To Stay or Go ~ Spiritual Communities & Community Ministry
09 Aug 2010 12 Comments
in Community, Connections, Interfaith, Interspiritual, Religion, Religious gatherings, SWW, Sanctuary, Spiritual But Not Religious, Spiritual Community, Spirituality Tags: Belonging, Christianity, Community, Connections, Interfaith, Interspiritual, Letting Go, Religion, Spiritual But Not Religious, Spirituality, SWW, Transitions
Brace yourselves; here comes the C-word and the J-word, not to mention the R-word.
Popular author Anne Rice has “quit” Christianity. On her Facebook page last week she wrote:
“Today I quit being a Christian. I’m out…I remain committed to Christ as always, but not to being ‘Christian’ or to being part of Christianity. It’s simply impossible for me to ‘belong’ to this quarrelsome, hostile, disputatious, and deservedly infamous group. For ten years, I’ve tried. I’ve failed. I’m an outsider. My conscience will allow nothing else.”
And this morning in my inbox I discovered a stunning response in the form of an article in Salon magazine, from Lily Burana, who has chosen to stay and fight. She wrote:
“Religion can be freighted with heartache, disappointment, uncomfortable adjustment and the dreary slog through the vale of tears. But I believe we can fashion the pieces of a broken heart into a new shape of belief. I’d rather endure the contortions of worship than suffer the bone-dry refuge of refusal or a spiritual life half-lived.”
Here’s the link to the article.
Some time ago, with the blessing of The Center for Progressive Christianity, I created a Facebook page, wanting to spread the word about this group’s work and resources. If you are one of those, like me, hanging in there with Christianity, you may wish to check it out. This month’s articles at www.tcpc.org are about Anne Rice’s decision, people who consider themselves SBNR (spiritual but not religious), the new atheists, interfaith – innerfaith, and more.
As an infant, I was baptized in the Universalist Church (in the 1960s it merged with the Unitarian Church, to form Unitarian Universalism). Although I trained as a UU minister, I am not firmly planted in a UU church, nor am I a free-floating follower of Jesus, but rather someone with more than one spiritual home. This is distasteful (bordering on heretical) to many people calling themselves Christians, but my religious experience is not a “spiritual life half-lived;” it is expansive and broad, as well as deeply rooted. I like to think it’s the way Jesus lived, breaking bread with all kinds of people, while intimately knowing his Source. Community is important to me; if I cannot find it, I gather with others and help it grow. And I see this happening all around me. Community ministry. Yup. That’s what I do.
Registration Brochures at last!
08 Aug 2010 Leave a Comment
in Community, Connections, Healing, Interfaith, Interspiritual, Letting Go, Meetings, Religion, SWW, Sanctuary, Spiritual Community, Spirituality, Third Age, Women Tags: Aging, Community, Elderwomen, Gatherings, Healing, Meetings, Religion, Religious Harm, Sanctuary, Spirituality, SWW
On the sanctuarywithoutwalls events blog you will find a new post which includes the registration brochures for two events which will be facilitated by my friend Phoebe and me. They are for:
Growing Older, Growing Wiser: Becoming an Elderwoman ~ For women 55 and older, on the second Tuesday of each month, September 14, 2010 – March 8, 2011 ~ 7-9 PM
To download the registration brochure with all the details, click on the following link:
Elderwoman registration brochure
AND
To download the registration brochure which has more information, click on the following link:
Harm & Healing Brochure Final#2 8.2010
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After being away and entertaining guests, I’ve had many little details to attend to here. It feels great to make these available, at last! Check out the events site for details and other happenings.
Summer Gatherings
05 Aug 2010 Leave a Comment
in Celtic Spirituality, Community, Connections, Science and Religion, Spiritual Community, Spirituality, Third Age, Wellspring Haven, Women Tags: Community, Connections, Elderwomen, Events, Reunions, Science and Religion, Third Age, Women
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After spending a week at a science and religion conference with more than 100 people,
IRAS on Star Island 2010
I came home to my husband’s college reunion at our home, with about twenty of his college friends, some of whom he hadn’t seen for forty years.
Photo by Art Nager
This morning I was on a radio show about the upcoming series for women Growing Older, Growing Wiser: Becoming an Elderwoman -
and now I’m planning for the annual campout of Wellspring Haven.
Photo by Sharon Lips
The weekend after that, I’ll be attending a college reunion of my own.
Reunion, Callicoon 2009
It’s been an intense summer of gathering in communities of diverse people. And it will continue into September, when I’ll be attending a Céile Dé gathering.
So much richness, and so little time to blog about it!
Evolutionary Epic
31 Jul 2010 4 Comments
in Books, Cosmos, Earth, Nature, Nature Spirituality, Universe Story, reenchantment Tags: Books, Cosmos, Earth, Universe Story
Today I returned from the conference on our energy transition, and this evening I added the book below to the Recommending Reading list on this blog.
There is much that I wish to write about, but it will have to wait until I’m settled in and caught up.
The Evolutionary Epic: Science’s Story and Humanity’s Response, edited by Cheryl Genet, Russell Genet, Brian Swimme, Linda Palmer and Linda Gibler
Our Energy Future ~ Where Lies Hope??
21 Jul 2010 7 Comments
in Climate, Energy, Hope, Peak Oil, Sustainability, intuition Tags: Climate Chnge, Energy Future, Hope, Peak Oil, Sustainability
Photo by Seth Rockmuller
In a couple of days I’m leaving for a science and religion conference about our energy future.
From the conference description: “Energy and climate change are typically discussed in terms of their associated science, technology, economics and politics. However, relatively little attention has been given to fundamental religious and ethical questions surrounding the upcoming transition to renewable energy.
“Culturally, we are entering a period of monumental transition as we encounter the inevitable shift from fossil to renewable fuels. We are depleting fossil fuels while piling up nuclear wastes, yet solar and hydrogen power remain expensive or not significantly in place. As for any technological transition of this magnitude, ultimate success will require good ethics and religion as well as good science and technology. Unfortunately, religious pronouncements to date have been largely dismissed owing to their feeble consideration of accompanying scientific and technological realities. Nevertheless, religious perspectives have the advantage of highlighting ultimate values, regardless of economic and political pressures. The time has thus come to bring together scientists, engineers, ethicists and theologians to help effect a sustainable energy future.
“The conference will engage scientific, technological, economic and political issues associated with energy conservation and renewable energies in the context of global warming, sustainability and human purpose. The emphasis will be on (1) ethical and religious perspectives that can be used to guide future energy choices and (2) energy choices which, in turn, might challenge ethical and religious perspectives.”
In thinking about these issues, I’ve decided to do a little research via this blog.
In light of what we know (or think we know) about climate change, peak oil, and our energy future, do you have hope? If so, where does your hope lie? Is it in the healing powers of Earth? Your own efforts toward sustainability? What gives you hope? Development of new technologies? God? Evolution?
Photo by Seth Rockmuller
Please share. If you do not want your comments published here at this blog, just let me know. I still want to read your thoughts and ideas. Thanks!
