Thursday, April 7, 2016

Weekly Recap for Tuesday, April 5, 2016 of the ProgressiveChristianity.org of Gig Harbor, Washington, United States - Do you believe it possible to be a Minister and an Atheist? This and more in our Free Weekly Recap of our most viewed and new resources from last week.

 Weekly Recap for Tuesday, April 5, 2016 of the ProgressiveChristianity.org of Gig Harbor, Washington, United States - Do you believe it possible to be a Minister and an Atheist? This and more in our Free Weekly Recap of our most viewed and new resources from last week.


Last Week At ProgressiveChristianity.org ...
We delved into the topics of The Golden Rule and Business Ethics, Mary Magdalene, The Atheist Minister and The Bible Revisited.
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ProgressiveChristianity.org is a global portal for authors, scholars, theologians and liturgists to share their resources for the progressive spiritual journey.

Golden Rule and Business EthicsScarboro Missions
Attention to ethics is critical during times of change – times like those faced by most businesses today.
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"Scarboro Missions’ Golden Rule and Business Ethics"
Attention to ethics is critical during times of change – times like those faced by most businesses today. The global economy, e-commerce, corporate mergers, diversification and the emergence of a vast array of new products – these are all examples of the fundamental changes occurring in today’s business world. These changes and the need for business leaders to respond to them from a sufficiently humane and enlightened standpoint have created a whole new realm of interest: the field of business ethics.
The term “business ethics” has only recently been coined but the recognition of the need for ethics in business goes back many years. An early example of this recognition was the Golden Rule Stores that sprang up in the Western United States in the early 1900s. In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, famous American entrepreneurs such as J.C. Penney, Samuel Jones and Arthur Nash made the Golden Rule an integral policy in their companies.
In recent years, the concept of business ethics has gained increased prominence, partly because of a number of high-profile corporate scandals, but also because of the keen and genuine interest being shown by managers who want to conduct their business in an ethical fashion.
Over the past decade, businesses and governments as well as consumer and corporate watchdogs have been developing ethical approaches to doing business. Business ethics is now widely discussed and debated; it is being taught in universities, written about in business and mainstream journals, and developed into company policy.
The Golden Rule is sometimes cited as a guiding principle in many of these approaches. In researching this document, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that there are thousands of business ethics websites. I was also surprised to learn how often the Golden Rule is mentioned on these websites.
One researcher suggests that the Golden Rule remains the most common method to resolve ethical dilemmas. More often, however, the Golden Rule is the implicit ethic that underlies and supports codes of good business conduct and responsible consumption.
The websites presented in this document are offered as a service to all who are interested in delving further into the field of business ethics.
Click Here for Full Article: Scarboro Missions’ Golden Rule and Business Ethics

What Happened to Mary Magdalene? Righting 2000 years of Masculine privilege.Authentic Freedom Ministries
Mary teaches us what Jesus taught her: HOW TO LOVE and HOW TO BE LOVE.
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"What Happened to Mary Magdalene? Righting 2000 years of Masculine privilege." by Authentic Freedom Ministries
Thank you in advance for indulging my rant!
As much as I am still fasting from the Eucharist (read here about the whys and hows of my exodus from the institutional Catholic Church), I still view Jesus as my teacher and in this, spend time every day with scripture. I go to the USCCB (United States Council of Catholic Bishops) website and read and meditate on the daily readings. Every day! Usually I find guidance, support, healing, inspiration, nurturing, nourishment and comfort in the scripture. Not so much this week. Instead, this week’s readings made me want to barf!
Peter. Peter. Peter. All I heard was about all the ways in which Peter delivered the message of Jesus’ resurrection and how he was THE ONE who started The Church. Ok, from the perspective of a hierarchical, patriarchal, white, male privileged, misogynistic, fear-based, rooted in power and control institution, I guess this is true. Peter did (or as some scholars would argue – Paul – or even Constantine) establish the institutional Church. The Church that I can no longer bring myself to participate in because:
  • I’m a woman who happens to be called to the “priesthood” (though certainly not in the clerical sense of the word!!!!!), and this path is closed to me.
  • I’m divorced and refuse to pay a tribunal of single, white, men $750.00 to determine if my marriage was sacramental or not!
  • I’m a mystic.
  • I believe that all paths ultimately lead to God (by whatever name we give to SOURCE/LOVE/TRUTH).
  • I believe all religions/spiritual paths contain kernels of the TRUTH and have practices and tools which help us to arrive at that TRUTH and that all are sacred and holy in their own right.
  • I do not believe the Eucharist should be denied ANYONE who is sincere in their heart in their desire to connect with Christ in this way.
  • I do not believe in original sin (not in the way the Church teaches it anyway).
  • I believe we are all sons and daughters of God – regardless of our religion or beliefs!
  • I practice Reiki (Which the Catholic Diocese of Green Bay has called “witchcraft and sorcery.”….don’t even get me started on this one. A) I can’t believe that in the 21st Century the Church still believes in witchcraft and sorcery….and B) how is Reiki witchcraft and sorcery and the “in hoc est corpus meum” that turns bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ is not? Just sayin’!
  • I’m an uppity lay person who believes the Church should be worrying less about women Reiki practitioner, mystic, yoga practicing meditators and more about cleaning up the mess they have made with the millions who have suffered abuse at the hands of the institution. And if they aren’t willing to clean up this mess – how about feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, providing homes for the homeless?????? Really…..Lauri Ann Lumby (who apparently has a HUGE file with her name on it in a Diocesan office that will not be named – Hey, Diocese who shall not be named and those who have nothing else to do but police what Lauri Ann Lumby is saying and doing…here’s another piece for that big fat file! ) is SMALL POTATOES!
I digress! This week’s readings…..raving about Peter’s greatness made me want to barf!
WHAT ABOUT MARY???????? What the hell happened to Mary Magdalene?
Jesus’ most devoted and faithful follower.
  • The ONLY one who was said to have completed her own self-actualization under Jesus’ guidance (“healed of seven demons” is a metaphor for having completed an initiatory process through which one attains self-realization).
  • ONE of few who remained by Jesus’ side through his trial, suffering, crucifixion and death (other than John, the men were not up for this…including Peter!).
  • THE ONE Jesus appeared to in the resurrection at the tomb… and…
  • THE ONE Jesus ordained to tell the others. (YES, I said ordained!)
What happened to Mary? The last we hear of her (in canonical scripture anyway) is when she went to tell the other disciples (who were hiding in the Upper Room) that Jesus was raised from the dead. That’s it. No more Mary!
  • Did she die or disappear into the mist? Or….did she simply get edited out?
Well, thanks to some boys (or shepherds) playing in some caves in the desert in Egypt, we know, at least for a time, what happened to Mary. And thanks to some linguists, translators and antiquities scholars, we now have Mary’s own words (at least in as much as the other gospels are the author’s own words) and a glimpse into what happened to Mary after the resurrection. (See Jean Yves-LeLoup’s book, The Gospel of Mary Magdalene for the full text, translation and an absolutely beautiful and insightful commentary!!!!! Or, for a fictional account, read MY book, Song of the Beloved – the Gospel According to Mary Magdalene. )
  • SHE TAUGHT THE OTHER DISCIPLES.
Because, Jesus taught her things the guys wouldn’t or couldn’t get. Jesus taught her in secret and he taught her after he had died and been raised from the dead.
  • SHE had eyes to see and ears to hear what the others could not….and
  • SHE TAUGHT THEM.
But as has always been the case in the Western world, the woman’s word could not be received and was therefore discounted and later, demonized.
BOO!
But not anymore. In a million ways through a million teachers, Mary Magdalene has resurfaced and has come to teach us….
  • HOW TO BE HUMAN.
  • Or rather, how to be FULLY human.
  • Not the half-humans we have been for the past 10,000 years – dominated by fear, power and control, wreaking havoc on our planet and on each other.
Mary teaches us what Jesus taught her:
  • HOW TO LOVE and HOW TO BE LOVE.
Lauri Ann Lumby, OM, MATS, is founder Authentic Freedom Academy, which provides empowerment training for those who want to change their world. Featured image: Mary Magdalene by Dana Lumby

Video Interview with Gretta Vosper:The Atheist Minister
Gretta Vosper is an “atheist minister” in the United Church of Canada. Because of her views, the church might remove her from the pulpit.
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"Gretta Vosper: The Atheist Minister"
Gretta Vosper is an “atheist minister” in the United Church of Canada. Because of her views, the church might remove her from the pulpit.
Can an atheist be a United Church minister? Gretta Vosper acknowledges that she’s a thorn in the side of her church.
Watch the CBC interview of Gretta Vosper by Wendy Mesley below:

First published here: CBC – The National









Weekly Liturgy
Week of: March 27, 2016
The Bible Revisited
Whatever your own stance is on interpreting the Bible, there’s no denying its place as a founda-tional source of literary references in our culture.
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"The Bible Revisited"
Week of March 27, 2016
Whatever your own stance is on interpreting the Bible, there’s no denying its place as a foundational source of literary references in our culture. Our understanding of so much writing is richer if we know where the allusions come from. For example, when high-schoolers read John Steinbeck’s “East of Eden,” they probably have a discussion of the significance of the title (especially since you can’t assume they’ve all heard the original story!). Along with Shakespeare, we keep the Biblical language in circulation because it gives us a shared cultural understanding.


















































"Matthew 13 Revisited" by Jim Burklo
Matthew: The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed
Martha: Which a woman hid in three measures of meal.
Mark: What was that?
Mary: It was a pearl of great value
Matthew: Which, when it was leavened,
Martha: Turned into the greatest of all shrubs
Mark: What did she hide?
Mary: It became a tree and the birds of the air came and made nests in its branches
Matthew: When the man found it, he sold everything he had and bought the field where he had found it.
Martha: Until it was all leavened.
Mark: What is the kingdom of heaven like?
Mary: It’s like a merchant in search of fine pearls
Matthew: It’s like a woman
Martha: It’s like leaven
Mark: It’s like who?
Mary: It’s like a net which was thrown into the sea
Matthew: It’s the smallest of all seeds.
Martha: When it was full, men drew it ashore and sorted the good into vessels but threw away the bad.
Mark: What was full?
Mary: The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed…

"Blessing Litany" by Dawn Grace Peters
One: A Blessing on you who are poor
Many Yours is the household of God
One A blessing on you who mourn
Many: You shall be comforted
One A blessing on you who hunger for justice
Many You shall be satisfied
One A blessing on you who make peace
Many You shall be called the children of God
One A blessing on you who are persecuted for the cause of right
Many Yours is the household of heaven. Amen

"Be Like a Child" by Roger Courtney
Something really bothers me Lord
You said that we have to be like little children
But I’ve just come from my sister’s house
And my little nephew was there
And he was having a right tantrum
She told my sister he hated her
And slammed doors and stormed off to his room
So forgive me if I’m a bit confused
Why you want me to be more like him.
Don’t get me wrong – he’s not always like that
Sometimes he can be so loving
When I arrive his eyes light up
And he rushes to the front door
And throws his arms around me
And when we go for walks he
Just has this natural wonder at
Even the simplest things – a flower,
A butterfly, a rainbow
He just has a joy for life
And he wants to know everything too
Why is this like this and
Why is that like that
He is just endlessly inquisitive
So maybe today I’m just getting
Things out of proportion
Maybe what you are saying
Is that you want all of us
To be more openly loving
To appreciate the wonder of the simplest things
To experience the Joy of Life
And to constantly thirst for new knowledge
And perhaps us adults are allowed
The odd off day too
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Events and Updates
John Shelby Spong Public Lecture -April 9th at Universalist Unitarian Church of Peoria.
A global and pioneering leader of liberal Christianity. Bishop Spong's newest book, Biblical Literalism: A Gentile Heresy, will be available for purchase at his lecture.
READ ON ...
April 9, lecture by Bishop Spong UU Church of Peoria
Sat. April 9th
Event:
3:00 pm, April 9, lecture by Bishop Spong
UU Church of Peoria
3000 W Richwoods Blvd,
Peoria, IL 61604
Start:
April 9, 2016 03:00 PM
End:
April 9, 2016
Location:
UU Church of Peoria
3000 W Richwoods Blvd
Peoria United States Illinois
Contact:
Richard Grawey
Website:
http://www.peoriauuchurch.org/spong.html
Telephone:
309-370-9187

View all upcoming events here!
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