- OE - lists.wedgeblade.net

A fine evolution option of the birthday conversation by a warm and deep ToP colleague
by James Wiegel 13 Jun '18

13 Jun '18

https://www.northstarfacilitators.com/2018/06/what-can-a-facilitator-do-to-… Jim Wiegel 401 North Beverly Way, Tolleson, Arizona 85353 Tel. 011-623-936-8671 or 011-623-363-3277 jfwiegel(a)yahoo.com www.partnersinparticipation.com Loneliness does not come from having no people around you. But from being unable to communicate the things that seem important to you. Carl Jung

3 2

wedgeblade symbol on May Wired cover?
by Timothy Wegner 13 Jun '18

13 Jun '18

I was cleaning up getting ready to take off for my 50th Carleton College reunion in Northfield, MN when I noticed what looks like the wedgeblade symbol on the cover of the May 2018 Wired Magazine. Have a look, just to the left of woman's hair. It's pointing up, not to the right. Do you think this is our symbol, or are their other similar symbols? Seems unlikely the artists knews what it was, but he got it from somewhere! See: https://ebook3000.biz/wired-usa-may-2018-download/ Tim

6 5

Re: [Oe List ...] Peggy Lindsay
by Del Morrill 09 Jun '18

09 Jun '18

Paul, thank you for letting us know. I had hoped to get a card off to her today, but am too late, obviously. Would appreciate an address for the family, if you have one. Always best wishes, Del From: OE <oe-bounces(a)lists.wedgeblade.net> On Behalf Of Paul Schrijnen via OE Sent: Monday, May 14, 2018 12:07 PM To: oe(a)lists.wedgeblade.net; meadce(a)aol.com; Alan and Barbara Berresford <alanb(a)fastmail.co.uk>; Cyprian DSouza <cyprian.dsouza(a)nucleusinsights.com>; Mary Kurian D'Souza <marykdsouza(a)gmail.com> Cc: Paul Schrijnen <pschrijnen(a)aol.com> Subject: [Oe List ...] Peggy Lindsay Dear colleagues, I phoned Peggy’s phone just now and spoke to Gael who told me that Peggy had died this afternoon. Journey on dear Peggy, Grace and Peace, Paul Paul Schrijnen 13 Bloemfontein Avenue London W12 7BJ paul.schrijnen(a)gmail.com <mailto:paul.schrijnen@gmail.com> +44 7973 206 766 skype: paulus.schrijnen On 14 May 2018, at 19:39, Paul Schrijnen via OE <oe(a)lists.wedgeblade.net <mailto:oe@lists.wedgeblade.net> > wrote: A message I found on Facebook this evening: Our wonderful Mother/Nana/Great Grandmother Peggy is very seriously unwell in hospital after suffering a stroke on tuesday. Now they are trying to prepare us for the worst. If anyone would like to send messages or video, they would be warmly received now while we know she can hear us. Mary, Cyprian and I had a chance to visit with Peggy a few weeks ago. She was well and in good spirits. She had just left Christmas Cottage for an easier to manage place in Henley. She did that in a way which will take care of her vulnerable granddaughter who she has cared for for many years. She played her part in all our journeys. Grace and peace, Paul On 13 May 2018, at 01:21, Del Morrill via OE <oe(a)lists.wedgeblade.net <mailto:oe@lists.wedgeblade.net> > wrote: Thanks; always so great to see photos of colleagues! < <mailto:oe-bounces@lists.wedgeblade.net> oe-bounces(a)lists.wedgeblade.net> On Behalf Of Paul Schrijnen via OE Sent: Wednesday, May 9, 2018 11:02 PM To: <mailto:oe@lists.wedgeblade.net> oe(a)lists.wedgeblade.net Cc: Paul Schrijnen < <mailto:pschrijnen@aol.com> pschrijnen(a)aol.com> Subject: Re: [Oe List ...] Bonjour Lan! a few months ago Dominique, Ann, Paul and Desmond met in Wellingore, Lincolnshire. We have worked together in various place including France close to 40 years ago. <image001.jpg> On 10 May 2018, at 04:52, James Wiegel via OE < <mailto:oe@lists.wedgeblade.net> oe(a)lists.wedgeblade.net> wrote: I was miraculously privileged, while working with ICA West, to be involved in the series of International Technology of Participation Training of Trainers programs in Phoenix. Privileged for spending 6 weeks with emerging leaders from ICA's around the world. That is where I met Lan and so many others of a newer generation. <https://youtu.be/b-6pRIJPsgQ> https://youtu.be/b-6pRIJPsgQ Jim Wiegel <x-apple-data-detectors://0> 401 North Beverly Way, Tolleson, Arizona 85353 Tel. <tel:011-623-936-8671> 011-623-936-8671 or <tel:011-623-363-3277> 011-623-363-3277 <mailto:marilyn.oyler@gmail.com> jfwiegel(a)yahoo.com <http://www.partnersinparticipation.com/> www.partnersinparticipation.com Loneliness does not come from having no people around you. But from being unable to communicate the things that seem important to you. Carl Jung On May 9, 2018, at 18:45, Isobel Bishop via OE < <mailto:oe@lists.wedgeblade.net> oe(a)lists.wedgeblade.net> wrote: Hello Jim, Could you be a Detective in another life 🎈😊 ? In peace and love to y'all Isobel Bishop Thanks for the good work, James. Sent from my iPhone On 10 May 2018, at 10:49 am, James Wiegel via OE < <mailto:oe@lists.wedgeblade.net> oe(a)lists.wedgeblade.net> wrote: People are talking about you! Sally Stovall, a colleague of many years is on her way to Paris with her sister. Dick Alton wondered about ICA/ToP colleagues in France, and Larry Philbrook mentioned you! So this is an excuse for me to say hello, I hope you are doing well! I see your posts on Facebook. Jim Wiegel <x-apple-data-detectors://0> 401 North Beverly Way, Tolleson, Arizona 85353 Tel. <tel:011-623-936-8671> 011-623-936-8671 or <tel:011-623-363-3277> 011-623-363-3277 <mailto:marilyn.oyler@gmail.com> jfwiegel(a)yahoo.com <http://www.partnersinparticipation.com/> www.partnersinparticipation.com Loneliness does not come from having no people around you. But from being unable to communicate the things that seem important to you. Carl Jung On May 9, 2018, at 17:07, icalarry--- via OE < <mailto:oe@lists.wedgeblade.net> oe(a)lists.wedgeblade.net> wrote: Dick and Terry FYI Lan Levy and colleagues are working to revive ICA in France and have connected with old colleagues there in the process. Another colleague in Vienna connected with Hannerl With respect, Larry Lawrence Philbrook CTF CPF ICA Taiwan Sent from my Huawei Mobile -------- Original Message -------- Subject: OE Digest, Vol 74, Issue 4 From: <mailto:oe-request@lists.wedgeblade.net> oe-request(a)lists.wedgeblade.net To: <mailto:oe@lists.wedgeblade.net> oe(a)lists.wedgeblade.net CC: Witness to the Mystery of Life I have a long history of ‘baring my soul’ witnesses to the amazing and unusual things that happen in my life. There was the foul ball at the Cubs game, there was ‘expecting more from strangers’, the Monsignor Egan event, etc.. there is a lot of mystery out there if you have the eyes to see it .. a “thin places” where the other world that is in this world becomes apparent Ok, so I get an email from Terry Bergdall forwarding an email from Geri Tolman asking if Terry knew how to get in touch with Hannerl and Manfred Golda. The Tolmans had been in Frankfurt together with Goldas in 78-79 and wanted them to know of Warren’s passing. When I got Terry’s note I was on a bus returning from Springfield, Illinois at an Environmental Lobby day. It is a three-hour bus trip to Chicago, so I had time on my hands. I had known Hannerl and Manfred when I was part of the Brussels House and even traveled to Vienna to visit them as part of an ICA gathering. So I knew they had been or still lived in Vienna. So I googled Hannerl Golda.. nothing and then added Vienna. A lot of German text and other odds and ends, kept scrolling down and up popped the following German paragraph. I would of missed it except for the very end of the paragraph it has ICA. I am not sure what it says although when I googled Manfred it said in English he was a consultant/coach MANFRED GOLDA. A-1080 Wien, Skodagasse 9/2/12. Tel. 0222/42 34 SI. Wi en ,Weihnachten 1984. Esteigt. Liebe Verwandte, Freunde und Bekannte! Wenn Dich/Sie dieser ... von Berlin nach Wien mitgetragen haben. Es war dann, seit wir ... Der Familie geht es sonst gut , Hannerl ist in der ICA-Arbeit hier stark engagiert ,. I was amazed and when I told Sally about this find she suggested that since she is on her way with her sister to Paris we should google ICA Paris.. never know the kinds of ICA people still hanging around. Reminds me of the Coco movie..need to have pictures and thoughts of people to keep them around and in the other world. Dick Richard H.T. Alton 166 N. Humphrey Ave, Apt, 1N Oak Park, IL 60302 T:1.773.344.7172 <mailto:richard.alton@gmail.com> richard.alton(a)gmail.com Don't let the fear of striking out hold you back Babe Ruth Thank you Richard Alton. On Wed, May 9, 2018 at 4:46 AM, Richard via OE < <mailto:oe@lists.wedgeblade.net> oe(a)lists.wedgeblade.net> wrote: Witness to the Mystery of Life I have a long history of ‘baring my soul’ witnesses to the amazing and unusual things that happen in my life. There was the foul ball at the Cubs game, there was ‘expecting more from strangers’, the Monsignor Egan event, etc.. there is a lot of mystery out there if you have the eyes to see it .. a “thin places” where the other world that is in this world becomes apparent Ok, so I get an email from Terry Bergdall forwarding an email from Geri Tolman asking if Terry knew how to get in touch with Hannerl and Manfred Golda. The Tolmans had been in Frankfurt together with Goldas in 78-79 and wanted them to know of Warren’s passing. When I got Terry’s note I was on a bus returning from Springfield, Illinois at an Environmental Lobby day. It is a three-hour bus trip to Chicago, so I had time on my hands. I had known Hannerl and Manfred when I was part of the Brussels House and even traveled to Vienna to visit them as part of an ICA gathering. So I knew they had been or still lived in Vienna. So I googled Hannerl Golda.. nothing and then added Vienna. A lot of German text and other odds and ends, kept scrolling down and up popped the following German paragraph. I would of missed it except for the very end of the paragraph it has ICA. I am not sure what it says although when I googled Manfred it said in English he was a consultant/coach MANFRED GOLDA. A-1080 Wien, Skodagasse 9/2/12. Tel. 0222/42 34 SI. Wi en ,Weihnachten 1984. Esteigt. Liebe Verwandte, Freunde und Bekannte! Wenn Dich/Sie dieser ... von Berlin nach Wien mitgetragen haben. Es war dann, seit wir ... Der Familie geht es sonst gut , Hannerl ist in der ICA-Arbeit hier stark engagiert ,. I was amazed and when I told Sally about this find she suggested that since she is on her way with her sister to Paris we should google ICA Paris.. never know the kinds of ICA people still hanging around. Reminds me of the Coco movie..need to have pictures and thoughts of people to keep them around and in the other world. Dick Richard H.T. Alton 166 N. Humphrey Ave, Apt, 1N Oak Park, IL 60302 T:1.773.344.7172 <mailto:richard.alton@gmail.com> richard.alton(a)gmail.com Don't let the fear of striking out hold you back Babe Ruth _______________________________________________ OE mailing list <mailto:OE@lists.wedgeblade.net> OE(a)lists.wedgeblade.net <http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net> http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net So true, Dick yes Iona Island west of the Island of Mull, western Scotland is one such 'thin place,' in my view. Thankyou In peace, Isobel Bishop Sent from my iPhone On 9 May 2018, at 11:11 am, Mary Kurian D'Souza via OE < <mailto:oe@lists.wedgeblade.net> oe(a)lists.wedgeblade.net> wrote: Thank you Richard Alton. On Wed, May 9, 2018 at 4:46 AM, Richard via OE < <mailto:oe@lists.wedgeblade.net> oe(a)lists.wedgeblade.net> wrote: Witness to the Mystery of Life I have a long history of ‘baring my soul’ witnesses to the amazing and unusual things that happen in my life. There was the foul ball at the Cubs game, there was ‘expecting more from strangers’, the Monsignor Egan event, etc.. there is a lot of mystery out there if you have the eyes to see it .. a “thin places” where the other world that is in this world becomes apparent Ok, so I get an email from Terry Bergdall forwarding an email from Geri Tolman asking if Terry knew how to get in touch with Hannerl and Manfred Golda. The Tolmans had been in Frankfurt together with Goldas in 78-79 and wanted them to know of Warren’s passing. When I got Terry’s note I was on a bus returning from Springfield, Illinois at an Environmental Lobby day. It is a three-hour bus trip to Chicago, so I had time on my hands. I had known Hannerl and Manfred when I was part of the Brussels House and even traveled to Vienna to visit them as part of an ICA gathering. So I knew they had been or still lived in Vienna. So I googled Hannerl Golda.. nothing and then added Vienna. A lot of German text and other odds and ends, kept scrolling down and up popped the following German paragraph. I would of missed it except for the very end of the paragraph it has ICA. I am not sure what it says although when I googled Manfred it said in English he was a consultant/coach MANFRED GOLDA. A-1080 Wien, Skodagasse 9/2/12. Tel. 0222/42 34 SI. Wi en ,Weihnachten 1984. Esteigt. Liebe Verwandte, Freunde und Bekannte! Wenn Dich/Sie dieser ... von Berlin nach Wien mitgetragen haben. Es war dann, seit wir ... Der Familie geht es sonst gut , Hannerl ist in der ICA-Arbeit hier stark engagiert ,. I was amazed and when I told Sally about this find she suggested that since she is on her way with her sister to Paris we should google ICA Paris.. never know the kinds of ICA people still hanging around. Reminds me of the Coco movie..need to have pictures and thoughts of people to keep them around and in the other world. Dick Richard H.T. Alton 166 N. Humphrey Ave, Apt, 1N Oak Park, IL 60302 T:1.773.344.7172 <mailto:richard.alton@gmail.com> richard.alton(a)gmail.com Don't let the fear of striking out hold you back Babe Ruth _______________________________________________ OE mailing list <mailto:OE@lists.wedgeblade.net> OE(a)lists.wedgeblade.net <http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net> http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net _______________________________________________ OE mailing list <mailto:OE@lists.wedgeblade.net> OE(a)lists.wedgeblade.net <http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net> http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net It is no mystery that when we were in the Philadelphia House with Dick et al, our Daily Office was always inclusive of witnesses that caught one’s attention! ‘PRAISE the Lord, Christ is risen’ and thanks to Dick continues to ‘rise’ each day! Love, Grace & Peace, Ellen Howie On May 8, 2018, at 9:11 PM, Mary Kurian D'Souza via OE < <mailto:oe@lists.wedgeblade.net> oe(a)lists.wedgeblade.net> wrote: Thank you Richard Alton. On Wed, May 9, 2018 at 4:46 AM, Richard via OE < <mailto:oe@lists.wedgeblade.net> oe(a)lists.wedgeblade.net> wrote: Witness to the Mystery of Life I have a long history of ‘baring my soul’ witnesses to the amazing and unusual things that happen in my life. There was the foul ball at the Cubs game, there was ‘expecting more from strangers’, the Monsignor Egan event, etc.. there is a lot of mystery out there if you have the eyes to see it .. a “thin places” where the other world that is in this world becomes apparent Ok, so I get an email from Terry Bergdall forwarding an email from Geri Tolman asking if Terry knew how to get in touch with Hannerl and Manfred Golda. The Tolmans had been in Frankfurt together with Goldas in 78-79 and wanted them to know of Warren’s passing. When I got Terry’s note I was on a bus returning from Springfield, Illinois at an Environmental Lobby day. It is a three-hour bus trip to Chicago, so I had time on my hands. I had known Hannerl and Manfred when I was part of the Brussels House and even traveled to Vienna to visit them as part of an ICA gathering. So I knew they had been or still lived in Vienna. So I googled Hannerl Golda.. nothing and then added Vienna. A lot of German text and other odds and ends, kept scrolling down and up popped the following German paragraph. I would of missed it except for the very end of the paragraph it has ICA. I am not sure what it says although when I googled Manfred it said in English he was a consultant/coach MANFRED GOLDA. A-1080 Wien, Skodagasse 9/2/12. Tel. 0222/42 34 SI. Wi en ,Weihnachten 1984. Esteigt. Liebe Verwandte, Freunde und Bekannte! Wenn Dich/Sie dieser ... von Berlin nach Wien mitgetragen haben. Es war dann, seit wir ... Der Familie geht es sonst gut , Hannerl ist in der ICA-Arbeit hier stark engagiert ,. I was amazed and when I told Sally about this find she suggested that since she is on her way with her sister to Paris we should google ICA Paris.. never know the kinds of ICA people still hanging around. Reminds me of the Coco movie..need to have pictures and thoughts of people to keep them around and in the other world. Dick Richard H.T. Alton 166 N. Humphrey Ave, Apt, 1N Oak Park, IL 60302 T:1.773.344.7172 <mailto:richard.alton@gmail.com> richard.alton(a)gmail.com Don't let the fear of striking out hold you back Babe Ruth _______________________________________________ OE mailing list <mailto:OE@lists.wedgeblade.net> OE(a)lists.wedgeblade.net <http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net> http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net _______________________________________________ OE mailing list <mailto:OE@lists.wedgeblade.net> OE(a)lists.wedgeblade.net <http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net> http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net Beautiful fragments turn into Mystery of life on bustrips between Springfield and Chicago. I did a bit more research on Manfred and Hannerl. Here is a retirement notice about Manfred from 2007: As of August 31, 2007, Pastor Mag. Manfred Golda is retired. Manfred Günter Erwin Golda was born on October 25, 1941 in Klagenfurt, where he was baptized by pastor Erich Pechel and confirmed in the preaching office Velden am Wörther See by pastor Friedrich Krotz. Manfred Golda went to school in Klagenfurt and graduated in 1962 from the Federal Trade School for Mechanical Engineering. He then spent a year in England attending a Bible School of the Torchbearers Missionary Community. From 1963 to 1970 he studied theology in Vienna and during this time worked in the student church. After passing his exams in January 1970, he was a teaching vicar in Vienna's Inner City under the guidance of Prof. Wilhelm, and was ordained by the latter on 11 July 1972, assisted by Reverend Adolf Rücker (Vienna) and Pastor Friedrich Krotz (Pörtschach). As of December 1, 1972, Manfred Golda was also pastor of this congregation, and in addition to his usual official duties supervised the student church, held a lecture at the Protestant Theological Faculty of Old Testament Exe- cution, and worked together with the Reformed and Catholic Parish of St. Stephen founded the ecumenical bible study. >From 1978 to 1980, Manfred Golda worked at the Institute for Cultural Affairs (ICA) in Frankfurt am Main and in Berlin West. The ICA is a global institute that develops and communicates participatory methods for community work. The work area included various communities in West Germany and West Berlin. From 1980 to 1984, Manfred Golda was a parish commissary at the Berlin Mission with the main focus on coordinating ecclesial partnership work with Africa and the Middle East, organizing seminaries, mission festivals, etc. In 1984, Manfred Golda returned to Vienna and until 1996 was a pastor for participants with a focus on the care and counselling of foreign students and ecumenical cooperation in higher education. On 1 September 1996, Manfred Golda was appointed parish priest of the pastorate of the parish of A. B. Wien-Währing, not affiliated with the pastoral ministry. Together with Pastor Manfred Schreier, he has endeavored to ensure that this large parish with kindergarten, school and after-school careers is well organized, which in recent years has also meant an enormous challenge for the general refurbishment of the church and other buildings. Pastor Golda was first married to sports teacher Hannerl Regina. Laubenberger married, from this marriage come the children Martin Alfred, Astrid Christiane and Florian Rainer. Since 2001 he has been married with Dr. theol. Maria Irene Riebl, an adult educator and psychotherapist. The heart of Pastor Golda probably beats in the wide world, among the young churches of Africa. This is visible in his honorary offices as chairman of the Mission Council, the Evang. World Mission Working Group (EAWM), as a longtime member of the board of the Evang. Associations for student hostels and chairman of the Protestant Higher Education Community, the executive board of Oikocredit Austria (Ecumenical Development Cooperative), the EAEZ (Evang Working Group for Development Cooperation) and chair of the synodal committee for world mission and development cooperation (WEZ). Pastor Golda has been particularly dedicated to the "missionary pastor" in our church and was assistant at the inauguration of Ghanaian Rev. Rev. Timothy Annoh on Pentecost Sunday this year. The Evangelical Oberkirchenrat thanks Pastor Mag. Manfred Golda for his dedicated service in our church, for the efforts of the young students and especially for the vision that Manfred Golda has brought to our church again and again and wishes him and his family God's blessing and escort for the future On 9 May 2018, at 00:16, Richard via OE < <mailto:oe@lists.wedgeblade.net> oe(a)lists.wedgeblade.net> wrote: Witness to the Mystery of Life I have a long history of ‘baring my soul’ witnesses to the amazing and unusual things that happen in my life. There was the foul ball at the Cubs game, there was ‘expecting more from strangers’, the Monsignor Egan event, etc.. there is a lot of mystery out there if you have the eyes to see it .. a “thin places” where the other world that is in this world becomes apparent Ok, so I get an email from Terry Bergdall forwarding an email from Geri Tolman asking if Terry knew how to get in touch with Hannerl and Manfred Golda. The Tolmans had been in Frankfurt together with Goldas in 78-79 and wanted them to know of Warren’s passing. When I got Terry’s note I was on a bus returning from Springfield, Illinois at an Environmental Lobby day. It is a three-hour bus trip to Chicago, so I had time on my hands. I had known Hannerl and Manfred when I was part of the Brussels House and even traveled to Vienna to visit them as part of an ICA gathering. So I knew they had been or still lived in Vienna. So I googled Hannerl Golda.. nothing and then added Vienna. A lot of German text and other odds and ends, kept scrolling down and up popped the following German paragraph. I would of missed it except for the very end of the paragraph it has ICA. I am not sure what it says although when I googled Manfred it said in English he was a consultant/coach MANFRED GOLDA. A-1080 Wien, Skodagasse 9/2/12. Tel. 0222/42 34 SI. Wi en ,Weihnachten 1984. Esteigt. Liebe Verwandte, Freunde und Bekannte! Wenn Dich/Sie dieser ... von Berlin nach Wien mitgetragen haben. Es war dann, seit wir ... Der Familie geht es sonst gut , Hannerl ist in der ICA-Arbeit hier stark engagiert ,. I was amazed and when I told Sally about this find she suggested that since she is on her way with her sister to Paris we should google ICA Paris.. never know the kinds of ICA people still hanging around. Reminds me of the Coco movie..need to have pictures and thoughts of people to keep them around and in the other world. Dick Richard H.T. Alton 166 N. Humphrey Ave, Apt, 1N Oak Park, IL 60302 T:1.773.344.7172 <mailto:richard.alton@gmail.com> richard.alton(a)gmail.com Don't let the fear of striking out hold you back Babe Ruth _______________________________________________ OE mailing list <mailto:OE@lists.wedgeblade.net> OE(a)lists.wedgeblade.net <http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net> http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net Beautiful fragments turn into Mystery of life on bustrips between Springfield and Chicago. I did a bit more research on Manfred and Hannerl. Here is a retirement notice about Manfred from 2007: As of August 31, 2007, Pastor Mag. Manfred Golda is retired. Manfred Günter Erwin Golda was born on October 25, 1941 in Klagenfurt, where he was baptized by pastor Erich Pechel and confirmed in the preaching office Velden am Wörther See by pastor Friedrich Krotz. Manfred Golda went to school in Klagenfurt and graduated in 1962 from the Federal Trade School for Mechanical Engineering. He then spent a year in England attending a Bible School of the Torchbearers Missionary Community. From 1963 to 1970 he studied theology in Vienna and during this time worked in the student church. After passing his exams in January 1970, he was a teaching vicar in Vienna's Inner City under the guidance of Prof. Wilhelm, and was ordained by the latter on 11 July 1972, assisted by Reverend Adolf Rücker (Vienna) and Pastor Friedrich Krotz (Pörtschach). As of December 1, 1972, Manfred Golda was also pastor of this congregation, and in addition to his usual official duties supervised the student church, held a lecture at the Protestant Theological Faculty of Old Testament Exe- cution, and worked together with the Reformed and Catholic Parish of St. Stephen founded the ecumenical bible study. >From 1978 to 1980, Manfred Golda worked at the Institute for Cultural Affairs (ICA) in Frankfurt am Main and in Berlin West. The ICA is a global institute that develops and communicates participatory methods for community work. The work area included various communities in West Germany and West Berlin. From 1980 to 1984, Manfred Golda was a parish commissary at the Berlin Mission with the main focus on coordinating ecclesial partnership work with Africa and the Middle East, organizing seminaries, mission festivals, etc. In 1984, Manfred Golda returned to Vienna and until 1996 was a pastor for participants with a focus on the care and counselling of foreign students and ecumenical cooperation in higher education. On 1 September 1996, Manfred Golda was appointed parish priest of the pastorate of the parish of A. B. Wien-Währing, not affiliated with the pastoral ministry. Together with Pastor Manfred Schreier, he has endeavored to ensure that this large parish with kindergarten, school and after-school careers is well organized, which in recent years has also meant an enormous challenge for the general refurbishment of the church and other buildings. Pastor Golda was first married to sports teacher Hannerl Regina. Laubenberger married, from this marriage come the children Martin Alfred, Astrid Christiane and Florian Rainer. Since 2001 he has been married with Dr. theol. Maria Irene Riebl, an adult educator and psychotherapist. The heart of Pastor Golda probably beats in the wide world, among the young churches of Africa. This is visible in his honorary offices as chairman of the Mission Council, the Evang. World Mission Working Group (EAWM), as a longtime member of the board of the Evang. Associations for student hostels and chairman of the Protestant Higher Education Community, the executive board of Oikocredit Austria (Ecumenical Development Cooperative), the EAEZ (Evang Working Group for Development Cooperation) and chair of the synodal committee for world mission and development cooperation (WEZ). Pastor Golda has been particularly dedicated to the "missionary pastor" in our church and was assistant at the inauguration of Ghanaian Rev. Rev. Timothy Annoh on Pentecost Sunday this year. The Evangelical Oberkirchenrat thanks Pastor Mag. Manfred Golda for his dedicated service in our church, for the efforts of the young students and especially for the vision that Manfred Golda has brought to our church again and again and wishes him and his family God's blessing and escort for the future On 9 May 2018, at 00:16, Richard via OE < <mailto:oe@lists.wedgeblade.net> oe(a)lists.wedgeblade.net> wrote: Witness to the Mystery of Life I have a long history of ‘baring my soul’ witnesses to the amazing and unusual things that happen in my life. There was the foul ball at the Cubs game, there was ‘expecting more from strangers’, the Monsignor Egan event, etc.. there is a lot of mystery out there if you have the eyes to see it .. a “thin places” where the other world that is in this world becomes apparent Ok, so I get an email from Terry Bergdall forwarding an email from Geri Tolman asking if Terry knew how to get in touch with Hannerl and Manfred Golda. The Tolmans had been in Frankfurt together with Goldas in 78-79 and wanted them to know of Warren’s passing. When I got Terry’s note I was on a bus returning from Springfield, Illinois at an Environmental Lobby day. It is a three-hour bus trip to Chicago, so I had time on my hands. I had known Hannerl and Manfred when I was part of the Brussels House and even traveled to Vienna to visit them as part of an ICA gathering. So I knew they had been or still lived in Vienna. So I googled Hannerl Golda.. nothing and then added Vienna. A lot of German text and other odds and ends, kept scrolling down and up popped the following German paragraph. I would of missed it except for the very end of the paragraph it has ICA. I am not sure what it says although when I googled Manfred it said in English he was a consultant/coach <="" blockquote=""> _______________________________________________ OE mailing list <mailto:OE@lists.wedgeblade.net> OE(a)lists.wedgeblade.net <http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net> http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net _______________________________________________ OE mailing list <mailto:OE@lists.wedgeblade.net> OE(a)lists.wedgeblade.net <http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net> http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net _______________________________________________ OE mailing list <mailto:OE@lists.wedgeblade.net> OE(a)lists.wedgeblade.net <http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net> http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net _______________________________________________ OE mailing list <mailto:OE@lists.wedgeblade.net> OE(a)lists.wedgeblade.net <http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net> http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net _______________________________________________ OE mailing list <mailto:OE@lists.wedgeblade.net> OE(a)lists.wedgeblade.net <http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net> http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net _______________________________________________ OE mailing list OE(a)lists.wedgeblade.net <mailto:OE@lists.wedgeblade.net> http://lists.wedgeblade.net/listinfo.cgi/oe-wedgeblade.net

6 7

Global Buzz Now Including ICA Nepal
by ICA International 09 Jun '18

09 Jun '18

Enjoy catching up with what is happening in ICAs across the globe.....If you wish to SEND a report...send to your ICA contact person OR...go to the members section on the ICA International website Please click the link below for the latest issue of the Global Buzz Global Buzz Report: June 2018 or copy and paste this URL into your browser's address bar http://globalbuzz.icai-archives.org/7dayreport-18/2018-06-01.php ICAI Communications

1 0

MLK weekend in Chicago
by Linda Barnes 07 Jun '18

07 Jun '18

Memories: I remember being seated next to JWM on the Thursday night in College ?? (Maundy Thursday is my recollection). Charles Lingo passed the news to Matthews. On Friday Rupert Barnes and I were taking the train from University of Chicago back to the West Side and could see the smoke billowing in the distance. I was 4th teacher in an RS-1 that weekend on the West Side. I remember, at one point Abednego Barnes (now 51!) being in the apartment of the Bezansons on 1st floor and, at some point, I was informed that he along with a number of young ones had been put on the Eisenhower Expressway train headed west; I really don't recall where those kids ended up...I think on church benches at whatever town was at the end of the line. The RS-1 under the tutelage of Donna McClesky went on...all cool! Linda Barnes -- *Linda Rolfing Barnes*

3 2

6/07/18 Progressing Spirit: Van Ham/Wolsey: Ready, Set…RECEIVE!; Spong revisited
by Ellie Stock 07 Jun '18

07 Jun '18

View this email in your browser Ready, Set…RECEIVE! Essay by Rev. Lauren Van Ham on June 7, 2018 The June sun was shining, but the whipping wind had us under hats and hoods, huddled close to hear the Naturalist’s instructions, “These flowers just poked out of snow last week. Up here, Summer turns to Fall by mid-August. Tundra takes hundreds of years to grow and one sloppily-placed hiking boot can destroy it all.” Then, he pointed across the Alpine carpet, to a collection of immense boulders and we began – adults, grandparents, and children (I was one of those) – hopping rock to rock. A few paused, using their telephoto lenses to capture the blooms mere centimeters wide; the athletic made it into a game of how quickly they could “gazelle” from one rock to the next; and others moved with deference to the altitude, reaching for each inhale of thin air. Other species – marmots, elk, birds – might have been looking on quizzically, but we did all we could to not touch our feet to the strong, fragile life below. It is the launch of Summer. Graduations abound, sleep-away camps will soon begin, and in this season, Earth’s generosity offers strawberries, thundershowers, long days of sunlight, and lightning bugs after dark. Near the Continental Divide, snow may still fall, but underneath, the resilient Moss Campion faithfully await their perennial unveiling in technicolor! Whether we’re there to “ooh,” & “ahhh,” or not, Earth gives and gives and gives. It would appear that our role is to receive, which isn’t the same as consuming or taking. Probably as for many of you, the events and responding events happening in our world today don’t match the teachings I’ve received from National Park guides, indigenous people around the world, and most sacred texts. In the Christian Gospels there is Luke 6:38, Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back. (NRSV) As a child raised in the 70s, I also think about the holy teachings of Sesame Street, Mister Rogers and Mary Poppins all of whom iterated that it was good to enjoy things so long as we ask permission, share, and put them back when we are done. All of this is a start, but in a time when so much has been taken without permission, sold for profit, and with no plan for return or replenishment, I find myself in despair. Taking coal and minerals buried deep in the earth, while depositing plastic bags and last year’s furniture in the landfill is clearly not an honorable exchange, nor is it healthy for any of us. Thankfully (and finally!), we are seeing the errors of our quick-fix dependencies…and we are wondering what this will continue to mean for our children, oceans, forests, and other species. How can we, in this moment, wake up, make amends, and learn from Earth’s practices of giving and receiving? If we paraphrase Luke 6:38, the take-away is that giving begets giving. And when I think back to rock-hopping in the tundra that day, it was the same. We were giving Life the space and honor it needed so Life could give us her abundant show: lacey rivulets of water, verdant greens photosynthesizing and providing fresh air, brilliant colors and patterns that we, in turn, desperately try to mirror in our daily lives through design, art and technology. These offerings that capitalism deductively label, “resources,” are what Native people call, “relatives.” What might feel different for us if, instead of taking, we recognized the abundance of what is being freely given? And what happens if we return the gift by really celebrating the Giver? I don’t know whether Hafiz, the 12th century poet, was foreshadowing photovoltaic potential, but every time I read these words, I smile, ……………………....Even after all this time ………………………The sun never says to the earth, ………………………“You owe Me.” ………………………Look what happens with a love like that, ………………………It lights the Whole Sky. Receiving is an active stance. What, in this moment, is being Given? Start small. The birds singing? The smell of lilacs coming through the window? Your cat, sprawled out and dreaming in the sunbeam? “Thank you, beautiful beings, for all that you are giving! I receive you, and in return I give you my love.” Now make it bigger. Wind, sun and waves are Earth’s ever-present rhythms of giving and receiving. Each, with their own force, create renewable cycles of communication, nourishment, and energy! We haven’t fully received these gifts, not yet. And to do so will require some active giving on our part. What if, this Summer, we give ourselves to receiving Earth’s teachings? Like any spiritual practice that’s worthwhile, it asks for our time and discipline. That’s alright; our relative, the tundra, models the virtues of both. And the promise of a spiritual practice done well is sanity, insight and our return to the sacred experience of Belonging. I hope you’ll join me: ready, set….RECEIVE! ~ Rev. Lauren Van Ham Click here to read online and to share your thoughts About the Author Born and raised beneath the big sky of the Midwest, Lauren holds degrees from Carnegie Mellon University, Naropa University and The Chaplaincy Institute. Following her ordination in 1999, Lauren served as an interfaith chaplain in both healthcare (adolescent psychiatry and palliative care), and corporate settings (organizational development and employee wellness). Her passion and training in the fine arts, spirituality and Earth’s teachings has supported her specialization in eco-ministry, grief & loss, and sacred activism. Lauren’s work with Green Sangha (a Bay Area-based non-profit) is featured in Renewal, a documentary celebrating the efforts of environmental activism taking place in religious America. Her essay, “Way of the Eco-Chaplain,” appears in the collection, Ways of the Spirit: Voices of Women. Lauren tends a private spiritual direction practice and serves as Dean for The Chaplaincy Institute in Berkeley, CA. Question & Answer Q: By Kenneth No argument: the Christian church was complacent about standing up to Hitler and the holocaust. But ... in the United States, it also failed to stand up to Vietnam. It has tolerated racism, slavery, lynching, torture, and the death penalty. It is substantially failing to stand up to climate change. And now, it is failing to stand up to Trump's immorality, enrichment of the wealthy, military buildup, and trashing of the environment. What should our expectations be? I'm not convinced that saying "thank you" to God is adequate. A: By Rev. Roger Wolsey Dear Kenneth, You certainly raise some valid concerns and offer a critique of much of the Church over the years – and today. There were, of course, all sorts of Church leaders who defied and denounced Hitler, and the same is true for racism, segregation, and the Vietnam conflict. That said, it is the case that there has been a tendency for churches to go along with the status quo and not rock boats that need rocking. While there are prophetic exceptions who have bravely spoken truth to power – they do seem to be in the minority – or at least, the media doesn’t put them in the limelight very frequently. You may respond to what I’m saying thus far with, “Yes, of course and you are minimizing things greatly.” To which I would respond with a reminder that it only seems like the Church in the US is full of moral quietude. The fact is that most denominations do take stands on various matters of the day. The largest denomination in the US is the Roman Catholic Church – roughly ½ of all Christians in the U.S. – and that denomination has a long track-record for social engagement and speaking truth to power. Similarly, most all of the major mainline denominations (United Methodist, ELCA, PCUSA, UCC, Episcopal, etc.) have strong history – and present – of work toward social change and transformation, and advocacy for social justice and the environment. If one’s primary exposure to American Christianity is televangelists, mega-churches, and evangelical and fundamentalist Christianity one might conclude otherwise. For whatever reason, intellectual laziness and simplistic thinking most likely, the media tends to conflate all forms of Christianity with the conservative variety and give those types of church leaders the most voice and visibility. But rest assured, the loyal opposition is alive and well! Let us consider the fine work of Jim Wallis and the Sojourner’s community over the past several decades. Let us consider the bold Moral Mondays movement led by Rev. William Barber III. This movement is now in its 5th year. Let us consider the recent “Reclaiming Jesus” event in Washington, D.C. that was held by many church leaders who are opposed to the policies of the Trump administration and how certain sectors of the Church are blessing those deplorable actions. And let us consider the over 340,000 participants on The Christian Left Facebook page as well as the over 233,000 followers of the Kissing Fish Facebook page – realizing that these are but a small number of the many forums for progressive Christians who are seeking to put their faith into action and allow Jesus (as opposed to Caesar) to be lord/savior/Christ of their political lives as part of their discipleship. Again, your critique is a good and needed one. The growing number of people who are leaving Christianity - or who were never part of it – yearn to see authentic Christianity showing up in a world that so badly needs Christians to truly be Christian and the Church to be The Church. I will close with these words pulled and collaged from the Talmud, “Do not be daunted by the enormity of the world’s grief. Do justly now. Love mercy now. Walk humbly now. You are not obligated to complete the work, but neither are you free to abandon it.” Yours in Pax Christi - not Pax Romana/Americana, ~ Rev. Roger Wolsey Click here to read and share online About the Author Rev. Roger Wolsey is an ordained United Methodist pastor who directs the Wesley Foundation at the University of Colorado at Boulder, and is author of Kissing Fish: christianity for people who don’t like christianity; The Kissing Fish Facebook page; Roger’s Blog on Patheos “The Holy Kiss” Bishop John Shelby Spong Revisited The Dark Side of Evangelical Religion Essay by Bishop John Shelby Spong on August 31, 2005 I often wonder what Bible it is that people read in America’s Bible Belt. I wonder what the religion is that is practiced by the Religious Right. It certainly does not connect with my understanding of Christianity. Perhaps I am the one who is blind to the things they perceive, but seeing their enthusiasm for war, their lack of concern for the welfare of minorities, their overt homophobia, and their violence (as expressed in the number of legal executions in that region), I cannot help but ask those who live in the Bible Belt and those who hold membership in the Religious Right to help me comprehend the religious understanding that they espouse. This issue was raised sharply for me recently by a remark from Pat Robertson, president and owner of the Christian Broadcasting Television Network. On his 700 Club program, Robertson — one of America’s leading evangelical voices — called for the assassination of Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez. Murder, apparently, is a legitimate Christian solution when you have a disagreement with someone. Robertson, who was a candidate for the Republican nomination for president in 1988, is a major force in the religious base dedicated to the presidency of George W. Bush. (Bush’s “red state” region is the home of the most overtly religious voters in this country.) The president has represented their point of view well with his opposition to abortion, stem-cell research, homosexuality, and the right to make end-of-life decisions. Utterances emanating from Pat Robertson’s lips, however, do not sound to me like the words of a religious leader, at least not a Christian religious leader. This murder recommendation, by the way, was not his only bizarre moral lapse. Writing about the feminist movement in a fund-raising letter, Robertson said: “The feminist agenda is not about equal rights for women. It is about a socialist, anti-family political movement that encourages women to leave their husbands, kill their children, practice witchcraft, destroy capitalism and become lesbians.” That does not sound like the feminists I know and is especially offensive to those feminists who are my wife and daughters. About homosexuality Robertson has not only been hostile but also uninformed and judgmental. Additionally he has combined his prejudices by adding the faint odor of anti-Semitism to his homophobia. In a Christmas Eve program, he once said: “The acceptance of homosexuality is the last step in the decline of gentile Christianity.” Now he has decided that the murder of Hugo Chavez is within his understanding of Christianity. This is the same man, I remind you, who championed the right of Chief Justice Roy Moore of Alabama to hang the Ten Commandments in his courtroom. Perhaps Robertson has not read those commandments recently, but the last time I looked they still contained the injunction: “Thou shalt not kill.” It was amusing yet frightening to watch some of this nation’s other evangelical leaders dance around these comments by their colleague. One of them tried to justify Robertson’s words by suggesting that they came during “the political side” of Robertson’s television program rather than “the religious side.” This strange logic suggests that murder is okay in the political arena, but not in the religious arena. Somehow murder seems to me to be both terminal and evil in either place. Jesse Jackson’s request that the Federal Communications Commission discipline Robertson’s Christian Broadcasting Network for his comments, just as they disciplined CBS and MTV over the exposure of Janet Jackson’s breast during the half-time show of the Super Bowl in 2004, was dismissed by the same evangelical leader as not being “in the same category of moral concern,” the implication being that the comments were a lesser offense. That argument’s value escapes me. A performer’s exposed breast is certainly in bad taste but no one died as a result of that insensitive act. To call for the murder of a head of state because you dislike his politics strikes me as of a totally different and far more severe moral dimension. Members of the Religious Right do seem to be more obsessed with issues of sexuality than they are about issues like war and peace or discrimination. Sometimes they remind me of the old joke that “fundamentalists are opposed to sex because it might lead to dancing!” I grew up a Southern evangelical fundamentalist in the Bible Belt. I certainly needed the security it offered me during the early years of my life, as I dealt with both death and poverty. I left that movement, however, because I found it intellectually bankrupt and morally indefensible. It was their indefensible morality far more than their intellectual bankruptcy that bothered me the most even then. Intellectual issues can be debated, facts cited, and minds changed. I know that from my own spiritual journey. When immoral activity done in the name of religion occurs, however, the scars created by both the pain of disillusionment and the loss of integrity are very long lasting. So out of the embarrassment of listening to a person identified as a Christian calling for an act of murder, I seek answers to my searching questions. What Bible do people read in that region of America we call the Bible Belt? In that part of our nation, church going is more popular than it is in any other part of America, and people living there hold to their religious affiliations very deeply. Yet that is the same part of America that engaged in slavery until they were required to give up that inhumane practice by force of arms. Is the enslavement of human beings compatible with the Christian life? Certainly quotations from Holy Scripture were used to justify slavery and to remove any pangs of guilt that might have accompanied that institution in the hearts of the “fine Christian slaveholders” of the South. Yet how does slavery square with Jesus’ words: “By this will all know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:35). Would they have me believe that slavery is simply a form of love that I do not recognize? Is the calling for the murder of a head of state also a form of love that I just do not understand? When slavery was made illegal in the Bible Belt following the American Civil War, its bastard stepchild, known as segregation, took its place. Black people were separated from white people by law. Their children were forced to go to inferior schools. They were not allowed access to public libraries, public parks, or public toilets. They were refused service in both hotels and restaurants, and they were prohibited from trying on clothes in department stores and dress shops. Black people had no standing and few rights in the white-dominated courts. Enforcing these brutal practices was an organization called the Ku Klux Klan, which used the primary Christian symbol, a cross, turning it into an instrument of intimidation and fear by setting it ablaze. The Klan was also served by a “Khaplain,” who invariably articulated the values of what was called white, gentile Christianity, while at the same time seeking to dominate and coerce people of color with physical violence. The great majority of the white people of the Bible Belt supported segregation until it was declared to be illegal in 1954 by a unanimous ruling of the Supreme Court. Even then the white Christians of the South resisted that law by every possible means, legal and illegal. “Massive resistance to the law of the land” was the motto adopted by the church-going political organization run by Senator Harry Byrd of Virginia. It was fully supported by the junior senator from that same state, A. Willis Robertson, who along with his wife, were quite overtly religious, God-fearing, church-going Christians. They were also the parents of evangelist Pat Robertson. Perhaps neither the Byrds nor the Robertsons ever read Jesus’ words describing his purpose as that of bringing life, abundant life to all (John 10:10). Or perhaps they were able to convince themselves that segregation offered enhancement, not diminishment, of the humanity of black people. What kind of religion was being practiced in the Bible Belt of the South when lynching, mostly of black males, occurred there with great regularity until the mid-twentieth century with the full support of both the white law-enforcement officials and the white dominated courts? How was it possible that Southern sheriffs, police officials, judges, and juries, who winked at this murder of black people, were also God-fearing, Bible-reading, church-going Christians? If they could square the lynching of “offensive” black males with the Christianity they practiced in the Bible Belt, then calling for the murder of an offending head of state in Venezuela by a well-known Southern Christian evangelist a generation later should be easy to understand. America’s Religious Right was appalled at the sexual misconduct of President Clinton. So was I. But again their moral compass seems askew when they are not equally appalled at the behavior of a president who has taken us into a war based on blatantly false intelligence data. He has presided over a tremendous abuse of human rights in both Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo for which no persons other than enlisted personnel have yet been convicted. His actions have cost the lives of some 1,900 American service persons, the wounding of thousands more, to say nothing of his responsibility for the deaths of uncounted Iraqis. His religious supporters appear to feel no outrage about this. Yet this president claims that his religion guides his every action. I am glad Pat Robertson got caught with his moral pants hanging at half-mast, for it is time that the citizens of this country awaken to the dark side of the religious coalition that threatens, if it has not already done so, to seize power in the United States. So, I return to my questions: What Bible do they read in the Bible Belt? What kind of religion do those who are said to be members of the Religious Right practice? What kind of Christian evangelist is it who thinks it is moral to call for the murder of a head of state? I would love to have an answer. So would an increasingly larger and larger segment of the citizens of the United States. ~ John Shelby Spong Announcements The Summit 2018 World Change Through Faith and Justice June 13 - 15, Washington, DC. The Summit is a unique cross-sector gathering of leaders committed to world change through faith and justice. Thought leaders and movement makers from a variety of faith traditions and fields will meet to discuss, strategize, and create opportunities to act on some of the most pressing issues in our nation and world. Click here for more information....

1 0

Global Buzz for June
by ICA International 07 Jun '18

07 Jun '18

Enjoy catching up with what is happening in ICAs across the globe.....If you wish to SEND a report...send to your ICA contact person OR...go to the members section on the ICA International website Please click the link below for the latest issue of the Global Buzz Global Buzz Report: June 2018 or copy and paste this URL into your browser's address bar http://globalbuzz.icai-archives.org/7dayreport-18/2018-06-01.php ICAI Communications

1 0

Death of Dorothy Appelgate
by Margaret Aiseayew 06 Jun '18

06 Jun '18

Dorothy died peacefully this morning. She was only a month from her 98th birthday. I think she crossed off everything on her bucket list except riding a horse on her birthday this year. After going up in a hot air balloon last year, she crossed off parasailing. Dorothy was an incredible woman who took on all of the challenges life presented with joy and determination. She married my dad, Bill, when they were in their fifties. She is the only grandmother my children ever knew. She traveled to Peru with Heifer Project and after surviving that trip, took on all possibilities. They went to Columbia and Guatemala and even represented Heifer International on its tenth anniversary all over China. When Dad decided to go to Israel, she put her foot down-only for a little while before she decided to join him. Dorothy raised a family of six, doing what was necessary to keep their lives together. She loved her family and adopted my brother and me immediately. She stretched herself and expanded her love to include grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren from many relationship configurations. Her faith was her mainstay. A serious question would send her to the Bible until she discovered either affirmation or good reason to change her mind. Neither changed her faith, the core belief that God is good-all the time. I could bore you all for a long time when really what I wanted you to know is that a true Saint has left our plane of existence and will be dearly missed. Emmanuel, Margaret

18 17

Journey Reflection 5/31/18
by John C 31 May '18

31 May '18

What Does “Relevant” Mean? http://rejourney.blogspot.com/2018/05/what-does-relevant-mean.html Namaste. John (and Lynda)

1 0

5/31/18. Progressing Spirit: Wolsey/Vosper: A Call to Spirituality and Religious participation; Spong revisited
by Ellie Stock 31 May '18

31 May '18

View this email in your browser A Call to Spirituality and Religious participation. Essay by Rev. Roger Wolsey, May 31, 2018 A growing number of people who identify as progressive Christians also identify as being post-Christian, and/or post-Church, or even post-God. While this is of course perfectly okay and welcome, I experience this as less than ideal or optimal. To my mind following the way, teaching, and example of Jesus cannot truly, or at least not easily, be done without also having, nurturing, and tending to an active personal spiritual life communing with God (being present to Source/Presence) as well as an active communal/collective shared spiritual community. While some people may say that forums such as this newsletter and other online resources “meet that need” in their lives, words on a page pale in comparison to actually engaging in centering prayer, meditation, communion, shared singing, potluck suppers, organized community service, and experiencing big loving hugs from gifted kindred spirits. Bottom line: I’m saying that progressive Christians do well to find ways to not just be in our heads, but to be in our bodies and hearts – and to do so with and for others. I’m calling us to be spiritual and religious. I realize that saying this may be swimming against an increasingly common and increasingly strong current, but they each inform and complement the other. Here’s an analogy. I enjoy playing my trumpet by myself and practice it as I have time. This is like my spirituality (in fact, it is a spiritual practice for me). It’s a personal way for me to express myself and to commune with God. And yet I also enjoy and am blessed by playing my trumpet with others in bands and orchestras. This is like religion (which comes from the Latin “religare” – “to unite, to bind together.”) Humans are social creatures and when I play with others, I’m exposed to new ideas and different forms of music and styles and techniques and I play at a higher level than I would experience on my own. I feel invited and inspired to play at my best and to enjoy the exhilarating experience of being a part of something larger than myself and participating in something that I simply couldn’t on my own. It’s a bit like how giant redwood trees grow tall by intermingling their roots with each other in order to support each other. To use another analogy, if we are “fish,” spirituality is awareness of the water, and religions are the currents in the ocean that fish can choose to swim in to go faster and further than they otherwise could or would. (Flying fish are spiritually blessed in that by jumping out of the water they can perceive and maybe even fathom that they’re immersed in it.) Fundamentalisms are aquariums that keep fish confined. Humans thrive best (live longer with more happiness) when nurtured in communities that provide comfort, support, challenge, accountability, inspiration, and fellowship. A person can say that they’re a football player, but if they only practice alone by themselves in their backyard, and aren’t a part of a team that practices and plays together, they won’t be as much of one as they could be. Similarly, as a Christian, I realize that following that radical dude from Nazareth and his Way, teachings, and example – ain’t easy if attempted solo. Jesus banded people together to follow him. We need one another. Sure, it’s possible to come to a place in life where one feels that they no longer need a team. In some ways, that could be true, but there’s often some denial and self-deceit going on. Moreover, there are times when we participate in a group not so much because we need it, but because they need us. People groups don’t change unless people who care about them are willing to actively engage in them – and change them from the inside – which is the only way things ever change. All this said, I couldn’t be a Christian if fundamentalist churches were the only kind of church that there was. Happily, that isn’t the case, they’re actually in the minority. There are plenty of other churches ranging from conservative to progressive. There’s no such thing as a perfect church, and they’re all mixtures of various levels of health and dysfunction. That’s humans for you. That’s you for you. I invite us to choose a congregation/cohort that fits “well enough” and then allow it to change us – as we change it. * Daring to darken the doors of a church might feel a real stretch to many of us. Do I really want to attempt this again? Do I really expect things to be different? Won’t I just be hurt or disillusioned again? A place to start might be when you see someone in the lobby drinking coffee or eating their donut and you notice a tear welling in their eye as you speak with them, invite them to stroll with you down the hallway or to a corner of the room saying “Say, I notice some emotion welling up in you, perhaps something is alive or tender for you, would you like to talk about it?” And be ready for ministry to happen. You never know what’s going to happen, you might be there for someone, or someone might be there for you, just when it’s needed. That’s the magic of community. Blessings as we each do our private spiritual inner work and as we grow in Christ together. ~ Rev. Roger Wolsey Click here to read online and to share your thoughts — Here are links for how to find a progressive Christian congregation near you. 7 Ways to find a progressive Christian church ProgressiveChristianity.org/Progressive Christian organizations locator About the Author Rev. Roger Wolsey is an ordained United Methodist pastor who directs the Wesley Foundation at the University of Colorado at Boulder, and is author of Kissing Fish: christianity for people who don’t like christianity; The Kissing Fish Facebook page; Roger’s Blog on Patheos “The Holy Kiss” Question & Answer Q: By Reader from the Internet Would it be fair for me to promote the notion that you - a self-declared atheist leading a United Church of Canada congregation - and your church are generally promoting humanist values as well as providing the community benefits that churches normally provide? A: By Rev. Gretta Vosper Dear Reader, Definitely! What we do is build community around humanistic values. I believe very strongly that humans flourish in community and that when humans flourish, they engage beyond themselves investing in the people and the world around them. The liberal church has hemorrhaged from the left for decades, but many who have left have not found their way to communities that support them and offer the broad perspective that the same liberal church they left often does, mostly because those communities don't exist. (The liberal church, in my opinion, had a responsibility to create them, but that is a whole other conversation!) When I speak on Sundays, I'm talking about world issues, personal well-being, parenting challenges, dying with dignity, the whole swath. We deal with it all and still do the stuff of church. For example, we celebrate the birth of a child and gather around a table for communion, served and received in a unique way, consistent with our values. We stand up and sing songs. We hold the typical church fundraising events. But what all these things really do is build relationships. In preparation for our Holiday Bazaar, for instance, a group of women met for almost a year making crafts. Another group came together the week before to put everything together. On the day of, everyone donned Santa or elf hats and laughed their way through the day, dealing with customers with happy faces. Afterward, there was a bunch of stuff left that needed to be dealt with so another group got together and cleared it all out. It sounds like ordinary volunteer work, I know. And it is. But the goodwill and serotonin that is created when people come together in community is transformational. Never let anyone underestimate the importance of what I call the "off-label benefits of religion." ~ Rev. Gretta Vosper Click here to read and share online About the Author The Rev. Gretta Vosper is a United Church of Canada minister who is an atheist. Her best-selling books include With or Without God: Why The Way We Live is More Important Than What We Believe, and Amen: What Prayer Can Mean in a World Beyond Belief. She has also published three books of poetry and prayers. Bishop John Shelby Spong Revisited The Dark Side of Evangelical Religion Essay by Bishop John Shelby Spong on August 31, 2005 I often wonder what Bible it is that people read in America’s Bible Belt. I wonder what the religion is that is practiced by the Religious Right. It certainly does not connect with my understanding of Christianity. Perhaps I am the one who is blind to the things they perceive, but seeing their enthusiasm for war, their lack of concern for the welfare of minorities, their overt homophobia, and their violence (as expressed in the number of legal executions in that region), I cannot help but ask those who live in the Bible Belt and those who hold membership in the Religious Right to help me comprehend the religious understanding that they espouse. This issue was raised sharply for me recently by a remark from Pat Robertson, president and owner of the Christian Broadcasting Television Network. On his 700 Club program, Robertson — one of America’s leading evangelical voices — called for the assassination of Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez. Murder, apparently, is a legitimate Christian solution when you have a disagreement with someone. Robertson, who was a candidate for the Republican nomination for president in 1988, is a major force in the religious base dedicated to the presidency of George W. Bush. (Bush’s “red state” region is the home of the most overtly religious voters in this country.) The president has represented their point of view well with his opposition to abortion, stem-cell research, homosexuality, and the right to make end-of-life decisions. Utterances emanating from Pat Robertson’s lips, however, do not sound to me like the words of a religious leader, at least not a Christian religious leader. This murder recommendation, by the way, was not his only bizarre moral lapse. Writing about the feminist movement in a fund-raising letter, Robertson said: “The feminist agenda is not about equal rights for women. It is about a socialist, anti-family political movement that encourages women to leave their husbands, kill their children, practice witchcraft, destroy capitalism and become lesbians.” That does not sound like the feminists I know and is especially offensive to those feminists who are my wife and daughters. About homosexuality Robertson has not only been hostile but also uninformed and judgmental. Additionally he has combined his prejudices by adding the faint odor of anti-Semitism to his homophobia. In a Christmas Eve program, he once said: “The acceptance of homosexuality is the last step in the decline of gentile Christianity.” Now he has decided that the murder of Hugo Chavez is within his understanding of Christianity. This is the same man, I remind you, who championed the right of Chief Justice Roy Moore of Alabama to hang the Ten Commandments in his courtroom. Perhaps Robertson has not read those commandments recently, but the last time I looked they still contained the injunction: “Thou shalt not kill.” It was amusing yet frightening to watch some of this nation’s other evangelical leaders dance around these comments by their colleague. One of them tried to justify Robertson’s words by suggesting that they came during “the political side” of Robertson’s television program rather than “the religious side.” This strange logic suggests that murder is okay in the political arena, but not in the religious arena. Somehow murder seems to me to be both terminal and evil in either place. Jesse Jackson’s request that the Federal Communications Commission discipline Robertson’s Christian Broadcasting Network for his comments, just as they disciplined CBS and MTV over the exposure of Janet Jackson’s breast during the half-time show of the Super Bowl in 2004, was dismissed by the same evangelical leader as not being “in the same category of moral concern,” the implication being that the comments were a lesser offense. That argument’s value escapes me. A performer’s exposed breast is certainly in bad taste but no one died as a result of that insensitive act. To call for the murder of a head of state because you dislike his politics strikes me as of a totally different and far more severe moral dimension. Members of the Religious Right do seem to be more obsessed with issues of sexuality than they are about issues like war and peace or discrimination. Sometimes they remind me of the old joke that “fundamentalists are opposed to sex because it might lead to dancing!” I grew up a Southern evangelical fundamentalist in the Bible Belt. I certainly needed the security it offered me during the early years of my life, as I dealt with both death and poverty. I left that movement, however, because I found it intellectually bankrupt and morally indefensible. It was their indefensible morality far more than their intellectual bankruptcy that bothered me the most even then. Intellectual issues can be debated, facts cited, and minds changed. I know that from my own spiritual journey. When immoral activity done in the name of religion occurs, however, the scars created by both the pain of disillusionment and the loss of integrity are very long lasting. So out of the embarrassment of listening to a person identified as a Christian calling for an act of murder, I seek answers to my searching questions. What Bible do people read in that region of America we call the Bible Belt? In that part of our nation, church going is more popular than it is in any other part of America, and people living there hold to their religious affiliations very deeply. Yet that is the same part of America that engaged in slavery until they were required to give up that inhumane practice by force of arms. Is the enslavement of human beings compatible with the Christian life? Certainly quotations from Holy Scripture were used to justify slavery and to remove any pangs of guilt that might have accompanied that institution in the hearts of the “fine Christian slaveholders” of the South. Yet how does slavery square with Jesus’ words: “By this will all know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:35). Would they have me believe that slavery is simply a form of love that I do not recognize? Is the calling for the murder of a head of state also a form of love that I just do not understand? When slavery was made illegal in the Bible Belt following the American Civil War, its bastard stepchild, known as segregation, took its place. Black people were separated from white people by law. Their children were forced to go to inferior schools. They were not allowed access to public libraries, public parks, or public toilets. They were refused service in both hotels and restaurants, and they were prohibited from trying on clothes in department stores and dress shops. Black people had no standing and few rights in the white-dominated courts. Enforcing these brutal practices was an organization called the Ku Klux Klan, which used the primary Christian symbol, a cross, turning it into an instrument of intimidation and fear by setting it ablaze. The Klan was also served by a “Khaplain,” who invariably articulated the values of what was called white, gentile Christianity, while at the same time seeking to dominate and coerce people of color with physical violence. The great majority of the white people of the Bible Belt supported segregation until it was declared to be illegal in 1954 by a unanimous ruling of the Supreme Court. Even then the white Christians of the South resisted that law by every possible means, legal and illegal. “Massive resistance to the law of the land” was the motto adopted by the church-going political organization run by Senator Harry Byrd of Virginia. It was fully supported by the junior senator from that same state, A. Willis Robertson, who along with his wife, were quite overtly religious, God-fearing, church-going Christians. They were also the parents of evangelist Pat Robertson. Perhaps neither the Byrds nor the Robertsons ever read Jesus’ words describing his purpose as that of bringing life, abundant life to all (John 10:10). Or perhaps they were able to convince themselves that segregation offered enhancement, not diminishment, of the humanity of black people. What kind of religion was being practiced in the Bible Belt of the South when lynching, mostly of black males, occurred there with great regularity until the mid-twentieth century with the full support of both the white law-enforcement officials and the white dominated courts? How was it possible that Southern sheriffs, police officials, judges, and juries, who winked at this murder of black people, were also God-fearing, Bible-reading, church-going Christians? If they could square the lynching of “offensive” black males with the Christianity they practiced in the Bible Belt, then calling for the murder of an offending head of state in Venezuela by a well-known Southern Christian evangelist a generation later should be easy to understand. America’s Religious Right was appalled at the sexual misconduct of President Clinton. So was I. But again their moral compass seems askew when they are not equally appalled at the behavior of a president who has taken us into a war based on blatantly false intelligence data. He has presided over a tremendous abuse of human rights in both Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo for which no persons other than enlisted personnel have yet been convicted. His actions have cost the lives of some 1,900 American service persons, the wounding of thousands more, to say nothing of his responsibility for the deaths of uncounted Iraqis. His religious supporters appear to feel no outrage about this. Yet this president claims that his religion guides his every action. I am glad Pat Robertson got caught with his moral pants hanging at half-mast, for it is time that the citizens of country awaken to the dark side of the religious coalition that threatens, if it has not already done so, to seize power in the United States. So, I return to my questions: What Bible do they read in the Bible Belt? What kind of religion do those who are said to be members of the Religious Right practice? What kind of Christian evangelist is it who thinks it is moral to call for the murder of a head of state? I would love to have an answer. So would an increasingly larger and larger segment of the citizens of the United States. ~ John Shelby Spong Announcements Summer Intensive 1: Sacred Space, Sacred Community With Reverends Sid Hall, DMin and Bruce Sanguin, MDiv. Fox Institute for Creation Spirituality (FICS) has a five-day intensive coming up June 11-15th in Boulder, CO that is especially designed for clergy. SPECIAL PRICING OFFER: $500 for the entire five-day intensive, a 70% reduction from the normal intensive price. Click here for more information/registration...

1 0