Progressive Christianity: 4th Principle of Progressive Christianity

Lenten Online Series
by Pastor Durrell Watkins
March 7, 2010

This Lent, Sunshine Cathedral is offering this free online study series, to invite us all into a deeper experience of the Progressive, Positive, and Practical spirituality that we teach.

The Sunshine Cathedral is affiliated with The Center for Progressive Christianity, whose mission is:
- To reach out to those for whom organized religion has proved ineffectual, irrelevant, or repressive, as well as to those who have given up on or are unacquainted with it.
- To uphold evangelism as an agent of justice and peace.
- To give a strong voice both in the churches and the public arena to the advocates of progressive Christianity.
- To support those who embrace the search, not certainty.

Fourth Principle of Progressive Christianity
We Are Inclusive.
We invite all people to participate in our community and worship life without insisting that they become exactly like us. This inclusion applies to believers AND agnostics, conventional Christians AND questioning skeptics, women and men, those of ALL sexual orientations and gender identities, those of ALL races and cultures, those of all classes and abilities, and those who hope for a better world as well as those who have lost hope.

At Sunshine Cathedral, what holds us together isn't a doctrinal statement or creed, but our willingness to support one another as we each follow our own path and grow at our own pace. We acknowledge the divine Spark in every individual and we affirm the sacred value of all people. Our unity isn't based on what we oppose nor is it based on an unwillingness to think critically. Our unity isn't a uniformity of opinion; our unity is the divine Love that dwells in every human heart. Beliefs come and go, but our commitment to practice love and kindness can sustain us throughout our lives. We are lovingly diverse and that is our strength.

Prayer Treatment: As we treat others the way we would like to be treated, we are recognizing and affirming the dignity and sacred value of every individual in our wonderfully diverse community. And so it is!