Preeminent German hymn writer Philipp Nicolai was a Lutheran pastor whose small town, Unna, was devastated by the plague during the winter of 1597-8 with over 1300 deaths.  He officiated at many funerals, as many as 30 a day.

Communities of Hope is a film born from a quest to discover a regenerative culture. It is an invitation to discover a new way of life. A way of life measured by the rhythms of nature, the depth of human connection, the vast horizon of human potential. It’s the way of life in ecovillages.

As the Pope writes in his message, “In some ways, the current pandemic has led us to rediscover simpler and sustainable lifestyles. The crisis, in a sense, has given us a chance to develop new ways of living. Already we can see how the earth can recover if we allow it to rest: the air becomes cleaner, the waters clearer, and animals have returned to many places from where they had previously disappeared.

The following sermon was given for my siblings at Montview Presbyterian Church, one of the three local worshipping communities I am affiliated with here in Denver. (The other two being St John’s Episcopal Cathedral and New Beginnings, a Lutheran church that meets within the walls of the Women’s Prison.

170 Danish scholars from 5 universities came together to consider how the world needs to change post covid-19. They make five crucial suggestions:

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!

Progressive Christians rely on God’s message of love as our guide through the mounting crises in the United States and the world. It is not a message of waiting and hoping, as in the case of apocalyptic expectations. It is a message calling for action based on dedication to truth and loving consideration for others more than ourselves.

Let’s tell the truth about these times!  On the bright side, the recent Black Lives Matter movement continues to build and will hopefully carry us to long-overdue progress in race relations.  On the darker side, however, we live in the grip of one of the worst pandemics in the recent history of our planet.  Added to this, our nation is saddled with the what is arguably most incompetent and corrupt presidency in our 244 years as a democratic republic.

  “Holding brain science in one hand and rich emotional presence in the other, this book feels timely and necessary.”—Shauna Niequist, New York Times bestselling author of Present Over Perfect Why is there such a gap between what you want …

Restorative Faith is designed to push an evolution in thinking and spiritual consciousness such that humans are prepared to take responsibility for each other’s well-being and the collective future of life on our planet.

Historic, an apt descriptor for the 75th Commemorative Remembrance of Hiroshima and Nagasaki: Introducing the Hiroshima/Nagasaki Accord broadcast hosted by the Parliament of the World’s Religions, the Charter for Compassion, Religions for Peace, and United Religions Initiative (URI) on August 6, 2020.

I’m done being represented by a needy, belligerent, barely literate mobster.
I’m done with unrepentant racists and anti-science religious zealots.
I’m done with confederate flags and Fox News and MAGA cultism.

Around the world, there are an estimated 37 million churches, 4 million mosques, 20,000 synagogues and hundreds of millions of temples. Experts say many of these houses of faith could become models of sustainability by practicing eco-friendly worship, embracing green buildings, and offering environmentally-friendly sermons.

Because the nature and reality of God are always more than our language about God, the only language we have for conversation on God is the language of metaphor.  In other words, in our God talk it is not possible for us to be more definitive or precise because, finally, God cannot be reduced to our verbal assessments about God. 

As the coronavirus spikes out of control in the United States, I am exhausted by the whiny, self-centered cries of people over how their freedoms are being denied by city or state mandates to wear a mask and social distance.  As of this moment, this self-centeredness is literally killing us in frightening, almost unimaginable numbers. 

Violence against people of color. Violence against women. Authoritarian and confused reaction to a pandemic. A fundamentalist distortion of Christianity. And controlling influence by the rich and powerful.

Founded on the film’s themes for how the underground mycelium network heals, sustains and contributes to the regeneration of life on Earth, these songs are designed to help listeners relax, meditate, dream, and create.

The lectionary-based TEENTEXT HIGH SCHOOL resource helps older youth connect the text on the page with events in their daily lives. These resources guide students into the text, and through a series of open-ended, text-related questions, they begin to see the Bible as a vital, dynamic relevant resource–one that can inform them throughout their lives. These resources enable any interested and committed adult to facilitate the discussions, since the leaders aren’t expected to have THE answer, or to be Biblical scholars or theologians. They simply need to be good listeners and open to their own spiritual growth. This process also allows the students to share leadership.