August 2021 - OE - lists.wedgeblade.net

8/12/2021, Progressing Spirit, Toni Anne Reynolds: Don’t Pay Them No Mind; Spong revisited
by Ellie Stock 13 Aug '21

13 Aug '21

| | | | View this email in your browser | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Don’t Pay Them No Mind | | | | | | | | | | Essay by Toni Anne Reynolds August 12, 2021 I have been in the midst of several transitions over the past few weeks. A dear friend called to check in with me about how things were going. I shared with her what was on my mind, nothing too intense. I’m settling into the new spaces well enough, but that day I shared about some anxiety that was coming up around a potentially problematic dynamic with a new character in my life. My friend happens to know this person, too, quite a bit better than I do. She simply mentioned that this character can invite complications from time to time but ultimately there’s nothing to stress about. We moved on to other topics and eventually began to approached the end of our conversation. As we briefly recapped the topics we covered, wishing each other well on the most pressing issues, I heard my friend mention this new character and say, “…don’t pay them no mind”. I giggled to myself. It was great advice, a simple way to say “chill out, Toni.” What made me laugh is that I hadn’t heard that phrase since my aunt passed away years ago. In general, I’m not sure I’ve heard many peers use the saying. In my mind it’s one of those wisdom gems that elders typically gift to young ones. My aunt was one of those elders who shared the treasure of this phrase. She was the champion of not paying “them” any mind, keeping herself focused and free of unnecessary worry. The gravity of the phrase intensified a few days later. I was talking with yet another friend about life these days. We explored a whole separate set of topics, life is vast, after all. And still, I heard friend number two offer, “don’t pay them no mind”. I had to laugh again. I talk to these friends often. They have heard two too many anxious reports from me as I pretend to be an adult, but never have I heard them say this particular phrase to me. Now, here it was popping up twice in three days. Hearing the phrase again helped me get clear about why it’s such a precious piece of advice. Suddenly it was the word “pay” that helped me sink into the impact this phrase can have. My partner and I have been using the word a lot lately. “Did you pay the electric bill?” “Want to replace the couch when we finally pay off the credit card?” It’s always relative to money, obviously, but I think that’s why I heard it differently in this saying. Instead of talking about dollars that become precious because they are hard earned, my friends, and aunt, were talking about precious attention. “Don’t pay them no mind.” It’s been an interesting experiment to consider my attention as a form of currency. Though I’m not exactly thrilled with the capitalist framework, I’ve benefited from considering my focus as a resource, and my general head space as a bank of its own. How I “spend” from it matters not just for myself, but also for the people around me. It is not the idea of the mind as a resource that is novel for me. It’s the truth that experientially, the mind is in some sense always turned on. It functions as one of the lamps with which we make sense of our walk in this world. Its finite nature as well as the real-time decisions we make about it can be missed. Just like we can pay attention to our habits with our financial resources, attention to our mental faculties, and what we focus it on is important. However, doing the latter takes a bit more “stepping back”; the kind that is afforded us during those “Eureka” moments wherein seemingly common, old and mundane pieces of advice – like this one – take on a new life. Two major questions arose for me in this lightbulb moment that I want to re-emphasize for us, since they will not be new to many. We know we have choice about our mental exertions to some extent. But, how much do we remain in awareness of that? Especially in the moments when we can actually make decisions about them. How much do we remain in enough awareness to make the choice? And, what are we doing to address any deficit therein? The other question, which seems to have more to do with our power of living life and learning is this: How much power do we actually have to make the choice about what we ‘pay mind to’? Just as life circumstances can take away the power, we have to make decisions about our financial resources, how does this same life, especially the aspects that have to do with our inner health, our spiritual growth and our relational well-being, also dictate what our mind must be paid to? In what cases does resisting such calls of nature lead us to more harm than good? In what cases are we supposed to push back at the wheel of life for better sanity? The specifics of these answers will differ for each person, their needs and their spiritual make-up. But it is definitely worth further exploring – there may be more eureka moments adding flesh and deeper meaning to the mundane answers that have been dangling before our faces. I truly didn’t think I had been giving a lot of mental attention to the things I shared with my friend. But when pressed to stop myself from paying with my mind that’s the sneaky, and equally powerful, aspect about our minds - there’s always something going on. Without careful attention to observe the mind, to learn how it prefers to wander and what it likes to stick to, we can go a full day paying attention to things that either 1) don’t deserve our attention or, 2) we don’t truly desire to invest in. As was the case with me, I didn’t even realize I was pointing that much of my headspace in a direction that was inconsequential. I don’t enjoy pointing out problems or concerns without finding practical means to address them. Even if the practical options are inadequate, making some movement toward balance is important. In the realm of this issue of “paying mind” I’m reminded of the Christian practice of reading the Psalms. My dad reads one psalm every day for a week before he leaves for work, and the same one before he goes to sleep. I recently learned this about him, and I respect the practice. Not as a way of evading any issues, but as a way of settling the mind, making space for new understandings. A more recent practice of my own has been to do morning pages as suggested by Julia Cameron in The Artist’s Way. Being able to read previous entries helps me see undercurrents to my mental patterns that I just don’t catch the same way with meditation. There are so many paths to peace of mind, these are just a few I know to work for myself or loved ones. Whatever your preferred method is, I hope it helps you to spend your attention with the most return on investment. ~ Toni Anne Reynolds Read online here About the Author Minister Toni Anne Reynolds is committed to singing flesh onto the bones of the Christian tradition by incorporating recently found texts of the ancient world into liturgy, sermons, and poetry. Toni’s Christianity forms a holy trinity with the psychological medicine of Tibetan Buddhism and the eternal Life found in Yoruba traditions. Balanced in an eclectic faith and focused in theology, Toni’s ministry offers a unique perspective on life, theology, and spirituality. | | | | | | | | Question & Answer Q: By A Reader How can mainstream churches be more inclusive of Rewilding? A: By Rev. Matthew Syrdal Dear Reader, As a pastor of a mainline church and as a nature-based human development guide and founder of a Wild Church, I ask myself that question everyday. In part, your question depends on what you (we) mean by “Rewilding”? There is the sort of “conservation language” sense of rewilding — protecting wild places and letting the land return to its original, undomesticated state. There is also a human developmental sense of Rewilding, which is to say cultivating deeper authenticity and wholeness as individuals and communities, including renewing a deeper connection with the land itself that moves beyond classical “stewardship” of the Creation (still rooted in a separation or split of humanity from nature) toward something like a “participation with” the Creation. >From my own experience with Seminary of the Wild as an edge-walker and bridge between institutional religion and new, emerging visions of eco-spirituality, faith and action, there are many layers of support that can contribute to the larger work of Rewilding. The first is the conservation layer, or “Creation care” — stopping destructive practices to the ecosystem through education, awareness and advocacy work. This is a really important layer. Many churches never learned (and faith leaders never equipped) or had the language to connect our theology with the greater ecology in a way that produces deep and sustainable change in our congregations and communities - not just change in theology and practice, but a comprehensive change of consciousness. Unfortunately seminaries are still largely geared toward engaging the mind (rather than the body, emotions, natural world, and psyche) to effect change which is really the very upper layer. Mainstream congregations need to create a container of leadership to explore what “rewilding” really means, how to translate it to the congregation in a way that speaks broadly to both conservative and liberal elements, and why it is the greatest and most urgent act of Christian love in our times. From the perspective of Scripture, how is “rewilding” core to the gospel (i.e. Romans chapters 8 and 12), how is it exemplified in Christ and part of the “new wineskins” needed to contain this new consciousness? The second layer of “rewilding” is how we experience the Self, God and Earth in the first place. This “rewilding” work is deeper than education, sustainability and conservation practices. It is moving into what Norwegian philosopher Arne Ness calls, Deep Ecology. It entails a rewilding of the Self through community and practices that can get at the underlying psycho-spiritual structures while cultivating greater wholeness, aliveness, and leadership capacities. Again, in a mainline church, a small group of thoughtful and dedicated individuals might be tasked with exploring a growing number of organizations that already do this work and plan how to introduce a viable vision to the leadership of the church. ~ Rev. Matthew Syrdal Read and share online here About the Author Rev. Matthew Syrdal MDiv. lives in the front range of Colorado with his beautiful family. Matt is an ordained pastor in the Presbyterian church (USA), founder and lead guide of WilderSoul and Church of Lost Walls and co-founder of Seminary of the Wild. Matt speaks at conferences and guides immersive nature-based experiences around the country. In his years of studying ancient Christian Rites of Initiation, world religions, anthropology, rites-of-passage and eco- psychology, Matt seeks to re-wild what it means to be human. His work weaves in myth and ceremony in nature as a way for people to enter into conversation with the storied world in which they are a part. Matt’s passion is guiding others in the discovery of “treasure hidden in the field” of their deepest lives cultivating deep wholeness and re-enchantment of the natural world to apprentice fully and dangerously to the kingdom of god. Matt is a coach and a certified Wild Mind nature-based human development guide through the Animas Valley Institute and is currently training to become a soul initiation guide through the SAIP program. | | | | | | | | 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 us on Facebook! | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | As a non-profit ProgressiveChristianity.org/Progressing Spirit rely heavily on the good will of our donors to help us continue to bring individuals and churches the messages of progressive Christians, Weekly Newsletters, along with the many other resources we provide. For years, the majority of our fundraising came at the end of the year. Looking at various ways to create a more reasonable amount of cash flow we decided rather than having a BIG ask at the end of each year, our more frequent asks give folks a chance to contribute when their funds are more flexible. We think that's a win for everyone. We also want to highlight the opportunity to become a sustaining supporter. If you are looking for the best way to help us continue to provide progressive Christian resources, become a sustaining supporter by choosing Recurring Donation. Help keep ProgressiveChristianity.org online and going strong - click here to donate today! * Another way to support us is to leave a bequest in your Will and/or Trust designating us a beneficiary. | | | | | | | | Bishop John Shelby Spong Revisited Examining the Story of the Cross, Part II: Did the Crucifixion of Jesus Occur at Passover? Essay by Bishop John Shelby Spong March 9, 2011 It is a common assumption that the crucifixion of Jesus took place in the context of the Jewish observance of Passover. That is certainly the point of view developed in each of the four gospels. Mark portrays the journey of Jesus and his followers to Jerusalem, which eventuated in the crucifixion, to have been for the sole purpose of celebrating the Passover. Matthew and Luke leaning on this Marcan source repeated that tradition and thus together they tended to set this connection in stone. Mark later portrays Jesus in Jerusalem as making elaborate preparations for eating the Passover with his disciples. From the time of the Deuteronomic reforms in the latter years of the seventh century BCE to the time of Jesus, Jerusalem has been the setting in which the Passover was traditionally to be observed. Each of the first three synoptic gospels (Mark, Matthew and Luke) goes to great lengths to identify the last supper with the Passover meal, making this assumption to be an almost unchallenged one in Christian history. Recent scholarship has, however, begun to loosen this connection and to raise lots of questions about this tradition. The first biblical detail that raised a challenge was found in the Fourth Gospel. John separates himself from the conclusions of the earlier gospels by stating quite plainly that the last supper was not a Passover meal. It was in this gospel alone a Kibburah meal, that is, a fellowship meal observed in anticipation of the Passover. John suggests that the Passover meal that year came not on the night before the crucifixion, but on the evening of the day in which the crucifixion occurred. In this way, John was able to identify the death of Jesus more closely with the killing of the Paschal Lamb, since both executions took place on what came to be called Good Friday. This was only a slight shift in John, but it was the first destabilizing observation. When we go back and read Paul’s story of the institution of the last supper (I Cor.11), we note that Paul dates this meal only with the words, “On the night in which he was handed over.” We have read Paul for so long through the lens of the later gospels that we have simply made the assumption that the “handing over” of Jesus was done at the time of the Passover. Yet nowhere does Paul make that identification. Perhaps the time has come for us to follow the historical order and to read the gospels through the lens of Paul and not the other way around. Paul, in this same epistle, does identify Jesus with the Lamb of Passover (I Cor. 5:7) when he says that “Christ, our new Paschal Lamb, has been sacrificed for us.” That seems, however, to be more of a homiletical device than it was a liturgical practice. It was clear that by the time of Paul the death of Jesus had been identified by the Jewish followers of Jesus in terms of the two lambs that were put to death as important elements in Jewish worship. One of these lambs was the Paschal Lamb of Passover, whose blood protected the Israelites from death in Egypt when the last plague, the death of the first born in every household, was carried out in God’s plan to free the Hebrews from slavery at the hands of the Egyptians. The second was the animal (normally a lamb without scratch, bruise or broken bone, i.e. physically perfect) sacrificed to take away the sins of the people in the liturgy they called Yom Kippur or the Day of Atonement. These theological identifications with the death of Jesus appear to have been made early, but that original interpretive process did not imply or even suggest that the crucifixion occurred in the context of either the Passover celebration or Yom Kippur. It also doesn’t rule it out, I might add, it only loosens the connection and leads us to search for additional clues. We look for those clues beginning in Mark’s gospel which was the first place in which the story of the crucifixion was told in the context of the Passover celebration. In this Marcan narrative a couple of details quickly grab our imagination. First, Mark suggests that a triumphal procession into Jerusalem occurred on the Sunday before the crucifixion took place on Friday. As part of that procession, Mark tells us that the crowd waved “leafy branches” as they walked. Passover, however, was celebrated on the 14th and 15th days of the month of Nissan, which would place it on our calendars somewhere between late March and early April. This means that if this triumphal procession was historical it would have occurred a week earlier, which would run the date of the procession back deeper into March at the earliest and earlier in April at the latest. Where at that time of year did these followers get leafy branches? There are no leafy branches that early in the year in the Middle East where Jerusalem is located, so the date of Jesus’ crucifixion and its connection with the Passover begins to wobble visibly. When Matthew incorporated Mark’s story into his own gospel about a decade later, he omitted the word “leafy” from his text. Perhaps Matthew recognized that the presence of leafy branches in late March was a problem, so he has the disciples all wave only branches, not leafy branches. Sticks, however, don’t wave. It is only the leaves that give one the wavy sensation. About a decade after Matthew, Luke wrote his gospel. Once again, like Matthew, he had Mark in front of him and he too seemed to recognize that leafy branches in late March were a problem. So he omitted not just the leaves but also the branches, telling the story only of the people laying down their garments on the path in front of Jesus. Even that detail, however, probably assumes a warmer climate than would be normal in late March in Jerusalem, People do not shed their outer garments in cold weather. It is interesting to note that only when we reach John, who wrote his gospel between 95-100, which makes it a late tenth decade piece of writing, do these branches become palm branches with evergreen leaves. That was John’s way of solving the problem. So, our first clue is that at least in this detail, the original passion story suggests that the date of the crucifixion might have been different from a Passover setting in the late winter to early spring. A deeper search of Mark reveals that he gives us yet another clue. It is found in a strange narrative that Mark places on the day after the triumphal procession of Jesus into Jerusalem. In Mark’s story this Sunday procession went to the Temple where Jesus only looked around at the money changers and then he and his disciples went to Bethany, a couple of miles outside Jerusalem to spend the night. Bethany is identified elsewhere in the New Testament as the home of Mary and Martha, so perhaps they spent the night there. The next morning Mark says that Jesus and his followers returned to Jerusalem. This was to be, Mark proceeds to tell us, the day of the “Cleansing of the Temple” when Jesus drove out the money changers. On his way to the city Mark says that Jesus was hungry and, seeing a fig tree in the distance, he went to it in search of fruit. The fig tree, however, was bare. Fig trees in the northern hemisphere do not bear fruit in late March. Disappointed that his hunger was not satisfied Mark says that Jesus laid a curse on the fig tree. When they returned to Bethany that evening following the cleansing of the Temple episode, they noted that the fig tree had in fact shriveled up and died. To say the least this is a strange story and for Jesus to lay a curse on the fig tree for not producing fruit in March is quite un-Jesus like. Is it possible that that this story was originally located in the fall season when figs should appear on fig trees, but as the crucifixion was brought liturgically into being observed at the time of the Passover, this story was dragged along with the crucifixion story creating this strange anomaly? We file that clue and press on. Next, we examine a Jewish celebration about which most Christians are uninformed, but which seems to be reflected in the Palm Sunday account in the gospels. The Jews observed in the fall of the year a festival called Sukkoth or Tabernacles. It was an eight-day harvest celebration marked by a liturgical procession to and around the Temple. The people in the procession normally carried in their right hands something called a lulab that they waved as they walked. This lulab was a group of branches tied together, made of willow, myrtle and palm. These fall branches were leafy and they waved. As these worshipers marched, they recited Psalm 118 that says “Hosanna – Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.” It is clear that the Palm Sunday story, as we have received it, is closely associated with and draws some of its content from Sukkoth, a harvest festival celebrated in the fall of the year when fig trees do bear fruit. Perhaps these bits of data suggest that the crucifixion of Jesus actually occurred in the fall of the year at the time of the harvest and not at the time of the Passover in the early spring. When, however, the death of Jesus began to be interpreted in terms of the death of the Paschal Lamb then the two events were slowly drawn together until the crucifixion of Jesus came to be interpreted as having occurred in the context of the observance of the Passover itself. This connection certainly heightened the identification of the crucifixion of Jesus with the slaughter of the Paschal Lamb. Both deaths were said to have had the power to hurl back death itself. So we entertain the possibility that the Passover originally might not actually have been the historical setting of the crucifixion, but rather that over time, the Passover became the focus through which the crucifixion was interpreted. This would mean that the connection between the two was liturgical rather than historical. This might further suggest that if we wanted to read the passion story properly we should interpret it as liturgy seeking its meaning, rather than as history, which would lead us to speculate on whether or not it actually happened the way it is described. That opens us to all kinds of new possibilities. It is a theory worthy of consideration. We will press this inquiry even deeper as this series continues. ~ John Shelby Spong | | | | | | | | Announcements “Building Human Solidarity in the Light of Pope Francis’ Encyclical Letter, Fratelli Tutti “ Online + Free - August 19, 2021 - August 21, 2021Global Ministries University is collaborating with the Institute for Interreligious Dialogue and Islamic Studies (IRDIS) and State Islamic University (UIN) Sunan Kalijaga Yogyakarta, Indonesia in the “Building Human Solidarity in the Light of Pope Francis’ Encyclical Letter, Fratelli Tutti ” international interfaith conference. READ ON ... | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

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Betonte Memoir in ICA Archives
by Lynda C 11 Aug '21

11 Aug '21

I have learned from colleague Hilde Betonte that her husband Anthony is recovering from surgery for a brain tumor which will require a long recuperation period. Notes and encouragement and prayers will be supportive to both Hilde and Anthony. Please note in your Directory this updated physical address: 81 Valley Forge Circle, Fairmont, West Virginia, 26554. Hilde’s e-mail address is hbetonte(a)gmail.com<mailto:hbetonte@gmail.com> In 2019, Hilde and her daughter Kimberly Swallow joined the Fall Sojourn. What a delight to reconnect with Hilde from early 5th City days and to meet her remarkable daughter. Hilde’s writing about time in the Christian Faith and Life Community and about their assignments around the world is captured in the link below, as well as updates on their children. (If you forget the link, go to the ICAarchives website and Search for Betonte. It will direct you to Publications. Scroll to the bottom under Memoirs.) https://wedgeblade.net/files/archives_assets/21816.pdf Both daughters Kim and Lisa have reflected on their experiences in The Academy in Brussels, which will be posted on the website soon. With care and support for this family, Lynda Cock

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September book conversation with Kate Raworth's Doughnut Economics
by Karen Snyder 11 Aug '21

11 Aug '21

You are invited to participate in a unique conversation and study of Doughnut Economics by Kate Raworth. After reviewing book chapters and related websites, we will design new images to think like a 21st economist, answering: How to change economic goals? See the big picture? Nurture human nature? Get savvy with systems thinking? Focus on distribution and regenerative systems instead of growth? In each session the focus will be on local economics in your household, community, city or state. We will review the book for the depth of her ideas. You can also participate by reviewing related TED talks and many articles on Doughnut Economics websites. Kate challenges us to new economic thinking by drawing the change you want to see in the world: “By combining the well-known power of verbal framing with the hidden power of visual framing, we can give ourselves a far better chance of writing a new economic story - the one that we so desperately need for a safe and just 21st century. It’s easy to get started. Just pick up a pencil and draw." Facilitated by Jan Sanders and Karen Snyder, the sessions will be held September: 7, 14, 21, 28 from 8-9:30 PM Eastern time. If you are interested in participating, send an email to: icaglobalschedule(a)gmail.com <mailto:icaglobalschedule@gmail.com>

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Global Buzz for August
by ICA International 07 Aug '21

07 Aug '21

Enjoy catching up with what is happening in ICAs across the globe.... And please click the link below for the latest issue of the Global Buzz Global Buzz Report: August 2021 or copy and paste this URL into your browser's address bar http://globalbuzz.icai-archives.org/7dayreport-21/2021-08-01.php Read the latest ICAI Winds & Waves Magazine brought to you now on Medium.com See here: https://medium.com/winds-and-waves ICAI Communications

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8/05/2021, Progressing Spirit, Rev Matthew Syrdal: When Beliefs Kill Cultures; Spong revisited
by Ellie Stock 05 Aug '21

05 Aug '21

| | | | View this email in your browser | | | | | | | | | | | | | | When Beliefs Kill Cultures | | | | | | | | | | Essay by Rev. Matthew Syrdal August 5, 2021 Are our beliefs killing us? Beliefs are a funny thing to try to pin down. If we are honest, they are slippery and largely unconscious. When enough of them get mixed together in a large enough group they build up force like a gathering storm. It makes you wonder, are any beliefs actually rational? Perhaps. But they are also bound together with some powerfully energetic emotions. We have seen, quite horrifically, how our beliefs kill others. The horror of Indigenous genocide as countless unmarked graves are unearthed near boarding schools. Beliefs quickly shape-shift into things like attitudes, actions and behaviors. And when enough of them meet together in the back-rooms they can become things like policies and laws. Things like Manifest Destiny and the Doctrine of Discovery. Bigger shadowy beliefs can activate and manipulate smaller, more visible and energized beliefs. We think we have them, but sometimes I wonder if they have us. In this age of reckoning and apocalypse, when everything buried under the layers of time is revealed with the melting of surface appearance, I find myself experiencing numbness at the sheer overwhelm of it all, the magnitude of suffering of the more-than-human world, whole communities of color, pervasive gender inequity, the discovery of the countless graves of indigenous children forcibly removed from their homes and tribes. I am tired of all the words, weighed down by the beliefs layer on the surface. As a white man who was raised Christian, I move between feeling numb and a deep and pervasive grief that never seems to go away. Awakening to my own complicity on so many levels with many others over the astounding magnitude of an entire history of beliefs and practices in the Western World—and so the Church—that has functioned largely as tools for cultural appropriation, forced assimilation and strategies like the Interpretatio Christiana (the adaptation of non-Cristian aspects of culture and history—even the landscape itself—into the worldview of Christianity) that has led, or is leading, to the utter destruction of entire cultures. “Wild” is a term that touches a deep place in a growing number of us in the Western world. Wild is more than a trending meme, it is a symbol of both a longing and an urgency in the present nightmare of our modern Western industrial culture. Even the word “culture” is a bit of a misnomer, pitted as it has become against life enhancing ways and Earth-based rhythms of indigenous wisdom. First used by ancient Roman orator Cicero in the context of the cultivation of the soul, or “cultura animi”, perhaps more importantly it offered an agricultural image for the development of the soul, the highest possible ideal for human development. For thousands of years men (sic) of philosophy, of religion, and of Empire understood “culture” from a teleological perspective, that it could move us toward attaining a perfection of virtue and overcome our original barbarism, and only then might we become fully human. We have seen the end of that fantasy today. Signs of cultural regression across the globe and a resurgence of what Riane Eisler calls “androcracy.” Escalation of violence, climate emergency, reactionary and oppressive patriarchal values of Church and State, the poison of white supremacy, and systemic racism. We have seen through the veneer of these stories of “progress”, of human or cultural achievement, down to a bone truth at a deep structural level: systemic racism, poverty, and climate catastrophe all point to our severance from Earth, our original wound as a species — a complete disconnection from “the wild” in nature and the human soul. “Wild” comes from the Old English wilde, meaning the natural state, uncultivated, undomesticated and untamed — something like the born world (and Self) in its primordial state. It shares a root with an older Germanic word wald (from which we get wield) meaning to reign, govern, possess, especially in the sense of self-willed or self-ruled, to be self-possessed. The nature-based root, wald, originated in high lands covered with woods, forest. When my colleagues and I birthed Seminary of the Wild, the big questions we began to ask ourselves were: what kind of liminal space in community is needed in our times to hold people as their old story unravels, when a new story has not yet been birthed? How can we offer a space of healing for the poison of Western industrial culture to slowly become extracted from the soils of the soul? “Seminary” comes from an old word that means literally, a wild seed bed. We began to ask ourselves what life ways might help us heal our deep split from Earth? What is needed to rewild the Self, what new wineskins might hold the good wine? How might we sift through the debris of our decomposing god-images to discover new seeds of possibility? Is it even possible to rewild Western culture, or has all been lost? Is human culture necessarily at odds with wildness? Wildness perhaps defined as s life-enhancing way of relating to our own diverse and precious species, and the fragile and powerful beauty of the more-than-human world? Can we reclaim, or rewild “culture?” Culture originally meant the place we are called to care for, to till, and to serve, to worship, as in the root “cultus,” from where we get the religious depth in humanity. In the second creation myth in Genesis, we discover the Human One whom Adonai Elohim in-breathed with nephesh (breath, soul) — along with all the other beings in the animate world — and placed in the Garden, planted in the Ground, the very depths of soul. It his here Adam received his name, from the ground. Adamah. It is here that Eve becomes the Mother of Life. Many indigenous peoples across continents remember the stories of their ancestors who emerged from under the Earth. This myth forms the basis of the original archetype of vocation for the Israelites, to till and to serve the Ground, the source of all Life. Myth returns the story of culture to its original roots in nature, and this re-binding is the religious function. I do not believe that politics will save us. Our institutions are crumbling. There is no ‘mana’ left in our religious systems. The tyranny of the ‘thinking man,’ the legacy of the age of reason — cogito ergo sum — must topple over like a statue. Beliefs cannot get us there. The only hope we have in a possible future is a comprehensive change in consciousness, a rewilding of culture — that is to say, a return to the ground. This return is, in a sense, a re-membrance. A holy re-membrance, that is to say a mystery. And so I have been musing about the old ways of Sacrament, the old sense of living in ceremony, with the seasons, cycles, powers — with holy Earth. I wonder about the Word made flesh, the flesh of the world in which we are embedded, in which we belong in this mystery of entangled reciprocity. The poet and prophet Isaiah speaks to a sense of divine action, inter-being and sacred reciprocity: For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return there until they have watered the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and succeed in the thing for which I sent it. Perhaps we have lost the sense that we are food as well as eater. That death itself is a mystery that opens like a door from the halls of life. It seems to me that if there is any hope for rewilding culture, reconnecting culture with nature, then we need to revisit the sacraments. What I call Wild Sacrament is a return to the sacredness of bodies. Human bodies. Bodies of color. Sensual, sexual and reproductive bodies. Bodies of astonishing biodiversity and staggering beauty. Bodies of land, of bioregion. Ocean and sky bodies. Sacrament trusts the wisdom of the body of Earth and the deeper divinity that undergirds emotion and even reason. Sacrament is not only a recovery of mystery, but of intimacy. Irish poet John O Donohue writes, “The body is a sacrament… a visible sign of invisible grace. In that definition there is a fine acknowledgement of how the unseen world comes to expression in the visible world. This desire for expression lies deep at the heart of the invisible world. All our inner life and intimacy of soul longs to find an outer mirror. It longs for a form in which it can be seen, felt, and touched. The body is the mirror where the secret world of the soul comes to expression. The body is a sacred threshold.” ~ Rev. Matthew Syrdal Read online here About the Author Rev. Matthew Syrdal MDiv. lives in the front range of Colorado with his beautiful family. Matt is an ordained pastor in the Presbyterian church (USA), founder and lead guide of WilderSoul and Church of Lost Walls and co-founder of Seminary of the Wild. Matt speaks at conferences and guides immersive nature-based experiences around the country. In his years of studying ancient Christian Rites of Initiation, world religions, anthropology, rites-of-passage and eco- psychology, Matt seeks to re-wild what it means to be human. His work weaves in myth and ceremony in nature as a way for people to enter into conversation with the storied world in which they are a part. Matt’s passion is guiding others in the discovery of “treasure hidden in the field” of their deepest lives cultivating deep wholeness and re-enchantment of the natural world to apprentice fully and dangerously to the kingdom of god. Matt is a coach and a certified Wild Mind nature-based human development guide through the Animas Valley Institute and is currently training to become a soul initiation guide through the SAIP program. | | | | | | | | Question & Answer Q: By A Reader If Jesus did not die on a cross to cover our sin, then what was the purpose of him dying? What was the purpose of his life? Was it to show us how to simply be "good people?" A: By Rev. Irene Monroe Dear Reader, As a figure that has dominated Western culture and Christianity for over 2,000 years, too little attention is paid to Jesus' death. As Christians, we move swiftly from Good Friday to Easter/Resurrection Sunday. If more focus were spent on the reasons for his death and the systems of oppression that brought about his demise, violence against marginalized people would cease to exist. However, without the contextualization and accountability of the violence enacted upon Jesus, the cycle of violence continues. In the year 33 A.D., Jesus was unquestionably a religious threat to conservative Jews because of his unorthodox views and practice of Jewish Law. He was viewed as a political threat to the Roman government simply because he was a Jew. As an instrument for execution by Roman officials during Jesus' time, the cross's symbolic nature and its symbolic value can both be seen as the valorization of suffering and abuse, especially in the lives of the oppressed. For those of us on the margins, a Christology mounted on the belief that "Jesus died on the cross for our sins" instead of "Jesus died on the cross because of our sins" not only exalts Jesus as the suffering servant, but it also ritualizes suffering as redemptive. While suffering points to the need for redemption, suffering in and of itself is not redemptive, and it does not always correlate to one's sinfulness. For example, the belief that undeserved suffering is endured by faith, and that it has a morally educative component makes the powerful insensitive to the plight of others, and it forces the less powerful to be complacent to their suffering – therefore, maintaining the status quo. The cross is the locus of redemption insofar as it serves as a lens to critically examine and make the connections between the abuses of power and institutions of domination that brought about the suffering Jesus endured during his time - to the abuses of power and institutions of domination that brings about the suffering which women, people of color and sexual minorities are enduring in our present day. When suffering is understood as an ongoing cycle of abuse that goes on unexamined and unaccounted for, we can then begin to see its manifestation in systems of racism, sexism, classism, heterosexism, anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, to name a few, in our everyday lives. With a new understanding of suffering and how it victimizes the innocent and its aborts the Christian mission of inclusiveness, Jesus' death at Calvary invites a different hermeneutic than its classically held one. When the Christian community looks to the cross, we must see not only Jesus but also the many other faces of God crucified as God's people today. In so doing, we see the image of God in ourselves, the image of God as ourselves, and the image of God in each other. We then deepen the church's solidarity with all who suffer -those who are Christ in our midst. ~ Rev. Irene Monroe Read and share online here About the Author The Reverend Monroe does a weekly Monday segment, “All Revved Up!” on NPR's WGBH (89.7 FM). She is a weekly Friday commentator on New England Channel NEWS. Monroe is the Boston voice for Detour’s African American Heritage Trail, Guided Walking Tour of Beacon Hill: Boston’s Black Women Abolitionists. A Huffington Post blogger and a syndicated religion columnist; her columns appear the Boston LGBTQ newspaper Baywindows, Cambridge Chronicle, and the Boston Globe. Monroe states that her “columns are an interdisciplinary approach drawing on critical race theory, African American, queer and religious studies. As a religion columnist I try to inform the public of the role religion plays in discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people.” Her papers are at the Schlesinger Library at Radcliffe College’s research library on the history of women in America. Click here to visit her website. | | | | | | | | 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 us on Facebook! | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | As a non-profit ProgressiveChristianity.org/Progressing Spirit rely heavily on the good will of our donors to help us continue to bring individuals and churches the messages of progressive Christians, Weekly Newsletters, along with the many other resources we provide. For years, the majority of our fundraising came at the end of the year. Looking at various ways to create a more reasonable amount of cash flow we decided rather than having a BIG ask at the end of each year, our more frequent asks give folks a chance to contribute when their funds are more flexible. We think that's a win for everyone. We also want to highlight the opportunity to become a sustaining supporter. If you are looking for the best way to help us continue to provide progressive Christian resources, become a sustaining supporter by choosing Recurring Donation. Help keep ProgressiveChristianity.org online and going strong - click here to donate today! * Another way to support us is to leave a bequest in your Will and/or Trust designating us a beneficiary. | | | | | | | | Bishop John Shelby Spong Revisited Examining the Story of the Cross Part I: Analyzing the Details of the Crucifixion Essay by Bishop John Shelby Spong March 3, 2011 The story of the cross is clearly the focal point of the New Testament with the last week of Jesus’ life taking up about a third of the content in each of the four gospels. Next to the birth narratives, which are contained only in Matthew and Luke, the account of the Passion of Jesus is the most familiar part of the New Testament to Christian people. That familiarity is, however, not very well informed. To put new understanding into this well-known narrative is the thing I will seek to do in a series of columns that will carry us up until Easter. The final week in Jesus’ life begins with what we now call the Palm Sunday procession. It then moves toward the Maundy Thursday “Last Supper,” the betrayal in the Garden of Gethsemane, the trial before the Sanhedrin, the trial before Pilate, the introduction of the character we call Barabbas, the purple robe, the crown of thorns and finally the story of the crucifixion itself. The first observation we need to make when we look at this material, is that what most people think they know is far more a blending and a smoothing over of real differences that mark the original separate biblical accounts. This means that most readers have not yet embraced the fact that the story of Jesus’ passion is not literal history at all, but a pious interpretation in which even the familiar story of the end of Jesus’ life shows evidence of growth and development over the years as each successive writer began to fill in the blanks in imaginative ways and with the judicious use of the Hebrew Scriptures. Today, in the first in this series of columns, I will seek to pull this seemingly foundational story apart and show how it was actually constructed over a period of about half a century in the writings of the New Testament. Let me begin by stating clearly that, while I am convinced that there is literal historical memory at the core of this story, the details are not history at all, but legendary and interpretive accretions. I will seek in this and subsequent columns to demonstrate both of these observations. The central historical fact, which I find indisputable, is that Jesus of Nazareth was crucified during the reign and by the action of the Roman procurator, Pontius Pilate, who served in this office by appointment of the Caesar from 26-36 CE. Beyond that central fact, however, all eye witness details seem to disappear to be replaced by the strategy of forcing the story of the crucifixion into the mold of messianic expectations through a study of the Hebrew Scriptures. Let me now lay out the various details found in the story of the Passion of Jesus in the order that each was developed from the Jewish biblical sources available to the followers of Jesus. Paul is the first writer of any part of the New Testament. He wrote all of his authentic epistles within a span of years between 51 CE at the earliest and 64 CE at the latest. The initial fact that we need to embrace in this study is that the work of Paul is as close to the events of Holy Week as we can get in written materials. If Jesus was crucified around 30 CE, as most New Testament scholars now agree, then it was twenty-one years, or a full generation, before any words about the crucifixion that we still possess were written down. Twenty-one years is a long time to pass down any recollection by word of mouth and have it be rendered accurately. Paul refers to the cross of Jesus on seven occasions in his epistles and he uses the word “crucified” in reference to Jesus on ten other occasions. In none of these accounts, however, does he give any narrative details. In I Corinthians: 11, for the first time Paul makes a reference to the institution of the last supper and to Jesus being “handed over,” a word that later was translated “betrayed.” That is the entire origin of the traitor story. He does not, however, suggest either that the last supper was identical or even associated with the Passover or that the betrayal was at the hands of one of the twelve. The name Judas, for example, never appears in the Pauline corpus. About the crucifixion Paul says only that “he died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures.” No other details are mentioned: no Garden of Gethsemane, no apostolic desertion, no arrest; no Pilate, no trial, no torture, no denial by Peter, no thieves, no words from the Cross and no darkness. About the burial Paul says only, “He was buried.” There is no mention in the writings of Paul of a tomb, no Joseph of Arimathea and no preparation of the body for burial. About the Easter event, Paul says only this: “On the third day he was raised in accordance with the scriptures.” There is no account in Paul of angels, no stone to roll back, no women carrying spices and no story of a dawn visit. Paul does go on then to list those to whom Jesus was said to have “appeared.” Cephas (Peter) was first, next the Twelve (note Judas is still included) and then he mentions an appearance to 500 brethren at once, about which we know nothing. Paul continues this list by saying that Jesus next appeared to James, but he does not say which James and there are three in the New Testament story: James, the son of Zebedee, James, the son of Alphaeus and James, the brother of the Lord. The consensus among scholars today is that it is the last mentioned James to whom Paul is making reference. Then, continues Paul, Jesus appeared to the Apostles. Who are they? He has already mentioned the Twelve. This seems like another group. Paul ends his list by saying that “last of all he appeared to me,” that is, to Paul, and this appearance, he argues, was in no way different from the others except that he was last. Paul’s conversion is set between one year after the crucifixion at the earliest and six years at the latest, so this appearance could hardly have been that of a physically-resuscitated body that walked out of the grave, making it a safe assumption that however Paul had conceived of the resurrection, it was not the resuscitation of a physically-deceased body. Finally, we need to embrace the fact that these scant details are all the Christian community possessed about this climactic story of the end of Jesus’ life until the 8th decade of the Christian era. Mark, writing somewhere between 70-73, is the creator of most of what has become the familiar story that surround the crucifixion. Judas Iscariot, for example, makes his first appearance in Mark. Mark is also the first New Testament source to identify the Last Supper with the Passover, the first to introduce the Garden of Gethsemane, to give us details of the trial, to relate the account of Peter’s denial, to mention Barabbas and the first to record the story of the torture. He is the first to put words into the mouth of the dying Jesus, suggesting that he said only one thing from the cross and that was what we now call the cry of dereliction, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Mark was also the first to suggest that on the day of the crucifixion darkness covered the land from noon to three p.m., and the first to give content to the burial story, including the introduction of Joseph of Arimathea. Matthew writing in the 9th decade, somewhere between 83-85, essentially copied Mark’s story, but then added some other fascinating details. It is from Matthew alone that we are told that the price Judas received for his act of betrayal was thirty pieces of silver, or that Judas repented, hurled the silver back into the Temple and went and hanged himself. Matthew is also the first to suggest that an earthquake accompanied the death of Jesus or to tell us that a Temple guard was placed around the tomb of Jesus by the high priest. Luke, writing near the end of the 9th decade or perhaps even in the first years of the 10th decade (89-93), expands the story in a still further direction. For example, only in Luke is Jesus portrayed as praying for his tormentors, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” Only in Luke does one of the thieves become penitent and asks Jesus to remember him. Only in Luke does Jesus tell Peter that he will pray for him since Satan has desired him. Only in Luke is Jesus tried separately before Herod. In Luke Pilate becomes more and more a sympathetic figure and Judas a more sinister one. Finally, Luke dismisses the cry from the cross, “My God, why have you forsaken me” and has Jesus say at the moment of his death, “Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit.” That is, I submit, a very different “final word.” Despair has been vanquished in victory. When we come to John, written in the final years of the 10th decade (95-100), new details are added. Only in John does the mother of Jesus appear at the foot of the cross. That fact should surprise both Mel Gibson and the creators of what are called “the Stations of the Cross.” John’s Jesus says three things from the cross, none of which have we ever heard of before in the earlier gospels. They are, “I thirst,” “Woman behold your son, son behold your mother” and, as Jesus’ final word, John has him say: “It is finished.” John alone tells the story of the breaking of the legs of the thieves to hasten their deaths, a procedure which, he says, Jesus was spared since he was already dead. John alone then adds the story of the spear being hurled into Jesus’ side, which makes this detail a 10th decade addition. Its details are drawn from II Zechariah. John concludes this episode by noting that from that wound flowed both water and blood. Finally, John mentions a character called Nicodemus, who appears in no other gospel. In John Nicodemus is first introduced in chapter three and then re-introduced in the burial story, joining Joseph of Arimathea and together, we are told, they used 75 pounds of myrrh and aloes to prepare Jesus’ body for burial. That is, in the briefest possible form, the way the story of the cross grew in detail from Paul in the 50’s to John in the late 90’s. In future columns I will seek to put these changing and sometimes conflicting details into an interpretive framework. I trust it will be a worthy and provocative study. ~ John Shelby Spong | | | | | | | | Announcements Do Christianity and Buddhism have Shamanic Roots? In this Teach-In on August 13th and 14th, Matthew Fox and Isa Gucciardi discuss the roots of shamanic practice in Christian and Buddhist thought through the lens of the visionary experiences that are essential to shamanic practice. Saturday morning will be highly experiential. Students will have the opportunity to engage in the shamanic journey, an ancient practice used to establish contact with the unseen forces of nature, and will also participate in a practice that brings the Cosmic Christ alive in one’s Self. READ ON ... | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

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July 26-August 3, 2021 – Second Archive Report
by Karen Snyder 04 Aug '21

04 Aug '21

“Study the past if you would define the future.” Confucius We have just completed 20 days of intensive immersion in the RELIGIOUS (7), CULTURAL (7) and METHODS (12) CURRICULUM that seeded the Academies, International Training Institutes, Human Development Training Schools, and ToP. We long to take into the future past wisdom like: · rehearsing the Word in our lives of personal acceptance, standing before all that is, and seeing the past as approved and future open; · wondering how the ur images understanding of the gifts of each culture can be a resource to address racism today; · remembering the power of global experiences, from one-month Global Odysseys to living in other cultures, and wanting that for others today; or · feeling gratitude for how griding helps hold complexity and wondering how it could be a tool for others today. Since our report last week, ready for Thomas to scan are New Testament (thanks MaryAnn), Old Testament (thanks Kay), The Global Odyssey and other religious courses (thanks Laura) and seven culture courses (thanks Debra - who gets the prize for most courses prepped!). We reduced forty file drawers to ten. Remaining tasks are scanning, emailing PDFs to Wendell Refior to become website links, and finally uploading to website. You can see the curriculum resources grow at: https://icaglobalarchives.org/collections/spiritmovement/academy/ <https://icaglobalarchives.org/collections/spiritmovement/academy/> . From her librarian perspective, Laura challenged us to recognize that finishing the work of the Global Archives is urgent. The time is now to retrieve past gems to be reinvented for the future. Consider participating in helping us in this task by doing onsite work at ICA or working from home (i.e., making your files PDFS or doing website editing). For the remainder of 2021, the fourth week of each month will be focused in Chicago on Archive work (August 21-29, September 25-October 3, October 23-31, and November 25-December 5). Join for any length of time. The July 16-August 3 Archives Dream Team: Ed Feldmanis, Laura Grover, Debra Harris, MaryAnn Heard, Thomas Moncrief, Kay Nixon, Karen Snyder

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July 26-August 3, 2021 – Second Archive Report
by Isobel and Jim 04 Aug '21

04 Aug '21

Good morning ( here )! Karen, Thank you for your update on the work of your team of Archivists. It is so wonderful to hear of your careful construction of the legacy for safe keeping of the years of expenditure, as it was written down. Thank you all from me personally, and I feel sure, from all your global colleagues. I have made an attempt to write a ‘report’ about the Singapore ITI. At the moment Dharma is finalising the work with his additions and corrections. When he has completed this task he will send it directly to you in Chicago. Thank you for being there Karen, With love and blessings on your life, Isobel Bishop Isobel Bishop Mob. 0412 129 425 > On 5 Aug 2021, at 3:21 am, Karen Snyder via OE <oe(a)lists.wedgeblade.net> wrote: > > “Study the past if you would define the future.” Confucius > > We have just completed 20 days of intensive immersion in the RELIGIOUS (7), CULTURAL (7) and METHODS (12) CURRICULUM that seeded the Academies, International Training Institutes, Human Development Training Schools, and ToP. We long to take into the future past wisdom like: > > · rehearsing the Word in our lives of personal acceptance, standing before all that is, and seeing the past as approved and future open; > > · wondering how the ur images understanding of the gifts of each culture can be a resource to address racism today; > > · remembering the power of global experiences, from one-month Global Odysseys to living in other cultures, and wanting that for others today; or > > · feeling gratitude for how griding helps hold complexity and wondering how it could be a tool for others today. > > Since our report last week, ready for Thomas to scan are New Testament (thanks MaryAnn), Old Testament (thanks Kay), The Global Odyssey and other religious courses (thanks Laura) and seven culture courses (thanks Debra - who gets the prize for most courses prepped!). We reduced forty file drawers to ten. Remaining tasks are scanning, emailing PDFs to Wendell Refior to become website links, and finally uploading to website. You can see the curriculum resources grow at: https://icaglobalarchives.org/collections/spiritmovement/academy/ . > > From her librarian perspective, Laura challenged us to recognize that finishing the work of the Global Archives is urgent. The time is now to retrieve past gems to be reinvented for the future. Consider participating in helping us in this task by doing onsite work at ICA or working from home (i.e., making your files PDFS or doing website editing). For the remainder of 2021, the fourth week of each month will be focused in Chicago on Archive work (August 21-29, September 25-October 3, October 23-31, and November 25-December 5). Join for any length of time. > > The July 16-August 3 Archives Dream Team: > > Ed Feldmanis, Laura Grover, Debra Harris, MaryAnn Heard, Thomas Moncrief, Kay Nixon, Karen Snyder > > _______________________________________________ > OE mailing list > OE(a)lists.wedgeblade.net > http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net

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