Review of: Science and Spiritual Practices by Rupert Sheldrake
Essay by Rev. Dr. Matthew Fox on April, 18 2019Science and Spirituality need each other. This has always been the case—from Aristotle (who concludes his classic work on Physics with positing an Unmoved Mover) to Aquinas (who fought the fundamentalists of his day about the value of bringing science, namely Aristotle, and the scientific method of his day, namely scholasticism, into the world of faith).
How I Got Here
Essay by Brian McLaren on April, 11 2019Suddenly, I saw in a new light the violence of the modern era, from colonialism to Stalinism to Naziism to nuclear war to the environmental crisis. Smart people, armed with excessive and un-self-critical confidence derived from their absolutized ideologies, could commit unspeakable atrocities without having second thoughts.
Love, America and The Middle Way
Essay by Joran Slane Oppelt on April, 4 2019A teenager in a red “Make America Great Again” hat, face-to-face with a drumming Native American elder on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial…
For all the coverage and commentary we now have of the Lincoln Memorial encounter, there are many moments we’re not shown. We will never see what was moving in the hearts of those two men as they faced one another, waiting for the other to back down, watching their expressions melt and change while feeling the heat and pressure of the mob at their back.
Super Natural Sacraments of Spring
Essay by Lauren Van Ham on March, 28 2019The progressive Christian practice, I believe, is founded on my (our) willingness to listen for and co-create the new story. And let me be clear about this word, “new.” I don’t mean the next bright and shiny object that allows me to toss the frayed one into the landfill. I mean “new,” as in emerging, fertile, and arriving with a willingness to acknowledge what has been before now.
10 Ways to Help Church Services to Bring People to the Mystery of God:
Essay by Rev. Roger Wolsey on March, 21 2019The Church is dying. Specifically, Christianity in most Western countries is rapidly diminishing. Some 7-8,000 churches close their doors every year in the U.S. – about 150-200 every week. In 1966, there were 600 Catholic seminaries in America. 189 remain. 1000 Southern Baptist congregations close every year with half of them predicted to close by 2030.
Re-Wilding Christianity, an Interview with Rev. Matt Syrdal, Church of the Lost Walls
Essay by Rev. Deshna Ubeda on March, 14 2019I recently had the opportunity to speak with Rev. Matt Syrdal about his theological journey and his quest to re-wild Christianity. Matt is an ordained pastor in the Presbyterian church (USA), founder and lead guide of WilderSoul and Church of Lost Walls, and co-founder of Seminary of the Wild. Matt speaks at conferences and guides immersive nature-based experiences around the country. In his years of studying ancient Christian Rites of Initiation, world religions, anthropology, rites-of-passage and eco- psychology Matt seeks to re-wild what it means to be human. His work weaves in myth and ceremony in nature as a way for people to enter into conversation with the storied world of which they are a part.
Why Separation of Church & State Matters More Than Ever
Essay by Rev. David M. Felten on March, 7 2019We’re in the middle a major identity crisis in our country – and a lot of it has to do with our collective failure to remember (or in some cases outright deny) that most of our founders were highly suspicious of religion. As you read this, theologically conservative Christians are escalating their efforts to revise history and take concerted action in consolidating their political power and reinforcing their prejudices with the force of law.
Lost in Translation
Essay by Rev. Gretta Vosper on February, 28 2019For many progressive Christians, our ability to remain in the communities we love is dependent upon our willingness to translate what we hear, sing, and say on Sunday morning. Much of the “content” of a weekly service continues to use the language of traditional Christianity and privilege the very rituals and artifacts which progressives no longer accept literally.
Part III: Eucharistic Prayers Celebrating the Embodiment of Presence
Essay by Kevin G. Thew Forrester, Ph.D. on February, 21 2019Let me begin by restating my belief that a corporate liturgical text (be it a eucharistic prayer, a collect, or a hymn) needs to be a Wisdom text. This means it is a prayer with the capacity to foster the soul’s growth, helping her to realize that she is an utterly unique expression of Being that is present as Boundless Love.
Turning the Tables and Righteous Anger
Essay by Rev. Irene Monroe on February, 14 2019I have chosen Matthew 21: 12-17 text about Jesus turning over the tables of the money changers” because I notice America is angry. And, with this anger I’ve noticed we have lost the ability and desire to “ agree to disagree,” to talk across our differences; thus, consequently, civil discourse has devolved. For so many, this story of Jesus turning the tables of the money changers becomes a non-apology for getting angry, for posting biting commentaries, and for online rants on divisive political issues, theological controversies and discussions on some polarizing social and cultural issues.
The Spiritual Practice of Rewilding
Essay by Jennifer Berit and Skylar Wilson on February, 7 2019The movement to rewild the environment emerged and evolved out of the conservation movement of the 1960s, and directly challenges conventional conservation methods. While ecological rewilding practices differ from region to region, they share a common goal and means: they seek to increase biodiversity and reduce negative human impacts within an ecosystem by restoring the keystone species of the area – large carnivorous or herbivorous animals that greatly influence how the ecosystem functions as a whole.
Wild Christ, Wild Earth, Wild Self
Essay by Rev. Matthew Syrdal on January, 31 2019What we perceive as this seismic collapse of Christendom, our fractured institutional ways of self-organizing in Western culture — and perhaps even ecological disaster — is in some ways a necessary part of the comprehensive change of consciousness that is upon us. Many mainline church Pastors that I have spoken with or coached have experienced burn-out and disillusionment — an ominous foreboding, that like Lewis and Clark, we don’t have the necessary equipment for this next stage of the journey.
The Church is Dying Because of Graying – But Not Why You Think
Essay by Rev. Mark Sandlin on January, 24 2019This is simply about the church (remember, the people are the church) breaking out of its safe routines and dogma, and deeply and lovingly engaging the community it is in.
Salvation and Responsibility
Essay by Toni Reynolds on January, 17 2019When I first called myself a Christian I was in 7th grade. On my first visit to a small church I accepted Christ as my savior. I’m sure I had no idea what that meant, but it felt like the right thing to do in my 13 year old mind and heart. I spent the rest of middle school and high school so devoted to Jesus that I was at church almost as often as I was at school. I went to learn how to trust my new savior. I went to learn how to surrender successfully. I went to relinquish all sin, back sliding, laziness – parts of the genuine human experience I wanted to lay at the foot of the cross, walk away, and never have to pick them up again.
Liturgy As Corporate Spiritual Practice Of Embodiment: Part II
Essay by Kevin G. Thew Forrester, Ph.D. on January, 10 2019A Wisdom text has the capacity to foster the soul’s growth or unfolding, helping her to realize that she is an utterly unique expression of Being that is present as boundless love.
Some Resources for Hope in a Time of Doomsday Messaging
Essay by Rev. Dr. Matthew Fox on January, 3 2019
As we enter a new year amidst the dire warnings from the United Nations and even Trump’s own administration about the peril humans and the rest of …
The Sound of Silence: Valuing the “Via Negativa”
Essay by Joran Slane Oppelt on December, 27 2018It is by first passing through and celebrating our sense of awe, wonder, gratitude and joy that we are able to enter into darkness and the mystery of The Void. This is what carries us through the other side into a new season of creation and reinvention. This is the lantern that we bring with us into the cave, that burning ember — or promise of the birth of the Christ child within — that gives us hope.
Liturgy As Individual Spiritual Practice of Embodiment – Part 1
Essay by Kevin G. Thew Forrester, Ph.D. on December, 20 2018In my last column, “Terrifying and Terrible Texts: Knowing the Difference between Study and Liturgy,” I offered a basic and broad and personal vision of liturgy as “essentially a spiritual practice wherein we gather together to experience becoming embodiments of Being in the present moment.” We gather as unique personal jewels of Life. This vision begins my response to Bishop Spong’s query in Unbelievable: can Christian liturgies be made to reflect “reality rather than nostalgia.” Let me now develop this further in three ways: liturgy as personal spiritual practice of the individual; a reformed liturgical church year; and examples of eucharistic prayers (personal practice in a communal context) informed by this new vision of liturgy. This column will focus on liturgy as personal spiritual practice of the individual, which is the foundation for the subsequent essay on church year and eucharistic prayers.
The Medicine of Intimacy: an Advent Challenge
Essay by Lauren Van Ham on December, 13 2018At the beginning of November, I dizzied myself in a dervish with 7500 participants at the Parliament of World Religions. In a series of keynote presentations spanning Peace & Reconciliation, Climate, Women, Indigenous Voices, and the Next Generation, one unifying message was consistently offered, “Humans have caused this.” Whatever the challenge before us, it is our species who has created the conditions for our current reality.
The Baby and the Bathwater?
Essay by Rev. Roger Wolsey on December, 6 2018Christmas is upon us. What is Christmas? How are progressive Christians to understand it? Can we even celebrate it at all?
Our Deepest Roots
Essay by Rev. Gretta Vosper on November, 29 2018At this time of year, we turn toward traditions that go deep into the backstories of our lives. The Christmas narrative serves as a foundation for our own narratives, those of our families of origin and those of the families we have created for ourselves. They are good. They are bad. They are beautiful. They are ugly. And we feel compelled to participate whether the stories are healthy or horrible. It’s what we do, right?
A Conversation with Bishop John Shelby Spong: Part 3 “On Conservatives, Liberals, and the Way Forward”
Essay by Rev. David M. Felten on November, 22 2018David Felten: You’ve talked about how hard it is for people to grasp what is meant when we’re talking about atheism or non-theism. There’s another word that a lot of people aren’t completely happy with but it’s the one we’ve kind of been shackled with. Is there a word other than “progressive” we can use – another approach?
A Conversation with Bishop John Shelby Spong: Part 2 “On Revolutions and Relationships”
Essay by Rev. David M. Felten on November, 15 2018The following is taken from an interview with Bishop John Shelby Spong on September 18th, 2018. Recorded at his home in Richmond, Virginia
A Conversation with Bishop John Shelby Spong: Part 1 “On Small Minds and Big Ideas”
Essay by Rev. David M. Felten on November, 8 2018The following is taken from an interview with Bishop John Shelby Spong on September 18th, 2018. Recorded at his home in Richmond, Virginia, it has been edited for length and thematic focus.
Wrestling with the Bible
Essay by Rev. Irene Monroe on October, 25 2018Interpreting scripture as the “ ord of God” is always subjective and suspect in intent, whether it is being done in the ivy towers of seminaries or within the holy walls of sanctuaries. Interpreting scripture with menacing messages – and with litanies of dos and don’ts – is not about embracing and empowering all people, but about authority and power over certain groups of people. The authority of scripture does not lie in what God said. It lies in the hands of those in power who determine what God ought to say.