Weekly Recap for Tuesday, June 28th, 2016 from ProgressiveChristianity.org in Gig Harbor, Washington, United States "Can/should God end all suffering? This and more in our Free Weekly Recap of our most viewed and new resources from last week."
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How to Love People But Hate It When They Say “Love the Sinner, Hate the Sin”
Jim Burklo
It is a phrase whose time has come – and gone. More than ever, it needs to be excised from the vocabulary of faith, once and for all, as it pertains to homosexuality.
READ ON ... “Love the sinner, but hate the sin.”
This phrase has been used countless times by some Christians to pretend to offer welcome to LGBT people while condemning the natural consequence of the way God made them. It speaks for a shallow kind of love at most: one that claims to be okay with a person’s same-sex orientation while stigmatizing its fulfillment. This noxious phrase also summarizes the underlying attitude of many people of other religions towards sexual minorities.
It is a phrase whose time has come – and gone. More than ever, it needs to be excised from the vocabulary of faith, once and for all, as it pertains to homosexuality.
What happened in Orlando can be interpreted in many ways and at many levels. One of them surely is as an act of unspeakably violent hatred against gay people, motivated in part by a twisted interpretation of a religion. This horrifying massacre happens against the backdrop of a backlash against increased acceptance of LGBT people in American society: hundreds of anti-LGBT laws have been passed at the state and local level in the last few months. This mass murder and this rash of legalized bigotry remind us that religion continues to be part of the homophobia problem.
Things are changing fast. Young people who have grown up in evangelical churches are increasingly mystified that their pastors still believe homosexual sex to be sinful. Fewer and fewer of these young evangelicals are going with the “culture war” program, as more and more of them maintain friendships with lovely, caring LGBT people who are in obviously healthy same-sex sexual relationships.
And more and more of these young evangelicals, both straight and gay, are getting disgusted with the faux welcome that their pastors and churches offer to LGBT people. There is a category of evangelical churches that take great pains to appear culturally relevant. They look and feel like places that would be LGBT-friendly, and make no mention of homosexuality in their sermons and websites. But eventually both gay and straight folks discover that these churches claim to love the homosexual sinner but hate the sin of homosexual sex. Mosaic Church in Hollywood is an example. You have to probe deep into the internet to discover that this groovy congregation with hipster decor and Hollywood production values is really a Southern Baptist church. Its pastor, Erwin McManus, in an LA Times interview, described homosexuality as a “lifestyle”, which is fundamentalist code language for a “choice” rather than something intrinsic to a person’s very being.
Fake love and empty welcome need to be named for what they are. Let’s save gay people and their straight allies the pain and hassle of going to churches that pretend to be what they aren’t. It’s time to love Christian homophobes while outing them for their homophobia. And it can be a genuine love, because homophobia is not part of who they are. It really is a choice! Abstaining from homophobia deprives them of nothing but delusion for themselves and pain for others.
There’s at least one thing that progressive Christians can do right now to go public with a truly loving form of the faith. A simple thing: posting all-gender signs on our church restrooms. Let’s show America that we have gone beyond the bathroom wars, and that we stand for full LGBT inclusion and affirmation. Through Progressive Christians Uniting, you can order the signs at a deep discount, and get publicity for it at a national level. Click here for details
ABOUT JIM BURKLO
Website: JIMBURKLO.COM Weblog: MUSINGS Follow me on twitter: @jtburklo
See the GUIDE to my articles and books
Associate Dean of Religious Life, University of Southern California
-------
Journey of Faith Sermon – Rev. Fred Plumer – IUCC on the 25th Anniversary of Open and Affirming
It is a phrase whose time has come – and gone. More than ever, it needs to be excised from the vocabulary of faith, once and for all, as it pertains to homosexuality.
READ ON ... “Love the sinner, but hate the sin.”
This phrase has been used countless times by some Christians to pretend to offer welcome to LGBT people while condemning the natural consequence of the way God made them. It speaks for a shallow kind of love at most: one that claims to be okay with a person’s same-sex orientation while stigmatizing its fulfillment. This noxious phrase also summarizes the underlying attitude of many people of other religions towards sexual minorities.
It is a phrase whose time has come – and gone. More than ever, it needs to be excised from the vocabulary of faith, once and for all, as it pertains to homosexuality.
What happened in Orlando can be interpreted in many ways and at many levels. One of them surely is as an act of unspeakably violent hatred against gay people, motivated in part by a twisted interpretation of a religion. This horrifying massacre happens against the backdrop of a backlash against increased acceptance of LGBT people in American society: hundreds of anti-LGBT laws have been passed at the state and local level in the last few months. This mass murder and this rash of legalized bigotry remind us that religion continues to be part of the homophobia problem.
Things are changing fast. Young people who have grown up in evangelical churches are increasingly mystified that their pastors still believe homosexual sex to be sinful. Fewer and fewer of these young evangelicals are going with the “culture war” program, as more and more of them maintain friendships with lovely, caring LGBT people who are in obviously healthy same-sex sexual relationships.
And more and more of these young evangelicals, both straight and gay, are getting disgusted with the faux welcome that their pastors and churches offer to LGBT people. There is a category of evangelical churches that take great pains to appear culturally relevant. They look and feel like places that would be LGBT-friendly, and make no mention of homosexuality in their sermons and websites. But eventually both gay and straight folks discover that these churches claim to love the homosexual sinner but hate the sin of homosexual sex. Mosaic Church in Hollywood is an example. You have to probe deep into the internet to discover that this groovy congregation with hipster decor and Hollywood production values is really a Southern Baptist church. Its pastor, Erwin McManus, in an LA Times interview, described homosexuality as a “lifestyle”, which is fundamentalist code language for a “choice” rather than something intrinsic to a person’s very being.
Fake love and empty welcome need to be named for what they are. Let’s save gay people and their straight allies the pain and hassle of going to churches that pretend to be what they aren’t. It’s time to love Christian homophobes while outing them for their homophobia. And it can be a genuine love, because homophobia is not part of who they are. It really is a choice! Abstaining from homophobia deprives them of nothing but delusion for themselves and pain for others.
There’s at least one thing that progressive Christians can do right now to go public with a truly loving form of the faith. A simple thing: posting all-gender signs on our church restrooms. Let’s show America that we have gone beyond the bathroom wars, and that we stand for full LGBT inclusion and affirmation. Through Progressive Christians Uniting, you can order the signs at a deep discount, and get publicity for it at a national level. Click here for details
ABOUT JIM BURKLO
Website: JIMBURKLO.COM Weblog: MUSINGS Follow me on twitter: @jtburklo
See the GUIDE to my articles and books
Associate Dean of Religious Life, University of Southern California
-------
Journey of Faith Sermon – Rev. Fred Plumer – IUCC on the 25th Anniversary of Open and Affirming
Fred Plumer
The main reason I share these stories is to try and explain how different the world was only twenty five years ago. There was true hatred/fear for the LGBT community ...
READ ON ... View Video of Fred’s Sermon at IUCC on June 12th, 2016
My story starts 35 years ago when I entered seminary. Pacific School of Religion is the oldest seminary on the west coast and has always tried to be cutting edge. When I arrived “bright eyed and bushy tailed” in 1981 I learned that PSR had decided two years before to become the first seminary in the country to openly admit gay and lesbian students. They even accepted spouses for gay or lesbian students and provided housing. So naturally there was a significant number of gay students who took advantage of this wonderful opportunity. Of my class of 75 students, I am guessing that roughly a third were lesbian or gay, as was the entire school by the time I graduated.
No let me be clear, I was OK with that. After all I had a gay friend… once in high school. And I knew a young singer who once told me he was gay and I did not freak out. Well I didn’t punch him. But now I was a forty year old man, kind of macho guy. I was OK with the gay thing, if they gathered alone and kept to themselves.
I wish I had the time to share all of the experiences I had those three years. Most of them… were painful… a few were funny. I was kicked out of a class on feminine theology that I had signed up for; I was told by a professor that I should not be taking her class on “unlearning racism” because I had never experienced prejudice nor had I been shunned. I was challenged in class by a lesbian woman who accused me of “just not getting it.” And I was lectured by a black professor who yelled at me in class that I was the epitome of “white privilege.”
Three years later was a different story. I was comfortable with just about everyone in the school. My wife and I had become close friends with Judith and Kathy, who lived across the hall from us. They took care of our daughter Deshna, who was four when we arrived. We played with them whenever we could. Frankly, I think most of the students felt pretty comfortable with me by the second and certainly the third year. It was a learning experience for all of us… but I still saw the prejudice thing as their problem.
Then there was John Sam. In my second year of school, I had a class with John Sam. One day after class I could tell something was bothering him. When I asked him if he was OK he told me “not really.” In the next twenty minutes I got a lesson that I could not have imagined. John Sam told me that he had spent time in a British prison. The authorities had given him a choice of three years in prison or to be put in a mental institution so they could reassign his sexual orientation. He chose the latter and apparently went through unspeakable “treatment.” After 8months of torture, they finally let him go. That was within only 10 months of his being accepted into PSR. John Sam’s story touched me. We became close friends and we still are… Facebook friends.
Let’s fast forward to my third or fourth year with (Irvine United Christian Church (IUCC). I had become acquainted with Larry Agran, who had recently become Mayor of Irvine for the first time. He called me one day and asked me if I would mind coming to a council meeting to add support to the new law the Irvine City was considering that would protect gays and lesbians in the work place and public housing. I told him sure. I had lived in Berkeley after all. I had been in a graduate school that offered housing to gay couples. I thought it would be a cake walk. I also thought there would be several other clergy there to support the law. We were all Christians, right?
When I got there I was shocked. Approximately twelve clergy on the agenda, and I was the only one who was scheduled to speak in favor of the law. I have never felt afraid to speak in public. But there was an overflow crowd in a room that was supposed to seat two hundred and fifty that was totally full with another hundred in and outside. And all but a few were opposed to the law. It was a hostile environment. By the time it was my turn to speak, I really thought I was going to be sick. I have never been in a room so full of hate and anger… a bad combination. I stumbled through my comments when I was called on and then went outside with people calling me unbelievable dirty names. I actually did vomit in the bushes.
Happily the council ignored these people and passed the law. However, I actually felt it would be challenged, and it was. A group of evangelical citizens formed a political group and in a few months they managed to get enough signatures to force it into a city wide vote. Measure N. It wasn’t long before I got another call from Larry the mayor. This time he wanted to have lunch… I should have known. Larry explained that there was going to be group formed to fight those in favor of measure N. But they needed a spoke person. Would I be willing to take on that responsibility?
Well, this was a whole new ball game. I knew I would be quoted in the papers. I would be investigated by people who thought I was evil, and every mistake I made would be blown out of proportion. But I knew I had to do it. So the following Sunday, I let the congregation know. I explained why I was going to take the position and what my responsibilities would be. I asked anyone who wanted to talk to me about it to make an appointment so we could talk.
With the wonderful support of this fantastic and brave congregation, I ended up on the front page of the Orange County Register, the LA Times, Daily Pilot and there were a several articles in the Newport Beach paper. Orange County Register ran an editorial making me out like some kind of a Hollywood playboy. But the good news was that every time they posted an article in the paper, another ten or twenty visitors would show up. Many of them stayed. It was a wonderful time in our history.
A large percentage of this congregation really got behind the anti-Measure N debate. We painted and marched with signs in the Gay Parade. We tried to get out the vote with people we knew were supportive. We did everything right … accept it was not enough. We were defeated. I was devastated. I noticed most of the gay community took it as something normal. Many consoled me.
The main reason I share these stories is to try and explain how different the world was only twenty five years ago. There was true hatred/fear for the LGBT community in our city and frankly across much of our country, particularly among the evangelical churches folks. I received mail and email that would shock most people today. Our church had graffiti painted on it with filthy words. One day I came into my office and there were close to a hundred little yellow stickys all over the walls and furniture with nasty language directed at me. It got so bad, for several months the Irvine police had a patrol car coming through our parking lot four or five times during the afternoons and nights. We had a couple of bomb threats. Several times when things seemed particularly heated, as I approached my car, I would drop my keys on the ground, so I could look under it check for bombs.
About this time I was invited to speak at the annual Gay Pride festival. I really had a wonderful time. My talk went well and as I walked around the games and events, it seemed like everyone there knew me. I was heading home and when I walked out of the fenced area, I suddenly realized that there was a group of men, from ages of 25-40, standing around with signs in the direction I wanted to go.
“That’s him,” one of them shouted. And suddenly, I was surrounded by a group of protestors. At first they were all shouting Bible verses at me but as they moved in, they slowly started chanting, “heretic, heretic, heretic.” One very large man was holding a large sign with a painting of Jesus who seemed to be looking down at me. It was on a long pole, and this guy had a pocket to hold the base of the pole. Every time he would yell heretic, he would come closer to me, with this picture of Jesus waving over my head. I cannot tell you how sorry I was feeling for Jesus in the middle of the fray. I sincerely did not know if I was going to get out of there unharmed or even alive.
And suddenly there were about 10 or 11 men from the festival who showed up. Without any fanfare, words or ugliness, they surrounded me. We slowly starting moving this ball of men toward the parking lot. When we reached my car, I got a couple of long, genuine hugs. And then they were gone. I got in my car and sat there for a few minutes shaking. I was pondering what had just happened. And then it hit me. This is what gay men have to go through every day. I was so sad. At that point I started weeping and that turned into sobbing. I have no idea how long I sat there in my car crying but when I was done there was a peace that came over me that I will never forget. I realized I had gone from being a good pastor, doing the right thing to a zealot activist. I made a promise then that I would never pass up an opportunity to speak or act on behalf of the LBGT community again. And I’m pretty sure I have kept my promise.
It was about that time that Barbara Luckett, who was our moderator at the time, came in to talk to me. She asked a simple question. “Isn’t it about time we become an Open and Affirming church?” I told Barbara I thought that was a great idea. We had a lengthy discussion about timing but finally agreed it was now. Why don’t you bring it up at a council meeting and I will support you. And that is what we did.
We had no idea what the process was but our council decided we should move forward. It turns out there was not much of a process set up back then. Although there were several churches on the east coast that had gone through some process, there were very few on the west coast and few people recorded what they had done. The more we dug, the more we discovered that there was not much out there except that we needed a vote, the vote needed to be posted in our by-laws and it had to be 51%.
Well, I knew after the measure N debacle, we could get 51%. In fact I was pretty confident that it would be closer to 100%. But I wanted our people to understand the issues. I wanted them to become advocates, not just accepting, but people who really knew what was going on. I wanted them to become partners with the entire community. So we decided to make it a two year process and we were going to create it.
And that is when Susan Sherman came to see me. “Why don’t we record the congregation going through the process so other churches can use it if they want a model?” Well that is a story in itself. Our congregation funded the beginning seed money and we started creating a process. We discovered very quickly that there were two sister churches also going through something similar so we invited them to become part of the process and asked them if we could record some video during some of their sensitive conversations. They were Pilgrim United Church of Christ in Carlsbad, when Jerry Stinson was the pastor. And First Congregational in Long Beach when the late Mary Ellen Kelsby was their pastor. It was a wonderful and very creative group.
At IUCC, we had gay, lesbian, transgender speakers over a period of months. We got together in what is referred to now as Plumer Hall, and broke into small groups to discuss our fears, our hopes and our dreams. And yes we even talked about our sex lives. I remember one potent moment. The hall was full, and there were lively conversations going on all over. But Marge Cunningham, who was in her late 70s at the time, suddenly jumped up as I walked by and blurted out, “Fred! This is wonderful. If we can talk about our sex lives with each other, we are going to be able to talk about anything.” She laughed and sat back down. It was a funny, and wonderful moment.
After we had raised enough, I believe over $14,000, to record all of the video material we thought we needed, Susan and I went through tons of material and picked out the most interesting things. She managed to turn that into a rough video. But when she finished that stage, we knew two things. One: What we had was important. And Two: we were not going to be able to afford to finish it. So I called Rev. Bill Johnson at our national office and talked to him about our dilemma. He called me back and said he would fly out. After he viewed what we had done so far, he told us that he had one $15,000 grant and he was working on a another smaller one. We knew then we were going to make it.
And make it we did. That video has been shown in literally tens of thousands of churches and virtually every mainline denomination along with the workbook that comes with it. It has been purchased in at least four countries. The accompanying book that provides vital information and the process and things everyone needs to know. And it is my sincere prayer that it has been helpful to people who have suffered from our ignorance and fears for too long.
And by the way, we became an O&A church with only four people voting against it. It may be no surprise that they did not attend any of our workshops or lectures.
I have been asked many times, what was my motivation. I think I can honestly say I always tried to do what I thought Jesus would do today. I know that takes lots of interpretation and removing of boundaries that would have hindered him in those days. But, I believe he would have worked it out. Whatever it was, it always felt right and I am certain it felt right for everyone involved.
So congratulations IUCC on 25 years of becoming an Open & Affirming Church. It is clear to me that not only have you inherited a rich tradition but you continue to live out the Journey of Faith. I salute you.
-------
Suffering: If God Exists, Why Doesn’t He Stop It?
The main reason I share these stories is to try and explain how different the world was only twenty five years ago. There was true hatred/fear for the LGBT community ...
READ ON ... View Video of Fred’s Sermon at IUCC on June 12th, 2016
No let me be clear, I was OK with that. After all I had a gay friend… once in high school. And I knew a young singer who once told me he was gay and I did not freak out. Well I didn’t punch him. But now I was a forty year old man, kind of macho guy. I was OK with the gay thing, if they gathered alone and kept to themselves.
I wish I had the time to share all of the experiences I had those three years. Most of them… were painful… a few were funny. I was kicked out of a class on feminine theology that I had signed up for; I was told by a professor that I should not be taking her class on “unlearning racism” because I had never experienced prejudice nor had I been shunned. I was challenged in class by a lesbian woman who accused me of “just not getting it.” And I was lectured by a black professor who yelled at me in class that I was the epitome of “white privilege.”
Three years later was a different story. I was comfortable with just about everyone in the school. My wife and I had become close friends with Judith and Kathy, who lived across the hall from us. They took care of our daughter Deshna, who was four when we arrived. We played with them whenever we could. Frankly, I think most of the students felt pretty comfortable with me by the second and certainly the third year. It was a learning experience for all of us… but I still saw the prejudice thing as their problem.
Then there was John Sam. In my second year of school, I had a class with John Sam. One day after class I could tell something was bothering him. When I asked him if he was OK he told me “not really.” In the next twenty minutes I got a lesson that I could not have imagined. John Sam told me that he had spent time in a British prison. The authorities had given him a choice of three years in prison or to be put in a mental institution so they could reassign his sexual orientation. He chose the latter and apparently went through unspeakable “treatment.” After 8months of torture, they finally let him go. That was within only 10 months of his being accepted into PSR. John Sam’s story touched me. We became close friends and we still are… Facebook friends.
Let’s fast forward to my third or fourth year with (Irvine United Christian Church (IUCC). I had become acquainted with Larry Agran, who had recently become Mayor of Irvine for the first time. He called me one day and asked me if I would mind coming to a council meeting to add support to the new law the Irvine City was considering that would protect gays and lesbians in the work place and public housing. I told him sure. I had lived in Berkeley after all. I had been in a graduate school that offered housing to gay couples. I thought it would be a cake walk. I also thought there would be several other clergy there to support the law. We were all Christians, right?
When I got there I was shocked. Approximately twelve clergy on the agenda, and I was the only one who was scheduled to speak in favor of the law. I have never felt afraid to speak in public. But there was an overflow crowd in a room that was supposed to seat two hundred and fifty that was totally full with another hundred in and outside. And all but a few were opposed to the law. It was a hostile environment. By the time it was my turn to speak, I really thought I was going to be sick. I have never been in a room so full of hate and anger… a bad combination. I stumbled through my comments when I was called on and then went outside with people calling me unbelievable dirty names. I actually did vomit in the bushes.
Happily the council ignored these people and passed the law. However, I actually felt it would be challenged, and it was. A group of evangelical citizens formed a political group and in a few months they managed to get enough signatures to force it into a city wide vote. Measure N. It wasn’t long before I got another call from Larry the mayor. This time he wanted to have lunch… I should have known. Larry explained that there was going to be group formed to fight those in favor of measure N. But they needed a spoke person. Would I be willing to take on that responsibility?
Well, this was a whole new ball game. I knew I would be quoted in the papers. I would be investigated by people who thought I was evil, and every mistake I made would be blown out of proportion. But I knew I had to do it. So the following Sunday, I let the congregation know. I explained why I was going to take the position and what my responsibilities would be. I asked anyone who wanted to talk to me about it to make an appointment so we could talk.
With the wonderful support of this fantastic and brave congregation, I ended up on the front page of the Orange County Register, the LA Times, Daily Pilot and there were a several articles in the Newport Beach paper. Orange County Register ran an editorial making me out like some kind of a Hollywood playboy. But the good news was that every time they posted an article in the paper, another ten or twenty visitors would show up. Many of them stayed. It was a wonderful time in our history.
A large percentage of this congregation really got behind the anti-Measure N debate. We painted and marched with signs in the Gay Parade. We tried to get out the vote with people we knew were supportive. We did everything right … accept it was not enough. We were defeated. I was devastated. I noticed most of the gay community took it as something normal. Many consoled me.
The main reason I share these stories is to try and explain how different the world was only twenty five years ago. There was true hatred/fear for the LGBT community in our city and frankly across much of our country, particularly among the evangelical churches folks. I received mail and email that would shock most people today. Our church had graffiti painted on it with filthy words. One day I came into my office and there were close to a hundred little yellow stickys all over the walls and furniture with nasty language directed at me. It got so bad, for several months the Irvine police had a patrol car coming through our parking lot four or five times during the afternoons and nights. We had a couple of bomb threats. Several times when things seemed particularly heated, as I approached my car, I would drop my keys on the ground, so I could look under it check for bombs.
About this time I was invited to speak at the annual Gay Pride festival. I really had a wonderful time. My talk went well and as I walked around the games and events, it seemed like everyone there knew me. I was heading home and when I walked out of the fenced area, I suddenly realized that there was a group of men, from ages of 25-40, standing around with signs in the direction I wanted to go.
“That’s him,” one of them shouted. And suddenly, I was surrounded by a group of protestors. At first they were all shouting Bible verses at me but as they moved in, they slowly started chanting, “heretic, heretic, heretic.” One very large man was holding a large sign with a painting of Jesus who seemed to be looking down at me. It was on a long pole, and this guy had a pocket to hold the base of the pole. Every time he would yell heretic, he would come closer to me, with this picture of Jesus waving over my head. I cannot tell you how sorry I was feeling for Jesus in the middle of the fray. I sincerely did not know if I was going to get out of there unharmed or even alive.
And suddenly there were about 10 or 11 men from the festival who showed up. Without any fanfare, words or ugliness, they surrounded me. We slowly starting moving this ball of men toward the parking lot. When we reached my car, I got a couple of long, genuine hugs. And then they were gone. I got in my car and sat there for a few minutes shaking. I was pondering what had just happened. And then it hit me. This is what gay men have to go through every day. I was so sad. At that point I started weeping and that turned into sobbing. I have no idea how long I sat there in my car crying but when I was done there was a peace that came over me that I will never forget. I realized I had gone from being a good pastor, doing the right thing to a zealot activist. I made a promise then that I would never pass up an opportunity to speak or act on behalf of the LBGT community again. And I’m pretty sure I have kept my promise.
It was about that time that Barbara Luckett, who was our moderator at the time, came in to talk to me. She asked a simple question. “Isn’t it about time we become an Open and Affirming church?” I told Barbara I thought that was a great idea. We had a lengthy discussion about timing but finally agreed it was now. Why don’t you bring it up at a council meeting and I will support you. And that is what we did.
We had no idea what the process was but our council decided we should move forward. It turns out there was not much of a process set up back then. Although there were several churches on the east coast that had gone through some process, there were very few on the west coast and few people recorded what they had done. The more we dug, the more we discovered that there was not much out there except that we needed a vote, the vote needed to be posted in our by-laws and it had to be 51%.
Well, I knew after the measure N debacle, we could get 51%. In fact I was pretty confident that it would be closer to 100%. But I wanted our people to understand the issues. I wanted them to become advocates, not just accepting, but people who really knew what was going on. I wanted them to become partners with the entire community. So we decided to make it a two year process and we were going to create it.
And that is when Susan Sherman came to see me. “Why don’t we record the congregation going through the process so other churches can use it if they want a model?” Well that is a story in itself. Our congregation funded the beginning seed money and we started creating a process. We discovered very quickly that there were two sister churches also going through something similar so we invited them to become part of the process and asked them if we could record some video during some of their sensitive conversations. They were Pilgrim United Church of Christ in Carlsbad, when Jerry Stinson was the pastor. And First Congregational in Long Beach when the late Mary Ellen Kelsby was their pastor. It was a wonderful and very creative group.
At IUCC, we had gay, lesbian, transgender speakers over a period of months. We got together in what is referred to now as Plumer Hall, and broke into small groups to discuss our fears, our hopes and our dreams. And yes we even talked about our sex lives. I remember one potent moment. The hall was full, and there were lively conversations going on all over. But Marge Cunningham, who was in her late 70s at the time, suddenly jumped up as I walked by and blurted out, “Fred! This is wonderful. If we can talk about our sex lives with each other, we are going to be able to talk about anything.” She laughed and sat back down. It was a funny, and wonderful moment.
After we had raised enough, I believe over $14,000, to record all of the video material we thought we needed, Susan and I went through tons of material and picked out the most interesting things. She managed to turn that into a rough video. But when she finished that stage, we knew two things. One: What we had was important. And Two: we were not going to be able to afford to finish it. So I called Rev. Bill Johnson at our national office and talked to him about our dilemma. He called me back and said he would fly out. After he viewed what we had done so far, he told us that he had one $15,000 grant and he was working on a another smaller one. We knew then we were going to make it.
And make it we did. That video has been shown in literally tens of thousands of churches and virtually every mainline denomination along with the workbook that comes with it. It has been purchased in at least four countries. The accompanying book that provides vital information and the process and things everyone needs to know. And it is my sincere prayer that it has been helpful to people who have suffered from our ignorance and fears for too long.
And by the way, we became an O&A church with only four people voting against it. It may be no surprise that they did not attend any of our workshops or lectures.
I have been asked many times, what was my motivation. I think I can honestly say I always tried to do what I thought Jesus would do today. I know that takes lots of interpretation and removing of boundaries that would have hindered him in those days. But, I believe he would have worked it out. Whatever it was, it always felt right and I am certain it felt right for everyone involved.
So congratulations IUCC on 25 years of becoming an Open & Affirming Church. It is clear to me that not only have you inherited a rich tradition but you continue to live out the Journey of Faith. I salute you.
-------
John Morris
Here is a 100-minute read, of interest to believers and atheists alike. Its brave conclusion gives reasonable grounds for thinking we live in a loving God’s best possible world, despite unavoidable suffering and natural disasters.
READ ON ... If God exists, does he care about his evolving, suffering world? Most answers are unsatisfactory. Morris’s book is different: short but not superficial, strong in its science and philosophy, and realistic as a carer of a handicapped teenage grandson, still unable to walk and talk.
Like Stephen Hawking and Einstein, John Morris also tries to explore the mind of God. Violence began with the Big Bang, long before legendary Adam’s sin. Morris believes God is typically non-interventionist but constantly interactive, operating creatively within his own physical laws, that allow freedom to particles and people, resulting in innovations and mutations, not always beneficial. Compared with other religions, Christ’s cross and resurrection give more historic hope in a God who suffers alongside us, to create good, responsible persons.
Here is a 100-minute read, of interest to believers and atheists alike. Its brave conclusion gives reasonable grounds for thinking we live in a loving God’s best possible world, despite unavoidable suffering and natural disasters.
This is a good little book. The Reverend Doctor Morris has chosen an interesting but challenging topic that has perplexed theologians for years – centuries really – called the “theodicy problem”. Said simply, 1] if there is a God and 2] if God is all powerful and 3] if God is all knowing and 4] if God is good, compassionate, and loving toward His (I use the gender designation only as conventional and convenient) people: Then why is there evil in the world and why do people suffer? Surely, at least one of those four premises must be wrong. … Morris reviews the cosmological and evolutionary material in a conversational and pastoral way, as one might expect from a teacher turned priest, and concludes that there is a creator God – much more likely than not. …Edmund G. Lowrie
I have just finished reading the Revised Edition of Contemporary Creed and I congratulate you upon it. It is a remarkable book. It displays an impressive scholarship and human perception. Dr Peter Willis, formerly Reader in the History of Architecture, University of Newcastle.
John Morris is one of those who experiences a God presence that he cannot define but who will not deny its reality. He writes with integrity,
clarity and passion, as he explores spirituality with a contemporary accent. John Shelby Spong, former Bishop of Newark, N.J., USA, author
Fair and open-minded, widely read in science, philosophy and theology, John Morris offers a vision of Christian belief and ethics which can stand convincingly in this modern world. Work right through it in a group with friends of differing convictions! It could enlarge and enrich all your lives. Rt Revd John Austin Baker, former Bishop of Salisbury, author
purchase for $8.78
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Liturgy Selection
Here is a 100-minute read, of interest to believers and atheists alike. Its brave conclusion gives reasonable grounds for thinking we live in a loving God’s best possible world, despite unavoidable suffering and natural disasters.
READ ON ... If God exists, does he care about his evolving, suffering world? Most answers are unsatisfactory. Morris’s book is different: short but not superficial, strong in its science and philosophy, and realistic as a carer of a handicapped teenage grandson, still unable to walk and talk.
Like Stephen Hawking and Einstein, John Morris also tries to explore the mind of God. Violence began with the Big Bang, long before legendary Adam’s sin. Morris believes God is typically non-interventionist but constantly interactive, operating creatively within his own physical laws, that allow freedom to particles and people, resulting in innovations and mutations, not always beneficial. Compared with other religions, Christ’s cross and resurrection give more historic hope in a God who suffers alongside us, to create good, responsible persons.
Here is a 100-minute read, of interest to believers and atheists alike. Its brave conclusion gives reasonable grounds for thinking we live in a loving God’s best possible world, despite unavoidable suffering and natural disasters.
I have just finished reading the Revised Edition of Contemporary Creed and I congratulate you upon it. It is a remarkable book. It displays an impressive scholarship and human perception. Dr Peter Willis, formerly Reader in the History of Architecture, University of Newcastle.
John Morris is one of those who experiences a God presence that he cannot define but who will not deny its reality. He writes with integrity,
clarity and passion, as he explores spirituality with a contemporary accent. John Shelby Spong, former Bishop of Newark, N.J., USA, author
Fair and open-minded, widely read in science, philosophy and theology, John Morris offers a vision of Christian belief and ethics which can stand convincingly in this modern world. Work right through it in a group with friends of differing convictions! It could enlarge and enrich all your lives. Rt Revd John Austin Baker, former Bishop of Salisbury, author
purchase for $8.78
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Liturgy Selection
America
... remembering Thomas Jefferson’s words that “All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent,” we continue to that struggle.
READ ON ...
We celebrate the Fourth of July and we say God Bless America and we struggle to guide our nation to act responsibly towards its citizens and towards the other nations of the world. But remembering Thomas Jefferson’s words that “All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent,” we continue to that struggle.
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... remembering Thomas Jefferson’s words that “All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent,” we continue to that struggle.
READ ON ...
We celebrate the Fourth of July and we say God Bless America and we struggle to guide our nation to act responsibly towards its citizens and towards the other nations of the world. But remembering Thomas Jefferson’s words that “All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent,” we continue to that struggle.
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We are all mojados in the promised land
We’ll cross that bright river today
All our backs will be wet when we finally stand
At the throne of God someday.
Nobody’s thirsty in the promised land
Coyote can’t steal your soul
Buzzards don’t glide over desert sands
There is no border patrol.
There are no migra at the pearly gates
No fake ID’s to buy
They don’t take your money and leave you to fate
You can’t get caught in a lie.
You won’t get deported from the promised land
You cross over there, you are home
It’s our place to build and our place to stand
Heaven to earth, kingdom come.
For the musical score, click here: Burklo.mojados
“Mojados in the Promised Land”: words by Jim Burklo and Lisa Atkinson, music by Lisa Atkinson and George Kincheloe, on “Connie’s Songbird”, CD by Lisa Atkinson,www.atkinsonkincheloe.com, reprinted with permission.
[Ed. “Mojados” means “wetback,” as in illegal immigrant.]
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“God’s Truth Still Marches On” by Heidi
My eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord!
You will find her sowing seeds of love where grapes of wrath once poured.
May we, two or three together, raise God’s justice high once more:
God’s truth still marches on.
Glory, glory Hallelujah,
Glory, glory, Hallelujah,
Glory, glory, Hallelujah!
God’s truth still marches on.
I have read a fiery gospel of unmitigated love,
Of a Christ who is within, without, below, around, above.
Let me be the one who turns my cheek when push has come to shove:
God’s truth still marches on.
Refrain
Christ has sounded forth the trumpet that shall never call retreat
Bidding each of us to sit and serve at one another’s feet.
Oh, be swift, my soul, to answer, see the Christ in all I meet:
God’s truth still marches on.
Refrain
God is coming to the people on a tidal wave of peace,
Bringing wisdom to the mighty, that all needless strife may cease.
May we listen to each other, and by hearing find release:
God’s truth still marches on.
Refrain
Words: Heidi Blythe, Director of Music at University UCC, Seattle
Tune: Battle Hymn of the Republic by Julia Ward Howe
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Events and Updates
Sisters of Earth Conference
Sharing the Wisdom, Shaping the Dream
July 7th - 10th, 2016
Presentation Retreat and Conference Center, Los Gatos CA
A conference to rekindle and enhance our ZEST FOR LIFE in face of the dark reality facing us.
READ ON ...
Sisters of Earth Conference
Sharing the Wisdom, Shaping the Dream
It will be a conference to rekindle and enhance our ZEST FOR LIFE in face of the dark reality facing us
– cultivating hope and tapping into the energy of the Great Turning that is in process
– re-energizing us to be dynamic, constructive, and adventurous
– cooperating with the pull of evolution toward more complex organisms and higher consciousness
– allowing our interactions with others to purify our intentions and synergize the impact of our actions
It will be about the SACRED EARTH COMMUNITY
– enhancing our sense of the sacredness of the Earth and its community of all beings
– cultivating reverence and awe, engaging in protection and restoration as acts of worship
– attending to that which has been desecrated, whose life force has been blocked or eroded
– building the community by taking active steps to strengthen ties and build networks
– investing in others – their needs, hopes, and dreams
Our ongoing task is to have a well-integrated conference and the planning committee believes that indigenous wisdom is most likely the closest to true Earth wisdom that we have.
Our special feature:
With women from north to south we are deeply concerned for what is happening to holy mother Earth. Indigenous women, especially in areas like the tar sands of northern Alberta, the uranium mines in New Mexico, and the oil and gold industries in Peru have a unique perspective on how we might partner with the Earth herself to bring about healing.
Our 2016 SOE conference will welcome indigenous women as our leaders in presentation and dialogue toward broader perspectives. Through this experience we imagine building up new, mutually-beneficial partnerships to strengthen our sacred Earth community.
An extraordinary venue will host the 2016 Sisters of Earth Conference. The Presentation Retreat and Conference Center (a mission of the Presentation Sisters) is nestled in California’s Santa Cruz Mountains on 67 acres. It is a LEED** Gold Certified Center and a rare jewel of sustainable architecture at the leading edge of the green movement. It offers gracious hospitality, delicious cuisine, and ample space to gather.
To Register and for more information click here: Sisters of Earth Conference
Images
Start:
July 7, 2016
End:
July 10, 2016
Location:
Presentation Retreat and Conference Center
Los Gatos CA
Contact:
Allysyn Kiplinger
Organization:
(510) 420-0696
Website:
https://sistersofearth.wikispaces.com/
Email:
Allysyn@ArthaSoaps.com
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View all upcoming events here!
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