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11/3/22 PHOTOS—B½ ARCHIVE PROJECT
by Frank Knutson 03 Nov '22

03 Nov '22

3 2

11/03/2022, Progressing Spirit: Rev. Jim Burklo: Time to Take a Stand; Spong revisited
by Ellie Stock 03 Nov '22

03 Nov '22

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screen and (max-width:480px){#yiv0339991202 #yiv0339991202templateBody .yiv0339991202mcnTextContent, #yiv0339991202 #yiv0339991202templateBody .yiv0339991202mcnTextContent p{font-size:14px !important;line-height:150% !important;}}@media only screen and (max-width:480px){#yiv0339991202 #yiv0339991202templateFooter .yiv0339991202mcnTextContent, #yiv0339991202 #yiv0339991202templateFooter .yiv0339991202mcnTextContent p{font-size:12px !important;line-height:150% !important;}} | | | | View this email in your browser | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Time to Take a Stand | | | | | | | | | | Essay by Rev. Jim Burklo November 3, 2022The Big Lie has settled the question of whether or not politics belongs in the pulpits of progressive churches in America. We’ve got no choice but to speak out and take a stand for the Democrats, because the Republican Party has devolved into a cabal that is undermining the institutions upon which our religious freedom depends. We have to be partisan for a nonpartisan reason: the survival of democracy is at stake in the November election. The question is not whether we should do our part to save it. It’s how. Yes, we run the risk of trouble with the IRS if our churches explicitly endorse candidates in an election. But there are a thousand ways to get the message across, loud and clear, without running afoul. Here’s one: “The truth will set you free, as Jesus says – and it will keep you free if you vote for democracy in November - and not for the denial of the outcome of a free and fair election.” Our contribution to saving democracy is to employ the language of faith in its defense, and to urge progressive candidates to do the same. “…if we truly hope to speak to people where they are at – to communicate our hopes and values in a way that’s relevant to their own - then as progressives, we cannot abandon the field of religious discourse... others will fill the vacuum…” Senator Barack Obama, “Call to Renewal Keynote Address”, 2006 Voting itself is an act of faith. In his wise book, Reverence, the philosopher Paul Woodruff muses that "voting is irrational." The outcome of an election is extremely unlikely to be determined by whether or not I vote. So why do I still fill out the ballot and mail it in? It's a ceremony, says Woodruff. A liturgy we use to affirm the spiritual value of the dignity and worth of our common humanity. It dramatizes and reinforces the conviction that your word and mine have no less weight than the voices of the rich and the famous. Those of us who vote do so religiously - quite literally. So ask your friends and family members, or in a ritual in worship, asking parishioners: "With which hand will you be voting on November?" Take that hand and hold it with yours, and say: "May love (or God) guide your hand to vote for the common good!" Spread this ritual far and wide! Social psychology tells us that this kind of physical, ritualistic commitment results in a greater propensity to follow through on it. Faith has always been part of public discourse. From its founding, America's public life bubbled out of a spiritual fountain, taking form somewhere between Deism and “mainline” Protestantism. Generally, politicians employed faith language that stayed out of the weeds of sectarian dogma. Martin Luther King spoke for the highest ideals of the nation when he compared the civil rights struggle of blacks to the exodus of the Jews from Egypt to the Promised Land. It was an inclusive spiritual message that resonated with people across religious boundaries. Such expressions of spirituality by progressives went into eclipse in 1980's as the Republican Party entered into a coalition with Christian fundamentalists. It was a political wedding of the business elite with white cultural conservatives in the Bible Belt. Political candidates were subjected to grilling about their doctrinal purity. Horrified by such divisive language, many Democrats abandoned religious rhetoric altogether, for fear of being associated with a weird religious fringe. Theological conservatism does not and never did equal political conservatism, but political progressives lost sight of this fact. George Lakoff, a cognitive linguist, argued that “people vote their identity, they don't just vote on the issues, and Democrats don't understand that.” Lakoff explained that conservatives do a much better job than liberals in expressing their morality – twisted as it is - in blunt, emotionally-charged terms. Until progressives learn this lesson, they will have a hard time motivating their natural constituencies not only to vote for them, but to vote at all. People vote on the basis of inspirational morality and identity, and spirituality and religion are central to both. “I do think the Democratic Party has for far too long been hesitant to talk about the things we deeply believe and value, ... Many public policy positions have their foundation in religious beliefs that we hold dear.” So said former Ohio Governor Ted Strickland, an ordained Methodist pastor. So let’s put our faith rhetoric to work between now and November. Here’s how: Despite the remarkable religious and spiritual diversity of America, despite the decline in religious affiliation and participation, the people of this country are still deeply attuned to rhetoric that springs from the Jewish and Christian traditions. Creatively employ Judeo-Christian imagery and brief references to Bible stories, poetry, proverbs, and parables that express universal values of compassion for the vulnerable, fair-play, respect for differences, social justice, and social inclusion. You do not need to indicate the source of the phrase or quotation. In many cases, leaving out the source is best, to avoid alienating non-religious people: religious people will recognize the quote from scripture. Avoid making reference to passages that focus on doctrine, dogma, or details of belief. Liberally use spiritual adjectives, while being conservative about the use of religious nouns: “We gather with divine gratitude” is an alternative to “We thank God”. This evokes spiritual values in a way that feels gentler to the many Americans who are “burned-out” on organized religion. Occasionally employ imagery and short references to scriptures and traditions of other faiths, again focusing on passages that reflect universal values. Again, in many cases it may be best not to tell the source of the quotation. Know enough about the Bible to know what’s not in it. For example: Jesus said nothing at all about abortion or homosexuality. “Give a man a fish and he’ll be hungry tomorrow, teach a man to fish and he’ll never be hungry again” is not in the Bible. There is nothing in either the Hebrew or Christian scriptures that supports the idea of unregulated free-market capitalism: in fact, charging interest is forbidden according to the Old Testament. Code terms inspire certain audiences while remaining “off the radar” for others. Theologically progressive Christians, and many other religious people, primarily situate themselves in the “mainstream” culture. We use jargon specific to our faith, but mostly only in the context of our faith communities. However, evangelical and fundamentalist Christians often use “code” language publicly to mark their identity as a distinct subculture in contrast and often in contradiction with the “mainstream” culture. Subgroups within evangelical and fundamental American Christianity use different subsets of this code. Using this code language in public rhetoric can be powerful in making an emotional connection with people who are part of this subculture, while signifying little for those who aren’t. Here’s a list of evangelical “code” terms: God laid it on my heart… I have a heart for (the needs of the elderly, etc)…Let’s invoke a hedge of protection…I have discerned …I have a word of the Lord for you on that (an interpretation of scripture, or an opinion that feels like it came from God)…Let’s love up on people (“We need to love up on our school teachers,” etc)…Let’s get prayed up (common in African American churches)…Let’s press into God (“Let’s press into God in prayer for….”)…Afterglow (after a spiritual moment)…Bathe it in prayer (“Let us bathe this decision in prayer,” etc)…Missional imagination (“My missional imagination is activated for making health care available to all Americans,” etc)…Walk the aisle, pray the prayer….Blessed and favored….Name it and claim it (popular in “prosperity” churches)…Christ-follower (rather than Christian)….Set me on fire (for a cause, for a mission)….Put on the armor of God …Iron sharpens iron…Freedom in Christ…Wonder-working power (of the blood of Christ – from an old hymn).. Let’s lose our inhibitions about politics in the pulpit, and religion in public discourse. Because if we don’t speak out directly, we’re taking a stand nonetheless - in silent complicity with the destruction of democracy.~ Rev. Jim Burklo Read online here About the Author Rev. Jim Burklo is the Executive Director of Progressive Christians Uniting, which is now organizing ZOE, a national network of progressive Christian ministries at colleges and universities. He is the founder of Souljourning.org, providing resources for families to nurture the natural spirituality of young people. He retires as the Senior Associate Dean of Religious and Spiritual Life at the University of Southern California in September 2022. An ordained pastor in the United Church of Christ, he is the author of seven published books on progressive Christianity. His latest is Tenderly Calling: An Invitation to the Way of Jesus . His weekly blog, “Musings”, has a global readership. He is an honorary advisor and frequent content contributor for ProgressiveChristianity.org. Jim and his wife Roberta live in Ojai, CA. | | | | | | | | Question & Answer Q: By A Reader How can congregations help their clergy who are facing their own stress and burnout? A: By Rev. Gretta VosperDear Reader,Thank you for this important question. Unbeknownst to my colleagues and readers on Progressing Spirit, I have been on medical leave for the past two years. The initial reason for my leave was addressing issues related to long-term use of a medication prescribed to reduce the severity and frequency of migraines, but once on leave, it became very apparent that I was also struggling with the impact of high levels of stress over a long period of time. It was hard to unwind in any measured way; once out of the fever-pitch of congregational life, I slammed to a halt. Congregants are not like co-workers who might identify signs of stress and burnout when they see a colleague struggling. Colleagues interact with each other more regularly and get to know what “normal” means for one another. Congregants, however, aren’t that familiar with “normal” when it comes to their ministers, usually seeing them when in a “role”: presiding at various services, each requiring a different “presence”; providing pastoral care in a variety of situations – crisis and otherwise; leading meetings or being at meetings where they’re expected to maintain a neutral perspective; acting as negotiator, straddling their dual responsibility to both congregation and an ecclesial body. Add the expectation that pastors not become too familiar with congregants or exhibit favouritism, and it can be difficult to detect signs of discomfort, stress, or struggle. First and foremost, clergy want their congregations to succeed, even and especially when the church is up against the challenges of declining membership, aging buildings, changing demographics, and financial demands. Because that success is so deeply rooted in us and often (unhealthily) tied to our sense of identity, we are quick to to sacrifice our needs for the congregation. DON’T LET US. Here are some ways to help us help ourselves: - Establish a committee whose responsibility is the health of the pastoral relationship. It supports the clergy and acts on their behalf in interactions with the Board or Council, seeking time off, scheduling study leave, negotiating salary changes, etc. Ensure that those on the committee understand their role as one of support as well as oversight - Build a better board for the congregation, one that provides support for the congregation’s needs thereby reducing the tendency to rely on clergy to manage everything - As volunteer numbers dwindle, reimagine the work of the church to accommodate the decline; refuse to allow the minister to cover off the programming or duties that volunteers once managed - Relieve clergy of the responsibility of finding pulpit supply for any absences including vacation, illness, and sabbaticals - Insist clergy take all their vacation time, wherever possible, in large chunks to provide a period sufficient to unwind and reconnect with their own spirituality - Build paid sabbatical periods into the pastoral contract and ensure clergy schedule them as regularly as has been set by the denomination or those in the congregation familiar with sabbatical leaves I wish you, and your clergy, the best in caring for one another into a rich future together.~ Rev. Gretta Vosper Read and share online here 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. Visit her website here and her Blog here. | | | | | | | | Please continue to send us your feedback… we are listening. We aim to give voice to many different perspectives that are relevant and inspiring along this spiritually progressing path. We are not here to tell you what to believe or how to act. We are here to support your journey, to share and learn together.Thank you for being a part of this community - join us on Facebook! | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | As a non-profit ProgressiveChristianity.org/Progressing Spirit rely heavily on the good will of our donors to help us continue to bring individuals and churches the messages of progressive Christians, Weekly Newsletters, along with the many other resources we provide. For years, the majority of our fundraising came at the end of the year. Looking at various ways to create a more reasonable amount of cash flow we decided rather than having a BIG ask at the end of each year, our more frequent asks give folks a chance to contribute when their funds are more flexible. We think that's a win for everyone. We also want to highlight the opportunity to become a sustaining supporter. If you are looking for the best way to help us continue to provide progressive Christian resources, become a sustaining supporter by choosing Recurring Donation. Help keep ProgressiveChristianity.org online and going strong - click here to donate today! * Another way to support us is to leave a bequest in your Will and/or Trust designating us a beneficiary. | | | | | | | | | | | Don't miss the next Episode of PC.org's Executive Directors Mark and Caleb on: The Moonshine Jesus Show - every Monday at 4:30pm Eastern Time – watch live on Facebook,, YouTube, Twitter, Podbean | | | | | | | | | Bishop John Shelby Spong Revisited The Birth of Jesus, Part XII. Making Sense of the Wise Men Essay by Bishop John Shelby Spong May 2, 2013Having now described the miraculous birth of Jesus in chapter one of his gospel, Matthew turns next to his account of how the birth of Jesus was divinely “rolled out” to bring it to the attention of all the people of the world. His vehicle for this is to tell us a story of magi who follow a star that moves across the sky. This star, they are purported to believe, will lead these wise men to discover the meaning that Matthew has found contained in the life of this Jesus. Was this narrative the product of someone’s historical memory? Of course not! That is never the source of powerful interpretive legends. Matthew went, rather, to the Hebrew Scriptures, which were his traditional source for material, in order to tell his story of Jesus. In those scriptures he found all the elements he needed to weave together the familiar narrative that we now know as the story of the “three wise men.” So, following Matthew’s example, I invite you to come with me to look deeply into these Hebrew Scriptures.First, let me direct your attention to a passage in Isaiah 60, which calls to its readers thusly: “Arise, shine, for your light has come.” The point that Matthew was seeking to make in the entirety of his gospel was that in Jesus of Nazareth that light, which was destined to interrupt this world’s darkness had in fact arrived. Please note the universal quality of the star, which serves as his symbol of this light. A star is visible to all the people of the world. A star is trans-national and it has the mystical power, he believes, to draw all nations toward its light. “Following a star” is a familiar mythological reference to seeking the fulfillment of one’s dreams. The birth of Jesus was exactly this for Matthew. The light of God dawned in the darkness of the entire world. Kings, Isaiah asserts, will therefore “come to the brightness of your rising.” In Matthew’s creative mind, the wise men begin to emerge out of the shadows as he is inspired by this passage. Isaiah goes on to say that these kings will come “on camels.” Then he says they “will come from Sheba” and guess what they will bring? Gold and frankincense, says Isaiah. Does that not begin to sound just a little bit familiar?There are always among us, however, those who are religious literalists. So inevitably they will ask: “But where is the myrrh?” To get only two out of three gifts of the wise men from this text hardly makes a conclusive case. That is correct, but let me take you back to this text from Isaiah (60:1-6) and ask you to read it again, but this time even more carefully. The Isaiah narrative states: “Those from Sheba will come.” Sheba? Can you not hear the Jewish minds seeking connections by ranging over the entirety of their Jewish history? Matthew is telling us of kings “who will come to the brightness of God’s rising” that he is certain will occur in the land of the Jews, which is due, he believes, the homage of the world. He is proclaiming Jesus to be that new king of the Jews. The word “Sheba” in the text then immediately reminds him of another celebrated occasion in Jewish history when another royal visitor came to pay homage to another king of the Jews. So, back into his memory of the scriptures he goes until he brings forth the story of the Queen of Sheba visiting King Solomon (I Kings 10:1-13). Reading that story he discovers that this queen also comes with camels, bearing gifts. The author of II Kings tells us that these gifts consisted of gold, precious stones and spices. That text emphasizes the spices. It was, the text says, “an abundance of spices” that the Queen of Sheba brought, wagonloads of them, to be specific. The only spice familiar to the people of the Middle East at this time was myrrh, a sweet smelling resin derived from a bush. The Jewish people used it first as a deodorant. Cleanliness and personal hygiene were in short supply in that day. Myrrh tempered the body odors of the time. Secondly myrrh came to be used as the spice of death. The Jews did not embalm their dead. They simply wrapped the deceased body in a cloth or shroud and then filled the shroud with sweet smelling myrrh to drown out the odors of death and decay. Burial was not postponed for very long in that time and place. So, out of the Hebrew Scriptures, Matthew discovers a text in which a light shining in the darkness attracts kings on camels to come to that light and that these kings bring gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. The essential elements of the story of the wise men are thus found in the Jewish Scriptures.The three gifts, which Matthew has the wise men bring to the Christ child, were also symbols used by this gospel writer to introduce the adult Jesus to his readers. Gold was a gift appropriate to offer a king. “Born a king on Bethlehem’s plain,” says the hymn writer John Henry Hopkins (1820-1891), who more than anyone else put the story of the wise men into the life of our culture with a hymn known and loved by all. Because Jesus was perceived as a king, the hymn continues by having one of the wise men say: “Gold I bring to crown him again.” Matthew was thus introducing Jesus at the beginning of is gospel as the expected messianic king, who was “heir to the throne of David,” and destined to be born in David’s city of Bethlehem to a virgin and her betrothed. No, there were no birth records that he could have searched for corroboration. This is not researched history; this is a Jewish interpretive legend, a fact that Matthew’s original readers would surely have understood.Frankincense was thought of as a gift to be offered to a deity, so the hymn writer can say: “Incense breathes a deity nigh.” The Hebrew Scriptures contain 129 references to incense used in worship. It was supposed to be pleasant to God’s nostrils. It was to be burned in the Temple. The Torah is filled with references to incense. In Malachi, the last book of the Old Testament, this prophet suggests that the sign of universalism is that “in every nation incense shall be offered to my name.” So with the symbol of incense Matthew signals the divine presence that would be met in Jesus.Finally, Matthew adds myrrh to the gifts brought to Jesus at his birth. The gospel of Mark, on which Matthew was basing his story and to which he was adding for the first time a birth narrative, had devoted about 40% of his gospel to the passion story of Jesus. He had begun the account of Jesus’ final week with the narrative of Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem. He then traced the details of his last week, which was to culminate in his crucifixion, burial and resurrection. For Matthew it was to be through the death of Jesus that his meaning was to be revealed. So he felt the need to signal this climax by introducing his death into the story of his birth. That is exactly what the presence of myrrh in the story of the wise men does.Perhaps we can now understand what Matthew was trying to tell us in the story of the wise men. He begins his gospel by saying, in effect, let me tell you the story of Jesus, who was born to be the king of the Jews and who in that role was to reveal the presence of God in human form through his crucifixion and the subsequent resurrection, which was to serve as the transformation of death itself. He does this by turning Isaiah 60 into a narrative of magi or kings coming on camels to the place of Jesus’ birth and bringing with them the symbols of Jesus’ kingship, Jesus’ divine nature and Jesus’ death.I suspect, and this is obviously just a guess, that behind this story lay a sermon, preached in a synagogue by a follower of Jesus, learned in the Hebrew Scriptures. I suspect that this sermon was delivered on the Sabbath when the lesson, taken from the latter prophets, came from Isaiah 60. His sermon was an interpretive story. Both he and his audience in the synagogue knew that his sermon was never meant to be thought of as literal history. When Christianity moved out of its Jewish womb and into the Gentile world, however, a vast ignorance of the Jewish Scriptures became a mark of the Christian Church. That was when they no longer saw the connection between the stories told about Jesus and its Hebrew antecedents. Having no other frame of reference, with which to interpret the gospel narratives, these Gentile Christians simply began to literalize the stories. They did this through their art, in sermons, in their hymns and in their liturgy. Rescuing the Bible from this kind of fundamentalism is now one of the necessary steps that Christianity must adopt on its pathway to survival in the 21st century. Being able to see the Jewish antecedents of these stories is the first major step in accomplishing this task.A few more facts that are frequently missed need to be noted by the readers of this gospel, so let me point them out. There is no mention of camels in Matthew’s story of the wise men. Camels are only mentioned in Isaiah 60. Nowhere in Matthew are the wise men said to have been three in number. We read that into Matthew’s story from the list of three types of gifts that the wise men were supposed to offer. The text of Matthew says that “opening their treasures, they offered him gifts (note the plural) of gold, frankincense and myrrh.” It does not say one gold gift, one frankincense gift or one myrrh gift. Finally, read Matthew’s story carefully and you will see that the wise men came to a house in Bethlehem over which their guiding star rested. In that house lived Joseph with Mary and her baby. There was no stable. There was no journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem to be enrolled. There was no census ordered by Caesar Augustus when Quirinius was governor of Syria. Those are details from a later source and one that we have blended into Matthew’s story. Our task thus far is to see Matthew’s original birth of Jesus story in its own integrity. This was the first story of Jesus’ birth ever to be written and it did not enter the Christian tradition until the 9th decade! About ten years after Matthew’s first birth narrative a second and quite different birth story would be added to the tradition by a gospel writer we call Luke. To his narrative we will return when this series resumes.~ John Shelby Spong | | | | | | | | Announcements A Month of Gratitude at The Cottage with Diana Butler Bass The paid community at The Cottage is joining together for a month of gratefulness-here is what you get: * Everything under “free signup” plus subscriber posts, full archives, sneak peeks of work in progress, special guest posts * Monthly Zoom chat, including live conversations w/authors * Seasonal specials, including daily reflections for Lent, Advent, and a summer refresher READ ON ... | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

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11/2//22 PHOTOS—B½ OF ARCHIVE PROJECT
by Frank Knutson 02 Nov '22

02 Nov '22

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9/24/22 PHOTOS—B½ OF ARCHIVE PROJECT
by Frank Knutson 31 Oct '22

31 Oct '22

“to be nobody-but-yourself — in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else — means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight,” ~E.E. Cummings

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Pachamama Pondering, 2022; Photos: CVPA Vigil, Town Hall Meeting
by Ellie Stock 31 Oct '22

31 Oct '22

Hi Folks, Below is: A Reflection: PACHAMAMA PONDERING, 2022, on the 10/24 mass shooting at Central Visual and Performing Arts High School in St. Louis. Attached (if you can get them) Photos: CVPA Vigil, Balloon Release, Town Hall Meeting PACHAMAMAPONDERING, 2022 Onemore time the alarm shrieks! (Ironically,paralleling folks’ beingattracted to Halloween week’s scarey,shriek-filled haunted houses and horror flicks, andfaux death skeleton and ghost yard décor, while,simultaneously, shying away from engaging withlife’s real scarey issues) Anothermass school shooting! Thistime, it happened (well, it doesn’t “just happen”) inCentral Visual Performing Arts HS, St.Louis, MO (still dealing with implications fromMichael Brown’s death, Post WW II radiation waste contaminatingJana Elementary School and other places, andhaving one of the highest murder rates in the U.S.): 3dead: a 16 year-old girl, a teacher and anisolated 19 year old shooter, a former graduate, plaguedby mental health issues; 7others injured, mostlyyoung life, facingthe unexpected real horror of : “YOU are going to die!” bylong gun—acquired via lax state regulation, maximumcapacity cartridge, 600rounds of ammunition— nowa long crimson line of school terrorism stretchingfrom here to Uvalde, Parkland, SandyHook, etc., etc. etc. to Columbine. Thenext evening, I look around theintermingling, interracial Vigil crowd, gatheredunder moonlit shadows, outside the school aplace of learning, growing, enjoying the arts, aplace of discovering, developing and deploying thegifts of young talent; nowa crime scene of bullet holes and shells, shatteredwalls and windows and scattered belongings abandonedas panicked, shrieking students quickly ran for safety, barricadingdoors and jumping out windows; nowmostly calmly quiet with an occasional sob or wail orcar revving by, honking in solidarity, black,yellow and white balloons reaching skyward, tetheredto lit candled hands, flamesflickering in the wind, cascadesof wax tears, droppingto the asphalt covering PACHAMAMA asshe also weeps. PACHAMAMApondering . . . Preachersand others invoke the name of Jesus,(orwhatever other name or tradition may be present) prayingfor comfort, healing, peace, justice, wordsof accountability forthe litany of gun violence in this nation, forimpotent politicians and a public thatchoose guns and death over safety and life, forthe sickness of this society—enough, already!— wordsspoken about being community and supportingone another, interspersedsongs, lamenting—How long, O Lord?— wordslifting up the name of each person killed and injured, andthose who heroically rushed to the scene to stop the shooter, sadand angry words of hurt, broken, and traumatized souls, mothersgrieving from the depths, echoing PACHAMAMA’S lament for this Pandemic of Empire and Colonialism: violenceand racism, nationalism,autocracy, aggression, and greed thatfabricate lies and threaten to destroy thefabric of families, communities and nations: MotherEmanuel AME, Tree of Life ElPaso, Las Vegas, and Boulder, Iraq,Afganistan, Yemen, Syria, Somalia,Sudan, Ukraine, Russia, etc., etc., etc.— theirpredecessors and successors. PACHAMAMApondering . . . Theloud speaker bleeps off and on, mufflingsome words, making others unintelligible, yetone does not have to hear them to know what is being said. Candlesmelt down as balloons perk up, earnestlyalert for the signal to be launched heavenward wheresome hope their loved ones are waiting. And,finally, in a cathartic expression of memory and hope—Lift Off!— acluster of sparkling dirigibles, airborne, gently separating, fillingthe sky and fulfilling their mission, dancing with stars, temporarilyescaping the bonds and suffering and pain. PACHAMAMApondering . . . Humanity’sviolence spills beyond itself— seepinginto the land, water, air— destroyingecological systems and irreplaceable Beings while fossilfuel and other invasive mining, contaminate,infect, poison, and suffocate, heatingthe planet, melting glaciers, causingerratic storms, drought, and fires andincreasing the wealth-poverty divide,conflictand warfare. Climaterefugees flee homelands for an uncertain future; carbondioxide, nitrous oxide, methane gas erupt, foodand supply chains are disrupted and disrupt, shortagesabound as fields become barren andmighty rivers run dry— anotherPandemic of devastation PACHAMAMApondering . . . Butwait, there’s more . . . COVIDand other deadly diseases continueto evolve and mutate, killingmillions, many in their prime, rootingwhere protocols are not honored, wherevaccinations are neither welcomednor equitably distributed, aPandemic tide of germs, surging and ebbing, perhapswaiting for a more opportune time todiscretely emerge and merge with a populace thatdefends individualistic freedom over vigilance, theCommon Good and the well-being and freedom of All. PACHAMAMApondering . . . Thenext night, the Scene segues fromthe school grounds to a Town Hall Meeting ongun violence and schools and bullying, hostedby a U.S. Representative, where morewords are intoned and gods invoked ina citizen-filled room— schooladministrators, teachers, preachers, politicos,students, first responders, parents(including the mother of the girl killed), feelingpowerless, trappedin a cycle of unrelenting violence andunraveling of civilization, lookingfor answers, for wise and bold leadership. Apanel of speakers portends business as usual untila young lady on the dais, a senior at CVPA, risesto her feet. Incredibly poised, shepassionately and prophetically reads her Truth to Power, a letterof proclamation to the Representative, anddemands that something be done: Control the guns! Stop the killing! Enough is enough! No more excuses! No more thoughts and prayers and vigils! No more political posturing, postmortemspeeches, and funeral eulogies! No more Cross and Stars of Davidmemorials,stuffed animals, votive candles, andballoons. DO SOMETHING to create SAFE SCHOOLS and SAFE NEIGHBORHOODS with equitableresources, SAFE COMMUNITIES and A SAFE NATION! DO SOMETHING! NOW! Anda child shall lead them . . . PACHAMAMApondering . . . And,finally, to close the gone-overtime, anxiety-fraughtmeeting, morewords are spoken and then, aWord Benedictory: weare all connected and are all called, forsuch a time as this, tolive into our connectedness and interrelationship; wordsof gratitude for those who came and who care, whoshow up day after day, year after year, whohave a vision of working together, whoovercome paralyzing fear, despair, and powerlessness, whobridge polarizing politics andpassionately and compassionately pourheart, mind, soul, and strength into creating resilientcommunities and a world of equityand justice for all our relatives— animal,vegetable, and mineral, whocarry within and elicit from others theunfolding adventure of anever wondrous Creation Way of Possibility, Hopebeyond hope and Love unconditioning, Truthconsistent with Earth’s Truth, Peace,Wholeness, Shalom, turningswords into plowshares, instrumentsof death into tools cultivating Life. Asthe crowd exits and trickles into the night, intoseparate domains and spheres of influence, manywonder: just mere words, theirurgency and agency eventually fading and fizzling orreal change this time? PACHAMAMApondering . . . ejhs 10/29/2022

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10/31/22 PHOTOS—B½ OF ARCHIVE PROJECT
by Frank Knutson 31 Oct '22

31 Oct '22

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10/27/22 PHOTOS—B½ OF ARCHIVE PROJECT
by Frank Knutson 27 Oct '22

27 Oct '22

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10/27/2022, Progressing Spirit: Rev. Gretta Vosper: Creating Community from the Stuff of Ecclesial Practices?; Spong revisited
by Ellie Stock 27 Oct '22

27 Oct '22

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screen and (max-width:480px){#yiv7307105045 #yiv7307105045templateBody .yiv7307105045mcnTextContent, #yiv7307105045 #yiv7307105045templateBody .yiv7307105045mcnTextContent p{font-size:14px !important;line-height:150% !important;}}@media only screen and (max-width:480px){#yiv7307105045 #yiv7307105045templateFooter .yiv7307105045mcnTextContent, #yiv7307105045 #yiv7307105045templateFooter .yiv7307105045mcnTextContent p{font-size:12px !important;line-height:150% !important;}} | | | | View this email in your browser | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Creating Community from the Stuff of Ecclesial Practices? | | | | | | | | | | Essay by Rev. Gretta Vosper October 27, 2022As I write this, 2022 is in its final quarter providing an opportunity to reflect on the tenth anniversary of the worst year of my life. And one of the best. Reviewing our lives is always complicated, isn’t it? Let me share with you. Late in 2011, my chest was beginning to feel snarly. The next morning, Saturday, I went to a walk-in. The doctor, who didn’t know my history, wouldn’t prescribe the medications I suggested. End result: five months off work, massive antibiotics, huge doses of prednisone, and the final insult: thrush. Yep. When I do sick, I do it big. On one of my many visits to my own doctor’s offices, I pointed out a walnut-sized lump in my abdomen. They ordered a scan. End result: five months of terror, major abdominal surgery to remove a cancerous tumour that had grown to the size of a 2-litre pop bottle, and more time off work. I was wretched. To top that off – and this is the point – the surgery took place the same week my second book, Amen: What Prayer Can Mean in a World Beyond Belief, was published. You can imagine how well that went. But the craziest part was that being so out of it for so many months, I’d been unable to convince my publisher to properly title the book. I mean, it isn’t even about prayer. It simply uses the various forms of prayer churches employ as a tool to explore the basic needs of the human heart and so, too, its community. I had wanted it to be titled With or Without Prayer, We’re All the Answer We’ve Got but they thought that too derivative of my first book. Perhaps I should have asked them to call it Without Church (Or Reasonable Facsimile), We’re All F*&ked, because that’s what the book is really about. (To say nothing of the fact that I would have been way ahead of the curve on all those provocatively titled “F-word” books! Gah!) The declining trend of the intervening decade brings home to us just how fragile church communities have become. Pews filled by previous generations are barely warmed by younger ones. Denominations’ acceptance of accelerated decline undermines singular attempts at the revitalization of congregational life and invites the question addressed last year by the International City/County Management Association (ICMA): “Is an empty church … a problem or an opportunity for a municipality?”[1] The ICMA’s question is an important one made more urgent when we step back and consider the breakdown of the cohesive nature of community in our neighbourhoods, cities, states, and countries. I don’t think I need to get into just what that breakdown is because most of us are aware of it. One of my neighbours has a F(insert maple leaf)CK TRUDEAU sticker on their truck window; neighbours further south hear chants aimed at some guy named Brandon and are similarly unnerved; across the pond, civil protests are now illegal and peaceful protesters jailed, some remaining behind bars even after the government initiates the very programs the incarcerated had demanded. It isn’t all happening on the other side of the computer or television screen; on a daily basis, we are affected by or witness to the growing rifts in what was once a robust social fabric built around somewhat mutual goals of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” to quote just one nation’s ideal. But what are those common goals in a world where personal consumption seems to be humanity’s greatest and most fiercely protected “liberty”; the “pursuit of happiness” equivalent to coming out on top when comparing ourselves with others, today’s most virulent form of entertainment; and the meaning of life reduced to whatever gets the most likes on TikTok where “influencers” publish ever more egregiously inappropriate videos to celebrate whatever millionth follower they just earned.[2] The rise of anti-this-or-that groups waving national flags as a symbol of rebellion[3] proves the point. With established communities unable to reflect their individualistic values, they are drawn through online channels to right-wing conspiracy theories and activism, when perhaps they just needed a community, no matter what the beliefs of that community might be.[4] The question of whether social breakdown results from the decline of congregational life or vice versa or if they unravelled entirely independently, I leave to those in academia who might be more confident drawing conclusions. But I do believe there’s a link and that it goes back to the elements about which I wrote in Amen. Those, and a couple or three generations of care-less-ness toward the common goals that held communities together. In Amen, I used the acronym “ACTS” to identify the different kinds of prayer that emerged within Christianity to address the basic needs of the human spirit.[5] They are Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, and Supplication. - We have a deeply rooted need to bow before the wonder of life, beauty, the fragility of relationship, the interwoven simplicity and complexity of nature and the million other wonders we encounter in and through existence: Adoration - Standing in relief against those wonders, we realize how often we fall short of mirroring or enhancing them with our own lives. We recognize the great opportunity to account for the crevasses we create in relationship, in our own hearts, in the world around us and, in doing so, find ourselves restored and upright, dignity intact, possibilities fresh before us: Confession and Assurance of Pardon - We experience gratitude for the unlimited do-overs and pardons we’ve already welcomed and those we’ll find ourselves in need of again, of the many joys in our lives, and the relationships we cherish, both challenging and wonder-filled: Thanksgiving - Confident of our worth, we raise our voices and put voice to needs, ours and those of others, the dreams we know will make this world a better place, and the courage that will sustain us as we work to make these dreams reality: Supplication These are our prayers. These are the pieces of ritual that have sewn our hearts back together over and again, the hearts of our riven communities, our warring nations, and our broken world. And they worked. They really worked. Just not in the magical way we pretended they did. They worked by opening our eyes to ourselves, to our neighbours, to our world. And whenever that happened, the real-life magic began. Church helped make that happen by leading us through a liturgy that convicted us, forgave us, inspired us, and challenged us to name our needs rather than focus on our wants. How do we do that now? As congregations shrank, tried new things, shrank more, and finally closed, what did we salvage other than the potential held in the real property? What do we hold sacred to the point of adoration, reminding ourselves weekly, if not daily, that adoration means maintaining reverence for and commitment to something bigger, much bigger, than ourselves? Where do we do the work of examining our complicity in the breakdown of family and community, in our destruction of the natural world, the loss of innumerable species, known and as yet unknown, and in our limitation of the hopes of tomorrow’s children by the consumption of the resources they will need not to thrive, but just to survive? How often do we pause, acknowledge we can expect nothing in this life, while humbly acknowledging how unbelievably privileged we are, however great or meagre are our life’s accomplishments, accoutrements, and relationships? And finally, to whom do we express our deepest desires? Not for a shortened timeline for delivery of the new fill-in-the-blank, but for release from the fear that we got all the important things wrong and that it’s too late to change that? The courage to change a life of security and enough for a life of radical joy and service? The will to invest our all in the fight for climate justice rather than head off to the luxuries of a boomer retirement? The impudence to hammer a political sign into our lawn or knock on the door of the neighbour with the F(insert maple leaf)CK TRUDEAU sticker on their truck and invite them to chat with us over coffee? It’s only when we really articulate those ideas, put them outside ourselves, and hear them twirl about in the air around us that we begin to consider the possibilities they might unleash. Matthew Fox breaks down the word “community” in one of his ICS meditations. ‘The word comes from two Latin words – cum munio – that mean “to share a common task”’ [6]. We become community when we share a goal and work together to achieve it. Or maybe the reverse: we work together to achieve a goal, and in the process, become community. Whatever. The point is, we create – or become – community when we want to do something enough to hang out with the people who also want to do it. Our predecessors in the Christian church wove community of thin air. Sometimes, of course, that community came together around the work of feeding the poor and ministering to the ill. But I believe that much of that community was built as we gathered to do the work of binding up our tattered lives, bleeding out our failures, mending our broken hearts, and patching our dreams back into wholeness. We all needed it whether we knew it or not. And we all experienced the wholeness made of coming together for that common task, the community that strengthened us all. It may be too late to save the church community you gather with on Sundays. It is never too late to be about the work of creating community whether in church or outside of it, whether on Sunday mornings, or Thursday evenings, or on zoom whenever. You have the ancient code – ACTS – that may be the key to building its core. You have the right to belong to it. You have the right to create it. And you have the power. Oh yes, you absolutely have the power. P.S. I forgot to mention why 2011 a best year as well as the worst. It was because of the amazing surgeons at Princess Margaret Hospital. They removed that four-pound tumour over the course of a long and delicate surgery, and they’ve checked up on me every year since. And that, of course, is why I am still here, ten years later, making 2012 one of my best years ever. ~ Rev. Gretta Vosper Read online here 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. Visit her website here and her Blog here. [1] Reinhard, Richard, “Redeveloping Houses of Worship.” PM Magazine, April 1, 2021. https://icma.org/articles/pm-magazine/redeveloping-houses-worship, accessed October 19, 2022.[2] If you don’t know what I’m talking about, take a deep breath and give thanks.[3] Personal opinion: Co-opting national flags has got to be the best, most effective, and most devastating, anti-government marketing scheme E.V.E.R. Just sayin’. [5] I speak of the human spirit without belief in its pre-existence or enduring personal nature but simply as that essence of human life that emerges from within the physical stuff in which we are individually wrapped and influences a life and the lives of those around it.[6] Fox, Matthew, “On the Breakdown of Community,” https://dailymeditationswithmatthewfox.org/2020/09/26/on-the-breakdown-of-c…, accessed October 19, 2022. | | | | | | | | Question & Answer Q: By Jane One suspects that some institutional churches are still AFRAID if reality demands that scriptures are not to be taken literally. Why? A: By Rev. Lauren Van Ham Dear Jane,Turn upside down. I’m kidding. But only sort of. Things we learned as children can be hard stories to shake as adults. But since we learned them as children, I recommend un-learning them with some childlike curiosity. For example, what are your thoughts about heaven and hell? Are they actual destinations? Have you visited them already during your life, here, on Earth? If so, what “took” you to hell? How did you find yourself in heaven? Next, I invite all of us to consider the value of polarities. Having a sense of “hot,” or, “left” allows us to appreciate “cold,” or “right.” When we know where north is, we can usually find south. This is useful but it leaves out so many other locations like the liminal, the both-and, the inward, the circuitous, and so forth. It is high time we use more curves and circles in how we talk about our experiences. Our tree and plant relatives offer another invitation. They need the soil where their roots receive nourishment and transmit messages to one another. A lot happens in the hidden, cool darkness! And we know, of course, that they also need the rain that falls, and the sun that encourages them to bear fruit, pouring forth with life. In my desire to imitate these wise beings, I might say that our souls ground us in the depths, inviting us to tap into a vast root system, while our spirits encourage us to reach, unfurl and expand. So now, what value is up, and what about down? Fairytales have done a fantastic job of suggesting bad and good, naughty and nice, but the teachings of Jesus consistently invite us to befriend our foes and to do the gritty work of loving here and now. Heaven, hell, and all the other experiences, too. ~ Rev. Lauren Van Ham Read and share online here About the Author Rev. Lauren Van Ham, MA was born and raised beneath the big sky of the Midwest, 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). Lauren’s passion for spirituality, art and Earth's teachings have supported her specialization in eco-ministry, grief & loss, and sacred activism. Her essay, "Way of the Eco-Chaplain," appears in the collection, Ways of the Spirit: Voices of Women; and her work with Green Sangha is featured in Renewal, a documentary celebrating the efforts of religious environmental activists from diverse faith traditions across America. Her ideas can be heard on Vennly, an app that shares perspectives from spiritual and community leaders across different backgrounds and traditions. Currently, Lauren tends her private spiritual direction and eco-chaplaincy consulting practice; and serves as Climate Action Coordinator for the United Religions Initiative (URI), and as guest faculty for several schools in the San Francisco Bay Area. | | | | | | | | Please continue to send us your feedback… we are listening. We aim to give voice to many different perspectives that are relevant and inspiring along this spiritually progressing path. We are not here to tell you what to believe or how to act. We are here to support your journey, to share and learn together.Thank you for being a part of this community - join us on Facebook! | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | As a non-profit ProgressiveChristianity.org/Progressing Spirit rely heavily on the good will of our donors to help us continue to bring individuals and churches the messages of progressive Christians, Weekly Newsletters, along with the many other resources we provide. For years, the majority of our fundraising came at the end of the year. Looking at various ways to create a more reasonable amount of cash flow we decided rather than having a BIG ask at the end of each year, our more frequent asks give folks a chance to contribute when their funds are more flexible. We think that's a win for everyone. We also want to highlight the opportunity to become a sustaining supporter. If you are looking for the best way to help us continue to provide progressive Christian resources, become a sustaining supporter by choosing Recurring Donation. Help keep ProgressiveChristianity.org online and going strong - click here to donate today! * Another way to support us is to leave a bequest in your Will and/or Trust designating us a beneficiary. | | | | | | | | | | | Don't miss the next Episode of PC.org's Executive Directors Mark and Caleb on: The Moonshine Jesus Show - every Monday at 4:30pm Eastern Time – watch live on Facebook,, YouTube, Twitter, Podbean | | | | | | | | | Bishop John Shelby Spong Revisited What the Gun Debate Reveals about the Republican Party and Political Leadership Essay by Bishop John Shelby Spong April 18, 2013Something seems to be missing from the equation or perhaps I am just not smart enough to understand the dynamics. The fact is I don’t get it! Perhaps there is something subliminal going on that will in time be revealed. For the life of me, however, I find it difficult to understand why the intelligent people, elected to the Congress, are having such a hard time deciding whether or not to vote for universal background checks as a prerequisite for buying a gun. I do not understand why there is a debate on whether to limit a magazine clip to ten bullets on a gun sold to a civilian. Are ten bullets without reloading not sufficient for anyone’s personal use? I do not understand why any private citizen needs to own an assault weapon?While I was trying to make sense out of these questions and the behavior of our elected officials, I watched as a group of Republican senators sought to block the Senate from even being able to debate, much less pass any gun reform legislation. Led first by four of the regular right-wing grandstanders in the Senate, who were enhancing their image with the Tea Party types, they were soon joined by 11 others including the Senate Republican minority leader, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky. It then became the position of the majority of the Republican senators, when 31 of the 45 of them voted in an attempt to prevent this bill from even being considered by the legislative wing of our government. Are there that many senators who are that out of touch with the people of this country? Is this now the official position of the Republican Party? With every poll of our citizens showing majorities ranging from 91% to 56% in support of the various provisions of this gun reform law, I am driven to the conclusion that something irrational has become the point of view of one of the major political parties in this nation, which means that something dreadful is going on in my country!I try to listen to these people’s arguments, seeking to discover some semblance of rationality, but it eludes me. In this legislation I see no attempt to revoke the second amendment’s guarantee of a citizen’s right to bear arms. I see only an effort to keep dangerous weapons out of the hands of mentally sick and clearly distorted members of our society by requiring universal background checks before a gun can be purchased. People getting drivers’ licenses at least have their criminal records checked. I see no effort to take guns away from hunters or gun club members. I have never been convinced, however, that hunters or gun club members need assault weapons or unlimited magazine capacities to carry out their activities. These might be essential to an army confronting an enemy seeking to destroy this nation, but does any private citizen need a howitzer, a bazooka, a machine gun or a missile launcher.I understand why people who live in non-urban areas, separated by distances from police protection or even from their nearest neighbors, might need to arm themselves against possible intruders, but action-activated spot lights, alarm systems and well placed cameras can provide far more effective security and at a much cheaper price and if that security system were supported by a shotgun, a rifle or even a six shooter, sufficient protection to alleviate all fear would be accomplished. More than that seems to me to reflect rampant paranoia.I listen to gun lobbyists suggest that only a society armed to the teeth will ever be a safe society and I find no facts that bear out this claim. America has more guns per person in our population than any other developed nation in the world. If guns make us safer then why does this nation also have the highest murder rate of any developed nation? Among regular gun victims are our children. What kind of nation is it that does nothing when school children are regularly lost to gun-carrying killers? No place appears to be safe from violence. University students at Virginia Tech, a campus with its own security forces, who are in fact well-armed, were murdered in their classrooms by a mentally-disturbed former student, who had access to a high magazine attack weapon. A member of congress, Representative Gabby Gifford, addressing her constituents in her home state of Arizona, was shot as were others meeting with her, including children, who came to “meet the congresswoman,” were killed. Members of a Sikh Temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin were murdered by an armed psychopath while gathering for worship. Children at school in Columbine, Colorado, were slaughtered by armed disgruntled students, and children, six and seven years old, in Newtown, Connecticut, were senselessly murdered by a young man with an attack weapon, who had just killed his mother. Innocent, unnamed, urban teenagers are regularly caught in the crossfire and killed in some of our crime-ridden, drug infested cities. How many must die before our elected leaders develop an effective response?Political and transformative figures have also been victims of our violent society. One thinks of such leaders as John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, George Wallace, Robert F. Kennedy, Malcolm X and Ronald Reagan who have been hunted down and shot by a wide variety of potential killers. How is it possible that some of our political officials think that limiting access to killing weapons compromises civil liberties more than protecting the potential victims of gun violence? Are not murdered people rendered devoid of every civil liberty?Are our elected leaders so afraid that if they had to cast a vote on this bill they would either lose their seat in the Senate or close off from themselves forever the lucrative support of the gun lobby? Is that fear more compelling than protecting the innocent from gun violence? Is there no issue worth risking one’s Senate seat? Then why did these people seek election in the first place: Since all but two of those who threatened to block any vote on these issues were Republicans, we must ask whether there is anyone in the Republican Party willing to speak out against this vote-dodging behavior of their leaders in congress?Has Kentucky Republican Senator Mitch McConnell, by embracing that attempt to prohibit even a vote on these issues, not sacrificed any leadership potential that he ever possessed? This is the same national leader who stated some four years ago that his top priority was not to help lead the country through the worst economic crisis since the depression or to help bring an end to two wars that were instrumental in bringing the economy to the edge of bankruptcy, but it was rather to limit his political opponent to being a “one-term president.” Does that statement not border on irresponsibility, if not treason? What does leadership mean?That is not the only bizarre act that now plagues this party. During the last presidential election in states where the Republicans controlled the governor’s office and both houses of the state legislatures, which included states from Pennsylvania to Florida and from Ohio to South Carolina, efforts were made by a variety of barely legal means, to suppress minority voting. Is that the way democracy works? Are they willing to subvert this democracy in order to gain political power? Why were they not worried about the civil liberties of minority voters? Is this the party of Abraham Lincoln who, for his efforts to end slavery lost his life, and as a result once had the fierce loyalty of the great majority of America’s black voters? Is this the party of Theodore Roosevelt? Is it even the party of Ronald Reagan?This is, however, the same Republican Party that wants to limit the health care options available to women in the workplace, to mandate invasive ultra-sound procedures for women seeking a legal abortion, whose representatives denied that a woman could get pregnant from “legitimate” rape, all in order to force women to conform to the narrow religious agenda of these spokespersons. Was it not the presidential candidate of this party who wanted to “self deport” illegal immigrants by seeing to it that they received no support, no jobs, no education and no health care? Do they really believe that in the last presidential election they lost by huge majorities, the votes of women, young people, African-Americans and Latinos only because they did not communicate their policies well? Or do they think no one was listening? I suggest they communicated quite well and that these voters did not like their message! I wonder whether or not this party has, out of its fear of losing power, become suicidal, or does it simply suffer from a death wish? Is this party destined to go the way of the “Whigs?” Does it not recognize that a two-party system vying for the support of the majority is what makes this country work?The gun vote in congress is a matter of life and death to many people. It is a vote both about public safety and about what kind of a nation we are becoming and what kind of nation we want to be. When leaders get so far out of touch with the people they were elected to serve and when the people begin to feel that they cannot make these leaders hear their voices the seeds of revolution are at that moment being sown.If Senator McConnell, along with Senators Rand Paul and Ted Cruz, just to name the most vocal of those who tried stop even a vote on the gun bill, are in fact the face of the modern-day Republican Party in the United States, then this party has no future. I urge other Republicans in the Senate, in the House and Republican governors around the country to separate themselves from their current congressional leadership and to call their party back to their constitutional role of responsible opposition. That is the only way Republicans will have a chance to share in tomorrow’s leadership in America. ** A message to my readers: After the deadline for the publication of this column the terrorist bombing at the end of the Boston marathon occurred, leaving many of us enraged, saddened and despairing about the levels of violence that apparently engulf the world. It also put the content of this column into a new perspective. Our prayers go out to the victims and our thanks go to the first responders, but our hopes to build a better world remain in tact. When all the facts become clear we will look again at what this new terror episode means to our churning understanding of what it means to be human.~ John Shelby Spong | | | | | | | | Announcements Matthew Fox Essential Writings on Creation Spirituality Join Matthew Fox Online November 17th from 4 pm to 6 pm (Pacific Time) for the monthly Our Lady of the Prairie Retreat, discussing Matthew Fox: Essential Writings on Creation Spirituality. READ ON ... | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

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TRAVEL AirMini CPAP for SALE – A GOOD DEAL!
by Cynthia Vance 26 Oct '22

26 Oct '22

Dear Colleagues, Need a smallCPAP for travel? I have a brand new Resmed AirMini CPAP with the comfortableP10 Pillow Mask pack. Asking: $799. or best offer. (I gifted it to afriend who no longer travels!) I’ve had mine for years and love it!! Free Shipping included. Contact: Cynthia Vance: 941-483-9165 to learn of extras included and its unique features;or Email me. My best,Cynthia (facilitationfla(a)aol.com) Hope I'm not breaking the posting rules; but I know many of you travel!)

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10/25/22 PHOTOS—B½ OF ARCHIVE PROJECT
by Frank Knutson 25 Oct '22

25 Oct '22

1 0