Tuesday, January 13, 2015

Progressive Christianity "Weekly Recap" for Tuesday, 13 January 2015

We are excited to share with you the Weekly Recap of our most viewed and new resources that you may have missed on the website. Thank you for your support and interest!

Last Week At ProgressiveChristiantity.org...

We delved into the topics of Faith, Real Christians, Weep Not and Farewells.

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Faith Trends I See in 2015

Tom Ehrich

In the spirit of Janus, Tom Ehrich ended the year looking backward at a world in disarray and forward at three faith movements I expect in 2015.

Faith Trends I See in 2015

by Tom Ehrich

In the spirit of Janus, I ended the year looking backward at a world in disarray and forward at three faith movements I expect in 2015.

1. Good news: memories are fading.

This will be year 50 in the decline of American mainline Protestantism. The decline is a source of pain and anxiety among church leaders. Church doors are closing faster than they are opening.

The decline has had many factors, but in general, was caused by churches’ doomed efforts to stay the same even as the surrounding world changed. That means year 50 brings good news: the ranks of those who remember 1957 — the high-water mark of mainline Protestantism, which ran out of gas around 1965 — are dwindling.

Gone — or going — are those who remember when Sunday worship was enough, when being in church was comfortable and fun (mainly because we were children), when we had the world’s respect, and when belonging didn’t require much.

Now fresh ideas and younger leaders can operate more freely, taking us beyond comforts of childhood.

2. Good news: hypocrisy isn’t working.

Conservative Christianity is a complex phenomenon, and much of what it does, such as missionary work, is extraordinarily good. But a core hypocrisy is out in the open.

Right-wing Christianity has been an apologist for bigotry and moral bullying. Under the pretext of “defending” God and the Bible, the hateful and smug have turned Bible passages into weapons and moral certainty into abuse.

Those practices have stopped working outside the bubble. More and more people are simply appalled by the cruelty and arrogance of right-wing Christianity.

Progressive Christianity is no less complex and, it, too, has some extraordinary strengths, such as dedication to human freedom and tolerance of diversity.

Progressive Christians, however, have had their own hypocrisy, namely, using religion to gain cultural benefits and calling those struggles good-vs-evil issues in which God takes their side. Meanwhile, they have been lax on what Jesus truly sought, namely, transformation of life, self-sacrifice, and victory over Mammon and fear.

3. Good news: individual trumps corporate.

Until recently, faith was seen as a corporate quest: I found a church that helped me feel closer to God, or I joined a Bible study group, or I signed on to a mission team. The group — and inevitably its institutional integrity — guided my spiritual journey.

Now individual spirituality is replacing corporate (or group) religion. People are taking responsibility for their beliefs. As in the saying often ridiculed but in fact wise: “I am spiritual but not religious.”

Corporate faith has come to mean institution. And that institution, in turn, has come to seem dangerous, toxic, seeking mainly to replicate itself through constituents’ conformity, and believing its larger existence matters more than the quests of individual constituents.

Individual faith, by contrast, promises relationship with God. Sure, some religionists scoff at that relationship as self-led and therefore self-deluded, but in fact it’s more likely to be a deep and humbling journey of transformation than are the battles and shoulds of corporate religion.

What will come of these three movements? I expect 2015 will be a great year for Christianity in America. Different, disconcerting, but lively, transformational, and faithful.

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If I had a dollar for every time someone on the conservative side of the Christian spectrum said that I wasn’t a “real Christian,” I would have, well… quite a few dollars.

I have even had the distinction to be told that I wasn’t a real Christian by some who call themselves “progressive” Christians.

This type of thing is not uncommon on the conservative side of Christianity, but it’s becoming even more common on the progressive side of the spectrum. To have certainty about what a Christian is and isn’t, and be willing (and eager) to kick people out who don’t match one’s own opinion of what Christianity should be, has become part and parcel of modern conservative Christianity’s mission objectives. But on the progressive side of the coin I want to make a request, which is that progressive Christians worldwide just don’t do that type of thing, especially to each other, and here’s why.

Not long ago I was having a fun conversation with another progressive Christian, and I referred to some of his views as “more traditional viewpoints,” which he found quite amusing in a “what did you just call me???” kind of way. It was a conversation that was all in good theology-geek fun, but he found it funny (or maybe even slightly insulting) that I used the word “traditional” in the same breath with his views. I think he got a kick out of that word, because where he’d come from he was considered a straight-up heretic for openly questioning such concepts as the Trinity and hell. Now, to be certain, I didn’t mean anything negative by my use of the word traditional. I only meant to point out that it seemed like there was more overlap in his views with mainstream churchgoers than some others who consider themselves progressive Christians, or with those who openly question anything and everything within Christianity.

That conversation however, caused me to think more deeply about many others in the progressive Christian category who may be more “traditional” in beliefs than others, and it occurred to me that sometimes this causes confusion, because our own views of how progressive we are can often stem from where we’ve progressed from in the first place. So while I never said (or even insinuated) that this person was “not progressive,” even the mere suggestion that he may be on a more conservative side of a spectrum bristled his triggers, and I can see why.

For example, I don’t personally subscribe to the likelihood of a physical resurrection, or uniquely divine incarnation of Jesus, or that “Yahweh” is God. To me the Bible is an interesting historical compilation of stories with some good morality, but it’s not “God’s word” or anything like that. My doctrinal understandings are very non-traditional in almost every way when compared to a standard corner church’s statement of beliefs. So naturally if someone says that they do believe in physical resurrection, original sin, and substitutionary atonement, I would see that as still being friendly to a traditional adherent. Or, maybe it’s the case that they don’t say they believe those things, but they also don’t say that they don’t believe them, which creates a tacit approval of sorts. This tacit approval is common among some groups of progressive Christians.

But here’s the thing, I don’t think I ever really believed that stuff to begin with. At best I tolerated most of it as a possibility from as far back as the 3rd grade bible studies that my mother would teach. I accepted core creeds only as an elective set of beliefs. Sure, at times even I got nervous when some non-religious rebels trampled on the core creedal tenants, because I was raised with a reverence for it, but I would never swear to another that I believed them either, even when I was a pastor. In some cases I just didn’t yet know what I thought, so I simply brushed it off as optional, and I tried my best to focus on the service and charity components (or the common denominators of Christianity as I saw them).

But many progressive Christians I have met come from a more fundamental background; some of my best friends in fact. Many of my friends were raised in an environment of indoctrination to believe a modern set of Christian principles tied around Bible literalism and inerrancy. To some of them, the act of merely questioning something like the doctrine of the Trinity is majorly progressive, and it gets their heart racing about a mile-a-minute. Or perhaps they subscribe to theology that trades creationism for evolution, homophobia for acceptance, hell for love, and even a little inclusivism. To some progressives that is the complete other side of the world from where they were raised.

So I wanted to share a word to all who call ourselves progressive Christians. Instead of comparing our progressiveness to another’s progressiveness, or trying to point out when progressive Christians have progressed too far, we might first consider just where that person has “progressed” from. It’s easy to think that someone may not be very progressive, or too progressive, especially when they still exhibit ripples of that conservative style of contentiousness that is so common in conservative forms of Christianity. But if we look at where they started, it may turn out that their journey to where they currently are has actually covered even more miles than our own, or started from a much more distant point. Either way though, no matter how far we’ve “progressed,” one’s levels of progressiveness, or of thinking of one’s self as superior, is a sticky set of wickets. Because progressive Christianity is a journey, not a destination. I think the 8 Points of Progressive Christianity are great! At the end of the day, Progressive Christianity may be mostly about allowing and encouraging others to progress in the first place, which is a huge paradigm shift from conservative Christianity.

So while some advocate for a “big tent,” I advocate for a “HUGE tent.” By honoring a “HUGE Christian tent” we can have a large and caring community who are primarily concerned with being open, accepting, and effective at helping the world and its inhabitants to thrive now and into the future. If one progressive Christian believes in the physical resurrection of Jesus, and the other does not, it shouldn’t matter in the least to the label, although having humility and healthy discussions about it is great. Nor should it be insinuated that one belief is more legitimate or evolved than the other. Perhaps the only bit of doctrine that should be table-stakes in progressive Christianity is that we don’t give in to the urge to mirror our conservative Christian brothers and sister’s zeal to mark invalid our own freedom to think.

// Eric Alexander is the founder of Christian Evolution and is the author of Teaching Kids Life IS Good.

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“You’re Not a Real (Progressive) Christian”

Eric Alexander

If I had a dollar for every time someone on the conservative side of the Christian spectrum said that I wasn’t a “real Christian,” I would have, well… quite a few dollars.

“You’re Not a Real (Progressive) Christian”

by Eric Alexander

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Weep Not for Me

William L. (Bill) Wallace

From the Boundless Life collection
“Weep not, weep not for me*

Weep Not for Me

From the Boundless Life collection

by William L. (Bill) Wallace

“Weep not, weep not for me*

Daughters of Israel’s womb;

Weep for yourselves”, said Christ

“Not for my cross or tomb”.

God weeps with all the poor,

God wears the prisoners’ chains;

God suffers in our wars,

God shares the people’s pains.

Each broken heart displays

God’s loving tear-drenched face.

Come weep and work with God, **

Come live God’s suff’ring grace.

* Luke 23:28 & 31
**Colossians 1:24

Alternative Tune: ST CECILIA

Text © William Livingstone Wallace. Music © Taihei Sato.

Click here to see the score: Wallace.Weep Not, Weep Not for Me

Click here to hear the music:

Weekly Liturgy

Week of: January 4th, 2015Farewells

Memorial services or life celebrations offer an opportunity to share our grief, to remember treasured times, even to calm our own fears about what lies ahead.

Farewells

Week of January 4, 2015

Memorial services or life celebrations offer an opportunity to share our grief, to remember treasured times, even to calm our own fears about what lies ahead. Despite the best efforts of every religion, what follows death is still a mystery. We create beliefs to help us, but the mystery remains. We try to explain it in words, and the mystery still remains. Perhaps we might well ask: Why are we so troubled by mystery?

Service of Thanksgiving for a Life

Welcome to you all, to this time of remembrance and thanksgiving –
and a time of sadness and tears too.

Service of Thanksgiving for a Life

by Julia Morris

Welcome

Welcome to you all, to this time of remembrance and thanksgiving –

and a time of sadness and tears too.

We have all come to this place, as part of our

journey through grief and loss to say goodbye to

………..X………….. Wife, mother, sister/ husband etc.

to remember his/her part in our lives;

to celebrate happy memories

and to give thanks for shared experiences in

in good, and in testing, times.

Hymn/Music

Time for Reflection

Now we take some time to reflect on all that has been.

If there are regrets address them now, then lay them down.

If there are things that need to be said, say them silently now, and then let the words go on the breeze.

If there is an empty place in your heart, fill it with memories of happiness shared and love shown in the past – time cannot alter them.

If there are tears to shed – let them flow now and in the future, they are signs of your care – the expression of your pain – do not deny them.

They are part of your journey.

Now is a quiet time to reflect on all that has been.

SILENCE

ALL (Loving God we thank you) for ……….X………

Or We give thanks for …….X…..

for all he/she meant to each one of us

for laughter and tears

for sacrificial love

and for life itself. Amen

Reading/s

Address/Tributes/Poetry

For those who mourn:

It is built into the fragility of life that there

will be times for mourning.

These are times to share with one another;

stories to tell, shoulders to cry on,

helping hands to comfort.

Help us to listen to those who grieve

and in our time lean on the love of family and friends.

Together we shall know that sharing sorrow

shines light on the darkness of grief.

Help us to find comfort in one another.

Amen

ALL When rain falls on parched earth,

When birdsong pulses a summer evening,

When a kind word shatters the walls of loneliness,

When tears break a desert of emptiness,

When you and I share the life that we live,

We know the love (of God) that is the source of all life.

Optional Lord’s Prayer substitute

Divine Love,

Wellspring of our existence,

build us into a loving community.

Feed us and heal us

with wisdom and grace.

Shatter our prejudice and

soothe the pain of failure.

Weave love and peace

into our intentions and actions

so that we may stand for

justice and compassion

as a reflection of

the piercing tenderness we see

in the heart of Jesus.

Acceptance

The year goes around and season faithfully follows season.

The boughs that bend to breaking in the winter wind

will fill with sap once more

and burst into young fresh green.

They bend low a second time in summer

with full leaf and blossom

and then autumn will glow red and fiery

until each dying leaf makes a scarlet carpet

to soften the footsteps of winter once again.

So life and death are part of the unending rhythm

of creation, renewal and love.

(As we give thanks to God in Christ

for the beginning of life so

we trust in God for the end of life). Amen

or: and we are content to be part of that wonderful, continuing mystery.

Burial or Cremation takes place during this prayer

Letting Go

The span of life for ……..X………. has come to an end.

As it has been for those who are already

profoundly in our memories,

so we trust it will be for ….her/him…….

– and so it shall be for us in our time –

held in the light by those who love us.

So we say goodbye

and we let him/her go as our last most-loving act.

We let her/him go. Amen

Sending Out

So now let us go out to live life to the full

in every way open to each of us;

knowing God in sparkling streams

and high-flying clouds;

in outstretched wings

and down-lined nests.

We leave this place united in sorrow and love

and in the Light of reflected tenderness.

So go from this place

and seek justice and peace for all;

be courageous, be creative and be loving

in the likeness of Jesus (Christ). Amen

Flow of Water, Flow of Life

A meandering stream runs close to a rural church dear to his childhood
With clear water in springtime, turned a sullied brown by summer’s end

Flow of Water, Flow of Life

by Randall Wehler

A meandering stream runs close to a rural church dear to his childhood

With clear water in springtime, turned a sullied brown by summer’s end

Its babbling sounds still echo in his mind with memories that are good

He’d sit on the banks with a fishing pole in hand next to his best friend

A stone he would toss into the shallow brook, splashing the surface above

Wondering where little waves go as the ripples returned to an even flow

It was a period of peaceful adventure with nature, a time he truly did love

Decades later he’d reminisce as a smile formed, feeling a warm inward glow

Streams of people’s lives flowed through the steeple-pointing church nearby

From the waters of baptism to confirmation and weddings, even onto dying

In the back cemetery you can hear the life-giving water flow beneath the sky

God’s love surrounding all who tread life’s waters, tears of joy in the crying!

Committal Service for the Dead

We come in sorrow, confronting the fact that life ends. Yet we also know that there is a power stronger than death—the transformative power of love. Love has joined us together…

Committal Service for the Dead

by Kurt Struckmeyer

We gather today in love, to celebrate the life of our (brother/sister) (name of deceased).

We meet with sorrow in our hearts because one we have loved is no longer with us. Yet, we also meet in thankfulness for the gift of (name’s) life, which touched us all.

We come in sorrow, confronting the fact that life ends. Yet we also know that there is a power stronger than death—the transformative power of love. Love has joined us together as husbands and wives, as fathers and mothers, as parents and children, as brothers and sisters, and as friends and neighbors. To be touched by love is to have experienced the transforming power of God on earth.

The anguish of parting cannot destroy this most real of all realities. A love that was once born can never die, for it has become part of our life, woven into the fabric of our being. Among those who are here today, love has joined our lives together, friendship has bonded us, and shared joys and sorrows have shaped our history with one another. The relationships of love and friendship that knit us all together in life do not unravel at death.

So this day we bear witness to (name’s) life—who, now in death, blesses us with the spirit in which (he/she) lived (his/her) life.

In the beatitudes of Matthew’s gospel, Jesus described those of us who are gathered here in the words, “Blessed are they who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”

Blessed are we who mourn for we have been privileged to walk alongside (name) through life’s journey.

Blessed are we who mourn for we have been graced with the precious gift of (name’s) love and friendship.

Blessed are we who mourn for although (name’s) living spirit is gone, we know that the love he/she shared will never die. For that love now lives in each of us.

Let us pray:

Lord of all kindliness, Lord of all grace,

your hands swift to welcome, your arms to embrace,

be there at our homing, and give us, we pray,

your love in our hearts, Lord, at the eve of the day.

Lord of all gentleness, Lord of all calm,

whose voice is contentment, whose presence is balm,

be there at our sleeping, and give us, we pray,

your peace in our hearts, Lord, at the end of the day.

Amen.

We now commend (name) into the rest of everlasting peace.

May we hold the memory of (his/her) life and (his/her) love forever in our hearts and minds.

Amen.

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Events and Updates

Bishop Spong / Jan 18th / St. Peter’s Church
This event is part of a series that normally occurs Sunday of every week from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM beginning 9/14/2014 and ending after 33 occurrences.