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10/3/22 PHOTOS—B½ OF ARCHIVE PROJECT
by Frank Knutson 03 Oct '22

03 Oct '22

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Fw: THE PRACTICE OF RETREAT Monday, October3, 6:00 pm Chicago Time
by James Wiegel 03 Oct '22

03 Oct '22

We are starting into a series of Mondays looking into RECOVERING ABUNDANCE: 12 practices for small-town (ordinary) leaders. You can browse and buy the book here https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/58778793-recovering-abundanceand it is also available on Amazon, Walmart and at Fortress Press in paperback and Kindle editions. A week ago, 15 of us gathered on Zoom to look at the Introduction (click here) and the overall contents of the book. We decided to continue, with different people offering to guide us on different practices. We're gathering at 6:00 pm (Central time) on Mondays starting on October 3. We'll meet via Zoom for an hour and a half or so. Interested? Join us. We'll do a bit of a reprise to get the big picture. Then we will dive into Ch. 1: The Practice of Retreat. Ruth Gilbert is our guide. The author, Andy Stanton-Henry, will be with us again. Here is his website: Recovering Abundance | | | | | | | | | | | Recovering Abundance "What we need is here." -Wendell Berry | | | HERE IS THE SCHEDULE: Introduction 1 Jim Wiegel 6:00 PM (Central time) ( Chicago) October 3: chapter 1: The Practice of Retreat 10 Ruth Gilbert6:00 PM (Central time) ( Chicago) October 10: Chapter 2: The Practice of Discernment 32 Martin Rafanan6:00 PM (Central time) ( Chicago) October 17: Chanter 3: The Practice of Stability 56 Ronnie Seagren, Jim Wiegel6:00 PM (Central time) ( Chicago) October 24: Chapter 4: The Practice of Inventory 77 Sharon Fisher Chapter 5: The Practice of Imagination 97 Chapter 6: The Practice of Organizing 118 Chapter 7: The Practice of Hospitality 137 Chapter 8: The Practice of Grounding 159 Chapter 9: The Practice of Gratitude 179 Chapter 10: The Practice of Generosity 198 Chapter 11: The Practice of Solidarity 217 Chapter 12: The Practice of Memory 239 Here is the Zoom link for Monday, October 3 6 pm Chicago timeJoin Zoom Meeting https://us06web.zoom.us/j/85869452796?pwd=VGU4SVpGVXBwbUlJNVdYVkxPTmxPUT09 A few excerpts from this first chapter: Come with my by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest. Mark 6:31 Have you ever been so caught up in "coming and going" that you didn't have "leisure even to eat"? Sometimes, though, our weariness has nothing to do with manual labor. It has to do with the emotional labor . . .Ordinary leaders have all manner of "lavbors of love" that occupy their minds, break their harts and demand their energy. C. S. Lewis observed in the first half of the twentieth century that "we live, in fact, in a world starved for solitude, silence and private: and therefore starved for meditation and true friendship. Still very true. Jim Wiegel Theunknown is what is. And to be frightened of it is what sends everybodyscurrying around chasing dreams, illusions, wars, peace, love, hate, allthat. Unknown is what is. Accept that it's unknown, and it's plainsailing. John Lennon 401 North Beverly Way, Tolleson, Arizona 85353 623-363-3277 jfwiegel(a)yahoo.com www.partnersinparticipation.com

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Fw: Living in Earth Community in the Anthropocene
by James Wiegel 02 Oct '22

02 Oct '22

Looks like an interesting program the next 4 tuesdays. I signed up. Join me? (heads up, the fee is in Canadian dollars) Jim Wiegel Theunknown is what is. And to be frightened of it is what sends everybodyscurrying around chasing dreams, illusions, wars, peace, love, hate, allthat. Unknown is what is. Accept that it's unknown, and it's plainsailing. John Lennon 401 North Beverly Way,Tolleson, Arizona 85353 623-363-3277 jfwiegel(a)yahoo.com www.partnersinparticipation.com ----- Forwarded Message ----- From: Center from Ecozoic Studies <ecozoic.studies(a)gmail.com>To: "jfwiegel(a)yahoo.com" <jfwiegel(a)yahoo.com>Sent: Thursday, September 29, 2022 at 02:40:38 PM MSTSubject: Living in Earth Community in the Anthropocene | | | | Reminder of Class Beginning on Tuesday, October 4 | | | | LIVING IN EARTH COMMUNITY IN THE ANTHROPOCENE: ECOCENTRIC GOVERNANCE AND THE NEW ECOLOGICAL SOCIAL CONTRACT With Herman Greene | | | | | | | | Herman Greene, JD, DMin, Founder and President of the Center for Ecozoic Studies, Thomas Berry Scholar-in-Residence the Earth Law Center. | | | | A program of EarthLiteracies.org Dates: Tuesdays on Oct. 4, 11, 18, & 25, 2022 Time: 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM Pacific Location: On-line – A Zoom Link will be emailed 24 hours before the program begins. Cost: $60.00 (Please do not let cost deter you from attending. Ask us about our funding for programs.) CLICK HERE TO REGISTER Session 1: Modernity Meets the Anthropocene—The End of Nature? Our historical situation and why modernity cannot solve the problems modernity has created. The pervasive influence of humans on nature. Interpretations of the Anthropocene by scientists and various writers. Session 2: The Ecological Social Contract—From Economics and Individualism to Ecology and Communitarianism Theories of the social contract in the Enlightenment, those of Hobbes, Locke, and Rousseau. The consumptive social contract of modernity. The nature of the world—not a collection of isolated objects, but a communion of subjects. From negative freedom to relational freedom. Forming the new ecological social contract. Session 3: Ecocentric Governance—Governance and Earth Law Governance is more than government. Governance is the overall process of shaping collective agency. Traditional societies, classical civilizations, and the modern nation-states. Competing contemporary forms—liberal democracy, social authoritarianism, and nativist populism. Political economy of consumption. Ecocentrism, Earth law, customary law, and forms and scales of ecological governance. Session 4: Living in Earth Community—A Viable Future Change in perspective from the near term to the long term. Creating a new philosophical framework for the future. Dealing with human-Earth relations. Helping people deal with increasingly difficult circumstances. Clarifying the best economic and energy options. Fostering a vision of a humane and decent future. | | | | | | Copyright © 2022 Center for Ecozoic Studies, All rights reserved. You are on this list because you signed up for our emails or otherwise indicated an interest in our work. If you have questions, please contact ecozoic.studies(a)gmail.com. Our mailing address is: Center for Ecozoic Studies2516 Winningham RdChapel Hill, NC 27516-0518 Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list. | | | |

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9/29/2022, Progressing Spirit: Rev. Mark Sandlin: President Trump the 2nd Christ?; Spong revisited
by Ellie Stock 29 Sep '22

29 Sep '22

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screen and (max-width:480px){#yiv9652773665 #yiv9652773665templateBody .yiv9652773665mcnTextContent, #yiv9652773665 #yiv9652773665templateBody .yiv9652773665mcnTextContent p{font-size:14px !important;line-height:150% !important;}}@media only screen and (max-width:480px){#yiv9652773665 #yiv9652773665templateFooter .yiv9652773665mcnTextContent, #yiv9652773665 #yiv9652773665templateFooter .yiv9652773665mcnTextContent p{font-size:12px !important;line-height:150% !important;}} | | | | View this email in your browser | | | | | | | | | | | | | | President Trump the 2nd Christ? | | | | | | | | | | Essay by Rev. Mark Sandlin September 29, 2022“President Donald J. Trump, The Son of Man – The Christ.” That's the title of a book that is pictured in a meme making its way around social media. While it might sound like some kind of satirical production, it is not. The author of the book, Helgard Müller, believes that there are two Christs. The first is the one that Christians are aware of, Jesus “the son of God.” Müller says the second Christ is Trump, “the son of man.” As I understand it, in Müller's thinking part of the proof is in the fact that they both were betrayed. Jesus by Judas and Trump by Pence. To any reasonable person, it's basically a laughable idea, until you realize that there's a whole group of people who don't find it laughable. Not at all. As a matter of fact, at the time of my writing this, that book is #17 in Amazon's Christian Commentaries. It begs the question, who is buying up all these books? Who is buying into the possibility of a reality TV star who became one of the few impeached Presidents of the United States being a Christ figure? Seriously, how seriously should we take people like that? Truthfully, we should take them very seriously because they are a danger both to the nation and to a healthy spirituality in general. I believe the answer to the “who” of that question is actually a religion of sorts. It's a religion we don't talk about much and it is a religion that needs a deity because the one that it has tried to co-opt doesn't actually square up very well with the religion's belief system. It is the religion of white supremacy and it is called Christian Nationalism. Recently, Christian Nationalism has been front page news making it easy for some people to assume that it is a relatively new movement in the United States. Easy, but incorrect. Christian Nationalism has its roots in Christian Reconstructionism, a movement that was started by R.J. Rushdoony in the 1970s and is based on an extreme form of Calvinistic fundamentalism. As a Presbyterian minister myself, I hate to have to include him as a fellow Presbyterian minister, because the theo-political perspectives he laid out are at the core of the very dangerous Christian Nationalist region of today. That's a bit ironic. As I said, I see Christian Nationalism as the religion of white supremacists. However, Rushdoony was an Armenian-American. Historically, as immigration to the U.S. increased, Armenians had to fight in court to be recognized as “white.” A fact that makes me wonder if the hard-core white supremacists would identify Armenians as “one of them.” The court ruling in one of those cases is actually deeply revealing in terms of the completely illogical and unscientific perspectives of how far too many Americans understand race. The ruling found Armenians should be considered “white” because the “average man in the street” would see Armenians as white and because they “readily amalgamate with the European and white races.” Basically, you get to be considered “white” if a person who self-identifies as white thinks you look enough like they do. That perspective is rampantly true in Christian Nationalism. In that world, “Christian” is basically used as a code word for “like me” (white, straight, conservative, Americans) and doesn't have much, if anything, to do with following the teachings of Jesus. Where Jesus celebrated diversity and inclusion, “Christian” Nationalism promotes uniformity and exclusion. As I see it, Christian Nationalism is simply a modern variation of Christian Reconstructionism. While they may vary some in terms of what a “Christian” government might look like, they both are a variation of dominionism. They are a danger both to the nation and to a healthy spirituality in general. Dominionism is a strange conservative Christian ideology that is based almost entirely on one word in one Bible verse: Genesis 1:28. It specifically draws from the King James Version of the Bible. The verse says this: “And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.” Christian Dominionist don't just believe that verse gives them marching orders to take over governments and install systems based on “Christian biblical law,” but that the verse is basically God's foretelling of it being inevitable. Interestingly enough, the verse it is all based on comes from Jewish scripture. That fact alone should tell you how fast and lose the adherents of this particular ideology are willing to play with the text (and reality) to make it suit their purposes. That certainly doesn't bode well for a nation much less the spirituality of its people. As a matter of fact, Christian Dominionist are much more interested in Mosaic Law than anything Jesus ever said (which frequently stood over and against it) and they tend to favor strict adherence to that law. Folks, that's frightening. Here are a few of the things for which strict Dominionists believe Mosaic Law can require the death penalty: following other gods, being gay, disobedient children, adultery, and abortion (because they consider it murder). There is a fairly direct line leading from Christian Dominionism to Christian Reconstruction to Christian Nationalism. They are three heads of the same horrifying dragon. They are also more powerful than many Americans are aware of. As an example, the recent overturning of Roe is a plan that was set out by Dominionists quite some time ago. Dominionism (and its shadowy presence in Reconstructionism and Christian Nationalism) believes that, as the movement makes progress in controlling the government and hence putting at bay those who oppose it, there will be a Second Coming of Christ. Events like the overturning of Roe help to usher in the Second Coming of Christ. That's great news for the three-headed monster that wants so badly to claim Christianity as its treasure because the teachings of the first Christ stand over and against everything they wish to promote. Enter Müller's “President Donald J. Trump, The Son of Man – The Christ.” Frankly, I'm less concerned about the content of the book than the concept of the book. Maybe I should call it a “pamphlet” rather than a book seeing that one passionate reviewer said he completed it in 90 minutes. Personally, I refuse to put a dime of my money into purchasing the book. Though, I can tell you that the majority of the reviews of the pamphlet, even from those who seem to have fairly conservative theological outlooks, tend to find the book to be “blasphemy” (which, interestingly enough, is a crime punishable by death according to a strict reading of Mosaic Law). The concept of the book is concerning to me because of how readily some adherents of Christian Nationalism buy into it. It worries me because of how easily they can be convinced that a man that is all but the opposite of Jesus could be the second coming of Christ. It worries me because of how powerful of a tool for manipulating people's religion is when its leadership is placed in the hands of folks who are more interested in power and prestige than in love and equality. It is a strong reminder that we must work to prevent Christian Nationalism from finding any further footing in our nation. We must see it for the extremism that it is. We must not let that oh-so-shallow version of spirituality rule the day. We must turn to our love of neighbor, let me motivate us and inspire us toward continuing the difficult work of dismantling the systemic divisions Christian Nationalism prefers to create. It won't be easy (it never has been), but if we persistently work at this together, it will truly be worth it.~ Rev. Mark Sandlin Read online here About the Author Rev. Dr. Mark Sandlin is an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA) from the South. He currently serves at Presbyterian Church of the Covenant. Mark also serves as the President and Co-executive Director of ProgressiveChristianity.org. He is a co-founder of The Christian Left. His blog, has been named as one of the “Top Ten Christian Blogs.” Mark received The Associated Church Press’ Award of Excellence in 2012. His Podcast The Moonshine Jesus Show is on Mondays at 4:30pm ET. Follow Mark on Facebook and Twitter @marksandlin. | | | | | | | | Question & Answer Q: By Diane I am curious as to why progressive Christians still use the word " worship" when it comes to liturgies and order of services? Isn't it an antiquated word too? I often use the words let us celebrate God's presence together. Your thoughts? A: By Kevin G. Thew Forrester, Ph.D. Dear Diane,I am one of those who tries no longer to use the word worship to describe what it is we do when we gather. Sometimes, as you say, we celebrate. Yet sometimes we gather to mourn or question or simply wonder. Even the use of the word God, I believe, is problematic as it usually dualistically presupposes a being separate from Reality. Let me offer a different perspective. Our work as a people, which is one way to describe liturgy, is the soul’s practice of becoming the truth of who and what we truly are. Soul is shorthand for describing how each creature is Being present in a particular place and time. Our ego is the soul contracted by defenses and desires to secure the love it needs to exist; the spontaneity and freedom that is Being is blocked and mostly unconscious. The awakening of our soul as Holy Mystery is learning to live spontaneously as presence, our true nature. In communal liturgy, we gather to discover and deepen our awareness that there is no gap between us and Holy Mystery. Drawing upon Julian of Norwich we could say that grace and peace are always in in us – because they are us – but we do not always act from that love and peace. We become lost in our blindness (fear, anger, deceit, envy) to our own truth. We come to liturgy battered and bruised by our own inner critic (self-shaming, self-doubting, self-rejection), attachments, identities, societal prejudices – by the effects of human blindness. Liturgy is where we practice together and directly experience in our practice that in truth, we are love incarnate longing to live as such. In and through our practice together we are gradually being born into the freedom that is our true nature. We gather to hear stories, sing songs, dance, receive teachings, anoint, and be fed. Each of these is a spiritual practice of presence. And this communal spiritual practice is itself grounded in a receptive listening flowing from the practice of meditation. Too much of formal communal liturgy is busy doing rather than relaxed being, more reflective of cultural anxiety than spiritual grounding and awareness. Each authentic and sincere spiritual practice within liturgy flows from emptiness into embodiment such that it sparks curiosity, reignites the fire of soulful longing, and supports us in the gradual realization of Christ heart. The path of Jesus is the soul’s gradual awakening to the truth that she is fully alive and thriving, become a living Christ. Liturgy is not so much the worship of a deity but our communal spiritual practice of realizing, as did Jesus, that to be an authentic human being is to be nothing other than the unique presence of Holy Mystery here and now.~ Kevin G. Thew Forrester, Ph.D. Read and share online here About the Author Kevin G. Thew Forrester, Ph.D. is an Episcopal priest, a student of the Diamond Approach for over a decade, as well as a certified teacher of the Enneagram in the Narrative Tradition. He is the founder of the Healing Arts Center of in Marquette, Michigan, and the author of five books, including I Have Called You Friends, Holding Beauty in My Soul’s Arms, and My Heart is a Raging Volcano of Love for You and Beyond my Wants, Beyond my Fears: The Soul’s Journey into the Heartland. Visit Kevin’s Blog: Essential Living: For The Soul’s Journey. | | | | | | | | 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 Gun Control, Immigration and Senator Hagel: The Manifestations of Cultural Paranoia in our Current Political Debate Essay by Bishop John Shelby Spong February 7, 2013There are times when listening to the political debate in this country that I am absolutely astonished. Many of the participants in the current struggles regarding the proposed limitation on assault weapons, or making background checks for gun ownership universal, appear to be responding to a world that I do not believe exists. The debate on a proposed immigration bill seems to me to reveal little more than massive xenophobia. The Senate hearings on the confirmation of Chuck Hagel to be Secretary of Defense seem to want to rewrite the history of the second Iraq war. Am I the only one who is out of touch with reality or is something else operating in this nation, but below the level of consciousness? Do people, for example, really believe that they need military assault guns that will fire 100 bullets without reloading to protect themselves from the Federal Government? Did the framers of the second amendment really believe that the constitution guarantees to individuals the right to possess a military arsenal sufficient to defend our homes against a frontal assault by a battalion of armed criminals? Can a nation made up of immigrants really close its doors to others of the world’s “huddled masses, who yearn to be free” and who otherwise qualify? In the Hagel debate have our leaders, including Senator John McCain, forgotten that the reason we were told the Iraq war was necessary did not exist or that the “surge” was required not to win that war, but to pacify a country that was about to fall into a religious civil war between the Sunnis and the Shia? Political debate is certainly a legitimate and a vital part of our democracy, but does it not have to be connected with reality to be effective? Let me examine briefly the evidence that disturbs me. The United States is a far more violent society than any of the developed nations of the Western world. Our murder rate is off the charts when compared with Great Britain, France, the Netherlands, Scandinavia or Germany. From where in our national character does this killing violence emerge? The mass killings that have occurred recently in schools, theaters, worshiping communities and even at public political rallies, have become so regular that, while we are still horrified, the fact is that no one is any longer surprised. Many of these episodes appear time after time to be the work of a mentally disturbed person, but we still debate whether background checks should be required for all gun owners and whether mentally ill people or those with criminal records can be ruled out as gun owners. The Newtown, Connecticut slaughter was directed against defenseless women and children. The bodies of the youngest victims in that tragedy were not just killed; they were riddled with as many as eleven bullets each. We are faced as a society with increasing levels of fear. We cannot go to our places of worship, take our children to an elementary school, venture out to a theater, or meet with our congresswoman in a public place without facing the threat of being murdered and yet these realities are not judged to be of sufficient importance to cause us to temper by law the passions of our gun culture. The representatives of the National Rifle Association want to counter these sources of fear by posting armed guards in public places and by having our children taught by “pistol-packing” teachers in our public schools. They are opposed to universal background checks, because “they won’t work,” that is, no criminal, they say, will submit to a background check. That argument makes as much sense to me as suggesting that since bank robbers will not obey the law we ought to have no laws against robbing banks. Am I missing something? Are assault weapons with magazines that fire 100 bullets needed for any purpose other than mass murder? If we as a nation can ban the civilian possession of napalm, machine guns, bazookas, missile launchers, tanks and nuclear weapons without violating the 2nd Amendment, why can we not ban military assault weapons from individual ownership without that measure constituting “an assault on our second amendment rights?” If one child in one school can be saved by such legislation, is it not worth it? Because in a free society no one will ever be 100% safe, should we do nothing to make some of us safer? Because this argument seems so strange to me I begin to suspect that there must be other agendas operating in this debate, agendas that are hidden from view, perhaps even hidden from those who offer these out of touch arguments. The immigration debate has similar irrationalities connected with it. First please note that this debate focuses primarily on immigration coming from the nations of our Southern hemisphere. I have heard of no one who wants to build a protective wall along the thousands of miles of common boundary that we share with Canada to stop illegal entry. Is our perception of the skin colors of Canadians and Mexicans a factor in our fear? Is this an expression of our unrecognized racism at work? Who are Mexicans? They are the descendants of those we once called “Indians,” the first settlers in the Western hemisphere who appear to have migrated from Siberia some 15,000 to 25,000 years ago. In 1846 we went to war against Mexico and in our victory annexed about half of what was then the nation of Mexico. Our present states of Texas, Nevada, California and Utah, as well as significant parts of Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado and Wyoming were once areas claimed by Mexico. Are we afraid that those we once conquered might through “illegal” migration reclaim their former homeland? We close our eyes to the fact that American businesses and American citizens regularly hire those we call “illegal immigrants” to harvest our crops, to work in our hotels and restaurants, to tend our yards and homes, and always at a pay scale below that required by law in the United States and with no concerns for either the health care of these workers or for their retirement savings. These employers also do not report these worker’s wages for tax purposes. Are we cognizant of the fact that without this source of cheap labor, the price of our food among other things would skyrocket? Is not the real reason that immigration reform cannot get through the Congress of the United States is that powerful vested interests do not want it to pass? So these vested interests fan the xenophobia of the masses and it is this fear that is mined by our politicians to build the political pressure that makes a legal attempt to put an end to this chaotic and illegal system all but impossible. The charges against Senator Hagel, fueled as they are by massive amounts of money from right wing sources, fit into the same picture. When Chuck Hagel was the Republican senator from Nebraska, a conservative mid-western state, he did not “buy” the propaganda campaigns of the war hawks in his party as they attempted to legitimize the war of choice that this nation unleashed against Iraq. These war hawks, most of whom had never served in this nation’s armed forces, justified this war after the fact by asserting that Saddam Hussein was evil and the world was better off without him. That may well be true, but the fact is that this nation has refused to go to war to unseat other evil regimes in North Korea, Syria, Serbia, Cambodia and a variety of countries in Africa. There has to be more to the anti-Hagel campaign than this. Senator Hagel’s apparent “sin” was that he saw through the war hawks’ propaganda and opposed that war even as he exposed the darker side of that chapter in our history and that he was right. Do we need to be reminded yet again that the weapons of mass destruction that were used to justify this war were not there and that the “surge” was required to prevent an Iraqi civil war that none of those who planned this war saw coming? To demand a “yes” or “no” answer to the “success” of “the surge” outside the context in which it was ordered is very revealing. Let me suggest that the real reason for the incredible hostility that marks each of these debates is that they all reflect a change in consciousness that threatens the power of the established order that has held political power in this land from the very beginning of our history. The world is changing. Power is shifting. America is no longer the unchallenged preserve of white males of European ancestry. That fact has raised fears in this nation to new historic levels. That is why the gun debate, the immigration debate and the Senate hearings on Senator Hagel are so irrational. That is also why in the last election the attempt was made to suppress minority votes in those states where a Republican governor and Republican legislators had the power to do so. That is why the discussion of manipulating the Electoral College by changing it from states to congressional districts is being entertained. That is why a campaign to delegitimize the first African-American President to be elected in this country has been systematically conducted, giving rise to such bizarre things as the legitimacy of his birth certificate, the claims that he is really a Muslim, a communist, a fascist, or at least that he is not “one of us.” The fact that he has won twice by significant majorities has only heightened the paranoia. That is why demographic shifts in this nation create such fears. That is why we have witnessed a systematic attack on women, including attempts not only to roll back Roe v. Wade, but also to challenge a woman’s right to comprehensive health care, including contraception. The controlling power of the white males of European background is receding. Women, young people, black voters, Hispanic voters and Asian voters are growing in political power. The gridlock that has tied up the Congress since 2010 grows out of that fact. These efforts will ultimately fail, but they are capable of doing massive harm to this nation and to its economy before that failure is fully recognized. One step forward is to raise these underlying fears to consciousness. That is what this column seeks to do. America needs two functioning political parties. Those parties, however, need to be grounded in reality. At this moment that is not true of both of them.~ John Shelby Spong | | | | | | | | Announcements The Subconscious – Our Access to the Light of Creation Afour-week online program led by Catherine Shainberg, Ph.D., an internationally renowned transpersonal psychologist, lecturer, teacher, visionary, and award-winning author. The e-course will consist of emails sent on Mondays (October 3, 10, 17, and 24) with a brief essay by Catherine Shainberg on the process of using the imagination to tap into the subconscious. READ ON... | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

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9/27/22 PHOTOS—B½ OF ARCHIVE PROJECT
by Frank Knutson 27 Sep '22

27 Sep '22

4 3

9/26/22 PHOTOS—B½ OF ARCHIVE PROJECT
by Frank Knutson 27 Sep '22

27 Sep '22

1 0

Has anyone read “the dawn of everything”
by Paula Philbrook 25 Sep '22

25 Sep '22

The Dawn of Everything fundamentally transforms our understanding of the human past and offers a path toward imagining new forms of freedom, new ways of organizing society. This is a monumental book of formidable intellectual range, animated by curiosity, moral vision, and a faith in the power of direct action. It comes recommended by my daughter, Rebekah. Paula

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5/22/22 PHOTOS
by Frank Knutson 25 Sep '22

25 Sep '22

2 1

9/22/2022, Progressing Spirit: Kevin G. Thew Forrester, Ph.D.: Christ Heart: Awakening As Holy Mystery - Part 3; Spong revisited
by Ellie Stock 22 Sep '22

22 Sep '22

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screen and (max-width:480px){#yiv4186329972 #yiv4186329972templateBody .yiv4186329972mcnTextContent, #yiv4186329972 #yiv4186329972templateBody .yiv4186329972mcnTextContent p{font-size:14px !important;line-height:150% !important;}}@media only screen and (max-width:480px){#yiv4186329972 #yiv4186329972templateFooter .yiv4186329972mcnTextContent, #yiv4186329972 #yiv4186329972templateFooter .yiv4186329972mcnTextContent p{font-size:12px !important;line-height:150% !important;}} | | | | View this email in your browser | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Christ Heart: Awakening As Holy Mystery - Part 3 | | | | | | | | | | Essay by Kevin G. Thew Forrester, Ph.D. September 22, 2022Living with Holy Mystery is the spiritual schooling of the soul. The method of the schooling is the spiritual practices that teach us how to become embodiments of the Source: meditation; spiritual exploration; breath, body, and movement; and liturgy. These are the practices that begin to reground and recenter our life in Holy Mystery: they invite and enable consciousness to be transformed. These practices, however, are not conventional behaviors. To describe them as practices is a bit misleading. They are not acts the conventional self engages in to obtain a desired object. These practices are really non-practices. When taken up as a part of the spiritual journey, they are non-doings. They are ancient wisdom non-practices that reorient the self away from the acquisition of an object. For example, in concentration meditation, the mind is learning to let go of conventional objects as we intentionally focus awareness on the breath, suffering, and goodness. In non-concentration meditation, we simply sit as Reality arises and falls away. These are non-practices because they involve no goal, reorient awareness, and teach how to rest receptively in the moment. The predominant effect that often characterizes the discovery of and living with Holy Mystery is longing. We initially long to discover that object that will bring us hoped for peace, rest, and value. But what we discover is that the Beloved is not the kind of object we presumed it would be. We awaken to the presence of Holy Mystery as the Beloved who dwells in our heart. The spiritual practices are the art of becoming the lover of the Beloved. They intentionally refocus our awareness on Holy Mystery as the Source of our life each moment. The practices are the expression of intimacy itself. Each moment of practice is love actualizing. >From the beginning, the experience of longing fuels our soul’s continual search and unfoldment. However, as practice continues and love deepens, what arises is an awareness that the longing is for more than the heart of my heart, or center of my center. We simply long for more – or less – than a living with Holy Mystery. Augustine is right to say that our heart is restless until it finds rest in thee. But there is more – or less – than that. What we can begin to sense is that we’ve become habituated to our sense of longing. We long to long; that’s how we know we are on the journey. And yet the longing itself is exhausting. The more we long the less peace we know. So long as Holy Mystery remains a pursued object – even as the Beloved of the heart – the soul experiences a gap which the feeling of longing intimates can be closed. And so, the heart comes to spiritual practice with the hope of having a spiritual experience, indicated by the feeling of longing itself, that might temporarily close the gap and relieve the longing. In Awakening as Holy Mystery, we are realizing that the belief in an object is less and less compelling and the feeling of longing is less and less satisfying. To our surprise, we become aware that Holy Mystery is neither some thing out there nor in here. Holy Mystery is the Reality of our being. Holy Mystery is the land of our soul. We are the land of promise in our very being. The prior journey of learning to live with Holy Mystery is transformed into the journey of living as Holy Mystery. The peace that passes all (conventional) understanding, as scripture says, arises as our way of life. In this awakening, the soul is at rest because there is no place to go and no thing to obtain – thus, no need to long. The heart is a spacious and still place even when expressing as erotic creativity. The awakening is the realization that there is no gap, no object, and no ordinary self. The true self is simply a human being that is Holy Mystery arising here in this moment. This is awakening as Christ Heart. We awaken to the gracious truth that the Source – Holy Mystery – is our own true nature. Reality is Holy Mystery graciously arising, or manifesting, each moment as the being or essence of everything that is. I say graciously because Reality, as it is, is a gift. There is nothing to earn or merit or deserve. We learn to receive what is always already present. Buddhism speaks of expending all effort to get to the longed-for far shore where we will know enlightenment. We will find ourself upon a shore completely unlike the one from which we first departed. When we finally do arrive on that distant shore after investing blood, sweat, and tears, however, we discover we are on the original shore. But our consciousness of what the shore is has been completely transformed. In biblical language, we’ve crossed over – after years of searching in the desert – into the promised land. And the promised land is the very land of our soul. In awakening, we are discovering that our true nature has always been Holy Mystery. But our conventional self did not know this. We were convinced of our inherent deficiency or weighed down by a mistaken sense of guilt and shame or immobilized by the feeling of inadequacy. Conventional religion distorts the spiritual journey into a struggle for salvation from damnation and a rescue into a heaven. The real spiritual journey is our discovery that the truth of our nature is graceful beauty. We are each a pearl beyond price. Our life is the task of discovering that truth by seeing through false beliefs about what we are and knowing directly for ourself the gracious truth of our nature. In Awakening as Holy Mystery, we realize the true nature of Reality. Our curiosity continues but our exploration is no longer driven by a sense of fear and deficiency. We are lovers being drawn ever deeper into intimacy with the Source. Reality is a Mystery because the intimacy is infinite. Love forever deepens. Because the Mystery is Boundless Love, Reality is Holy. Our hearts are in awe of the innate goodness and inherent beauty of Reality. We are now awake to the truth that love is the fluid fabric of Being. The ordinary self only awakens through spiritual practices that enable it to gradually understand in the heart and body its own inherent beauty. Each practice, engaged with sincerity and skill, slowly dissolves the layers of crust constituted by habitual defenses, avoidances, and passions. The spiritual path is not about getting to some place but awakening to the truth that our very being is the place where Holy Mystery is graciously arising now. And the same is true for every other being that exists. We – all beings – are the body of Christ, which is the body of Holy Mystery that is Reality.~ Kevin G. Thew Forrester, Ph.D. Read online here About the Author Kevin G. Thew Forrester, Ph.D. is an Episcopal priest, a student of the Diamond Approach for over a decade, as well as a certified teacher of the Enneagram in the Narrative Tradition. He is the founder of the Healing Arts Center of in Marquette, Michigan, and the author of five books, including I Have Called You Friends, Holding Beauty in My Soul’s Arms, and My Heart is a Raging Volcano of Love for You and Beyond my Wants, Beyond my Fears: The Soul’s Journey into the Heartland. Visit Kevin’s Blog: Essential Living: For The Soul’s Journey. | | | | | | | | Question & Answer Q: By A Reader In your experience, what is most important when being in community with marginalized folks as a white person? A: By Rev. Deshna Shine Dear Reader,This one is easy. Listen. Listen. Ask questions and then be quiet and listen. Really hear them. Absorb what they are sharing with you. Believe them. Trust them.Be quiet and listen. Do not tone police. Do not defend yourself. Do not try to talk them out of their experience. Do not get your feelings hurt.This isn’t about you. And if it is, great! Here is the next most important step — learn. If someone shares with you that they have been hurt by you, or something connected to you like your community, this is a wonderful opportunity to learn something new, to grow, and to expand your awareness.So hear them share their pain and their experience. And listen. Listen with an open mind and heart and a desire to learn and grow.Believe what they share with you. Validate their experience. Apologize and say you will do better.Then go educate yourself on what came up. Do not ask marginalized folks to educate you. That is what the library is for, and yes… google. Google it and go down the rabbit hole.Read everything you can by marginalized folks, and listen to every podcast by them. Listen with a desire to see something in a new way. Practice empathy. Release your guilt, your shame, your fear of being wrong. And next time do better. It's fun to level up!But most importantly, just listen.~ Rev. Deshna Shine Read and share online here About the Author Rev. Deshna Shine is Project Director of ProgressiveChristianity.org’s Children’s Curriculum. She is an ordained Interfaith Minister, author, international speaker, and visionary. She grew up in a thriving progressive Christian church and has worked in the field for over 13 years. She graduated from UCSB with a major in Religious Studies and a minor in Global Peace and Security. She was Executive Director of ProgressiveChristianity.org, Executive Producer of Embrace Festival and has co-authored the novel, Missing Mothers. Deshna is passionate about sacred community, nourishing children spiritually and transforming Christianity through a radically inclusive lens. | | | | | | | | 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 VIII The Fourth Woman in Matthew’s genealogy: The Wife of Uriah Essay by Bishop John Shelby Spong January 17, 2013The fourth and final woman included in Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus with which he opens his gospel and simultaneously introduces into the Christian tradition the story of the virgin birth, is the best known of them all. Matthew in this genealogy, however, does not ever call her by her name. He refers to her rather as “the wife of Uriah,” but those who are familiar with the Jewish scriptures, as Matthew’s audience would surely have been, know from the story in the 11th chapter of II Samuel that her name is Bathsheba and you and I can read her fascinating story any time we want simply by turning to that chapter of the Bible. For those who might not be familiar with this narrative these are the details.“In the spring of the year,” is the way the author of this book of Samuel begins his story. The spring of the year is the time when “the sap rises,” romance is in the air and, this author observes, it was also the time “when kings go forth to battle.” King David, however, did not follow the familiar script for this year so he remained in Jerusalem while dispatching his army into battle under the command of his trusted military chief, a man named Joab. Joab’s assigned task, said the author of II Samuel, was to “ravage” King David’s enemy, the Ammonites. Not only was he to conquer the land of Ammon, but his army was to accomplish this by besieging and then destroying the capital city of Rabbah, while the king remained safe and secure in the comfort of his palace.Thus the stage was set in which this particular episode would transpire. It would be while the king was at home far from the battlefield, that he would have the adventure that would determine not just the history of the Jewish people, but also through them, the history of the world. Great changes do attach themselves sometimes to seemingly unimportant details.It was in the late afternoon one day when King David, perhaps bored, decided to stroll out onto the rooftop of the royal palace to enjoy the warm spring breezes. Because his palace was the tallest building in the city, he could look down on all the roof tops of the other homes below. On this day, to the delight of his lecherous eyes, his gaze fell upon a young woman, who was bathing herself in what she believed was the privacy of her own roof top. David was immediately smitten by this woman’s charms and, as heads of state are prone to do, he assumed that his desires should be fulfilled. So David, after inquiring as to her identity, sent a messenger to this woman’s house, bearing his personal invitation for her to come to the palace and to have a “tryst” with the king. She came. Whether or not she had a choice, we do not know. The rights of women were very circumscribed in that patriarchal society. Bathsheba’s roof top bath was described in this text as necessary for “purifying herself from her uncleanness,” which was a euphemistic way the Bible described the fact that she had just completed her menstrual cycle. This detail is essential to the developing plot of this story, since it demonstrated conclusively that she was not pregnant at that moment. When she arrived at the palace David greeted her and then “took her and lay with her,” the text informs us. The act complete, this woman, having served her defined purpose, returned to her own house. In all probability David thought little more about the incident. It was probably not the first time, nor would it be the last, that this kind of activity had happened in his life. It was, however, destined to be a life-changing experience in Bathsheba’s life.In a few weeks Bathsheba, noticing some unusual, but revealing circumstances, sent a message to the palace marked “for the king’s eyes only.” In this message she informed King David that she was pregnant with his child. David, seeking to create some room in which to maneuver, asked her how she could be sure that this baby was his child. “You are a married woman,” he reminded her. Why do you assume that this is not your husband’s child? It was then that Bathsheba informed him that though she was indeed married, her husband, Uriah, was a professional soldier and that he had been away for months serving in the king’s army under Captain Joab in the war against the Ammonites. “There is no way O King,” she concluded, “that you are not the father of this baby.” David felt the noose tightening around his neck. He was not, however, ready to take responsibility for this fact and so he opted for plan B. He would dispatch a messenger to his army chief Joab, ordering him to grant a furlough to Uriah the Hittite. His cover was that he wanted to receive a first-hand report from someone in the field of battle and he had chosen Uriah for this “signal honor.” While on this special leave, David reasoned, Uriah would stay in his home, lie with his wife and when the baby was born, they could claim that this infant had just come early. It would not be the first time in that pre-DNA world that such an explanation had been conceived of and successfully employed.So a very surprised Uriah received orders to return to Jerusalem in order to provide a personal and private update for the king on the course of the battle. Uriah, however, did not choose to return to his own house. He, rather, slept quite ostentatiously in the street at the gate of the king’s palace. David’s plans were foiled again. He had not counted on Uriah being the ultimate “boy scout.” Uriah told the king that it would simply not be fitting for him to enjoy the pleasures of his home, his wife and his bed while all his comrades were still camping out in the fields, eating K-rations and risking their lives in the siege of Rabbah. “I could not think of doing such a thing,” he concluded. David must have thought to himself, “What a turkey!” Now he was forced to resort to plan C.The king next took out the royal quill and on a piece of royal parchment, he wrote out new orders to be carried to Joab, his military captain. He sent these new orders to Captain Joab via the hand of Uriah, who was returning to his duty on the battlefield. The king’s orders directed Joab to charge the gates of the city of Rabbah with a “V” shaped flying wedge. These orders also directed Joab to place Uriah the Hittite at the point of the “V” thus giving him the “honor” of leading the charge. It was a position in which few survived. It was done as the king commanded and Uriah was struck down and killed immediately. Joab then sent the king a message to inform him that his problems were over and that Uriah was dead. In turn, David sent for Bathsheba and she came to his palace to be one of his wives and thus a member of his harem. Bathsheba turned out to be a wife who exercised considerable power. After the child of her adulterous liaison with the king died in infancy, Bathsheba’s second son by King David, whose name was Solomon, was destined to succeed King David at his death, though he was not close to being the first-born son and thus the presumed heir to the throne. With the assistance of a priest named Zadok, a military leader named Benaiah and a prophet named Nathan, Bathsheba maneuvered to secure the throne for her son. King Solomon in turn secured the power of the royal family that was destined to rule the people of Judah for over 400 years. That is Bathsheba’s story as found in the Bible.In his genealogy, Matthew traces the royal line from Solomon through the kings of Judah until the royal family was destroyed by the Babylonians in the period of history that is called the Exile. Then he picks up the genealogy and traces it from the Exile to a man named Joseph, The conclusion of his genealogy says “Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus is born, who is called Christ.” Thus the genealogy with which Matthew opened his gospel and which served to introduce the story of Jesus’ “supernatural” or “virgin” birth is brought to a conclusion.Now as we come to the end of this opening genealogy ask yourself, what was Matthew’s purpose in beginning his gospel in this way and why did he deem it necessary and appropriate to say that the line that produced Jesus of Nazareth began with Abraham and traveled through the royal family, then into the exile and finally it arrives at the life on which the whole story is to focus? Finally, what is he trying to communicate when he places into the background of Jesus, four well known women in Jewish history, all of whom by the standards of that day were sexually compromised women? He is informing his readers at the very opening of his story that the line that produced Jesus of Nazareth flowed through the incest of Tamar (Gen. 38), the prostitution of Rahab (Joshua 2, 6), the seduction of Ruth (Ruth 3) and the adultery of Bathsheba (II Samuel 11). That appears to be what the text of Matthew’s gospel reveals. Perhaps that accounts (at least in part) for the fact that throughout most of Christian history, the first 17 verses of Matthew’s first chapter were skipped and ignored. They were called “the most boring verses in the Bible,” the “who begat whoms,” and no one was encouraged to look at them or take them seriously. Perhaps this strange introduction reveals that there is far more to the story of the virgin birth than we have imagined in the past.We will continue to look at Matthew’s birth narrative in subsequent weeks. Then we will turn to Luke’s account of Jesus’ birth. Studying the Bible can be quite exciting once one removes the blinders of literalism and begins to look at the texts for what they are. So stay tuned. We will move next to Matthew’s proof text found in Isaiah 7:14 and then to the wise men and their familiar gifts. It is a fascinating study. I hope that you are finding it so.~ John Shelby Spong | | | | | | | | Announcements All Are Invited: Jewish High Holiday Service with Rabbi Brian A digital age, adult service (and conversation) about forgiveness, atonement, re-centering, remembrance, and celebration. READ ON ... | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |

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9/21/22 PHOTOS—B½ OF ARCHIVE PROJECT
by Frank Knutson 22 Sep '22

22 Sep '22

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