June 2025 - OE - lists.wedgeblade.net

Old Prophets
by W. J. 20 Jun '25

20 Jun '25

The Young Prophets Collective just finished their first prophetic retreat.That leaves me wondering—what happened to the Old Prophets?And when did we turn into the Old Guard?Some of us died recently. Notably Walter Bruggemann: “We will not understand the meaning of prophetic imagination unless we see the connection between the religion of static triumphalism and the politics of oppression and exploitation,” Dr. Brueggemann wrote in “The Prophetic Imagination.” I for one have had way more than enough of "the religion of static triumphalism and the politics of oppression and exploitation." Marshall Jones https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/17/us/walter-brueggemann-dead.html?unlocked…

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In Loving Memory of Linda Alton
by Richard Alton 19 Jun '25

19 Jun '25

*In Loving Memory of Linda Alton * >> >> Linda Alton’s life was one of courage, conviction, and compassionate >> service. From her early days at the University of California, >> Berkeley—where she earned both her B.A. and M.A. between 1963 and >> 1970—Linda was a powerful force for change. As editor of the *Berkeley >> Yearbook* and an active voice in the Free Speech Movement and the >> anti-Vietnam War resistance, she stood firmly for justice and truth, even >> when it wasn’t easy. >> >> While still a student, Linda journeyed to Harlem to work in storefront >> schools, helping high school students who had dropped out find their way >> back to education and hope. It was there she encountered the Ecumenical >> Institute, whose mission of global community service would soon become her >> own. In 1970, she joined the Institute’s staff in San Francisco, beginning >> a lifelong commitment to international development and human dignity. >> >> In 1976, with her young daughter Christina by her side, Linda moved to >> the Philippines to co-direct a USAID-funded community development project >> with the newly formed Institute of Cultural Affairs (ICA). There, she led >> efforts to support women’s small businesses, empowering families and >> transforming communities from the ground up. >> >> Her journey continued to Kenya, where Linda and her growing >> family—including her second daughter, Kay, born in Nairobi—devoted >> themselves to uplifting lives in both urban slums and rural villages. >> Together with a local staff of 150, she helped shape development >> initiatives that reached thousands of communities across the country. >> >> Later, in Brussels, Belgium, Linda served as Program Director at ICA’s >> global headquarters, bringing her deep wisdom, compassion, and leadership >> to an international stage. >> >> She moved to Minnesota with her partner Lynne Larsen to create a home for >> themselves in Minneapolis. She was a lead technical trainer/convenor >> with Minnesota Technology of Participation up until she retired. >> >> Linda’s legacy is not just found in the places she lived or the programs >> she led—but in the countless lives she touched, the justice she stood for, >> and the love she gave so freely. Her spirit lives on in the communities she >> served and in the hearts of all who knew and loved her. (Daughters: >> Christina & Katherine Alton, Grandson: Wyatt Wren, Wife: Lynne Larsen) >> > -- Richard H. T. Alton ICA Global Fund United Methodist Net Zero T: 773.344.7172 richard.alton(a)gmail.com Make Plain the Vision, Habakkuh 2:2 Won't you be my neighbor?

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Celebration of Linda Alton's life
by Richard Alton 18 Jun '25

18 Jun '25

Here is the invitation to the July 26th event. Please share out & encourage people to RSVP soon...you will notice there are two ticket options: IN PERSON OR ONLINE ATTENDANCE. We need people to RSVP so we have a sense of how many people will be in attendance. The great thing about the platform is that whenever we make changes to the invitation, like location, it will automatically update all that have rsvp'd with these changes. So share out now & encourage folks to RSVP. A Celebration of Linda Alton's Life! Tickets, Sat, Jul 26, 2025 at 10:00 AM | Eventbrite <https://www.eventbrite.com/e/a-celebration-of-linda-altons-life-tickets-141…> -- Richard H. T. Alton ICA Global Fund United Methodist Net Zero T: 773.344.7172 richard.alton(a)gmail.com Make Plain the Vision, Habakkuh 2:2 Won't you be my neighbor?

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Re: [Oe List ...] David Marshall's IRON BOY Launches Today
by Richard Alton 15 Jun '25

15 Jun '25

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Re: [Oe List ...] OE Digest, Vol 159, Issue 9
by Lawrence Philbrook 15 Jun '25

15 Jun '25

David No time to read today since its father’s day but I opened my eyes with my Amazon email about the book and read your intro before i had time to think. I hear your voice in every word. Thank you for sharing I already remembered and learned things just from that small bit. I am looking forward to the rest. Love and respect, Larry > On Jun 15, 2025, at 03:01, oe-request(a)lists.wedgeblade.net wrote: > > > > 1. David Marshall's IRON BOY Launches Today (David Marshall) > > From: David Marshall <davidpaulmarshall1956(a)gmail.com> > Subject: [Oe List ...] David Marshall's IRON BOY Launches Today > Date: June 15, 2025 at 03:01:07 GMT-5 > To: Order Ecumenical Community <oe(a)lists.wedgeblade.net> > > > Dear Former Order Colleagues & Friends, > > Sunday “House Church” Blastoff! (Father’s Day - appropriate launch day since Order fathers loom large in this book) > > IRON BOY is officially for sale today on Amazon as both a paperback and e-book. > > The Iron Man statue is still alive and well in Fifth City sixty years later. In 2021, I visited Chicago with my wife, daughter, son, and their partners, and we all went to visit Fifth City and the Iron Man—they for the first time. Attached are some photos, of me in front of the Iron Man with the Program Center in the background where I took part of the Academy, the still-running “Iron Man Can” Fifth City Preschool, and my old elementary school, now renamed Leif Ericson Scholastic Academy. > > > Also a vintage wintertime Iron Man statue photo that I used for the front cover of IRON BOY. > > And finally a little artifact from that era I just received. I visited my 93-year old dad Gene and 91-year-old step-mom Joyce in Texas recently, and they gave me this seven-inch-tall metal Iron Man statute that they had picked up along the way from the Wichita Religious House. Did all the Religious Houses have one? > > When I raise up my hands like the Iron Man, I think of these words from the Order song, “Free, free, free to decide, what this world is going to be.” We've still got a lot of work to do! > > Much appreciation for putting up with my 10-week House Church countdown to IRON BOY’s debut. If you read it, or share it with others, please let me know the impact. You can obtain both the paperback and e-book now on Amazon, and through other bookstores soon. > > https://www.amazon.com/IRON-BOY-Searching-Freedom-Religious/dp/B0FCMMVHDC > > Grace & Peace, > > David Marshall, www.marshallbooks.net <http://www.marshallbooks.net/> > <IronManStatueFifthCity.jpg><IronMan_Statue_WitchitaRH.jpg><IronMan-2021.jpg><David-IronMan-2021.jpg><Fifth-City-Preschool-2021.jpg><Lief-Ericson-2021.jpg> > > _______________________________________________ > OE mailing list > OE(a)lists.wedgeblade.net > http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net

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Re: [Oe List ...] Statements by: Ret. Maj Gen. Paul Eaton, US Army:; Prep for June 14: Take a look at this image; and Ret Marine Corps Gen. James Mattis
by zbarley＠earthlink.net 12 Jun '25

12 Jun '25

Thanks for posting. Ellie. Sent using myEarthLink On Thu Jun 12 07:24:17 MDT 2025 Ellie Stock via OE wrote: Subject: Prep for June 14: Take a look at this image: Maj. Gen. Paul Eaton, U.S. Army (Ret.) < info(a)e.votevets.org (mailto:info@e.votevets.org) Dear Friends, Just forwarding (without the fundraising part). I find this military display of Trump's celebration of Flag Day not only disagreeable but disgusting, despicable, disturbing, and dangerous, not to mention the $40,000,000-$93,000,000.00 cost to taxpayers. We do not respect and honor the country nor the citizens nor military of this country by extravagant, ego-centric, machoistic, militaristic displays. Saturday is No Kings Day. The U.S. had a revolution and created a Constitution and democracy to declare, implement, and support that it will not be governed by Kings or wanna be autocrats or dictators. Unfortunately, the present administration is in the process of destroying this democracy via its playbook Project 2025's drastic and dangerous budget and staff cuts (to health, security and wellbeing), intimidation, fear, violence, cultural and religious and racial bigotry, corruption, and myopic isolationism. Be vigilant. It's all happening now in plain sight--just as happened in pre-WWII Germany. Those who don't learn from history are condemned to repeat it, be victims of it, and suffer from it--or maybe worse, succumb to perpetrating it. Ellie elliestock(a)aol.com (mailto:elliestock@aol.com) Ladies and gentlemen, this is Paul Eaton. Take a look at this image: It’s from earlier this week, a video showing tanks rolling into Washington for a birthday parade. Celebrating the US Army’s 250th birthday - or is it Mr Trump’s idea of strength projection on his own birthday? This is the kind of display we were accustomed to seeing during the Cold War. The Soviets would puff up their chests, roll out their tanks, missiles, thousands of soldiers, and march them around Red Square. It was an exercise in puffery projection of pseudo strength, because we all know how the USSR turned out. We never matched those parades in the United States. Not because we weren’t as strong, or stronger. Not because we couldn’t afford it. Not because it was too difficult. We didn’t do it because there was no questioning the power and global reach of our Military — and because our greatest strength was our democracy. Today, that democracy is under attack. The reputation of the Military is being impugned and politicized. Our National Security architecture is under immense strain. NATO is being weakened. Our allies question our support. Critical services for millions of Veterans are in danger. I deeply resent all of this. But I have not given up. VoteVets is working tirelessly to challenge this, fix it, and set it right. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Former Defense Secretary and retired Marine Corps General James Mattis has released a statement: IN UNION THERE IS STRENGTH I have watched this week’s unfolding events, angry and appalled. The words “Equal Justice Under Law” are carved in the pediment of the United States Supreme Court. This is precisely what protesters are rightly demanding. It is a wholesome and unifying demand—one that all of us should be able to get behind. We must not be distracted by a small number of lawbreakers. The protests are defined by tens of thousands of people of conscience who are insisting that we live up to our values—our values as people and our values as a nation. When I joined the military, some 50 years ago, I swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution. Never did I dream that troops taking that same oath would be ordered under any circumstance to violate the Constitutional rights of their fellow citizens—much less to provide a bizarre photo op for the elected commander-in-chief, with military leadership standing alongside. We must reject any thinking of our cities as a “battlespace” that our uniformed military is called upon to “dominate.” At home, we should use our military only when requested to do so, on very rare occasions, by state governors. Militarizing our response, as we witnessed in Washington, D.C., sets up a conflict—a false conflict—between the military and civilian society. It erodes the moral ground that ensures a trusted bond between men and women in uniform and the society they are sworn to protect, and of which they themselves are a part. Keeping public order rests with civilian state and local leaders who best understand their communities and are answerable to them. James Madison wrote in Federalist 14 that “America united with a handful of troops, or without a single soldier, exhibits a more forbidding posture to foreign ambition than America disunited, with a hundred thousand veterans ready for combat.” We do not need to militarize our response to protests. We need to unite around a common purpose. And it starts by guaranteeing that all of us are equal before the law. Instructions given by the military departments to our troops before the Normandy invasion reminded soldiers that “The Nazi slogan for destroying us…was ‘Divide and Conquer.’ Our American answer is ‘In Union there is Strength.’” We must summon that unity to surmount this crisis—confident that we are better than our politics. Donald Trump is the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people—does not even pretend to try. Instead he tries to divide us. We are witnessing the consequences of three years of this deliberate effort. We are witnessing the consequences of three years without mature leadership. We can unite without him, drawing on the strengths inherent in our civil society. This will not be easy, as the past few days have shown, but we owe it to our fellow citizens; to past generations that bled to defend our promise; and to our children. We can come through this trying time stronger, and with a renewed sense of purpose and respect for one another. The pandemic has shown us that it is not only our troops who are willing to offer the ultimate sacrifice for the safety of the community. Americans in hospitals, grocery stores, post offices, and elsewhere have put their lives on the line in order to serve their fellow citizens and their country. We know that we are better than the abuse of executive authority that we witnessed in Lafayette Square. We must reject and hold accountable those in office who would make a mockery of our Constitution. At the same time, we must remember Lincoln’s “better angels,” and listen to them, as we work to unite. Only by adopting a new path—which means, in truth, returning to the original path of our founding ideals—will we again be a country admired and respected at home and abroad.

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Statements by: Ret. Maj Gen. Paul Eaton, US Army:; Prep for June 14: Take a look at this image; and Ret Marine Corps Gen. James Mattis
by Ellie Stock 12 Jun '25

12 Jun '25

Subject: Prep for June 14: Take a look at this image: Maj. Gen. Paul Eaton, U.S. Army (Ret.) <info(a)e.votevets.org Dear Friends, Just forwarding (without the fundraising part). I find this military display of Trump's celebration of Flag Day not only disagreeable but disgusting, despicable, disturbing, and dangerous, not to mention the $40,000,000-$93,000,000.00 cost to taxpayers. We do not respect and honor the country nor the citizens nor military of this country by extravagant, ego-centric, machoistic, militaristic displays. Saturday is No Kings Day. The U.S. had a revolution and created a Constitution and democracy to declare, implement, and support that it will not be governed by Kings or wanna be autocrats or dictators. Unfortunately, the present administration is in the process of destroying this democracy via its playbook Project 2025's drastic and dangerous budget and staff cuts (to health, security and wellbeing), intimidation, fear, violence, cultural and religious and racial bigotry, corruption, and myopic isolationism. Be vigilant. It's all happening now in plain sight--just as happened in pre-WWII Germany. Those who don't learn from history are condemned to repeat it, be victims of it, and suffer from it--or maybe worse, succumb to perpetrating it. Ellie elliestock(a)aol.com Ladies and gentlemen, this is Paul Eaton. Take a look at this image: It’s from earlier this week, a video showing tanks rolling into Washington for a birthday parade. Celebrating the US Army’s 250th birthday - or is it Mr Trump’s idea of strength projection on his own birthday? This is the kind of display we were accustomed to seeing during the Cold War. The Soviets would puff up their chests, roll out their tanks, missiles, thousands of soldiers, and march them around Red Square. It was an exercise in puffery projection of pseudo strength, because we all know how the USSR turned out. We never matched those parades in the United States. Not because we weren’t as strong, or stronger. Not because we couldn’t afford it. Not because it was too difficult. We didn’t do it because there was no questioning the power and global reach of our Military — and because our greatest strength was our democracy. Today, that democracy is under attack. The reputation of the Military is being impugned and politicized. Our National Security architecture is under immense strain. NATO is being weakened. Our allies question our support. Critical services for millions of Veterans are in danger. I deeply resent all of this. But I have not given up. VoteVets is working tirelessly to challenge this, fix it, and set it right. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Former Defense Secretary and retired Marine Corps General James Mattis has released a statement:IN UNION THERE IS STRENGTHI have watched this week’s unfolding events, angry and appalled. The words “Equal Justice Under Law” are carved in the pediment of the United States Supreme Court. This is precisely what protesters are rightly demanding. It is a wholesome and unifying demand—one that all of us should be able to get behind. We must not be distracted by a small number of lawbreakers. The protests are defined by tens of thousands of people of conscience who are insisting that we live up to our values—our values as people and our values as a nation.When I joined the military, some 50 years ago, I swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution. Never did I dream that troops taking that same oath would be ordered under any circumstance to violate the Constitutional rights of their fellow citizens—much less to provide a bizarre photo op for the elected commander-in-chief, with military leadership standing alongside.We must reject any thinking of our cities as a “battlespace” that our uniformed military is called upon to “dominate.” At home, we should use our military only when requested to do so, on very rare occasions, by state governors. Militarizing our response, as we witnessed in Washington, D.C., sets up a conflict—a false conflict—between the military and civilian society. It erodes the moral ground that ensures a trusted bond between men and women in uniform and the society they are sworn to protect, and of which they themselves are a part. Keeping public order rests with civilian state and local leaders who best understand their communities and are answerable to them.James Madison wrote in Federalist 14 that “America united with a handful of troops, or without a single soldier, exhibits a more forbidding posture to foreign ambition than America disunited, with a hundred thousand veterans ready for combat.” We do not need to militarize our response to protests. We need to unite around a common purpose. And it starts by guaranteeing that all of us are equal before the law.Instructions given by the military departments to our troops before the Normandy invasion reminded soldiers that “The Nazi slogan for destroying us…was ‘Divide and Conquer.’ Our American answer is ‘In Union there is Strength.’” We must summon that unity to surmount this crisis—confident that we are better than our politics.Donald Trump is the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people—does not even pretend to try. Instead he tries to divide us. We are witnessing the consequences of three years of this deliberate effort. We are witnessing the consequences of three years without mature leadership. We can unite without him, drawing on the strengths inherent in our civil society. This will not be easy, as the past few days have shown, but we owe it to our fellow citizens; to past generations that bled to defend our promise; and to our children.We can come through this trying time stronger, and with a renewed sense of purpose and respect for one another. The pandemic has shown us that it is not only our troops who are willing to offer the ultimate sacrifice for the safety of the community. Americans in hospitals, grocery stores, post offices, and elsewhere have put their lives on the line in order to serve their fellow citizens and their country. We know that we are better than the abuse of executive authority that we witnessed in Lafayette Square. We must reject and hold accountable those in office who would make a mockery of our Constitution. At the same time, we must remember Lincoln’s “better angels,” and listen to them, as we work to unite.Only by adopting a new path—which means, in truth, returning to the original path of our founding ideals—will we again be a country admired and respected at home and abroad.

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Martin Gilbraith — a great colleague! Listen to his story
by James Wiegel 10 Jun '25

10 Jun '25

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In Loving Memory of Linda Alton
by Marilyn Oyler 05 Jun '25

05 Jun '25

*Remembering the gift that Linda Alton has been to the ToP Community of Trainers and Facilitators* Though Parkinson's disease may have dimmed Linda's light in recent years, the brilliance of who she was—and the love she poured into building our ToP community—will shine on forever in each of us she touched. When Linda Alton <https://www.facebook.com/groups/117010510211/user/1019464018/?__cft__[0]=AZ…> left the full-time ICA staff and made Minneapolis her home, she didn't just relocate—she planted seeds that would grow into something beautiful. She became the heart of our training and facilitation family, and I was blessed to be her partner in this work. Together, we poured ourselves into creating something meaningful: more than 15 Mastering the Technology of Participation trainings, countless facilitation events, continuing to develop advanced courses and a network that became so much more than the sum of its parts. Linda had this extraordinary gift—she could see potential in everyone she met. I used to joke that she could recruit anyone to our cause. Put her in an elevator with a stranger on the eighth floor, and by the ground floor, they'd be signed up for a course! But it wasn't just her persuasive charm—it was her genuine belief in people and her infectious passion for what we were building together. She was a really dynamic facilitator who always had her groups laughing. She was our anchor when storms hit. When the ICA community faced its darkest hour and the training staff was dismissed, Linda didn't retreat—she opened her arms wider. She organized meetings to help us find our way forward. When new trainers and facilitators needed a chance, Linda became their champion, sharing not just her connections and expertise, but her generous heart. How many times did Linda welcome not just me but so many of us into her home for trainings and meetings? Her table was always set with good food, great humor, and even better conversation. Those evenings weren't just about work—they were about friendship, about sharing our dreams and dilemmas with someone who truly understood. Linda had this way of making you feel seen, supported, and never alone in the work. Linda was more than a colleague or ToP Network co-founder (among many) —she was a mentor to many of those who Mentor today. She was a cheerleader and a friend who believed in the power of bringing people together. And she contained so many multitudes the Network had to invent a new title - the ToP Network 'Animator' when it hired her to bring life to it's early years. Her legacy lives on in every facilitator she guided, every trainer she encouraged, and every life touched by the community she helped nurture. We will carry her spirit forward—that generous, innovative, unstoppable force for good that was uniquely Linda. She is deeply missed and will be forever cherished. -- Marilyn Oyler Partners in Participation Phoenix, AZ marilyn.oyler(a)gmail.com www.partnersinparticipation.com 602 468 0605 or 602 460 8843 (mobile) Purchase a sticky wall on www.partnersinparticipation.com Visit our airbnb https://bit.ly/37HPqqq

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Re: [Oe List ...] OE Digest, Vol 159, Issue 2
by Lawrence Philbrook 03 Jun '25

03 Jun '25

Richard thank you for the note. Seva mentioned it to us Sunday or Monday just as I was arriving from Cambodia. Linda was always an ally, we worked together for five great years in Kenya and then off and on while she was in Brussels. Our last real connection was 10 years ago co-assessing a Ukrainian facilitator. She in Minnesota and Larry first in Taipei and then in Kyiv. Her energy and joy at the opportunity to connect with them and me was joyful Linda was always present with positive energy even when she was describing a challenge. A quick recognition of reality or a question that allowed it to be explored. Evelyn and I will miss her and stay in deep appreciation for her spirit and care. With love and respect Larry and Evelyn Philbrook > > From: Richard Alton <richard.alton(a)gmail.com <mailto:richard.alton@gmail.com>> > Subject: [Oe List ...] In Loving Memory of Linda Alton > Date: June 2, 2025 at 18:56:46 GMT-5 > To: Order Ecumenical Community <oe(a)lists.wedgeblade.net <mailto:oe@lists.wedgeblade.net>>, Colleague Dialogue <dialogue(a)lists.wedgeblade.net <mailto:dialogue@lists.wedgeblade.net>> > > >>>> In Loving Memory of Linda Alton >>>> >>>> Linda Alton’s life was one of courage, conviction, and compassionate service. >From her early days at the University of California, Berkeley—where she earned both her B.A. and M.A. between 1963 and 1970—Linda was a powerful force for change. As editor of the Berkeley Yearbook and an active voice in the Free Speech Movement and the anti-Vietnam War resistance, she stood firmly for justice and truth, even when it wasn’t easy. >>>> >>>> While still a student, Linda journeyed to Harlem to work in storefront schools, helping high school students who had dropped out find their way back to education and hope. It was there she encountered the Ecumenical Institute, whose mission of global community service would soon become her own. In 1970, she joined the Institute’s staff in San Francisco, beginning a lifelong commitment to international development and human dignity. >>>> >>>> In 1976, with her young daughter Christina by her side, Linda moved to the Philippines to co-direct a USAID-funded community development project with the newly formed Institute of Cultural Affairs (ICA). There, she led efforts to support women’s small businesses, empowering families and transforming communities from the ground up. >>>> >>>> Her journey continued to Kenya, where Linda and her growing family—including her second daughter, Kay, born in Nairobi—devoted themselves to uplifting lives in both urban slums and rural villages. Together with a local staff of 150, she helped shape development initiatives that reached thousands of communities across the country. >>>> >>>> Later, in Brussels, Belgium, Linda served as Program Director at ICA’s global headquarters, bringing her deep wisdom, compassion, and leadership to an international stage. >>>> >>>> She moved to Minnesota with her partner Lynne Larsen to create a home for themselves in Minneapolis. She was a lead technical trainer/convenor with Minnesota Technology of Participation up until she retired. >>>> >>>> Linda’s legacy is not just found in the places she lived or the programs she led—but in the countless lives she touched, the justice she stood for, and the love she gave so freely. Her spirit lives on in the communities she served and in the hearts of all who knew and loved her. (Daughters: Christina & Katherine Alton, Grandson: Wyatt Wren, Wife: Lynne Larsen) >>>> > > > -- > Richard H. T. Alton > ICA Global Fund > United Methodist Net Zero > T: 773.344.7172 > richard.alton(a)gmail.com <mailto:richard.alton@gmail.com> > Make Plain the Vision, Habakkuh 2:2 > Won't you be my neighbor?

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