http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBSMouLJGs8&list=UUi1vfps751gSRdDZIIzhkvw&index=2&feature=plcp
Discussion on the purpose and relevance of religion today.
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
5 Anti-Gay Marriage Arguments Challenged
http://www.gaysofla.com/articles/72-kweerspirit/252-five-ridiculous-anti-gay-marriage-arguments-challenged-.html
My most recent piece posted at GaySoFla.com.
"Five Ridiculous Anti-Gay Marriage Arguments Challenged"
My most recent piece posted at GaySoFla.com.
"Five Ridiculous Anti-Gay Marriage Arguments Challenged"
Monday, July 30, 2012
Just do right (from "Spirit & Truth")
Just do right
Rev. Dr. Durrell Watkins
It’s so simple and so obvious: Just do right. If there is a Higher Power that is good, it will respond to and reward goodness. If there is such a Power and it isn't good, then it doesn't deserve to be worshiped (and should even be resisted!). And if there is no such Power, then having lived a good life means life was lived well and will be remembered fondly by our loved ones. In every scenario, the point remains the same...just do right!
Rev. Dr. Durrell Watkins
“Live a good life. If there
are gods and they are just, then they will not care how devout you have been,
but will welcome you based on the virtues you have lived by. If there are gods,
but unjust, then you should not want to worship them. If there are no gods,
then you will be gone but will have lived a noble live that will live on in the
memories of your loved ones.” Marcus Aurelius
It’s so simple and so obvious: Just do right. If there is a Higher Power that is good, it will respond to and reward goodness. If there is such a Power and it isn't good, then it doesn't deserve to be worshiped (and should even be resisted!). And if there is no such Power, then having lived a good life means life was lived well and will be remembered fondly by our loved ones. In every scenario, the point remains the same...just do right!
Not for reward, not for fear of punishment, not to win favor or to avoid cosmic
wrath, but simply for righteousness’ sake, I choose to live with compassion,
integrity, honesty, and generosity. Amen.
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Goddard College: An Impressive History and Relevant Still
Goddard
College has a century and a half institutional history as a leader in the
progressive education movement.
Founded
in 1863 as Green Mountain Central Institute in Barre, VT, the school changed
its name in 1870 to Goddard Seminary, a theological preparatory school in the
Universalist tradition. The school especially prepared students to attend Tufts
College, a school originally affiliated with the Universalist Church. Goddard
was named for Thomas Goddard, Tufts 2nd Treasurer.
In 1919
Royce (aka Tim) Pitkin was graduated from Goddard Seminary and would later
return to Goddard as its primary visionary and philosophical architect. After
graduating from Goddard Seminary Pitkin went on to earn a Bachelor’s degree
from the University of Vermont and a PhD from Columbia University. He was a
contemporary of progressive education pioneers John Dewey and William
Kilpatrick. Under his leadership, Goddard College would be guided by
philosophies influenced by Dewey and Kilpatrick as well as by religious Universalism,
the Danish Folk School, and the democratic principles exhibited by New England
Town Meetings.
In 1929
the Goddard School for Girls was established and in 1935 Tim Pitkin returned to
Goddard to organize Goddard Junior College as part of the Seminary. In 1937
Goddard Seminary was closed but Goddard was immediately resurrected as Goddard
College, chartered in 1938. Also in 1938 Goddard relocated from Barre to
Plainfield, VT, moving to the Greatwood Farm Estate. Pitkin was the reformed, relocated
and renamed College’s first president. Tim Pitkin served as the college
president from 1938 to 1969. He died in 1986. Since 1938, the school has been
in continuous operation as Goddard College.
From
1938 to 1940 Goddard operated as a four year Junior College, that is, students
attended the last two years of high school and the first two years of college.
Goddard became a Baccalaureate degree granting school in 1943.
In 1956
Goddard started the Educational Resources Project and its students would work
as Teaching Assistants in nearby schools.
In 1959
Goddard received regional accreditation. Having never been a rich school and
offering a progressive pedagogy that “traditional” schools didn’t understand,
Goddard had been denied accreditation since the 40s. But in 1959 the college
was unexpectedly given the New England Association of Schools and Colleges’
stamp of approval, and enrollment almost doubled immediately as a result.
In 1963
Goddard College initiated the Adult Degree Program – the first college in the
US to do so.
In 1964
Goddard participated in another ground breaking experiment that would prove to
be successful for decades to come. In 1964 a consortium of colleges was formed
called the Union for Research and Experimentation in Higher Education. 10
colleges made up this “Union” and along with Antioch College, Sarah Lawrence
College, Bard College, and Hofstra University, Goddard was a founding member of
the consortium. In 1969 the consortium
changed its name to the Union for Experimental Colleges and Universities. It
would go through a few more name changes, including The Union Graduate School,
The Union Institute, and Union Institute & University as it is known today.
But before UIU was a well-known, independent school of higher learning, it was
a consortium of progressive colleges and Goddard was among them.
In 1966
Beat poet Allen Ginsberg performed at Goddard; in 1969 the Third World Studies
Program was initiated and was in operation for 5 years, and the early 1970s saw
more excitement for Goddard College.
In the
1970 the Goddard-Cambridge Program in Social Change was born and that program
was in existence for 9 years. Also in 1970 a Design and Construction program
was initiated, an alternative media conference was held where New Age spiritual
leader Ram Dass offered a workshop, and from 1970 to 1974 the incredible Bread
and Puppet Theatre was in residence at Goddard College!
In 1973
Goddard launched its own radio station (WGDR), in 1974 the Institute of Social
Ecology was founded and would remain part of Goddard until the year 2000 when
it became an independent institution, and in 1975 more new programs were
launched – Integral Education, Inter-dimensions in the Visual Arts, Outdoor
Education, and Women’s Studies.
Goddard
had more innovations to offer the world of education. In 2002 the residential
undergraduate program was closed and Goddard became an entirely low-residency
college.
In
2012, with sites now in Washington state as well as in Vermont, Goddard remains
an accredited institution of higher learning with its highest enrollment in 30
years!
Goddard,
in all its incarnations, has always been a progressive and innovative school,
and by the 1970s it was well known as a radical, counter-cultural college. When
it was redesigned as Goddard College in 1938 it was unusual in that it offered
no grades, gave no exams, and had no required courses. To this day Goddard
offers a self-directed learning experience, faculty members are called
co-learners or advisors rather than professors, grades are not given and unless
other arrangements are made, transcripts are narrative evaluations rather than
a dry and largely uninformative list of courses taken and grades given.
The Goddard
philosophy early on was based on 4 educational principles:
Thought should be tested by action
We only learn what we can inwardly accept
One matures by carrying responsibilities suited to one’s capabilities
And College should provide education opportunities for adults because learning should continue throughout life.
The undergraduate
degrees that Goddard offers today are:
The BA in Education, the BA in Health Arts & Sciences, the BA in Sustainability, the BA in Individualized Studies, and the BFA in Creative Writing.
Graduate
degrees offered are:
The MA in Education (there is a licensure option as well as possible concentrations in School Counseling or Community Education), the MA in Health Arts & Sciences, the MA in Psychology (with an option of concentrating in Sexual Orientation), the MA in Sustainable Business & Communities, and the MA in Individualized Studies with possible concentrations in Transformative Language Arts, Consciousness Studies, or Environmental Studies. There are also two MFA programs, one in Creative Writing and one in Interdisciplinary Arts.
There
are many notable graduates of Goddard College, including:
Frances Olsen, Law Professor (UCLA)
Page McConnell, Trey Anastasio, & Jon Fishman of the Band PHISH
Howard Ashman, actor/playwright/lyricist (Little Shop of Horrors, The Little Mermaid, Beauty & the Beast)
Jay Craven, film director/screenwriter)
Tom Griffin, playwright (Boys Next Door)
Larry Feign, cartoonist (The World of Lily Wong)
Caroline Finkelstein, poet
Ann Gillespie, actor (Beverly Hills 90210)
Neil Landau, screenwriter/playwright/TV producer
Cara Hoffman, novelist (So Much Pretty)
William H. Macy, actor
David Mamet, playwright/direct, Pulitzer Prize winner
For 149
years Goddard has been trailblazing and challenging the status quo. People have
literally come to Goddard to study from all over the world. If you want a
challenging, non-traditional, stimulating, limited residency degree program that
honors your vision while guiding you through academic theory,
interdisciplinarity, and ethical practice, with financial aid available and
without requiring you to quit your job or leave your community for more than a few
days a year, then Goddard may be a dream come true.
The program isn't correspondence, it isn't online, it isn't modular...it's something else, something different, something more.
Whether you want to complete a Bachelor’s degree, earn a Master’s degree, or return to school for a second or third graduate level degree, Goddard College is worth your consideration. Learn more by visiting their website: www.goddard.edu.
Information gathered from displays and literature at the Pratt Library at Goddard College as well as from the Goddard College website and other online sources.
In 1952
Goddard started a summer work camp for urban youth to help rural farmers and
also in 1952 Goddard awarded its first masters’ degrees.
In 1986
a single parents’ program was offered and in 1988 restoration of Goddard’s
historic gardens began. 11 years later, The Greenwood Estate and Gardens, the
Goddard College campus, was entered in the National Register of Historic
Places.
Thought should be tested by action
We only learn what we can inwardly accept
One matures by carrying responsibilities suited to one’s capabilities
And College should provide education opportunities for adults because learning should continue throughout life.
The BA in Education, the BA in Health Arts & Sciences, the BA in Sustainability, the BA in Individualized Studies, and the BFA in Creative Writing.
The MA in Education (there is a licensure option as well as possible concentrations in School Counseling or Community Education), the MA in Health Arts & Sciences, the MA in Psychology (with an option of concentrating in Sexual Orientation), the MA in Sustainable Business & Communities, and the MA in Individualized Studies with possible concentrations in Transformative Language Arts, Consciousness Studies, or Environmental Studies. There are also two MFA programs, one in Creative Writing and one in Interdisciplinary Arts.
Frances Olsen, Law Professor (UCLA)
Page McConnell, Trey Anastasio, & Jon Fishman of the Band PHISH
Howard Ashman, actor/playwright/lyricist (Little Shop of Horrors, The Little Mermaid, Beauty & the Beast)
Jay Craven, film director/screenwriter)
Tom Griffin, playwright (Boys Next Door)
Larry Feign, cartoonist (The World of Lily Wong)
Caroline Finkelstein, poet
Ann Gillespie, actor (Beverly Hills 90210)
Neil Landau, screenwriter/playwright/TV producer
Cara Hoffman, novelist (So Much Pretty)
William H. Macy, actor
David Mamet, playwright/direct, Pulitzer Prize winner
The program isn't correspondence, it isn't online, it isn't modular...it's something else, something different, something more.
Whether you want to complete a Bachelor’s degree, earn a Master’s degree, or return to school for a second or third graduate level degree, Goddard College is worth your consideration. Learn more by visiting their website: www.goddard.edu.
Information gathered from displays and literature at the Pratt Library at Goddard College as well as from the Goddard College website and other online sources.
Labels:
education,
fine arts,
humanism,
humanities,
liberal
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Prayer for Aurora
| |
|
Sunday, July 22, 2012
the gay struggle continues
The Gay Struggle Continues |
Kweerspirit: Progressive Spirituality by Durrell Watkins for the online magazine, www.gaysofla.com: http://gaysofla.com/articles/72-kweerspirit/249-the-gay-struggle-continues.html |
There’s a real struggle going on in our society right now. I’m not referring to the economy, or the presidential campaigns, or matters of procreative freedom, or to the ubiquitous and seemingly endless debates about health care and taxes. Those struggles exist obviously, but added to the list of social tug of war bouts is a simple matter: same-gender love and attraction. Now when I say same-gender love and attraction, I’m not talking about same-sex marriage (which is another contentious grappling match that has yet to see its last round) nor am I talking about the various scientific and social scientific hypotheses and theories that attempt to explain homosexuality. I’m not even referring to the question of whether same-gender love and attraction is in any way disordered…on that matter, the jury has decided! From the Kinsey reports in the 1940s and 1950s, to Dr. Evelyn Hooker’s research in the 1950s, to the American Psychiatric Association removing homosexuality from its list of disorders in 1973 to the American Psychological Association taking similar action in 1975, to the American Counseling Association and National Association of Social Workers doing the same, to the World Health Organization removing homosexuality from its list of disorders in 1993, that issue has been well decided. In fact, all major mental health organizations in the US (and many throughout the world) have gone on record to affirm that homosexuality is not a mental illness and that gay and lesbian persons are no more likely to have mental disorders than their heterosexual counter-parts! No, when I mention the “struggle” over the issue of same-gender love and attraction, I am, sadly, referring to religion (I say “sadly” because, well, I’m a religion guy). The Metropolitan Community Church movement was started in the late 1960s by a gay rights leader (Troy Perry) to provide a safe and affirming worshiping community for lesbian and gay people and their allies. Since then, one bible scholar after another, one theologian after another, even one denomination after another has come to affirm the sacred value of same-gender loving people and to recognize the holiness of loved shared between persons regardless of gender identity. And yet, in spite of the best science, the best social science, and the best theological scholarship all affirming the legitimacy of same-gender love and attraction, there continues to be increasingly vocal preachers of pugnacious rhetoric vilifying LBGT people; and politicians continue to use gay rights (or rather, the denial thereof) as a political issue and entire communities continue to speak out and vote against their LBGT neighbors, usually using religion as the excuse for their prejudice. Like I said, it is sad. Religion, at its best, isn’t about teaching people who to hate or fear. Religion, at its best, isn’t meant to promote discrimination and inequality. Religion, at its best, isn’t supposed to disguise prejudices as values or bigotry as righteousness. I also don’t believe religion’s purpose is to help people know “God.” We each in our own way experience the Sacred and most of us will seek a spiritual life whether within or apart from religious communities. Whatever else God may be, It/She/He must be everywhere fully present, all-inclusive, and much more inclined to nudge the human family toward peace, health, joy, and love than toward shame, fear, acrimony, and hate. We will each find whatever we choose to call divine in our own way, with or without religion. No, religion’s highest purpose is to bring people together, to form positive, benevolent communities, to help people believe in and live into their great potential, and to guide people to discover and share joy. My guess is that the struggle will continue. There will be churches and church leaders who continue to demonize and dehumanize same-gender loving people. And they will insist that such nefarious, spiritual brutality is somehow in compliance with a divine calling. Such was the case when Galileo declared a heliocentric rather than geocentric universe; such was the case when women were kept from pulpits and voting booths; such was the case in every war waged in the name of religion; and such was the case not too long ago when even racism was preached as righteousness. Why would the road to LBGT liberation be any easier? But, as history has shown time and again, codified bigotry has a shelf-life and cannot endure forever. The struggle may continue for a while, but in the mean time, there are those of us, even those of us who call ourselves religious, who are committed to celebrating the sacred value of ALL people and the holiness of all mutually shared love. Durrell Watkins holds sociology and theatre degrees from Henderson State University and Goddard College, respectively, as well as a Master of Divinity degree from Union Theological Seminary and a Doctor of Ministry degree from the Episcopal Divinity School. He is the author of Wrestling with God without Getting Pinned: Old Stories, New Thoughts, & Progressive Spirituality (Outskirts Press, available at Amazon.com), and is the Senior Pastor of the Sunshine Cathedral in Fort Lauderdale (www.sunshinecathedral.org). |
Saturday, July 21, 2012
i love my queer life
When I think of all the ridiculous homophobic hate speech presented as theology (and yes, as much as those of us who live in progressive pockets like to live in denial, it still happens every day), then think of my life, my chosen family, and the person I love who brings me so much joy, I'm glad I don't feel the need to choose between spirituality and being honest about who I am; but if I had to choose, I'd choose my life as it has unfolded. I wouldn't sacrifice one minute of this life for any imagined afterlife, and I certainly would never worship any deity that couldn't see the beauty of the love in my life.
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Cathedral Responds to Homophobic Preaching
Sunshine
Cathedral Responds to Homophobic Preaching
Rev.
Dr. Durrell Watkins, Senior Pastor
Hakimian
is entitled to his opinions and to the expression of them, but he has neither
the moral nor the institutional authority to determine who may call themselves
anything. A Christian is one who is either culturally or historically part of a
larger community that identifies as Christian, or one who actively participates
in a worshiping congregation that has Jesus of Nazareth somehow as its central
figure. Sexual identity does not make one a Christian nor does it exclude one
from being a Christian.
Monday, July 16, 2012
Letter Re: Homophobic Association (sent July 10)
Dear
Friends,
He
is certainly free to disagree, but he has neither the moral nor the
institutional authority to determine who may call themselves anything. A
Christian is one who is either culturally or historically part of a larger
community that identifies as Christian, or one who actively participates in a
worshiping congregation that has Jesus of Nazareth somehow as its central
figure. Sexual identity does not make one a Christian nor does it exclude one
from being a Christian.
Rev. Durrell Watkins, D.Min.
....................................................................
From:
Durrell Watkins Sent: Tuesday, July 10, 2012 3:25 PM
To: 'rickschneider@wpbt.org'
Cc: 'emma@carrascocomm.com'; 'wsartory@alslaw.com'; 'jack.lowell@flaglerdev.com'
Subject: wpbt2
Senior Pastor
Sunshine Cathedral
Labels:
action,
gay and lesbian,
queer,
religion,
social justice,
television
Saturday, July 07, 2012
Carol Channing: Larger Than Life
Just watched Carol Channing: Larger Than Life.
90+ and still going strong. Amazing.Memphis: The Musical
I'm sure you've probably seen it already, but if not, correct that at
once!
The last few NYC trips I decided not to see it b/c I knew it was coming to
FtL and I thought I could just wait for the tour, so that allowed me to see more
stuff in the city.
Well, last night, we accidentally found it on Netflix! Original cast, just
a filmed recording of the Broadway production (good quality, not like that
tragic West Coast filmed version of Naked Boys Singing which somehow made both
fun music and male nudity boring!) and it was fabulous.
I'm kind of new to the filmed version thing...I remember the special PBS
version (no audience) of Joseph/Dream Coat, the filmed production of Company (well,
two filmed productions, one for PBS - terrible, and the other for the big screen
with Neal Patrick Harris- wonderful), the PBS version of CATS, and the PBS recording of the
live performances of The Women and The Man Who Came to Dinner. I was given a DVD
version of the last cast for RENT (Broadway cast before it reopened
Off-Broadway)..., OK, maybe i'm not so new to the phenomenon after all. But thsi
was the first time I accessed on through NetFlix.
I must say, I much prefer the stage productions on film to the plays made
into movies (often miscast and almost always dropping 1-3 great songs):
Hairspray, Chicago, Oklahoma!, Carousel, Guys & Dolls, Nine, etc.
Anywhoo, got a front row seat on Broadway in the living room in Florida for
Memphis. It's loosely based on the life/career of Memphis DJ Dewey Phillips
(character's name is Huey Calhoun in the musical), who was one of the first
white DJs in Memphis to play music by African American artists.
the story takes place during the decade between 1951 and 1961, an
unenlightened time in US Southern history to be sure. The story is about the
rise and fall of an illiterate DJ son of a racist mother who falls in love first
with R&B music and then with an unknown R&B artist.
Calhoun's speech pattern is at first strange and annoying, and later
endearing. I don't know why the peculiar speech pattern was adopted. Maybe it
was based on Phillips' speech. the music and dancing in the show are amazing and
the set is both simple and sophisticated at the same time.
A romance between Calhoun and the artist he discovers and promotes (Felicia) is forbidden not only by cultural prejudices but also by state law. So they keep it on the low, but eventually they are suspected and are even brutally attacked by racist thugs once. that doesn't end their relationship, but later, when Felicia has a chance to go to NYC they have a chance to really be together. They will have to be discreet if Felicia is to have national appeal, but their love will no longer be criminal.
Felicia arranges for Huey to get a shot (competing against Dick Clark) for a national TV music show, but Huey is scared to leave his local success but doesn't want to lose Felicia, so he tries to sabotage the NY opportunity by kissing Felicia on local television. For safety, Felicia has to immediately leave town. He doesn't go with her, and four years later we discover Felicia is now a national R&B singing sensation, and Huey has gone from the number 1 DJ in the middle of the dial to a virtually unknown DJ way up on the dial. He guesses that his audience may be as small as a single listener. But on tour, Felicia returns to Memphis to sing at the Orpheum and so she stops by Huey's radio station to reconnect and to invite him to participate in her show. He is heartbroken to learn she has a fiancee and at first refuses to be a guest in her concert. But at the end, he does join her on the stage.
The script brilliantly does what even ancient scriptures sometimes do
("Daniel" writes about Nebuchadnezzar as a way to criticize Antiochus
IV Epiphanes and "John" writes about Babylon as a way to criticize
Rome). By showing the pain and injustice of laws and taboos that kept biracial
marriages from happening, the show also shows the injustice of marriage equality
being denied to same-gender loving people. There is even the assumption made by
some white characters that "Christian" means white and Christian-white means
remaining separate from people of color. Using religion to justify hatred and
fear is another queer connection.
AND, by placing the story in the past, but not the too distant past, the problems of racism which still persist in many ways are also highlighted. And, by putting human faces to love derailed by hatred and ignorance, it shows the personal tragedy that results from bigotry.
Well, if you haven't seen it - rush to Net Flix now.
I expected a Tony winning musical to be good, but it was better than i even
hoped. I think you'll like it.
A romance between Calhoun and the artist he discovers and promotes (Felicia) is forbidden not only by cultural prejudices but also by state law. So they keep it on the low, but eventually they are suspected and are even brutally attacked by racist thugs once. that doesn't end their relationship, but later, when Felicia has a chance to go to NYC they have a chance to really be together. They will have to be discreet if Felicia is to have national appeal, but their love will no longer be criminal.
Felicia arranges for Huey to get a shot (competing against Dick Clark) for a national TV music show, but Huey is scared to leave his local success but doesn't want to lose Felicia, so he tries to sabotage the NY opportunity by kissing Felicia on local television. For safety, Felicia has to immediately leave town. He doesn't go with her, and four years later we discover Felicia is now a national R&B singing sensation, and Huey has gone from the number 1 DJ in the middle of the dial to a virtually unknown DJ way up on the dial. He guesses that his audience may be as small as a single listener. But on tour, Felicia returns to Memphis to sing at the Orpheum and so she stops by Huey's radio station to reconnect and to invite him to participate in her show. He is heartbroken to learn she has a fiancee and at first refuses to be a guest in her concert. But at the end, he does join her on the stage.
AND, by placing the story in the past, but not the too distant past, the problems of racism which still persist in many ways are also highlighted. And, by putting human faces to love derailed by hatred and ignorance, it shows the personal tragedy that results from bigotry.
if you aren't familiar with Net Flix, for $9 a month it can become your
friend, or you may have friends with Net Flix...exploit that connection at once!
Even if the tour is coming to town, why not see the original Bway cast
first?
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