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+ updated at 11:11am EST on Monday, January 6, 2014

+ Hey, friends, remember the book we are working on? I NEED you. Let's begin again. Here is Page 1 > http://abundancetrekblog.blogspot.com/2013/11/the-amazing-journey-page-1.html 

What are your thoughts about these ideas? You can post in Comments here or at https://www.facebook.com/abundancetrek/posts/10202086005284056

Today being Epiphany and the beginning of a new liturgical season ... please share what's happening in your spiritual journey, or your life adventure or whatever you want to call your quest for joy and meaning and purpose.

 

Breathe Deeply. Breathe fully. Be still. Be silent. Be centered. Be grounded. ighten up. Loosen up. Let go. Let God. Celebrate. Enjoy. Be glad all over!

 

I like to exhale on "Breathe Deeply" and inhale on "Breathe Fully." Same with "Be Still" and "Be Silent" and all the other pairs. Sometimes I use beads and sometimes just my fingers to keep track. Then I will go into my sacred word as taught by Thomas Keating in his Centering Prayer method. 

 

My sacred word hasn't changed for about a decade but you can change it from one Meditation Session or Prayer Session or Contemplation Session to the next if you want to.

+ Today is Epiphany when we celebrate the revelation (appearance, manifestation) of Jesus as the Son of God come into the world.  It is the wise men who first proclaim this truth to the world. Other events in the life of Jesus marking this wondrous revelation are celebrated during this season of the Church Year including the Baptism of Jesus and his first miracle, turning water into wine at a wedding in Cana.  Churches in Cana, near Nazareth, are often included in Holy Land pilgrimages.

Here are some Epiphany resources:

• Epiphany comes from the Greek, epiphaneia, which means appearance or manifestation. The feast commemorates the day when the three wise men found the Christ child. < http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/spl/aberdeen/briefing-epiphany-1.129910
• The Epiphany, or revelation, of the baby Jesus as the Son of God come into the world, is traditionally celebrated on the 6 January. < http://www.churchofscotland.org.uk/worship/festivals_and_dates
• Old St. Paul's Church: At High Mass on Sunday 5 January at 10.30am, the traditional gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh are carried in procession to be offered to the Child in the manger. Gold symbolises the Kingship of Christ, frankincense represents priestly service, and myrrh symbolises healing power. In the evening, Blessing of the Light precedes Solemn Evensong and Benediction at 6.30pm. On succeeding Sundays, we celebrate further revelations of the Christ: on 12 January, the Feast of the Baptism, a voice from heaven proclaims him the Beloved Son; on 19 January, the second Sunday after Epiphany, John the Baptist recognises him as Son of God, and on 2 February, the Feast of Candlemas, he is acclaimed by Simeon as the Light to lighten the Gentiles. < http://www.osp.org.uk/index.php/news/entry/epiphany_at_old_saint_pauls/
• Spirituality and Practice Naming the Days Resource > http://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/days/features.php?id=16401 / Practices: Devotion, Gratitude, Wonder. A Suggested spiritual exercise for today is offered by Christopher Hays: Step outside this evening and look up at the over 200 billion stars that blaze in beauty in our galaxy alone. The splendor of it should cause you to pray as did the Magi in adoration of God." 
• Here is an Epiphany verse from the Revised Common Lectionary: Although I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given to me to bring to the Gentiles the news of the boundless riches of Christ, and to make everyone see what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things. (Ephesians 3:8-9) < http://www.presbyterianmission.org/devotion/revised-common-lectionary/2014/1/6/
• A thought of my own! > There is stuff going on in your mind right now which is far more amazing than what you are thinking right now.
• The Presbyterian Church (USA) offers this at 
  

  http://www.presbyterianmission.org/ministries/worship/epiphany/ > Epiphany is the celebration of God’s manifestation or self-revelation to the world in Jesus Christ. In particular, we celebrate the revelation of God’s promise and purpose to the nations of the world, as the magi came from the East to worship to the Christ child, and God’s covenant of grace is extended to all who believe the good news of Christ Jesus. The symbolism of light is important: not only because of the star that guided the magi, but as it relates to the bright dawning of God’s self-revelation in Christ. / An excerpt from the Companion to the Book of Common Worship (Geneva Press, 2003, 94-95): The word “epiphany” (from the Greek epiphaneia or theophaneia) means “appearance” or “manifestation” of God, and has roots in the word for sunrise or dawn. In ancient times, an epiphany meant either a visible manifestation of a god or the solemn visit of a ruler venerated as a god. / For Christians, Christmas marks the coming of God to us; Epiphany celebrates the appearance of the Lord in the midst of humanity. The Christmas stories of the birth of Immanuel declare the divine entry; Epiphany extols the revelation of God to the world in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. / In our celebrations of Christmas and Epiphany we rejoice in the dawning and the arising of Light in darkness. … Epiphany not only discloses the Savior to the world but also calls the world to show forth Christ, to be witnesses to God’s true Light. The timeless mystery of the incarnation, God in flesh, leads us forth to show and tell of Christ as God’s gift of grace and salvation for all persons. Some call this ongoing epiphany the work of Christmas.

  
   

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+ Last Friday, 20 children and 6 adults were killed at an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut. A long overdue national conversation on gun control has begun.  I am all for a lot more regulation.  I have a few thoughts and resources to offer:

If there is a gun in your home, the chance that a family member will be killed by that gun is 44 times higher than an intruder will be killed by that gun. I just heard that. I don't know the source. I am simply questioning the idea that guns are needed for protection of you and yours.

Countries with far less access to firearms have far less deadly violence.

My denomination, the Presbyterian Church (USA) offers excellent resources and strategies for dealing with gun violence.

There are those who think increasing regulations on firearms can do nothing BUT Australia did something after a mass murder and, guess what? MANY LIVES HAVE BEEN SAVED.  Here's an excerpt from "Australia’s 1996 gun law reforms: faster falls in firearm deaths, firearm suicides, and a decade without mass shootings" by S Chapman,  P Alpers, K Agho, M Jones: "In the 18 years before the gun law reforms, there were 13 mass shootings in Australia, and none in the 10.5 years afterwards." 

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+ updated at 12:52pm ESDT on Wednesday, June 20, 2012

+The Theological Wanderings of a Street Pastor offers "Religious Liberalism 101: A Book Review of Paul Rasor’s ‘Faith Without Certainty’"

+ I am taking a Spirituality and Practice ecourse on Practicing the Presence of God.  Here is what I shared today in the Practice forum:

2 Corinthians 12 is one of the great peaks of the Bible. Read it all when you get a chance. I was required to preach a sermon to my Presbytery before ordination in 1975. This was my text and it has always been close to my heart.

I think it's all about TRUST ... trusting the process ... trusting the here and now at all times, at this time, all the time ... trusting everything to work out beautifully, wondrously, miraculously, naturally. The Heavenly Council is working for us night and day. Now is the time to surrender, to rest in the "peace which passes all understanding," the sufficient grace which is offered so freely "not as the world gives" but in the mysterious and marvelous way heaven gives ... unconditional Love ... unlimited Love... uniting Love ... amazing Grace.

Breathe deeply. Breathe fully. Be still. Be silent. Be centered. Be grounded. Lighten up. Loosen up. Let go. Let God. Celebrate. Enjoy. Be glad all over!

+ Not yet 90 BUT the high humidity makes it feel like its 96 already (12:12pm). You could see how high it goes today at http://www.wunderground.com/US/NY/Whitesboro.html?bannertypeclick=bigwx

+ Almost 90 out now at noon.

+ As I just said (below), Shuck and Jive is always fascinating and provocative.  Read today's post.

+ I have to go inside now (11:44am ESDT).  It has been nice to be outside but the heat is starting to get unbearable for a Norwegian-American like me!

+ A lot has been happening (of course) since I last blogged here. Among other things ...

• Family and friends gathered in Durham, Cary and Chapel Hill, North Carolina in late May for a memorial service for my dad who died in on March 27, 7 weeks before he would have turned 100.  He was born on May 21, 1912.
• Mary, my wife, suffered a concussion during a short bus ride taking the University of Rochester Nursing School faculty to graduation at Eastman Hall on May 19.  Recovery has been slow and frustrating.  The symptoms seem to be lessening but she still has some bad days. 

+ The Theological Wanderings of a Street Pastor offers "The Garden of Your Mind" by J. Barrett Lee. Barrett likes being a posthumous colleague of Mr. Rogers.  I have always liked being in that company too, the company of fellow Presbyterian pastors.  I particularly like those who "think outside the box" as Fred Rogers did and Barrett does.  And, oh yes, John Shuck comes to mind, too.  Shuck and Jive is always fascinating and provocative.

+ Spirituality and Practice offers "Are We Living in Sensory Overload or Sensory Poverty?" by Mary Ann and Frederic Brussat.

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+ updated at 3:06pm ESDT on Monday, April 23, 2012

+ Peaceworks offers "The Right Wing Self Designated Neighborhood Watch" by Alexandria Skinner. This blogger gets it so right as she affirms the ministry of John Shuck and criticizes the self-righteous, mightier-than-thou, thought police trying to bring him down in the Presbyterian Church (USA).

Excerpt: "As our nation reels from the murder of Trayvon Martin by a self-designated Neighborhood Watch Vigilante, we observe another equally self-obsessed group of vigilantes within the Presbyterian Church, eager to take matters into their own hands to pass judgment on others they don’t want in their neighborhood. This time, the neighborhood of the Presbyterian Church. Claiming that the institutional mechanisms within the church don’t reflect Biblical truth, they would seek to have Shuck defrocked based upon their own view of the Gospel."

+ This is the Day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it.  And, It's a Beautiful Day. Shout it from the rooftops. 

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+ Shuck and Jive offers "Sex and the Presbyterian Obsession" by John Shuck which now includes some interesting and informative comments including two by me.

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+ updated at 2:22pm ESDT on Monday, October 17, 2011.

+ In "America's 'Primal Scream," Nicholas D. Kristoff offers some important reflections on the Occupy Wall Street movement. He says it's resonating because most of us are quite aware of the growing income inequality here in the USA and elsewhere. 

+ In "A Movement Too Big to Fail," Chris Hedges offers some important reflections on the Occupy Wall Street movement. It begins: "There is no danger that the protesters who have occupied squares, parks and plazas across the nation in defiance of the corporate state will be co-opted by the Democratic Party or groups like MoveOn. The faux liberal reformers, whose abject failure to stand up for the rights of the poor and the working class, have signed on to this movement because they fear becoming irrelevant."

+ In his latest sermon, The Myth of the Call, John Shuck has some very profound thoughts about the call of Abram and how it relates both positively and negatively to our current movements for compassion, peace, justice and sustainable abundance.  Here is the conclusion of that sermon:

The myth of the call is rooted in patriarchal spirituality. The figure is Abraham. He gets the divine summons to leave what is familiar, to leave his comfort zone, and to be a blessing. The call to be a blessing is a source of power that we can tap into in our contemporary movements for justice and peace, such as the movement taking place around the country. That call to go out and demonstrate, to dream of change, and to act is a powerful and necessary thing.

The shadow of the call is fanaticism. Abram’s call involved a displacement of the Canaanites and the willingness to kill his own son for this vision. There is delusion, fanaticism, carelessness, and ruthlessness associated with this call. Abram needs a partner. He needs a strong Sarai. Before going off to sacrifice their son, he might ask her opinion first.

If there is a call, it is to all of us. It is a call to be as well as to do. The values of relationship, companionship, diversity, wisdom, partnership, nurturing, and compassion will make our movement for social and economic justice stronger, more sustainable, and will enlarge that circle of blessing.

+ It is high time for us Presbyterians to do what some courageous, prophetic Methodists are doing. Go to http://johnshore.com/2011/10/17/methodist-ministers-to-perform-gay-weddings-despite-ban/.

By the way, some prophetic and courageous Presbyterians are doing GLBT weddings but more are needed.

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+ More Light Presbyterians offers "An Open Letter to the Presbyterian Church From One of Your Baptized Kids" by Michael Adee. I am including this in its entirety as the Presbyterian Church (USA) gets closer and closer to realizing the vision of More Light which so many of us have desired for so long:

Grace and peace to all of you. I was baptized as an infant at First Presbyterian Church, Billings, Montana. I was taught faith, Scripture, the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and confirmed at Westminster Presbyterian Church, Sulphur, Louisiana. As a kid and teenager, I loved going to church and being part of a church family. I sang in our church choir with my Dad, loved our youth group of four and the all-church potluck dinners. I had Jesus' bumper stickers on my 1963 VW bug when I was in high school. I probably annoyed some of my friends in high school and college with my Christian zeal.

When I affirmed being gay in my late twenties, the Church was no longer a safe or loving place for me, so I left the Church. I give thanks to God for being loved back to faith by Mount Auburn Presbyterian Church, Cincinnati, Ohio. I was ordained and installed as an Elder there. I've served as an Elder at Mount Auburn Presbyterian Church, Cincinnati and First Presbyterian Church, Santa Fe, New Mexico.

I began serving as a volunteer with More Light Presbyterians in 1991 and on staff since 1999. I would not be in the Presbyterian Church, or in any church, if not for Mount Auburn Presbyterian Church and their unconditional welcome and invitation to serve God with them.

I believe the 219th General Assembly's Ordination Amendment 10-A offers this kind of unconditional welcome and invitation to faith, grace, salvation, church membership and ministry to all of God's children, not just some.

I've put a lot of my heart, thought, reflection on Scripture, prayer and my life experience into why I wholeheartedly support 10-A and believe it is a gift for God for our Church right now. Our Church will more lovingly and accurately reflect God's heart with the approval of 10-A.

My Top Ten Reasons to Support Amendment 10-A

1. This amendment returns our Church to the historic Presbyterian way of focusing upon faith and character as qualifications for ministry, not martial status or sexual orientation.

2. This amendment honors God's call to ministry and the recognition of gifts for ministry given by God to people regardless of gender, race, marital status, sexual orientation or other human differences.

3. This amendment allows for local congregations to call ministers, elders and deacons who can best meet the needs within their own communities.

4. This amendment affirms the moral equality of all persons and ends discrimination based upon marital status or sexual orientation.

5. This amendment affirms God's diverse creation that we can see in Scripture and in our life together in community.

6. This amendment affirms the gift of love by God to persons not limited by gender or race; and it provides support for the beautifully diverse and sacred reality of love and faithfulness experienced by couples and families in our world today.

7. This amendment allows our Church the chance to shift from 37 years of debate, legislation and judicial cases about sexual orientation and to place our energies on mission, service and a hurting world that needs our care and ministry.

8. This amendment is a helpful solution to the 14 years of departure from the historic Presbyterian standards for ordination. It's time to be honest, G-6.0106b has failed our Church. This "fidelity in marriage and chastity in singleness" requirement has brought nothing but hurt, suspicion, division and driven people away from our Church.

9. This amendment affirms that God's creation, God's love, God's grace and the Gospel of Jesus Christ are available for all persons, not just some.

10. This amendment affirms Jesus' commandment for us to love God, neighbor and self; and to recognize as Jesus' taught that all persons are neighbor in God's world, no exceptions.

Imagine, dream, pray and work with me for a new way of being Church and serving in our world with the passage of 10-A.

with hope and grace,
Michael

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+ Shuck and Jive offers "Unprotected Texts: A Review" by John Shuck. It begins: "I have written about the Bible quite a bit on this blog. My general refrain is that we should not use the Bible as an excuse for not owning up to our own opinions. It is nice when you run across an articulate author who agrees with you (or at least you hope so!)" Read this review.

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+ updated at 2:13pm on Monday, November 30, 2010.

+ A new song for us to sing (like at the Joyful Noise Cafe this Friday night at First Presbyterian Church, Utica NY):

Presbyterians for Earthcare Hymn

"IN A ROUND WORLD"

Written by PEC Member, Manley Olson
To the tune, "Morning Has Broken" Presbyterian Hymnal #469

In a round world, no corners to hide in,
All life connected, part of the whole.
God made but one earth which needs protection.
We face this challenge, we claim this goal.

From space one sees a lovely blue marble,
A floating speck in the star-filled sky.
This was the insight told by the psalmist;
We are but dust, yet seen in God's eye.

Gone are the days when we could be masters,
Using earth's gifts for our selfish ends.
Our role today is that of God's stewards,
To be a church that speaks and defends.

Only our God can create a species.
Can we preserve what God has designed?
When we destroy life, we change the balance
In ways not thought of, with ends not seen.

It's time we alter our basic outlook
Renounce dominion, give up our pride.
Working with God, restoring creation,
In a round world with nowhere to hide.

Words by Manley Olson. Copyright 1995 (date), Manley Olson, used by permission.

The words of this hymn may be reprinted without special permission in a program or worship service bulletin for one-time use only, provided that the following statement is included:

For other uses please request permission in writing from Manley Olson, 1974 W. Summer St., St. Paul, MN 55113 Presbynet: MANLEY OLSON

+ The Diane Rehm Show offers an interview with Anne Rice promoting a new book but also speaking about other books and her commitment to Christ but not in any established church.

+ More Magic. Here is "Dig a Pony" by the Beatles on the rooftop on YouTube.

+ WallWritings offers "Choose This Day Whom You Will Serve" by James Wall.

+ Shuck and Jive offers "Thanks WikiLeaks" by John Shuck.

+ How about some Cars? Here is MAGIC on YouTube.

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+ updated at 11:58am ESDT on Wednesday, October 13, 2010

+ Getting a good balance in my life is something I am striving to achieve.  My cyber life is a significant part of it, particularly as I promote sustainable abundance, peace, justice and compassion. My Prayer Life is really important.  My Family Life.  My Church Life.  My Interest in things like Rock'n'Roll, Baseball, Travel, Photography, Politics, Theology and more.

OK Prayer must come first.  I have been doing pretty well at establishing a daily practice of Centering Prayer as taught by Father Keating.  I have been trying to increase my efforts in Intercessory Prayer.  I do a lot of Journaling with a desire to write more and more about my spiritual journey.  I intend to add more Joyful Wandering posts at The Abundancetrek Blog.   

+ I have really enjoyed Baseball lately. Some amazing Pitching. The League Championship Series between Yankees and Rangers and Phillies and Giants should be fascinating. As for the Red Sox, Next Year in Boston!

+ I hope you have been watching God in America on PBS. The last of 3 episodes is on tonight. It is so riveting that I stopped watching Baseball for the past 2 nights and I love Baseball.

+ The Presbyterian Church (USA) has been promoting Earth Care for several decades. Now there are certified Earth Care Congregations. I am going to encourage my church to get involved.

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+ Even if you are not inclined to believe those who say are whole industrial civilization is on the verge of collapse, you will find Shuck and Jive VERY INTERESTING these days. 

I believe humanity can develop a way to attain and maintain sustainable abundance but I don't see the political will to do so at this time.  So, we need to be challenged and changed by those who see the possibility of planetary disaster.

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+ updated at 5:25pm ESDT on Saturday, May 22, 2010

+ The BBC offers "BA and union talks stopped by protesters". I sure do hope an agreement can be reached since I am depending on British Airways for our trip to Germany beginning June 8. 

+ God's Politics offers "Glenn Beck Attacks Churches on Climate Change" by Jim Wallis. Excerpt: "You see, Glenn, most of our faith traditions believe that God created this earth, proclaimed it good, and gave us the mandate to serve and protect it. Yet, for thousands of years, we have abused and destroyed it. It is our role as stewards of creation that spurs us to take leadership in urging the government to do its part. This is a biblical concern of ours, not a Marxist one as you keep suggesting."

+ The following report is disturbing.  I hate to see the name Presbyterian associated with such a travesty of Justice, Compassion, Tolerance and Human Rights.

Blantyre (ENI). A Presbyterian church in Malawi has welcomed a 14-year jail sentence handed down to two Malawian men accused of homosexual offences after publicly holding a traditional engagement ceremony in a country where same-sex relationships are a crime. "As a church we don't support homosexuality or same-sex marriages. That is both un-African and un-Christian," the Rev. Levi Nyondo, general secretary of the Church of Central Africa Presbyterian, Livingstonia Synod, told ENInews. "We are happy they have been sentenced to 14 years in jail," Nyondo said in a 20 May interview from the northern city of Mzuzu. A magistrate's court in Malawi's commercial capital, Blantyre, on 20 May gave Steven Monjeza and Tiwonge Chimbalanga the maximum sentence of 14 years in prison after convicting them of buggery and gross indecency. The two men were arrested in December after their engagement ceremony.

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+ updated at 5:13pm ESDT on Wednesday, April 28, 2010

+ On April 24 Seattle became the first city in the world to affirm The Charter for Compassion.  See http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/fetzer-institute-and-compassionate-action-network-partner-on-compassionate-seattle-celebration-91855374.html

+ At http://johnawilde.blogspot.com/2010/04/friends-declare-me-apostate-heretical.html, "Pastor Bob" and I are continuing to discuss my heresies and apostasies.  I just published Comment 34 responding to Bob's Comment 33. Anybody else want to dive in?

Excerpt 1 from Comment 34: "I think one of the beauties of Orthodoxy (Correct Praise) is that it really does allow a very wide range of interpretation. It seems to me that you have a narrow range within that larger range which you and Viola and others insist all Christians accept."

Excerpt 2 from Comment 34: "I do believe in miracles but I also believe in great story telling and I believe that one must allow disagreement on whether particular miracles happened or not. For me it is really important to keep the tent big and open."

Excerpt 3 from Comment 34: "I certainly do not come close to exhibiting the Full Divinity Jesus revealed AS TOLD IN GREAT STORIES. I do believe that the Real Presence of Christ is a description of our basic Oneness with God which is broken by Sin but restored in Holy Communion. In other words, we have the POTENTIAL to be as fully divine as the Jesus of THE STORY."

ARSON DESTROYS A PROGRESSIVE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH BUILDING IN HOUSTON

... BUT NOT THE CHURCH.  THE CHURCH IS THE PEOPLE.

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/4/9/855801/-My-church-building-was-burned-by-an-arsonist-last-night

http://www.shuckandjive.org/2010/04/more-light-church-destroyed-by-fire.html

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+ Bob Campbell and I are having a continuing conversation on what it means to be a Christian and other topics at "Friends Declare Me Apostate, Heretical and Not a Christian." Anybody else who wants to share their wisdom is quite welcome.

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+ updated at 1:37pm EST, Wednesday, March 10, 2010

+ Blue Skies, Nothing But Blue Skies ... for a week now. wow. This doesn't happen here in the Mohawk Valley

+ Haaretz offers "When Israelis degrade Israel by humiliating Joe Biden" by Bradley Burston.  Excerpt: "What conceivable advantage is there in the Interior Ministry choosing the occasion of a high-profile visit by Joseph R. Biden, Jr., a mission aimed at soothing strained relations between Israel and the Obama administration, to announce the approval of 1,600 new homes for Israelis in East Jerusalem?"

In case you don't know it, Haaretz is an Israeli newspaper.  Why is it that the Israelis can have an informed conversation about Israel's controversial policies in their major media outlets and we can't here in the USA?

+ Shuck and Jive offers "Better than a Month of [Evolution] Sundays" by John Shuck. 

Excerpt 1 (a quote from Michael Zimmerman):

What do the following have in common?
A. Sarah Palin's claim that health care reform will lead to "death panels."
B. The birthers' claim that President Obama was born in Kenya.
C. The constant refrain that the evolution/creation controversy is a battle between religion and science.

The simple answer is that there is overwhelming evidence demonstrating that each statement is false while proponents of each hope that the frequency and volume of repetition substitutes for truth.

Excerpt 2 (a comment by "Pastor Bob"): "The truly interesting (strange) thing about claims that Obama was born in Africa or Indonesia is that because his Mom was an American citizen, Obama is an American citizen from birth. Which means he can run for president no matter where he was born!"

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+ updated at 2:49pm EST Friday, March 5, 2010

+ The Network of Spiritual Progressives offers "Koran's Universal Messages" by Arnold Yasin Mol. You will most likely be surprised and learn a lot. For example: "Jerusalem was taken without any force, nor were the rights of Christians and Jews decreased but even increased, Christians from other sects and Jews were allowed in the holy city for the first time since the second century when the Romans had banned them from the city."

+ Shuck and Jive offers "Religion in America" by John Shuck.

Excerpt 1:

On Saturday, February 20th, the PCUSA made the Faith section of our local paper, the Johnson City Press. It was in regards to the survey the research department of our denomination made of its members.

The media turned us into national news for a couple of weeks. Here is the story:

"The Presbyterian Church USA’s statement of faith says God through Jesus Christ delivers followers “from death to life eternal.” But one in three members of the nation’s largest Presbyterian denomination seem to believe there’s some wiggle room for non-Christians to get into heaven, according to a recent poll."

Excerpt 2:

I find the whole business embarrassing that so many still are worried about archaic speculation such as heaven and further worried about who will get in or not. This to me is religion at its most superstitious. Many of us are trying to move on.

There is a great tune embedded in the post.  It's not the best technical quality but still worth hearing and seeing.  Definitely worth it so I am embedding it too!



+ Presbyterian News Service offers "Presbyterians favor pushing corporations not to promote violence: Poll shows strong support for ‘two-state’ solution in Israel/Palestine" by Jerry Van Marter. Excerpt: "At least two-thirds of Presbyterians believe the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) should try to dissuade corporations from doing things that 'directly or indirectly' support violence against Israeli or Palestinian civilians, and at least three in five Presbyterians believe that the denomination should shift its investment funds away from corporations that continue to support such violence despite pleas to stop."

It is reassuring to see that so many Presbyterians support justice for the Palestinian people so victimized by the continuing illegal and immoral expansion of Israeli settlements in The West Bank and East Jerusalem.

+ Presbyterian Voices for Justice offers "The Israel Palestine Mission Network calls upon PC(USA) leadership to stand firm". Excerpt: "Many on the forefront of the human rights struggle in Occupied Palestine know that in Israel itself there is a healthier debate going on throughout Israeli society about these issues than is taking place in the American Jewish Community. One only needs to read Israeli dailies like The Jerusalem Post and Ha’aretz to know there are significant Israeli voices calling for an end to injustice in Palestine; voices of people who believe their beloved homeland has become an oppressor nation. Their motives in calling for immediate change in government policies are not only for the sake of Palestinian human rights, but also for the future security of Israel itself."

+ At Inner Frontier, Joseph Naft consistently offers very insightful and illuminating weekly spiritual practices which he calls Inner Work. This week's practice is "I am Present". Excerpt: "Be the one who sees through your eyes, the one who is aware of your thoughts, aware of your mind, aware of your center of emotion. Inhabit your body. Inhabit your feeling. Inhabit your mind. Claim it all as your own. Instead of letting so many of your words and actions happen on their own in a stimulus-response cycle and without your participation, say what you say and do what you do. Engage and be who you are."

+ I'm looking forward to seeing and hearing some great Celtic Rock tonight. Enter The Haggis is coming to town. They will be playing at Utica's The Electric Company. 

+ It is sunny and chilly this morning.  Here in the Mohawk Valley, whenever we see blue sky we are delighted.  Blue sky or even patches of blue are particularly rare in the winter months.  But even in the summer, a blue sky can be all too rare.  Last summer was more cloudy than usual.  I called it the Patch of Blue Summer since on many days we saw mostly clouds and a few patches of blue. So, a blue sky is very welcome even on a cold March day.

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+ updated at 12:44pm EST, Wednesday, March 3, 2010

+ Thanks to Presbyterian Voices for Justice (the brand new name of the merged Witherspoon Society and Voices of Sophia), I discovered that USA Today offers "Where have all the Protestants gone?" by Oliver Thomas.

Excerpt 1: "'By valuing the individual quest for faith,' says the Rev. John Lindner in the fall issue of the Yale divinity journal Reflections, 'Protestant practice has resulted in a drift toward the self-authentication of truth, suspicion of ecclesiastical authority and an outbreak of freelance spirituality, launching generations of seekers.' Read steeple dropouts. This has helped fuel the increase in New Age movements as well as in the number of Americans who refer to themselves as 'spiritual but not religious.' Denominational labels and loyalty mean little to such people."

Excerpt 2: "Religion professor and Presbyterian elder Peggy Cowan sees something else — something that could help churches connect with a generation of seekers who might consider portions of the Apostle's Creed on par with Harry Potter. 'Theological exploration,' she calls it. With Jesus as their tutor, successful churches in post-modern America must be willing to affirm that all theology is provisional in light of the mystery of God."

+ Shuck and Jive offers "For the Busybodies, Fusspots, Tattletales and Scolds in Our Lives" featuring wisdom from that adorable ancient Sufi clown, Hafiz. Here's the wisdom:

Stop Being So Religious

What
Do sad people have in
Common?

It seems
They have all built a shrine
To the past

And often go there
And do a strange wail and
Worship.

What is the beginning of
Happiness?

It is to stop being
So religious

Like

That.

-- The Gift: Poems By Hafiz The Great Sufi Master, p. 119

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+ updated at 5:16pm EST Monday, March 1, 2010

+ Chuck Currie offers "Time For Up Or Down Vote On Meaningful Health Care Reform In Congress". Excerpt: "The insurances companies and the special interests on K Street have spent millions to kill off health care reform and to protect their record profits but we sent the politicians to Washington to do the difficult work of governing."

+ Shuck and Jive offers "I Want To Be An Ancestor--A Sermon" by John Shuck.  John deals with the report of the PCUSA Middle East Study Team which is the subject of my previous entry (below).  Here's an excerpt from another great sermon by my favorite Presbyterian agitator:

The General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) will be meeting in Minneapolis in a few months. Once every two years Presbyterians gather to celebrate, lament, and make decisions in a revelry of Roberts Rules of Order.

Among the many issues that divide us, the General Assembly will consider a report from the Special Committee to Prepare a Comprehensive Study Focused on Israel/Palestine. This committee was formed in 2008. It has not yet finished its report but has made some recommendations. According to the Presbyterian News Service:

The report affirms historic PC(USA) positions — an immediate cessation of violence by both sides, an immediate freeze on the construction and expansion of Israeli settlements on occupied territory, the relocation of Israel’s “separation barrier” to the internationally recognized 1967 border, a shared status for Jerusalem, equal rights for Palestinian citizens of Israel, and immediate resumption of negotiations toward a two-state solution.

The report also calls on the U.S. government to end its acquiescence in the Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands, and to “employ the strategic use of influence and the withholding of financial and military aid in order to enforce Israel’s compliance with international law and peacemaking efforts.”

The Simon Wiesenthal Center issued a statement this past Monday saying that the "adoption of this poisonous document by the Presbyterian Church will be nothing short of a declaration of war on Israel and her supporters.”

The statement from the Wiesenthal Center got results. This past week during meetings in Louisville, Presbyterian leaders were flooded with over 2,700 emails protesting this committee and its report, even as the report has yet to be completed.

We are warming up for another thrilling General Assembly.

Meanwhile Jesus sits on the hill weeping over Jerusalem, like a mother hen who “longs to gather her brood under her wings.”

Sadly, as usual, no one is willing to be gathered.

+ Presbyterian News Service offers "Middle East study team nears release of its final report: 'Time for action is now,’ nine-member panel urges" by Jerry L. Van Marter. Excerpt:

With several sections of its massive final report still to be completed and edited, the committee approved with just one dissenting vote a package of 30+ recommendations calling for an immediate end to the Israeli occupation of the West Bank; endorsement  of the emphases on hope, love, non-violence, and reconciliation found in an ecumenical statement by Palestinian Christians called the Kairos Palestine Document; and urging the U.S. government to take swift action toward a just peace that guarantees secure states for both Israel and Palestine — the commonly called “two state solution.” Their first and key recommendation, committee members emphasized, is that the years 2010-2012 be declared by the upcoming 219th General Assembly  “as a time of Presbyterian prayer and action for the Middle East,” including travel/study to the region, study of the Reformed theological  and historical understandings of the area, itineration throughout the church by Middle Eastern Christian partners and local conversations between Christians, Jews and Muslims.

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+ Presbyterians for Earth Care offers "Sabbath and the Care of Creation" byTerry Chapman (PDF)

Excerpt 1: "Everything depends on human beings embracing these two essential Sabbath truths: God paused for breath and so should we, because when we do, we remember who we are."

Excerpt 2: "Jurgen Moltmann sums up the centrality of Sabbath, “'The goal and completion of every Jewish and Christian doctrine of creation must be the doctrine of the Sabbath; for on the Sabbath and through the Sabbath God ‘completed’ his creation, and on the Sabbath and through it, men and women perceive as God’s creation the reality in which they live and which they themselves are.'”