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by Sarah Anderson
Abraham Lincoln said, “Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character give him power.” I think one look back at 2016 would confirm that. Power, it would seem, as much as we may want it, sometimes turns us into people we never thought we would be. History tells us this is true.
Reflection Number 8: Who am I?
Not to be overly dramatic, but we are simply a speck of stardust floating on the infinite sea of the universe, hitching a temporary ride on the train of evolution. The underpinnings of our existence are bizarre antics of elementary particles, and we are surrounded by the unexplained suffering that ensues when the whole system seemingly goes awry. We create our own world, divorcing ourselves from reality, even as we occasionally bump into something that seemingly transcends the everydayness of our existence.(See earlier reflections). Who are we, anyway? Why am I here? What is the meaning of my life?
I am sure you know that the United Church of Canada has subjected one of its ministers, Gretta Vosper to a hearing where she was thoroughly interrogated over what up until now has been the basis for 'essential agreement'. Not anymore! She is now in the process of being defrocked which means the UCC has now become a signing creedal church, with no expectation of growth since ordination vows. It also means from henceforth any ordained minister can be hauled before a similar court on the basic of one complaint, NOT EVEN from within the congregation, about what that minister said.
Have you ever seen a willabee? “What’s a willabee?” you might ask. Well, if you’ve ever been outside chasing a butterfly or climbing a tree or hiking through the woods, I’ll bet some willabees have probably spotted you! They love children most of all and want your world to be beautiful and exciting.
This Trinity Sunday sermon owes much to John Shelby Spong’s book a “New Christianity for a New World” You can listen to the sermon here then watch the tail end of the Wolf Blitzer interview mentioned in the sermon.
June is LGBTQ pride month and parades and festivities abound month-long. Pride 2016 is particularly important because it marks the one-year anniversary of “Obergefell v. Hodges,” the historic U.S. Supreme Court ruling that legalized same-sex marriage in all 50 states. Boston Pride was last week with its signature Pride Parade extravaganza on Saturday. Come Sunday morning I woke up to the devastating news of the Orlando club massacre where the gunman, Omar Mateen, killed 49, and injured 53 LGBTQ revelers and allies who just happened to be patrons at Pulse on its most popular club night, which is Latin Night.
In the church world, you need to know what is and isn’t working. You need metrics. You can’t just keep doing what you enjoy doing if no one is “buying” it, or continue what worked a decade ago without asking whether it is working today.
When the Reason for the Season Goes Missing
This is the season Christian faith communities of every sort prepare in one way or another to observe the nativity of something deemed to be holy and salvific. We recall ancient prophecies that foretell a “prince of peace, and wonderful counselor” comes around each year with a message to save us from ourselves. (Isaiah 9:6) Once born into a world of violence and terror not unlike our own, the message remains unchanged. Regrettably, so too has been the obstinate ways in which we have collectively refused to live with one another in response to that message.
The scientists who authored this book have found through a decade of unique, wholistic research that by integrating new and emergent findings in science with cross-disciplinary research data, what turns up is a new law that totally overturns the law of entropy. The new facts reveal a "Creative Force" law that continually brings new, different and higher order phenomena into being - the opposite of the negative force of entropy. The new findings reveal that creation not destruction makes up the major force of the universe. The great dividing chasm that the law of entropy created between the sacred and the scientific can now be bridged. We can enjoy a powerful, positive and hopeful worldview based on the joining of powerful concrete scientific facts and on our deepest sacred intuitions.
Watch as kids in an elementary school class in Huntington, West Virginia have trouble identifying fresh fruits and vegetables. Huntington has been called the unhealthiest city in America where nearly half of the adults are considered obese.
This book is a year-after-year favorite with teachers. It engagingly leads readers around the world following a drop of water—whether as steam or snow, inside a plant or animal, or underground—teaching the wonders and importance of the water cycle. (There’s lots of geography, too.) Four pages of science about the qualities of water are included.
Raising children and building strong families brings great joy, yet can also be a lonely journey that challenges the mind, body and spirit. As adults striving to instill a spirit of gratitude, a sense of mystery, and a commitment to progressive values in our children, we often overlook our own need for spiritual nurturing. Join us for this three part series led by local and national speakers who will share practical ideas for how parents, grandparents, teachers, and friends can nurture spirituality and build lives filled with meaning, both for ourselves and for our children. Light refreshments and childcare will be provided. Validation for parking at the UW Bookstore is available.
Second, both Albert's sought a grand theory. Einstein, a "theory of everything" or the "unified field theory" of physics; Schweitzer the common, most basic ethic for all cultures and humanity. He felt he had discovered it while pondering and traveling (at the key point of insight, on a river amid a herd of hippopotamuses at sunset. One is again reminded of Einstein's insights sometimes coming amid his imaginary "thought experiments"). The by-then double-doctor (PhD, MD), Schweitzer, reports he had been pondering and writing notes, "....struggling to find the elementary and universal concept of the ethical that I had not discovered in any philosophy..." Then, quite suddenly, "... there flashed upon my mind, unforeseen and unsought, the phrase : “Ehrfurcht vor dem Leben” [“Reverence for Life”]. The iron door had yielded. The path in the thicket had become visible.”
"Contemplative Pedagogy" - a high-falutin' term, no? In low-falutin' language, it's about using meditation to help people learn.
Beyond any question of ethical and legal right or wrong, reason or rationale, human goodness or human evil, guilt and judgment, worthiness or worthlessness -- when all is said and done -- does there remain yet a response that is not only possible, but necessary, to acknowledge the dignity and worth of every human being? Do we have both the capacity and compunction to include in the mix some expression of compassion in such tragic stories of brokenness and estrangement, violence and vengeance.
A delightful tail of how an acorn grows into a mighty oak tree, helps sustain other life, and eventually dies and continues to give life to others. The images are wonderfully detailed and beautifully colored.
Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh calls the Anh’s Anger series, “a wonderful gift for both children and adults who want to learn how to turn unhappy situations into joyful ones.”
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