We crouch with Mary on the straw of our messy lives
letting go of everything but this moment.
“you who delight me” is in two parts:
poems of love—secular and spirited writing about people, places and events; and
words of spirit and faith—inclusive language, contemporary liturgies for individual contemplation and progressive faith communities.
GlassDuo (Poland) – Chamber Music Festival in Bologna, Italy – June 2010.
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Video about the new book: Zealot- The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth, by Reza Aslan
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Astrophysicist Dr. Neil DeGrasse Tyson was asked by a reader of TIME magazine, “What is the most astounding fact you can share with us about the Universe?” This is his answer.
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Francis Macnab has been teaching the place of Faith in psychology and theology, in health and growth for decades. He claims that the churches have lost vast numbers of people because their Old Faith has lost empathy and relevance in the 21st Century. He advocates the need for a New Faith.
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A significant number of scholars and commentators are celebrating the dying of what they believe has been and remains a detrimental institution for our society. They often point to the absence of religion in Europe. They note how those countries have aggressively built public institutions for the support of their citizens in need. In some ways, one could argue they have become more Christian in their public actions than the United States.
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Before the Beginning,
Being,
The Egg,
Simply, infinitely being,
Unimpeded, and
Bang!
The Word.
This is Bishop Spong’s first lecture in the “Future of the Progressive Church” conference held on August 3, 2013 at the Community Christian Church in Springfield, MO
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The dogged refusal of traditional religions to give up Bronze Age magical thinking and doctrines will continue to make religion increasingly irrelevant in the 21st century. If the church has a future it will be because we are willing to undergo a radical transformation, being more passionate about what is true than what we have read in ancient documents. We need to be connected to one another in order to be effective in changing the world and we need meaningful connection to others to correct our own excesses. We can become better people through working together for justice, peace and mercy.
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One of the major challenges for Progressive Christians in the years to come is paying more attention to “equipping the saints.” The dictionary meaning for “equipping” is “to supply with intellectual, emotional, or spiritual essentials.” It is derived from an old French term which means “to put to sea, to embark.” The Center for Progressive Christianity has picked up this challenge and provided congregations and parents with two years of relevant and imaginative curriculums for the 21st century. They have taken the lead in reframing Sunday school teachings and made them into invaluable resources for “equipping the saints” as they head out on the sea of our culture. Whether you are a parent, a Sunday School teacher, a preacher, a spiritual seeker, or just someone who likes to look at ideas from a child’s point of view, this one’s for you.
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There are four “canonical” gospels in the Bible. While Matthew and Luke are the only gospels to tell the story of Jesus’ birth, their stories are very different from one another.
read morethe world as she stands now
she was good at birth
her age
like cracks
in a foundation
spidering away
from crabgrass
Relating Kindred Spirits: A Collection, spirituality and songwriting, Newcomer writes “I am one of a growing number of people who don’t want to put the sacred in such a small container. I am disturbed that one very narrowly focused and extremely political brand of Christianity being called the ‘religious voice.’ There are wide communities of spiritual people who believe that walking this world in love and compassion is about feeding the hungry, providing for the poor or sick, caring for our elders, making sure that the table of love includes and welcomes everyone, educating our children and young people, honoring our beautiful and interconnected planet. These communities believe that women are equal spiritual beings, and that the highest and most honorable work is creating a less violent, more just and kind world. Isn’t a life of compassion bigger than a catch phrase or sound byte? Isn’t love wider and deeper than fear?” Speaking more to this point, she shares, “If a spiritual leader is teaching hate, it is not spiritual message, it is political message.”
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Carrie Newcomer with special guests, Indian peformers Amjad Ali Khan, Aaman Ali Khan and Ayaan Ali Khan, in concert Saturday, October 15, 2011 at 2nd Presbyterian Church in Indianapolis. This special performance promotes the release of Newcomer’s latest album, “Everything is Everywhere”. Proceeds from the album benefits the Interfaith Hunger Initiative, a multi-faith effort dedicated to elevating hunger and the roots of poverty in the USA and abroad.
read moreCarrie Newcomer explores the intersection of the spiritual and the daily, the sacred and the ordinary. Over the course of her career she has become a prominent voice for progressive spirituality, social justice and interfaith dialogue. She has been described as “a soaring songstress” by Billboard, a “prairie mystic” by the Boston Globe and Rolling Stone has declared that Newcomer “asks all the right questions.” Author Barbara Kingsolver wrote, “She’s a poet, storyteller, snake-charmer, good neighbor, friend and lover, minister of the wide-eyed gospel of hope and grace.”
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Fourteen artists have joined Bread for the World Institute and Women of Faith for the 1,000 Days Movement to educate communities and advocate for policy change in the United States to end hunger at home and abroad and give every child the chance to thrive.
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