of our death and the message (word) it brings to others. I have > worked on my funeral: like to have the Daily Office liturgy, DH Lawrence’s > Not I, Not I But a New Wind Blowing Through Me read, decided what I like to > have read from the NT and the OT and who and what would like have sung plus > a witness-one being the ICA. For Sally’s Memorial Service her children > pulled together a slide show that was fabulous. Need to do that. > > I think the basic message is that we need to get our deaths thought > through. > So 3 deaths (actually Sally’s sister died the year before) and a funeral > class has > > made death up close as a reality. Overwhelming experience; need to bring > intentionality and attentionally to our deaths and the death needs to speak > the “Word”. So from this experience and dialogue I have joined with others > to form a “Death Team” (Pam Bergdall and Seva Gandhi- who says death is > always on her mind), We are proposing a quarterly death webinar or more > like a death sharing circle to get our deaths in shape...it has been said > that facing up to death also makes for a better life. What think you? > > Dick Alton, RS-1, 1968, born December 14, 1941 > > -- > Richard H. T. Alton > One Earth Film Fest ( OEFF) > Green Community Connections > Interfaith Green Network > T: 773.344.7172 > richard.alton(a)gmail.com > **Save the Date! One Earth Film Festival 2019, March 1-10* > http:www.oneearthfilmfestival.org > <https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.oneear…> > > Make Plain the Vision, Habakkuh 2:2 > > > > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > From: Jack Gilles <jackcgilles(a)gmail.com> > To: Frank Cookingham via Dialogue <dialogue(a)lists.wedgeblade.net> > Cc: OE Listserve <oe(a)lists.wedgeblade.net>, "ica-dialogue(a)igc.topica.com" > <ica-dialogue(a)igc.topica.com>, Rob Work <warkers(a)msn.com> > Bcc: > Date: Sat, 14 Dec 2019 19:02:20 -0600 > Subject: Re: [Oe List ...] [Dialogue] Birthday Witness > Dick, > > What an appropriate Birthday witness! I found it magnificent. I too want > to join the group discussion on this. > > Thanks so much!! > > Peace, > > Jack > > On Dec 14, 2019, at 18:58, Robertson Work via Dialogue < > dialogue(a)lists.wedgeblade.net> wrote: > > My dear brother Dick, > > Blessings on you, Dick, in your grief and gratitude, over the passing of > your beloved Sally. It is so very hard. My Mary passed away 16 years ago > and it is forever fresh. I love your proposal of a "Death Team." Count me > in. > > What I am saying these days is that I want to make Death my friend, to > remind me every second that every second counts. How do we each live life > to the fullest each and every moment and day? The greatest memorial we can > have is not a memorial service but a lifetime of service for people and > planet, especially at this critical moment in history and evolution when > humanity and many of our fellow Earthlings are threatened with extinction. > Civilizations are born and die. Planets are born and die. Impermanence is > part of the very essence of being a living being in this mysterious > universe. > > Much love to all, > > Rob > > > > ................................................................................................ > Recent book: *A Compassionate Civilization: The Urgency of Sustainable > Development and Mindful Activism - Reflections and Recommendations* > https://www.amazon.com/dp/1546972617 > Blog: https://compassionatecivilization.blogspot.com/ > <https://compassionatecivilization.blogspot.com/> > <https://compassionatecivilization.blogspot.com/> > LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robertsonwork/ > Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/compassionatecivilization/ > > ------------------------------ > *From:* OE <oe-bounces(a)lists.wedgeblade.net> on behalf of Richard Alton > via OE <oe(a)lists.wedgeblade.net> > *Sent:* Saturday, December 14, 2019 5:57 PM > *To:* Order Ecumenical Community <oe(a)lists.wedgeblade.net>; > ica-dialogue(a)igc.topica.com <ica-dialogue(a)igc.topica.com> > *Cc:* Richard Alton <richard.alton(a)gmail.com> > *Subject:* [Oe List ...] Birthday Witness > > *Death up Close* > It has been a rough year. Late in 2018 I fell off my bike and headed to > the doctor to make sure I was okay. From a CT scan discovered two lung > spots- four months of CT scans, a PET scan and a biopsy, (which caused a > collapsed lung) to find out it was nothing the doctors were concerned > about. But it generated a lot of thinking about my end of life, and death. > Even went to a Church class on sharing what you have done or need to do to > get ready for your funeral. > Then Jim Stovall, Sally’s brother (10 years in the Order), came down with > stage 4 cirrhosis of the liver. They worked on a liver replacement, but > Jim’s body became toxic and he died in April of this year. Then in May, > Sally (significant other for 14 years) had a major stroke and died- just to > give you a feel for this death up close: > Sally, nothing basically wrong...just general 70-year health problems... a > little issue with high blood pressure but controlled by pills. She was > getting ready for a meeting and I came into the bedroom and she was on the > bed- said she got dizzy in the bathroom and just barely made it to the bed. > She said she had a headache (her speech was a little slurred) and wanted > two aspirins- I gave them to her and left her on the bed for 15 minutes- > came back and she wanted to eat something- sure- but she could not get up > except her left arm- I grabbed her arm but she was not able to make it up- > I called ambulance-we got to the hospital- she had a massive stroke with > major brain bleeding... from local Western Suburban Hospital took her > downtown by ambulance to Rush (Chicago stroke Hospital). Arrived at > Hospital by 10:30pm and they determined she had lost most of her brain > function. We kept her on a breathing tube until her sister and daughter > arrived the next day and pulled tube after a prayer service with her pastor > Marti, Pam Bergdall, Carol (sister), Teresa (daughter), George Emerick > (Teresa’s father) and myself. Sally lasted about 15 minutes. In a way it > was great, it was quick. She was unconscious almost immediately at 730pm > Monday night and pronounced dead at 4:27pm the next day, May 21st.. a great > life > But I wasn’t prepared for the HOLE that was blown in my life with the loss > of my partner of 14 years. And in the midst of this emotional loss, I have > had to spend the last 7 months taking care of the aftereffects of Sally’s > death and re-organizing my life. So, my learnings from these 3 death > experiences (I count my lung problem as a near death): > > 1. 1) In all 3 events I was struck how unprepared we are for death > both in handling others deaths or our own. We are overwhelmed by the loss > of our loved one to deal with what is the most important event of our or > their lives. How can we pay so little attention to expressing the meaning > and purpose of this glorious life we have had? > 2. 2) Second, death is usually hidden and then burst into our lives. > Death is wicked how fast it comes and how it is all consuming and leaves > little room for preparation or even thought. Sally’s stroke was > unannounced, and she was gone in less that 12 hours. Jim Stovall was in a > hospital fighting a losing battle for his life and Sally and his family > were totally consumed with his care. It is hidden in that we do not > want to even consider this end or admit to our finitude and mortality. The > hiddenness from death, from this final power cuts us off from our journey > leaves us shocked and disoriented in thinking/preparing to have a > meaningful ending > 3) What happens is professionals that deal a lot with death step in > and organize the readings, the message, the music, the witness, the > reception as the family and friends are frozen in losing a beloved one. > When you read Matthew’s The Time My Father Died and Matthews gets mad at > what the funeral home had done to his father. The issue is not the funeral > home but rather Joseph had not thought through his father’s death. > > [image: page2image6769664] > In the case of Sally, since I had been thinking about my own death- I > asked ICA’s Seva Gandhi to do one of the Memorial Services witnesses to > Sally’s life. I asked her to reflect on Sally’s time in the Order, the > Ecumenical Institute and Institute of Cultural Affairs. Seva did a great > job capturing Sally’s thankfulness for being in a religious community and > how she engaged herself as being part of a global servant force that was > out to care for the poorest of the poor. I was so pleased that it seemed to > hold the depth, wonder and uniqueness of her existence; > > - Sally loved the religious house and the community, interaction, > structures it brought her life. > - > - Sally loved the town meetings and her engaging the small towns > across Utah. She had an amazing memory of those small town meetings and > especially the songs. > - > - It was clear that Sally had found purpose in her life and was sent > to make a difference in this world. Others sensed this too. Was pretty > obvious when she died on a Tuesday and the next day, Wednesday, we held a > prayer service with 100 people showing up and talked and talked about what > Sally meant to their lives. And then that Saturday at her Memorial Service > 250 people showed up many unknown to us... people were standing in the > Church aisles > > But my lesson learned through all of this is that we need to take > ownership of our death and the message (word) it brings to others. I have > worked on my funeral: like to have the Daily Office liturgy, DH Lawrence’s > Not I, Not I But a New Wind Blowing Through Me read, decided what I like to > have read from the NT and the OT and who and what would like have sung plus > a witness-one being the ICA. For Sally’s Memorial Service her children > pulled together a slide show that was fabulous. Need to do that. > I think the basic message is that we need to get our deaths thought > through. > So 3 deaths (actually Sally’s sister died the year before) and a funeral > class has > made death up close as a reality. Overwhelming experience; need to bring > intentionality and attentionally to our deaths and the death needs to speak > the “Word”. So from this experience and dialogue I have joined with others > to form a “Death Team” (Pam Bergdall and Seva Gandhi- who says death is > always on her mind), We are proposing a quarterly death webinar or more > like a death sharing circle to get our deaths in shape...it has been said > that facing up to death also makes for a better life. What think you? > Dick Alton, RS-1, 1968, born December 14, 1941 > > -- > Richard H. T. Alton > One Earth Film Fest ( OEFF) > Green Community Connections > Interfaith Green Network > T: 773.344.7172 > richard.alton(a)gmail.com > **Save the Date! One Earth Film Festival 2019, March 1-10* > http:www.oneearthfilmfestival.org > <https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.oneear…> > > Make Plain the Vision, Habakkuh 2:2 > _______________________________________________ > Dialogue mailing list > Dialogue(a)lists.wedgeblade.net > http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/dialogue-wedgeblade.net > > > > > > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > From: "McCabe, Diann A" <dm14(a)txstate.edu> > To: Order Ecumenical Community <oe(a)lists.wedgeblade.net>, " > ica-dialogue(a)igc.topica.com" <ica-dialogue(a)igc.topica.com> > Cc: > Bcc: > Date: Sun, 15 Dec 2019 01:17:51 +0000 > Subject: Re: [Oe List ...] Birthday Witness > Thank you, Dick. I am interested in participating in the death webinar if > possible. The idea of being prepared has been on my mind but slides away > with "doing." Thanks for centering it again.--Diann McCabe > ------------------------------ > *From:* OE <oe-bounces(a)lists.wedgeblade.net> on behalf of Richard Alton > via OE <oe(a)lists.wedgeblade.net> > *Sent:* Saturday, December 14, 2019 4:57 PM > *To:* Order Ecumenical Community <oe(a)lists.wedgeblade.net>; > ica-dialogue(a)igc.topica.com <ica-dialogue(a)igc.topica.com> > *Cc:* Richard Alton <richard.alton(a)gmail.com> > *Subject:* [Oe List ...] Birthday Witness > > > *Death up Close* > > It has been a rough year. Late in 2018 I fell off my bike and headed to > the doctor to make sure I was okay. From a CT scan discovered two lung > spots- four months of CT scans, a PET scan and a biopsy, (which caused a > collapsed lung) to find out it was nothing the doctors were concerned > about. But it generated a lot of thinking about my end of life, and death. > Even went to a Church class on sharing what you have done or need to do to > get ready for your funeral. > > Then Jim Stovall, Sally’s brother (10 years in the Order), came down with > stage 4 cirrhosis of the liver. They worked on a liver replacement, but > Jim’s body became toxic and he died in April of this year. Then in May, > Sally (significant other for 14 years) had a major stroke and died- just to > give you a feel for this death up close: > > Sally, nothing basically wrong...just general 70-year health problems... a > little issue with high blood pressure but controlled by pills. She was > getting ready for a meeting and I came into the bedroom and she was on the > bed- said she got dizzy in the bathroom and just barely made it to the bed. > She said she had a headache (her speech was a little slurred) and wanted > two aspirins- I gave them to her and left her on the bed for 15 minutes- > came back and she wanted to eat something- sure- but she could not get up > except her left arm- I grabbed her arm but she was not able to make it up- > I called ambulance-we got to the hospital- she had a massive stroke with > major brain bleeding... from local Western Suburban Hospital took her > downtown by ambulance to Rush (Chicago stroke Hospital). Arrived at > Hospital by 10:30pm and they determined she had lost most of her brain > function. We kept her on a breathing tube until her sister and daughter > arrived the next day and pulled tube after a prayer service with her pastor > Marti, Pam Bergdall, Carol (sister), Teresa (daughter), George Emerick > (Teresa’s father) and myself. Sally lasted about 15 minutes. In a way it > was great, it was quick. She was unconscious almost immediately at 730pm > Monday night and pronounced dead at 4:27pm the next day, May 21st.. a great > life > > But I wasn’t prepared for the HOLE that was blown in my life with the loss > of my partner of 14 years. And in the midst of this emotional loss, I have > had to spend the last 7 months taking care of the aftereffects of Sally’s > death and re-organizing my life. So, my learnings from these 3 death > experiences (I count my lung problem as a near death): > > 1. > > 1) In all 3 events I was struck how unprepared we are for death both > in handling others deaths or our own. We are overwhelmed by the loss of our > loved one to deal with what is the most important event of our or their > lives. How can we pay so little attention to expressing the meaning and > purpose of this glorious life we have had? > 2. > > 2) Second, death is usually hidden and then burst into our lives. > Death is wicked how fast it comes and how it is all consuming and leaves > little room for preparation or even thought. Sally’s stroke was > unannounced, and she was gone in less that 12 hours. Jim Stovall was in a > hospital fighting a losing battle for his life and Sally and his family > were totally consumed with his care. It is hidden in that we do not > want to even consider this end or admit to our finitude and mortality. The > hiddenness from death, from this final power cuts us off from our journey > leaves us shocked and disoriented in thinking/preparing to have a > meaningful ending > > 3) What happens is professionals that deal a lot with death step in > and organize the readings, the message, the music, the witness, the > reception as the family and friends are frozen in losing a beloved one. > When you read Matthew’s The Time My Father Died and Matthews gets mad at > what the funeral home had done to his father. The issue is not the funeral > home but rather Joseph had not thought through his father’s death. > > [image: page2image6769664] > > In the case of Sally, since I had been thinking about my own death- I > asked ICA’s Seva Gandhi to do one of the Memorial Services witnesses to > Sally’s life. I asked her to reflect on Sally’s time in the Order, the > Ecumenical Institute and Institute of Cultural Affairs. Seva did a great > job capturing Sally’s thankfulness for being in a religious community and > how she engaged herself as being part of a global servant force that was > out to care for the poorest of the poor. I was so pleased that it seemed to > hold the depth, wonder and uniqueness of her existence; > > - Sally loved the religious house and the community, interaction, > structures it brought her life. > - > - Sally loved the town meetings and her engaging the small towns > across Utah. She had an amazing memory of those small town meetings and > especially the songs. > - > - It was clear that Sally had found purpose in her life and was sent > to make a difference in this world. Others sensed this too. Was pretty > obvious when she died on a Tuesday and the next day, Wednesday, we held a > prayer service with 100 people showing up and talked and talked about what > Sally meant to their lives. And then that Saturday at her Memorial Service > 250 people showed up many unknown to us... people were standing in the > Church aisles > > But my lesson learned through all of this is that we need to take > ownership of our death and the message (word) it brings to others. I have > worked on my funeral: like to have the Daily Office liturgy, DH Lawrence’s > Not I, Not I But a New Wind Blowing Through Me read, decided what I like to > have read from the NT and the OT and who and what would like have sung plus > a witness-one being the ICA. For Sally’s Memorial Service her children > pulled together a slide show that was fabulous. Need to do that. > > I think the basic message is that we need to get our deaths thought > through. > So 3 deaths (actually Sally’s sister died the year before) and a funeral > class has > > made death up close as a reality. Overwhelming experience; need to bring > intentionality and attentionally to our deaths and the death needs to speak > the “Word”. So from this experience and dialogue I have joined with others > to form a “Death Team” (Pam Bergdall and Seva Gandhi- who says death is > always on her mind), We are proposing a quarterly death webinar or more > like a death sharing circle to get our deaths in shape...it has been said > that facing up to death also makes for a better life. What think you? > > Dick Alton, RS-1, 1968, born December 14, 1941 > > -- > Richard H. T. Alton > One Earth Film Fest ( OEFF) > Green Community Connections > Interfaith Green Network > T: 773.344.7172 > richard.alton(a)gmail.com > **Save the Date! One Earth Film Festival 2019, March 1-10* > http:www.oneearthfilmfestival.org > <https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.oneear…> > > Make Plain the Vision, Habakkuh 2:2 > > > > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > From: Ellie Stock <elliestock(a)aol.com> > To: dialogue(a)lists.wedgeblade.net, oe(a)lists.wedgeblade.net > Cc: > Bcc: > Date: Sun, 15 Dec 2019 02:44:41 +0000 (UTC) > Subject: Re: [Oe List ...] [Dialogue] Fwd: Birthday Witness > Hi Dick, > > Thank you for your birthday witness, pondering your death > experiences--what a year it has been for you. The news of Sally's death > came as a shock, as we had seen you both the summer before. > > So many ways to ponder death...whether it be the loss of a beloved, the > violence held up in the daily news, the slow deaths of friends and family > members suffering from terminal illness, the suffering of others and Earth > itself or dying to the self in servanthood--all hold a mirror to the > fragility of our own lives and ask the question: how shall we then live? > > I recall reading Castaneda--death being a friend, looking over our > shoulder...death bringing life into sharp focus. I also remember Matthews > saying if you can't picture yourself on a cold cement slab, you won't be > able to risk or give yourself to anything. So we are ultimately talking > about life... > > So your sharing catalyzes pondering in all of us... > > A reflection from 1967... > > > life > > death fears not death. > death fears not dying— > or dying fears living > and living fears birth > and birth fears love > and love fears knowing > then love is not love > and free is not free > and knowing fears senses > and sense rewombs in isolation > and senseless perpetuation > on pumiced islands > where green and red > no longer bear fertile brown > but miscarry zebra-striped lava, > charring wild blossoms of > sensitivity and intelligibility > rooted in destructivity, > and poof! and perhaps pow! > sizzling, sinking, and ominous silence seal > a watery sepulcher > mourned by black and blue— > if death fears dying. > ejh > > Grace and peace ~ > > Ellie :) > elliestock(a)aol.com > > > > > -----Original Message----- > From: Richard Alton via Dialogue <dialogue(a)lists.wedgeblade.net> > To: Colleague Dialogue <dialogue(a)lists.wedgeblade.net> > Cc: Richard Alton <richard.alton(a)gmail.com> > Sent: Sat, Dec 14, 2019 4:59 pm > Subject: [Dialogue] Fwd: Birthday Witness > > *Death up Close* > It has been a rough year. Late in 2018 I fell off my bike and headed to > the doctor to make sure I was okay. From a CT scan discovered two lung > spots- four months of CT scans, a PET scan and a biopsy, (which caused a > collapsed lung) to find out it was nothing the doctors were concerned > about. But it generated a lot of thinking about my end of life, and death. > Even went to a Church class on sharing what you have done or need to do to > get ready for your funeral. > Then Jim Stovall, Sally’s brother (10 years in the Order), came down with > stage 4 cirrhosis of the liver. They worked on a liver replacement, but > Jim’s body became toxic and he died in April of this year. Then in May, > Sally (significant other for 14 years) had a major stroke and died- just to > give you a feel for this death up close: > Sally, nothing basically wrong...just general 70-year health problems... a > little issue with high blood pressure but controlled by pills. She was > getting ready for a meeting and I came into the bedroom and she was on the > bed- said she got dizzy in the bathroom and just barely made it to the bed. > She said she had a headache (her speech was a little slurred) and wanted > two aspirins- I gave them to her and left her on the bed for 15 minutes- > came back and she wanted to eat something- sure- but she could not get up > except her left arm- I grabbed her arm but she was not able to make it up- > I called ambulance-we got to the hospital- she had a massive stroke with > major brain bleeding... from local Western Suburban Hospital took her > downtown by ambulance to Rush (Chicago stroke Hospital). Arrived at > Hospital by 10:30pm and they determined she had lost most of her brain > function. We kept her on a breathing tube until her sister and daughter > arrived the next day and pulled tube after a prayer service with her pastor > Marti, Pam Bergdall, Carol (sister), Teresa (daughter), George Emerick > (Teresa’s father) and myself. Sally lasted about 15 minutes. In a way it > was great, it was quick. She was unconscious almost immediately at 730pm > Monday night and pronounced dead at 4:27pm the next day, May 21st.. a great > life > But I wasn’t prepared for the HOLE that was blown in my life with the loss > of my partner of 14 years. And in the midst of this emotional loss, I have > had to spend the last 7 months taking care of the aftereffects of Sally’s > death and re-organizing my life. So, my learnings from these 3 death > experiences (I count my lung problem as a near death): > > 1. 1) In all 3 events I was struck how unprepared we are for death > both in handling others deaths or our own. We are overwhelmed by the loss > of our loved one to deal with what is the most important event of our or > their lives. How can we pay so little attention to expressing the meaning > and purpose of this glorious life we have had? > 2. 2) Second, death is usually hidden and then burst into our lives. > Death is wicked how fast it comes and how it is all consuming and leaves > little room for preparation or even thought. Sally’s stroke was > unannounced, and she was gone in less that 12 hours. Jim Stovall was in a > hospital fighting a losing battle for his life and Sally and his family > were totally consumed with his care. It is hidden in that we do not > want to even consider this end or admit to our finitude and mortality. The > hiddenness from death, from this final power cuts us off from our journey > leaves us shocked and disoriented in thinking/preparing to have a > meaningful ending > 3) What happens is professionals that deal a lot with death step in > and organize the readings, the message, the music, the witness, the > reception as the family and friends are frozen in losing a beloved one. > When you read Matthew’s The Time My Father Died and Matthews gets mad at > what the funeral home had done to his father. The issue is not the funeral > home but rather Joseph had not thought through his father’s death. > > [image: page2image6769664] > In the case of Sally, since I had been thinking about my own death- I > asked ICA’s Seva Gandhi to do one of the Memorial Services witnesses to > Sally’s life. I asked her to reflect on Sally’s time in the Order, the > Ecumenical Institute and Institute of Cultural Affairs. Seva did a great > job capturing Sally’s thankfulness for being in a religious community and > how she engaged herself as being part of a global servant force that was > out to care for the poorest of the poor. I was so pleased that it seemed to > hold the depth, wonder and uniqueness of her existence; > > - Sally loved the religious house and the community, interaction, > structures it brought her life. > - > - Sally loved the town meetings and her engaging the small towns > across Utah. She had an amazing memory of those small town meetings and > especially the songs. > - > - It was clear that Sally had found purpose in her life and was sent > to make a difference in this world. Others sensed this too. Was pretty > obvious when she died on a Tuesday and the next day, Wednesday, we held a > prayer service with 100 people showing up and talked and talked about what > Sally meant to their lives. And then that Saturday at her Memorial Service > 250 people showed up many unknown to us... people were standing in the > Church aisles > > But my lesson learned through all of this is that we need to take > ownership of our death and the message (word) it brings to others. I have > worked on my funeral: like to have the Daily Office liturgy, DH Lawrence’s > Not I, Not I But a New Wind Blowing Through Me read, decided what I like to > have read from the NT and the OT and who and what would like have sung plus > a witness-one being the ICA. For Sally’s Memorial Service her children > pulled together a slide show that was fabulous. Need to do that. > I think the basic message is that we need to get our deaths thought > through. > So 3 deaths (actually Sally’s sister died the year before) and a funeral > class has > made death up close as a reality. Overwhelming experience; need to bring > intentionality and attentionally to our deaths and the death needs to speak > the “Word”. So from this experience and dialogue I have joined with others > to form a “Death Team” (Pam Bergdall and Seva Gandhi- who says death is > always on her mind), We are proposing a quarterly death webinar or more > like a death sharing circle to get our deaths in shape...it has been said > that facing up to death also makes for a better life. What think you? > Dick Alton, RS-1, 1968, born December 14, 1941 > > -- > Richard H. T. Alton > One Earth Film Fest ( OEFF) > Green Community Connections > Interfaith Green Network > T: 773.344.7172 > richard.alton(a)gmail.com > **Save the Date! One Earth Film Festival 2019, March 1-10* > http:www.oneearthfilmfestival.org > > Make Plain the Vision, Habakkuh 2:2 > > _______________________________________________ > Dialogue mailing list > Dialogue(a)lists.wedgeblade.net > http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/dialogue-wedgeblade.net > > _______________________________________________ > OE mailing list > OE(a)lists.wedgeblade.net > http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net >

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12/12/19, Progressing Spirit: Lauren Van Ham: Imagine That!; Spong revisited
by Ellie Stock 12 Dec '19

12 Dec '19

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!important;line-height:150% !important;} }@media screen and (max-width:480px){ #yiv0924999122 #yiv0924999122templateBody .yiv0924999122mcnTextContent, #yiv0924999122 #yiv0924999122templateBody .yiv0924999122mcnTextContent p{ font-size:14px !important;line-height:150% !important;} }@media screen and (max-width:480px){ #yiv0924999122 #yiv0924999122templateFooter .yiv0924999122mcnTextContent, #yiv0924999122 #yiv0924999122templateFooter .yiv0924999122mcnTextContent p{ font-size:12px !important;line-height:150% !important;} } What sort of change do you imagine when you hear the words, “everyone,” and, “everything”? | | | | View this email in your browser | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Imagine That! | | | | | | | | | | Essay by Rev. Lauren Van Ham, MA December 12, 2019Last Spring, Greta Thunberg’s statement to the European Parliament included the phrase, “Everyone and everything needs to change.” It’s become a mantra for me: Everyone, Everything, Me, Changing. What sort of change do you imagine when you hear the words, “everyone,” and, “everything”? To me, it sounds large. Downright Biblical. And, here is my real question: are we even able to imagine it? Probably not. Maybe some of us, for a moment? Maybe in glimpses? At long last, there is starting to be some real recognition of what we humans have done to ourselves and the living system in which we’re intricately woven. Along with this recognition comes an assortment of responses, emotions, and agendas. Scientists, social entrepreneurs and activists are meeting the faces of those who had believed things, “weren’t so bad,” that a solution was being worked out “behind the scenes.” More and more of us now see and understand that humans surviving the climate crisis is not a guarantee, and very much up to us. This level of urgency and importance can create a froth of nervous activity, panic, hunkering down… But there is another possibility. And the season we’re in carries instructions! Since Summer, I have found relief in the writings of Jem Bendell, a professor of leadership from the UK, who is teaching from the awareness that societal collapse, related to climate chaos, is already happening. He calls our task at hand, “Deep Adaptation.” With others from the climate policy community, Bendell releases all previous ideas of, “sustainability,” and instead explores what kind of adaptation is possible. Different aspects of Deep Adaptation, are described using four “Rs.” Resiliency considers first how to reduce harm and not make matters worse by cutting emissions, adhering to international drawdown measures, and such. Relinquishment, describes measures for protecting ourselves in the ways we can by withdrawing from global coastlines and not building in fire zones, for example, as well as decommissioning vulnerable industrial facilities. These steps are hugely important, but it’s the next two Rs of Deep Adaptation that really get me. In Restoration, Bendell pointedly asks how we might live and die lovingly because of the necessary changes. In what ways will we act to lovingly care for what we’ve destroyed or eroded? How will we practice restoration, in Jem’s words, “not because it will work, but because we have a faith or sense that it is the right way to be alive?” For any of us who walk a spiritual path, for those who claim a practice of meaning-making, moving with Spirit, or living by Faith, this is what we endeavor to do…isn’t it??? In fact, as brilliant beings and co-creators in this interdependent web of life, isn’t that what we believe we are called to do? We’ve gotten lost. Even in our efforts to affect change in some places, we’ve fallen prey in others to the seductive din of Business as Usual. It’s really hard not to, AND I believe Advent and the Solstice season remind us of who we really are and of what we are truly capable! This season is the dreamtime. When Matthew and Luke set out to tell the birth story of Jesus, their assignment was great. They needed to shake people from what had become Business as Usual; to lift us from out of its loud, limited and fear-based thinking. Does any of this sound familiar? With enough unexpected and surprising nudges to look and listen for Spirit elsewhere, Luke and Matthew intended to help people return to a deeper truth, to more direct encounters with right ways to be alive. To do this, Matthew and Luke left historical accounts to others. They used cosmological and shamanic examples to tap something deeper in us, something filled with Creation and Divinity. Repeatedly, angels appear to Joseph, Zechariah, Mary and the shepherds. Nearly every time the Angels begin with, “Do not be afraid” and then continue to deliver a clear message that speaks to the Deeper Knowing inside each of the listeners.[i] The Christmas story, again and again, asks each of us to call into question the ways we have become comfortable in the scarcity and predictability of Business as Usual. Dreams, angels, bright star nights and animals awaken us with wild and Creation-infused imagery to embody our more liberated selves who can care and respond more creatively. This is good medicine for us right now. It is high time we find our way back to the cosmological perspectives and spiritual practices that will take us from our old ways of seeing while also offering the steady reassurance of, “Do not be afraid.” It is only from this space that we can imagine something different. The fourth R in Deep Adaptation is Reconciliation. Here, Bendell references anthropologist and psychologist Jonathan Lear’s work to better understand the Crow Nation of North America. In a summary of Lear’s book, Radical Hope, Scott Duimstra of Library Journal writes, “Lear examines the cultural collapse of…the Crow Nation. Lear begins by examining the importance of bravery, courage, and honor within the tribe’s culture and how these values were tested when the Crow were forced to abandon their warrior lifestyle and move onto a reservation. Their chief, Plenty Coups, inspired the Crow to use what Lear describes as ‘imaginative excellence’ by trying to imagine what ethical values would be needed in their new lifestyle. Plenty Coups did this with a combination of such traditional sources as dream interpretation and past ethical values, which gave the Crow an opportunity to overcome their despair and lead a meaningful life.” Plenty Coups understood Deep Adaptation. So much was lost. Reorientation was needed multiple times in order to find meaning in the meaningless, to find willingness in the face of death and irreparable losses. Imaginative excellence, indeed! Plenty Coups, like the Gospel writers, called hard upon our other ways of knowing – dreams, rituals, signs and symbols found in the wisdom of Creation and Spirit. Part of our paralysis right now is our fear of death. It’s so real. It’s also always been true. Should the fear we harbor around our own death stymie us in our efforts to find adaptive practices for all other life to flourish in the ways it can? Of course not. As people of faith it is our job to imagine what can be; to move from fear and limitation into creativity and care, ingenuity and trust, synchronicity and reciprocity within the living system that envelopes us. Dr. Cornel West calls on our imaginative excellence when he reminds us, “To be a Christian is to live dangerously, honestly, freely — to step in the name of love as if you may land on nothing, yet to keep on stepping because the something that sustains you no empire can give you and no empire can take away.” The instructions of this season are fantastic preparation for the year ahead and the climate emergency timeline we must heed. Counter to ALL the ways Business as Usual has usurped this season, making much of it a self-serving disaster, we are invited to choose otherwise. Can we – will we - give ourselves the space, the permission, the courage to excellently imagine the change ahead? Each one of us is being asked to suspend everything we think we know, so that we might restore our relationship with ourselves, Creation and one another. By embracing the 4 Rs, our actions can bring about healthy soil, water and air. Our future can include thriving networks of humans who are supporting one another locally while generously, peacefully sharing best practices globally. A world that honors balance and flow with all living species and discovers its innate and divine abundance…Imagine that!~ Rev. Lauren Van Ham, MA Read online here[i] If you are interested in learning more about the Christmas story’s origins and the intentional choices made by Gospel writers to free us from Business as Usual, I highly recommend The Liberating Birth of Jesus: A Birth Story Able to Reverse Our Planet’s Perils by Lee Van Ham (OneEarth Publishing, San Diego, CA. 2019) In the interest of transparency, the author is my Dad.About the Author Rev. Lauren Van Ham, MA was born and raised beneath the big sky of the Midwest, she 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). Lauren’s passion for spirituality, art and Earth's teachings have supported her specialization in eco-ministry, grief & loss, and sacred activism. Her essay, "Way of the Eco-Chaplain," appears in the collection, Ways of the Spirit: Voices of Women; and her work with Green Sangha is featured in Renewal, a documentary celebrating the efforts of religious environmental activists from diverse faith traditions across America. Her ideas can be heard on Vennly, an app that shares perspectives from spiritual and community leaders across different backgrounds and traditions. Currently, Lauren tends her private spiritual direction and eco-chaplaincy consulting practice; and serves as guest faculty for several schools in the San Francisco Bay Area. | | | | | | | | Question & Answer Q: By Glenda So, I have come to a point in my life where I no longer have a belief in a higher power. I was raised Southern Baptist and radiated to Methodist as an adult. After reading several of Dr. Spong’s books and essays I feel that what I had come to suspect is now true. Now I am lost, its as if there is not a Santa Claus. No being to look after me or my loved ones and perhaps no afterlife either. It’s not as if I am crushed but is it weird that I am still seeking “something”? What now? On the other hand, there is relief that there is not a God that only favors some, all the contradicting rhetoric in the Bible now doesn’t have to make sense to me. Please help. A: By Kaitlin Curtice Dear Glenda,I believe the person asking this question has come to a really important place in life, one that many people who grew up in fundamental religious spaces perhaps don’t get to. What happens when everything falls to the side and we are left with a sort of black hole where religion once was? I came to this in my late 20s and have been struggling with it ever since, while others come to this existential sort of crisis later in life. For example, I have found it quite comforting that the universe is far expanded outside the walls of the Baptist churches I grew up in. Instead of a patriarchal, white God who controls everything and blesses only those he deems worthy, I am enveloped by Mystery that I cannot comprehend. That gives me room to breathe a little, to ask big questions, to wonder. The advice I would give to the person asking this question is to let grief lead, at least for a little while. We must go through the process of letting go of the childhood “container,” as Richard Rohr calls it, to see what might be on the other side. Maybe on the other side it’s just more questions, but at least we know we aren’t alone. Ask what it means to be human, and that, if there isn’t an afterlife or a divine presence, what does it mean to still be a loving, kind human anyway, who honors others, human and non-human alike? We may not know what’s ahead of us, and perhaps we cannot make sense of the past, either. What we have is this exact moment, and we can be present to it. We can marvel at the way the leaves change colors and fall, or the way ice glistens in the sunlight. We can become childlike again, without having to succumb to our childhood religious prisons. That, at least, is something. Allowing ourselves to grieve a religion that was ours for so long will give us room to ask what’s next, and to not shame ourselves, whatever the answer may be. If we become atheists, humanists, just generally spiritual, or followers of another religion, we do it because our humanness leads us there, and there is no shame in that. If there is a God/Divine Being/Great Mystery, I’d like to think they’d be okay with our grief, lack of clarity, and wobbly legs as we find our way through this life. The best part is, we aren’t alone in the search, because if we are human, we are made for questions, for life, for seeking, for being, and for that beloved childlikeness that claims us along the way, every day. ~ Kaitlin Curtice Read and share online here About the Author Kaitlin Curtice is a Native American Christian author and speaker. As an enrolled member of the Potawatomi Citizen Band and someone who has grown up in the Christian faith, Kaitlin writes on the intersection of Indigenous spirituality, faith in everyday life, and the church. Her first book, Glory Happening: Finding the Divine in Everyday Places, was published with Paraclete Press in 2017. It is a series of fifty essays and prayers focusing on finding the sacred in everyday life. Kaitlin is currently working on her second book with Brazos Press, set to come out in 2020. It has been named by Publisher’s Weekly as a Religion and Spirituality book to watch for. Kaitlin has contributed to OnBeing, Religion News Service, USA Today and Sojourners, among others, and she was interviewed for the New Yorker on colonization within Christian missions. In 2018 she was featured in a documentary with CBS called “Race, Religion and Resistance,” speaking on the dangers of colonized Christianity. Kaitlin travels around the country speaking on faith and justice within the church as it relates to Indigenous peoples. She has been a featured speaker at Why Christian, Evolving Faith, Wild Goose Festival, The Festival of Faith and Writing, and more. | | | | | | | | Please continue to send us your feedback… we are listening. We aim to give voice to many different perspectives that are relevant and inspiring along this spiritually progressing path. We are not here to tell you what to believe or how to act. We are here to support your journey, to share and learn together.Thank you for being a part of this community! | | | | | | Join our FB community today! Spread the word, share with friends. Thanks! | | | | | | | | Bishop John Shelby Spong Revisited Origins of the Bible, Part X: The Rise of the Prophetic Movement: Nathan – Prophecy's Father Essay by Bishop John Shelby Spong August 15, 2008The prophets of the Hebrew Scriptures are not religious versions of Drew Pearson or Jeane Dixon. They do not predict future events. Prophets are those who are in touch with values, truth, perhaps we could call it God, and who thus see the issues of life more deeply than other people see them. Perhaps they are the ones who, by standing on the shoulders of others, can perceive future trends and speak to them before others see them developing. We have known artists to whom prescience has been attributed. A well-known Spanish painter, for example, painted a scene several years before the Spanish Civil War that portrayed his country torn apart in a violent struggle. The Bible might well have called him prophetic. He saw what there was to be seen, but not everyone was able to see it. The power of the prophets was also derived not from the established structures of the social order, but from the prophet's vision. They were always outside the lives of either political or ecclesiastical authority. As such, they were what King Ahab called the prophet Elijah, "Troublers of Israel". The established priesthood always resented the prophets for they were not ordained or trained. They were free spirits who somehow spoke with an authority that established figures wished they possessed. The ability to speak to authority in a way that demanded the authority's attention was the signal mark of the prophetic spirit. None of this, however, answers the question of just why it was that the role of the prophet was able to rise in Israel to such heights that the religion of Israel was said to rest with equal weight on the law (the Torah) and the prophets. It all began, I believe, in a charismatic confrontation between Israel's most powerful king and a man armed only with a sense of God's righteousness. That story is told in the Second Book of Samuel and it remains powerful today. King David lived in the biggest and tallest house in the city of Jerusalem, which meant that when he was out on his roof top he could look at the rooftops of all of Jerusalem's citizens. One afternoon when he was doing just that, he spied a beautiful woman taking a bath in what she assumed was the privacy of her own roof top. The king was smitten with her charms and at once sent a messenger to her with an invitation to visit the palace to have a tryst with her king. The woman came. Perhaps in the power equations of that world she had no choice, perhaps she wanted to come, the text doesn't tell us and so we will never know. The two of them, nonetheless, became lovers at least for this brief time. When the lovemaking was over, the woman, whose name was Bathsheba, returned to her home. I suspect this was neither the first nor the last such affair that King David had had and so he did not think much about it once the rendezvous had ended. So it was that that weeks passed and memories faded until they were newly called to mind by a message arriving at the palace directed to the king's eyes alone. The message read: "King David, I need for you to know that I am expecting your child." It was signed, Bathsheba. When David read it, he responded in a typically male, evasive way. "You are a married woman", he said. That is the first time that we learn from the biblical source that this tryst was an adulterous relationship that the king had had with a married woman. "Why do you assume that I am the father of this baby?" To which Bathsheba responded immediately, "I am indeed a married woman, but my husband Uriah is a soldier in the king's army. He has been fighting the king's wars under Joab, the king's military leader and thus he has not been home for months. There is no doubt, O King, that you are this baby's father." Still unwilling to accept responsibility, the king decided on an alternative course of action. It was plan B. He would grant Uriah a furlough so that Uriah could then come home, enjoy the privilege of his wife's bed and then, in this pre-DNA testing world, they could say this baby came early. It would not be the first time that tactic had been employed. So this permission for leave was conveyed by a royal messenger to the field and a very surprised Uriah found himself being granted an unprecedented furlough. What King David did not anticipate, however, was that Uriah had the make-up of the "original boy scout". He was a soldier first, drunk with the camaraderie of warfare. "It would not be fair or appropriate for me to enjoy the comforts of my home and my wife while my buddies are bleeding and dying on the battlefield from which I have somehow been removed. Therefore, in solidarity with them", he concluded, "I will not enter my home on this leave." Very ostentatiously Uriah set up a pup tent on the walk beside his home and spent his entire leave there. On viewing this, David, feeling trapped, said: "What a turkey" and began to develop Plan C. Once again a sealed royal order was conveyed to Joab, the commanding officer, this time by the hand of Uriah himself. In this letter David commanded Joab to organize his army into a flying wedge and hurl it at the gates of his enemy's capital city. Uriah was to be placed at the front tip of the flying wedge, where his death was all but inevitable. It was done. Uriah was struck down and killed. Joab then notified the king that his problem was now solved. King David sent for Bathsheba and she became a member, perhaps the dominant member, of his harem. Finally, King David felt that his problem was solved. This outrageous kingly behavior, however, did not escape the notice of a highly respected holy man whose name was Nathan. He decided that he must confront the king about the king's action. The reputation of Nathan was such that the king, unsuspecting of what was to come, granted him the audience that he requested. It must have been a strange confrontation. Here was King David in his royal chambers surrounded by all the wealth, power and opulence of royalty. Standing before him was Nathan, armed only with a sense of righteousness that is contained in what he believed was the moral law of God and the universe. When the two of them were alone Nathan said to the king that an episode of gross injustice in the king's realm had occurred and that Nathan felt compelled to bring it to the king's attention. The king encouraged Nathan to speak on. Nathan did so in terms of a parable. A certain poor man, he told the king, had a single ewe lamb that was treated as a pet in his family. This lamb was fed from the family's table, slept in the family's home and shared in the family's love. Another man who lived nearby, Nathan continued, was very wealthy and owned great flocks of sheep. One day this rich man had a distinguished visitor that he was required by the mores of his culture to honor by entertaining him at a banquet. Instead of taking a lamb from his own flocks, however, he went to the house of his poor neighbor, took his only ewe lamb, slaughtered, dressed and roasted it and set it before his guest. The rich man and his guest dined sumptuously while the poor man and his family were grief stricken. Nathan let the pathos hang as he finished his story. David, upon hearing this tale, was filled with anger and declared: "The man who has done this thing must surely die". Then in one of the Bible's most dramatic moments, Nathan fixed his eyes on the king and said: "Thou art the man!" The king, thought to be all powerful, had been called to answer for his deeds. No one is above the law of God, he learned. That was a lesson rare in the ancient world, indeed it was a message unique to the people of Israel. David might have been divinely chosen to be king, as the biblical story suggests, but the King of Israel still lived under the authority of the law of God and must answer for his behavior. David, to his great credit, did not banish Nathan from his presence, but heard the voice of God through the words of Nathan and publicly repented. He sought to do acts of restitution. When the child of this adulterous liaison died shortly after his birth, David and the biblical writers interpreted this death as divine punishment. Perhaps in a further act of trying to make things right, David lifted Bathsheba out of his harem and into the public role as his queen. Their second child was born a while later. His name was Solomon and he was to be the successor to David's throne and to solidify the royal line of David that was destined to last, at least the Southern Kingdom, for over 400 years until it was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586BC (BCE). For Nathan's act of courage to be included in the Jewish Scriptures meant that this episode had entered the annals of Jewish memory. By becoming part of the sacred text of the Jewish people, it was destined to be read in worship settings over the centuries and in time to become identified as a mark of Judaism. In retrospect, Nathan was called a prophet and because of that the prophet's role in Jewish life was established. It was the duty of the prophets to speak for God in the citadels of power, to claim for God's law a place of absolute influence and to assert that there is no one in the land who was not subject to the law of God. Monarchy was not absolute in Israel from that moment on. Nathan originated the prophetic role in Israel. He established Israel as the one nation where no one's power would be above the power of the law. This was the reality that made the Jewish nation different from all the other nations of the ancient world. Certainly it was this nation alone that was destined to produce the prophetic tradition that would become so strong that it was not "the law and the Temple" but "the law and the prophets", that would characterize this people. We will look at a number of the prophetic voices as this series on the origins of the Bible continues.~ John Shelby Spong | | | | | | | | Announcements Join the Global Silent Minute December 21, 2019 At 9.00pm London GMT on the Solstice, December 21, 2019, let us ring a bell to prepare to enter into one minute of silence in communion with the Forces of Light, as we generate a reservoir of united global thought that will inspire cooperative endeavours to create a better world for all. READ ON ... | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

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