A Critical Examination of the 'He Gets Us' Superbowl Commercial
The Superbowl Commercial "He Gets Us" misses the mark by presenting a narrow view of Christianity where narcissism is disguised as altruism.
Hymns and Other Worship Materials
William (Bill) Livingstone Wallace is a retired New Zealand Methodist Minister and one of our most prolific contributors.
Years ago, my dear wife, Roberta Maran, came up with an idea at Christmas that enchanted me. “In addition to other presents, let’s give people Christmas boxes that have nothing inside of them – except messages that are deep and pithy!”
Mythic Christ Podcast offers an online community for exploring mythic structures of story, archetype, dream, and the deep imaginal realm within religious traditions to explore a growing collective longing to rewild our divine images in order to support the reawakening of the mystic perennial wisdom of Earth and soul.
Are you searching for a way to connect children with an authentic spiritual experience that is inter-spiritual, creative and multi-layered? "A Joyful Path" is truly progressive Christian curriculum that is inclusive, joy-full, compassionate, and intelligent.
Children's Curriculum 6 to 10 Yrs Old - Classroom or Home Schooling
In A Joyful Path, Year Two, we focus on some of the main tenets of Progressive Christianity and Spirituality, giving our children the foundation they need to walk the path of Jesus in today's world. It has stories and affirmations written to help children clarify their own personal beliefs while staying open to the wisdom of other traditions.
Children's Curriculum 6 to 10 Yrs Old - Classroom or Home Schooling
Are you searching for a way to connect children with an authentic spiritual experience that is inter-spiritual, creative and multi-layered? "A Joyful Path" is truly progressive Christian curriculum that is inclusive, joy-full, compassionate, and intelligent.
"bell hooks has always been the truth. Now perhaps more than ever, it's paramount that we lean into her work. On this day of her passing, let us celebrate the rich published legacy she leaves behind."
Who gets to receive the goods?
House for All Sinners & Saints was only about a year old when I took a Sunday morning phone call from a
Am I the only one out here who makes sure my people understand the Eucharist/Lord’s Supper/Communion service has its roots in the Passover story and that the words Jesus spoke would have been the motzi and the hagafen?
When asked in later years how I received my calling to ordained ministry, I used to joke that the burning bush for me was an incinerated draft card. But with a last name like ‘Bennison,’ (an old English word for ‘blessing,’ or ‘benediction)’ and the first name John (from the Greek"Ἰωάννης" or Hebrew "Yôḥānān" meaning ‘graced by God)’ what else was I to do with my life?
(and everyone else!)
Every so often, I put out a "musing" that is a guide to my writings and videos. It's that time when churches make plans for their program year, so this is a good moment to share links to my materials for worship, study, and spiritual practice. Use freely. All I ask is attribution!
I hold in my consciousness two previously unimaginable opposites; on the one hand the possible even likely extinction of humanity and on the other, the potential for our unimaginable birth of a new embodied divine humanity, the mutation realized and resplendent.
"Something new to say" is a collection of liturgy resources for the season of Advent and Christmas. Author Bronwyn White lives in Aotearoa New Zealand, where Christmas comes at summertime.
Will you join us in making a difference for children all over the world? Today, children are seriously undernourished when it comes to
In Mystical Activism, we each hold the power to change the world right where we are. To call these “end times” is not hyperbole.
In these dark and dreary days each year, our world turns to celebrate another Christmas holiday. Some may do so out of the sheer need to escape, if only for a fleeting while; grasping, once again, at a thin belief in some divine intervention into the human story, with the birth of a savior king. Deeply powerful rituals and traditions are dragged out of the attic and observed; going through the motions for yet another year. Others, however, like myself, may repeat some of the rituals to simply reaffirm one's belief in the rebirth of "hope".
God, there are days we do not feel grateful. When we are anxious or angry. When we feel alone. When we see and know injustice. When we do not understand what is happening in the world, or with our neighbors.
Halloween is one of America’s favorite yearly activities. Unfortunately, Halloween can be America’s scariest, too - especially for those of us seen as costumes you wear rather than the human beings that we are.
Religious Naturalism (RN) has two central aspects. One is a naturalist view of how things happen in the world—in which the natural world is all there is, and that nothing other than natural may cause events in the world. From nature we came, in nature we are, to nature we go… The other is appreciation of religion with a view that nature can be a focus of religious attention - the ‘cosmic religious feeling’ as Einstein called it.
Reminding us symbolically of this union of body and spirit, Jesus took a loaf of bread, broke it like we are often broken in our relationships with one another, and showed us the way to reconciliation by asking us to share our bread with one another in remembrance of his own example.
The human race seems to need rituals. Christmas, Easter, Baptisms and Eucharist/Communion are times and events that attract the most people to the church and corporate worship. Yet these same rituals are the ones where the theistic God is most evident and reinforced. How can we address this paradox?
A Rationale for Religious Ritual When the Rationality of Words Fail Us
When there is an absence of conscious symbolic ritual, what happens with such a lack of awareness about the power that signs and symbols play in our lives, and the depth or richness of value and meaning they provide? How can we otherwise express what is ultimately inexpressible?
Is baptism some kind of guarantee that u will be included in the afterlife?<
IN COUNTRIES SUCH AS NEW ZEALAND, AUSTRALIA, CANADA, AND AMONG TRIBAL NATIONS IN THE U.S., it is commonplace, even policy, to open events and gatherings by acknowledging the traditional Indigenous inhabitants of that land. While some individuals and cultural and educational institutions in the United States have adopted this custom, the vast majority have not. Together, we can spark a movement to change that.
The Hiawatha wampum belt tells the story of the Haudenosaunee’s legendary founding and wampum’s power to heal. It tells of a warrior named Hiawatha who meets a prophet known as the Peacemaker. Together, with the help of Jigonsaseh, the first Clan Mother, they bring an end to war and create America’s first democracy.
By Frank Ostaseski
Life and death are a package deal. They cannot be pulled apart and we cannot truly live unless we are aware of death. The Five Invitations is an exhilarating meditation on the meaning of life and how maintaining an ever-present consciousness of death can bring us closer to our truest selves. As a renowned teacher of compassionate caregiving and the cofounder of the Zen Hospice Project, Frank Ostaseski has sat on the precipice of death with more than a thousand people. In The Five Invitations, he distills the lessons gleaned over the course of his career, offering an evocative and stirring guide that points to a radical path to transformation.
Durham Street Methodist ChristChurch New Zealand (Aotearoa) January 20, 2019 service led by Rev. Bill Wallace featuring some of his hymns. Our theme today is Christian Theology and global warming.
E-Courses and Online Retreats with Your Own Private Group
Many people these days have little time to participate in any kind of regular "in-person" spirituality group, and yet they know that studying and practicing with others can contribute signicantly to their spiritual growth. Now you can use the e-courses and online retreats already created for Spirituality & Practice as a program for your own group. Your group will receive the emailed lessons, links to any video and audio content in the e-course, and your own private "Practice Circle" (an online forum at SpiritualityandPractice.com) for your discussions.