50 years ago is a very short time. Fifty years ago there loomed a war over the mind’s of Americans. In the south, preachers screamed vehemently and twisted the word of God to suggest that slavery and racism were God’s truth. Men and women found themselves beaten, raped, and tolerating all manners of abuse. Children walked down the street, and were gunned down just for being black. 50 years ago is a very short time. Fifty years later, I think... Read more
At the fundamental level, quantum mechanics authoritatively and indisputably states that there exists no objective reality that would explain all subjective viewpoints as its reflections. – Landau In a world where we recognize that God is not a sovereign being, is a world where we realize that freedom has no limits. Now, for many this is already an issue, because the general popularized view that is irresponsibly borrowed from a historical religious hangover, is that to be human is to... Read more
Dear theology professors, I have a request. Though it may seem short on words (and definitely short on tact), it is quite complicated. However, I trust you are up to the task. Please stop making your classes so boring. (What? How can I possibly say this? I’m a theology student, after all, isn’t the topic innately interesting to me?) No. It isn’t. I love theology and all its related fields. I enjoy studying it, interpreting it, and creating my own... Read more
By today, January 8th, everyone’s holidays are pretty much over. The Hanukkah candles are stored for another year. Kwanzaa on its way out on January 1st greeted the New Year, and the Christian Christmas season ended on the 6th with Epiphany. Relatives who traveled to be with you for the holidays have already returned to their jobs and lives at home. Now what? How do we keep the joy and hope alive as we face the wintry months and holiday... Read more
One of the hopes for this communal blog is for it to become a place where we can share what’s working in our communities of faith. To that end, I’d like to share some thoughts about the evolution of preaching in emergence communities. These independent groups are not all alike but they do share many similarities, even if they are unaware of one another. In the parlance of emergence, this is known as ‘non-identical repetition’. So these are notes from... Read more
So which one are you? An I N H A L E R or an E X H A L E R I am an inhaler. I often desire what is not meant for me. I did not always know this about myself. It’s the journey of a lifetime to really and truly know yourself fully isn’t it? I had plenty of negative words bouncing around in my head to describe being an INHALER. Self-absorbed Selfish Stingy/frugal/cheap Egotistical These are... Read more
Greetings Emerging Voices! We are officially into #EV2015, although as I begin to write this post at 6pm on December 31st, 2014 we are teetering on the precipice of tomorrow, and tomorrow’s tomorrows. In this place of waiting I am hopeful, maybe even surprisingly hopeful, surprising even myself. A Year In Review The year 2014 was a year of transition and chaos, pain and rebirth, possibilities and crushing spiritual defeats for many of us in many ways. It has... Read more
2014 has been a tumultuous year to say the least. Publicly, some amazing things have happened and some tragic things. Globally, we have seen wars and disease, seemingly on the rise. At the same time, global poverty is on the decline, pointing to some progress made by those working so hard to end extreme global poverty (down by 50% in less than 20 years)*. Domestically, we have seen deaths from police violence against people of color, seemingly without consequence, which... Read more
Isaiah 64:1-9 O that you would tear open the heavens and come down, so that the mountains would quake at your presence— as when fire kindles brushwood and the fire causes water to boil— to make your name known to your adversaries, so that the nations might tremble at your presence! When you did awesome deeds that we did not expect, you came down, the mountains quaked at your presence. From ages past no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no... Read more
I have lived almost six decades. I am a simple person and I like my life uncomplicated. I am a woman, a daughter, a sister, an aunt, a niece. I am a wife, a mother, a grandmother. I am enrolled Secwepemc First Nation from my mother’s side, and Cherokee on my father’s side. I am Christian. I am Episcopalian. The messages that Jesus shared with us were simple. From Matthew 22:36-40 (New International Version), he is asked what is the... Read more
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